Taking out the garbage, one dance beat at a time.

[takanimegumi]

Date: February 9, 2060

 

Time: Late in the evening. 23:45

 

Place: ごみ (Gomi Club) New Meiji City

 

Characters: Megumi

 

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[takanimegumi]

"Oh, I like you!" Bonnie laughed again. Her teeth were sharp and white in the pulsating light. "Let's chat then. Girl to girl." She reached over and game Megumi's leg a squeeze. Flustered, Megumi slapped her hand away, which only made Bonnie's laugh ring higher and louder.

“Would you care for a drink?” Still giggling, Bonnie motioned to the well-stocked bar behind the data hub.

Curious, Megumi looked at the bar, surprised that there was enough creativity in the world for so many different types of liquors and spirits. (Gods, some of them are glowing!)

“It’s on the house,” the dead gangster woman said, chuckling at the smaller woman’s skeptical expression and clear interest in some of the psychedelic liquors that were so popular among the regular club patrons. “I’m feeling rather generous this evening and you are, after all, lacking in credits at the moment.”

“I think I'll pass." Megumi turned away from the bar, part of her brain still figuring out how they managed to incorporate edible phosphorescence into an alcohol- based solution. “However, I sampled alcohol once, and did not find it to my liking.”

Bonnie blinked. “Once?”

Megumi held up a finger, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “Just once, and it was more than enough.” She’d had such high hopes for the champagne that had been handed to her by a server, so many years ago. The memory of a sharp taste of bubbly vinegar and the resultant roar of laughter from a certain decorated officer, had not dulled with time.

“I have a teetotaler sitting beside me. Oh, my dear, you are a delight! So polite. So formal.” Bonnie was laughing again."Why, you should be dressed up like a 1930's Moll, not me!" She then glanced at Megumi. "Let's trade!"

Megumi wasn't sure where the conversation was going. "I beg your pardon?"

“Normally, you'd be SOL since you're credit-less. Lucky for you, I'm bored. You're funny and I am totally keen on trading costumes."

"You can't be serious." Megumi peered at Bonnie and decided that the woman's beret was cutting off the blood supply to her head.

"I'm never serious, but if you want this conversation to continue, you'd do well to entertain me. Since we are, for the sake of conversation, of course, having a discussion about a theoretical line of credit, we can afford to be a little more down to earth. She looked at her expectantly, too bright eyes shining. "So, what's your name, Miss Prim?"

“Rin,” Megumi said without hesitation. My name is Rin.”

“Just Rin?” Bonnie gave her a sly look.

“Just Rin.” Megumi looked back.

“Very well, Just Rin.” Bonnie said, "Do we have a deal?"

Megumi stared at the woman, boggled. "If we switch...er...costumes...then you'll help me?" This was nuts.

"I'll consider it." Bonnie gave her a wink then motioned towards her tattered scrubs. "I'm mad for what you're wearing. The look is seriously grim-dark."

"It is?"

"Totally."

Megumi cautiously slid off the chair, wondering what grim-dark was and why she was even considering the swap. "Um. Your outfit is very nice as well."

Bonnie chortled and jumped off the chair, her laugh so wild that Megumi suspected that there were bats in the woman's beret topped belfry. Bonnie caught her by the hand and led her past the data bar, winding through the pulsing crown with enviable ease.

"So, what inspired your look?" Bonnie asked, weaving too and fro.

"The dark side of medical research?" Megumi lamely offered. She felt like Alice falling head over heels down a very strange rabbit hole.

"SORDID!" Bonnie said, as if the word were a compliment. She came to what was clearly ladies bathroom and motioned for Megumi to go in. "Where did you get if from? I got this..." she twirled around, nearly clobbering a club goer leaving a stall. Megumi noted with professional displeasure that hands were not being properly washed. "...from Mad Rags. It's on North Side of course!"

"Of course." Wishing that she was not in bare feet, Megumi poked her head into a stall. (Ew) "I made it myself. Used my own scrubs."

Bonnie squealed and clapped her hands, as if she was a child with way to much sugar in her system. "And the blood? What did you use?" She motioned to the dried and fresh bloodstains that marred the continuity of blue on the other woman's outfit. "Chicken?"

"Human," Megumi said flatly. "I'm very big on authenticity."

"No. Way."

Megumi smiled thinly. "Yes. Way."

"GRIM-DARK!" More squealing on Bonnie's end ensured. Megumi wanted to slap the woman silly, but instead slithered into one of the other stalls that was a bit cleaner and quickly shut the door. A trade was made and before Megumi could catalog how many STD's were lurking behind the toliet seat, she was clad in the garb of a bullet ridden gangster, beret and all, and a scrub clad Bonnie was bouncing about happily, braiding her hair up into a very messy bun.

"You like?" She asked Megumi again, clearly pleased with the exchange.

"I...I do." Megumi glanced down, thrilled to actually be properly clothed. The made a mental note that if she made it out of this insane asylum in one peice the bullet-hole stickers would have to go. "Thank you."

Exchange made, she was once again merrily led back to the data hub, stumbling in the too high heels she'd just inherited. (Bonnie was barefoot and having a blast)

"Akira! Look we traded!" Bonnie called out to her fellow employee, the man managing the data hub.

"SORDID." The man nodded and made some sort of hand sign at his fellow employee.

"Isn't it though?" Bonnie (who wasn't anymore) whirled again, a dervish in blue tatters. "Get this, Rin here, she used REAL BLOOD."

"What can I say?" Megumi made the same hand gesture, hoping it wasn't of the obscene variety. "It's...um...Grim Dark."

15 MINUTES (and much annoying laughter) LATER

"So, let's hear what you want, Rin-chan!"

Megumi thought for a moment, as she had no idea what the going rate for a hacker was. (What the hell, I’m in way over my head as is…) “Theoretically speaking, of course, I would be interested in obtaining enough credits to secure the services of a discrete, proficient individual who would be able to help me regain access to a banking account of mine.”

“Oh, how interesting.” Bonnie said, “I assume you have the bona-fides to prove ownership of said account?” She gave her a side glance. “We wouldn’t want to do anything illegal you know.”

Megumi nodded. “I do and no, committing robbery isn’t on the mind.”

“Pity. You ARE supposed to be a bank robber, after all!" Bonnie pointed out. “Would you care to tell me why you have lost access to this account?”

“Family squabbles.” Megumi tried to sound coy rather than clueless.

“Did Daddy cut off your allowance? Is that it?”

“What can I say? He’s of the opinion that I misbehaved.” Megumi shrugged, though her eyes flashed with a hint of anger when the woman sitting beside her laughed again. It was getting to her. “Look, I’m not some trust fund brat, if that’s what your thinking. The money in that account came through hard work and gainful employment.”

“How?” Bonnie chortled as she looked the slender woman over. She was young, barely out of her teens and into her early twenties if he was any judge of age. “Babysitting?”

Hands fisting, Megumi struggled to keep her temper in check. While her father had been a prominent physician, she’d earned her degree on her own merit, attending a university where her father was not a professor. Scholarships, earned through academic merit had supported her, as her father was not one to coddle and she was not one to accept his assistance. Even during medical school and her residencies, she had done her best to stay clear of his shadow. She opened her mouth, a sharp retort forming, then closed it just as quickly as she realized that going into such detail was unwise and that she was being goaded.

She took a deep breath, then another.

“Don’t dismiss, babysitting. It’s a good gig.” Megumi said, her tone syrupy with a good pinch of sarcasm. “Awful hours though.”

“I can only imagine.” Bonnie winked again, pleased that her teasing had proved so fruitful. “This account, Rin-chan,” is there anything that a discrete and proficient individual would need to know before trying to ahh….liberate your hard earned babysitting money?”

(And now we’re to the crux of the matter)

Megumi nodded her expression uncomfortable, for she was sure that the strange woman sitting beside her already knew the answer to his question. “More likely than not, it will be monitored.”

“Ahh. You really must have misbehaved for Daddy to be so determined to keep you from your allowance.”