Twenty-four hours, huh?

At least, that was what Szayel said. That Ulquiorra had to put up with this female body for twenty-four more hours before the pills would take effect and change him back into his original, and very much male form.

After consuming the pills, before Ulquiorra could even open his mouth and ask, Szayel answered smoothly, "Twenty-four hours. That's how long you have left as a woman, Ulquiorra. After that, you will turn back into a male. So if you have any business that you would like to attend to and can only attend to in this form, do it now before your twenty-four hours are up, alright?"

Ulquiorra took all of this information in silently, still not quite in a talkative mood. He gave a curt nod.

"Oh, and when turning back, you might feel a bit of a pinch. Don't worry, though. Since you're the Cuatro Espada, it'll probably feel like nothing to you."

"Hm... Alright. Noted. Thank you, Szayel."

Ulquiorra looked down at his hands, feeling no different than before he had taken those pills. These feminine hands that he had been made to live with for weeks... months? After spending quite some time in this body, suddenly waking up without those troublesome breasts that could pass off as flotation devices - of course, he was exaggerating... maybe - and the absence of that lonely feeling in between his legs would be... strange. Becoming a male again would mean that he was saying goodbye to the days where he had to wear pads – and if needed, Ulquiorra thought with a shudder, tampons – dresses, mini skirts, bikinis, high heels, make-up, accessories, shaving his legs and armpits, experiencing mood swings, menstrual cramps and having his privates waxed.

... He had to wax in order to wear skimpy bikinis. Don't judge.

And while we're at it, don't even dare imagine it.

He had to say, though... ouch. Women are mad to go through such torture. Willingly.

Other than the blinkingly obvious things that he was going to say goodbye to, he was also going to say goodbye to the bond he had built with Grimmjow as Kiorra Cifer. In just a matter of hours. It all felt surreal.

All that time. Right from the moment he had found out that he had turned into a woman.

Once he had made sure that his hair was free from tangles, he unbuttoned his top and discarded it to the floor. He needed to shower. As if on cue, his eyes began to focus and he found himself staring at his reflection open-mouthed, eyes wide in a mixture of shock and horror.

It was at that very moment that Ulquiorra learned that he had somehow sprouted tits overnight. The whole of Hueco Mundo must have heard the scream that emitted from Ulquiorra Cifer's room.

When he had decided on his female name.

"Well? What will your female name be, Ulquiorra?" the brown-haired shinigami said, bringing the emerald eyed Espada out of his thoughts.

Ulquiorra placed a finger to his chin and thought. Finally, he said, "Kiorra."

When he got his first period.

When he passed by the bathroom mirror, Ulquiorra noticed something that made him stop and stare in horror for the second time that day.

Oh, God, no. Oh, God, please let this not be real.

Because right there at the back of his pants was a huge red stain. By the looks of it and from what the Octava had explained to him on the subject, it could only mean one thing; Ulquiorra had gotten his first period.

When he first put on a bra.

No matter how he twisted and turned, he could not get the damned thing on.

As annoying as he found this, he was not going to give up. The last thing he wanted to do was to be braless under his top, letting people "see" what was going on underneath. Ulquiorra struggled some more with the clasp and finally, finally after a few minutes of torture, he heard a soft 'click', telling him that he had the bra on securely.

Yes!

When he first had to work on this mission with Grimmjow.

"Urmm… Hello, Grimmjow," Kiorra said timidly. "I guess that we will be working together from now on." She laughed nervously.

And so much more.

In just a few hours, it would be like those things had never happened. And honestly, thinking about those memories now, he did not know whether he should laugh or cry.

He leaned back against the bench that he sat on, trying to relax. Szayel had left the park about two hours ago, and he, Ulquiorra, had been sitting here ever since, in a daze. He had his cell phone turned off, since he did not want to have to deal with Grimmjow, or anyone, really, right now. Not even Aizen-sama – please forgive me, Aizen-sama, but I cannot deal with your constant questions about whether I am absolutely sure that I really want to become male again. He just... He just needed to be alone right now. And he was definitely going to put off going back to the hotel room until the very last minute. Ulquiorra was quite sure that Grimmjow would be waiting there, in a bad mood, ready to pick a fight with him.

Really...

The raven-haired Arrancar kicked at his feet lightly, wishing that time would pass by more quickly. Twenty-four hours seems like an eternity, especially when you are waiting. He sighed. Well, he supposed that he had dawdled here long enough. When Szayel had mentioned the matter of unfinished business, the first thing that leapt to his mind was Kurosaki. And this matter was one of the reasons that he was dawdling here. But, he would have to get up and meet Kurosaki sometime.

Remembering the way Ichigo Kurosaki kept gazing at him with that sickening look full of emotion that could only be described as love, Ulquiorra just knew that his meeting with Ichigo would not go too well. It was hard to imagine it ending with flowers and sunshine.

Kurosaki was definitely going to be upset.

Oh, boy... Ulquiorra thought dully. This is going to be fun...

He reluctantly and slowly pulled his cell phone out of his handbag, turned it on and dialled the boy's number. He ignored the numerous calls and messages from both Aizen and Grimmjow.

Ulquiorra just hoped that there would not be any tears from the boy.


Apparently, if God existed, then he must not like Grimmjow very much, because even though he was in the safety of the hotel room he shared with Kiorra, that still did not save him from the danger that was Abarai Renji. Grimmjow was pacing around the room when he suddenly heard someone yell from the street below. He lifted his gaze from the carpeted floor to look outside the window, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He could have sworn that he knew that voice. But still, it couldn't be. Especially not after what had happened last time. When silence ensued after the yell, Grimmjow shrugged and looked away from the window, putting it all down to his imagination. There was no way that that guy could have come all the way here just to-

"PRINCESS...!"

What the hell!

Grimmjow scrambled towards the window.

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

When Grimmjow reached the window and looked down, his eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. There, right on the street stood Abarai Renji, who, upon seeing Grimmjow, immediately brightened up and grinned, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he held a rather large sign under one of his arms, excited. And if possible, Renji yelled even louder than before – so loudly that Grimmjow was almost positive that the whole of Karakura Town must have heard him;

"PRINCESS! PRINCESS! PRINCESS!"

Holy fuck!

"The hell are you doing here?" Grimmjow shouted, more astonished by what Renji was doing than the fact that he was calling Grimmjow "Princess", of all things.

Seriously, of all times that that idiot could have picked to see Grimmjow, Renji just had to pick the time when Grimmjow did not want to see the red-haired man ever again.

"I'm here to win my Princess back!"

Win my Princess back...?

Those words made him shudder. Grimmjow actually felt himself die a little on the inside.

Then he noticed something. Renji's cheeks were flushed, and he seemed to be a bit unstable on his feet.

"Are you drunk?" Grimmjow said incredulously.

"I don't know," Renji said. "But I know that I'm winning you back."

Grimmjow growled. "Fuck, man, you never won me in the first place, now piss off! I'm not some sorta trophy! And quit calling me Princess. It's creepy."

"No, don't be so mean! Princess is a cute name!" Renji whined. Then, he suddenly brightened up once more, having gotten an idea that might just work to get him on Grimmjow's good side. "This, Princess. Look here, Princess! I made this just for you!"

It was then that Renji held up the sign that he was holding and waved it above his head in time with his yells of "Princess". The sign said, in horrifying pink, huge, cursive writing, "I love you, Gurimujō". Grimmjow had to fling an arm over his eyes just to protect them from being raped any further by the sign. It even had glitter all over it, and it glinted under the sun, blinding those who happened to look at it. It was that horrible.

You have got to be kidding me!

"I'm so sorry about last night, Princess!"

Oh, good, God, this guy was embarrassing. Practically everyone passing by the street was looking at them, and they kept snickering at Grimmjow. If Aizen did not forbid Grimmjow and Ulquiorra from harming these idiots, there would have long been bloodshed.

"I promise you, I will not grope your butt again!"

More snickers from the crowd that had begun to gather around Renji.

Growling, Grimmjow grabbed the lamp on the nearest table. The fact that he would have to pay for it later, be damned. "Grope this, fucker!" He pulled his arm back, then sent the lamp whistling through the air in Renji's direction. It connected with Renji's forehead with a satisfying CRACK. To anyone else, the sound would have been considered sickening, but to Grimmjow, it was music to his ears. "At least spell my damned name right! Now, piss the hell off and shut up!" Grimmjow all but screamed at a now howling Renji before slamming the windows shut, shutting out the noise that was the red-haired man's voice. "Geez... Can't even get any damned peace even though I'm already dead..."


Ichigo had just pulled on his jacket when something heavy suddenly barrelled into him.

"MY SON...!" Isshin cried, flinging his arms around Ichigo. "Are you going to see your girlfriend, no, future wife again? Make sure to wear condoms!"

"The hell!" Red-faced, Ichigo slammed his fist into Isshin's gut, causing the older man to stumble back with a cry. "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"B-but... son...!"

"But, nothing! Now calm the hell down, old man!"

The neighbours, who were already used to Ichigo and Isshin's constant fights, did not even bat an eyelid when they heard Ichigo scream at Isshin, nor did they seem surprised when they heard a door being slammed shut – they merely went on with their daily lives as usual, unaffected. Ichigo Kurosaki on the other hand, had stormed out of his house, his face still red from when his father made a totally inappropriate comment about him and Kiorra. If not for the fact that this fight was about his girlfriend, this scene would have been counted as part of the daily lives of the Kurosaki family.

Seriously, was his father actually the only one who would get that hyped up over the fact that his child had gotten a girlfriend?

His cheeks still flushed, Ichigo stomped down the street angrily, pounding his anger away upon the innocent pavement until it finally faded, taken over by anxiety. His walk slowed down as well, and the expression on his face softened. If people were to see him now, they would not suspect that mere minutes before, he had been screaming his lungs out at his father. But now that he had gotten away from his infuriating father, his thoughts returned once more to his emerald-eyed girlfriend.

He pulled his jacket closer, his expression downcast.

Kiorra did not sound very happy when she called him just now. If anything, she sounded rather serious.

Normally, he would have put this down to her having a fight with her brother, Grimmjow, but after what had happened yesterday, he doubted that this was the case.

Was it a mistake...? Ichigo wondered. Was it a mistake that he, Ichigo Kurosaki, had chosen to reveal his second identity to Kiorra Cifer?

"Alright." Ichigo breathed, taking in deep, calming breaths to slow down his fast beating heart. This was it. He was going to tell Kiorra everything. Before he could second guess himself like he had done for what felt like months, he quickly shoved his hand into his pocket, then pulled out his Substitute Shinigami Badge. He could tell that Kiorra could see the item because her gaze immediately latched onto it, fixated, watching it dangle between his fingers, following its movements. She did not say a word, though. "You can see this?" he asked, almost in disbelief.

She nodded.

Well... he supposed that he should not have been surprised. He knew that his friends managed to see souls after being around him for awhile.

Not sensing anything amiss, Ichigo slammed the badge against his chest and pushed his soul out of his body. Kiorra did not even flinch when his lifeless body fell smack to the floor, nor did she bat an eyelid when he appeared before her, garbed in his black Shinigami uniform, and his overly large zanpaktou hanging across his back. He did, however, find it a bit strange that she did not even seem overwhelmed by his reiatsu, not in the slightest, but he did not voice it. Perhaps she had more power than he gave her credit for.

He smiled sheepishly. "Hey?"

Kiorra neared him, squeezed his hand gently, and gave him a soft look that clearly said "Go on".

When thinking about Kiorra's reaction when he had had finished displaying his abilities to her, he could not help but feel that perhaps something was wrong. Did he freak her out? No, she was much too calm at the time. Extremely calm. She had watched him slip out of his body, watched his lifeless body fall to the floor unceremoniously, watched him unsheathe his zanpaktou, watched him demonstrate and explain his powers... She had watched all of this with an all too calm expression on her face. Was this sort of reaction normal? He knew that it sure as hell was not because even his best friends, when they had gotten to know his secret, did not take it as calmly as she did. She should have at least displayed a bit of surprise, especially for someone who had not even known him for a year.

At first, he was relieved that she did not freak out. But now, he could not help being worried.

"Kiorra?"

"Yes, Ichigo?"

"Is this... This doesn't change anything between us, right...?"

She shook her head calmly. "No," was all she said.

Not normal. Not, not, not, so not normal. Was she mad at him? Did she hate him for lying to her all this time? Did she think he was a weirdo? Or did she simply not care? Or was he just being paranoid? Fuck, he seriously could not understand her! What was going on in that pretty little head of hers? He would have felt better if she had said something, anything about it, but to give him little to no reaction? What the hell was that? What the hell was that supposed to mean? All of these questions were driving him crazy! Damn it, Kiorra!

And now this. She had called him up, and in a serious tone, asked to meet. Why? Because she wanted to talk.

Things did not look good. He did not even want to think about what she wanted to talk about. To his knowledge, when women say that they want to talk, it hardly ever means a good thing. If anything, it usually means pain and misery for the person that they wanted to talk to.

"Ugh..." Ichigo pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead.

Women... who gets them?

Ahh, sweet obliviousness. If only Ichigo knew that he was actually dealing with a man.

As the sight of a pale, raven-haired woman clothed in a dark green dress sitting on a bench neared, Ichigo tightened his fists at his sides, still keeping the same pace. No. He should not be feeling this way. He was a guy for God's sake. A Shinigami too, at that - he should not be shaking in the knees! Not only that, but he had practically shown Kiorra his soul and what did he get in return? A blank look that clearly said, "This is not worth my time" and that she did not "care". Well, Kiorra, you may not care, but I sure as hell care. He had been agonizing over showing that side of himself to her, and all he got was that? What the fuck?

Ichigo was ready to give her a piece of his mind when she got up from the bench that she was sitting on and lifted her large eyes to gaze at him. His voice, which was ready to hurl bitter words at her, died in his throat. When he noticed that the air that surrounded them was stretched taut with anxiety and a feeling of foreboding, his steps died as well, and he stopped in front of Kiorra, a mere few steps away from her.

"Ichigo." Her voice was soft, but she might as well have been speaking loudly, because he had heard every syllable of his name that she uttered. Her eyes and her face, both held a look of such melancholy that his earlier anger died as well, replaced with genuine worry.

"Kiorra? What's wrong?"

She did not say anything, which only made him worry even more.

"Kiorra...?"

She took several steps towards him, her green dress billowing behind her as it was a slightly windy day, and stopped when she was directly in front of him. Kiorra then took his hands into her own, and clasped them for a few seconds. When she opened his hands, he saw a ribbon lying in the middle of his palm.

"I'm sorry," Kiorra said.

Ichigo stared at the ribbon wordlessly. It was something that he had gotten for her during one of their dates a few weeks back. It had been rather breezy during their date that Kiorra's hair got quite messy, and Ichigo, being the thoughtful young man he was, had bought a nice, green ribbon to tie up her raven hair. It was the first thing that he had bought for her. Ichigo looked up at her questioningly, and what he saw took him aback, making his voice die in his throat once more. Pearl-like tears had gathered at the corners of Kiorra's eyes.

When she spoke, her words dropped on him like a pile of rocks;

"I cannot see you anymore. This is goodbye, Ichigo Kurosaki."


Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of the keys of the cell phone being pressed repeatedly.

Tap, tap, tap.

Alright.

Tap, tap, tap.

He was going to bite.

"What are you doing?" Ichimaru Gin finally questioned Aizen, who had been fiddling with the cell phone in his hands exasperatedly for the past few minutes.

"I am trying to contact Ulquiorra," Aizen responded, his eyes glued to the screen of the device, not even bothering to look up. "But he has not been answering any of my calls, or my text messages. Do you think he's ignoring me? Or maybe he has already changed and-"

Fed up, Ichimaru snatched the cell phone from Aizen's hands and threw it out the window.


Ichigo sank onto the bench that Kiorra had previously sat on, totally and utterly speechless. Many people walked past him, and even when the sun had set and night was calling to take over, the orange-haired teen did not move an inch, only staring at the item in his hands.


Thankfully, it did not take much to make Kurosaki believe his tears - yes, he had faked them - nor did it take him long to pry himself away from the boy. The boy was so shocked to see Kiorra Cifer crying, that all other thought flew out of his mind. Ulquiorra had to admit, he did feel a bit guilty upon seeing the boy's broken expression, but he reminded himself that it was all necessary. It was all part of the mission, he could not do anything else about it. And this was much better than leaving Kurosaki hanging - he was doing Kurosaki a favour. At least, that was what he told himself. He supposed that after spending so much time with the boy, he had become slightly attached to him, but not in the same way Ichigo felt for him.

After leaving Ichigo at the park, Ulquiorra wandered around for a bit until it was well late into the night before he finally gave in to what the situation demanded and walked into the hotel that he stayed at. Upon entering it, Ulquiorra felt disapproving gazes follow him. His hair was windswept and a bit of his make-up ran – damn, he should have bought waterproof make-up - because of the tears that he had to spill for Kurosaki.

Tugging at his hair slightly in hopes of getting rid of the headache that had begun to drum in his temple, Ulquiorra came to a stop when he reached his destination. He stood in front of the door of their hotel room for a long time just staring at it silently, his heart beating hard against his chest.

Come on, this is just Grimmjow. What are you so afraid of, Ulquiorra?

Ulquiorra ran his fingers through his hair in hopes of tidying it. As for his make-up, there was no helping it right now, and he could not be bothered to go to the hotel toilets, which were at the ground floor, near the lobby. Taking deep, calming breaths, Ulquiorra stilled his fast beating heart, reached out, and opened the door.

Here goes nothing...

The moment he stepped in and closed the door behind him, he saw his blue-haired comrade, who, alerted by the soft click of the door being closed, immediately looked up. Quietly, Grimmjow put the magazine that he had been trying to read aside, his gaze fixed on Ulquiorra. Sapphire eyes took him in, studying him, as though trying to make sure that it really was Kiorra that they were looking at. He did not look angry, like Ulquiorra had initially expected.

All it took for Grimmjow to make Ulquiorra's heart beat as quickly as before was just one word.

"Hey."


DIOR: 11th chapter! Finally! After being sick on and off since New Year, I'm back to my normal self - and I hope it stays that way for awhile. Being stuck in bed during the holidays is depressing. Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter! Reviews are loved as always.