Work Text:
It was a new day, or perhaps felt like it in any case. A possible new day for this body, though it was becoming dimmer than what Red Blood Cell remembered. Perhaps this body was going to become sick again; but no matter, there wasn’t anything to worry about.
It had been peaceful these last few days, but Red Blood Cell didn’t voice this aloud. She was going to make this delivery without any hiccups. Even the strongest pathogen would stall when they noticed her determined aura. At least, she hoped so.
Red Blood Cell spotted her senpai on one of the bridges and called out, happily running with her cart.
“Careful with that,” her senpai warned, “Don’t let it fly away!”
“Sorry,” Red Blood Cell said sheepishly. “Did you finish a delivery, senpai?”
“Ah, yeah,” her senpai replied. “Where are you going right now?”
Red Blood Cell fumbled with her map and showed the location she was supposed to deliver the nutrients. Her senpai nodded approvingly.
“You’re actually going in the right direction. You’ve come a long way.” Her voice sounded strange to Red Blood Cell.
“You should get some tea, for working so hard,” Red Blood Cell said.
“Right. Right, I’ll do that,” her senpai said. She clapped Red Blood Cell on the shoulder. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thank you for your hard work!” Red Blood Cell waved as she ran with the cart, reenergized by the praise.
The apartment for the delivery was in sight a while later, and Red Blood Cell breathed a sigh of relief. She only struggled with the right number, but the nutrients were delivered, and she happily went on with her empty cart.
She kept her eyes on the road in front of her, wondering where her next delivery would take her, when something felt wrong. She waited for the next germ to pop out of the ground and attempt to swipe at her, but nothing appeared. Red Blood Cell couldn’t shake this unease, and she realized what was causing this sickly worry.
The light was definitely getting dimmer, but she only stopped with a voice, reserved only for emergencies, called out, “Our work has concluded, thank you for your hard work.”
Red Blood Cell looked all around, seeing the other confused cells, and the signs that normally said where to go only scrolled out, “THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK.”
“What’s going on?” Red Blood Cell asked, a waver in her voice. She waited for a pathogen to appear, and then when it was done away with everything would go back to normal.
“Red Blood Cell,” a familiar voice said. She felt her panic evaporate and turned around.
“White Blood Cell,” she said in turn, relieved. “Thank goodness. Do you know what germ is causing trouble?”
“This is no germ,” he replied. “This body is dying.”
“What? But why?! There’s nothing wrong here!”
“It’s just… It’s the cultivation of our entire work,” White Blood Cell replied. “That we worked so hard that this body could die of old age.”
“Old age…” This was a term that Red Blood Cell knew but it seemed so far away, that other worries took precedence over this possibility.
Now there was the worry that they were all to die; but, as Red Blood Cell thought of the terrifying demises by pathogens this particular route for death was at least peaceful.
“Do you have any regrets?” White Blood Cell asked, breaking her out of her train of thought.
There was sorrow for the cells out there in this body that would never mature, never grow into what they were made for. There was sorrow for this body, something that provided the cells and the cells provided for; the sharp sorrow that she would never see her senpai again, and the relief that they parted on happy terms.
Red Blood Cell could see the others, other red blood cells that played with the platelets in these final moments, regular cells that were in no danger of pathogens. There was no panic or fear.
“No regrets,” Red Blood Cell said.
“I feel the same way.”
Red Blood Cell smiled and stuck out her hand in front of her.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
White Blood Cell took her hand and shook it; then unexpectedly pulled her into a hug.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Red Blood Cell’s last wish was that every cell in every body could experience this calm happiness in the end.