Deep in the bowls of the barracks of the tenth division of the Gotei 13, two shinigami surprised each other when their routes suddenly joined. After a somewhat sleepy exchange of greetings, they continued together along their shared route.

"Y'almost made me drop my light," mumbled one, carefully wriggling the candle back into its socket.

"Hmm," chuckled the other. "You scared me too! I wasn't expecting anyone else to up this late." His companion grunted in reply. "Say, why are you awake, anyway?"

"Fukutaicho convinced me to take on some of her work. I've been at it since this morning," grumbled the shinigami, running a hand over his face. "What the hell could I have been thinking…"

"Well, Fukutaicho can be very… Ah… Persuasive."

"That's one word for it." He groaned again. "I can't believe I have to drop off another stack of Matsumoto's damn papers to the head office…"

"You'd better be careful that Taicho doesn't see you. If I were you I'd wait until morning to hand them in unless they're urgent. If he finds out that Fukutaicho has been spreading her workload again, there'll be trouble!"

"Actually I've been in there once already. Taicho isn't there."

"What?" said the other, halting in his tracks. His eyes were round with surprise. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. Not kidding."

"But Taicho never sleeps! Was there some kind of emergency meeting or something?"

"Not that I know of."

"How bizarre…"

"Oh, but I haven't told you the strangest part yet," said the shinigami smugly. The two reached the end of the hallway, where upon it split into two directions. It was late, and they both really should have said their farewells there and then. But, the temptation of squad gossip was just too strong.

"Really?" asked the other keenly, leaning in closer. "Do tell!"

"Well," began his companion, lowering his voice. "Okay. So, Fukutaicho tells me that once I finish with the first stack of papers, that there's another one in her quarters and I should go and pick them up, right."

"You were invited into Fukutaicho's quarters? You lucky swine! So?"

"So what? I went there and got them."

"She wasn't… You know, waiting for you or anything?" The grin on his face was promptly removed by a smack to the jaw.

"No, you moron! Shut your face! Anyway, you're ruining the story. So there I am, minding my own business, heading back to the rooms with all of these stupid papers, when… Oh, you know how the officers' quarters are all on the same side of the building, right?"

"Everyone knows that! Go on!"

"So I'm just walking along past Taicho's quarters when- BAM! There's this really loud noise, right, from his room, like someone had set off a firecracker or something! Scared the shit out of me, I almost dropped the whole stack!"

"That's weird… But Taicho is never in his room!"

"I know that, but then: guess what I heard? Keep in mind, it's not like I was eavesdropping or anything, I just sort of heard it, you know? And plus, if there was something going on in Taicho's room and he didn't know about it, it would be my duty to, you know, investigate and whatnot."
"Yes, yes, of course. So what did you hear?"

"Voices."

"Voices?"

"Yeah."

"Of who?"

"I dunno, I couldn't really make them out. But then I hear one of the voices getting louder, and footsteps coming towards the door, straight towards me!"

"Oh, shit! What happened?"

"Well I'm frozen there, right. Like, I've got all these documents that I shouldn't have, right there in my hands. Hell, I mean what was going through my head at the time: if I was caught with them I'd be dead meat! So the door opens and…"

"And what?"

"Oh, it's is great, you'll love this…"

"What? Hurry up and tell me already! Was it Taicho?"

"Nope."

"Well then who was it?"

"The fukutaicho of Squad 5."

Silence. "No way," said the other in a hushed voice. "In Taicho's quarters?"

"Yep."

"This late at night?"

"Yep."

"…how old is Taicho, anyway? I've been wondering that for a while."

"Beats me. They say he's just a kid, though he doesn't really act like it, does he. And hey, I'm just saying, kids aren't what they used to be! They grow up pretty fast these days!"

"You seriously think that-?"

The shinigami raised his hands defensively. "I didn't say anything!"

"That- that Taicho and Fukutaicho Hinamori are…"

"Well I mean, think about it." He checked off the points on his fingers. "People say that they've known each other since forever; Hinamori has been spending more and more time here ever since Aizen went berserk; Taicho takes over all of Squad 5's paperwork voluntarily whenever Hinamori is out for the count (which happens a lot, if you think about it)… Actually, come to think of it, there were some of Squad 5's papers in the lot I was working on today. So that means even though there's a new taicho for Squad 5 we're still taking on some of their work load…"

"Well that does seem a bit unfair…"

"Yeah, right? Why do we have to suffer because Taicho's whipped?"

"Actually, though… Are you sure about that? I haven't seen ever seen any Squad 5 administrative papers."

"Are you serious? The amount of these I've put through-"

"Wait, hang on. These wouldn't be the papers that Fukutaicho Matusmoto gives you, would they?"

"I- Uh… Huh. Well you know… Yeah. Actually, I think… They might be."

"So if you what you say is true, and you've been Fukutaicho's bitch for a few years now-"

"Hey!"

"-that would mean that Taicho is handling, or has been handling, an entire division's worth of work on top of his own Squad's. That's pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?"

"…yeah, sure, whatever. You know I haven't finished my story yet, jackass."

"There's more?"

"Oh yeah."

"Go on then!"

"So, Fukutaicho Hinamori opens the door, right."

"Mmm."

"Man, you should've seen her face! I don't know who was more surprised to see the other, and I was pretty shocked. So she turns bright red, quickly gets rid of Taicho's haori-"

"His WHAT?"

"His haori, man! I'm dead serious, she had it all folded up in her arms and everything, and the second she sees me she drops it onto the floor and kicks it behind the door! Then she starts babbling about going to get some tea, shuts the door and runs off towards the head office at a million miles an hour!"

"…whoa."

"I know."

"…WHOA."

"I know!"

"…I had no idea Taicho had a social life."

"Me neither, man. Me neither."

"So how much more of Fukutaicho's paperwork have you got left to do?"

"Ugh, great, thanks for reminding me. I should be up for another three hours at least."

"That's rough, I'm sorry."

"Hey, you know, I never asked you what you were doing up so late."

"…what? Oh, it's nothing, really-"

"Go on, spill!"

"Well… I… Fukutaicho kind of asked me if I wouldn't mind helping her out by washing her sheets today, so…"

Author's Notes:

-Baw, thanks again guys, for all the comments - it's great to get feedback and support!

-Nameless shinigami all be whipped by Matusmoto.

-Distinct lack of Hitsukitty in the this chapter: I feel I must apologise. But the gossip is scaaaaaaaaaaandalous! I imagine THAT rumour will be flying around Squad 10 for a little while...