The first time he meets her, AE-1146 is directing two new erythrocytes down to the path that will lead to the lungs. Their names are AA-2626 and DB-4989. Already, AE-1146 knows that they're going to be far more trouble than they're worth. A part of him curses the fact that NT-2001 and LD-2048 blackmailed him into babysitting the newbies, but there's nothing else he can do about it. All other blood cells are busy and he is technically on his break, which meant that he would have to do their dirty work.

"Follow your maps and stick to the designated routes that you were assigned. If," here he punctuates the syllable with a stern tone, "you happen to get lost, just follow the crowd or ask for help."

Both of the rookies look at him with awe in their features—there's practically sparkles and hearts in their eyes.

"So awesome!" DB-4989 screams fanatically.

"Teach us your ways." AA-2626 murmurs with just as much excitement.

1146 sighs. "I just did."

Just when he's about to send them on their way, there's a commotion up ahead of them. A roar that echoes through the streets sends a group of assorted cells frantically running their way.

Well, there goes his break.

Quickly, he starts dragging his mentees in front of him, urging them to run as quickly as possible. Because they are burdened with packages of carbon dioxide, both of his charges struggle to keep up with the rest of the crowd. It's no wonder that within a second, one of them (DB-4989?) begins hurtling headfirst to the ground as he struggles to carry his load. Emboldened by experience and his promise to take care of the rookies, 1146 pulls him to his feet and pushes the other red blood cell away when he feels some sort of barbed tail wrap around his midsection.

"Run! Take the carbon dioxide and go!" To his utter relief and slight disappointment, both of his rookies stand their ground and try to pelt the bacterium with rocks and other objects. (In DB-4989's case…a box filled with steamed buns).

"HAHAHAAH! BOW BEFORE ME YOU INSIPID—"

Ding dong.

1146 barely registers the slight melody of a receptor before the bacterium explodes into tiny pieces and pools of cytosol. He is thrown onto the ground before he looks up from his position before he gets a good look at his savior.

"U-3803 of the Neutrophil Division! We have apprehended the Pneumococcus germ!"

White, petite, and decked out in the uniform of the standard neutrophil, the white blood cell in front of him looked too cute to play the part of the germ slayer. In fact, she looked the exact opposite of the bloodthirsty neutrophils that 1146 would often see roaming the vents and alleyways of the bodies.

"Hello! Are you all right?"

Even her eyes, dark and soulless like the rest of her neutrophil kin, seemed a little unique. They appeared to sparkle with life and…what was that? Kindness?

Yeah, she looked like the kindest and cutest neutrophil that he had ever encountered.

"Hellooooo!" She squats down so that she is level with and starts shaking her gloved hand in front of his face. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

He shakes his and silently acquiesces to her offer of helping him up.

She's strong.

"Um, er…Thanks for the help today." To his utter embarrassment, he accidentally put out an aura of unapproachability. "I mean, killing the germs was…"

The female neutrophil offers a bright smile that juxtaposes her white pallor.

"You are quite welcome! I really do hope—" Before the neutrophil could finish the rest of her sentence, there's a buzzing on her transceiver and she immediately leaps into action.

AE-1146 finds himself a little amazed that a neutrophil of all cells just happened to be so nice and welcoming.

The second time the male erythrocyte sees the female neutrophil, he's alone and she's pacing in a neutrophil marginating pool. The sight doesn't affect him; it's the distressed mutterings that causes him to cease his jogging to his destination to see what the problem is. He takes care not to be quiet so as to not startle her, but for an immune cell tasked to defend the cells of the body…she's not that observant.

"Hello, Miss Neutrophil." He greets. His expression doesn't betray the slight feeling of exasperated fondness as he watches the immune cell flail about her marginating pool when she realizes that she has been interrupted.

"Oh! Mister Erythrocyte!" She immediately recognizes him and that fact has the hemoglobin within his cytosol threatening to come to the surface of his features. "What brings you to this side of the blood vessel?"

Even when she does her best to hide it, the erythrocyte can see that she looks stressed and anxious. It's more than a little curiosity that has him asking over her welfare.

"I was making my final round of deliveries before my break. You?"

"Oh um…this is going to sound out of character for a neutrophil—well, for all immune cells, really—" 1146 cracks a fond smile at her rambling "—but I kind of forgothowtogetbacktothelymphducts."

"You what?"

The neutrophil's eyes welled with tears as she clutched at her hair underneath her white cap in renewed anxiety.

"I don't know how to get back to the lymph ducts! U-5100 requested that I come back for a meeting concerning this year's bout of allergens, but I misplaced my map and when I tried transmigrating, I nearly ended up at the spleen!"

She wailed and pulled the visor of her cap in front of her eyes.

"Huh."

If possible, the neutrophil sobbed even louder than before.

"I'm such a useless white blood cell. Even when I was a myelocyte they thought that I shouldn't have been made a—"

"I can help you."

Teary eyed, the neutrophil looked up at him in wonder and hesitant hope.

"You're…you're willing to help a white blood cell like me?"

1146 inclined his head and gestured towards the mouth of the blood vessel.

Perhaps it's because he's always been the odd one out in his batch of erythrocytes or it might be in spite of it, but 1146 never had any reason to be wary of the immune system. Sure, the neutrophils and the lymphocytes were all crazy, bloodthirsty killers, but everyone had their bad sides, right? Besides, she had saved his life once before and it was his turn to save hers—albeit, in a dull fashion. He was no hero after all.

Besides—

"You saved me from a bacterium, remember? You did your job well because you're a neutrophil; you are most definitely not useless."

The third time is a bit embarrassing to remember, but 1146 is quite fond of the memory. He had been passing by near the apartment buildings where the normal cells liked to congregate and had to travel up a few floors in order to meet the recipient. It was a fairly trivial exchange, at least, until there was a rumbling under their feet and some sort of monster appeared. Surprised and off balance, 1146 manages to push the normal cell back so that he was on higher ground before he succumbs to gravity.

He had been expecting to meet the ground in a kiss of death, but he finds himself—

"Hello again, Mister Erythrocyte!" Bright smile and even brighter eyes.

How could such dark eyes hold so much promise of life within them?

Dimly, he notices that the white blood cell had managed to catch him in her arms. Again, he is in awe of her strength and bravery.

"Miss Neutrophil," he greets calmly. Well, as calmly as one could respond when under attack by an unknown threat.

They stare at one another for a moment too long before the sounds of destruction overwhelm the scene. Perhaps he's imagining it, but he hears the neutrophil utter a longing sigh as she settles him down before roaring with the rest of her colleagues against their mighty foe.

On the sidelines, he watches in rapture as she ends up being the one to give the final death blow.

The fourth time…well, he's not even sure if there is a fourth time if he's being honest.

Maybe it's because it's all wishful thinking or a by-product of saccharine dreams.

He had been on his rounds, delivering the oxygen as usual when he had come across his favorite neutrophil. (Maybe not favorite, considering that they barely interacted, but he was willing to admit that he was more than partial to her). She was busy scrawling something in the margins of what appeared to be a worn map before she let out a small whoop of victory. Surprised and curious, the red blood cell immediately made his way over and peeked over her shoulder.

Amid the margins of her map, she had written several routes and overlaid her own designs of the transmigration vents that only the neutrophils and a few specialized cells were allowed to use. There were many errors, a few cross outs, and doodles of landmarks that obviously helped her out in the long run. Thoroughly impressed by her work ethic, AE-1146 hummed in approval, which caused the neutrophil to karate chop him into the ground before she even realized that he wasn't even a threat.

"Oh my gosh! Mister Erythrocyte!" The white haired neutrophil helped him up to his feet in a feat of strength that had him ogling her biceps that were hidden from view—damn those jumpsuits! "I didn't notice that you were there."

"Obviously," he managed to say without causing himself even more undue pain. "I see that you've been working hard on mastering your knowledge of the body."

"Yes! I managed to arrive at my post and a few missions right on time! If I had known that using the transmigration routes were so easy to use, I would not have stressed so hard about mastering them." Her bright smile brings one to life on the red blood cell's face.

"It's good to see that you worked so hard to be where you are right now." The fondness in his voice obviously affects her, he notes with slight surprise and glee. "Maybe we should go and celebrate."

She appraises him for a few minutes, a look of consternation on her youthful face. For a second, the erythrocyte second-guesses his actions before she immediately lightens up and drags him to a transmigrating vent.

"You gotta keep this a secret, okay! I'm not supposed to let regular cells through here, but since this is a momentous occasion, why not?"

As she rambles and guides him through the vents, he admires the way that she seems so confident and in her element. Her face was so animated and her hand gestures only added to the element of vibrancy and color that only she could produce. He had been so wrapped up in his musings that he didn't realize that the female neutrophil had guided them to a café near the crook of the left arm. It was a fairly secluded area, but it was about the company, not the décor that he was interested in.

Once settled in, they begin a little back and forth—she talks about the latest bacterium in the lungs while he listens with an open mind. Pretty soon, she has him smiling—what a surprise!—while he wonders if he can get to have some more time with her. After their conversation has long ended and they have turned to just enjoying their company in a quiet manner, AE-1146 realizes that he has to go.

"I'll see you some time, right?"

He smiles.

"Of course."

Soon after, they split into different directions.

Once more, he begins delivering the nutrients to several cells in a nearby neighborhood when the unthinkable happens. He had been conversing with one of the cells when all of a sudden, a gigantic tube from the sky began sucking everything in its path. Millions of his red-celled brethren are swept among the chaos; unfortunately, he is one of them. In vain, he hangs onto one of the buildings for support, but the unnatural force of the pipe and the sheer insanity of the situation causes him to lose hold.

The dark abyss of the vacuum swallows him and he falls into a restless sleep.

In cryogenic chambers, he dreams and remembers.

There isn't a fifth time.

He does his job. He delivers the oxygen and the carbon dioxide. Sometimes, he might even carry a basket or two filled with nutrients. However, while he is more than proficient at his job, his mind is miles and miles away.

Ever since that weird occurrence (the gigantic metal pipe and the sucking vacuum), he hadn't been able to locate any of his old friends…or her.

This body that he is servicing is almost like the old one, albeit with a few subtle differences and the cells here spoke with a slight accent that had 1146 aching for home.

Sometimes, when he takes a break from all his hard work, he dreams.

He dreams of a lost neutrophil.

He dreams that he meets her again.

AE-1146, while obviously not the smartest of the lot, shouldn't be part of this situation in the first place. It had been a busy day for the erythroblasts that day. Instead of reviewing the maps of the body and pushing their makeshift packages around on small carts, they were introduced to the idea of pathogens and bacteria. It was nothing substantial—at least compared to what the immune cells would be studying—but it was enough for them to realize that it was always a good idea to run away from danger. That said, when the neutrophil who came to their nursery started to act out the part of a pathogen, AE-1146 immediately broke rank and ran away.

In hindsight, he might have run away for a long time and in aimless directions, which caused him to be quite far from the nursery. However, it was no matter. The young erythroblast knew how to get back to the nursery, but it might take him a while. As 1146 pondered his situation, there was a shriek in the air that had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. It sounded like a little girl crying out for help!

Immediately, despite his instincts, he began moving in the direction of the sounds.

"Stand back, you germ! I got a weapon!"

The voice came from an obviously frightened young myelocyte. Even though the bacterium in front of her was humongous and looked like it was merely toying with his victim, the baby immune cell still held fast against her opponent.

"Aww, how cute! You know, I really hope you become a great white blood cell one day…Alas, I'll have to—" Suddenly, it's great big eye darted to the side and upon doing so, settled on AE-1146's startled eyes. With a great roar, the monster lunged forward and seized the erythroblast in its slimy grasp. "A baby red blood cell!"

"Let go of me," 1146 yelled as he tried to wriggle away from the bacterium. Unfortunately, that only served to irritate the germ. "Leave us alone!"

Just when the monster is about to retort, the female myelocyte threw her weapon into the germ's eye. The weapon bounces off, but the bacterium immediately roars with rage—the pain is strong enough that 1146 immediately finds himself getting dropped to the floor. As he, too, fights back a pained yowl, he finds himself getting pulled to his feet and getting dragged by the myelocyte.

"Hurry," the white haired girl urges him.

At once, the red haired boy finds himself in awe at the strength she possesses in her small body. Heck, she's obviously younger and shorter than he is—what kind of training do the immune cells have to go through? Before he could ponder the matter further, they are immediately faced with branching pathways. One could lead to a dead end; the other, freedom.

"Which one," she mutters in a panic. "Which one was it?"

At this point, 1146 takes over; his mental map a strength that he hasn't utilized until now. Wordlessly, he takes the lead and takes the path that will lead them back to the nursery—back to the macrophages and hopefully to that one neutrophil. Unfortunately, the bacterium quickly overtakes their short strides within a few seconds, their escape a laughable attempt.

"You know what, I'll cut you some slack, baby white blood cell. I'll eat the yummy erythroblast and you can run home free!"

1146 says, "Just go—"

—at the same, the myelocyte says, "You're gonna have to eat me first, stupid head! I'm going to be a strong immune cell and all other cells are under my protection!"

And immediately right after, a male neutrophil with so much more experience shouts with a proud tone of excitement, "That's the spirit, young myelocyte!"

And with that, the bacterium's guts spray all over them, staining the neutrophil's uniform and anything else in sight. Although the moment is only a few seconds long, for 1146, it seemed to stretch for hours. One look at his fellow nursery mate has the both of them crying in relief.

"Come on, let's take care of your injuries," Miss Macrophage (when did she arrive?) says as she lightly guides AE-1146 back to the nursery classroom.

He nods, tuckered out from the events that just happened.

"Will," her voice comes out too high pitched, too needy, but 1146 looks back at her with something akin to quiet gratefulness. "Will I see you again?"

AE-1146 is a young erythroblast, but he already knows that the odds of them meeting again are slim to none. The bone marrow is already a big place; how much bigger will venturing into the body's tissues be?

A part of him knows this.

But another part wants to see her again.

He nods.

"Yeah, see you."

And they part ways.