U-2001 is too old for this.

If anyone were to ask him how the whole thing started, he would merely shrug, knock back a drink of barley tea, and sigh. He's not an old neutrophil, but he sure likes to stay away from the immature adventures his close colleagues like to embark on. Days for him, other than the occasional bacterium or a virus, pass by slowly while time seems to meander without much reason for worry. One would think that 2001 would have gone mad, or at the very least, bored without the lack of any activity.

That was simply not the case.

Most of the time.

"2001," U-1146 greeted casually. Like most neutrophils, 1146 was dressed in the standard uniform of a white blood cell, but he was covered head to toe in cytosol. The dark red shade contrasted starkly against the usual white color that it had 2001 recoiling in shock. Usually 1146 would have enough sense to clean himself up immediately after a mission before seeking out a friend.

2001 definitely was not expecting his colleague at all.

"1146," 2001 answered in kind. He raised a pale eyebrow, although it wasn't apparent due to his wearing of a hat. "What brings you to this marginating pool?"

Normally, 1146 would bring up a topic that could be easily answered, 2001 would offer some insight relative to the question, and they would sit in companionable silence. It was a habit that had originated back in their youth as myelocytes. Over the course of the maturation, they kept up with the tradition and it had benefited them both; for 2001, it offered a sense of companionship that he didn't always receive due to his aloof nature and as for 1146...well, 2001 hoped that his friend also received the same sense of security and friendship.

1146 seemed to frown under the visor of his hat before vaguely commenting on the state of affairs within the body.

2001, not sure how to take this unexpected turn of events, remarked that all systems within the body were doing well.

And, for a few minutes, that was that.

Until—

"The normal cells do a fine job of replicating copies of themselves," 1146 said casually. "I wonder what their lives must be like, to continuously make copies of themselves, train their copies their ways, and finally let them go. Wouldn't that make life seem so boring and fleeting?" 1146 paused before continuing. "But they also seem so close knit; they're always playing games with each other. It's admirable, honestly, given that they're usually the ones who are targeted under bacterial or viral infections."

1146 stopped. Clearly, it was the time for 2001 to say something—anything that could provide validation or add on to 1146's observation, but 2001 didn't know what to do with this information.

Normal cells? Replication? Having fun? What was his colleague insinuating?

Shrugging, 2001 murmured, "It's their job and their nature, regardless of how mundane or trivial it may seem. All cells serve purpose; you should know this. We protect and the others serve."

1146 hummed thoughtfully as he processed those words.

"And the red blood cells...carrying those packages of oxygen or carbon dioxide continuously with little to no breaks…"

Was it 2001, or was 1146 looking wistful?

"They're always running around, destination to destination with no end in sight. Do they ever truly stop? We white blood cells are permitted breaks here and there; bacterial invasions or infections are frequent, yes, but not to the point where we never stop."

"They're born to do that," 2001 shrugged as he relaxed against the vessel wall. "At the bone marrow, they're trained so that they could travel great distances without feeling tired." Really, what was 1146 getting at with this inane conversation? Truly, it was thought provoking to think about the occupations of other cells, but this was elementary. All myelocytes knew why certain progenitor cells differentiated to become monoblasts, erythroblasts, promegakaryocytes, and so on.

2001 happened to glance at 1146 at that moment.

His colleague appeared lost in thought; his eyes were furrowed and covered in shadow, his body was hunched over as he contemplated. His dead stare, which was typical of all neutrophils, seemed even more probing and blank than normal. Typical 1146 pose, atypical cause for it.

"Why are you so interested in the erythrocytes anyway?"

"Oh. I met one who kept getting lost recently. You probably saw her in that one abrasion incident."

"Hmm, yes. That incident was definitely scarring."

1146 stared deep into 2001's eyes and barked a short note of laughter. Gone was his look of contemplation; it was now replaced with his favorite companion of the neutrophil bunch.

Finally. A reaction that 2001 fully calculated and expected.

"Well, 1146, I think we should head back to work."

"Noted."

He was patrolling an area near the foot—probably the ankle if he remembered correctly—at a capillary. Here, the roads were thin and crowded with red blood cells busy delivering the oxygen to their designated recipients. As 2001 observed from a narrow passageway, he thought back to 1146's words from earlier.

From an objective standpoint, it made sense that immune cells were allowed to have breaks every once in a while. They expended incredible amounts of energy defeating bacteria; therefore, they needed time to regroup and refresh. On the other hand, red blood cells ran around all the time, but they were trained to endure. They could withstand resistance longer and were allowed to walk on their way back on the circuit back to the lungs. For practical reasons, it made sense; different jobs yielded different needs.

So deep in thought he was, that he was completely blindsided when he heard a sudden crash and several curses from a group of passing red blood cells. Even though this situation could have been handled by others, he casually strolled from his hiding spot to see if there was any trouble. It appeared that one red blood cell (one with brilliantly red hair befitting of her cell type) had mistakenly bumped into another red blood cell (this one not as ostentatiously colored or differentiated). The situation looked like the red blood cells could deal with affairs within their circle (the redhead was already apologizing and gathering up the boxes of oxygen) so 2001 merely shrugged and moved back.

For several minutes, 2001 contented himself with his thoughts while he passively observed the red blood cells and a few platelets walking or running to their destinations. One of those who were running was a red blood cell (the very same who was the inciting incident for that accidental crash) who walked past him. Nothing interesting.

Well that in itself wasn't interesting until he saw that the clumsy red blood cell had walked past him again.

And again.

And...again.

After seeing that the red haired erythrocyte had passed by his hiding spot twenty-two times in a span of fifteen minutes, 2001 decided to step in.

Literally.

On the twenty third attempt, the erythrocyte had neglected to tighten her shoelaces. The result was, and this should have been obvious, was halfway disheartening to any aspiring red blood cell.

The scene was halfway disheartening because 2001 didn't want any cells under his watch to end up getting hurt—even if it was her own undoing.

Due to his quick reflexes and ideal spot, 2001 managed to grab her by the back of her shoulders and righted her up in record timing. For a moment, her eyes were dazed and confused; her mouth gaped open in a shrill scream that had 2001 wincing because of the pitch and frequency. Heavens above, such a sound at such punishing decibels shouldn't have been possible. However, she quickly turned to him and began apologizing—all of which he managed to deflect with the proper "oh's" and "mm-hhms".

"—orry, Mr. Neutrophil! I didn't—I mean, I'm kind of clumsy and I'm still trying to learn all my routes and—"

2001 held up a hand, which immediately quieted the red blood cell.

"Turn left on the main road and go straight for 100 micrometers. There, you'll see a checkpoint that has a reliable map and plenty of red blood cells who could help you." After observing the package of carbon dioxide that the red blood cell was carrying in her arms, he immediately deduced that her next destination was for the lungs.

Gobsmacked, the erythrocyte looked from the main road to 2001 and back. Was she dreaming? Was another neutrophil helping her out? Were all immune cells this nice?

Gratefully, she bowed again and thanked him graciously. However, when there was no reply, she found that he was no longer there. A little confused, but still overly grateful, she saluted the deserted area and headed off the main road. For now, she was content that she was back on track.

She hoped that she would find that kind, aloof neutrophil again in the future.

U-2001 couldn't help but...soften at the sight of the red blood cell saluting and then leaving with a smile so bright, that it could rival that of Dendritic Cell's. It wasn't every day that 2001 managed to see such a happy smiling cell in person. It was rare that cells would approach him, rarer still to see one so willing to thank him for such a trivial action.

Was it a habit of red blood cells to be so emotional and helpful?

Or was it just a trait of this particular red blood cell?

Briefly entertained with this thought, 2001 idled away until he heard his transceiver inform him that help was needed elsewhere.

This time, it was 2001 who approached his friend 1146 in a marginating pool. After the usual greeting and pleasantries, they lapsed back into silence. Again, the atmosphere felt safe and companionable; a far cry from the heat of battle and the call of bloodlust. It was soothing and for once, 2001 relaxed and let his back touch the wall of the blood vessel, fully at ease and a micrometer away from taking a nap, germs be damned.

"Something good happened today," 1146 commented as he watched his colleague sag against the wall in uncharacteristic tiredness.

Not a question; it was an observation.

"Depends on perspective."

"Then let me rephrase, from your perspective, did something good happen?"

2001 could have said anything. He could have said that he had a quiet time patrolling the foot. He could have said that he spent his entire patrol philosophizing and that he came across some great discovery before it disappeared like plasma. He could have said that his day was relatively peaceful other than that allergen that happened to run amok. If this were any other day, he would have said any of the above, but for some odd reason, images of a sweet smiling red blood cell who looked so earnest and trusting made him want to-to—

"I stopped a red blood cell from tripping." 2001 stared resolutely forward—no, he wasn't avoiding his companion's eyes. "It was all in a good day's work, I suppose."

Even without looking at his right, 2001 knew that 1146 was staring disbelievingly at him. Looking back, 2001 knew that this was a weak way to explain the feelings that were circulating throughout his nucleus. But really, what could he say? It wasn't a particularly big achievement or anything worth remembering. Heck, the only reason he remembered the event was because it was jarring to be thanked so honestly and with such vigor.

"It's our job to help all cells, regardless of circumstances." 2001 tried to justify. " If it was a platelet, you would do the same. It's our job."

1146 hummed in assent.

2001 could hear an underlying current of sarcasm, but he didn't mind. After all, he technically wasn't lying.

After a while, they said their goodbyes and left the marginating pool together before going their separate ways. Like any other meeting with his fellow white blood cell, 2001 was left with a sense of...not exactly loneliness, but an awareness that once again, he was alone with only his thoughts to keep him company.

On most days he was quite all right with that.

Today...today, he felt too old, too tired to be alone.