In the liver, the cells were enjoying themselves at karaoke.
"Kami-sama arigatou!
Unmei no itazura demo!"
U-4989 was having the time of his life singing a very upbeat song at the top of his lungs. The lyrics were from the perspective of a girl with a crush, much to the group's amusement. According to the karaoke machine, the title of the song was called "Renai Circulation."
AE-3803 clapped and cheered for her friend as he passionately finished the song.
"Demo sonnan ja dame,
Mou sonnan ja hora!
Kokoro wa shinka suru yo
Motto, motto!
Sou sonnan ja ya da,
Nee sonnan ja mada!
Watashi no koto mitete ne
Zutto zutto!"
U-4989 finished the song by posing with two fingers extended in a "peace" sign over his eye. The group laughed and cheered, applauding his performance.
U-4989 always was the most outgoing, thought 1146. Even when they were myelocytes, 4989 always liked to have fun. He didn't care what other people thought of this fun, from fellow myelocytes saying that he's too silly to neutrophil teachers taking away his improvised weapons; nothing ever seemed to get the fluffy-haired neutrophil down.
U-1146 was pleasantly surprised by the fun he was having. Once they got past the first song, it was actually a lot of fun taking turns singing with his friends. AE kept picking very cute, upbeat songs, 2626 and 2048 picked very fast, adrenaline-pumping songs, and 4989 consistently picked the funniest songs. Either the songs themselves were funny, or the fact that 4989 was singing them was funny.
After all, a grown man dressed in a police uniform with knives strapped to his legs singing a cutesy song from the perspective of a lovesick schoolgirl trying to work up the courage to confess her feelings was quite an unusual sight.
He looked around the room. NT had slinked away unnoticed a while ago without singing anything. AA sat laughing with the others, occasionally sipping on her enzymes and making a face at the taste. Once 4989 sat down, she didn't get up to sing, a fact that made 1146 glad. For every song she performed, she was offbeat and tone-deaf, and her voice reminded 1146 more of knives scraping against metal than anything resembling singing. Fortunately, she didn't get up to sing very often.
AE was laughing with 4989, clearly having enjoyed his performance. U-1146 grinned a little at the sight. He saw AE smiling wide, filled with enthusiasm, and the sight made him happy too.
He noticed her clothes for the millionth time that night. He only ever saw her in her erythrocyte uniform: a red jacket over a black t-shirt and a floppy red cap. The only time he could remember not seeing her in uniform was when the body was suffering from heat stroke. Almost all of the red blood cells took off their jackets and caps that day, and some even took off their shirts. When he ran into AE, she had her jacket tied around her waist, her cap tucked away, and the sleeves of her black t-shirt rolled up to the shoulders. She had even put away the white gloves that red blood cells almost always wore.
U-1146 wasn't paying much attention at the moment, since he was suffering from the intense heat and trying to pursue a germ as well, on top of trying to keep his friends cool. It was only after the mysterious rain came from the sky and he killed the germ that he noticed AE's clothes, while they were resting together on a bench.
AE's current outfit wasn't much different than what she wore that day. Like always, she wore denim shorts, black socks, and red sneakers. The shirt she was wearing didn't reveal much more than she did during the heat stroke, when she rolled her sleeves up.
Still, 1146 found it hard to look away from her. He always thought she was beautiful, but there was something captivating about seeing her in clothes she did not normally wear. The shirt's red and white stripes complemented her red hair very nicely. The neckline was wide, but not deep. The shirt kept her covered while revealing her shoulders, bare except for the black bra straps coming from underneath the shirt.
U-1146 often blushed whenever he thought about AE's appearance during the heat stroke, and he blushed now as well. She was the same AE, the same red blood cell he knew and loved. It wasn't even like she was wearing a revealing shirt. So why did showing a little shoulder make his mitochondria dance like this? He tugged at the bill of his cap down and looked at the ground.
Get ahold of yourself, he thought. Of course AE is beautiful. Everything about her is. Her passion for work, her innocence. Her warm, brown eyes. That cute little curl that just won't stay down. Her soft membrane. The way her shoulders-
He shook his head, trying to shake the thought away. He didn't know why he felt so strange noticing these things, but he did. He glanced at AE again. She was still as beautiful as she was the last time he looked, and once again he found his gaze drawn to her thin, pale shoulders, as well as her collarbone. He looked away quickly. Was he being weird?
As he tried to think of something else, 1146 noticed that no one was singing. Looking around the room again, he could see that everyone was sitting down, and the screen on the wall was playing a random song. He sat up straighter.
"If everyone's done singing, should we go back out? I think we might want to look out for NT."
AE looked up. "Kouhai-chan! I hope… she's alright, I don' wunn'er to get lost!" she slurred.
"She seems like a capable red blood cell, I'm sure she'll be fine," said 2048.
AE's face dropped. "Yeah… she's… she's the best! The best… best red blood cell 'round… better'n me, I can't… I can't do anything right…" Her eyes brimmed with tears.
U-1146 walked over to where she was sitting, crouched down, and enveloped her in a hug. "Don't say that. Just because you have trouble sometimes, doesn't make you a bad red blood cell. If anything, the fact that you keep going even when you have problems makes you a great red blood cell!"
AE looked up at him. "Really?"
"Really."
AA-5100 stood up from the couch and stretched.
"I wanna dance! Lessgo!"
She wobbled out of the karaoke room, leaving her half-empty enzymes behind. U-4989 picked it up and followed her out.
"Yo! AA-chan! You left your enzymes!" As he left, the other two neutrophils followed behind.
U-1146 looked at the small table, where AE's enzymes sat. She hadn't even drunk half.
He sighed. Releasing AE from the hug, he picked up the glass and gave it to her, sitting down on the couch next to her.
"Sekkekkyū, you're going to need to drink your enzymes."
AE shook her head. "No! I don't wanna! Yucky!"
U-1146 didn't want to play the "bad guy," but he knew AE needed to drink the enzymes. "Come on, Sekkekkyū-san. Please drink just a little more. For me?"
He looked her in the eyes, and her lip trembled. They were silent for a moment. Then, she sighed.
"M'kay. For you."
AE took the cup in her hands and slugged it back, catching 1149 by surprise. She chugged the glass, finally slamming it onto her lap when she finished.
"Ugh. Blecky," she said.
U-1146 blinked. He only wanted AE to drink a little more, so that she could finish over the course of her time at the liver. He did not expect her to finish it all in one go.
AE leaned over and flopped against the neutrophil's chest, interrupting his thoughts. She snuggled against him, an adorable little smile on her face.
"Love ya, Hokkinkko-san."
U-1146 wrapped his arms around her and smiled. They slowly stood up together, AE still holding onto 1146 and leaning on him for support. He placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"Love you too, Sekkekkyū-san."
0-0-0
As more alcohol came into the bloodstream, more erythrocytes headed towards the liver. Many carried nutrient baskets, made from the freshly digested food that the body had consumed recently.
The red blood cells didn't notice the extra passengers in their baskets. Since they lacked nuclei, erythrocytes could not be infected by viruses. If any did notice the hitchhikers in their baskets, they thought the strange, multifaceted orange objects were just some weird new nutrient.
As the red blood cells came to the various places in the liver, they left their nutrient deliveries at the door. All throughout the journey, the viruses infected other cells, especially hepatocytes. Although they looked like multi-sided dice while in the baskets or floating around, the viruses were very good at hiding when infecting cells. They didn't attach to the head, but instead they attached at the base of the neck and basically unfolded underneath the newly infected cell's clothes, effectively hiding themselves from the Kupffer Cells all over the liver.
Unfortunately for the body, the liver was just the place for these viruses to thrive. The red blood cells had unwittingly brought the viruses to the very place they would do the most damage.
At the moment, though, they didn't know that. They just put down their deliveries and entered the liver to detox, many of them looking forward to dancing or singing karaoke.
0-0-0
U-2626 dropped into a seat at the table where U-2048 was sitting. He was completely worn out.
"Woo! AA-5100 sure can dance!" he said to U-2048.
"Yep. I never knew she could be so laid-back!" 2048 replied. "There's a lot of cuties on the dance floor."
U-2626 took a drink from a glass of water, before looking over to his colleague.
"I didn't realize you had a thing for red blood cells!"
U-2048 shrugged. "I guess 1146 and 4989 have been rubbing off on me. Besides, no sense in denying that there is beauty to be found in a great many cells."
"Now that you mention him, I wonder where 4989 is," said 2626, looking around.
"He slipped out about fifteen minutes ago, then he came back. He's with that auburn-haired red blood cell again. Her designation is AC-4293, I think. To your right, five tables over."
U-2626 looked over in the direction 2048 pointed out, and saw his fluffy-haired friend indeed was sitting at a table with an auburn-haired erythrocyte. She wore a black t-shirt and denim shorts, and she looked like she was sleeping on his chest.
Grinning, 2626 looked back at 2048. "Looks like he's occupied."
AA wobbled into the table they were sitting at, nearly spilling their water.
"Whoa!"
"Hey boyyyys, y'aren't done dancing yet, hmm?" AA slurred. "S'juss 'm feelin' soooo lonelyyyy…"
"There's literally tons of red blood cells on the dance floor," 2626 pointed out.
"But none as cute. As. You!" she said, booping him on the nose.
Immediately, 2626's face flushed a bright pink. 2048 chuckled.
"Whassat? Don't worry, there'sss… enough to share…" AA said to 2048, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
U-2048 grinned. He looked over at a frowning 2626. 2048 couldn't see his eyes, but something told him that 2626 was not happy that he had to share the attention.
Suddenly, a male erythrocyte approached. He staggered up to the table, unsteady on his own two feet.
"Heyyyyy… these, uh, these neutrophils're botherin' you?"
"A bit, they never said yes to dancing with meeee!"
The male erythrocyte looked at her. "Well, tha'ss not nice! -hic!- Why doncha… dance with me, hm?"
"Sure! Lessgo!"
AA grabbed the male erythrocyte's hand, and together, they were off.
"Wow," 2626 said. "That was… something."
"Something tells me she's a little bit of an extrovert," 2048 said, turning his attention back to his water. He looked up, and froze.
"Uh-oh, looks like we got trouble."
"What?" 2626 turned around to where 2048 was looking.
The Killer T Cells had arrived.
0-0-0
"Alright, keep yer eyes open. We're on high alert!" the blond-haired Memory T Cell commanded.
"YES SQUAD LEADER!"
The two neutrophils made their way over to the Killer T Squad. "Is there a problem here, Killer T?"
"Hey! Don't you see my hat?! It's Memory T to you!" shouted Memory T.
"Sorry about that, I forgot," said U-2626.
U-2048 looked askance at him. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"Is what supposed to be a joke?"
"You know what, never mind." U-2048 turned back to Memory T. "What's going on here?"
"If you weren't so busy chumming it up with non-immune cells, you would have known!" shouted Memory T.
"Excuse you, we were looking out for the safety of our fellow cells!" 2626 shouted.
"You're killers! Not platelets! If you really want to look out for your fellow cells, look out for germs that'll infect them!"
"Speaking of which, where are the germs? You guys don't come out unless you get orders," 2048 interjected.
"Haven't you been paying attention? The whole body's on high alert for germ activity!"
At that moment, a call came in from the Killer T Squad's radios.
"All units, please return to base. This was a false alarm. I repeat, a false alarm. All units, please return to base. This was a false alarm…"
Memory T narrowed his eyes and looked at the two neutrophils before him. He growled menacingly.
The neutrophils, meanwhile, didn't look at him, but at NT-4201, who was returning from the bar with another glass of enzymes and some water. Memory T had his back to her, and the multitude of Killer T Cells blocked her path.
"Don't think this means anything, you two…" Memory T said, pointing at 2048 and 2626.
"Excuse me," NT croaked from behind him. Her voice was hoarse, and Memory T didn't hear.
"You always gotta be looking out. You never know when a germ will attack!"
"Excuse me," NT croaked again, a little louder.
"So you better quit chumming it up with non-immune cells, and focus on doing your job! I'm sick of - EEEEEEEEEEE!"
Memory T collapsed to the ground, squealing like a tea kettle, hands over his crotch. The erythrocyte that had kicked him swerved around his curled-up form, glaring at him murderously.
"'S not nice to ignore people when they say 'SCUSE ME!" slurred NT.
The other Killer T Cells glared in shock. Of course, red blood cells were incapable of defending themselves against germs, but she hadn't been defending herself. She had kicked him from behind in a very… sensitive area. Memory T would be fine, but that didn't stop every male onlooker from inhaling sharply at the sight.
U-2626 knelt down over the defeated Memory T Cell. "What was that about 'always being on high alert?'"
0-0-0
"Damn it. Damn it. DAMMIT!" shouted a neuron in the Memory Division. She smacked the keyboard of her computer frantically.
"What's wrong?" asked a passing astrocyte.
The neuron said nothing. She turned the computer monitor to the astrocyte, showing an almost completely blank blue screen. In the very center, small white characters gave an extremely unhelpful error message.
:(
This device has encountered a problem.
"It appears your computer has encountered a problem," the astrocyte said, smirking.
"No shit! It couldn't at least give any troubleshooting instructions? Any suggestions? Any hint of what to do? How the hell am I supposed to save important information if my computer decides to be an unhelpful piece of shit!" The neuron slammed the keyboard onto the desk.
"Please, tell me how you really feel about this," sighed the astrocyte, shaking her head.
"Ugh." The neuron put her head on her desk.
It wasn't just the one neuron. The entire brain was in chaos as neurons worked to send messages to each other and the rest of the body.
The power shut off without warning, and the emergency lighting came on. The neuron looked up.
"No, no no no! We've lost consciousness!"
The astrocyte cocked her head. "Isn't that a good thing? Now the body can rest!"
The neuron began to frantically write things down on a memo pad. "No, this is a very, very bad thing! We've yet to reestablish contact with the various reflex centers! If the body vomits, it could choke to death!"
The astrocyte paled. "Oh, no…"
"Even if that doesn't happen, the body won't be properly rested by tomorrow. All the alcohol it consumed will prevent REM from taking place. No matter how long it's asleep, the body will be very tired when it wakes up!"
"What can we do?" asked the astrocyte.
The neuron lowered her head. "There's nothing we can do. Neurons like me will be doing all they can just to keep this place somewhat functional. Until the liver filters out more of the alcohol, all we can do is hope that we're safe and that someone turns the body on its side so we don't choke."
Loss of Consciousness due to Alcohol Consumption
Passing out from alcohol is extremely dangerous. It can be impossible to rouse someone who has alcohol poisoning, so it is important to keep someone who is suspected to have or who has alcohol poisoning awake for as long as possible until professional medical help arrives. If that is not possible, or the person was found passed out, they should be turned so that they are lying on their side; alcohol weakens or temporarily disables one's reflexes, including the gag reflex, so if someone who has passed out from alcohol vomits while on their back, the vomit will not be expelled and the person will choke. Laying the person on their side lessens this possibility. There are many cases of people who choked to death on their own vomit after passing out from drinking.
If someone is found unconscious, beyond turning them on their side, professional medical assistance should be called immediately. Someone should stay with the unconscious person until help arrives, to monitor them and help prevent them from dying.
The astrocyte covered her mouth with her hand. She desperately hoped everything would be okay. They had to be? Right?
Author's Note:
I figured 4989 would be the kind of person to go crazy at karaoke to entertain his friends. Fun fact: the voice of AE-3803 (in the original Japanese version), Kana Hanazawa, is also the singer of "Renai Circulation!" :)
Note: I have updated this chapter to make the confrontation between NT and Memory T more realistic within this universe. In my previous version, NT beat Memory T up, which opens up questions about why red blood cells can't defend themselves. In this updated version, she just catches him off-guard in a painful way, much like how in the anime's Episode 6/the manga's chapter 7 (Erythroblasts and Myelocytes), a young AE-3803 catches the Pseudomonas bacterium off-guard by throwing her beret into its eye, which hurts, but is non-fatal and doesn't stop him for long.