][Malice][ =One Piece=

:: Chapter Four ::

“You almost blew it back there, kid.” The man commented as he began tossing gems into each pile at random.

“You’re shorting me.” The child pointed, “That’s a ruby it’s worth more than the piece of garnet you threw into my pile.”

“Sorry about that.” The man swapped the two gems.

An ominous feeling wrapped around the girl as she noticed the man’s peculiar action. Now he was shorting himself. Clearly he was up to something.

“What’s a kid like you want with this much treasure anyway?” The man asked curiously.

“I need a ship.” She replied calmly as she quickly surveyed their small makeshift camp for something to defend herself with if the need arose.

“What for?” The blonde woman asked with a hiccup as she finished off a bottle of sake.

“I’m looking for someone.” The child replied as her gaze locked on a dagger hanging out of the man’s pack only a few feet from where she was sitting.

“Who?” The man asked as he planned his next move, there were only a few gems left and he’d have to act quickly before the brat took off, she was quick.

“My father.” Though the blade was made for an adult, it felt comfortable in her hands as she pulled it from its sheath without drawing any attention.

“Yeah, who’s that?” His hand went for his holster.

“You shouldn’t have tried to double cross me.” A blade was pressed to his throat, halting him from withdrawing his gun.

‘click’

A gun was cocked behind the pair locked in a stalemate. The child muttered a profanity under her breath; she’d thought the inebriated woman wouldn’t be a problem.

“I think it’s time for you to leave, Malice.” The woman slurred.

“You’re drunk.” The child shrugged, “By the time you pull the trigger, I’ll have already slit his throat. You’ll miss me anyway and by the time you figure out how to reload, you’ll be dead. You should think about this more clearly lady.”

“Get out of here, demon child.” The woman snapped sounding a little more sober than she had a moment ago.

Malice turned to the woman at the insult and her garnet eyes narrowed into a glare. The man caught her by the wrist and hurled her to the ground knocking the air from her lungs as he kneed her in the stomach and pinned her down.

“Don’t ever look away from your target, brat.” He smirked as he held down her hand with the knife and un-holstered his gun with his free hand. “Get the loot together.” He turned to the inebriated woman as Malice frantically searched the ground with her free hand for some sort of weapon.

Her small hand brushed across a long jagged rock and she gripped it tightly in her hand and swung with all her might. A sickening crack came from the man’s jaw as the bone broke from the impact followed by the gut wrenching tearing sound of flesh as the jagged rock tore into his cheek and ripped through to his mouth. He let out a cry of pain as blood poured from the wound dousing the small child pinned beneath him. His grip on his gun loosened as he fell off the girl and landed in a sniveling heap on the cold hard ground desperately trying to stop the flow of blood from the gaping wound in his cheek.

Malice slowly picked herself up off the ground, “Don’t ever look away from your target.” She reminded him coolly as she picked up his dropped gun.