A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! :D Which means more updates. Hopefully. Also, creative liberties were taken with this, since nothing is truly known outside Watari's past other than vague information on the Mother Project. This is just what my brain comes up with at midnight.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own, you don't sue. Okee?

Watari Yutaka, as absent-minded, loud, cheery, and eccentric as can be sometimes, was actually one of the brightest souls to ever grace the Shokan Division, but you would never believe it at first glance.

Beneath the untamable mass of bushy golden hair, behind the wire-rimmed glasses and the brilliant smile reminiscent of sunshine and the motherly, affectionate nature he presented to everyone of his coworkers and dear friends, a shrewd, calculating and genius mind was always working, forever calculating. Being a scientist was second nature to him, always able to see things in an analytical, unbiased perspective (unless it involved his friends, of course).

So why is it, with all his genius and his understanding of chemical reactions and engineering and biology and physiology and all things scientific, he could never quite manage to make possible the impossible? To create a concoction that would make someone switch genders at will? And why was he so obsessed when many would have given up long before him?

Amber eyes focused intently on the Erlenmeyer flask heating on the Bunsen burner before him, "Come on baby, please please pleaseeeeeee work this time…"

A funny story about Watari, which he never took the time to tell the others when they asked him what drove him so intently on his quest for womanhood, was that after the creation of the Mother computer, Watari had the audacity to talk to EnmaDaioh himself without an audience, railing at him and how it wasn't what he had signed up for and generally being quite the pissed off scientist.

Surprisngly, Watari made it out alive.

In fact, he had ended up striking a deal with the Lord of Hades. Watari demanded ascension. He wanted no more of this afterlife in which he was manipulated, his talents exploited, and he himself turned into something he wasn't.

EnmaDaioh refused to grant him that because of Mother. But the part of Mother housed within Watari, the part that made him so valuable to EnmaDaioh, was also the part that put the almighty at Watari's mercy…

A bright grin lit up the blond's face as he laughed to himself; that was just the shade of blue he needed for the reaction to have before the end point. One drop more and he would have to start from scratch again. And Tatsumi would be furious if he knew that Watari had spent up the week's allowance given to him for lab equipment and chemicals for actual research on his "silly little project," which would have to be told of if he went and asked for more funding because he botched this, again.

The bargain the two struck was for Watari not to use the microchip implanted in his temple to access Mother for any… destructive purposes, though he could have unlimited access to any and all information stored in Mother's database (at least, what he could access beyond the firewalls, which EnmaDaioh conveniently failed to mention). And in return, the Lord of Hades would grant Watari the rest he craved so dearly, provided he finished the one thing keeping his soul from moving on in the first place.

And poor, naïve Watari, took the bait: his "unfinished business" that kept his soul from peacefully moving on, the one thing that got him into this mess in the first place.

Now that he was a supernatural being, with access to unimaginable amounts more material and knowledge than he was when he was living, Watari believed he would be able to whip up a sex-change potion in an instant.

Excitedly, and almost a bit recklessly, Watari made his way over to the centrifuge with the flask, being careful to pipette a small amount into a test tube and placing it inside. He was so close, so close to finally finishing this madness, to finally being free…

After his encounter with EnmaDaioh, Watari was relocated to the Shokan Division, with a large laboratory to himself, the quietest sector on the map for the shinigami, the only exception to the rule of "all shinigami must have a partner," and all the resources he could ever want, provided Tatsumi released his iron grip on the department's finances.

…Which always happened, for some odd reason. No matter how far in the red Tsuzuki and Terazuma threw the budget under, no matter how many times Watari blew up the laboratory and surrounding offices, no matter how many screaming matches the scientist and secretary got in over a new calibrator here, or a few more burets there, funding would come out of nowhere, and Watari would get whatever he wished.

The blond had a sneaking suspicion on who was behind it; as if EnmaDaioh was taunting him, giving him everything he needed but unable to produce the results. But of course he never told Tatsumi this. He wouldn't be surprised if he knew already.

As the centrifuge stilled and stopped, Watari removed the test tube from inside, holding it gently, almost in reverence of what he had created. Filtering the liquid from the heavier particles at the bottom, golden eyes reflected glee, anxiousness, and a hint of fear. He had never gotten this close before. He wouldn't screw this up. Not this time.

But as the days turned into weeks, into months, into years, into decades and Watari wasn't any closer to creating his potion as the day he started, it started to fade into the back of his mind. The warm, kind personality of Tsuzuki brought out the bright, mischievous personality of Watari, and Tatsumi became a sometimes-partner and confidant he could always count on for anything. Konoe was the father-figure he always wanted, and Hisoka the little brother he never had. He was forming a family, and was becoming content with where he was and what he was doing.

And sometimes, after a trying case where all he could do was stew in his laboratory, madly sketching various breakable things inside his notebook to animate and destroy, he would remember the deal, remember all it took to just leave it all behind, and start it up again.

After checking the pH to make sure it was fit for consumption, the scientist looked up to little 003, who had been perched on a bookshelf nearby the entire time, watching her human's attempts for the hundredth time since she had come to stay with him.

"Wish me luck, girl," Watari chuckled, raising the test tube to her in a mock toast, before downing the potion in one gulp.

And sometimes, after patching up Tsuzuki from another tough case and being told that they'd "never know what to do without you stitching us back together again", after a long talk over tea with Tatsumi and getting the older shinigami to crack a rare grin at a witty comment the blond had made, after ruffling Hisoka's hair and seeing the angry expression on his face not mirrored in his eyes, Watari wondered what exactly he'd be giving up, and if it was worth it.

A fuzzy feeling in his throat emerged instantly as the potion went down; he was prepared for that. What Watari wasn't expecting was the sudden wave of nausea and the double –vision accompanying it almost directly after it had hit his stomach. Stumbling to the desk, Watari reached out for the chair only to miss and fall on top of his desk. 003 flew off of her perch, hooting shrilly in Watari's ear, hoping he was all right.

"Ugh, 003, it's okaaaaay… shhhhh quiet, girl. You're going to drag Tatsumi in here once he hears you screaming, and I can't deal with both of you at the same time!"

A sharp nip to the ear was all Watari got in response to that, and once his stomach and vision had settled, he hoisted himself up. Instantly, he felt as if a heavy weight had been planted on his chest, making him feel a bit off balance. 003 took her place on his shoulder.

Looking down and finding himself sporting an ample pair of breasts, Watari whispered, "Holy shit, it worked."

Laughing, Watari walked over to the full length mirror he had stashed inside a coat closet in the corner of the laboratory; he looked himself up and down, noticed the wider hips, the longer eyelashes, the softer facial structure and fuller lips… it had worked. It had finally worked!

Jumping up and down, twirling around and reveling in the fact that he had finally conquered the impossible, beaten EnmaDaioh at his own game...

Watari stopped, the thought of the King of Hades sobering him immediately. It had worked. It wasn't supposed to work, at least, according to EnmaDaioh it wasn't. It had taken him decades longer than expected, but even the almighty should have known better than to underestimate Watari's shrewd mind and genius, his determination to win above all else.

But was it truly winning? He could ascend now, yes, for EnmaDaioh would never go back on his bargain. No matter how many firewalls and anti-hacking preventions Mother had acquired over the years,

'Probably to keep me out more than anything,' Watari thought, his ego flaring a bit under the realization, before swallowing another mouthful of the potion and returning himself back to normal.

A deal was a deal, and Watari, being one of the creators of the supercomputer of Meifu, would probably still be able to hack in. No, the Lord of Hades wouldn't risk that chance. He couldn't. The only option would to give the scientist just what he wanted.

But did he really want it anymore? He had a life here, one with people who cared for him and him in return. It was nothing like the situation he had found himself in forty or so years prior, it was a whole different game now, and Watari didn't know how to play the field for this one.

He could tell everyone, and word would get around, and chances were he'd be forced to ascend as punishment for disobedience some decades earlier, and also as insurance as he was the only one outside the Five Generals with direct access to Mother.

Tsuzuki showed up at the doorway, breaking Watari out of his reverie, "Knock, knock Watariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!"

Watari smiled at the purple-eyed shinigami; one of the best friends he'd ever had, in either life or death, "Hello, Tsuzuki, hiding from Tatsumi again?"

Sheepishly, Tsuzuki nodded, "Can I stay stashed in the back for a while? I forgot to do my reports for Tatsumi again, and Hisoka's after me as well since now he has to do them… it's not my fault though! I just can't focus on paperwork and it's soooo boring and…"

"Yes, yes, now get back there before Tatsumi figures out where you've gone."

While Tsuzuki headed back towards the storage area, Watari started packing away his equipment, until all that was left was the small flask of shining blue liquid, staring up at him, taunting him.

'This is what you wanted, isn't it Yutaka? You have finally one-upped the almighty Creator, being able to change his design. But why does winning feel so, much like losing? Why... why don't I want this anymore?'

"Watari-san? Watari-san!"

Amber eyes blinked, focus turning from the innocent little vial to the tall brunet standing in the doorway, a frown on his face.

"Oh, sorry Tatsumi-san," Watari apologized, "Just got a little lost in thought there for a moment, haha."

Tatsumi leveled Watari with a stare, seeming to bore straight through the other man's eyes and peering into his soul. Watari hated when Tatsumi looked at him like that; he could always tell when something was wrong, it was useless withholding anything from the secretary.

Watari lied straight through his teeth, "Experiment gone wrong again, I just don't think I'm ever going to get it right."

Tatsumi frowned at Watari, and he knew that his lie wasn't believed for a moment, but Tatsumi was going to let it go for now. Maybe, just maybe Watari would tell him… maybe.

"Where is Tsuzuki-san hiding, Watari-san,"

It wasn't a question; either Hisoka's empathy or Tatsumi's brilliant powers of deduction had led him to the laboratory, and Watari wasn't really in the mood for games at the moment.

"Supply closet, don't knock anything over when you yank him out of there though, please?" he muttered, not wanting to catch Tsuzuki's attention.

Tatsumi's smirk was almost feral as he let loose a few shadows to drag the offending shinigami from the closet; Tsuzuki looked positively terrified.

"Waaaah Tatsumi, I'm sorry! I promise I'll do the reports really soon, just don't hurt meeee!"

As the pair left the laboratory, Tsuzuki's pleading and crying echoing down the halls, Watari chuckled fondly, then sighed and took the flask in hand, pondering it for what seemed like an eternity before labeling it "Sex-Change No. 1" and storing it in a private cupboard in the small room adjacent to the lab. He might be in need of it someday, as a quick-and-easy out if things ever got too hard, or too much.

But right now, Watari Yutaka had everything he ever wanted in his afterlife, whether EnmaDaioh meant for it to happen or not, and wasn't going to give it up just yet.