][Malice][ =One Piece=

:: Chapter Thirty Five ::

The sword was much heavier than she had anticipated. Her frail limbs struggled to keep the blade off the ground, let alone upright. Determination and vengeance spurned her forward making her able to ignore the agonizing pain all over her body. Blood seeped through the bandages on her tiny hands soaking into the threaded hilt of the sword the pirates had given her to use.

 Their captain was a big burly soulless man with dark eyes. Eyes that made the nameless girl think of demons. He had a strange symbol tattooed on his neck that he never kept hidden. It made her think of pirates, but it wasn’t the same symbol as the crew’s Jolly Roger.

“You said you were ready for this, girl. I’m not going easy on you.” The captain chuckled. “When you take up arms you should always be prepared to die.”

The child didn’t complain. There wasn’t a trace of fear or doubt in her hellish eyes, only a burning rage and blind determination. “I can’t die yet.” Her voice was calm and toneless.

“Then you better raise your sword.” One of the other crewmen called.

“I’ve got a lot of people to kill.” The child continued in a daze as her grip tightened on the hilt of her sword causing more blood to stream from her bandages. It dripped down the blade and onto the ground leaving a crimson streak down the edge of her blade.

The captain smirked at this. He’d found the child he’d been searching for.

Malice jolted awake as memories of the man who’d left the scar on the back of her hand haunted her. She’d once felt anger at those memories, but now all she felt was despair. Her sudden movement startled the sleeping captain of the Kid Pirates, causing him to jerk awake.

“What is it?” He grumbled groggily as he realized there was no danger.

“Nothing.”  Malice lied and quickly scrambled from the bed. Her body was doused in cold sweat. “I’m thirsty is all, I’ll be back.”

“Oy.” He called after her as she reached the door. “I can smell fear on you.”

Malice paused at the door and a calm washed over her, “Don’t worry, Captain.” Her voice faded off, nothing more than a whisper, “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive.” It was an almost inaudible declaration, one she was sure he hadn’t heard, “Even if it means dying.”

“What are you mumbling about over there?” Kid grumbled as he tossed the blankets aside and tore from the bed in annoyance. He reached the suddenly catatonic girl in two long strides and roughly caught her upper arm in his grasp before wrenching her around to face him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

 A gasp caught in his throat as he spotted the look in her hellish eyes, they were blank. Completely devoid of any emotion, not even a spark of life left within, the eyes of someone who had given up all hope.

“Malice?” He breathed her name softly for fear she’d suddenly fade entirely away to nothing. “What’s wrong?”

Malice turned away from him swiftly and bit her lip to keep her silence. She couldn’t bear to look at him. Not when she knew they’d soon be separated. He’d done so much for her and now that they were on one of the warlords’ radar she’d be more than willing to sacrifice herself for him. If her death could give him a better chance at life, she wouldn’t hesitate.

“Don’t ignore me-!” Kid raged but cut off as the cryptic girl spun around and stole the words from his mouth with a kiss.

Tears streamed down her pallid cheeks as she kissed him with passion. Her body reacted as his arms slid around her slender waist and she found herself shivering involuntarily as one of his strong hands splayed across her lower back holding her in place. She attempted to take a step back, but he was immovable.

“Kid-.”She gasped breathlessly as she managed to break the kiss.

“Why are you crying?” He breathed before tenderly kissing her tears. “Why do you make me feel so helpless?”

“What?” Malice felt her heart skip a beat.

“I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to do. How do I make everything better?”

Malice smiled softly, “You’ve done more than enough.”

“Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye?” His feral orange eyes ensnared her searching desperately for an answer. He felt so powerless. Even though she was here, he felt as if he were watching her slowly slip away.

“Thank you, Captain.” Malice stood on tip toe to kiss him once more.

“Oy!” Kid called after her sounding somewhat desperate as she turned and slipped out the door. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach that she would soon be ripped away from him. He sprinted after the cryptic girl fearing he’d never catch up to her and she’d vanish. “Malice!”

“Captain!” Killer called as he dropped down through the hatch from the main deck. The masked blonde paused for a moment as he spotted the look on his captain’s face. In that moment he looked like a frightened child who’d lost something precious. “Captain, are you alrig-.”

Kid glared at his subordinate, “What is it?”

Killer sighed as the red haired captain regained his cool disposition. “We’re approaching an island.”

 [thinking things are gonna get intense next chapter]