A brow furrowed as the man paused, breaking the rhythm of his steps. He strolled past the empty streets, his footsteps shortening and increasing in number. Something felt wrong. The night was too quiet. The beeping of his mobile phone confirmed his suspicions as he picked up his rifle and hailed a taxi.

It was time to settle things the only way that was left to settle them. So Aizen wanted war? It was war he would get then.

"When I say floor it, yer floor it, idiot! Don't just stare back at me like I'm the idiot!"

Hirako Shinji's voice raised in volume, as he managed a peek out from the back of the car, ducking back down as bullets glanced off the roof.

"If ya'd buy a car with a proper accelerator then hell yeah I'd floor it, but noo. The almighty Hirako Shinji, the richest man this side of Kyoto buys a cheapass second hand local brand!"

Sarugaki Hiyori glared annoyed her position at the driver's seat, a scowl present on her face as she snapped at the relatively well-dressed man in the back. An irritable snort before she turned back to face the front, the multipurpose vehicle swerving dangerously back to the correct side of the highway, narrowly missing a trailer, and a rush of cars behind that. The screech of brakes echoed out through the (previously) silent valley. Horns honked, completely shattering the silence as the minivan swerved in front of yet another Mitsubishi, dodging the spray of bullets.

The tension in the car grew a little higher, as the short cropped silver-haired man leaning dangerously out the passenger window ducked his head back in, mere milliseconds before said head nearly parted from his shoulders, courtesy of the overly large rearview mirror of yet another trailer. He hastily yanked his tie into the car before the windows scrolled up, crashing with said rearview mirror with a screech. Yelling something rather inaudible (inaudible due to the wind rushing in through the window), he glared at the front, and shook his fist. The one not holding the MP5.

Surprisingly, it was not him who spoke, but Shinji who barked irritably.

"Yer not stepping on the damn pedal, Hiyori! Just floor the damn thing!"

"I'm trying, idiot!!"

"Shinji, Hiyori, stop it. You are both mature…" If Rose had to guess, the word would have been 'adults', had Love actually been able to continue speaking. Then again, neither of them had actually ever behaved like adults before, so personally, he did not see if and when they would actually begin to act their age. (And when that day came, he was heading to the nearest bomb shelter. He was pretty sure that the world was ending.)

"Uh huh, ya just shut up and shoot, Love. If ya were shooting, we wouldn't have to rely on the monkey to drive so hard, no?"

Shinji's triumphantly flippant tone was irritating. Especially since all he did was duck his head even lower and hide behind the leather upholstery of the car seat. Rose did not like that. He did not like people who said stuff but did not do stuff. (Then again, this was Shinji, so if he actually did stuff, something was wrong as well, and Rose would have to book) As such, he could not resist sneaking in a sentence.

"So says the person who bought the crappy car, hm?"

"Shut up, Rose! Don't you laugh about this. It ain't funny, man."

"On the contrary, I'm finding it hilarious, Shinji."

"Well, I'm not, so can you guys just shut up?! It's hard enough trying to shoot the guys without the background noise."

The earlier nearly decapitated man shot out, glaring and looking as mean as he could. Which was very mean, for all those who knew Muguruma Kensei well. (It wasn't mean in the evil kind of mean, but more like mean in the intimidating way.) He glowered at the two arguing people, hefting his MP5 menacingly.

"Aw, widdle Kensei can't shoot straight?" Sitting next to Rose, Lisa looked up from her copy of whatever it was that she was reading, a smirk on her face as she taunted the already furious Kensei.

"Yeah, don't blame us for your own shortcomings, bogey!"

"MASHIRO!!"

"Whoa there, man. Get a hold of yourself, Kensei. Geez, you've been working with Mashiro for years already, why can't you people just get along?"

"Tell that to Shinji and Hiyori, Love."

"We're right here, idiot!"

"WATCH OUT FOR THE LAMPPOST!"

"WHERE?!"

"IN FRONT OF THE DAMN CAR?! IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR NEWLY CREATED ROAD?!"

Crash. Rose winced as his head connected with the headrest of Hiyori. (To put this into perspective, Hiyori sat behind the wheel, Love on the other side, Rose directly behind Hiyori, Lisa next to him, and Kensei next to her. Hachi and Mashiro were right behind, at the third row.) The collision was not particularly violent, but they were still jolted. But somehow, their pursuers had disappeared, and silently, he thanked his lucky star. (Whoever that was.)

"I TOLD YOU TO LOOK OUT FOR THE LAMPPOST, IDIOT!"

"YEAH, WELL, YOUR VOICE IS REALLY IRRITATING!"

"Alright, alright, you two. That's enough…"

"LOVE! SHUT UP! AND YOU TOO, ROSE!"

"Hey, hey, don't blame me, I'm not the one who crashed the car."

"Yeah, ya heard that, monkey?"

"SHUT IT, SHITFACE!"

Rose rolled his eyes, turning away from the argument, or at least, attempting to. Poor Love. He had been sitting in the front, a map in his hands. He had been the navigator. Had been. He was now caught in the deadly crossfire, while he, Rose, was not. He thanked his lucky stars, before wincing again when Mashiro's too happy voice rang out from the third row of seats. (Multi-purpose vehicle, anyone?)

"Ne, Kensei, how are we going to get there on time?"

"We're not."

"B-But then how?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Shut up, Mashiro. You're getting on my nerves."

"Waah, Kensei's such a meanie… Rose! Do something!"

"MASHIRO!!"

Rose sighed. Again. For the umpteenth time since they had begun the journey and Mashiro had begun to beg Kensei to pass the chips. "I give up."

"Good choice."

"How do you stand these people, Lisa?"

"The name Kyouraku Shunsui ring a bell?"

"Point taken."

A pause.

"Say, Hachi. You got any pals who can come over and bail us out?"

"No."

"Oh. Right. So I suppose we should get ready to walk the rest of the hundred and fifty kilometers?"

"I suppose so."

"Why, thank you, Lisa."

"You are very welcome, Rose. Anytime."

And another pause.

"Anybody with me?"

"I guess so. We'll need water and food eventually, so I guess we should start."

"Too right, you are."

"After you."

"Ladies first."

"OW. Aw, c'mon. Don't hit me with the damn book, alright? It's dirty. Okay! Okay! Okay! Stop it!"

"Just move, will you?"

"Any clue as to where we are?"

"Forty eight kilometers from our destination?"

"How did you know?"

"If you would grow a pair of eyes, Rose, you would then be able to look UP AT THE LAMPPOST WE JUST CRASHED INTO AND SEE THAT IT SAID FORTY EIGHT KILOMETERS TO"

"Oh joy. We'll get there next month." A quick glance over at the first bickering duo, one clutching a slipper, and the other a bleeding nose. The second bickering duo, or rather, Mashiro was throwing a tantrum with Hachi and Love holding Kensei back. Rose sighed, he and Lisa exchanging a disappointed and exasperated look.

"Scratch that. Next year."

The door flew open with a bang, the people in the room starting and looking to the door. A look of displeasure clear on his face, his eyes were narrowed as the beige-suited man strode into the room, a rifle hanging loosely by his right side. His voice was low and dangerous, each syllable laced with poison. "Kyouraku Shunsui."

Ukitake looked up from his book, blinking before giving a cheery wave and continuing to read. To his credit, so did the other man. Shunsui, who had just waltzed into the room in search of some more sake on the other hand, froze for a moment, before his lazy smile came back to his face.

"Ryuuken! Such a pleasure. What brings you here today?"

Shunsui ducked immediately after that sentence as a trail of five bullets embedded themselves into the wall behind him. Ukitake looked up from the book, while everyone else in the room winced, trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible. A scowl appeared on Ryuuken's face.

"Would you care to explain why I go to work on this perfect Monday morning, only to find my personal lab and office blown up?"

He advanced, taking another step into the room, rifle in hand. Hanatarou, the newly instated junior welfare officer scurried out of the room.

"Would you care to explain why when my car has this spray-painted all over it?"

He threw a piece of paper, a developed Polaroid image at Shunsui's direction, the latter picking it up for a look. He took another step, and Shunsui took in his furious countenance, backing away. Matsumoto and Kira slunk out of the room.

"Would you care to explain why I am getting a message from my son stating that "I am fine."?" I do not normally require Uryuu to inform me that he is fine, because it is the normal assumption that he is."

An expensive mobile phone was thrust into Shunsui's face, the words printed there. Ukitake's book was on the table with a thud, a slight frown on his face. Ikkaku and Yumichika exchanged looks, excusing themselves, half running from the aura of killing intent that Ryuuken exuded, half running from the fear induced by the scowl on Kenpachi's face.

"Would you care to explain why my house has been burnt to the ground, with that same sign burnt into lawn?"

Ryuuken's voice had gradually increased in volume, and he was now yelling, glasses flashing dangerously. The whole room could hear him, and it was silent. Urahara attempted to leave, but was tugged back by Yoruichi.

He stopped advancing, merely hefting the rifle, an unreadable look on his face.

"Your internal problems should be solved by yourselves, and yet, here I am, pulled into this mess because you cannot handle it yourself."

There was a pause as he surveyed the room, half of them looking mortified, and the other half distrusting. His upper lip quirked slightly, before he lowered the rifle. "Now," he began in the characteristic Ishida drawl (Shunsui had a rather bad feeling about this).

"If you needed my help, you could just have asked."

The tension dissipated, but still, no one looked comfortable enough to approach Ryuuken. (None of them were sure if he was still angry, and in the case that he was, did not dare approach him. Dude, here's one scary person with a rifle. No one felt like dying yet, ally or not.)

A phone beeped, and Ukitake picked it up. All eyes turned to him, as he replied happily, "Kyouraku Industries! How may I help…" A white eyebrow raised and a smirk came to his face.

"Ah, I see. That is indeed troublesome. Oh? You require? I see, I see. And your location again? What did you say? Ah, pardon me. My ears aren't as good as they used to be. No, that is not possible, and I'm sorry, no. No, as you are currently not near my location, I deem it impossible for you to do as you just threatened. Yes, it is funny. No, I do not care. No, we do not have spare rooms."

The room collectively blinked as he tugged the phone away from his ear hurriedly, holding it at arms' length, eying it warily as a voice burst from it. "UKITAKE JYUUSHIRO! GET US A DAMN TRUCK! NOW! OR I'LL SET THE MONKEY ON YOU!"

"OH YEAH, SHITFACE? WHO'S GOING TO KILL WHO, HUH?!"

Sniggers broke out in the room. Ryuuken raised an eyebrow as he sank into a seat next to Shunsui.

"Good times, eh, Ryuuken?"

"Good times indeed."