Well, this is awkwardly late. I've been working on writing out some more chapters for the full-length 'Bodyguard' fic, but I decided to go ahead and post this one since it's meant to be the chapter after the one in 'Massages and Murder' anyway. I hope you all can excuse the lack of sex in this one :) haha Let me know what you think!

Crash

Rukia fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat and tried to occupy herself by looking out the train window.

They were on their way back to Germany, and the professional bodyguard had only a vague idea of how long they had been on this monstrosity of transportation. She figured they had at least another hour before they reached the Russia-Ukraine border.

"You ok?" Ichigo asked, just waking up from a nap. His expression was still tired but his voice conveyed a touch of concern.

"Of course," Rukia brushed him off. They had yet to address what had happened the night before and, while the soccer star seemed perfectly at ease with the situation, Rukia could not quite overcome her own awkwardness.

Avoiding the issue altogether seemed to be her best option.

"I thought you liked traveling," Ichigo continued. "You were so happy about the plane ride here, I was almost worried you weren't going to get off."

Rukia forced a smile at the joke. "Trains are a security nightmare. The trip will take twice as long, we stop every hour, and I have no idea who's getting on and off." She gestured at the duffel bag on the seat beside her. "They didn't even check the bag when we got on. Just imagine what a criminal could carry on board."

Ichigo cringed at the thought, before frowning. "I still wish you wouldn't store loaded guns in my soccer bag."

"We need to use something." The bodyguard shrugged. "Besides, your bag is easier to carry around than a big suitcase. It's less suspicious."

The athlete shot her a skeptical look but didn't argue. "Whatever. Just don't scare any of the other passengers."

Ichigo leaned his head back and his eyes fell closed again. When his breathing slowed and he was clearly asleep, Rukia stole a glance at the man sitting across from her.

He really was handsome, but that fact had always been undeniable. And he was strong, and funny, and confident. Rukia sighed. Why couldn't he have just stayed the obnoxious, spoiled brat she had met when he first came into her brother's office?

Ichigo stirred in his sleep and the dark haired woman looked away quickly. This was not an appropriate time to be analyzing the charisma of her client.

Still, the feel of his hands on her body was ever present in her mind now. His scent had not left her and every time she closed her eyes, Ichigo's deep amber eyes were staring back at her. The heat of his mouth on hers, and just thinking about the way he-

There was a loud knock at the door to their compartment, pulling Rukia from her thoughts. She realized her cheeks were warm, which only made her blush harder until she remembered just how precarious their situation was.

"What is it?" She asked from her seat. She had planned to keep them safely contained in their private compartment for as much of the trip as possible.

"Tickets," the man called back.

Rukia groaned loudly in her mind. Yet another example of the frustrating antiquated ways of trains. The curt conversation had woken Ichigo up, but she gestured for him to stay put and grabbed their tickets from the duffel bag herself.

Opening the door just a slit, she handed the tickets to the man.

"Thank you, but I need to see all the passengers in this compartment," he said apologetically. Rukia's mouth tightened in irritation but she pushed the door all the way to the side.

"Wonderful," the ticket-taker smiled. "May I see your passports? We'll be crossing the Ukraine border any minute now."

"They're packed away," Rukia said, suddenly suspicious. "I didn't think we needed them stamped until we reached our destination."

"Perhaps that is how your country does things, but I'm afraid I must check your passports," the man politely insisted.

"All right," Rukia shrugged, feigning indifference. "Just a minute."

She turned away from the door to search through the duffel bag. Ignoring the passports at the top of the bag, she reached further until her fingers closed around cool metal.

Just above her ducked head, she heard the sharp 'click' of a gun's safety being switched off.

Rukia stood straight up, disrupting the fake ticket-taker's aim and shooting him in the forehead.

"You shot him!" Ichigo exclaimed in disbelief, violently pulled from his sleepy state. "He just wanted to see the passports!"

"He was going to shoot you!" Rukia gestured to the gun in the dead man's hand in exasperation. "Keeping people from shooting you is literally my job description."

"That doesn't mean you have to kill everyone we run into!" Ichigo protested.

Rukia rolled her eyes and stuffed their tickets, passports, and gun back into the soccer bag. "Let's go," she ordered, no longer interested in their argument. "I doubt he's alone."

Ichigo stood up shakily, still in shock. He followed her out of the compartment, stepping over the body, and getting a full view of the fake ticket-taker's gun and pool of blood staining the carpet.

"How..." he mumbled to himself as they rushed down the hall. "I thought... Why would..."

Leaving that train car, they entered the dining car. Rukia stopped abruptly, and Ichigo almost ran into her.

"Act normal," she whispered.

"I am normal," Ichigo snapped irritably behind her.

They walked briskly between the tables of people eating their lunch. Some chattered in confusion, and Rukia assumed they had heard the gun shot. Her pace quickened, and Ichigo pressed a hand to her back, as if they were a couple, to divert the attention they were attracting.

Finally, they exited the dining car and found themselves in the sleeper car. It was mostly empty, as it was the middle of the day, and they began speed-walking down the aisle once more.

"Tickets!" A man called as he opened the door on the other end of the car.

The pair skidded to a halt and Rukia pushed the duffel bag onto one of the bunks.

"What are you-" Ichigo started before Rukia shoved him into another bunk.

"Take your shirt off," she whispered, once they were both on the little bed and the curtain had been closed.

"Are you serious? Now?" Ichigo whispered back.

Rukia had already pulled off her own blouse and was trying to grab the thin sheet at the foot of the mattress. "Just do it," she hissed.

They could hear the ticket-taker finish checking the ticket of another passenger. His footsteps were just inches from them.

Ichigo yanked his shirt off just in time for Rukia to wrap the sheet around their lower halves. As the ticket-taker's hand pulled the curtain open, her lips crashed against Ichigo's.

"Oh!" The old man exclaimed when the shirtless pair looked up at him in shock. He quickly shut the curtain on the 'couple' and apologized. "Excuse me! I'll just come back later."

They remained completely still until they heard the ticket-taker open the door and move on to the next car. Rukia let out a relieved breath and climbed off Ichigo.

"What was that about? He's obviously too old to be trying to kill us." The soccer star asked, pulling his shirt back on over his head. "Not that I minded," he added with a suggestive smirk.

Rukia turned away to hide her red cheeks and exposed breasts. She took a deep breath and tried to focus. Her mind was swarming with memories from the night before, but she couldn't let on to Ichigo what she was thinking.

"Our tickets have already been punched," she reminded him, trying to sound logical. "If he's just starting to check now, it would've looked suspicious."

Clarity brightened Ichigo's face as he swung his bag over his shoulder. "Got it," he nodded.

"Ready?" She asked.

They were walking towards the opposite door when Ichigo frowned, "Where exactly are we going?"

Rukia looked thoughtful for a moment, weighing their options. "Well, we can't stay on the train anymore. If there was anyone with the man who tried to shoot us, they'll be looking for us. I'm sure the staff has noticed the body by now, so we should be stopping as soon as possible. We'll wait in the luggage car and get out when the train stops."

"And then we'll just walk to Germany?" Ichigo asked doubtfully as they entered the luggage car.

The petite woman smiled. "I think I've got an idea."

.

"That was a terrible idea," Ichigo grumbled as they picked their way through an old car junkyard.

"So you've mentioned," Rukia said drily. "The taxi driver was perfectly nice after I explained the situation."

"You set his newspaper on fire and tried to bribe him," Ichigo reminded her.

"I did bribe him," Rukia corrected. "Now be quiet. I'm trying to find the main office."

"We might as well just steal one," the man suggested. "It doesn't look like anyone's around."

"While you may be comfortable with thievery, I have slightly higher standards." Rukia retorted, before crossing her arms and huffing to herself. "It should be here..."

"Did you say something?" Ichigo looked over his shoulder.

"No, I just-"

"Excuse me! Can I help you two?" A voice repeated itself behind them.

The pair whirled around. The woman was standing at the edge of the dead car collection, at the same place they had entered 20 minutes ago.

"You mean we passed it?" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

Rukia took a deep breath and tried to contain her frustration with herself. Fortunately, this trip from hell was about to get a whole lot better.

"I'm the owner of this lot. Are you two looking for a car?" The older woman asked once they had climbed back over the rusty metal and old tires.

"Yes," Rukia responded with a smile. "But I was hoping for something a little newer." She pulled out her wallet and handed the junkyard owner a card.

The woman looked confused until she examined the card. Then, her face lit up. "Miss Kuchiki! What a treat! I wasn't expecting anyone from Byakuya's office though. I'm afraid I don't have anything ready for you."

Rukia took the card back. "We weren't planning on visiting. It's not something I can discuss, but we need to borrow a car to get us back to Berlin."

The owner's eyebrows rose in surprise and intrigue. "I see, I see... Well, let's go have a look at the stock, shall we?"

"Thank you," Rukia said as the woman led them towards a large crane. She opened the door to reveal a narrow set of stairs. The trio descended and, all of a sudden, Ichigo found himself in a state-of-the-art automobile facility.

"Kukaku designs cars for companies like ours all over the world," Rukia explained to him. "We'll just buy one and leave it with Byakuya when we get back."

Ichigo looked around at the different cars lining the walls. "How about that one?"

He was pointing at a box-shaped black ATV that was nearly the size of a tank. Kukaku laughed and gestured to a smaller car. "I was thinking something more like this."

Rukia circled the car, inspecting it. "What does it do?"

"I've entirely re-designed the command system. You still have your basic buttons on the dash, but everything is voice activated. You just say a command and the car responds immediately."

Rukia looked wary of the unfamiliar technology, but Kukaku insisted they try it.

"What do you want to be the signal word?" She asked, holding out a small remote-like device.

As Ichigo was closer, he took the device and examined it. "Signal word?"

The device lit up and announced in a woman's pre-recorded voice, "Signal recorded. Your signal word is: signal word?"

Kukaku howled in laughter when the device repeated Ichigo's confused voice, and Rukia rolled her eyes.

"So, I just tell it what to do now?" Ichigo asked.

"Exactly." She nodded. "Signal word first, and then any basic commands. The car is programmed to understand most commands, but it won't do anything unless it's 100% positive."

"Ok..." Ichigo hesitated before saying clearly, "Signal word. Start engine."

The car hummed to life, and even Rukia looked mildly impressed.

"Watch this," Kukaku said, looking excited. "Signal word. Kidnapped."

The car's doors and trunk flew open and the lights flashed while the horn blared loudly.

Noticing Rukia's alarmed expression, Kukaku quickly added over the noise, "Here's a feature you'll like even better! Signal word! Lock down!"

The car went silent and sheets of metal slid over the body, covering the windows and exterior. The side mirrors turned inwards, and a metal casing enclosed each tire.

Rukia tapped the sleek metal approvingly.

"Bullet-proof, water-proof, gas-proof, and even fire-proof, though you'd get pretty toasty inside," Kukaku bragged about her creation affectionately.

"I like it," Ichigo added his support.

"It's ready for the road?" Rukia asked.

"Ready as ever. It passed its test drive last week. I haven't registered it yet though. You'll have to get a license plate before you can drive it."

Rukia thought for a moment. "We'll take it," she finally announced. "Just send a note to Byakuya and he'll take care of any expenses."

"Wonderful!" Kukaku smiled. "Be sure to let me know if you have any problems with it! Signal word. Car on."

"So... How do we get it out of here?" Ichigo asked, looking around the facility.

"That's the best part! Signal word. Drive to platform." Kukaku lifted a lever off to the side and a hole opened in the ceiling above them. The floor around the car ascended, carrying the trio with it.

Kukaku stuck the remote in the glove box. "You can use that to default the car's settings if you need to. Let me know how she works for you!"

Rukia and Ichigo thanked the woman again before climbing into the car. Rukia drove carefully out of the cluttered junkyard, exponentially speeding up once they were back on the main road.

"GPS directions to Berlin, Germany," Rukia said as they left Kiev.

The navigation system remained silent and Rukia frowned.

"You forgot to say 'signal word'," Ichigo reminded her. "And weren't we supposed to stop somewhere to get plates for the car?"

Rukia pursed her lips in irritation. So far, this car had yet to please. "Signal word. GPS directions to Berlin, Germany."

The screen lit up and a highlighted route from Ukraine through Poland appeared. "Navigating to: Berlin"

"We should get back to Berlin as soon as possible," she explained. "We have no idea if those people are still pursuing us. Besides, I don't want either of our names associated with this car. Byakuya will register it as a company car when we get back."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Signal word. Rukia's not following the rules," he teased.

"Signal word. I'm trying to keep you from dying. You could be a little more compliant," Rukia retorted.

"Command unclear. No action taken," the car chimed in.

This made Ichigo laugh. His chuckle turned into a large yawn and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You mind if I take a nap?"

"Not at all," Rukia replied, before adding under her breath, "It'll be nice to have some quiet."

"You'll miss me," Ichigo reassured her before adding seriously, "Let me know when you want me to drive. You haven't slept much either."

Rukia was expecting him to add a suggestive wink, but his tone seemed sincere and his eyes were closed before she could say anything in response.

She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the uncomfortable knot in her stomach. Even if she had wanted it at the time, even if she had let herself be foolishly hopeful, last night had been a mistake.

Ichigo was a client. That's all. She took another deep breath and told herself to focus. There was work to be done. No point in dwelling on stupid fantasies.

.

"It's been 5 hours, Rukia. I think you need a break," Ichigo insisted.

"I'm fine." She refused to relinquish the driver's seat. "Besides, what if something happens?"

"What do you think is going to happen?" He asked, exasperated. "We're in the middle of nowhere. We already passed border control. I'm not letting you drive all the way to Germany."

Rukia let out a long exhale, but didn't slow the car. They were racing at top speed through the back roads of Poland to avoid police detection, having crossed the border less than an hour ago.

"You'll wake me up if anything happens?" She finally asked, and Ichigo knew he had won.

"Of course," he nodded.

Rukia slowed the car to a stop at the side of the road and the pair got out and switched places.

"Remember, we don't know if we're still being pursued or not. But don't go so fast that you get reckless. And don't get distracted because you're messing around with the car's controls."

"Will you relax? It's going to be fine," Ichigo said reassuringly as he pulled back out onto the road. "Nothing is going to happen. Just go to sleep and we'll be in Berlin before you know it."

Rukia leaned back in the passenger seat and forced her eyes closed. Just breathe, she told herself. Ichigo knows how to drive a car. Even if something does happen, you'll be useless if you don't get some sleep.

The hum of the engine was pleasantly steady on the long, straight road. Ichigo put the radio on a classical station and, before Rukia could realize what he was trying to do, she had fallen soundly asleep.

.

"Rukia?"

Violet eyes barely opened at the noise. What now? Her tired mind grumbled.

"Hey, Rukia? I... I think you should look at this."

The tone of Ichigo's voice finally snapped her awake. Rukia sat up and looked around.

"What is it?" She asked, but the answer to her question was apparent.

Just a few hundred yards in front of them, two large black cars were stopped on either side of the road.

Ichigo had stopped the car already and looked over at her, silently asking what to do. The bodyguard bit her lip. They were obviously not police, or any form of government vehicle. It wasn't hard to figure out how they had found them, but was there any was to get around them?

"It looks like there's a spike strip on the road," Ichigo commented. "I can only see two people outside the cars though."

"They'll have the same thing set up behind us too. We can't turn around," Rukia reasoned. "The forest is too thick to drive through. There's a good chance we'd get stuck."

The two figures began walking towards them, heavy guns in hand, quickly diminishing their thinking time. After another long second, Rukia made up her mind. "I want you to stay in the car."

"Wait a second," Ichigo stopped her from reaching for the loaded duffel bag in the back seat. "I have an idea."

The athlete had an expression on his face that Rukia had only seen before during the last few minutes of his soccer matches. He took a deep breath and Rukia immediately became nervous.

"What are you going to do? We should talk about this first!" Her voice rose as Ichigo hit the gas pedal and pushed the car faster and faster.

"Are you crazy?" Rukia shrieked. They were hurtling down the road, aiming right between the two black cars. Close enough to see each narrow point on the spike strip, Rukia put her hands over her face. "You'll blow the tires out!"

"Signal word: lockdown!" Ichigo shouted just as the two men began shooting at the car. The first bullet shattered the windshield and lodged itself in the middle of the backseat. The rest, however, were deflected by the metal sheets that immediately appeared and encased the car.

The impacts echoed almost like raindrops inside the car. Rukia braced herself against the dash and Ichigo gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles as their momentum carried them forward. The metal coverings around wheels screeched against the pavement.

Finally, a small bump in the road told them that they had slid over the spike strip. Ichigo gave the command to uncover the car and hit the gas once more, hoping to outrun the other two cars.

Unfortunately, the two men were not alone. The cars were manned and ready, taking off just as the pair skidded past them, and leaving their accomplices behind.

Rukia slipped over the passenger seat into the backseat and quickly dug through their bag.

"Keep your head down!" She hissed as a bullet pierced the rear window, sending glass everywhere.

"I'm trying to drive!" Ichigo spat back, but did his best to comply.

Rukia found the long gun she was looking for and rested it atop the backseat. She peeked over the back of the car and took a deep breath, hoping a bullet didn't hit her straight in her exposed head.

She exhaled, taking the moment to focus and aim, before pulling the trigger and blowing the closest car's left front tire out. They lurched to the side, squealing to a harsh stop.

Giving herself no time to celebrate, Rukia took aim at the second car.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed from the front seat as their own back tire blew. He tried to correct their trajectory, Rukia's shot went wide, and their car was sent careening into the woods.

"Slow down!" She yelled from the backseat as Ichigo struggled to evade trees and keep the car upright. "And watch out!"

"Will you shut up! I'm trying!" He yelled back, narrowly skating between two trees.

The car lost a side mirror and Ichigo cursed loudly. The debris and dead foliage on the ground made it difficult to stop, so they continued sliding through the forest until a fallen log lay across their path. The front wheels bounced up and over the dead tree, giving Ichigo no chance to turn the car away from the large tree in front of them.

Fortunately, they hadn't been going fast enough to cause any serious damage. After impact, Rukia peeled her face off the back of the passenger seat and rubbed her cheek tenderly.

Ichigo groaned in the front seat before turning around to look at her. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," Rukia reassured him. "Can you move?"

"Yeah," he said, opening the door and slowly climbing out.

"There should be a spare in the trunk," Rukia informed him. She was already walking around the crash site, gun ready in both hands. "Do you think the car's still drivable?"

Ichigo pulled the extra tire from the back and carried it around front. He looked at the wrinkled hood and crushed metal and shrugged. "Probably. It looks like the engine's fine."

Rukia seemed relieved. "Good. Change the tire and we'll try to drive back out. I doubt we have much time before those guys find us."

The soccer star looked at the flat tire, the spare, and then back at the flat in silence. "Well..."

"You don't know how to change a tire, do you?" Rukia finally caught on.

"Why the hell would I have to know how to do something like this?" He asked defensively. "You can pay people to do this kind of stuff."

Biting her tongue against further insults, Rukia handed him her gun. "If you hear anything, shoot at it."

Ichigo twirled the gun in his hand, admiring it, as Rukia got the spare kit from the trunk.

"Pay attention, idiot!" She hissed. "We have no ide-"

"Rukia?" Ichigo whirled around to see the woman slump against the car before hitting the ground, unconscious.

The tools fell from the kit and clattered around her. All of a sudden, Ichigo felt a sharp sting on the side of his neck.

The last thing he remembered before falling to his knees was aiming at shadows and pulling the trigger.

.

When Rukia woke up, she had no sense of time. The tranquilizer still made her head feel fuzzy. The room was strangely small, but empty, lit only by the florescent bulbs that hung overhead.

The sound of faint breathing behind her quickly caught her attention, and Rukia didn't think she had ever been so relieved to see a head of bright orange hair.

"Ichigo," she whispered, hoping the tranquilizer would be wearing off soon for him as well. "Ichigo, wake up."

He groaned uncomfortably behind her. "What's going on?"

"Well..." Rukia tried to think of a suitable response.

"Oh," Ichigo remembered. "Right."

"Yeah," Rukia said quietly.

"Hey, wait..." He looked around. "This place seems familiar."

"Really?" Rukia made a face. "This seems like an odd place to spend your time."

"No, I'm being serious." Ichigo closed his eyes and tried to think. Add some tables, chairs, scantily clad women, and old men playing cards... The soccer star almost couldn't breathe. He had been here with his father just months before.

"Rukia..." He whispered, the reality of the situation finally sinking in. "I think I know where we are."