The Hunter and the Pirate (Pirate!England x Reader)

Prologue: The Rumor

Disclaimers: I do not own Hetalia (duh), nor I do not own any of the artwork. There will be a minimum amount of sexual... anything really (past what a middle schooler should be allowed to read), but I may make up for that with graphic violence. Maybe, maybe not, just thought I'd give you a heads up.

Hello! So this is my first story to be published anywhere on the internet, so I hope you enjoy! Crossed fingers I'm not accidentally copying anyone else's ideas :/ Comments are appreciated. I'm not sure how well this will turn out since I've never written an xReader before, so if I accidentally switch to first person, I'll try to fix it.

If you've read an xReader before, you're familiar with these, but for any newcomers...

(f/n) = your first name

(l/n) =  your last name

(e/h/c) =  your eye/hair color

(POV) = point of view

And that's all I can think of for now. Enough rambling, on to the story now!

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(Arthur's POV)

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Piracy is finally coming to an end."

Arthur unconsciously sat up straighter, suddenly intrigued in the conversation two men were having in the booth in front of him. He feigned interest in the glass of beer in his hands, but his attention was fixed on their words.

"They say he comes out at night," one of the men whispered. He was very well dressed with a shiny black ponytail draped over his shoulder. A merchant then? Some sort of Asian descent. The other man was very... to put it nicely, big-boned. It looked like he had swallowed one of the beer barrels behind the bar counter.

"No way. You've gotta be joking," the large man responded with skepticism. "Pirates have been around for years. They're not going to just up and vanish cause one little ship's been biting at their ankles."

"No, but this ship is different. This ship is from the American navy," the merchant said in a conspiratorial whisper. Unknown to the two men, Arthur raised and eyebrow at the mention of America.

"And what's that gotta do with anything?" the rotund man asked in a loud voice.

"Shh, keep your voice down!" the merchant hissed, looking around nervously. "Pirates are everywhere." The other man rolled his eyes, stubbornly refusing to entertain the merchant's paranoia.

Arthur chuckled to himself. Perhaps you should listen to your friend and tread a little more carefully.

"I thought you just said that piracy would be ending soon," the large man said with a heavy sigh. "Now, you asked me here to talk about a loan. I did not come here to idly chit-chat about rumors that probably aren't true."

The fat man was a banker. That much was apparent.

"Don't you see? That loan has everything to do with pirates! The decrease in piracy will lead to safer travels for merchants such as myself. That means now is the time to buy ships! Pirates are still at large, so ships will be cheaper on account of people being reluctant to venture out on the ocean, but once pirates are wiped out for good--"

"Okay, I've had about enough of your blathering," the banker said, cutting off the merchant's rant. "No loan. That's final."

"But--"