Unwanted Elements

Chapter Twenty-Three

I really don't know why me, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu decided to leap up onto the desks as the handcuffs clicked around Hatabou's wrists. Looking back, it was incredibly fucking stupid, but then again we're not exactly known for being smart at our decisions. 

We perched on the desks, in full attack stance. Todomatsu sneered. "Unhand our friend!" Jyushimatsu screeched, and it felt like all our confrontational skills had flown away, possibly over the edge of the railing and into the fragile glass. I took a moment to study the soldiers and their dog. Needle was a short and stocky man, his chestplate scuffed with many a weapon's mark. He did not bear a mask, exposing his features out into the world.

His eyes glimmered gold, a fierce fire alight within them. A scar traced along the right side of his face, and he was missing a few teeth. He bore a minor stubble, and apparently a few locks of chestnut colored hair, a few strands of which peeked out from under his helmet. He wore gloves that concealed his palm, exposing his scarred fingers. He held a dagger in one hand. As for Boulder, his appearance sent a chill through my veins.

He was a full head taller than me, almost double Needle's size. His mask was melded into the appearance of an animal's snarl, painted white fangs tipped with a dab of red. His eyes were concealed, the mask providing the narrowed, golden eyes of a tiger. He didn't wear sleeves, revealing a slithering mass of tattoos and scars. He wielded a large scythe, and on his belt were a few knives. In one hand was his scythe, its handle decorated in sharp trails of gold. In the other, a red leash.

Hammer was a smaller breed of dog, and I concluded he must be a mix between a shepherd and a bulldog. He was mostly brown, with patches of ash grey sprinkled across his back. His muzzle was ash grey, his lips pulled back to reveal a yellowing snarl. His gold eyes looked back at us, anger flashing in and out. He was growling, a low sounding rumble. I could almost feel my sinuses itch.

"And what? Risk our jobs? Not happening, buddy," Needle grimaced, a look of sick amusement highlighting his face. "Oi, Needle. Those are them Matsunos the boss wants," Boulder whispered, and Needle's eyes flashed with scheming. "Oi, you's right..." he smirked, withdrawing his dagger and spinning it, slashing its blade through thin air.

"Aw, sweet! A package deal!" Boulder remarked, and despite his hidden face, I could picture a shark-like grin forming across his lips. Jyushimatsu struck first, allowing bolts of electricity to strike in many places. None hit their intended targets as Boulder and Needle danced on their toes to avoid the sparkling shower. Jyushimatsu didn't give up, leaping onto the circle table, still casting shining bolts of lightning as he hopped. 

This time, lightning struck twice. It made direct contact with Boulder, causing him to stumble back, accidentally allowing the leash to slide through his fingers. Hammer barked, attempting to hop up onto the table to harm my brother. The cabinet's doors swung open, slamming into the dusty walls with a metallic clang. Choromatsu's green eyes snapped into focus as he sprayed the room in green mist.

Needle and Boulder coughed, waving their gloved hands in front of them to fan off the mist. My stomach continued to contort as Hammer attempted to hop up onto the desk with me and Todomatsu, my nose starting to itch. I took a running leap over to Jyushimatsu as Karamatsu emerged from his hiding spot. It took my eyes a minute to adjust through the jade haze, but when they did, I noticed Hatabou was missing.

Boulder let rip a roar, and gripped his scythe's handle in both hands. With one swift moment, he swung the weapon into the ground, splitting the desk Todomatsu was barely balancing on into wooden splinters. My brother leapt through the air, landing narrowly on top of a filing cabinet. Jyushimatsu had hopped off the table and was pacing the room, his fingers crackling with golden electricity dancing between them.

Boulder took a swipe at him, but he ducked, grasping the blade of the weapon in his palms and letting electricity crackle through the metal blade, but the sparks sizzled and passed away as they stemmed onto the wooden handle. Boulder chuckled, and whirled around. His weapon clanged into the walls, and almost as suddenly as they'd barged into the hiding spot, the sprinklers began to spritz water all over the room.

Osomatsu hopped down from the table, smoke filtering from his finger. "Run!" Choromatsu called, and we all high-tailed it out of there, dashing through the maze of an abandoned floor. Silence rained uncomfortably, and after what felt like an eternity, Todomatsu finally spoke. "Well, does anyone have a plan that hopefully has nothing to do with getting more guards running after us?" he remarked. 

"Wait, where's Hatabou?" Karamatsu finally spoke the concern, and we all skidded to a halt. "Shit, did we leave him behind?" Osomatsu inquired, and Karamatsu shook his head. "I didn't see him when we left," I interjected, and Choromatsu scratched his head. "Then there's no way that the soldiers took him," he reasoned, and it coated my stomach with anxiety. "Then where did he go?" Osomatsu asked, and the loud ringing of bells startled us.

A loud rumble sounded overhead.

"What the fuck is that noise?!" Todomatsu shrieked, and I felt my heart pounding inside my chest. "I don't know!" Osomatsu screamed, and I began to notice more employees scattering down below, as if preparing for some soft of sudden apocalypse. The intercoms crackled to life again, to deliver messages once more. "Warning! There is a collapse under way, and the place is coming down in t-minus ten minutes. Evacuate immediately!" the voices droned, this time filled to the brim with emotion rather than a soulless robotic tone.

"Fuck!" Todomatsu screeched, the sheer terror on his face drowning the sternness from only a few minutes prior. "We can't go without Hatabou!" Jyushimatsu whimpered, his eyes crammed with sadness while his signature smile dripped down at the edges of his lips. "We don't know where he is, though!" Karamatsu added, taking a stand behind Jyushimatsu. "Well, do you want to become NEET pancakes?" Choromatsu sarcastically replied, raising an eyebrow.

That seemed to be enough to convince everyone to flee, but the thought about Hatabou's fate gnawed at my already flopping stomach. Where had he vanished to? Was he okay? Would he be crushed from the temple's collapse? We ran. We ran faster than we ever had in the past. Faster than our legs could carry us. Across the bridge, across the platforms, through the broken bridge door. I noticed that the doors to the other rooms were wide open, darkness looming inside their maws.

We escaped out into the metal and stone hybrid hallway, and I could feel my heart just banging on my ribcage like a prisoner banging on bars with a metal cup in movies. Fear powered my body as the familiar rushing of water resonated through the snaking tunnel. Osomatsu seemed to remember the itching darkness, igniting a flame atop his finger as we ran. The waterfall's roaring backside loomed ahead of us and without hesitation, we all leapt through the curtain of liquid, scrambling across the rickety bridge and towards the entrance.

A loud roar sounded behind us, and we picked up our speed. We launched our bodies into the air and through the gaping entrance as boulders barricaded the gap, dust showering over the blockage.

We landed in the dirt, rolling across the soft ground as a loud creak groaned through the air, and a noise I couldn't explain sounded. We all scrambled to our feet, watching as dust swirled into the sky as orange lights painted streaks across a red backdrop.

The temple's roof had barely caved in, the main supports of the entrance laying in ruins. "Hatabou?!" we all called out, scanning the barren field for our friend. No luck. "He's gotta be in there still! We can save him if we move the boulders!" Todomatsu called out, and Jyushimatsu took a step forwards.

"Are you kidding?" Choromatsu asked, his green eyes squinting at Todomatsu.