Chapter Six

Unchained

Yawning loudly, Pepper sat up and stretched before swinging her legs out of her hammock and leaping gently to the floor. Running a hand through her long blonde hair, she slipped on a jacket and some loose pants before padding barefoot out the door. She made her way up to the deck slowly, not wanting to disturb the others, who still may be trying to sleep, as it was still at least a half-hour before dawn.

Stepping out onto the grassy deck, Pepper sighed and closed her eyes, letting the wind brush gently across her skin and the grasses tickle her bare feet. The sea was a pale, chilled shade of blue and the sky matched it, only with a few clouds speckled across it, interrupting the blue. It was cold outside, but not so cold that Pepper was uncomfortable; it was that brisk, chilly air that usually came in fall, but could also be found on perfect mornings. The pale yellow sun was just beginning to rise into the sky, its light stretching out towards the Thousand Sunny, welcoming the ship.

Hearing a noise that sounded like metal clanging, Pepper opened her eyes and looked around, one hand at her waist, when she realized she didn't have her daggers with her. Muttering a curse under her breath, she slipped silently across the deck, her feet rolling lightly through the grass. Peering around a corner towards the aft of the ship, she saw Zoro, swords in hand, sweat trickling down his forehead, throwing iron bars into the air and trying to slice them apart as they came down. Scowling, Pepper turned her eyes back to the front of the ship, staring in horror at what she saw there.

A large Marine vessel was sitting out on the water just in front of them. Pepper was dumbfounded, shaking her head, trying to convince herself it was just a trick of the light, but the ship stubbornly stayed solid, waiting on the water. As she stood there, she saw something flying towards the Sunny.

With a small scream she stumbled backwards, whipping her torso around and scrambling back to where Zoro stood.

"What?" He asked, his grip on the swords tightening slightly as she approached. Pepper knew she probably looked rather disheveled, if downright frightening, but she just stood there panting, panic in her eyes. Finally, she gathered herself enough to point at the ship out on the horizon.

Zoro's black eyes widened and he grabbed his third sword from where it had been resting on the railing, beginning to run towards the front of the ship. "Wake everyone up," he called back to Pepper. "And get your weapons. I have a feeling you're going to need them." Pepper nodded, turning and running back below deck, her feet pattering along the hallways as she ran from door to door, finding everyone and screaming at them to grab their weapons and get on deck; they were under attack!

Everyone scrambled to get up on deck, their weapons in hand, shouting at each other, a focused look glazing over each of their eyes as they neared the deck. Pepper dashed into the women's quarters and grabbed her belt, checking to make sure both daggers were tucked snugly into the leather, before pulling it on and buckling it as she ran out of the door.

Breaking out onto the deck, Pepper drew her daggers and stabbed the closest Marine in the side before she even thought about what she was doing. Quickly identifying where the crew was, she let herself fall into a sort of trace, allowing her to dance freely through the crowd of enemies on the deck, diving, leaping, and slicing through the mass, without injuring her comrades or herself. Rolling out of the way of a large Marine with an axe, Pepper brought up one dagger to defend her head against a sword strike and ran the Marine who had dared to challenge her through with her other dagger.

As the Marine's blood splattered her face, her mind involuntarily cringed with fear. "Red," she whispered to herself. "Too much red. Everywhere. Everywhere." Her eyes widened and she fell out of her battle mindset into a nervous, jumpy one. Without warning, she felt herself get kicked in the side, her thin frame flying through the air and falling, sprawled, onto the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny. Looking up, she saw a marine looming over her, his gun aimed at her, about to shoot her right between the eyes. Panic coursed through her, and she inhaled shakily, trying to stay calm and failing miserably. Then the man's eyes went blank, a sword appeared from his chest, and he fell, dead, to the deck.

Pepper looked up at the green haired man, her blond hair sticking to her face with sweat, and then peered down at the lifeless enemy at his feet before turning her gaze back to his face. Her brown eyes were shocked as she scrambled to her feet, still looking at Zoro.

"Thank you," she said, sounding astounded and a little breathless.

Zoro shrugged. "Everyone else has accepted you as part of the crew, why shouldn't I?" he asked. Pepper grinned.

"Maybe you should," she said. He looked at her suspiciously, but her comment had none of its usual bite to it. It sounded totally sincere.

"I was thinking the same thing," he said, looking around at the battlefield, which was almost empty now. "So I will protect you as my own nakama."

They just looked at each other for a while, Pepper's eyes confused and Zoro's a little unfocused. Then he quickly added. "But that's not by my choice, that's just because of what everyone else thinks. I don't see you as my nakama, and I never will." He crossed his arms and tightened his jaw, raising his head haughtily. Pepper looked disbelievingly at him and replied in her usual sarcastic tone.

"Ah, of course." She said, giving a sardonic little bow.

For a brief moment, Pepper could've sworn she saw Zoro's lips tilt upwards into a tiny smile, but then he dashed away, and she wasn't sure if she had imagined it or not. Grinning widely, she returned to the grim task of ridding the Sunny of opponents.

The Marine's were soon driven back, and the Straw Hat's made a point of putting some distance between themselves and the Marine ship. When they finally could relax, Pepper sighed loudly, grabbed a cold drink from the kitchen, and went to look for Zoro.

She found him lying up in the crow's nest, surrounded by exercise equipment, but not using any of it. This puzzled, and somewhat worried, her. She had heard that Zoro was one to never pass up a chance to almost kill yourself, and this place seemed like a prime location for just that. He didn't look at her when she walked in, but he did fidget slightly, as if nervous.

"Hey," she said, perching herself on a giant dumbbell a little ways away from him.

He grunted in response, and she rolled her eyes, though without any real contempt.

"Listen," she said. "I just wanted to thank you again for saving my life."

"No big deal," he mumbled, still resolutely not looking at her.

"Well I think it's a big deal," she said, a mock offended tone in her voice. She saw him smile-half heartedly at the joke, but he still wouldn't look at her.

"Well…" she said, letting her voice trail off, waiting for him to respond.

"Well what?" he asked haughtily, his voice defensive.

"Why did you save me? It's not that you like me or anything, you even said you didn't consider me your nakama, and yet…"

"And yet…" he mumbled back. "I don't know."

There was silence for a few minutes, then Zoro broke the silence, his voice hesitant. "And it's not that I don't like you. I do." He paused, licking his lips. Pepper could tell he was caught up trying to decide whether to tell her more or not.

"I like you," he said. "I mean, you're kind of a crew member…"

"But why did you save me?" Pepper asked, her voice desperate.

"I – I saved you because…because…because I couldn't not save you. I couldn't help it. Involuntary reaction, I suppose."

Pepper blinked a few times, shocked, then she stood up and dusted herself off. "Well," she said, starting to walk towards the trapdoor out of the crow's nest. "Thanks." She clambered through the trapdoor, then stopped, only her head and neck visible above the floor. "And you know," she added, also hesitant. "I guess I kind of like you too." Then she ducked under the floor and began to climb down the ladder back to the deck.

Zoro smiled slightly, then pressed his arm over his forehead and forced the smile away. Well, he had said it, and he couldn't take it back now. Although he still thought Pepper was a little, well, psychotic (she did think she was the Red Devil, after all) he was drawn to her in a way he wasn't familiar with. It scared him. And Zoro did not like being scared.