][Malice][ =One Piece=

:: Chapter Forty Eight ::

Nearly a month had gone by after Malice began training in the sensory deprivation chamber. Her strength had finally returned. She could move freely without being hindered by her constant pain, now able to endure it. No longer did she cry out if someone touched her. Once more she was a force to be reckoned with, but still not to the level she once was.

"Malice!" The voices of the crew cried in a panic from the main deck as she trained in the early hours of the morning.

What the hell was their problem? Sighing, Malice set her blades down and limberly scrambled up the ladder leading to the hatch to the main deck. "Wha-." Her voice cut short as she poked her head out of the hatch to find the entire deck covered in a layer of black flowers. "What the hell?"

"Malice!" Titan cried upon seeing the scarred young woman climbing through the hatch.

"What's with all the flowers?" Malice asked curiously as she crossed the deck to the galley where Titan, Heat and Spike were standing still looking panicked.

"We thought it was some kind of sign from Kaido and he'd come to finish the job." Heat noted morosely.

"That's pleasant." Malice laughed dryly, "but he was pretty pissed at Kid so I don't think he would have stopped with me." She surveyed the three once more and realized one of their counterparts was missing, "Where's Wire?"

"He had crow's nest duty last night." Titan noted thoughtfully.

"Isn't he allergic to flowers?" Spike pondered causing the other two to blanch.

Malice rolled her eye at this, "So he's suffering from anaphylactic shock in the crow's nest?"

"AH! WIRE!" Titan and Spike yelled in a panic and ran for the mast with Heat at their heels.

"Why is everyone screaming so damn early in the morning?!" Kid raged as he climbed up from the hatch only to stop and stare in awe at the deck, "Who died?"

"Probably Wire." Malice shrugged and headed into the galley.

"What's with all the flowers?" Kid grumbled as he stalked after the scarred young woman, "They stink." He wrinkled his nose up in disgust.

Malice paused as she spotted an intricately wrapped black box in lavish Victorian paper with a fluffy black bow atop it and a glittering gold card. 'Malice' was scrawled across the gold card in beautiful sweeping script. Next to the box was a big bouquet of the same black flowers that were all over the deck.

Inclining a brow, Malice turned to her captain curiously, "I'm not really a flowers and gifts kind of girl, captain."

Kid shot her a glare, "If I were to get you a present, it'd be the head of the moron that covered my ship in flowers."

"How romantic." Malice giggled as she gingerly made her way toward the coffee pot as her body began to ache from all her training. She was getting better at blocking out the pain for longer periods at a time, but when it finally caught up with her, it was brutal.

Kid noticed her slower rigid steps and sighed, "You're pushing yourself too much."

Malice waved his words away, "I'm fine."

"You're walking like the floor is covered in broken glass." He shot.

"In my absence, you all really let the ship go, I'd hate to get a splinter." Malice teased him and smiled as he growled at her in response.