NT-4201 grabbed her stomach and groaned. She had woken up groggy, at an unfamiliar table, and she felt like she wanted to vomit. She tried to remember what had happened and how she got there, but her head felt like mush.

NT pushed through the thick fog in her brain, going all the way back to the beginning as she tried to figure out what happened.

She remembered the sprinklers in the intestine spraying a weird, bitter-smelling liquid. She remembered feeling angry and irritable at being doused in it. The more time that passed, the more irritated she felt.

She remembered a group of neutrophils approaching them…

NT cringed as she remembered what she said.

"Shut yer DAMN mouth, ya pale, stabby BASTARD!"

"Don't… don't call me Kouhai-chan, you moron!"

The rude words she said flooded back to her as she remembered more and more from that night. After a point though, sometime after they entered the liver, she couldn't remember anything further. She tried, but she legitimately could not remember anything after karaoke was suggested. Did she go with them? Did she make a fool of herself singing?

Another wave of nausea passed and NT clutched her abdomen. She realized it didn't matter if she sang. She had already made a fool of herself when she berated her senpai and the neutrophils.

NT's face flushed. How could she possibly face them now?

She was so busy worrying about herself, she didn't notice AA-5100 trying to get away from the multiple erythrocyte guys who were trying to talk to her. Apparently she had danced and flirted with them the night before, and she had no idea why. Already a sizable fraction of the guys in the hepatocyte bar were trying to talk to her, and she feared that the number would only grow.

0-0-0

Upon reentering the club, U-1146 saw hepatocyte waiters and waitresses hugging and comforting each other. It was only natural; they had lost friends and colleagues, after all.

"Yo, eyepatch bangs!"

U-1146 looked towards the bar. The bartender hepatocyte waved at him.

"It's good to see you made it through," said 1146.

"You too. Honestly, we were lucky. We had a bunch of immune cells in here already, so we didn't get hit as hard. Thanks for saving us."

U-1146 tugged on his cap. "It's our job. I'm sorry about any of your friends or colleagues that got infected."

The bartender nodded somberly. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

The bartender went off to speak to somebody else, and 1146 went to find AE.

The redheaded erythrocyte was still asleep at the booth he left her at. She breathed softly, not stirring as U-1146 slid into the booth beside her. He groaned as he sat down, tired from the long fight against the infected cells. He wondered how long he had been fighting; it was hard to keep track of time.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He did not even notice that he was asleep until he felt himself being shaken awake by AE.

"Hakkekkyū-san!"

"Mm?" he groaned, slightly confused. His nucleus caught up with his body and he remembered where they were. "Oh, Sekkekkyū-san. How did you-"

"Hakkekkyū-san, I really need to go to the bathroom. Can you let me out?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course."

He got out of the booth and stood up, allowing AE to pass.

"ThankssomuchI'llberightback!" she said in one breath, bolting towards the restrooms.

Metabolism of Alcohol

When the liver breaks down alcohol into a substance called "acetaldehyde," which is then further broken down into acetate. The acetate is then broken down even further, and leaves the body as carbon dioxide and water, either in urine, sweat, or by breathing it out.

It wasn't long before AE came back, holding her head. She plopped back down in the booth, and 1146 sat next to her.

"Are you okay, Sekkekkyū-san?"

"My head really hurts…" said AE.

A hepatocyte waitress passed by, pushing a cart of water bottles. Spotting AE, she took a bottle from the cart and placed it on the table. It was the same hepatocyte that had taken AE to get dressed, and who AE called "magical."

"Drink some water," she said. "It'll help."

Hangover

A hangover occurs due to dehydration after consuming too much alcohol, as well as the liver having to process more alcohol than it efficiently can in a short amount of time. Symptoms can include nausea, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, and more. Pacing oneself to no more than one drink per hour, avoiding drinking on an empty stomach, and staying hydrated help minimize the chances of a hangover.

"Thanks, miss… um, where are we?"

U-1146 frowned. "We're in the liver, Sekkekkyū-san. Don't you remember?"

She took a sip of water and winced, holding her head. "Remembering hurts right now. Why are we in the liver?"

"The body consumed alcohol last night. The alcohol in the bloodstream affected the erythrocytes, so we took you to the liver to detox."

"We?"

"Myself, 2626, 2048, and 4989. Your senpai and kouhai are also here."

"Oh…" AE took another sip of water. The hepatocyte moved on to another table.

AE looked down at herself. "Huh? Hakkekkyū-san, where's my uniform?"

"When we came in your uniform was soaked in alcohol. A hepatocyte waitress took you to the changing room and gave you that. If you go ask the one who was pushing around the cart, I'm sure she'll tell you where your uniform is."

AE stood up quickly, and winced again. She pressed her hands to her head for a second, then picked up her water bottle and took another sip. U-1146 moved out of the way for her again, and she walked unsteadily towards the hepatocyte.

He belatedly realized that she was pronouncing the word "hakkekkyū" correctly again. He grinned. Hopefully, her recovery would be quick.

0-0-0

The hepatocyte with the cart guided AE back to the changing room area, where there were racks of freshly laundered erythrocyte uniforms. The hepatocyte found the uniform labeled "AE-3803" and handed it to AE, who entered one of the changing rooms.

AE was groggy and disoriented, and a thumping headache made her want to sit down and go right to sleep. She slowly changed into her uniform, and returned to the waiting hepatocyte. She placed the clothes she had been wearing into a hamper.

"I'll take you back to that neutrophil. He was hovering over you all night, making sure you were okay!"

AE grinned. "Yeah, he's special."

They arrived back at the booth and AE plopped down next to next to 1146. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I've got to get going, but it was nice meeting you! Have a magical day!" The hepatocyte waved and departed.

AE waved after her. "Thank you!" she called in a hoarse voice. She nuzzled into 1146 some more.

After waiting for a bit, AA and NT approached the two cells, both of them once again wearing their erythrocyte uniforms. AA had dark rings under her eyes and a deep frown, while NT looked a little pale and somewhat nervous. They sat down at the booth across from AE and 1146.

"I hate everything," said AA.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm being told that, apparently, I showed romantic interest to almost everyone here last night. And I also feel nauseous. Ugh." She slumped over and laid her head on the table.

"Um, Senpai, I just wanted to apologize," said NT. She looked down at her hands. "It's fuzzy, but I kind of remember saying mean things to you and your neutrophil friends. I'm really sorry, and I hope you can forgive me." SHe glanced at 1146. "Both of you. I'm really sorry for anything I said."

AE looked at NT with sympathy. "Aww, Kouhai-chan, you don't have to worry! I don't even remember anything!"

U-1146 nodded. It was nice to get an apology, and it wouldn't do anything to hold NT's inebriated actions against her. "Mm. You weren't yourself. It's all in the past."

NT's shoulders relaxed, and she let out a small breath. "Thank you. Thank you both very, very much."

The rest of the neutrophil squad came up to the booth, talking amongst themselves. NT turned to them, tensing once again.

"Um, excuse me…"

The three neutrophils looked at her. She stood up and bowed to the neutrophils.

"Um… I just wanted to say sorry… for yelling…"

All three neutrophils cocked their heads.

U-2626 looked like he may have been squinting at her. It was hard to tell with his bangs. "You seemed pretty angry last night. Why was that?"

NT rubbed her arms. "I uh, I don't like to be… unprofessional. I guess all that tension just came out. Again, I'm really sorry, it was wrong of me."

The three neutrophils looked at each other and shrugged.

"I guess we forgive you," 2048 said. Both 2626 and 4989 nodded as well. U-2048 offered his hand for a handshake. "Water under the bridge."

NT shook his hand, and her shoulders began to relax again. The idea that she let out all her pent up frustrations… she felt so embarrassed. She also felt conflicted. The immune cells around her still made her feel uncomfortable, but she realized that they had accompanied her and the other red blood cells all night, just to make sure they were okay. Maybe they weren't all so bad? But they were so brutal…

NT decided to put those thoughts aside. She did not feel up to puzzling this out now.

"Anyway, you all feeling alright now?" asked 2626, addressing all the erythrocytes.

"My head hurts, and I'm super tired, but I think I'll be okay," said AE.

"I'm just a little sick. Nothing some glucose won't fix," said NT.

"Kill me," moaned AA from the table.

U-2626 grinned. "Not feeling so hot, miss popular?"

U-2048 chuckled as well. "Yeah, you seemed to be having a ton of fun out on the dance floor last night!"

"You sound a little hoarse, too. Did you strain your voice while singing karaoke?" said 2626.

AA glared at them. "One more word, and I will gut you both with your own knives."

The smile died from their faces. Although there was no way that AA could actually follow up on that threat, they didn't want to get taken by surprise by an angry erythrocyte. They remembered what happened to Memory T. He was fine, but that kick certainly was painful…

Even if there was no way she'd be able to permanently hurt them… better safe than sorry, right?

"S-sorry…" said 2626.

U-2048 gulped. "We were just joking."

"You're not funny." With that, AA put her head in her arms and blocked out the light.

AE chuckled a bit at the scene, and took another sip of water. "Hakkakkyu-san, I really don't remember much of anything. Can you tell me what happened?"

"You really don't remember anything?"

"Nope, not really…"

U-1146 considered this. "Well, when you're feeling up to it, I did promise to take you to play with some lactic acid bacteria…"

0-0-0

The neurons groaned. Pain sensors indicated that the body had a throbbing headache. The light coming in through the eyes was too bright, even with the eyelids closed. Light still flooded in, reflecting off the pale walls of the hospital room.

Warnings kept popping up on their computers about nausea, swelling, and various other aches and pains. It was very difficult for the neurons to do their job properly when they were bombarded with so much stimulation. A pinch indicated an IV drip inserted into a vein in the left elbow.

An astrocyte came through with a cart of water bottles.

"Why did we do this to ourselves?" one of the neurons asked as she passed.

The astrocyte shrugged. "I guess we just have to make sure this doesn't happen again."

The neuron groaned. "Easier said than done. Fricking Decision Division never seems to learn from its mistakes."

The astrocyte smiled. "Well, when it learned that a hot stove plus the body's hand equals pain, they quickly put a stop to that. Hopefully this experience will act as a deterrent from… overindulging…"

The neuron snorted. "Yeah, right. Next you're gonna tell me that this body can fly, too. We may keep away from alcohol for a while, but next time we go on a social outing like this again, we'll be right back to square one."

The astrocyte shook her head and sighed, still smiling. "People can change. This experience will at least give the body pause before attempting something like this again. It may be small progress, but it's progress nonetheless."

"Hm. Maybe you're right." The neuron looked back at his computer. "At least it's Saturday. I don't even wanna think about the hell we'd be going through if we had to force the body to work like this!"

The astrocyte giggled. "Hopefully it'll just be an easy day today."

"Don't jinx it."

The astrocyte smiled wryly. "Just make sure to stay hydrated, Mr. Neuron."

She began walking to the next neuron. After a crazy night, it was finally time to rest and take it easy.

However, even though the body was resting, the cells, as always, were still hard at work.

Epilogue

"Come on, Hakkekkyū-san!" AE-3803 said, dragging U-1146 along by the arm.

"Are you sure you really want to do this now?" he asked.

"I don't remember anything from last time we did it! Everything's all fuzzy and weird! I wanna remember it this time!"

The white blood cell sighed as he followed AE into the hepatocyte bar once again. There was no alcohol in the bloodstream anymore, but all blood that picked up nutrients from the small intestine had to go through the liver anyway.

The Kupffer Cell outside let them in, and AE brought 1146 to the bar. The bartender hepatocyte, still in her stylish vest and fedora, was wiping down the counter.

"Red! Eyepatch bangs! Good to see you guys again!"

AE-3803 blinked when the hepatocyte said "eyepatch bangs," but put that thought aside. "We'd like one karaoke room, please!"

The bartender pointed behind them. "Just follow the Magical Girl."

AE and 1146 turned. Standing behind them was the hepatocyte that AE had called magical.

"Am I right in assuming you'll want the bottomless glucose?"

AE licked her lips. "Yes please!"

"Follow me!" The hepatocyte led them down the hallway labelled "Karaoke."

"I'm curious," said AE, "why did she call you 'Magical Girl?'"

The hepatocyte smiled. "An erythrocyte that I helped to change clothes once told me that it felt like magic when she saw herself. Since then, it kinda stuck."

"Oh, wow, that's so cute! You must have made her feel so special!"

"Yes, that erythrocyte was super cute," the hepatocyte giggled. "She was super excited, too."

"I'd love to meet her sometime!" AE said.

Following behind them, 1146 had to cough to keep himself from laughing. The hepatocyte shot him a sly, knowing glance.

They passed by a few other karaoke rooms. One of the rooms had the door ajar, letting 1146, AE, and the hepatocyte hear the music clearer and peer inside. An erythrocyte with auburn hair braided into a plait was singing a fast-paced, adrenaline pumping song. U-1146 recognized her; it was AC-4293.

"I like it, I like it,

I like it heavy!

I like it! I like it!

I like it heavy!"

"Wow, she sounds so good!" said AE. "She's really giving it all she has!"

"Some like it beautiful, perfect and pretty!

I see the good in the bad and the ugly!

I like it heavy!

Woah-oh-oh!

I like it heavy!

Woah-oh-oh!"

A spectator in the room was clapping and cheering, but he was out of view of the door. It was hard to hear over the music, but 1146 thought the voice of the cheering spectator sounded familiar.

"Woo! Wooo!"

"Is that 4989?" asked AE.

U-1149 looked at her, then back towards the room. He still couldn't see who was in there; the door was only halfway ajar, and the person was sitting at a spot in the room that couldn't be seen from their angle. Still, now that AE pointed it out, there was no doubt. That was U-4989, in a karaoke room listening to AC-4293 singing a very fast, very intense song.

The hepatocyte walked up to the door and pulled it all the way closed just as the erythrocyte finished the song. Whatever 4989 and AC were saying behind the door, 1146 couldn't hear it.

"Just a friendly reminder, please keep the doors closed when you are singing. We don't want the sound to disturb any other groups."

AE and 1146 nodded. "Of course."

They turned down another corridor and finally arrived at an empty karaoke room. The hepatocyte turned on the machine and left to get the glucose. AE-3803 picked up a microphone from the table and blew into it, testing to see if it worked. An amplified -puff- came out of the speakers.

"Wow, this is so cool!"

U-1146 nodded. "Yep."

The hepatocyte returned, set a large bowl of strawberry glucose on the table, and promptly left the room, closing the door behind her.

"I'm excited to hear what your voice sounds like, Hakkekkyū-san! What song should we sing first?"

U-1146 rubbed his chin as he thought. "Hmmm…"

They had sung a lot of fun songs that night. Maybe the Beauty and the Beast song? But that was a duet, and it seemed like AE wanted to listen first.

As he thought about which song to sing, one performance in particular stuck out to him from that night. He wouldn't pull it off nearly as well as 4989, but he would still probably entertain AE. And that was the goal, at least.

"There's this one… sit down, I think you'll enjoy it. It's called Renai Circulation…"

The End.

Author's Note:

I hope you enjoyed this! I thought it would be fun to have the RBCs get drunk, and how they'd behave. I really enjoyed writing the different interactions here. The song AC-4293 is singing is I Like it Heavy by Halestorm, as suggested to me by Mira Avis. Mira is a writer here, and AC-4293 is her OC! I asked her for a song AC would likely sing, and she suggested this one. I highly recommend reading her stories, because she is a great writer and friend!