Chapter 23: I Am Loved
Kill her.
Kill her!
KILL! HER!
NT4201 wrapped her grimy hands around AE3803's neck. She could feel her fingers trembling at the thought of squeezing the life out of her senpai. It would be easy, so easy, like crushing a twig from Dendritic cell's tree. It would be swift, and it would only be painful for a few seconds before her senpai would cease to exist. It would be a fitting end for an unfaithful cell who chose the life of a worthless thrombocyte over hers.
All she needed to do was to squeeze her hands, microinch by microinch. She wouldn't even care if her senpai's neutrophil friend would end her soon after.
There was no more point in living, and if she was indeed doomed to die, at least she can drag her senpai with her.
And yet…
Her hands wouldn't close. She could feel them burning with all her hatred and repressed anger, but still, her hands refused to crush her senpai's neck.
In her crimson tinted vision, she could see her senpai's serene face, her eyes closed, and her chin slightly raised, leaving her neck completely bare.
If you really are evil, Kouhai-chan, then I offer you my neck… It is the least I could do to atone for my sins.
Her senpai's words echoed inside her head, filling her with even more rage.
Do not offer your neck to me! She screamed inside her mind. Why won't you resist?! Why won't you stop me?!
But her actual senpai said nothing, squatting motionless and defenseless in front of her.
Was she goading her to do it? Was she seriously underestimating her capacity for evil?
What are you waiting for? Kill her!
Kill her now and embrace your fate!
KILL HER!
"ENOUGH!" she shouted, pushing AE3803 away from her. "ENOUGH! ENOUGH! ENOUGH!"
She jerked herself up to her feet, but her legs felt weak, and she quickly fell down on all fours. Her vision started to blur, fogging the faint light coming from her senpai's cap light.
"I… I can't... " she balled her hands into tight fists. Tears kept falling down her cheeks. "I just can't do it..."
"Kouhai-chan?" AE3803 crawled toward her.
NT4201 looked up, revealing a face torn with the expressions of both anger and anguish.
"I can't kill you, senpai!" she croaked, her admission seemed to drain her on the inside. "I can't ki-"
But her next words never left her lips. Before she could continue, AE3803 wrapped her arms around her into a tight embrace. Startled, she tried to back away, but her senpai won't let her.
Her senpai's arms held her in place, and surprisingly, she felt warm.
The winds blowing inside the abyss were hot and humid, but they all felt cold compared to the warmth of her senpai's embrace. The voices in her head suddenly went quiet, and for the first time since she was turned into an abomination, she felt at peace.
"What... " she muttered, trying to force the words out of her mouth. "What have I done? What have I -shut up! Shut up!"
She shut her eyes closed and buried her head on AE3803's chest.
The dark voices in her head returned to scream at her to kill her senpai. They admonished her for being weak, for hesitating at the last moment. She was too close now. All she needed to do was to rip her senpai's throat, and her transformation as an infected would be complete.
Kill her now!
This is your chance!
KILL HER!
NO! She countered. I… I will not!
Then, on a softer tone, she thought. I will not. I… I cannot.
The voices retaliated with shrills of disgust.
You are weak!
You are nothing!
You are a failure! A FAILURE!
Every word they spat from the deep recesses of her mind felt like daggers slicing inside her head. It was painful, but this time she resisted.
Enough! I don't want to hear any more from any of you!
The voices hissed at the rebuke, but she won't relent.
I command you all to shut up and leave me alone!
You don't command us!
You are one of us!
You are a spawn of darkness!
You are infected!
You are damned!
"No," she muttered silently. "I am loved."
She closed her eyes even tighter. She thought she was already a lost cause, that she was already damned, but she was wrong.
There was someone in this cruel world that still cared for her.
"I will always be your senpai," she heard AE3803 whispering softly in her ear. "You are not unloved, Kouhai-chan. I'm here for you."
Slowly, NT4201 wrapped her hands around her senpai's shoulders and responded with her own tight embrace.
"I'm sorry!" she blurted, her voice cracking with emotion. "I was weak and got infected by that crazy macrophage, then my head was filled with voices that told me to kill you, so I could… I cou-"
She never got to finish her sentence as torrents of tears fell down her cheeks. She cried like she never cried before. She felt ashamed, she felt disgusted with herself. She was indeed weak for succumbing to the temptations of the dark voices.
"Senpai, I… I am a-"
"You are my kouhai, Kouhai-chan. You're not evil, you're not infected, you are and will always be my dearest kouhai. That will never change."
NT4201 slowly let her arms fall as she completely surrendered herself to her senpai's embrace.
"I'm sorry, Senpai," she sobbed. "Could… Could you forgive me?"
"There is nothing to forgive," AE3803 patted her on the back. "We're together now. That's all that matters."
"T-Thank you," she mewled. She could still hear the voices cursing at her, but they now sounded far and distant. She ignored. "Thank you for saving m-"
Her ears perked up. She opened her eyes as she once again pushed her senpai away.
She stood up and stared at the vast expanse of darkness behind her senpai's cap-light.
Her senpai's neutrophil friend also started to tense up as he too gazed at the direction of where she was looking.
A second later, the antigen sensor on top of the neutrophil's cap stood up, beeping its dire warning.
"Kouhai-chan?" AE3803 asked, still fazed from being shoved away. "What's go-"
NT4201 grabbed her senpai's arm, yanking her back to her feet.
"We must go," she told her as she turned her attention at her senpai's neutrophil friend. "We must go NOW!"
U1146 nodded. He then picked up the platelet girl tagging along with her senpai, placing her on top of his shoulder.
"What's going on?" her senpai asked, her face now full of fear and concern.
"Something's coming," the neutrophil told her. "No time to explain. It's bad."
The neutrophil then looked back at her with a grim expression. "We need to get to the outskirts of the liver. There must be some external vents that we can use to sneak back in."
The neutrophil then took out a dagger hidden on the side of his left boot and then offered it to her.
NT4201 grabbed the weapon as she nodded back to him. "Understood. Lead the way."
A/N:
And finally, this arc is completed or is mostly complete. It's been a learning experience for me writing Kouhai-chan. From a character that I was just there to be killed by Lady Si, to someone who's reunited with her beloved Senpai. Let's see what happens next. The team still needs to reach the liver all intact.
Speaking of which, what's Lady Macrophage doing right now?
P.S.
I'm glad I was able to publish this on a date that only comes once in 4 years. Happy Leap Day everyone! ^^
Revision History:
- Originally published on Feb. 29, 2020
