Ichigo ½
Chapter 10

The Next Day
Outside the Senkaimon

Ichigo fidgeted as he waited for everyone to gather at the gate. After waking up in the morning alongside Unohana it had been a bit awkward but the two were pretty satisfied with the previous day's events. So pleased was Unohana that she allowed Ichigo to take a hot shower and turn back to his normal gender. Ichigo sighed in relief as he stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror to make sure he was back to normal. Part of him feared he'd been in female form so long he could no longer change back.

Unohana showed up with Yoruichi and Rangiku in tow, along with Rukia, Renji and Isane. Both Rangiku and Yoruichi were looking pretty pleased with themselves when they saw Ichigo. "So tell me, Ichigo…" Rangiku whispered into his ear, "Had fun last night?" Ichigo looked at the ground with a blush on his cheeks. It was an awkward thing to admit that he'd enjoyed being with the three while he was a she. It was even more enjoyable with Unohana than with the others but he'd never admit that out loud to him.

Renji came up next to him as the massive doors opened. "C'mon, Ichigo. Captain Kurotsuchi arrived less than an hour ago, and no doubt Nemu's already told him about your little dip into Urahara's pool." Ichigo shivered at the thought of the mad scientist thinking up of ideas to do to female Ichigo. Nodding to the others, Ichigo and the others proceeded through the gate.

Meanwhile…
Captain Kurotsuchi's Laboratory

"YOU IDIOTIC GIRL!"Kurotsuchi roared at his daughter. "You let such a perfect specimen walk away and you didn't even bother restraining her long enough for me to examine her?" Nemu remained silent as her father shook her violently. "I could've used this to get back at that infuriating man! Dammit all!"

Meanwhile, Back at the Plot….
Urahara Shop

Kisuke and Tessai were standing vigilantly in front of his gate as it opened. As Ichigo and Co. stepped out of the gate, Kisuke hid his face behind his fan. His eyes scanned Ichigo up and down intently as he stepped forward. "Ichigo." Kisuke addressed his pupil starkly, without any of his usual snark this time.Truth be told, when Yoruichi informed him of Ichigo's little dip in his old experiment Kisuke felt horrified. He'd been certain that the hot spring he'd experimented on had lost its potency after the hundred+ years that had rolled by. But he was horrified for another reason….

"Yoruichi and Unohana have told me everything. You need the fix to the hot spring to stop your genderbending, right?" Kisuke asked.

Ichigo nodded, noting several buckets of water standing nearby. "Yeah, Yoruichi said you've figured out a cure to your stupid experiment?" Nearby in the large underground chamber was a hot spring, similar to the one Ichigo fell into.

"Stupid? Ichigo, I was trying to find the ultimate formula for female satisfaction! How is that stupid? And besides," he said grinning behind his fan, "I hear you were pretty satisfied…." Seeing Ichigo blush and stammer in front of everyone was worth the risk of the jab. Besides, Yoruichi had taken the liberty of setting up a camera in Ichigo's room, letting him watch Ichigo's adventurous activities with Yoruichi, Rangiku and Unohana. For future reference and research, obviously….

"Changing "equipment" every time so much as a bucket of water drops on my head is stupid! Now do you have the cure or not? You obviously made one, since you've never changed!" Ichigo said angrily. He and everyone else were put off when Kisuke took off his hat, along with a weird armband off his left arm. Even Yoruichi could feel the ominous shift in tone in the air.

Walking over to one of the buckets Kisuke sighed. "Yeah, about that…."

To the amazement and horror of everyone present, Kisuke dumped the bucket of ice-cold water onto his head. When the deluge hit the ground, a beautiful sandy-haired blonde woman stood in Kisuke's place. "Did I mention I never actually figured out how to reverse it?"

Everyone stood there stunned. Yoruichi's jaw almost came off in shock. Ichigo felt what little hope he had inside him die away with a sad, lonely whimper. "But… but I've seen you in the rain! And you said you found a cure!"

Yoruichi stepped forward. "Wait a minute! Ichigo's right! I've seen you in the rain, and in pools! We've certainly would've noticed if you'd been missing a set!"

The female Urahara gestured to the armband resting inside his hat. "Well… Actually Ichigo, every time you've seen my in the rain I had an umbrella over me. Plus my hat helps keep the rain off me. But this armband I recently developed helps curb the changes. While I'm wearing it, my body can't tell the difference between hot water and cold." Kisuke dumped a bucket of hot water on herself, turning him back to normal. "But yes, I've developed something that'll stop the changing once and for all. It's just…."

Ichigo stepped forward. "It's just what? Stop with the suspense already!"

Kisuke continued to keep his eyes at ground level. "I managed to recreate the experiment in the hope that it'll change you back. This time, it's much more potent than when either of us bathed in it. But…" Kisuke hesitated before continuing, "There are complications; you did jump into the spring twice after all, so who knows the ramifications of that. The spring will change you again, but whether or not you'll be male or female is unknown. The changes will stop, but you're stuck in that gender; at least until I can come up with something else." Seeing Ichigo's shocked face, Kisuke put a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "There is a plus side. Since you're in soul form now, and you weren't in your body when you fell in, even if you do change permanently into a female you'll still keep your male human body."

Ichigo sighed in disbelief. "So… it's all or nothing?"

"I'm afraid so."

The substitute sighed. Unohana came and put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Ichigo. Are you sure you want to do this?"

The boy hesitated before nodding slowly. "Might as well. If this is the only chance that I've got, what little choice do I have but to take it?" Everyone walked over to the hot spring. Ichigo stood on the edge before taking a deep breath. "Ok, here I go…."

Ichigo closed his eyes and jumped, cannonballing into the hot spring. He was welcomed with the familiar sensation of the bizarre liquid as it surrounded him. Ichigo sank to the bottom and sat there for a moment, keeping his eyes shut. Getting his bearings right this time, the substitute sprang up and reached for the edge.

Rukia and the others were waiting in anticipation. As a hand shot out of the water, everyone held their breath and waited. An orange-haired figure climbed out of the spring and coughed up water.

"Well?" Ichigo asked as the substitute looked down….

To Be Continued….

A.N.: I'm gonna be perfectly honest, I cannot make up my mind as to whether or not Ichigo remains a guy or a girl. The coin I would've flipped fell down a storm drain… So in lieu of any normal rationale….

TO THE READERS: I've decided to let my readers decide on Ichigo's fate. Just put in the reviews what you want, whether he stays as a man or a woman. I'll wait for 5 days after I put out this chapter before tallying up the votes, if any, and putting out the next chapter. After the 5 day mark don't bother putting in your vote, my mind's made up on this. Ciao!

~Whackybiscuit