"Atsu shiiiii! " Naomi quickly envelops Atsushi in a tight hug as soon as they get back to the dorms. He still feels dazed after getting away from the scene; Tanizaki had immediately come to pick him up after hearing what happened, even pushing away the Killer T Cell that had been questioning him about the creature's whereabouts. The whole body had been placed on red alert since that afternoon; apparently, the remaining stragglers had managed to escape the Neutrophils' initial attack efforts.

"You probably shouldn't go to work tomorrow," Tanizaki says later over dinner, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "Just call in sick. I'll tell the boss for you."

"N-No, I'm fine," Atsushi manages to find his voice, "these things do happen on the job. I'm prepared."

"The hell you are!" Naomi slams a hand on the table, almost spilling her miso soup. "Pneumococci are really dangerous! Pneumonia's just the beginning; they can also cause severe bacteremia and worse, meningitis! You're not going anywhere! Nii-sama, too!" She directs her glare to Tanizaki, as well, who does not protest his sister's outburst, but remains frustrated nonetheless.

Later that night, Atsushi remains wide awake while in bed, his mind replaying the day's events. He wouldn't describe himself as some sort of hero at all. Those would be the immune cells, the body's own elite military force that defended against attacks from harmful pathogens. Unlike him, they are fully trained to detect and annihilate any and all threats that come their way. It's just how their world works.

Even so, Atsushi knew he could not just stand back and watch a helpless cell die. Just like back then—

"Do you really want to die that quickly?!"

That... Neutrophil, Akutagawa. If he hadn't arrived on time, Atsushi would have probably been killed right there and then. Everything happened so quickly— the way his coat fluttered in the acrid air, and the swiftness with which he wielded his knife... It was like watching a dance of death, the blood splatter extending like a flurry of red petals.

"Like a blood knight," Atsushi mumbles to himself. Even he has heard of the rumors of the "Rabid Dog" that had joined the Neutrophil Division a few months ago, around the same time as when he started to work as a Red Blood Cell. To think that he'd been saved by that very person just this afternoon— what were the chances, indeed.

It was all too familiar to him, for some reason— something, back in the recesses of his memory, that he couldn't recall, no matter how hard he tried.

Atsushi immediately stops that line of thought, sensing a headache coming on. He turns to his side and closes his eyes, thinking of how to spend his break tomorrow. He doesn't want to worry Tanizaki and Naomi any more than he already has. Time to move on.

The riverbank is quiet in the early morning, with only a few red blood cells milling about with crates of gas tanks. It seems that the body hasn't woken yet from its slumber, lending to the more relaxed overall atmosphere.

It is actually one of Atsushi's most favorite times of the day, starting from back when he worked the night shift for a few months. The slower pace had given him more time to think and learn things.

Today, too, he is seated in his usual spot, notebook and pen in hand. He has forgone the red jacket for a pale, brown cardigan, over an old white shirt and black jogging pants. The gentle upwind caresses his face as he watches the sun rise.

Atsushi flips to the most recent page and begins to write. It had begun as a coping mechanism of sorts; Ozaki-sensei had taught him how to deal with his old nightmares in this manner. The first entries have been rigid and restrained, then have eventually grown more detailed as he learned to let his words flow more naturally. It had certainly been a long time since he'd had to use his notebook, but now is probably as good a time as any to start again.

He is already three-quarters into the entry when an angry baritone intones from behind, "What are you doing here? Somatic cells are not allowed to leave their homes until further notice."

Atsushi immediately turns around to explain, and is again met with those jet-black irises, this time flashing in mild annoyance. Likewise, the scowl on the other man's face is replaced with brief surprise, before settling into an amused smile.

"Oh, it's you," they both say in unison. Atsushi follows this up with a smile of his own, eliciting a raised eyebrow in response.

For someone who has apparently been patrolling all night, Akutagawa doesn't look any worse for wear at all, the additional blood splatter on his dirty fatigues notwithstanding. His posture remains taut even as he uncrosses his arms, in what Atsushi presumes is an attempt to diffuse the tension between them. He lets out a small chuckle at this before he could stop himself.

"What's so funny?" Akutagawa growls at him. It makes the couple of red blood cells nearby flinch, but Atsushi only laughs harder instead.

"N-Nothing at all," he says while wiping a tear with his gloved hand. "I just didn't expect you to react the way you did just now." The explanation does not convince Akutagawa at all, whose expression is currently something between a grimace and a frown, as he tries to process what he has just heard.

Atsushi finds it unexpectedly endearing, and his heart almost skips a beat at the thought.

The sun has just fully risen, and the background chatter gradually becomes louder as more blood cells arrive in the area. It sets Akutagawa on edge once more, and he quickly turns to leave, taking much larger strides than usual.

"Akutagawa-san," Atsushi calls out to him, stopping him in his tracks. Akutagawa whips his head back, tired eyes in a dead-set glare once more. "I'm actually on break today," Atsushi continues anyway, carefully standing back up and dusting the grass that stuck to his pants, before jogging lightly towards Akutagawa. "Can I walk with you, at least part of the way?"

Akutagawa's glare only deepens, as he gives Atsushi a quick once-over from head to toe. He doesn't say anything for a while at first, the silence between them making Atsushi's skin prickle. Finally, Akutagawa's face relaxes into a more neutral expression as he turns back to continue on his path.

He doesn't say no, at least, Atsushi thinks as he falls into step beside Akutagawa. This is fine for now.

The continuation of Akutagawa's foot patrol brings them to a puncture wound at the right median cubital vein, where a blood sample had just been drawn earlier. Atsushi notices a small group of platelets there, repairing the damage to the vascular endothelium there. A relatively simple job order like this would only take twenty-four hours, tops, yet Akutagawa observes the goings-on with an ominous frown.

He's just normally like that, Atsushi tries to convince himself, but the longer he thinks about it, the more he starts to believe Akutagawa, as well.

"Big Brother Red Blood Cell?" a tentative voice calls from behind him, and Atsushi whirls around in surprise. The platelet he had saved yesterday shyly waves back at him, with an excited grin that reaches up to their ears. "It is you!" they confirm in delight, immediately running closer to him for a hug.

Atsushi bends down to the child's height and accepts the small embrace, giving them a gentle pat on the head before adjusting their lopsided cap. "Hello there! Glad to see you're doing well."

The platelet nods enthusiastically, gesturing to the ongoing construction work behind them. "Yup, all thanks to you, Big Brother and the Big Brother White Blood Cell!" Atsushi instinctively looks behind him, just in time to see Akutagawa flinch at the mention, a pale hand over his face as he looks away, trying to suppress the rosy flush that is now growing there. "I… was just doing my job," he deflects, as if to ask the child to just go away and get back to work, as it were.

Atsushi nearly snorts at this, but resists that temptation in favor of telling the child just that. "I think your team leader's calling for you," he says, gesturing to the taller, dark-haired girl in twintails now approaching them. She gives Atsushi a hesitant smile, bending down, too, to tap the child on both shoulders.

"Thank you for saving one of my teammates," she nods her head as if in a bow, the mobile phone hanging around her neck bobbing with the action. "All of us platelets appreciate your bravery, good sirs."

"You're welcome," Atsushi smiles back, now feeling the same embarrassment Akutagawa is trying hard to suppress since earlier. He settles for putting a hand behind his head to show just that, and the girl understands at once, taking the child by their hand before standing up to leave.

"Do let us know if there is anything you need in the future," she offers. "I'm Kyouka, one of the platelet team leaders, and this is Q."

"All right, Kyouka, Q," Atsushi acknowledges with another nod. "It was nice meeting you both."

"Likewise. We must get going now, good sirs."

The short meeting ends soon after, and Atsushi turns back to Akutagawa, who has now lost the pink blush on his cheeks, yet remains in silent contemplation. "Thanks for waiting, Akutagawa-san. Where are you going next?"

Akutagawa does not answer this, and the strange foreboding from earlier creeps back, sending slow chills down Atsushi's spine. The body had blood drawn just recently; was there any reason for that?

He then remembers that the red alert warning, too, hasn't been lifted. It makes him hesitate— was he holding Akutagawa back?

"A-Akutagawa-san?..." Atsushi begins again tentatively, but is taken aback when Akutagawa's radar suddenly picks up a distant signal, and he suddenly runs back in the direction they came. Atsushi is only briefly stunned by the sudden start, before he, too, starts running.

He catches up to Akutagawa before long, barely sparing him a glance as he asks, "I-Isn't this already the axillary vein? What's going on?"

Akutagawa's radar only buzzes louder in response, and they both pick up the pace. They reach a minor valve, which Akutagawa expertly jumps over, while Atsushi is momentarily thrown off as he attempts to clamber over it. He could normally pass through the venous valves if he were wearing his uniform and ID, but this just had to happen while he's off-duty, of all days.

In that short instant, the distance between him and Akutagawa has already increased exponentially, and Atsushi shouts in his loudest voice: "Wait for me!"

Akutagawa's shoulders tense up even more, but he doesn't stop running. "You stay there, Red Blood Cell! It's not safe!"

You'll only hold me back, is what Atsushi hears, and it frustrates him so much— the tail-end of Akutagawa's last words, the mechanical beeping of the valve alarm, and the soft, angry growls rising from his chest as they end in a cry of frustration out of his trembling lips.

"Red blood cells run from bacteria, not fight them!"

He knew that— knows that. This was never his fight to begin with.

Atsushi returns to the dorms, dejected, and buries himself under the covers. The area-wide sirens from outside wail loudly, announcing evacuation orders, but he couldn't care less about that now.

There's no point, after all— there was never one, for him.