Mushroom waltz: Mushroom waltz

“We owe someone something? That’s rich for you to admit.”

 

“Shut up.” Suika huffed as crossed her arms.

“They’re both incredibly skilled and not ones to be taken lightly. The tall and loud one could easily body you in your current state.”

 

Yuugi waved Suika’s words off.

“And? Why do they want mushrooms from that dumbass bog anyways? They didn’t strike me as junkies.”

 

“It came off to me that they didn’t have any real ideas for personal favors… so they just decided to offload a favor for a friend as our debt.”

 

“Our debt?”

 

“You have to own up to what you did, whether you like it or not, Yuugi.”

 

Yuugi let out a deep sigh and made herself a bit more comfy on the bed she was laying on.

 

“Whatever.” she groaned.

“What’s the friend like? Are they a junkie? I bet I could hook them up with some better shit than whatever those mushrooms got in them.”

 

“I don’t think so. She’s a doctor or scientist of some kind – they couldn’t seem to agree what her job title was. Wouldn’t tell me what she needed them for, either.” Suika said, shaking her head.

“But she’s very busy and needs to maintain anonymity, so it’s not like she can get the mushrooms herself.”

 

“Weird.” Yuugi replied.

“It sounds like a waste of my time, but…”

 

“But?”

 

“I feel like lazing around and doing nothing is a bigger one.” Yuugi finished, propping herself back up.

“Besides, I haven’t left Underdeck in, what, how long? Barring the recent rendezvous, obviously. Maybe it’d help recovery.”

 

Suika gave a weak smile and nodded.

“Well, you seem more agreeable than normal at least, so I’ll take that as a sign of good things to come.”

 

“Give me a second for the pain meds to kick in, then. If it’s a date, I should get the energy to at least dress up nicely.” Yuugi said with a smirk.

 

Almost immediately, Suika threw a stray pillow at Yuugi and stormed out of the room.

 

 

Yuugi was right about one thing – it had been a long time since both Suika or herself had left the Underdeck, or the space station city itself at all.

Due to both of the duo’s massive egos, neither of them wanted to admit it – but the thought of leaving the nest of crime they’d so carefully built together was a bit nerve-wracking. But Suika and Yuugi had put their trust in their respective subordinates, so things would, at the very least, be running smoothly for a few hours.

 

They both arrived discreetly, finding themselves in an improvised launch and landing site – and despite being in a ‘clearing’ of the marsh, the rumors were true – it was dark as night, and what could be seen above glittered brilliantly.

 

As the two looked around in awe, their trance was broken by a wrench narrowly missing Yuugi as it was thrown towards the duo.

It would seem they weren’t alone.

 

Looking around, Suika was able to spot him first – it was the incredibly short rabbitfolk woman, the one Suika and Yuugi were here to fulfill the debt to.

He didn’t look happy.

 

“Shit! You could’ve given like, a heads up or something?!” he said with a groan.

“I nearly fucked up my work because I was worried you weren’t… a set of expected visitors when I heard you two.”

 

“I’m sorry?” Suika responded, feeling as though he had no reason to be as hostile as he was.

“If you’re busy, do you have a drop point for when we’re done, at least?”

 

“Couple miles north and there’s a pub. Ask for the bouncer. Leave me alone, now.”

 

Suika and Yuugi just sort of silently nodded along, and waited as they watched the woman return to his work.

 

However, only a few moments after starting to make his way back to whatever he was doing, his ears suddenly perked up.

“Right. You, pink bitch.” he said, turning around to face the duo with a glare that could rival even Suika’s when she was upset.

 

With a confused expression, Yuugi gestured towards herself – before quickly being swept to the ground by a speedy low kick from the shorter woman.

 

“You’re more of a dumbass than I ever was.” he said as he promptly turned back around to stretch, like nothing had even happened.

“Thanks for helping me feel better about myself. Hopefully you’ll learn something, now.”

 

Without further word, the woman fully returned to the mechanical device he was working on.

Both Suika and Yuugi thought it’d be the best to let him be, and follow his instructions on drop-off – and quickly made pace to leave once Suika had helped Yuugi back up.

 

 

The duo stopped at a crossroad area, and Yuugi took a short break to stretch.

 

“What was his problem?”

 

“Dunno. I guess I do recall his associates doing a lot of the speaking for him and mentioning he had a bad attitude towards strangers.” Suika sighed.

 

“Yeah, no fucking kidding.” Yuugi said.

“Anyways… you’re the one with the info. Didja know what we’re looking for?”

 

“Mushrooms?”

 

“No, no, I know that. But what kind?”

 

Suika gave Yuugi a bit of an exasperated look.

“Does it matter? Mushrooms are mushrooms – and because of how anonymous this doctor wants to be, I really don’t think we’re gonna end up knowing the end outcome anyways.”

 

With a sour expression, Yuugi lightly bapped Suika upside the head.

 

“Mushrooms are not just mushrooms.” she huffed.

“In this marsh, there’s generally three major mushroom species. The psychedelics, the toxics, and the medicinals. Depending on if that doctor is trying to kill someone, make medicine, or if she’s actually a drug processor… I’d say it absolutely does matter. Weren’t you the one trying to warn me about what could happen if we didn’t do this? I could only imagine what would happen if we got it wrong.”

 

“Since when did you know so much about mycology, geez?” Suika said in response.

 

“You start to learn things when you actually talk to people.” Yuugi said as an attempt at a playful jab, but judging by Suika’s expression, it didn’t land. There was a brief pause before Yuugi continued.

“...Besides, you know I sample a bit of what we ship out, anyways. So that marks me as able to identify at least one of the species of mushroom.”

 

Suika let out a sigh.

“I guess so. Any idea what the hell an amanita fantasia looks like?”

 

Yuugi paused for a second as she thought, before perking up a bit triumphantly.

 

“Ooh, yeah! That’s the one I know!” she said with a nod.

“Heh, guess this doctor must not be a real doctor, then…”

 

“And yet, you call yourself a real philosopher. Ironic.” Suika prodded.

 

Yuugi didn’t say anything in response, but did give of an annoying groan.

 

“Whatever. I guess we should start searching for a patch to examine, then.” Suika nodded.

 

“You can lead the way – I wouldn’t want my slowness to hold you back.” Yuugi replied.

 

“We’re not in a rush, or anything. Considering Tuesday hasn’t sent out some kind of panicked text, I can only assume everything in the Station is handled.”

 

“...Alright, if that works for you.”

 

So, the duo started on their walk in search of some mushrooms. Considering that both of them had spent the better part of nearly 5 years in the cramped underbelly of the space station city, they used Yuugi’s condition as a bit of an excuse to slowly take in the almost otherworldly, ethereal atmosphere.

They didn’t talk much, but Yuugi was rambling a bit to herself about the surroundings – and while Suika didn’t quite feel like responding, she still listened intently.

 

However, Yuugi cut herself off during one of her ramblings.

“Wait, Suika! I see something!”

 

Without waiting for a response, Yuugi enthusiastically ran off in a different direction, where a faint cyan glow could be seen in the distance.

 

“Hey, hey!! Hold on, you still can’t exert yourself too much, still!” Suika cried out as she attempted to chase after Yuugi, who still managed to vastly outspeed her, even in her current state.

 

As Suika sort of expected, she was able to catch up to Yuugi after she collapsed in a clearing.

 

“Oh my god, are you alright?! I told you, you gotta try and take it easy!!”

 

Yuugi picked herself up and got to her knees, before turning to Suika with a slyly smug smile.

“It’s cute that you care that much.”

 

Suika… wasn’t expecting that, and her face quickly flushed up.

 

“SHUT UP!!” was all she could muster, without losing her composure too much more.

 

Yuugi gave herself a moment to chuckle it off,

 

“Whatever. I found something, though.” she said, as she gestured loosely towards a cluster of strongly bioluminescent mushrooms a few meters away.

 

“Oh! These are the type we’re looking for, right?” Suika asked.

 

“Dunno. Could you pick one and hand it to me? You can usually tell by the gills.”

 

“Didn’t you say there was a toxic type, though? You’ve had enough poisoning for a good while.”

 

“Only if ingested! Don’t worry.”

 

Suika sighed, and went to pick some of the mushrooms for Yuugi to indentify – figuring a more varied sample range would be more reliable than just one mushroom.

As she handed the mushrooms off, Yuugi squinted at them and held them up to the dim light of the marsh’s glow, whilst using her long nails and fingers to investigate the gills.

She remained silent during her examination, before suddenly…

 

“Bingo!” Yuugi exclaimed.

 

“These the right ones?” Suika asked, a bit impatiently.

 

“Should be!” Yuugi replied, as she finally got up to her feet.

“Did the ‘doctor’ say she wanted a specific amount, or just as many as we could carry?”

 

“Didn’t say. I did bring a bag though, so we can probably stuff a stash in there.” Suika said, nodding in reponse.

 

“Sounds like a plan!” Yuugi smiled.

“With a bad glowing full of them we’ll probably look shady as hell, but I wouldn’t mind doing that with you.”