Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

"Dirty, rotten, no good, good for nothing, pig swilling, yatter mouthed scatterbrains!" Renji howled. "Stupid, moronic, thrice-curst, grave spat cows!" Byakuya raised an elegnat eyebrow.

"Who?' he inquired. Renji dropped his head the desk with the solid thwack of wood on flesh. He mumbled something into the desk that Byakuya couldn't make out. Byakuya shook his head in mild annoyance and returned to his work.

Several minutes later, Renji was grumbling again. "Those filthy, mud arsed, rabbit eyed, tree for brains lumps!"

"Who?" Byakuya repeated. Renji groaned.

"New recruits, sir. One of 'em 'accidentally' kido-ed all my paperwork - and it was finished - and I had to stay up all night redoing it. They're so gonna get it. Can't wait until I can get 'em onto the training grounds. I'm gonna beat their asses so bad..."

Renji continued to rant. Byakuya shifted a few papers to another pile, scrawled his name on a form to order more tea for the Sixth division, and commented offhand. "Careful, Renji. Your Eleventh division is showing." That shut Renji up. He stared at his taicho, who had gone back to doing paperwork as if the apocalypse weren't upon them.

"Taicho... you made a joke?" he asked weakly. Byakuya nodded.

"I do have a sense of humor, you know. I simply choose not to flaunt it as some do. It does get the better of me, occasionally, though. Unfortunately." Renji stared. He flopped back in his chair, unable to comprehend what had just happened. His whole world was turned upside down - literally, Zabimaru was clinging to an upside down tree in his inner world and screaming at him to stop it. Renji resolutely ignored his zanpakuto and continued to stare at Byakuya.

Huh. Taicho made a joke.