The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san

Chapter 21: Mr. Flag

Sneaking in had been easy with the new program in hand. Since nearly everything in the company was high-tech, even rooms, nearly everything could be hacked and was accessible with the new application. Still, they couldn't be too careful, hence Osomatsu suggested that if they ran into a guard, Todo would have to be sacrificed. The pink-haired male reply with "Go to hell!", but pretty much agreed with kicking everyone who tried to stop them. And if they were to get shot, Osomatsu would use the self-defense program. He just activated it now, so any bullet aimed at them would be deflected somewhere else. Preferably, a wall, in order to not get arrested or attract attention.

The side entrance was a long hall of rooms that were labeled differently, such as a room for car parts, trail mix, bottles of ink, and all sorts of things. The group of five passed by the hallway in haste, in fear that someone would somehow alert the rest at Flag Corporation that they hacked half of their technology just with a push of a button. With a pink phone, nonetheless. And they've been running in the same hall for about ten minutes, looking for an exit. "Are we there yet?!" Chibita panted, hand against a wall as he tried to catch his breath. His scarf wasn't wrapped around his neck, but was hanging off his shoulders like a towel. If they wanted some place to go to when it was cold, this was it.

Iyami and Osomatsu had collapsed at the floor, Kara was looking out for any guards, and Todo was leaning against a wall. "Fuck this place. Who the fuck decided to put everything in separate rooms and in the longest hallway in the fucking galaxy? Asses." He removed his black headband, similar to the one he lost yesterday, and tried to fix his hair. Sweat, the coldness of a winter day, and heavy leather jackets should never mix. He felt like he was suffocating, so he took off the leather jacket and tied it around his waist. He felt goosebumps when he felt something brush against his skin. Wind? Probably the breeze from an air conditioner. He put his headband back on. "Follow me. I think I found a doorway." The hall was stuffy and too hot for their own good, so there was no air conditioner. It was probably coming from the lobby.

Kara and Chibita helped both Osomatsu and Iyami back to their feet, though they couldn't blame them for being tired. Kara supported Osomatsu by slinging Osomatsu's arm over his neck and following after Todo, while Chibita, poor little Chibita, had to push Iyami forward due to their size difference. In the end, Chibita decided to just drag Iyami by the collar of his clothes until the con-man could catch his breath. Thank god he was strong. "Iyami, you idjit, catch your breath and die later, damn it!" Chibita hissed. The con-man murmured something before jumping up and murmuring something with a grumpy expression. Chibita grabbed the cuff of his sleeve and dragged Iyami with him.

"We're close. I can feel it. It's cold. Not as cold as outside, but it feels like the apartment. An air conditioner, probably." Todo murmured. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hm. Air conditioners always had some sort of smell that couldn't be explained, but it was somewhat calming. There were also scents of cheap cologne, rubbing alcohol, and coffee, all mixed together. It wasn't particularly pleasant, nor was it unbearable. "Yup. I can smell something from far away. Smells like a lot of rubbing alcohol. Almost like a hospital." He frowned. "What are these guys even doing? Isn't there like a riot outside? You would have thought they'd put guards in the main entrance instead of the side. There's just a bunch of random products here. What is there to guard, ink bottles?"

"You may never know when someone's desperate enough to steal packing peanuts and chew on 'em when they could have just stolen the pack of trail mix instead." Osomatsu chuckled weakly from behind Todo. "Fucking hell, the last time I felt this tired was- actually, I've always been tired, even before Chibita, Iyami, and I left the city. Twenty-four-seven, tired all day everyday. Gathering information on Sutabaa, trying to keep my emotions in check, even having to deal with nightmares, drifting off a lot.. wow, I'm a really stressed-out guy." He concluded, lazy grin on his face even as he and Kara ran. "And I don't even have a job, and I'm stressed! Weird."