The Pirate & The Princess [KaneTou]

2

It's been one full day since Touka was kidnapped and was separated from her family and friends. She remained seated at the same spot at the end of the bed inside the cabin, with her knees brought up to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs. Her stomach rumbled in hunger and she hugged her legs to her torso even tighter.

Just when she thought she wasn't going to see the disgusting pirate who kidnapped her, he just had to enter through the door and stared down at her. Glancing over to the plate of food on the table, he directed his attention back to her and she avoided his gaze.

"I see that you haven't eaten."

"How would I know it isn't poisoned?" She answered.

His facial expression remained the same and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Walking over to the table, he put one spoon of rice into his mouth and swallowed. The way he swallowed and how the food went down his throat was extremely enticing as she felt her own lips water, darting a tongue out to wet it. Soon, he was walking towards her with the food and thrust it in front of her face. "Eat."

The look in his eyes commanded her and dared her to say no. Of course, being the stubborn person she was, she shook her head and refused. "I will not."

"I can't have you dying of hunger, not after I swore to make you mine." Her eyes widened when he grabbed her jaw with one hand, forced her mouth to open and shoved a spoon of rice in it before closing it. "Chew," he ordered and she did as she was told.

The taste was not so bad, for a pirate's food and by the time she was done, she couldn't help but crave for more. Her hand reached for the plate but he pulled it away with a smirk. "I thought you weren't having any?"

She growled at him. "I'm eating it."

Snatching the plate from him, he watched in amusement as she gobbled the whole plate of rice down, not leaving anything behind. Satisfied, he placed the plate back onto the table before sitting down onto the bed beside her, leaving only a hand's space between them. Touka tensed and remained there unmoving, fearing for when she does, she'll have his thick and strong hands around her neck, strangling her to death.

"..Did you get some sleep last night?" He cut through the awkward silence.

"How could I sleep, knowing that I might have something done to me when I slept? You could have violated or killed me."

His eyes hardened. "I don't force myself on women, nor will I kill you. If I wanted to do both, I would have done it already." Shifting closer to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist to prevent her from escaping and buried his hand into her violet hair. She froze when his handsome face came closer to hers and she closed her eyes on instinct. No!

She waited and waited, but nothing happened and she slowly opened her eyes to find his face just centimeters away from her own. His grey eyes were locked onto her blue ones, and he smells of soap, like he's just bathed, and a slight citrus scent.

"Du bist schön," he whispered, leaving her confused as he pulled back and stood in front of her. The soft expression in his face had disappeared almost immediately and he pointed to her dress. "Take it off."

Her jaw dropped and she hugged herself. "Excuse me? Are you aware of what you're saying? You just said that you wouldn't take advantage of me."

"You thought--" he sighed, running a hand down his face. "No, I am suggesting that you change your clothes into a better one where you'll be able to move around easier."

A blush formed on her cheeks and she felt embarrassed by the misconception she had about him. "What's wrong with my clothes? They're fine as they are. I'm not changing them."

"..Fool. You'll see soon enough that you made the wrong choice."

She jumped off the bed and took a step towards him. He could see the anger from the redness of her face and furrowed brows. "Did you just call me a fool?! You little--"

A crack resounded in the air and it took only her a tumble to realize that one of her heels had broken a small part of the wooden floor beneath her. Bracing for the pain as she fell forward, she found herself not hitting the floor and instead, enveloped in a warm embrace. Her head and hands rested against a hard chest and she flinched when Kaneki tightened his hands' grip around her waist.

Pulling back, she looked up at him and had the nerve to look apologetic. "I-I'm sorry and thank you for saving me..."

"I told you so." His calm voice turned into a more serious one. "What if you had hit your head? There's no one out here at sea who can tend to you. I and my crew are not certified to tend to you."

"L-Like I said, I'm sorry! I just need to change my clothes, right? I can do that!" She folded her arms and turned her head to the side with a pout on her lips.

Ken's gaze softened and he inspected her body visually--without touching her--for any visible injuries. "Are you hurt anywhere? You'd best be honest with me."

"..I think I've sprained my foot."

"Hah?!"