A few miles back and a few hours earlier...

Small portions of the world, as it turned out, did not sleep. Notably, and perhaps most importantly, neither did Yumichika Ayasegawa. He woke abruptly to a clamoring, bellowing cacophony outside his window. Being about as coordinated in the morning as the walking dead on stilts, he managed to get twisted in his blankets and fell gracelessly out of bed, scattering cucumber slices and curlers everywhere. He got up, wincing and squashing cucumbers into the carpet; somebody had to pay.

Luckily, somebody was still hollering away, right outside the house. He shoved his window open and stuck his head out to give them a piece of his mind, forgetting for a moment how entirely unbeautiful he looked. He was just in time to hear a key bit of information:

"Yumi! If you don't get out here right now, I'm breaking down the door! Do you hear me? Breaking it! Right now! Alri-"

"Ikkaku, you filthy baboon, don't you dare break my house!"

The human-shaped figure at the front of the house, a gleam off the bald head just visible in the late moonlight, halted a wild kick just inches from the door in question. He seemed to forget to put down his foot as he turned to address Yumichika properly.

"If I can't break it, then get down here and open it! We gotta go!"

"The only place I'm going is back to bed! Get off my lawn!"

"Fine, then throw me your keys! I need your car!"

"If you want my car, come back in the morning! Then I'll be awake to say you can't have it! Your driving sucks! Now leave!"

Luckily for the neighbors, Yumichika lived a couple miles out from anybody who was bothered by ruckus in the middle of the night. The worst they would do is come out and threaten to shoot you for scaring the cattle. Typical rural Kansas.

Anyway, in the midst of all the shouting, the nagging idea began to form in his foggy brain that something was not quite right. Ikkaku should be... somewhere else. Somewhere important. Because he had taken the night shift. Yumichika quickly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, irrevocably smearing his overnight face mask. He pointed with his besmirched arm out the window in accusation.

"Why aren't you watching the Hellbeast? She might escape!"

"That's what I said! She escaped! She blew out my tires and took the captain's bike and drove away! Now get out here or give me your keys!" Ikkaku had finally set down his foot, so as to more effectively wave his arms like a windmill having conniptions.

Yumichika was suitably affected. He paused, finger still pointing, and took a deep breath. His exhale turned into something like a shout halfway through.

"You had one job! One! This is your fault! I'm not gonna die because of you and your stupid naps and your stupid face! No!"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING GIVE ME YOUR KEYS."

"OH MY GOD YOU WERE DRUNK, YOU WERE DRUNK AND YOU FELL ASLEEP."

"THAT'S IT, I'M BREAKING DOWN THE DOOR NOW."

The warning shots from the neighbor to the west put down that idea pretty quickly. Ikkaku took cover behind some poorly-managed shrubberies and Yumichika ducked under the window sill until the disgruntled fellow was satisfied and had run out of shot. They both peeked out and could just barely see him stumping back off through the pasture in a fuzzy maroon bathrobe. Yumichika stood up, much calmer than a moment ago, donned his own dressing gown and slippers and went to unlock the door. He found it unlocked and sat down morosely on the step. Ikkaku sat down next to him, covered in leaves.

"It wasn't locked."

"I wouldn't just barge in without knocking. I'm not a barbarian."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So about that car..."

"There's a problem. It won't start."

Ikkaku's eyes widened in horror. "So that's why you weren't at work yesterday. What are we gonna do?"

"... steal a car? There's no way we can catch her on foot."

Ikkaku slumped, staring at the cement between his knees. Yumichika curled into a face masked ball and started mentally drafting his will. If Ikkaku survived, he wasn't getting anything. Suddenly, Ikkaku turned his head back to face him, sideways.

"Wait. What about that car your mom gave you? That funny jeep?"

Yumichika's face visibly paled, even in the weak moonlight and under the remnants of the face mask. "You don't know what you're asking. There is nothing funny about that jeep." He gulped. "You couldn't understand."

Ikkaku turned completely, face drawn in suspicion. "You would rather DIE than drive your mom's car? There's nothing wrong with it! This is something dumb again, isn't it?"

Yumichika glared back. "It's not dumb! I'm completely serious! It's the most awful thing on four wheels! I can't even step into my own garage for fear of seeing it!"

Now Ikkaku was the one pointing indignantly. He jumped back to his feet. "I was right! It is dumb! Just put some pants on and we'll go!" He was already shifting his weight to spring toward the garage when they heard another warning shot, this time from the east. They both flinched and quieted down.

Yumichika sighed, weighing his options as he studied his slippers. How could his life fall apart in just a single night? Oh wait, he knew: Babysitting. He squared his shoulders resolutely as he came to a decision. "Just let me pack and we can go."