A thanks to Kamikashi for your review ^_^ Serenity does have a bit of darkness about her but it will take time for all to be revealed! Meanwhile, I shall let everyone enjoy!

I do not own One Piece - That is property of Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 6 – Past: Release

"I don't give a damn about anything around me, I am me and that's all there is to it." – Bad Apple

Sakazuki was the first marine off of the ship to embark onto the pirate ship and he almost faltered at the sight before him. Seeing Serenity tied to the mast covered in her own blood was concerning enough, especially at the faces of her fellow captives but she merely was smiling through it despite yet another fist being aimed towards her. There were various rips in her marine issued shirt and pants as well, stained with blood. "Why won't you just fucking give in?" the pirate captain roared but she merely tilted her head slightly, causing the fist to glance the side of her head but Sakazuki noticed that even there, she had blood in her hair, tinting the blonde strands.

"Why is she smiling?" Borsalino croaked as he jumped to Sakazuki's side. He noticed that she had spotted them through a quick glance of her eye but she merely giggled in an effort to enrage the pirate captain more.

"Is this the best you can do?" she asked as she tilted her head to the other side. "I was under the impression I was getting threatened and that you would break me. All that you've done is break some of my skin and that can be healed. The blood can be washed off and replaced. Everything is fine."

"Crazy," Elyse muttered under her breath quietly, causing the other captive marines to glare at her. Sakazuki was inclined to agree as well but he kept quiet as he noticed Borsalino's fist tighten.

"So you're here to rescue this mad woman?" the pirate captain turned away from the mast and Serenity to face all of the marines that were prepared to rescue their comrades. "Tell you what. Despite this, I'm intrigued. Allow me to keep her and I'll let these other runts go free. They don't interest me."

"Keep me here and you'll die the minute the ropes come off, I promise you," Serenity smirked but the effect of her split lip bleeding made the expression seem a bit off. "But I do prefer that scenario."

"That doesn't mean we want that, Serenity-san!" one of the captured recruits shouted in anger before turning to address Borsalino. "You fight with her a lot in training but we all know she listens to you and Sakazuki-san. She's been insulting and pissing that pirate off to stop him from going after us. He struck her so many times. Please, we need to get her out of here and to seek medical attention. The knife he used to cut her skin on her arms and legs didn't look clean either. If she's protecting us, it's not fair if she ends up worse for wear."

"It isn't fair at all," Elyse spoke up strongly for her former friend. To her surprise, the other marines had no problem agreeing with her. "She protected us when we couldn't protect ourselves."

Borsalino shrugged his shoulders in understanding before glancing at his friend. "Just like old times?" he asked as he rolled his shoulders then to prepare himself.

"More at stake I'd like to think," his bulky friend replied as he eyed the pirates about to surround them. Turning to the other recruits, he spoke authoritatively. "I know you're not obliged to follow our lead since we're all recruits and therefore of equal standing but I beseech you. Priority is rescuing our captured comrades and getting off this ship."

"We already lost more than we should have," Borsalino mentioned quietly. Despite being irritated beyond reason with the marine captain, he still did not deserve to die. He noticed the grim satisfaction in Sakazuki's eyes when it happened but he felt guilt especially upon knowing that the captain was going to cave eventually to his subordinates' wishes. "Let's get through this and return home."

"So I did hit someone after all with that shrapnel cannon ball? Good! Damn thing cost a pretty beri." The pirate captain smirked before reaching towards Serenity, running his grubby hands through her bloodied hair before gripping on her strands and forcing her to look at her friends directly. "This is only the beginning of what's going to happen to all of you."

Despite the pain of both her scalp being forced where it did not want to go and the cuts on her skin rubbing against the ropes, Serenity gave a forced smile. "You don't have enough masts to tie us all up."

"Bloody smart ass," he roared as he gripped her hair tighter, forcing her to wince at the sudden pain. He then turned towards his pirate crew. "What the fuck are you all waiting around? Get them! They're just green recruits!"

"Those who feel comfortable, follow our lead. The rest, rescue our fellow marines," Borsalino ordered and he almost fell over at seeing their comrades nod in acknowledgement. "Sakazuki. Let's go."

"With pleasure," he roared as he barreled through the first group, literally spearheading the first attack. The minute his fist cracked into the side of a pirate, he felt his speedy friend in action, covering him by kicking away someone attempting to take advantage of a gap in his defense that he intentionally allowed.

"I'm jealous," Serenity murmured despite the throbbing pain she felt in her head and the dizzying sensation behind her eyes. She knew the blood loss was dangerous and if what Taka implied that she could get infected from the poorly taken care of knife the pirate wielded, she was concerned about herself but how could she care about her life when everyone else's was also at stake? "Look how well they cover each other's weak point. That takes teamwork and an understanding beyond my imagination."

"You want them to cover you, don't you?" the pirate hissed before a twisted smirk took over his features. The way she was bound to the mast with the ropes only made him more determined. "What if I cover you?"

"That is preposterous," Serenity began until she realized he was literally pressing himself against her. She tensed immediately as his voice whispered softly into her ear.

"I don't know about that. I could get used to this real easily. Blood or not, you are very striking," he cooed before cradling her face in his hands and pressing his body against hers even more firmly against hers to the point she could tell he was being affected.

Revulsion surged through her body and she could not restrain the scream of rage that erupted from her at his touch. "Get fucking away from me!"

Sakazuki had just knocked out a few more pirates when he caught Borsalino's eye as they both glanced towards their comrade. Squaring her legs, she had thrashed around and managed to rip the mast off of the ship before falling over, still attached to the mast, onto the deck. The pirate captain's jaw dropped at the feat of strength while Borsalino turned slightly towards some of the recruits still on the ship. "Hurry back to our ship now."

"This definitely isn't going to be pretty," Sakazuki agreed as he noticed Serenity's body shake its way out of the ropes that used to bind her to the mast. "Should we intervene?"

Borsalino frowned at his friend and scowled. He wanted to see Serenity fight all out but he knew at the same time, she likely was tired and worn out from the abuse the pirate captain had heaped upon her in the time that she had been captured. What was the final deciding factor was the broken, disjointed chuckling from her as she finally freed herself. "We need to now."

"Stay out of this," the pirate captain roared at the marine pair but he did not expect to get tackled from behind by a very vengeful Serenity. "Gah! Get off!"

"Make me," she muttered darkly before snapping his neck and standing up weakly before she swayed due to weakness and blood loss. Sakazuki and Borsalino were at her side to quickly steady her balance. "I missed you two."

"You need cleaned up," Borsalino murmured as Serenity's eyelids shut out of sheer exhaustion. "Just rest up. I'll take care of you."

"Don't peek at me… too much," she yawned as she allowed fatigue to claim her finally.

"I don't get her sometimes," the lanky recruit sighed before turning to his friend. "Sakazuki, what should we do?"

"Well all the pirates are dead," he noted the bodies around. "It was literally kill or be killed in this case. But she did it a bit more brutally than the others, even if it was just one. In any case, I'll look through the ship and then call in the report."

"Fine by me," Borsalino nodded as he held Serenity close to him before leaping back to their ship. He passed by several of the recruits who were looking at him expectantly. "Sakazuki is searching through the ship so be on standby. Also Elyse-chan, fetch some of Serenity's clothing. What she's wearing now isn't appropriate anymore." That certainly was true as the parts of cloth still hanging onto her were bloodied or stuck to her body due to said blood. Humming to himself, Borsalino brought her to the captain's bathroom and started the shower before grabbing a sponge. "I'll be as gentle as I can," he said softly to his friend but she did not stir. Damn. This is something I never expected. As he set her into the tub of the shower, he turned to get some bandages before cursing and trying to think how to remove her stuck clothing without damaging her. I'll figure something out but why do you look so peaceful?

-Meanwhile-

Sakazuki sighed as he finished looking through the pirate vessel. Literally every pirate that was onboard had apparently thrown themselves into the fight just to be eliminated. Although the ship inherently was not bad in terms of seaworthiness, it was too much of a risk at all to steer a former pirate vessel back to Marineford. No information about this ship either or anything important. Nothing to bring back to headquarters at all. Fuck. Well, might as well make that report. Pulling the Den Den Mushi out that they had threatened the marine captain with, he sighed as he heard the connection. "Marine Recruit Sakazuki reporting in about the naval scouting mission we had been assigned."

A gruff cough made the bulky man want to curse. This vice admiral never was a big fan of him. "Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp receiving the report. And why isn't Captain Tanaka Kunimitsu making this report?"

"He was killed while on duty sir by a shrapnel filled cannonball," Sakazuki reported grimly. "The death was almost immediate."

"No marine vessel in that area should have that kind of ammunition. I'll go ask Sengoku later," Garp grumbled as he scratched a note. "But tell me kid. Why was your ship engaging in any sort of action at all? It was just a standard training mission. Patrolling in fact."

"It's a long story so I'll start at the beginning."

-A Week Later-

Borsalino felt awkward as he noticed all the recruits bow to him randomly or give grins of acknowledgement. I normally like attention but even this is much. I suppose that it is more tolerable than what Serenity has been going through.

Casting a glance at his slightly irate comrade walking along with him, he noticed her eyes softly slightly as she gave a smile. "What's on your mind, Borsalino-kun?"

"Just hoping they finally give Sakazuki his fruit," he commented as he still patted the pocket he had his fruit hidden in. "I mean, he did great during that incident," he began delicately before receiving a shrug.

"You don't have to walk around eggshells when I'm here. Nothing bad happened but at least you only pause for maybe a half second rather than just stare at me awkwardly," she commented as she was about to step into the women's lockers. "Meet you two up for lunch?"

"Sure," the jovial man nodded but he frowned the minute she turned around. Something definitely happened whether you want to admit it or not. I can understand your anger and rage but how immediately violent it was… Turning away, he went to go change in the men's showers when he heard a couple of recruits gossiping.

"You're going to try to ask her for the ball?" one of them sputtered in disbelief. "Are you as insane as she is?"

"I think it'd be awesome. Show up with her on my arm. After all, that encounter is part of the reason the ball got delayed so they could attempt to find out how a pirate ship got so far into marine territory. Besides, Serenity looks great."

Borsalino frowned but he said nothing as he stepped into the spray of his shower. Unfortunately the water did not drown out the voices but only made it seem to echo. "There's something wrong with her mentally. There just has to be. Dude, you saw her when those two made us get to that ship. She was covered in her own blood and smiling."

"If Elyse-chan is able to see the fact she protected them, you can too," the recruit attempted to defend before sighing. "Besides, it's a date, not a lifetime commitment I want. Showing up with her would look good considering that she's practically the top of the recruits and…"

At this point, Borsalino loudly burst out of his shower to glare at his fellow recruits before quickly changing and dashing out. I wonder if that's why her mood is so sour lately but…

"You're oddly distracted," Sakazuki chuckled as he strode towards his friend. Borsalino whined as he saw that he was out of uniform. "Stopped by our room first. Took bloody forever but they are still holding the fruit. Apparently, they don't agree completely with we handled the incident."

"We're a bunch of recruits with a recently killed captain and captured comrades. What else could we have done?" Borsalino sighed as he slumped onto a bench. "I really want them to stop holding your fruit back though. This is bullshit."

"I'm kind of used to it by now. I'll just have to do something they cannot deny," Sakazuki muttered darkly before glancing towards the women's shower building. "Serenity still getting ready?"

"Yes and some of the recruits were talking about her too," Borsalino scowled, causing his friend to raise his eyebrow. "It pisses me off what they were saying too."

"Some of our senseis were talking about her actually." Sakazuki was not surprised by how quickly his friend tensed. "I heard a bit of it before I had to ask about my fruit."

"What did you hear?" Borsalino asked quietly. "Because I can't stand hearing anymore crap."

"Well…"

-Flashback: An Hour Ago-

"You're still defending her actions?" Sengoku scowled at his friend but Garp kept his arms crossed rather resolutely.

"I scouted her myself after all. I knew what she was capable of when I brought her to become a marine," the vice admiral objected. "She is, what did you call it, useful."

"You're telling me she's allowing herself to become a weapon?" Sengoku sighed with frustration as he ran a hand through his afro. "From what I heard of her actions, it was rather unnerving."

"When I heard the report of one of Kaido's pirates being killed and turned in, I had investigated. Imagine my shock hearing that a young woman had turned in the bounty then turned around and donated all of that money to an orphanage. Is it concerning that the pirate was scarily enough her lover? Yes of course it is. Her morals might be a bit skewed and she might be aggressive when it comes to even mentioning pirates but there is some good in there. She's allowing the marines to mold her."

"That's not good, Garp. There's no way you agree with it."

"And I don't either." Sengoku's head tilted in confusion until his friend elaborated. "You see, she told me something that made me determined to have her as a recruit. 'I would rather become a monster so these children don't have to be. They deserve support and family. I have lost both so I'll protect what I can so no child has to be the orphan of a pirate attack.' How can I argue with her determination?"

"So because she's already down what she perceives is a darker path, she allows this?" Garp nodded slowly in acknowledgement. "It's obvious you're allowing this but you are going to make sure she attends counseling every so often. Maybe some of the marine war therapy too. This isn't right to allow a human to become a weapon but she's putting herself through this with everything she has. Even I can tell. Despite the comments I make on her reports, she still won't be swayed completely. I'll keep an eye on her too. We have to make sure she stays humane after all."

-End Flashback-

"So this Kaito… was her lover and she killed him. He ended up being a pirate… Damn. This is a bit much to wrap around my head," Borsalino groaned after Sakazuki finished his tale. "I knew about the whole orphan thing but she never went into detail. Maybe she'll open up soon but I wasn't optimistic. Especially after what happened. How do you approach someone about it?"

"By simply asking like I've been fucking telling you all this time." Sakazuki ran his hand through his short hair in a huff. "Damn it, I'm tired of sitting here and seeing you two dance about this. Look, she does more than tolerates you like she lets on. And you. You obviously have a thing for her."

Borsalino blinked owlishly in disbelief. "Where'd this come from?"

"Look, I've been watching you two dance around each other for ages. The only thing coming up that could make you angry with other recruits talking about her must involve the ball as well. It was postponed the extra week to allow them to investigate but it was still looming on her mind. Ask her. Get your answers and help each other recover. Then maybe you two do whatever it is people do at balls." This confused the skinny marine.

"You're getting a bit fired up about this. Don't you need time to recover from this as well and while we're on the subject, you could ask her too you know."

"To the ball or the questions in general?" Sakazuki snickered before giving his friend a serious look. "I don't see her that way and it wouldn't work out. Seriously. I know I'm not exactly anyone's ideal choice of marine but she's another shade of darkness altogether." He then sighed slightly. "She's my friend in the end however. Also, even though I'm curious about asking her those questions, it's not to the point where I would prod her without her wanting to confide in me. She isn't as comfortable with me as with you."

"I think I will ask her then," Borsalino decided as he took a clearing breath. "What do I have to lose right? She could just laugh at me and tease me during training just like normal. Might as well I suppose."

Sakazuki nodded before pushing himself off the bench. "In that case, I'm going to go procure some sake."

"You're not coming to lunch with us?" Borsalino whined on the realization that without his friend there, all of Serenity's attention would be hovering around him while she was not eating.

"I'm not going to sit here and be a third wheel. Even I'm not that socially inept. Anyway, let me know if she said yes," Sakazuki waved as he walked off with a smirk on his face. Maybe they'll finally get somewhere.

Sure enough, it was a few moments later before Serenity emerged from the women's showers with her hair still slightly damp but curling slightly around her face. Due to that, she had not placed them in pigtails yet. "Where's Sakazuki? It's unlike him to miss a planned lunch."

"Something came up so he'll make it up to us later," Borsalino replied but this made Serenity raise an eyebrow with suspicion.

"Okay…" He isn't a fan of many other marines or is that social. Since he has no family either, that can't be it so why…? "So, what now?"

"I take you to lunch," Borsalino told her simply as he slung an arm around her shoulder. To his surprise, she did not sling it off. "If that's fine with you at least."

"I don't mind," she leaned into his arm slightly and let him steer her towards the part of headquarters with restaurants. "And at least you haven't changed in how you treat me."

"Am I supposed to?" he murmured in confusion. "I've gotten used to you and I hope the same. What would change that?"

"Ever since the ball was announced and now because of that damn incident, I get eyed like I'm a chess piece. I don't mind being put on the front lines in danger because I can help others. I can save at least one person. But to be used like a show horse? Fuck that. Just fuck that. Especially because apparently a good thing about me is that someone unstable like me isn't likely to last long enough to negatively impact someone's career. I actually got told that by some idiot who tried to ask me to the ball. How obnoxious. I hate putting up with this."

"If you go with someone, you have a better excuse to turn them down as well," Borsalino suggested, causing her to light up with curiosity. "And I wouldn't mind walking around with you. It wouldn't be much different from a normal day, should it?" He paused as he saw the gears in her head spin quickly. "We could even tease Sakazuki."

"You're the only one who really teases him," she chuckled before touching his shoulder, causing him to pause and smile at her. "But do you mean it? The ball that is. It sounded like you want to go with me."

"Depends if the lady in front of me would allow me to accompany her," he replied smoothly. Serenity's expression did not help him figure out if she was interested as she just blinked blankly for a few seconds before looking up at him.

"Really?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he responded as he touched some of her hair. "We're practically friends aren't we?" she frowned slightly at this. "See! You don't like that classification so we are friends." This made the frown soften slightly. "Have I treated you any differently since the incident?"

"Not in the slightest," she said, unable to help the smile that emerged. "You haven't tried to coddle me at all but you seem to know how to help me. Not by treating me differently either. I didn't question the bag of bagels you got for the three of us after training or the way you've been glaring off some of the recruits. That I definitely didn't mind. Some of them wanted to ask me to the ball for political maneuvering or just to get noticed by the senseis for associating with me. But you… Damn it, Borsalino, you've been there for me." She twisted her hands and looked off to the side. "If it wouldn't put too much of a damper in your style, I'll go with you."

"You know something… I'm looking forward to this actually," Borsalino murmured as he held out his arm to his soon to be date. "Now then, lunch?"