Pepper/Story

Spoilers!*"Your greatest villain Drake shall warn you, SPOILERS AHEAD!"*The following article or section contain **spoilers!** Viewer discretion is advised.

Overview**Story**VoicelinesGallery

## Behind the Scenes

###

Yoon Ah-yeong

###

Kimberly Woods

###

Akari Kitō

## Profile

A Nikke working in Seraphim, a medical-oriented "squad". Pepper is kindhearted and passionate about her work, her cheery demeanor earning her a devoted following from patients as the hospital idol. What most don't see is the vindictive underbelly, that can't forgive those who hurt others or disgrace the profession of saving lives.

### Nikke Backstory

A doctor who takes care of her patients with optimism. She is like a vitamin to Seraphim, and is admired by many as an idol of the hospital.

## Story

Content Warning*"All **salacious** and **impure** thoughts have been swirling in my mind!"*The following article or section depicts a **disturbing** or **suggestive** content! Viewer discretion is advised.
### Background

Pepper's past, like many others, is somewhat barebones and often told in other stories. She used to work alongside Mary when they were human, but then discovered the latter was implicit in falsifying patient death records to put them through Nikke transplant surgery. Betrayed, she pushed Mary down a flight of stairs, causing the doctor to sustain fatal injuries. What happened immediately after is never elaborated, and it seems as though Pepper herself doesn't remember the incident. It was later revealed that according to Mary, Pepper is unable to forgive herself for murdering a fellow doctor and spiraled out of control, likely implying she committed sucide afterwards.

### Main Story

#### Chapter 13

Following the mixed success of the Modernia subjugation operation, the protagonist is rushed to the ER for critical wounds sustained in the field. Seraphim attempts to resuscitate him, but when they prepare for a transfusion, Pepper finds out the protagonist's blood type isn't on any of the patient records.

### Event Story

#### Blue Water Island

Seraphim is sent on a relatively safe resource surveillance operation on a tropical island. To that end, Pepper dons a swimsuit like many of the others for a *fun* and *completely happy* day on the beach.

#### Sea, You, Again

Along with the other from the Blue Water Island expedition group, Pepper and the others returned to the island to investigate some strange signals.

### Character Story

#### Episode 1 - The Boyfriend

Coming back from a mission, the protagonist suffered an arm injury that requires him to recuperate in the hospital. The Nikkes of Counters are concerned about just leaving him here, but he assures that he won't be neglected or feel lonely, knowing that the Seraphim squad that works here will provide him the best treatment they can. Counters eventually leaves the protagonist be, and he decides to go to sleep as there's nothing else to do right now.

It takes a few tries, but he eventually finds a comfortable position to sleep in. Just as his consciousness drifts, he hears loud talking outside his door. It's Pepper, one of the doctors of Seraphim, embarrassed about how the other party is egging her on about something...

Unable to get any sleep like this, the protagonist gets up and steps out to see what the fuss is. He finds Pepper talking with a redheaded girl in a patient's gown. From what he can gather, the patient is refusing to go through with an operation unless Pepper finds a boyfriend, and Pepper is predictably flustered that someone is holding their own health hostage over her (nonexistent) love life. Whatever the patient's condition is, it could be life threatening if she doesn't do the operation, but she still insists on not taking it before Pepper gets a boyfriend.

Still arguing, Pepper looks off to the side and ends up locking eyes with the protagonist. Remembering that he was being sent to this hospital, Pepper ushers the patient back to her ward before speaking to the protagonist. She wants him to be her fake boyfriend.

In the protagonist's hospital room, Pepper explains the circumstances behind the patient she was with. It would seem that girl refused to even take a preoperative exam even though the surgery would dramatically increase her chances of survival. The protagonist wonders why Pepper getting a boyfriend would be considered a difficult condition for agreeing to surgery, but Pepper had an idea of where it's coming from. With how she basically spends every waking moment working in the hospital, the patient might've thought that Pepper's prospects for finding a partner were almost, if not absolutely zero, therefore letting her weasel out of the operation.

It's an idea that gets a dispirited chuckle from Pepper herself. That patient has basically given up any and all hope of getting better, let alone living. That's why she refuses to take the operation, and even comes up with these absurd conditions to excuse herself not doing it. But Pepper is still unwilling to give up on a patient, and sees this operation as the last chance to even try and heal her. To that end, she wants the protagonist to pretend to be her boyfriend, and convince the patient to take the surgery. Pepper's face lights up when he agrees, and promises to help him in any way she can while this arrangement is in effect, though he draws the line at overly personal care like feeding or bathing him.

A moment later, Pepper introduces the protagonist as her (fake) boyfriend to the redhead. The patient is question is understandably skeptical, given how she literally just saw Pepper walk out of his ward. Pepper mentioning they decided to start dating today doesn't help matters any, but eventually the patient relents and accepts she lost their bet. Pepper escorts the redhead to get her pre-ops done, but now the protagonist is left to scurry back to his ward, chased by the whispers of other patients that witnessed the scene.

#### Episode 2 - Hospital Idol

Mary begins the protagonist's morning checkup calling him "Pepper's boyfriend", the hospital gossip mill already churning the news around the place. Thankfully, Pepper already read her in on the truth, so she's willing to provide her support. The checkup finished with the protagonist's arm making progress in its recovery. Which is good, because the next few days promise to be stressful for him. After all, the hospital's beloved idol Pepper just pegged him as her "boyfriend"...

The rest of the day gives the protagonist an idea of what exactly Mary meant when she said others would "torture" him. No matter the time or place, someone or other is asking him if he's Pepper's boyfriend, and the pressure mounts with no real outlet.

Eventually, he decides to pay his "girlfriend" a visit. Pepper had to deal with a patient who refused to rest after he had an operation so he had to wait for her to return. Watching them from afar, they seemed like a father and daughter who genuinely love each other. After she left, he got a message from the kid he met before under the pseudonym "Citrus Splendamin" inquiring about his relationship with Pepper. After sharing Mary gave her his contact info, she wanted some answers. The protagonist admits there are things about her he likes, and the two go on to talk for a bit and after getting to know each other, the child feels comfortable enough to allow them to date. She wants him to be nice to Pepper or else she will haunt him from beyond the grave. He knew she would be undergoing an operation soon, something that she knows will not make her better, not even if Pepper performed it. Despite the success rate being only 5%, the protagonist is still optimistic she will pull through. She sees both him and Pepper as stubborn and reveals she likes the doctor because she saves lives and treats those under her care as family. She hoped the commander would take care of her and mentioned not telling her they talked before she left the chat.

Now having a better understanding about the child's situation, he didn't have to wait long until Pepper's return. After interacting with so many people curious about his "girlfriend", the commander can say to her face for certain that she is very popular.

#### Episode 3 - Proud to be Loved

Having been confined to the hospital for an entire week now, the commander has isolated himself in the Ward to avoid interacting with people and now can't fall asleep. Thinking the coast is clear, he takes a walk to the front yard. After taking a deep breath, his worries start to fade. Turns out, Pepper was nearby and figured out what he was doing. She was surprised he stayed in the ward for so long, but he was tired of dealing with everyone pestering him about their "relationship" and now he's bored out of his mind. Pepper's outside to perform an inspection looking for people who would act like him. Since it's a cold night out and she doesn't want the patients to get even more sick, she plans on finding anyone outside and try to convince them to come back. The only person she found so far was the protagonist.

He can tell how hard Pepper works and how loved she is by her patients. She's not surprised by her popularity but she reveals her employers have tried to stop her from bonding with them. The problem with that is as a doctor bonds with their patients, the relationship between them grows leading to their inevitable separation becoming even more painful. This is something Pepper has promised to never let happen which has made her bosses view her as incompetent, but arrogant, a response he expected from her. She does see their point because it's hard for her to let her patients go and this problem worsens the longer she cares for them. Even after becoming a Nikke, she wishes there was a function she could implement that can save people. The commander thinks she does a good job saving others as is and while she doesn't deny that, it stings her to watch the few who she can't pass on. She apologizes for her depressing mood because Citrus Splendamin's operation was tomorrow. Regardless of how low her chances of survival are, Pepper believes undergoing the procedure is the right decision. The child is still doubtful she will make it which makes her worry even more.

The children cared for in the hospital act differently than others, especially those who were victims in terrorist attacks. Those in particular went through investigations by the Central Government beforehand causing them to lose their innocence and forcibly grow up. Pepper doesn't blame the girl for thinking as she does, but her responses make her think she hasn't done enough. The protagonist assures her she's doing well at protecting those she cares about and the love she garners from them is evidence of that. If she was bad at her job, she wouldn't be as popular as she is. His response made Pepper realize that he and Mary are very similar, something he didn't know was a good thing. She considers Mary a nice person and the best doctor available. She makes accurate diagnoses and is a master surgeon and seamstress. Most importantly, Pepper sees her as a "real doctor" as in she doesn't prioritize making profit when performing her duties and takes her patients' wellbeing as precedent. She has done such great work Pepper sees her more as an immaculate saint as opposed to a doctor. He can tell she looks up to Mary. She also reveals that after she got depressed from being berated by her employers, Mary was the one who cheered her up and convinced her to proceed with her plans. After clapping her face in her hands, she makes a vow to no longer doubt herself for the sake of Mary, the protagonist, and the patients who she cares for.

After a brief pep talk, Pepper is more confident than ever and is certain the operation will be a success. Right now, her top priority is to bring him back to his room, something he will do after enjoying the fresh air for a little longer. She immediately denies his request.

#### Episode 4 - Citrus Splendamin

The hospital has been quiet today and no one is wandering the halls or has asked the protagonist about his relationship with Pepper. This solemnity was interrupted by Mary who was surprised to see him roaming around. She doesn't know where everyone is either and since the hospital is not under attack, there are no safety concerns either. After having been annoyed by being swarmed by patients before, the commander now despises how empty the facility seems. While he's not lonely, Mary can tell he's bored. Mary informed him Pepper has been in a bad mood recently since the operation occurred a few days ago. Fortunately, it went perfectly and the child will recover. Unfortunately, the girl is still in a coma. Upon asking where Pepper was, Mary shared she went to the courtyard at her request so the other patients won't see her sad face. Before he could console his "girlfriend", the doctor was pleased to share that since his bones are healing well, he will be allowed to be discharged soon.

While wandering through the courtyard, Pepper is confused why Citrus Splendamin has yet to awaken from her coma. After making himself known, she notices that he is no longer wearing his hospital gown and figures he will be discharged soon. What mattered to him more right now was meeting someone he cares about. While she took that to mean he was going to spend time with his squad, he clarified that the two should go on a date since Pepper is off-duty. She was surprised he would ask to do something with her, but since they're a "couple", he's perfectly fine with spending time with her. She then asks him to dial back his talk about their relationship. Not for any personal reasons, but because now's not a good time given the current situation. She figured Mary told him everything and asked him to come cheer her up, but he came to see her of his own accord. The commander understands how she feels, but moping around by herself won't change anything. He figures the best way to cheer Pepper up is to find a way to resuscitate the child from her coma. His idea of doing so is to entice her awake with something she likes and figures Citrus Splendamin will do the trick. After ignoring her pondering about how he knows that and she shares her reservations of its success, he reminds her that even if the odds are as low as 1%, there is hope. After using Pepper's own philosophy against her, the doctor's spirits have been lifted and the two leave to get some Citrus Splendamin.

The two felt certain the massive amount of Citrus Splendamin they bought will get the child to awaken. Though she's willing to carry his load since she worries that he might get injured again after being discharged, he is less concerned. Pepper offers to do something he wants to before they head back, but since the two are on a date, he is content as is. She doesn't consider this a date since they didn't do anything he wanted, but he hints that if the two go out again, they will. After some more reassurance, the two head back.

From that day on, Pepper delivers Citrus Splendamin to the girl as a gift every night and repeatedly calls her name. Her persistence pays off and several days later, the child woke up. Pepper can't thank him enough for his idea, but he feels she did most of the work. The protagonist is glad to see her smile again and praises Doctor Pepper for a job well done. His kindness caused her to become flustered so she left in a hurry. He was confused as to why she had to leave so suddenly.

#### Episode 5 - The Real Love Affair

After the child woke up, Pepper admits to the girl that she and the commander were never a couple and they only pretended to go out to get her to undergo the operation. Many of the child's questions were now answered including why the two looked so awkward when she and the protagonist were first introduced. She thinks that both of them are awesome, a sentiment the doctor feels about her partner. Citrus Splendamin asks what she plans to do now since he will be discharged today. The girl knows full well her caretaker has romantic feelings for him from how much Pepper talks about him. She warns her that she may never meet someone like him again if she stays cooped up in the hospital. Since she didn't give up on her, the kid wants to believe the two people who supported her more than anyone else can be together. After receiving some encouragement, Pepper sprints off hoping to turn her fake boyfriend into her real one.

Finally discharged from the hospital, the protagonist was about to take his leave when he receives another message from Citrus Splendamin. After learning he was about to leave, she tells him to wait for five minutes because someone important needs to see him. She also shares that she knew he also helped her through her coma and wishes him and this special someone the best. Hearing someone calling his name from behind him, he turns around to discover Pepper standing by the entrance. She confesses her feelings for him and attempts to ask him to be her real boyfriend, but before she could do the latter, he gestures to her to come closer. Since the two are no longer physically in the hospital, their relationship is no longer pretend. The commander asks to be her real boyfriend regardless of where they are and she happily accepts.

The two embrace each other agreeing to be together for their own sakes and because they genuinely love each other.

## References

Notes

References
1. ↑ Mary, Story: "The Weight of Death."
2. ↑ Mary, Story: "The Weight of Sin."
3. ↑ Blue Water Island, Cutscene: "Summer Miracle: B."