Chapter 20: Intimacy
"Iiiiiiitttttttt'sssss usssselessssss," hissed the dying infected Natural Killer cell. "We wwwwwwillllll ttttttrrrrrriiiiuuuuummmmpppphhhh!"
NK had her pinned down to the ground with her sword plunging deep into the infected huntress' chest. She glared at her full of rage and hatred.
NK opened her mouth as if to respond but instead smashed her fist into her opponent's face, obliterating it into a slush of goo and nucleus matter.
As insisted by their master, both NK and MT detached themselves from their group, which continued to fight the archtraitor in the liver. At the same time, they race their way back to the Thymus HQ. Though she would prefer to journey alone, her burly partner would not have any of it, and so she begrudgingly accepted his company.
They moved with extreme haste, avoiding ongoing battles, or already compromised lymph nodes as much as possible. Many times they were forced to make detours, and many times they had to leave their fellow lymphocytes to their inevitable doom, knowing there was little they could do to change their fates.
The defense of Thymus HQ was far more valuable than the lives of any cells. It was of absolute importance to keep it from falling into the clutches of the enemy.
If the Thymus falls, then the forces of the immune system would also fall.
After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the upper levels of a vast cavern shaped like a dome that stretched as far as they could see. Below them, in the middle of this massive cave, was the Thymus base that consisted of the headquarters of the Immune System and the various training fields for the young thymocytes.
"You done with that?" her partner asked.
NK turned and saw MT drenched in the enemy's cytoplasm. Behind him lay his kill count, all eviscerated by his chainsword.
NK inhaled deeply before standing up. She then flicked her sword a couple of times, removing the cytoplasmic stains, before sheathing it in her scabbard.
"Yeah, I'm done."
"Good," MT nodded before extending his hand toward her.
NK stared at his extended hand for a long moment before fixing her gaze at him.
"What? You want me to shake your hand?"
MT rolled his eyes. "No, numbnuts. I'd like to borrow your sheathed sword if you please?"
NK narrowed her eyes with suspicion. Instinctively, she placed a hand on the hilt of Libertas. "What for?"
"I need that as a handle."
"Handle?" NK tilted her head to one side. "Handle for what?"
MT let out an exasperated sigh, somewhat annoyed by her constant questioning, while pointing at a wire hooked at the ceiling of the cavern that slid down to a watchtower situated near the entrance of the HQ below. "So, we could slide down the zip-line."
NK's lips formed a straight line.
"Are you dumb? Because that plan is really, really dumb," she said dryly. "Oh, and did I mentioned that it is dumb?"
The muscular Memory T Cell shot her an annoyed look. "I don't hear you coming up any helpful suggestions either, so just shut it."
"And I suppose you're just going to leave me here while you slide down to fight off Dendritic cell all alone?"
"Hah?" MT gave her a confused look. "Of course not! You're coming with me. Why would you even think I'm going alone?"
NK straightened up as she crossed her arms.
"Oh, I don't know… Maybe because you will have my sword, and you made your intention to slide down the line? Have you really thought this through?"
"Ok, look," MT let out an exasperated breath. "This is just like our training, but this time, I need you to hold on to me and never let go. We'll slide down, and hopefully, the enemy will just ignore us."
NK continued glaring daggers at him, but her face began to show signs of being flustered. "So, that will be a no."
Below them, the war to end all wars raged on. Explosions and the terrifying howls of the dead reverberated all across the cavern. The defenders of the Thymus fought desperately to stave off the massive invaders out, but there was no doubt it couldn't last for long.
MT gritted his teeth in frustration. "What in the Consciousness is your problem? I know you're not afraid of heights, so why do you not want to do this?"
She raised an eyebrow while pursing her lips. "Oh, I don't know genius… Can you guess?"
"I don't have time for this, NK!" MT snapped. His face flushed red with frustrated annoyance. "We don't have time for this! If you're upset with me using your precious sword as a handle, then I'm sorry, but it's the only way!"
"It's not that," she shook her head.
"Then what is it?!" he hissed. "You're driving me crazy, you damned inquisitor!"
Behind her closed lips, she clenched her teeth. His utter cluelessness of their situation infuriated her.
Doesn't he understand what he wanted her to do?
"You really are a dense idiot."
"And you've lost your Consciousness be damned senses!" he shot back. "All you have to do is to simply cling close to me while we slide down the line. What's so wrong with that?"
NK's eyes widened and immediately felt a rush of red cytoplasm flowing into her cheeks. She turned away from her partner, determined not to let him see both anger and embarrassment coloring her face.
"N-Nothing," she stammered.
"Then why won't you cling to…" his voice suddenly trailed off.
NK peeked over her shoulders and watched her burly partner getting flustered and blushing furiously.
About time you noticed you, oaf.
For a long moment, both stayed silent, not wanting to be the one to break it.
NK, for her part, couldn't shake off the thoughts of how embarrassing it would be for her to wrap her arms around MT as they slide down together. For starters, it would not look good on her as a lone huntress in such a vulnerable state, hanging for dear life on someone else's shoulders. But more than that, it would be embarrassing for both of them, who always butt their heads with each other, to be clinging so intimate as if they were a long time couple like Helper T and Regulatory.
She shook her head.
There was no time for this unnecessary distraction. She should not be hampered by her feelings, she should focus instead with her mission to eradicate her enemies from the face of this world.
"Uh, so… NK..." MT attempted to start. "It's not what you think… It's…"
NK turned and strode toward MT until their noses almost touched. She glared at him with piercing eyes, but her face was still blushing crimson.
To MT's credit, he held his ground. Still, his eyes darted up, down, left, right, trying desperately to look anywhere other than in front.
Before he could speak, NK wrapped her arms around his neck while she locked her legs around his.
"There. You happy?" NK exclaimed, her expression still torn with embarrassment.
"I uh… I guess this…"
"Just take my sword and use it as a handle!" she snapped.
"Right," he nodded, still avoiding her gaze.
Without speaking another word, he turned to face toward the opening of the cavern, with NK still clinging onto him. NK blushed another shade of crimson as she realized she appeared overly eager getting attached to him. Fortunately, MT seemed not to mind as he kept quiet while unstrapping Libertas from her sword belt and proceeded to hoist it on top of the zip-line.
He grabbed the sword's scabbard on both ends, making it an improvised zip-line handle.
NK, for her part, kept glancing at his face before reflexively looking away. She fought off any feelings of embarrassment as she always reminded herself of her duty.
And yet, she couldn't help but feel a sense of security embracing MT. The touch of his firm collar bones and her cheeks brushing off his rugged face somehow made her feel assured and safe.
Although they fight at almost every turn, she knew she could count on him to watch her back.
Of course, she would never admit that in front of him.
"So uh, ready, NK?"
She could feel him tightening his grip on her sword as she tightened her arms around his neck.
"Yeah. Let's get this over with."
MT nodded before stepping off the cavern's edge.
A/N:
I'm back! It's been quite a while since I posted an update on this story. Apologies, but being the project manager of a project with a tight deadline is sometimes just too stressful to do any of my personal passions. The project was successfully released last November so I have some time now to write back.
Anyways, this chapter is rather short since it just features our two tsun-tsun couples, but I had a blast writing this chapter especially with NK getting all embarrassed when an ultra-dense MT asked her to cling to him. I'm very excited to write more about these two since now they finally arrived in the Thymus HQ.
The next chapter is another chapter that is not part of my original story beat. For months now I wanted to write a scene about the senile neurons in the brain but just couldn't find a slot where I could insert it. Well, it seems next chapter is a good time to showcase the neurons and what they do in the brain.
Lastly, Merry Christmas everyone!
Revision History:
- Originally published on Dec. 25, 2019
