Yay for more bleach fanfics! This will be number 3 overall and my second one off bleach. Note this is merely an opening chapter, the main points of the story will become more apparent in chapter two. I hope you like it. R&R pls.

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Safeties off

Bullets and Arrows

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Ichigo slowed down the car and parked it. He, Chad and Uryuu climbed out silently and walk into a scrubby restaurant. They seated themselves near a wall, ordered drinks and looked around the place. It was dirty and unkempt, it stank of mold and alcohol, a bartender stood behind the counter scrubbing shot glasses with a ragged cloth. Smoke wafted through the air and settled on the ceiling. Uryuu pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one and lit up.

"I didn't know you smoked," Chad said looking at Uryuu.

"I haven't openly for long started back in senior year. Never kicked it and this 'war' is a sorry but valid excuse for me to openly smoke and not feel bad," Uryuu replied and leaned back in his chair. "Speaking of this 'war,' isn't that our hit over there?"

Chad's eyes moved off to the side but his head stayed stock-still. Ichigo used a mirror on the wall to see where Uryuu had indicated. Sure enough there was their target. Sitting at a table with some girls and a couple of bodyguards standing nearby.

"Doesn't try to hide himself does he?" Ichigo noted. The bodyguards were standing, usually to conceal themselves they sat nearby and stayed inconspicuous until needed.

"Well they said he knew there was a hit out on him, if you bothered listening to the briefings," Uryuu replied. " The bodyguards standing looking all big and tough is probably just an intimidation tactic. You know, stop the fight before it starts."

"Yeah well, their unlucky day huh?" Ichigo said humorlessly. "We don't scare easy."

"Well I'm still hungry. Lets eat first," Chad said calmly. "We wait, and move only if he does first."

He didn't and Ichigo sat in silence while Chad and Uryuu discussed something less than important. He mulled over the events in his mind. Why he was in a shady restaurant about to kill what appeared to be a human. He wasn't, he was an arrancar disguised. Despite Uryuu's comments, Ichigo had in fact paid attention to the briefing. The guy they were about to attack was named Enrique Alvarez. He was a middle arrancar. Low twenties Ichigo thought. He owned this place and was using it to stage attacks on Kisuke's store. A couple of drive-bys and a serious attack had made it imperative to get rid of this place.

This is what the war with Aizen had devolved to. A ridiculous Mob war between soul society and Aizen and the Espada. The Big battle in winter had put a stop to Aizen's hougyoku idea, but there were apparently many other ways to gain the key to soul society's throne room. A gang war had exploded in Karakura town and the surrounding cities. At first it had been open and bloody. But the hollows and more prominently the arrancar had started hiding and biding their time. Now the battle was a distant memory and a war had followed. It was all very peaceful and organized. Uryuu was right, all the waiting and timing chewed at your nerves and gave a perfect reason to start smoking. Orihime wouldn't approve but then she could just reject the smoke smell and the damage done to Uryuu's lungs. Her powers had come a long, long way since her kidnapping. So had her personal life.

It had been what, two years? Two long years since they had gone to Hueco Mundo to save her and Ichigo had asked her out. They had dated for around three months before breaking it off. She had done it so Ichigo wouldn't worry about her so much during the winter battle. Ichigo still worried about her but they never got back together afterwards they had just moved on and decided to stay friends. Uryuu was dating her now and Ichigo harbored no resentment. He had a great girlfriend in the form of Tatsuki Ariswa. They had been dating for a year now. It would have begun earlier when Ichigo had finally been forced to come clean to her while recruiting for winter, but Orihime was still his girlfriend then.

Tatsuki had proved her worth over and over during and since winter. Ran tao's guns had been mass-produced and compacted to handgun size. Tatsuki was soul society's best sniper. Basically every gun that human's had invented Soul Society copied and started using. Ichigo had a pretty 15 shot desert eagle kido gun on him at the moment, Chad had a standard 9 mm. and Uryuu had his bow. Swords were still used normally but for this job it had to be quick, and swords would require Ichigo coming out of his body, and immediate giveaway, and sword fights with a skilled opponent could go on for quite a while.

"Ichigo, what do you think?" Uryuu broke Ichigo's reverie.

"What?"

"Do you think Ikkaku or Matsumoto is going to fill the new captain slot? Ever since Captain Komamura got jumped in rukongai, 7th division has needed a captain. Only Matsumoto and Ikkaku have the skills needed."

"Ikkaku is the obvious choice but I'll be surprised if Yamamoto will ever get him to move up in the ranks. Matsumoto will probably get it. The real question is, who will be her lieutenant?"

"See Chad I told you Ikkaku will never move up." Uryuu said with some satisfaction.

"But Ichigo said Ikkaku is the better choice of the two." Chad shot back.

"Guys, keep it down!" Ichigo hissed. Chad and Uryuu snickered, Ichigo the loudest opponent ever was telling them to be quiet. "It's not that funny," Ichigo remarked.

The waiter walked up and gave them their food. They ate in semi-silence. And steeled themselves for their assassination. All three were well known faces and disguise had become a necessity for them. Ichigo's bleach blond hair was a dead give away so he wore a wig marking him as a red head. Uryuu had his hair in a short Mohawk. Chad had his hair thickly gelled into spikes and his normal Hawaiian shirt replaced by a black T-shirt with some snarky remark written on it. All three wore baggy black pants and boots. They were meant to look like a bunch of punks, and they pulled it off well in Ichigo's opinion.

"Okay guys, get ready. Ichigo and Chad turned their safeties off as silently as possible, Uryuu's hand twitched as he concentrated his spiritual energy. All three stood up together, raised there weapons and fired. The bodyguards noticed just in time to get hit by their shots. One bodyguard's head exploded as one of Ichigo's rounds hit him. The other bodyguard managed to pull his weapon and fire a shot before an arrow passed clean through him and his chest popped open in three spots. The arrancar kicked the table over and ducked behind it. An ominous red light appeared behind the table before it came flying at them with cero right behind it. Chad's arm transformed in the blink of an eye to a shield blocking the blast. He came out from behind it firing, Ichigo's fire adding to the fusillade. The arrancar flew back as his upper body was hit in multiple places.

The noise died away and Ichigo took stalk of the situation. Two of the girls were vainly trying to wake a third who had been caught in the crossfire. Chad was checking the bodies of the targets to make sure they were dead, body and soul. Then he noticed Uryuu. He had fallen to the ground, where he was staring at a bloody hole in his shirt. It was growing bigger and was right over his right lung.

"I'm hit," he muttered, he coughed up blood and passed out.

"They're dead, Ichigo," Chad said.

"Good, we gotta move quick. Need to get back to my place," Ichigo said lifting Uryuu onto his shoulder. Ichigo carried Uryuu to the car and put him in the back seat ministering what medical help he could without equipment. Luckily spirit guns just took a chunk out of your flesh/spirit; there wasn't a round to remove. Ichigo propped his legs up, and tilted him forward so the blood wouldn't flow into his lungs. As Ichigo worked in the back Chad had gunned the car out onto the road speeding towards Kurosaki clinic.