#cells at work fanfic

[mirrorcatcreditcard]

Rating: Teen & Up

Pairing: Kira89 or Killer T x U-4989

Word count: 2727

Oneshot. Gift for @seethroughcan

[devintrinidad]

oh, other one, killer t cell and nk cell secretly having a love/hate relationship and dendritic cell of corse having blackmail photos of them (and showing them to the other main cells)

Once again, thanks for the prompts! :DDD

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Dendritic Cell was a dead man.

Oh, he was so dead. 

However, that didn’t stop the immune cell from taking photo after photo of--

“Dendritic Cell, what are you doing?” U-2001, one of the neutrophils who scoured the body for enemies asked politely. In truth, 2001 really didn’t want to get mixed up with Dendritic Cell, but it payed to be polite at times. “You look a little busy.”

A nasty smile appeared on the other cell’s face as he pointed below. 2001, ever the curious sort (who happened to be not at all curious), peeked over in that direction and--

“Were you taking pictures of that?”

“Mm-mm.”

“D-do they know about that?”

“Nah.”

“And you’re planning to--!?”

If 2001′s face could melt from fear, that was what was truly happening at that moment. His already pallid demeanor seemed to get even more paler and sicker than usual. This did not bode well for his health if word got out.

Dendritic Cell seemed to wave away all those problems. 

“Of course I’m going to show them!” At 2001′s gasp, he continued in a professional tone of voice. “Not today, of course; only if we need them to be properly motivated to do their job!”

And with that, Dendritic Cell laughed a haughty laugh before disappearing into one of his trees.

2001 just stared at him and ran from the scene as fast as he could. 

He definitely did not want to be caught staring at Killer T Cells and NK Cell holding hands. 

How embarrassing.

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“HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU,” NK Cell roared at her companion. “LEAVE THE ENEMIES TO ME IF I’M THERE!!!”

“IT WAS YOUR IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE TO TEAM UP!”

“I DIDN’T MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD GET THE BOTH OF US STUCK IN THE FIBRIN NET! NOW LOOK!” NK held up their hands, which were conjoined by a piece of fibrin from that particular Staph bacteria that had invaded the body earlier. “I CAN’T LET GO OF YOUR HAND!”

“YOU SICKEN ME!”

Both of them didn’t know that their faces were tinged with a nice shade of pink.

[middlemistgrey]

Fattened up Shored up Shoved up

my body decompensates my body flies apart no way to reach out beyond the reaching out I’ve already done you will always have a piece of me because you held my life in your hands …those brutal hands

this will end me I thought it was silent till it went silent now

have you inspired this pain?

I’ve never understood what it is I’m not supposed to feel like a bird on the wing in a swollen sky my mind is torn by lightning as it flies from the thunder behind

What am I like? the child of negation

out of one torture chamber into another a vile succession of errors without remission every step of the way I’ve fallen

I like you I like you

still black water as deep as forever as cold as the sky as still as my heart when your voice is gone I shall freeze in hell of course I love you you saved me

I wish you hadn’t I wish you hadn’t I wish you’d left me alone

I’ve always loved you even when I hated you What am I like? just like my hunters who love the blood rush oh no oh no oh no

Hatch opens Stark light the rupture begins

the only thing that’s permanent is destruction we’re all going to disappear trying to leave a mark more permanent that ourselves

Black snow falls in death you hold me never free I have no desire for death no cell ever had watch me vanish watch me vanish watch me watch me watch

— Last Words (That I Couldn’t Say)

_____________

Art by the marvelous @seidooreiki

He has the hanahaki disease and is dying.

[middlemistgrey]

The Poet And The Pianist

Summary:

“Wow, this is just like a date!” she says.

He looks at her with something she cannot identify. Maybe it is mischief?

“This is a date.”

Notes:

Um...based on real life events. Obviously not all the events in here are real.

Obviously.

This, like my Railway AU, contains dark themes like suicide ideation/attempt, drug abuse and physical bullying. So yeah, trigger warnings.

... .. .

The first time she properly notices him is when she is eight. They are in the same school, just different sections and she has seen him around. Reimi has always called him, 'that weird kid with white hair’.

It is a school program and everyone is sceptical as to why a mere eight year old has been given the last performance. She is sceptical too. After all, she is eight too and she too could easily have been up there with her poems, couldn't she?

(You are getting too ahead of yourself, a voice inside her head tells her.)

All scepticism flows out of her mind the moment his fingers touch the keyboard. She has heard the tune before, but it somehow feels so different...so alleivating as she gives it a listen presently.

Colours dance in front of her eyes. She sees flowers and stars and — and he is painting a beautiful picture with his music.

She swears she is enamoured.

No, that would be crazy.

After his performance ends, she thinks she will go up to him and talk.

She never does.

… .. .

The first time Iishiro properly notices her is when he is nine.

It is the annual poetry competition and she has been called upon the stage to recite her poem.

He has seen her around before; she seems like an airhead with her proclivity to collide with people and things alike. He has seen her hanging around with two girls who seem to be in her class.

He wonders if she is going to stutter.

But then she speaks and oh my goodness.

“Stars twinkle, luminous and bright

Take my hand tonight

Leave this body behind

I will be kind.”

“My name is Death

Leave your bed, darling

Your voice itches to snarl

You life is in a gnarl.”

“Love’s found across the shore

Down in the kingdom of lore

Give in to me

I'll make you see.”

“Stars twinkle luminous and bright

Take my hand tonight

Leave this body behind

I will be kind.”

His eyes widen as he somehow finds it in himself to clap. There's few whispers from the crowd — mostly the teachers and then there is a thunderous clap of applause.

She says a quick thank you and hurries off the stage with her cheeks as red as her hair.

He will find her, and he will talk to her. He has to.

… .. .

He finds her later that day.

It is not a pretty sight.

“Hold up!” he shouts to the boys tormenting her.

At first they don't hear him, but then he walks closer and shouts again to make them stop. They are pulling her hair and she is on the verge of tears.

“Leave her!”

“Oh look, it's the albino,” one of her bullies remarks.

His hand itches to hit the boy. Iishiro knows he has no chance against the brutes. He is far too weak compared to the older, beefy boys.

He still makes a dash for it — for her sake.

Iishiro rushes in and kicks the boy holding her right in the shin. As expected, the boy emits an anguished howl of surprise and pain and leaves her hair. He quickly grabs her hand and they make a run for it and do not stop until they reach the school gate.

The bullies cry something incoherently behind them as they follow them.

Iishiro and Reimi give each other an understanding glance and run in the opposite directions.

… .. .

“Hey,” she says as she sees him approaching the school entrance the next day. “Thanks for yesterday. Really, they had me helpless. Thank you so much.”

“It's no problem. It's Reimi, by the way, isn't it?”

“Yeah.” She nods. “Reimi Akagawa.”

“Okay, cool. I'm Iishiro Minako.”

She cannot help but smile. “I know.”

(I know. I know because I vowed to talk to you.)

They continue their slow walk towards their respective classrooms in comfortable silence but he has this urge to break it. And so he does.

“Why were they bullying you?”

“You know...cause of my red hair and that stupid poem.”

“It was not stupid at all.”

She looks at him with what seems to be gratitude. “Thanks…”

He continues speaking. “It was not stupid. It was something deep. I have never heard of a nine year old writing that kind of stuff. Why did you write it, anyway?”

Her eyes widen on their own accord. “T-thanks! It's just that I had a close brush with death when I was  little. Thank you so much, though!” she stutters yet again.

“I am just saying the truth.”

As he hurries into his classroom, she asks, “Can we walk back together, today?”

Reimi does not know why she says it. She does not want to know.

Iishiro smiles a half smile from the door.

“We will.”

… .. .

And so it comes to be: Reimi Akagawa and Iishiro Minako become best friends.

Her bullies do not torment her when he is around. She writes poems and he plays the piano and sometimes he sets her poems to music.

It is a very cherished friendship, indeed.

… .. .

A lot of things happen when she is nine.

She writes a poem on Death.

She becomes best friends with Iishiro.

She jumps in the river in hopes of killing herself.

Yeah, that last one is...dark. She knows that.

Reimi is usually a very chirpy girl, but her bullies’ threats have been increasing in magnitude by the day. Her best friend cannot always be there to protect her and she understands that.

She wishes it was not like that, though.

Reimi does not know what sick pleasure those boys get out of tormenting her. Calling names is fine — well, it is not, but it is still better than this physical torture that they resort to.

So one day, she has had enough.

It all ends today.

And so, after school, she walks to the river bank and stands on the very edge. She hopes no one is going to save her. She does not need rescuers today. She fills her pockets with stones and sand.

She really has to end it today.

Read more here.

[middlemistgrey]

Dreams Of Smoke, Kindness And Contradictions

Author’s Note: More Cancer Cell...cause I am obsessed. XD

Idea behind a key scene belongs to @Xiphear (on AO3).

Summary:

“Say something nice.”

He doesn't know what to do now; all U-1146 knows is the swing of his knife.

Did you stand there all alone?

Oh I cannot explain what's going down

I can see you standing next to me

In and out somewhere else right now

You sigh, look away

I can see it clear as day

Close your eyes, so afraid

Hide behind that baby face

You can drive all night

Looking for the answers in the pouring rain

You wanna find peace of mind

Looking for the answer

— Cigarette Daydreams, Cage The Elephant

… .. .

It always starts like this: them facing off each other — the rest of the battle faded into complete silence; the distant screams of their respective allies and enemies being the  only reminder of the war existing outside them.

Them.

It is a strange concept.

It is as strange as a terminally differentiated cell dividing.

“How long can I keep on doing this, White Blood Cell? Burning the old me only to make a new one?"

He keeps silent; he has no answers for this cell. His grip on his knife tightens.

Everything is fragile like smoke — horribly twisted and beautiful in a cruel way that will be the death of you.

When he does not speak anything for the longest time, Cancer Cell breaks the silence yet again.

“Let's play a game before you kill me.”

He can just look at him, trying to understand the unpredictable cell smirking in front of him. Suddenly — he does not know how and cannot understand why — Cancer Cell is hovering right in front of his face.

And then his hand is upon the rim of his cap. And then his cap is upon his head.

Cancer Cell never stops smirking.

“Say something nice.”

U-1146 cannot, cannot take this any longer. He doesn't know what to do now; all he knows is the swing of his knife. He attacks with it…

...and he dodges easily.

“I said, say something nice! How do I look?”

He is thrown off the edge for a moment.

“I don't have time for this. Surrender already!"

“I have, haven't I? I just want to hear something nice about me.”

He is struck yet again.

“Uh, the cap is nice,” he says lamely.

“That's your cap. Try again. Wait, I'll make things a bit easier.”

Cancer Cell morphs back into his normal looking self with spiky, black hair and normal eyes.

The sight breaks him. It is jarring. Moments pass, and then time strikes around him

“I am sorry for killing you,” he murmurs before striking.

That's the nicest thing Cancer Cell has heard.

He dies with a smile on his face.

After it has ended, U-1146 picks his body body and carries it in his arms to the Spleen.

“Please bury him, Ms Macrophage.”

She looks at him with understanding and perception.

A knowing glance.

“You shouldn't become attached…”

“I know.”

He smiles ruefully.

[middlemistgrey]

I Talk To Myself And See Illusions Of Sanity

can also be found here.

[middlemistgrey]

The Fisherman And The Mermaid Who Could Not Sing

Summary: Impervious-to-mermaid-songs fisherman, Iishiro (U-1146), somehow falls for the clumsy, can’t-sing-to-save-her-life mermaid, Reimi (AE-3803).

Notes: Mermaid!AU, of course.

[All names are taken from @lunchtimerushin 's (kyun-yo on AO3) Tumblr post.]

_____________

Twenty year old Iishiro could never understand why his friend Reiichi said that mermaids were mysterious and rare. He also said they were only found in the deep seas.

He could not have been more wrong.

The sea was literally infested with them, their songs and their bright, red tails.

But Reiichi would not understand because he was a paddy farmer and the only fishtails he encountered were those of the small fishes whose eggs he dropped in the waters.

His friend could go on and on about how wonderful and terrible mermaids could be and how men could spend their whole lives looking for them. He didn't understand.

He didn't understand what it meant to be a fisherman.

He didn't understand the thrill of the catch.

He also didn't understand what it was like being stalked by a mermaid.

… .. .

It began like this:

It was the time just before the break of dawn and he had spread his nets in the seas. He had been lying in his boat fast asleep when a cry woke him up.

“Ouch!” A splash, then another cry. He rushed outside to see the cause of the commotion.

It was yet another one of those devious mermaids and it looked like she had been caught in his nets. He expected her to break into a haunting song any moment, but it never came. A shrill scream reached his ears instead.

“Free me!”

He looked at her struggling form; she had really short bright, red hair and a glimmering red tail.

“What are you doing near my nets?”

She grew still.

“Catching fish,” she murmured after a short while.

“Mermaids don't eat fish. That's preposterous.”

“Oh my lord, why do you humans think we are fish protectors? What do you think we eat, seagrass and sand?”

Now it was his turn to quieten down.

“Okay, I am coming to get you out of there,” he said instead.

Iishiro removed his jacket and jumped into the cool waters in his vest and pants. He swam up to her to have a close look at her tail. It shimmered under the water.

It took him half an hour to finally free her from the nets.

She said her thanks and disappeared.

… .. .

The next time he saw her, she had been trying her hair with a fork she found in the debris of a drowned ship.

“That's not what they are used for,” he said casually. “Here, have this.” He tossed her his own tortoise shell comb which he had found lying around in his boat.

Till this date, his defense for giving her the comb was that he could not handle her idiocity.

He learnt her name was Reimi that day.

Reimi.

It slipped like silk on his tongue.

… .. .

She popped up wherever he was fishing. Not that he minded — he was a lonely man at the end of the day and she loved to talk. She was the only mermaid he didn't mind, actually.

"I'm actually surprised,” he said one day.

She looked up at him from her spot in the backwaters beneath him, amber eyes wide and quizzical. She was fiddling with her short tangle of fiery red hair, trying in vain to comb them with the small tortoise-shell comb Iishiro had found in the his boat. She had accepted the gift enthusiastically and had spoken about it to every seagull she knew.

She paused in her efforts to give him her rapt attention, idly sticking the comb in her hair to keep it safe.

"Hm? About what?"

He shrugged, looking towards the cresting waves beating against the rocky coast. For some reason, he couldn't seem to look her in the eyes as he talked.

"You're the only mermaid who didn't try to sing to me when we met."

He continues when she doesn't answer. “Come to think of it, I have never heard you sing.”

“That's just silly, Iishiro. Of course, you have heard me sing.”

“Oh really? I don't remember what you sang when we first met. My memory seems to be a bit fuzzy.”

“Fine. Stop pestering me. I didn't sing, okay?” she said. “I didn't think it would be worth it.”

Frankly, he was a little stung by the comment, but he played it off with his familiar emotionless face.

“Well, thanks,” he deadpanned.

Reimi looked at him and her eyes were wide and panicked, sunkissed skin rosy with mortification. "No, that's not it!" She insisted, waving her hands frantically about. "I just didn't think it would work, is all! Not that you aren't worth it, I mean you are, like, who wouldn't want to—erm, what I'm trying to say is, well, what I mean is—"

"Spit it out already,” he snapped.

"I can't sing, okay?"

He blinked once, twice, three times, studied her frazzled expression in her amber eyes, the deep stain of sunburn that coloured her cheeks and shoulders, the slight pout of her lip. And then he snorted.

"It's not funny, you big jerk!" she shouted, splashing at him with the shallow water around her.

"The worst—" Iishiro smirked, holding up an arm to block her sprays. "You are a terrible mermaid. Honestly. What kind of mermaid doesn't know how to sing? Isn't that what mermaids do?"

"Shut up!" she wailed, splashing her tail in self-consciousness. Her thrashing made the pool shimmer with ripples, and he couldn't help but notice the way the sunlight caught on her scales. "I know that I'm a terrible mermaid, okay! That doesn't mean that you have to be a jerk about it."

He actually felt bad; Reimi looked genuinely upset by his teasing. And he realised suddenly how terrible it must actually be to be a mermaid who can't sing; she had explained many times how singing is how they find their mates.

"Come on," he offered with what he hoped sounded like sincerity, "It can't be that bad."

"Yes it can," she mumbled, sinking down to blow dejected bubbles in the water with her lips.

"Don't pout about it."

"I'm not pouting!" she shouted, whirling around and hurling the comb at his head. He dodged it easily and heard it land in a nearby pool. She grumbled something, drifting to the far side of her little backwater pool.

He sighed and walked to retrieve the comb; he knew she loved the thing far too much. Iishiro could feel her angry eyes on him. He bent down and vaguely registered the feel of the comb on his hand, when he heard her.

It was very soft and barely audible against the crashing waves of the sea, but he heard her, anyway.

“The sea is hot today, the city by the bay —”

She was absolutely dreadful.

“— has stars and dreams of rage —”

Awful.

“ — The rumbling from distant shores sends me to sleep…”

He walked towards her, crouched down to look at her as she peered shyly up from beneath her dampened curls of hair. Her eyes were shining, luminous and big and so, so amber. How on earth could there be such an amber?

"But the facts of life can make it hard to dream,” she finished meekly, warbling and horrendously off-key.

"That —” his throat was suddenly very dry. He gingerly took the comb and tucked it into her hair behind her ear to hold back the unruly strands. Her eyes were still watching him, still embarrassed, and still very, very amber, " — was terrible."

“You jerk!”

“But I never said I didn't like it.”

That night, as he went to rest in his quarters in the boat, he heard her singing again and just wondered the irony of how out of all the mermaid songs that he had heard, this was the one that finally got him.

[middlemistgrey]

Fic Recs

So, here I am, recommending fics for this nascent fandom. I am recommending things which I feel are really great and will leave a mark on your mind. Of course our baby, Erythrophil, is present here too.

Anyway, onto the list:

01. Death Gives Beauty by viridiansky

Neutrophil just wants to protect cells.

All cells.

He does the best he can.

Read this beautiful one-shot. Clocking close to a whopping 5000 words, this story is seriously worth the time. There are some serious spoilers for the manga, but nothing new for those who have read up to Chapter 25. The drama and angst between the main pairing is just so sweet, it will leave you crying.

02. Origins by thepineandthestar

I wonder if that boy from that day grew up to be a White Blood Cell.

It was a long time ago, I can't even remember his face.

Could it be...

No it can't be.

I mean... what are the odds?

Read for the backstory on Erythrophil. This has spoilers for Chapter 7 of the manga. You should read it because it's beautifully written and the interaction between our faves is awesome.

03. Hats off to You by Devin Trinidad

U-1146 manages to lose his hat when chasing after a bacterium. AE-3803 has no choice but to find him.

This is such a sweet story! Seriously. You'll leave with a smile and lots of warmth in your heart. You'll feel like you're reading something written by Shimizu herself.

04. Immune Response by Devin Trinidad

In which the neutrophils speculate a little about the supposed more-than-friendship-relationship between U-1146 and AE-3803.

READ FOR THE SQUAD. ENOUGH SAID.

05. Pink Blood by Skaapsteker

A white blood cell and a red blood cell have a short break together.

It. Was. The. First. Story. Pay. Homage. :3

[picture credits to the lovely @lunchtimerushin/@kyun-yo; taken with permission]

[middlemistgrey]

I Was An Angel

Summary:

“In the land of Gods and Monsters

I was an angel, living in the garden of evil

Screwed up, scared, doing anything that I needed

Shining like a fiery beacon

You got that medicine I need

Fame, liquor, love, give it to me slowly

Put your hands on my waist, do it softly

Me and God, we don’t get along…”

— Lana Del Rey, 'Gods And Monsters’

Author's Note: *Chants, “Elohim Essahim” repeatedly* Viridiansky’s fic was a great inspiration. Go check it out! It's called, 'Death Gives Beauty’.

I know this work is shorter than my other stories…

_______________

I Was An Angel

"It's better to be killed by a friend than someone I hate...see you later...you kind-hearted killer..."

Cancer Cell choked on his own cytosol as it gushed out of the cut in his neck.

The cut that he had caused…

Neutrophil U-1146 looked at his trembling, bloody hands.

… .. .

Was he going too soft, he wondered as he rested in his marginating pool. Feeling soft for an...abomination of all things?

Cancer Cell was insane in his search for an utopia. How could he expect to build an utopia if he and his army sucked the life out of everything?

There was no place for him in the scheme of things and it was U-1146’s duty to strike him down every time he came in their world.

But suddenly he didn't feel so sure.

… .. .

“You're a bundle of contradictions, White Blood Cell, walking a path already laid out for you. Everything seemingly going on swimmingly. And I have said this before.”

U-1146 couldn't find it in himself to respond to that statement.

“Goodbye, Cancer Cell,” he said instead, just before lunging at him.

… .. .

He lied before him, hopeless and weak and vengeful.

“Come to kill me again? Strike a friend down when he's weak?”

“Friend? We were never friends.”

“Oh, but we are. I can feel you struggling.”

Neutrophil U-1146 didn't waste any time in slitting his neck.

… .. .

He opened his shirt and looked at the pattern on his skin.

How had Cancer Cell known?

… .. .

NK Cell and Killer T were lying behind him defeated as he walked up to his enemy.

“This is becoming something of a routine, White Blood Cell.

But he wasn't listening to him.

“How had you known?” he almost whispered.

“We're friends, and friends have each other’s backs. Now come on, bid me goodbye already.”

He complied.

… .. .

“You...you aren't all right.”

Cancer Cell had found him out in his resting place. He caressed the vulnerable White Blood Cell’s cheek.

“I am sick. I know that.”

“What a tragedy. I was born this way and you were forced to undergo this way.”

A little while from there, a group of cells walked in a neat line, nearing them.

“I like you. It's a shame we are what we became.”

They were surrounding them now. White Blood Cell sat up immediately at the sight of them. He looked behind Cancer Cell and was about to open his mouth to say, 'Run for your life!” but then his...friend smiled an all too soft smile and said, “I know.”

They opened fire.

[middlemistgrey]

Sickled

Summary: One day, she was gone, just like the wind…

She was a breath of fresh air in his bloodthirsty life. She was a constant, and now, she was gone and nothing would ever be the same again.

U-1146 didn't know what to do.

One moment AE-3803 was there, smiling a soft, fragile smile from her wheelchair and the next moment, she was gone.

It was not fair.

… .. .

It wasn't the first Pneumonococcal infection, certainly not…but it was the first infection where he had met her. She had been bright-eyed and cheerful and oh so innocent. She was so full of energy.

When they had parted ways that day, he hadn't even heard her goodbye properly.

Does he regret that now?

Absolutely.

Why?

Because every moment with her was meant to be cherished.

… .. .

Denial.

She was not dead, not really.

Her clothes were still strewn around his marginating pool and he knew that the most prized possession of her uniform — her hat — was still tucked safely beneath his pillow.

Her wheel chair was lying in the corner and he could almost see her sitting on it, eating her junk of sugary snacks.

AE-3803 wasn't dead.

… .. .

He had caught her quite easily as she flew down in the depths of the abrasion. She had been so light and lifting her up had not been tiresome at all.

Had that been one of the signs that she was falling sick?

How could he have been so self-absorbed and...and…foolish?

… .. .

Anger.

Why did she choose to go to the Spleen so soon? It wasn't like that she was the only crippled Red Blood Cell out there…

Her senior was still alive, trying her best to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide with her wheelchair bound (dis)abilities.

Why did she have to go commit suicide?

Every Red Blood Cell was suffering; she had no right to end hers earlier!

He hadn't been the fool. She was.

… .. .

They were walking around, drinking barley tea when she fell down, spilling her drink all over the floor.

U-1146 was immediately by her side.

“Hey, are you alright?”

She smiled weakly. “I'm a dummy. Must have tripped…”

She fainted.

… .. .

Bargaining.

What if I devote the rest of my life to helping others. Then can I wake up and realize this has all been a bad dream?

What if I kicked her out of this world into another world? Would that have worked? Would smuggling her outside have worked?

He was getting lost in a maze of 'what ifs’. He just wanted life returned to what it once was; laughter and smiles with AE-3803.

If only, if only, if only…

Guilt was gnawing at him.

He began bargaining with the pain itself and he was certain that he could do anything to not feel the pain of losing his best friend and ray of light.

He was a prisoner of the past, reduced to trying to negotiate his way out of loss.

… .. .

“I want to see the outside today,” she said as she looked up towards the roof of the marginating pool from her fixed position on the wheelchair.

"The outside,” he echoed.

“Yeah. I know there's things beyond this world we live in.”

“And how do you plan to see outside?”

“We go to the eyes.”

It was a simple enough plan — take her to one of the thinnest capillaries.

For her sake, he was willing to go there.

“Okay.” He smiled.

… .. .

Depression.

He and his teammates were walking in absolute silence as they patrolled.

"You...all right?” U-2001 finally asked him.

He didn't reply.

“Of course you're not. Sorry. Of course you're not all right. You know what you should do? You should cry. Let go.”

U-1146 looked at him with dull eyes. “Of what?” he spoke after a moment.

“It was a terrible thing. Just a terrible, terrible thing,” U-2626 said. 

“It wasn't terrible.”

“Excuse me,1146?”

“It was boring.”

“Boring?”

“It was ordinary. Cells just kept walking with with their own businesses in mind. She was alive, and then she entered the Spleen and then she was dead and it was nothing. Like eating a bacteria.”

“She deserved better. And so did you.”

“I don't deserve anything. Nobody deserves anything.”

… .. .

They were in such a tiny space that he had to bend his back to fit in there. While he groaned in frustration, AE-3803 happily moved her wheelchair forward.

And then she saw blinding white light.

“Oh, we are here!”

He was happy that she was happy.

… .. .

She died the next day. Took her own life by entering the Spleen.

He couldn't even catch her. What use were his two legs if he could not even catch a wheelchair bound girl?

… .. .

Acceptance.

Everyone was going to die and that was the sad truth. The body couldn't function with all the Red Blood Cells being ill and disabled. That meant that he would die soon too.

For the time being though, living without her was going to be the new, permanent norm.

He kissed her gravestone and went off.

~DAS ENDE~

[First comes leukemia, then sickle cell anaemia. I am evil like that. Call me Dendrite.]