A.N.: This is a request by killercroc.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Warning: Genderbender!

Chapter Two: The Side Effects

Shortly after…
Squad One

"CAPTAIN KUROSTUCHI!" Head-Captain Yamamoto roared, stamping his cane into the ground as he glared at the mad scientist. "What have you done to Captains Kuchiki and Zaraki?!" he demanded.

Though it wasn't often, Mayuri felt a deep shiver run down his spine. Rarely had he ever earned the displeasure of the Head-Captain and even someone of his intellect could tell that he screwed up badly. Behind him were the genderbended captains, Byakuya and Kenpachi, both looking uncomfortable as their fellow captains stared at them.

"It was an unknown formula!" Mayuri said in his defense. "I thought it would unlock their hidden potential. Not…this!"

"Captain Kuchiki, Captain Zaraki," addressed the Squad Four captain, Retsu Unohana. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Okay is a matter of debate," the female Byakuya Kuchiki stated, looking down at herself for the umpteenth time to check and see if maybe the formula's effects had worn off. "I don't feel any weaker or stronger. But having my body changed to the opposite sex is certainly an experience."

"I'll say!" Kenpachi grunted, pointing a finger at her bandage-bound breasts. "These things are heavier than they look."

"How strange," said Sajin Komamura. "Captain Kurotsuchi, you claim that the key ingredient to your formula was Ichigo Kurosaki's blood?"

"Correct."

Despite the situation, Shunsui Kyoraku laughed. "Wow! That kid's sure got some strange blood! Ahahahahah!"

"With all due respect, Captain Kyoraku," Byakuya interjected with a scathing eye. "This is quite serious."

"You sure? I mean, if it didn't weaken you at all then I guess you should be glad you didn't end up worse," Kyoraku pointed out.

Byakuya huffed, the woman really wanting to slap the man. "Unlike Zaraki, I have my duties to my clan. How do you think my family will take this?" she argued.

"They'll probably want to marry you off…"

Ukitake scratched the back of his head. "Shunsui, this is not the time for jokes…"

"Enough!" yelled Yamamoto. "Cpatain Kurotsuchi, when can you create an antidote for your formula?" he demanded.

Gulping, Mayuri looked rather uncharacteristically, knowing he was about to sink deeper into hot water. "There isn't one."

"WHAT?!" shouted Yamamoto, Kenpachi and Byakuya shouted.

"The formula is incredibly complex. It would require months, if not years, to create an antidote for it. The best we can do is hope that the effects wear off soon."

"How soon?" Kenpachi demanded. When Mayuri merely shrugged, she grabbed Mayuri by the shoulders and yanked him up. Despite becoming thinner and less bulky, Kenpachi had lost none of her height. "What do you mean you don't know?!" she bellowed, shouting into the scientist's face while he dangled off the ground.

"Enough!" Yamamoto shouted, trying to calm everyone down. "Captain Kurotsuchi, we're already dealing with a crisis because of the traitors Aizen and his cohorts. You made the matter more needlessly complicated!"

"I don't see how?" Mayuri interjected. "All the formula did was reconstruct their bodies to the opposite sex. As I previously stated, they lost none of their strengths."

"Hmph!" went the old man. Deciding that arguing about the matter was pointless, he simply sat back in his chair. "Very well. Until the crisis at hand can be dealt with, your punishment for recklessly experimenting on Captains Zaraki and Kuchiki will wait. As for you two," he turned to the genderbended women, "Make sure that Captain Kurotsuchi is telling the truth and you have not lost any strength."

"Yes, Head-Captain," Byakuya said before turning to Captain Unohana. "Captain Unohana, I'll need your assistance acquiring women's clothes." She gestured to her own garments that were obviously too big for her current physique. "Mine are a bit on the large side."

"Of course, Captain Kuchiki."

The Head-Captain dismissed the group and they dispersed from the room. Kenpachi stormed off to Squad Eleven while Byakuya followed her fellow captain to Squad Four. "If it's alright to ask, how does it feel to be a woman?" she asked.

"Awkward," the newly created woman said as Unohana led her to her quarters. As Unohana began to measure her and pick out clothes, Byakuya sat down and rubbed her temples. "To be honest, my head feels strange."

"How so?" Unohana asked, handing her a smaller Shihakusho.

"Hmm…" Byakuya scowled. "It's hard to explain. I feel like I need something," she said.

Unohana turned around and handed her a pair of panties. "My apologies but this is the only pair I could spare." Byakuya took the panties and couldn't help the smile on her face when she saw the strawberries imprinted on them.

The woman couldn't help but give a small chuckle. 'Strawberries…' The name made Byakuya think of a certain boy whose name meant strawberry.

While sliding the underwear on, Byakuya's thoughts suddenly turned towards the Subsitute Soul Reaper. He was unlike anyone she'd ever encountered. He was rude, brash, arrogant… 'Strong…yet soft at heart…bold…yet caring…'

"Captain Kuchiki?'

Byakuya snapped out of it and looked up, realizing that she was caught daydreaming about the boy. "Yes?" she answered quickly.

"Are you feeling alright? You're blushing quite fiercely."

The woman couldn't help but blush harder. She couldn't stop thinking about Ichigo. And even worse, the more she thought about him, the more the yearning inside her burned. "My…my apologies," she said quietly, getting her composure back. "It's just hard to think I've become a woman and now have to wear women's clothing."

"It is a jarring change, I'll give you that," Unohana nodded, though obviously she could see that there was more to Byakuya's dilemma than she said. "I wonder how Captain Zaraki is coping with the change?"

Meanwhile…
Squad Eleven

Ikkaku cringed as another of his men slammed into the wall. Yumichika walked up beside him and watched the carnage unfold. "How is she?"

"Still at it?"

"I'm surprised anyone's getting back up," Yumichika noted, cringing as the shrill scream of a squad member filled the air.

"I think they're all more afraid of what she'll do if they stay down," Ikkaku said.

For the past hour Kenpachi had been venting her rage by calling all of her men for a squad "exercise". Wave after wave of men threw themselves at her, only to be trounced by the ferocious woman. It at least confirmed what Mayuri had said earlier: Kenpachi may be a woman now but she had not lost any of her edge.

Stomping on a fallen squad member, Kenpachi growled in annoyance. "Is this the best all of you could do?" she barked. All of her men were bruised and beaten out of their wits. None dared to rise after the fearsome woman glared at each and every one of them. "Pathetic," she grumbled as she sheathed her sword. Her adrenaline was pumping but she felt a hunger gnawing away at her. She coudlnt' understand it. It wasn't like her usual lust for battle. This was different.

"You okay, Captain?" Ikkaku asked as she walked over to them.

"I must say, I kind of admire your new look," Yumichika couldn't help but say. "The way you defeated them all was quite beautiful."

"Shut up," Kenpachi grumbled as she walked past them. "They were nothing. At least Ichigo would've given me a challenge."

Kenpachi stopped. Why had she just thought of Ichigo? Her thoughts turned to their battle. 'Hey, he's the first person to actually make me enjoy the fight in years.' She started to subconsciously bit down on her lower lip as she thought of the boy. Just thinking about him made that hunger inside her grow like fire. 'Mmmh…Ichigo…'

"Uhhh…Captain?" Ikkaku asked, a little concerned as Kenpachi just stood there, staring off into space. "You okay?"

"I need to be alone," she said as she stormed off. Both Ikkaku and Yumichika looked at each other and shrugged, wondering what put the woman in a mood.

Kenpachi began to sweat as she made her way to her quarters. By the time she slammed the door shut and locked it, she was panting. "Ichigo…" she whispered as she undid the tie to her pants. As soon as they hit the floor, the dark-haired woman stuck her hand into her underwear. "Mmmhhh…."

Meanwhile…
Las Noches; Grimmjow's Quarters

Grimmjow couldn't believe this was happening to her!

The bluenette slammed her fist into the wall, adding to the cracks and holes she'd marked the wall with previously. "Fuck!" she growled, angry as hell. "Damn him! Damn Szayelapporo!" She punched the wall again.

"Damn Ulquiorra!"

Another punch.

"And damn Aizen!"

One more punch.

Panting, the Arrancar merely turned away and flopped onto her bed. Her life was in shambles now, thanks to the scientist's formula. Not only had she been dropped from the Espada but now Grimmjow had been turned into a woman. She was a laughingstock to the other Espada now, especially to Luppi and Nnoitora. Grimmjow would have killed the later had not Ulquiorra not stopped her, warning her not to harm an Espada in her master's presence. Grimmjow knew she could kill Luppi, quite easily in fact. But she could not risk open murder in front of Tosen again. She was on thin ice already after her disastrous attack on Karakura Town.

Her body hot and sweaty, Grimmjow threw off her clothes, lying on her bed in her birthday suit. She looked over at a mirror on the wall and stared at her own reflection. She was almost unrecognizable. Her strong, powerful physique had been replace by pure female sexiness.

But Grimmjow didn't want to be slender and beautiful. She wanted to be the engine of destruction she was created into. Digging her nails into her palm, she clenched her teeth and cursed her situation.

"Damn that brat!" she cursed, thinking of Ichigo, the boy she'd set out to kill. "If only I'd killed him when I had the chance!" She cursed Tosen's timing. If the blind man had been only a minute later, Grimmjow would have killed Ichigo for sure.

Her expression changed, however, after a few moments of thinking about Ichigo. She'd thought of him as garbage before. But now…

Grimmjow's hand went to the scar on her chest, the one Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho marked her with. Ichigo had shown that he was stronger than Grimmjow had surmised. 'Yes,' she thought, calming down, 'he is more than I thought he was. I was even going to kill him in my release state if Tosen hadn't shown up.'

The heat inside Grimmjow began to burn like a star. The more she thought about Ichigo, the more the urge to kill him died down and a new feeling started to emerge. She went quiet as she rolled over, her hot skin feeling like she was burning up. "That boy…" she groaned as she felt heat shoot into her loins. "Mmmhhh!" Her thoughts completely devoid of anything but Ichigo, Grimmjow's legs spread and her hand subconsciously started to go lower…

Meanwhile…
Szayelapporo's Palace

"And you're sure?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I'm fairly certain there's been no change to your spirit energy," Szayelapporo informed the bone-white woman. "It would appear as though the serum caused merely a superficial change. Once which I'm unable to reverse at any rate." Szayelapporo tossed the handful of papers to the side, becoming bored with the project already. "A pity. I suppose I'll have to move on to my other subjects."

Ulquiorra was silent as she put her clothes back on. She'd spent most of the day allowing the scientist to examine her to get to the root of the problem with her transformation. "Can you identify the cause?" she asked as she buttoned her shirt.

"No," the Arrancar said bluntly. "Too many factors."

"Could it be because of Ichigo Kurosaki's blood?' she asked.

"It's a possibility," Szayelapporo noted. "Now if you please? I've work to do."

Nodding, Ulquiorra finished dressing and left the room, knowing that there was no way to change back. Along the way back to her palace, Ulquiorra became puzzled. Why had she brought up Ichigo Kurosaki? The boy meant nothing to her. To Ulquiorra, he was garbage.

But then again…

Ulquiorra stopped in the hallway and closed her eyes. She remembered watching Ichigo fight Yammy and thinking about his fluctuating spiritual pressure. When Ichigo started to succumb to his Inner Hollow, Ulquiorra had dismissed Ichigo's usefulness. But the more she thought about it, the more she wondered what Ichigo would be like if he had full control over his own power.

The thought made Ichigo seem more…intriguing…

"Hey, if it isn't our new beau."

Ulquiorra saw Nnoitora standing in the hallway, a lecherous smile on his face. "What do you want?" she asked as she walked by him.

"So how's the new body?" Nnoitora asked while licking his lips.

The number four Espada merely looked away and continued walking past him. "Scum…" She knew about Nnoitora's feelings towards women stronger than him. Now that he had not one but two women ranked higher than him, it must've been quite offensive.

"Oh come now, Ulquiorra," Nnoitora said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I was just about to go see Grimmjow. Maybe you'd like to come along and…put that new body of yours to use along with hers," he said with a devilish smirk that left no room for interpretation.

"You disgust me." Ulquiorra shrugged off his hand and continued walking. "Try that again and I'll end you," she threatened.

"Heh," Nnoitora grinned, unafraid of the woman. "What's the matter? Is it that time of the month?"

Nnoitora reputed himself as having the toughest Hierro of all the Espada. But even that kind of protection proved useless when Ulquiorra whirled around and bitchslapped him, sending him flying through a wall. Flexing her bruised hand, Ulquiorra merely glared at the Esapda, who was lying on the floor with the taste slapped out of him. "Say something like that again and I'll do a lot worse. You're a disgrace," she said bluntly. "Ichigo Kurosaki is better than you," she insulted.

Leaving Nnoitora where he lay, Ulquiorra continued to walk away. Her thoughts once again turned to Ichigo. Unlike the other Arrancars, Ichigo was devoutly dedicated to protecting his friends. Ulquiorra had dismissed him as a foolish Human but now she was starting to wonder otherwise…

'Hmm…'

Later…
Soul Society; Kuchiki Manor

"Byakuya?" Rukia called out as she went into the clan leader's room. The Kuchiki Clan had not taken Byakuya's transformation well, claiming that she'd shamed their clan by letting Mayuri turn him into a woman. Thankfully they didn't strip Byakuya of her position but Rukia was afraid of what they might do.

Rukia didn't know how to respond to the fact that her brother was now her sister. Both she and Renji were confused on how a concoction created from Ichigo's blood could do such a thing. Regardless, Rukia decided that it didn't matter and that she needed to be there for Byakuya.

Opening the door to her sister's room, Rukia discovered that Byakuya was nowhere to be seen. "Byakuya? Where are you?" she called out, hoping she'd be nearby. But when she received no response Rukia came to the conclusion that Byakuya was gone.

"Byakuya, where did you go?"

Meanwhile…
Squad Eleven

"Mommy!" Yachiru chirped as she walked into Kenpachi's room, a huge book in her arms. Unlike her squadmates, Yachiru was ecstastic to see that her father was now her mother, deciding that she could now do all sorts of mother-daughter things. "Can you read me a bedtime story?" she asked. When no answer came, she turned on the light and found the room empty.

"Mommy?"

Meanwhile…
Las Noches; Grimmjow's Room

"Oh Grimmjow…" Nnoitora purred, having recovered from Ulquiorra's hit. "Want to play, little kitty?"

But when the sadistic Arrancar opened the door he found no sign of the bluenette. He saw that the wall was badly damaged and that Grimmjow's bed was unkempt but there wasn't a trace of her.

His fun taken away a second time, Nnoitora scowled. "Bitches…" he murmured before walking out of the room.

Meanwhile...
Las Noches; Ulquiorra's Room

Halibel stepped into the room, a bundle of new clothes for the number four Espada, courtesy of her private wardrobe. "Ulquiorra? Where are you?" she called out, only to be met by silence. Looking around, the blonde Arrancar saw no sign of her comrade. "She must be out," she mused, setting the clothes down, unaware of the small ripple in the air near the corner of the room as the Garganta Ulquiorra had opened silently closed…

To be continued