Chapter 4: Mushroom Kingdom, Here We Come
"I must say, your vehicles are quite impressive," Melissa said, as she sat in the back alongside Kirishima. It had been a few hours since Momo officially recruited the angel as the SREU's guide, and during that time, the conversations while on the road had been lively.
"Is that so?" Awase, the team's mechanic, asked.
"Yes, I have never seen a carriage that wasn't being pulled by a horse," the blonde woman remarked. "Or a ground dragon. Or a giant bird, horned horse, giant lizard, liger, crocodog –"
"Whoa, whoa, what the heck is a crocodog?" Kirishima asked.
"It has the physical build and size of a horse, but with the physical features of a crocodile and a dog. In fact, they can even bark like dogs," Melissa explained. "They can even do tricks!"
"Huh, looks like Rin is going to have a field day over the new wildlife we'll find here," Momo remarked. "Shield-san, do you know if there's any place to rest up ahead?"
"There aren't any major settlements around for quite a bit while," the angel said. "But, there is a mushroom forest up ahead, right before we enter the desert. We can camp there for the night."
"Mushroom forest?" Kirishima repeated. "So, are they, like, as big as trees?"
"Yes, some of them even reach up to ten meters in height!"
"Forget Rin, Komori is gonna have a field day instead," Awase joked.
Half an hour later, the team was radioed by Kirishima to stop deep within the mushroom forest, and begin setting up camp for the night, while Sato prepared dinner.
However, there was one person who was doing something else.
"EEEEEEEEE!" Corporal Kinoko Komori, the team's botanist, squealed in delight, as she hugged Melissa in her excitement. "Oh my gosh, shroom! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"So, I take it that your findings were fruitful?" Momo asked, in an amused tone.
"Fruitful? FRUITFUL?!" Kinoko repeated back to her. "Lieutenant, do you have any idea what we've just stumbled across?! One day in, and we've already struck metaphorical gold!"
"Really? Is that so?"
"It is so, shroom!" Kinoko smiled, as she threw her hands in the air. "Look at these! The world's largest fungus of the fruit body variety was discovered in China back in 2008, but it only got as big as it did due to the fact it was growing some really big dead wood. BUT THESE?! These managed to achieve the same height WITHOUT having to attach themselves to any trees! Hell, these things are practically trees themselves! We need to get some samples, like, ASAP!"
"Well, then, it's a good thing that we brought these," Momo smiled, as she presented Komori with some plastic gloves, a facemask, a pocket knife, camera, and some Ziploc bags.
"EEEEEEEEE!" Kinoko squealed once more in joy, as she gleefully took the items from Momo's hands, and ran towards the first non-giant mushroom she saw.
"What are you doing?" Melissa asked the over-ecstatic botanist.
"Collecting samples!" she happily replied. "I start by taking pictures of the mushroom in its natural habitat, and then I use this knife to carefully dig out the mushroom, so as to not damage any of it! Then, I place them into the plastic baggies and move on to the next sample!"
"Oh, I see!" Melissa nodded. "Perhaps I can be of assistance?"
"Sure! Just put on these safety gloves and facemasks! Don't know if they're poisonous yet!"
"Actually, the small red specimen you're collecting right now is a glowcap." Melissa pointed to the aforementioned mushroom. "They're eaten by sapient races, so they're safe to touch. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, they can also glow in the dark, too! They're considered a commodity."
"Edible and bioluminescent?" Kinoko was practically drooling. "Two for the price of one!"
"COME AND GET IT!" Rikido Sato yelled, alerting everyone else that dinner was ready.
"For dinner tonight, we have Caesar salad spring rolls, with miso Caesar dressing!" the cook said, as he passed around roll-wrapped vegetables and sauce. "Dig in!"
"Ugh, cold vegetables," Tsuburaba cringed. "Hope they're not slimy."
"Just be grateful there's some eggs in there, too," Rin shot back.
The majority of the Special Region Exploration Unit were all gathered around a lamp Momo brought out of the magic bag to use for lighting, since there was no firewood.
"Hey, where's Komori?" Kendo asked. As soon as she asked…
"Whoo! This was the best day of my life!" Komori cheered, as she suddenly appeared and plopped down alongside everyone else. Lifting up various plastic baggies with, she said, "Here, Lieutenant! I even collected some stem samples from the bigger mushrooms!"
"Thank you, Corporal," Momo smiled, as she took the baggies and put them in her personal pocket dimension. "With tonight's dinner done, we have plenty of room to store them all."
"So, did you enjoy yourself?" Sergeant Kodai asked.
"Uh-huh!" she nodded her head vigorously. "So many of them resembled mushrooms from back home, but they were still different! And the nature of this forest itself is quite amazing! The only plant life we managed to find was some purple double impatiens! It was crazy!"
"Well, I'm glad to see you're enjoying this advancement in your field," Monoma smiled.
"There were so many of them out there, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a new genus in them! Maybe I'll get one named after myself! I can imagine it now! Komorius Kinokous!" she gasped.
Momo was enjoying the conversation, when she suddenly felt a tug on her shoulder.
Turning back, she saw Saregeant Uraraka. "Lieutenant, I have to show you something."
Nodding, Momo got up and followed her astronomer away from the group's "campfire" and out towards the trail between the giant tree-like mushroom, far enough that Momo could clearly see the night sky. "Okay, we're far enough that the light won't affect us," Uraraka said.
"Sargeant Uraraka, what do you want to show me?"
Handing her the telescope, Uraraka said, "Look up to where I'm pointing."
Momo obliged, and she followed Uraraka's finger. Putting the telescope up to her eye, she saw… "Is that a planet?"
Right out in the distance, Momo could see a planet. It was bright red, with magenta overlapping its surface, and stranger than that, it had a small green moon with stripes orbiting around it.
Removing the telescope, she looked again, and sure enough, she could see both of those celestial bodies. While she couldn't see specific details, like what sizes they were, or what patterns they had, she could easily tell apart their colors with just her naked eye.
"Not only that, but tilt your head about forty-five degrees to the right."
Turning her head towards the instructed direction, Momo saw yet another planet, this one as gray as the moon, and somewhat reminded her of Mercury, but closer to them that she could see that it was bigger than the previous red one. Also, it had a blue moon. Weird.
"I'm assuming that these aren't from our solar system?" the raven-haired commander asked.
"No, ma'am," Uraraka said. "Also, I can't find any of the constellations."
"Well, that rules out the theory that this is an alternate version of Earth," Momo said. "So either that gate took us to the other side of the universe, or we're in a completely different reality."
"Should we tell the others?" the brunette asked.
"Sure, why not? The whole point of this mission is to learn, after all."
"Hey, Melissa, aren't you gonna eat anything?" Kirishima asked.
"Due to my celestial physiology, I don't require food to survive, along with air, water, and sleep," the angel explained. "While I still can technically eat, breathe, drink, and sleep, I don't have to."
"Well, that ain't right," Sato said. "Here, have one. I made enough for everyone, so dig in."
"Well, if you did indeed make one for everyone, I guess it would be rude for me to not have mine," she said, taking a bite. "Oh, wow! I can taste the salt and lemon! This is really good!"
"Well, glad you like it!" the chef smiled.
"All right, everyone," Momo said, as she returned with Uraraka. "Clean up your plates, brush your teeth, and get in your sleeping bags. Bakugou, Rin, you two have the first watch."
"Lieutenant Yaoyorozu," Melissa interjected. "If I may, allow me to take the night shift instead. Due to my nature, I will be able to keep watch, and all of you can rest completely."
"That is a kind offer, Shield-san, but I'm fairly sure that if we did that, we'd become complacent pretty soon. But you can still keep watch with us if you wish," Momo smiled.
"Very well, I shall do that."
"Alright, Aoyama, Kodai, you have the next watch. Everyone else, get some shut-eye."
Obeying their commanding officer's orders, the rest of the squad got themselves ready to sleep, as Komori noticed something happening around them. "Hey, guys, look…"
"Hm?"
"The mushrooms… they're glowing…"
Everyone looked around them to see that, sure enough, the mushrooms began to glow in the dark. Bright blues, orange and green lit up the night, making the world around them look magical, and reminding them that they were a long way from Japan.
"Oh, wonderful," Bakugou growled. "They're gonna keep me up all night."
Komori, and pretty much everyone else, ignored the blond's usual grouchiness, as they simply admired the scenery around them, while also taking a few pictures. For research.
Soon enough, the lamp was dimmed down, and everyone began to slumber.
Little did they know that from afar, they were being watched.
It was early morning when Yuga Aoyama suddenly sprung up from his sleeping bag, with a sensation he was all too familiar with. When he was younger, he had a hard time controlling his bladder, and every now and then, he would lose control.
In short, he had to go to the bathroom. Right away.
Getting out of his sleeping bag and quickly putting on his shoes, he bolted out, headfig out of the campsite, before he suddenly felt something grab him. "Urk –"
"Whoa, whoa!" Tsuburaba said, holding onto Yuga's collar. "Aoyama, I know that you're technically a higher rank than I am, but you can't just disregard the buddy system like that –"
"Please let me go, mon ami!" the blond begged. "I really have to go…"
"Ugh, fine," Tsuburaba groaned. "But make it quick."
"Merci!" Yuga thanked his comrade in French.
The French sniper instantly bolted away from the campsite, and searched for a place he could relieve himself of his privacy. After running for a bit, he found an empty spot.
Well, not quite empty. He saw that there were a bunch of those glowcaps that Komori collected yesterday all growing in straight lines. Odd, but not the time to contemplate that.
Quickly unzipping himself, he sighed in relief. Once he was done, he zipped back up, and looked around, only to realize that he had gotten too deep into the mushroom forest. Added with the fact that there was a lot of fog this morning, he came to one conclusion.
He was effectively lost.
Mustering up as much courage as possible, the blond sniper attempted to retrace his steps, only getting even more lost in the process. Eventually he found himself in the center of the forest, but outside of the large mushroom trees, and towards an empty space… with a stone statue.
Oh, that's quite odd, the thought to himself. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the statue was clearly carved in the likeness of those Imperials that attacked Musutafu. Same armor type, same sword and shield, however… one thing was odd to him.
Why carve him with a frightened expression?
Snapping out of his thoughts, Yuga heard someone shuffling behind him. It spooked him a bit, but turning around, he calmed down. It was just a local mademoiselle.
He wouldn't admit it, but he took a good look at her, from the bottom of her feet, all the way to the top. Long, beautiful legs, a purple dress which accentuated her wide hips, short waist, and generous chest. And to top it all off, several golden… snakes… in the place of her… hair…
Before he began screaming, Yuga Aoyama made the grave mistake of looking into her eyes.
Momo woke up well-rested, given how much had happened yesterday.
Getting up and out of her sleeping bag, she smiled as she saw that Sato had already begun cooking breakfast, and that Melissa was patrolling around the campsite.
And that, oddly enough, the sky was green.
Eh, she'd ask Tsuburaba about it later.
"Oh, good morning, Lieutenant!" Melissa smiled at her. "Sleep well?"
"Yes I did, thank you," Momo yawned. "I take it there was no incident on your part?"
"No, and everyone assigned to their shifts completed them," the angel reported.
"Excellent. Alright, wake everyone else up, and gather them up for a roll call."
Melissa obliged, and soon enough, everyone got up, dressed in their uniforms, and lined up for roll call. "Let's see here… Monoma, check. Kendo's here, too. So is Uraraka. And Kodai…"
Momo went through the entire roll call, until… "Hm? Where's Private Aoyama?"
"Wait, he's not back yet?" Tsuburaba asked.
"What?" growled Momo.
"Uhh… I might have allowed him to leave camp to take a wiz…?"
"WHAT?!" Momo was now angry. "You let him leave without a buddy?!"
"He looked like he was about to burst!" The meteorologist tried to defend himself. "And besides, you told us just because we've got an angel, doesn't mean we don't have to keep guard!"
Smacking her face, Momo groaned. "Okay, fine. I'm calm. This is the second day of our mission, we're bound to make some hiccups. What's important is to fix this right away."
Turning back to everyone else, she said, "Grab your walkie-talkies and your pistols. We're gonna split up into teams of two," she said that part while glaring at Tsuburaba, "and we're gonna find our missing Private. Bakugou, you're with me. Monoma, go with Kendo. Awase and Kaibara, you're a team. Kirishima, take Tsuburaba. The rest of you, stay back at camp."
"May I be of any assistance?" Melissa asked.
"Sure, you go with Komori and Rin. Here's a spare radio," Momo said, giving her the device. "Sato, Uraraka, Kodai, stay at camp, but keep your channels open. We might need help."
"You got it, Lieutenant!" Sato said, as Uraraka and Kodai nodded.
"Alright, Private, which direction did he go?" Momo asked Tsuburaba.
"He went that way," Tsuburaba said, pointing towards the trail.
"Then we're going that way. Everyone split up into your teams, and don't stop until we find him."
Itsuka Kendo knew how her boyfriend's brain worked.
Considering she grew up with Neito Monoma, it made sense she best knew how he ticked. While most people who first met him would think of him as antagonistic, she knew there was a reason behind it. Sure, most people wouldn't say that his… rough childhood was an excuse for him to act out, but at least Itsuka knew there was a method to Neito's madness.
One of the biggest things she knew was that he would always try to top anyone he perceived as a rival; whether they were in school, or if he was trying to climb the ladders of the JSDF. He would always try to one-up them, and laugh whenever they fucked up.
But that was a double-sided sword: There were some cases where he would try to be proactive and beat his so-called "enemy" to the punch by doing something great that would get him noticed, and more importantly, validated. Unfortunately, that meant that his ego would sometimes lead to him writing checks his body couldn't cash.
Sure, he kept that part of him in check during basic training, but now that he was second only to one an an all-important mission, and two of his "underlings" had now royally screwed up, Itsuka knew what he was thinking: He would find Aoyama first, before anyone else, and he would end up in Yaoyorozu's good books, and basically lord that over anyone beneath him.
She was honestly interested on how he would fuck it up.
"So, how are you gonna fuck this up?"
Neito looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"Come on, we've known each other since, what? We were eleven? I know that you're thinking of a way to "get all the glory" and I'm just wondering how that plan's gonna blow up in your face," the orange-haired soldier said. "I mean, remember our first-year Sports Festival?"
"This will be nothing like the Sports Festival!" he instantly defended himself, before calming down and casually leaning on a smaller mushroom tree. "Trust me, by the end of this, the two of us, well, mostly me, will be remembered and well-documented by our teammates."
"Uh-huh, sure," Itsuka said. "And that mushroom you're leaning on can totally hold your weight."
"Hm?"
Creak… POOF!
"Oof!" Neito grunted, as he hit the forest floor alongside the mushroom.
"Timber."
"Ha-ha, laugh it up," the blond grimaced.
FWEE…
"Huh?" The young couple looked towards the downed mushroom, and they saw that the cap burst open when it fell, and now a purple cloud was slowly escaping it.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Neito humphed.
"Here, let me help you up," Itsuka said, as she kneeled down.
"Thanks… hey, wait, do you smell anything?"
"Yeah, something… really good? Where did it come from? Neito? Oi, Neito!"
"Hey, Itsuka…" Neito asked, with a small chuckle. "Can you see that rainbow river behind us?"
Oh. So this is how he fucks it up.
"Hey, Tsuburaba, you're a meteorologist, right?" Kirishima asked.
"I mean, yeah, why?"
"What the heck is up with the sky, man? I mean, why is it green?"
"Well, back on Earth, a green sky meant that there's a lot of water within a cloud. And since this is a mushroom forest, it would explain how they got so tall," Tsuburaba explained. "This entire area is basically one giant moisture trap. It rains, the mushrooms thrive on that humidity, the excess water goes back to the clouds, and soon enough, boom, green skies in the morning."
"Is that what's causing this fog?" the artificial redhead asked.
"Eh, kinda. Fog happens when cold air moves over warm air," the meteorologist explained. "This place has to have a lot of warm air to let the mushrooms thrive like they do, but there must have been a strong wind or something earlier today, and the end result is this fog."
"I see, I – WHOA!"
"KIRISHIMA!"
Before either of them could register it, Kirishima slipped on some loose pebbles, and tumbled down a slope, where he would fall with a sudden thud, and get separated from his partner.
"Wow, this fog is thick!" Komori let out a whistle.
"No wonder Aoyama got lost in all of this," Rin grumbled.
"Well, the good news seems to be that we're on stable ground," Melissa pointed out. "It's also good fortune that we haven't accidentally run into any of the mushroom trees."
"Good fortune… or they aren't there," Rin quickly realized.
"Guys, this is Tsuburaba!" their walkie-talkies came to life. "I've lost Kirishima! The ground beneath us was loose, and he fell! I can't find him anywhere with this fog… huh? AHH –"
"Tsuburaba?" Rin grabbed his radio. "Tsuburaba, come in! We gotta help them!"
"ROOAAARRRR!"
"What was that?" Komori whispered, in fear.
"It sounded like a lion…" Rin said. "But I can't be sure with all this fog.
"Son of a – Why didn't I think of this sooner?!" Melissa suddenly growled.
"Melissa?" Komori asked the clearly-frustrated angel.
"I completely forgot! I have a spell that can control the weather!"
"ROOAAARRRR!"
"Well, what are you waiting for, a personal invitation?! Use it!" Rin commanded.
"Right, right, just give me a second!" Snapping her finger, Melissa chanted, "IMPERIUM TEMPESTAS!" and within a few seconds the fog around them dissipated.
The trio saw that they had completely left the mushroom forest, and were only on the outskirts of it by the miniature mushrooms growing around them like grass. In front of them was a gray desert of rock, with the only noteworthy things being the crags…
…and the scorpion, the size of a horse, right in front of them.
"Oh," Rin realized. "So, not a lion."
"Dude, we were so close," Sen Kaibara groaned to Yosetsu Awase. "Our shift was almost over, but then Kosei had to go and let Aoyama get lost in the shroom forest."
"Look, man, what's done is done." Yosetsu really didn't wanna hear Kaibara's bellyaching this early in the morning. "All we can do now is hope that he didn't get eaten or something."
"Fine," Kaibara groaned. "Jesus, how thick is this fog?"
"I dunno, but it's dissipating a bit, so that's good."
"Shhh."
"What? What is it?"
"Hide in the mushrooms."
Obliging, Kaibara did as Awase commanded, and the two of them hid behind some of the taller mushrooms as the fog began to dissipate. Once it cleared up a bit, the two soldiers could see two figures out in front of them. One of them seemed to be a woman, and the other…
"Holy shit, it's Aoyama!" Kaibara whispered.
The bandana-wearing mechanic started at the scene in suspicion. "Why isn't he moving…?" Suddenly, when he saw the lady's "hair" it all clicked. "Kaibara, I'm pulling rank. Shoot her. Now."
"I dunno, man, she's kinda hot, though."
"No, you idiot, you don't understand! That thing's a –"
"Guys, this is Tsuburaba!" their walkie-talkies came to life. "I've lost Kirishima! The ground beneath us was loose, and he fell! I can't find him anywhere with this fog… huh? AHH –"
Before the two of them even had a chance to silence their radios, the medusa turned her head.
"Shit" was Awase's last word before he and Kaibara were turned to stone.
Eijiro Kirishima groaned as he lifted his head up. "Ugh… so unmanly…"
Looking around, he saw that the fog was beginning to dissipate, at least, so he wouldn't end up tumbling down a slope like an idiot again. So stupid, he chided himself.
Getting up, he grabbed his gun that fell to the side and began to walk around the area, hoping to find Tsuburaba. He walked around the area, and saw that there weren't as many big mushrooms. There were mostly those purple flowers, and weirdly enough, some statues.
Lots and lots of statues.
Before Eijiro could figure out why the heck they were all carved to look terrified, someone grabbed him from behind, restrained him, and covered his eyes with their hands.
"Shh… calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."
They were speaking Latin. And for some reason… their voice was familiar.
"Listen to me carefully; you are in grave danger. You and your comrades are in the lair of a medusa. Whatever you do, do not look her in the eyes, or she will turn you into stone. Use this blindfold I'm giving you to cover your eyes. You will still be able to see shadows and basic shapes, but it should be enough to prevent you from seeing her eyes. Please, be careful."
"Wait, who are you –?"
Before Eijiro could finish asking his question, the figure was gone.
Looking behind him, he figured that they fled deeper into the mushroom forest. He also saw that they left behind a long white cloth; a blindfold. Picking it up, he wrapped it around his head, and sure enough, the fabric was still thin enough that he could see the basics.
Hopefully, it would be enough to keep him from turning into stone.
Katsuki Bakugou was not having a good time.
It began as a few small things ticking him off. First, he gets dragged onto this suicide mission. Then, one of the idiots decides to go tinkle in the forest by themselves and get lost, causing the rest of them to go look for him. Then, he gets paired up with the Lieutenant, someone he wants absolutely nothing to do with, getting lost with her of all people in the fog.
And now, they were being chased by man-eating mushrooms.
And he didn't have any of his explosives.
Just peachy.
"SHHRRREEEE!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Katsuki yelled back at the tentacle-wielding mushrooms. If it were up to him, he would have stood his ground and blasted each and every one of those things with his pistol. But nooooo, Yaoyorozu ordered him to run, so run was what he did.
All he could do was hope that they would shake these bastards off, because there was something really unsettling about seeing a bunch of purple mushrooms over one meter tall moving around like an octopus on dry land, all while trying to use their tentacles to grab him.
Oddly enough, they did stop chasing them pretty soon.
Right as soon as they entered a field with stone statues everywhere.
That was pretty fucking ominous.
Elsewhere, deep within the Todoroki Empire, a young man was walking down the hallways. He had red-and-white hair, and was considered quite handsome, even with his scar.
"Shoto."
The young prince turned back to see his older sister. "Fuyumi."
"Did you hear about what happened at the Collibus Hills Gate?" she asked.
"Vaguely. Apparently, someone was on the other side with enough firepower to wipe out the nearly entire army that our father sent there. Do you think they could be useful?"
Fuyumi thought it over for a second, before saying, "The only thing we have so far are Moe's reports. Aside from a reasonable reason for retaliation against us, we don't know what motivates these people. We would need to find out ourselves."
"So, you're planning to call out to your contacts?" Shoto asked.
"Yes. Best case scenario, they could help us with our… cause," Fuyumi said. "Worst case scenario… our father stepped on the tail of a dragon, one who is far more powerful, and far more cruel than than the old Demon King could ever hope to be."
Author's Note: YES! FINALLY, A COMMENT!
And here I was thinking I accidentally disabled the comment option!
LaeItonMe: I am so very glad that you enjoyed it! Without these comments, I really can't tell if what I'm writing is good or not, so thanks for the positive feedback!
Anyways, that's all for this week!
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