"Saibou no hanashi" - One Shot Collection

Said and done. Even after having been disintegrated and born again as a neutrophil with a different code, he was still remembering that young woman that had caused such a huge positive impact on him. And, of course, he was regretting the fact that he didn't have that pen anymore that he considered a gift, since she had never asked him to give it back. A smile appeared on his face, as he received his new task sheet. He was now an adult again, ready to leave the bone marrow. "I have enough time to find Sekkekkyuu," the neutrophil thought, taking his new stuff and sticking the velcro with his new number on his cap: 1117. A monocyte in a purple suit (a sign that he was male) extended a very familiar object into his direction. "Hey, Neutrophil. This is yours." Yes, it was his precious pen. "Thank you so much! But... how?" asked the white one with surprise. He wasn't able see the monocyte's face, but could swear that this strange sound coming from inside his mask was something very similar to a sigh. "I'm sorry, my boy. Maybe you don't remember, but I was there when you said goodbye to that girl, and, well, this is something one cannot forget so easily." "Oh, I see. But why are you apologizing?" "I kept the pen to give it to you after you have come back, but the body was experiencing a long period of stress, so your "rebirth" has been delayed. A lot of cells were "frozen" to give priority to the regeneration and maintenance of the vital organs..." the monocyte continued explaining, while carefully removing his helmet, revealing gray hair. Time had passed, he was already old... so this meant that... "She's... not there anymore?" asked the younger one, feeling fear for the very first time. Fear to hear that the only motive for him to have endured his training days was gone. Fear that all these times of him thinking of her face before going to sleep, in order to not forget her, had been in vain. "Oh, my boy, my boy. She is, she is. It's just that she started anew, just like you." The elder man sighed with melancholy, witnessing for the first time in his life how a neutrophil was trying to hold back his tears. "She has forgotten me, hasn't she?" asked the latter, squeezing the pen with both hands and struggling to not collapse. "You see, boy, the soul is something like a huge closet with a lot of room and space to store things. Of course, we sometimes put some of them into a more visible place, because we are using them more often: these are our memories. Others, in the meantime, are staying in the back, kept for another time, but still there, waiting to be put to use…" The older one's words started to comfort the younger one, who looked up and saw the gentle smile on the monocyte's face, like a grandpa giving advice to his grandson. "Perhaps you are the one who is in the back of her soul. Right now, she's still in the bone marrow, and I can't guarantee you anything, my boy, but maybe, just maybe… she could need a pen." "Thank you, Sir… Thank you so much!" exclaimed the neutrophil, shaking the other's hand as a sign of respect and gratitude, and turned around, adjusting his cap and ready to head to the erythroblasts. Erythroblasts are precursor cells of erythrocytes, which are also called red blood cells, in the erythropoiesis. But then he realized something that made him turn back to the elder monocyte. "By the way, Monocyte-san, how did you know that I…? And why are you helping me?" he asked, slightly embarrassed. The old man showed an amused smile and placed his hand on the neutrophil's shoulder. "Because one time I've been in a similar situation like you are now, and also because I wanted to help a young man in love before having to leave this world." The older one's words made the younger blush violently. There was no use in denying it, he had been caught even before having noticed it himself: he hadn't thought that this wonderful feeling he had could be something as beautiful and intangible as love. He was standing on the roof of the bell tower in sector 38-A of the bone marrow. The elder man had told him that the red blood cell in question was living there. The incredibly nervous white soldier tried to regulate his breathing and was feeling his hands sweat: the gloves didn't help much. "I wonder how small she is, I mean, I haven't asked in which age range she is right now. So stupid, I should have asked… Is she the same as before? And what should I do if she's still very young? That would look bad! I'd seem like a pervert, then! And how should I find her at all? Hm, maybe it was a bad idea to have come here," he thought nervously, while watching the children play. Until one girl in particular attracted his attention. She was wearing a red hat with the typical pompon: a sign that she wasn't able to leave the marrow yet, but judging by her looks, there were only a few days left until she would. "It's her…" He took off his cap, arranged his hair a bit and shook the dust from his clothes. Then he looked at his reflection in his knife's blade to make sure that he was presentable. "H-Hello, perhaps you don't remember me, but we knew each other in a past life… No, that sounds weird. "Hello Ae3803, it's me, 1116. Well, now 1117… No, no, too complicated. What should I tell her? How should I greet her? She has forgotten me, after all. And… what if she's afraid of me? Or is going to look at me with disgust like the others? No, not her, please…" He gulped, wondering whether it was better to approach her or to just let her continue her life without him. He sighed deeply. How cute she was, holding a book in her hands and looking for a shadowy place to sit down and read. "I better leave you in peace… Bye, Sekkekkyuu, it was a pleasure to have met you," he muttered very quietly, saluting with his cap, and was about to leave, but then he saw that another erythroblast had snatched the book from her hands. "Hey! This is mine!" she complained, but the boy just laughed at her, holding the book over his head, so she couldn't reach it. The neutrophil landed behind the annoying kid and took the book from him in front of everyone. "How scary, a leukocyte!" The bully fled at the sight of the white soldier's cold, disapproving gaze, and the other red blood cells around him also stepped away. Except for the young red-haired one, who was staring at him, baffled. He gulped and gave her the book. That look was hurting him, he knew it all too well: fear. "Well, I, I... I better get going." He turned around with a lump in his throat and feeling as though everything inside him was shattering like pieces of glass. "Wait!" He turned back in surprise, noticing that she had shyly grabbed his jacket sleeve. "Have we already met each other somewhere? Your face seems familiar to me." It was strange. He was feeling his face heat up, the same as during the conversation with the monocyte. Surely, he was blushing again. "You see... it's hard to explain. Perhaps you don't remember, but we knew each other before, and to speak the truth, I've come to, to... I..." "Hm?" "To return your pen!" The neutrophil gave her the object, almost trembling, doing everything in his might to stay serious and not seem ridiculously nervous in front of her. He noticed that she was shorter now, maybe because she was still so young: she was barely reaching his shoulders and had short and slightly disheveled hair, but the same shiny beautiful eyes. She was a teenager right now, and part of him was feeling bad for being an adult, but then again: she was so cute! "But I don't remember having lent you one. Was it really me?" the girl asked, looking at the object in her hands with curiosity. He just nodded. "Oh, it is mine, there's my code engraved on it. But I really don't remember..." She smiled at him, and he felt a tingling sensation running over his entire body. How he wanted to take her hands, hug her and never let her go! That was the best explanation of his feelings, 1117 could think of, but he loved it. He rubbed his neck, nervously averting his gaze. "By the way, thanks for getting back my book. What are you doing here, Mister Leukocyte?" "Ah, w-well, to be honest, I was, eh, I was, uhm... patrolling?" The girl tilted her head, not understanding whether it was a question or an affirmation, but it was enough for her. "Okay, then I won't waste any more of your time, Mister-" "You are not wasting my time!" The neutrophil slapped himself in the face for having answered like that, cleared his throat and thought about it for a few seconds. It was probably better to be honest. He pointed at a bench under a leafy tree and asked her to join him. She agreed, there was still some time until her break would end. He sighed before starting to narrate his story. Yes, he was nervous, but it was "all or nothing" now. "We knew each other in our previous life. You see, when a cell's lifespan ends, we get disintegrated in the spleen in order to retrieve everything useful for the body, and the rest is disposed of... Then, when the time is right, all the retrieved parts return to the bone marrow to generate a new cell, and..." He shot a sideways glance at the girl, who was listening to him. It was making him worry a bit, but he had to look "cool" in front of her, and not like the bundle of nerves he was right now. "...we got to know each other when my lifespan was about to end. To tell the truth, it's thanks to you that the world is a better place now, you taught us to work together as a team," he muttered with a shy smile, remembering how she had bravely forced them to make amends and transported them all to the kidney, getting there despite not knowing the route. "And well, we promised to see each other again, and here I am. Maybe you're finding it scary or really strange, but this is the truth, I swear." She tilted her head once again, blinking, as though trying to process what she had heard just now. He was still nervous: there was a huge possibility that she wouldn't believe him and leave. But anyway, what if she did? They had met already. What was supposed to happen next? "So, you came for me, Mister Leukocyte?" she asked so cutely that he was mentally begging for a cup of tea, due to having gulped so much that he was feeling dry inside. "Exactly." A more comfortable, sincere and wider smile appeared on the sweet teenager's face, which brought him a bit of relief. "Then thank you for keeping your promise, Mister Leukocyte. I'm sorry for not recognizing and remembering you, but if you went to the trouble of bringing me my pen, then it means that it's something important... Let's be friends!" That phrase was a blow to his solitary soul. "Sure! Let's be friends! Now we can, now we can become friends." The neutrophil was so happy, all the wait and the efforts had been worth it! So life wasn't that cruel and empty, after all... "Oh, shit. I have to work, I have to patrol the body. She could come along, oh no, she can't yet... the nucleus." And again he felt his happiness about to vanish, but not this time, today he won't let it happen. "Hey, look, I have to work, I have missions to fulfill, and they'll be throughout the whole body. I know that you can't leave yet because of your nucleus, but life is so short! Can I visit you?" That question took the girl by surprise, it was too sudden, too fast, but why not? They were friends now. "Yes... but my classmates are a bit..." "Judgy?" "I'd rather say stupid," she replied, laughing. "Alright, if it's after class, then it won't be a problem. It's nice to have a friend, I'm not really getting along with the other red blood cells, I'm a bit clumsy-" "You're perfect!" He covered his mouth with both hands. "I mean, you're not clumsy, there's nothing wrong with you... you're awesome. Hey, I'll finish my round, and then I'll come to you, okay?" "Okay." The neutrophil said goodbye by briefly waving his hand, and she waved back. Now he had a reason to do his job well, to take care of himself, to live.