It took me a couple of tries to figure this out, but I got it. Although, I can never think of a good title. Oh, well.

I do not own Death Note or Bleach. If I did, they were never turn out so good.

Edit: HEY! I'M NOT DEAD! Here's the rewritten chapter; some things I kept, but a lot was adding details. I suggest rereading, but since it's been literally YEARS since the last update, you probably want to refresh your memory anyway. Enjoy:

Just a few days had passed since the chaos of the ryoka invasion had turned the Seireitei upside down. It wasn't enough that a band of humans managed to hold their own against captains and lieutenants, but the sudden betrayal of Captain Sosuke Aizen had shaken the Seireitei to its core. Even now, there were shinigami that refused to believe their captain had joined the hollows.

But to others, they had work to distract them from thinking about such things.

"What's with all the paperwork?" The shinigami questioned. "If I do any more, my hand will fall off!"

"You think you're the only one?" Renji Abarai retorted.

Both were waist-deep in paperwork. Piles of paper covered every inch of their desks, with the rest being stacked around them like a white wall only rising higher as time passed by. The doors were closed to keep the wind out, but the sound of shinigami rushing past easily slipped through the paper walls. Even as rained poured down outside, others were slaving away, hoping to finish early and catch some rest before the next wave of work arrived.

The shinigami sighed as she placed a sheet of paper into the "Out" pile and grabbed one from the "In". She tried not to think about the difference in height between the two. Instead she asked, "What exactly is going on?"

Renji sighed; this seemed to going around lately.

"I don't know all the details but, basically a bunch of humans are dying all at once," he said. "Way too many humans, in fact. It's really screwing with the flow of spirits entering Soul Society, not to mention we're in charge of keeping track of these things. The result…," he finished by gesturing to the mass of papers surrounding him.

"We're the only ones in charge of this?" She asked, once again taking in with dismay just how much more work she has to finish. "It wouldn't kill the other divisions to lend a hand."

Renji looked up at her, suddenly serious. "I didn't mean 'we,' as in our division," he explained, "'we,' as in the Seireitei, are in charge of this."

"What?" Her head spun. She could still hear footsteps, countless others working away. "But…if the entire Seireitei is backed up…"

"Dozens of humans all around the world are dying," Renji finished, his face grim, "maybe even hundreds."

The door slammed open and both of them had to resist groaning out loud. But instead of another mountain of paperwork, it was a messenger kneeling behind the entrance.

"Konan Masuku," he said, "you are summoned by General Yamamoto."

She froze, her hand hovering halfway toward her inkwell. She looked at Renji and saw that he was just confused as she was. 'What now?'

A second later she stood and carefully made her way toward the door. Before she left, she looked back into the room and then at Renji again, this time mouthing "Sorry" to him. His puzzled face was the last thing she saw, but she knew it clicked together when he yelled, "How the hell am I supposed to do this by myself!"

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