Thanks to the powers of granola and packaged gas station snacks, they did not have to stop the rest of the way to the Texas border. It was going pretty well, actually. They were making good time, the road was empty, the sun was shining. It felt more like a pleasant road trip than a race to stave off certain death.
Just as they were crossing the border, they noticed a shadow at their backs. Something very much like a huge bank of clouds. Maybe a thunderhead. Needless to say, abnormal weather for a sunny summer day in Oklahoma. Hard to say for Texas.
It was catching up with them. They could hear rain. Of the torrential variety. Yumichika started to press down a little harder on the accelerator. Ikkaku was kneeling backwards in his seat, staring in horror at the approaching downpour, when he saw the furled top tied at the back of the jeep. It still had some of his nose blood dried onto it. He sprang into action.
Ikkaku vaulted the bar, with no ridiculous mishaps this time around. It was serious business; he had been cold enough that morning, and he didn't want to try cold and wet. The ridiculous mishaps instead began to unfold when he started trying to wrestle the vinyl top up in a speeding vehicle. Yumichika, who had never driven or cared for a jeep in his life, ignored the happenings in the back in favor of pushing the speed gauge to its limits while praying they didn't run into the police.
The first problem came as Ikkaku untied the top. It retained a good deal of its garage dust, and made unpleasant crackling noises when moved. It had been in storage for several years. The garage was not climate controlled. The vinyl was not forgiving of its longstanding mistreatment. However, it did not shatter. Not yet.
The second, and perhaps most important problem, was the wind. As he was frantically dragging the top up to make the turn for the roof, it puffed up the vinyl like a soufflé. The sudden movements intensified the crackling, crumpling noises, while Ikkaku was forced to hold on for dear life to avoid getting parachuted into the air. He began shouting (not screaming) for Yumichika to slow down. "I can't hold it! The wind's too strong! Stop!"
Yumichika refused to turn around to view the spectacle, but kept driving straight ahead, eyes fixed on the uneven road. "My bag isn't water proof! If you can't even manage to put the top up, I'm not stopping! We'll outrun it!" They remained barely ahead of the storm.
As it is with any soufflé, the vinyl jeep soufflé could only hold its light, puffy shape for a limited time. The high speed buffeting and desperate parachute grasping may have factored into shortening its lifespan, much like a gentle breeze can deflate a soufflé that isn't made out of vinyl (chocolate, for example). The vinyl soufflé did not, however, immediately collapse into a disappointing shade of its former delicious self. Instead, it began to crack along every folded seam, bits of vinyl flapping their way to fly free into the storm.
Yumichika, hearing the crackling intensify, finally took a look into the back. His eyes widened at the absurd sight of the roof, the rain, and Ikkaku flapping madly in the wind. Perhaps by accident, perhaps by some split-second stroke of genius, he slammed on the brake. Ikkaku was sent flying forward, still clutching the battered vinyl, and flipped the rail back into the front seat. His nose miraculously avoided additional injury. The jeep top, not so much, but it was no longer in a good position to catch the wind, and it remained lodged under Ikkaku. It was better than nothing, and the bag was safe. Yumichika leaned forward to avoid being squashed by the edge of the roof, got his foot back on the gas pedal and got them speeding along again. The rain hit with no time to spare.
The rain lasted for about five minutes. It was brief, but memorable. Everything was drenched. Yumichika was drenched. The seats were drenched. Ikkaku's pants were drenched. Yumichika pulled the jeep off onto the side of the road to assess the damage.
The bag was damp, but remarkably not drenched. He quickly shifted some clothes around to protect the more valuable items, then deemed it safe and placed it back in its spot. He put his hands on his hips and smiled a smile of exhausted victory. Then he cringed at the dampness and began wringing out his clothes. Ikkaku was on the other side of the jeep doing his best to get the water out of his pants. Yumichika decided finally to take advantage of his packed things and quickly changed into something dry, throwing the wet things into the back of the jeep, but Ikkaku had to settle for damp pants.
Ikkaku, squelching back to take stock of the damage to the roof, glared at Yumichika. "Is it supposed to do that? I've never seen anybody turn their convertible into a kite before." He held up a bit of shredded vinyl. "This thing is trashed."
Yumichika shrugged. "Maybe you aren't supposed to do it while you're moving?"
"Yeah, thanks a LOT for that. That's the SECOND TIME I've nearly DIED on this trip, and the captain's not even HERE."
"But you saved my bag! At least we've got that!" He stopped, looking at the soggy pants Ikkaku was sporting across the jeep. "... do you want to borrow some pants?"
Ikkaku sighed the sigh of the long-suffering. "I can't fit into your skinny shirts, and I'm pretty sure I can't fit into your tiny pants." He saw Yumichika's face, which could almost be classified as having a guilty expression, and sighed in a less long-suffering way. "It's fine. Look, at least I didn't break my nose on anything, right? Wet pants are nothing. Let's go." He put the finishing touches on jamming the ruined top back into place in front of the spare tire.
Taking the out provided to avoid apologizing out loud, Yumichika nodded and hopped back into the jeep. "Sure - eep!" The seats were still wet. Hi pants began getting wet again as well. Ikkaku got in across from him and smirked around his purple nose.
At least it had already gotten sunny again. Yumichika pulled them back out onto the road and started once more towards Amarillo, Texas. They were nearly halfway through that terrible, freak weather event-sporting state. They needed gas.