"I believe things cannot make themselves impossible."

– Stephen Hawking

Relata one: Pre Meeting

A banging could be heard in Squad 10 of Seireitei's Investigation Bureau.

The banging continues. Yet no one risked – dared – coming into that office. It's a regular occurrence anyway. The noise, that is.

Even if the lights were dim, anyone passing by the currently closed door could see the color of fierce orange, contrasting the dark shadows in the office.

The image was fantastical as it is peculiar.

"God dammit! What the fuck is happening to the world?!" Detective Kurosaki Ichigo ponders aloud.

In the past six months, Karakura has been plagued with strange occurrences: inexplicable deaths, oddly timed earthquakes, an increase in accidents that even the most experienced and intelligent forensic scientists are unable to expound. Well, aside from possible conspiracy theories news reporters and tabloid fodders are so obsessed about.

The banging resumes.

Finally, someone, though risking their life for the sake of the squad's humanity, entered Ichigo's office. Without knocking.

Ichigo looks up from his reports and sneers, "Didn't I tell you to knock, Ishida?"

Ishida Uryū, Ichigo's partner, was/is one of the few people who was/is used to Ichigo's temperament.

Pushing up his glasses, Ishida ignores the question and says, "It's late, go home Kurosaki."

"Way to be invasive, Ishida. I'm not going home until I solve these impossible cases."

"So much progress," Ishida quips. "You deserve a promotion."

"Shut the hell up, Ishida. Don't you want to solve these cases?"

"I do, but I am also rationally realistic enough to realize that we won't solve these cases in a night, Kurosaki. So, go home." Ishida calmly fans his face. "A shower does wonders to the human body."

Ichigo became a bit self-conscious and discreetly – but failed, discretion was never an art he mastered – to smell his armpits.

Pungent. Beyond pungent.

"In an hour. Let me read these reports over," Ichigo concedes.

Ishida sighs. "Ichigo," Ishida murmurs. "Go home and rest." With a mixture of hesitation and remorse, he adds, "It's your mother's anniversary death tomorrow."

Ichigo freezes.

. . .

Kasan.

. . .

End notes:

I only have one other free-write that I will later post. I don't plan to post after that drabble. I'll revisit sometime – or maybe not. I just wanted to get the idea out of my head.

Thank you for your review for Comrades, hopelessromantic. I have no current plans for a multi-chapter story. I'm not exactly writing drabble fics either because mine are usually longer than 100 words, but I prefer a shorter, choppier(?) fictive writing style. It's why I upload several drabbles in a day/night. It's because I write something and then cut them down when the drabble doesn't flow. It's easier for me. I recognize my major (of several) weakness(es): I'm unable to keep a plot moving because I am unfocused.

Really, I'm more comfortable with boring field essays. Maybe I'm relying on a more essay format?