It was a quiet day in EnmaCho’s Shokan division. There were no cases to go on or mysterious circumstances to investigate, and even some of the most diligent workers had allowed themselves to relax. Of course, even if there weren’t any early deaths, reports still needed to be written and documents still had to be filed. In exchange for being allowed to travel between the world of the living and the world of the dead, they had to do paper work.

That was the fate of a guardian of death.

That’s how Watari thought of it anyway, but he decided that he had much more interesting plans for the day.

With a small flick of his wrist, he carefully swirled a clear liquid around in a beaker before pouring it into a small glass bottle. He watched intently as the potion turned to a deep damask red and started to glow.

“I’VE DONE IT!” he shouted, covering the bottle with a small, gold stopper and hugging it to his chest.

There was no one else in his massive lab to see him beaming or nearly jumping up and down in excitement. Most employees made it a rule to avoid the scientist’s lab at all costs for fear of getting blown up, or worse, tested on.

The lab didn’t look particularly threatening; blacktop tables were covered in flasks and pipettes, and one of the walls was lined with shelves of potions and various chemicals.

In the back of the lab, Watari had a very bare office, which mostly went unused. Next to the office was a small room with a futon, night stand, and chair. Clothes were thrown carelessly in all corners of the room, along with small scraps of paper covered in an illegible scrawl. After the first few years of constantly falling asleep at the lab tables, Watari had finally gotten a futon.

He picked up an orange ribbon laying across the night stand and tied back his long, golden blonde hair.

Seconds later, he ran out of the room and down the hall, stopping just in front of the common room door to collect himself.

Just act normally and they’ll never know . . .

He opened the door and headed toward the coffee pot in the near corner of the room. The common room was large, with windows that extended across one wall, revealing the sakura trees in bloom outside. In the center of the room, long tables stretched invitingly.

Watari scanned the room carefully. At one of the tables, Tsuzuki was trying to get Hisoka to eat a piece of cake. Tsuzuki slouched over the table, looking directly into his younger partner’s big green eyes and waving the fork in front of his face.

“Open up,” Tsuzuki coaxed, trying to lure Hisoka into taking a bite and doing a wonderful job of distracting his partner.

Good, that takes care of the kid.

Looking over into the corner, Watari spotted Tatsumi staring at a document and writing something down. The secretary’s head was tilted slightly, making his short brown hair brush over the rim of his glasses. He pushed them up higher on the bridge of his nose, their lenses reflecting the light and effectively hiding his dark blue eyes. Even though he was on his lunch break, Tatsumi was working, but not without pay, of course.

And Tatsumi is too wrapped up in his paper work . . .

Quietly, Watari poured himself the rest of the coffee and made a new pot, with one small addition. After accomplishing what he wanted to do, he silently slipped toward the door.

“Ah, Watari-san?” Tatsumi asked, just as Watari was sneaking out of the room.

DAAAMMMMIIITTTT!

“Yes, Tatsumi-san?”

“Are you almost done with the research that I wanted you to do?” the tall, imposing figure asked.

“Oh . . . uh . . . yeah, you should have it by the end of the day.”

Watari left just as quickly as he had come in. A little too quickly, Tatsumi thought, considering he usually made his breaks last as long as possible. He concluded that Watari must be working on some potion or another and returned to his work.

---

With his hands clasped behind his head, Watari leaned back in his desk accomplished look spread across his face as 003 hopped up onto his lap.

“Perfect!” Watari declared to 003. “The effects of the potion won’t start to show until tomorrow morning if they drink it now.”

“Wwoo?” The tiny, brown owl asked, tilting her head to the side and picking at Watari’s white lab coat with her beak.

“Because if it worked right away, no one else would drink it. This way they won’t find out what I’ve done until tomorrow.”

“Hoo . . .”

---

“Tsuzuki, baka. I don’t want any more cake!” Hisoka stood up, pushing aside the fork full. The thick chocolate cake felt like lead in his mouth, and he needed something to wash it down.

Puppy Tsuzuki drooped his ears and pouted. Moments later, he brightened at the prospect of having more cake for himself.

Hisoka never liked the taste of coffee. Maybe because most people start drinking it when they’re older, and after all, Hisoka only reached the age of sixteen. He would have preferred something else, but it seemed that there wasn’t any more tea left.

“Tatsumi?”

“Yes? What is it, Kurosaki-kun?”

“Don’t we have any more tea left?”

Tatsumi’s forehead crinkled. “I just bought a whol–”

The secretary paused as his eyes narrowed. It took him a few seconds before he managed to say under his breath, “Watari-san! I knew he was up to something–sneaking in here and stealing all of the tea. I know he stays late, but that’s no excuse for drinking all of it. It’s coming out of his paycheck.”

As Hisoka saw Tatsumi storm out of the common room looking rather scary, he took a sip of coffee from his mug and cringed. “Ugh, this coffee tastes horrible.”

“Maybe your taste buds haven’t grown yet, Hisoka,” Tsuzuki offered.

“Baka, taste buds don’t grow like that. It just tastes worse than usual. Here.” He handed the mug to Tsuzuki and waited for confirmation, although he seriously questioned Tsuzuki’s tastes, considering he’d eat his own cooking.

“Hmm . . . I think you’re right, Hisoka. It does taste weird . . .”

---

Sitting in his spacious office behind his perfectly neat desk, Tatsumi gave Watari a steady look.

“So why exactly did you steal all of the tea, Watari-san?”

“Me? Steal the tea? Why, Tatsumi . . . I’m hurt.”

“A whole box of tea doesn’t just disappear, and now that Tsuzuki has blown up the library on three separate occasions, we don’t have the funds to buy all of the tea that you want. You’ve been acting very suspicious lately, and I want to know why.”

“Well . . . okay . . . I’ll tell you . . .”

---

“. . . And he believed you?” A curious Tsuzuki asked as he and Watari sat in the lab. 003 was nestled comfortably in Tsuzuki’s soft hair and didn’t show any intention of moving.

Watari leaned against a lab table; his wavy blonde hair was coming out of his pony tail and swirling around his face, making him seem as though he were glowing. “Well, I think so. You know Tatsumi, any mention of the budget and he gets all teary-eyed.”

“So actually, Watari, you should be thanking me for blowing up the library. If I didn’t, Tatsumi would have never bought your story.”

“Nice try, Tsuzuki. He would have believed me when I said that I needed the tea in a potion for the research he wanted me to do whether you blew up the library or not. Anyways, who’s had the coffee so far?”

“Me, Hisoka, and Terazuma.”

“Darn, no Tatsumi?”

“Nope.”

“Well, I suppose that’s a good thing. I’ll at least live through tomorrow now.”

---

The day passed uneventfully, and Tsuzuki was happy that the next day would be more entertaining. He noticed that all of the shinigami went home that night, except for Tatsumi–who would most likely stay for a few more hours doing paperwork.

---

Tatsumi got up from his desk with a purpose–to find out what Watari had been up to. Snooping around wasn’t usually something that he did, but since it involved money, he decided to take drastic measures.

After making sure that everyone had already left, Tatsumi quicky went to Watari’s lab. Normally the lab was a bit cluttered, but today it seemed oddly clean.

Too clean, Tatsumi thought. He crouched down by Watari’s desk and looked under it . . . nothing.

“Hmm . . . it’s not in his usual hiding spot. I wonder . . .”

Tatsumi felt around under Watari’s lab chair and found what he was looking for.

“There you are.”

He ripped away at the layers of tape and freed the box of tea. Brushing himself off, he straightened his suit collar and headed back to the common room.

After turning on a light, Tatsumi went over to the coffee machine and put the tea back.

“I wonder what Watari-san is up to . . .” he mused as he poured himself some coffee and sat down to think about it.

---

Light streamed in through Hisoka’s apartment window, waking him. Tangled in his bed sheets, he tried to block out the bright sun in his eyes. Laying flat on his stomach seemed to hurt his chest, so he rolled over onto his side and sat up, deciding not to fight for sleep. Besides, he knew that Tatsumi would kill him if he was late for work.

As he crawled out of bed, he paused for a moment. Something felt . . . off, but he couldn’t place what it was. He untangled himself from his sheets and headed toward the shower, not bothering to think about it any longer.

Hisoka lived in a small two-room apartment. One room was a kitchen and living room, and the other was his bedroom with the master bathroom. He could have gotten a bigger apartment, but he really had no use for the extra space.

Leaving his white tee shirt and soft, light blue pants on the bathroom floor, he sleepily turned the shower on. The steam slowly filled the bathroom and clouded the small mirror over the sink.

He let the hot water run over his body and wished he had time for a long bath, even though he knew that he’d probably fall asleep if he did. He reached for a washcloth and filled it with soap, running it over his body absentmindedly.

It was then that he realized that something was wrong . . . very wrong.

Letting out a small shriek, Hisoka jumped backwards as if to get away from himself and studied his body carefully.

Watari!

It seemed that Watari finally succeeded in making his sex-changing potion.

“Damn it, Watari! Ugh . . . why me . . .” he sulked as he looked down again, not sure what to do with himself. Hisoka felt a twinge of curiosity as he hesitated slightly. He reached up experimentally and touched his breast, instantly pulling his hand away as if it stung. “I’m gonna kill him.”

Quickly getting out of the shower, Hisoka dried himself off and ran a towel over the mirror to clear it. A pretty female Hisoka stared back. Large emerald eyes with thick lashes studied his shapely body.

“Hisokaaaaaa! Hurry up! We’re going to be late,” Tsuzuki yelled from outside the apartment door, not that he ever cared about being late.

Panicking, Hisoka threw his clothes on and went to the door. He leaned against it without opening it or looking out.

“Uh . . . um . . . I’m not feeling well, Tsuzuki. You go on without me,” he said to the door.

“Not feeling well? What’s wrong, Hisoka? You’re a shinigami, you can’t get sick . . .”

“Um . . . I woke up late. I’ll catch up with you later, okay? There’s no reason why I should make us both late.”

“Well, okay. See you soon, Hisoka!” Tsuzuki chirped and left for the office.

That was exactly what Hisoka was afraid of.

---

Hisoka picked up the phone as his mind raced. His first thought was to get changed backand then injure Watari.

No answer.

“Damn it, Watari, pick up the phone! I can’t go to work like this!”

Still no answer.

“He must already be at work, I’ll just have to call and tell Tatsumi that I can’t come in today,” he thought out loud.

Hisoka dialed Tatsumi’s office number and had no doubts that the older man would be there.

“Yes?” Tatsumi answered.

“Uh . . . hi . . . uh . . . Tatsumi, it’s Hisoka . . . I can’t come in to work today . . .” Hisoka could almost feel the glare Tatsumi was giving him through the phone.

“Is that so? Why not, Kurosaki-kun?”

“Well, it’s uh . . . kind of personal,” Hisoka said, blushing. At least Tatsumi wasn’t there to see him.

“I see. Nice try. You’re coming to work today or no pay for the next month.”

As Hisoka heard the click from the other end of the line, his heart sank. He couldn’t let everyone else see him in his current state.

---

In his office, Tatsumi definitely knew that something was going on, considering Terazuma also called in sick. He wasn’t actually serious about docking Hisoka’s pay for the next month; he just needed a good threat so that he could find out what was happening once everyone got to work.

Tatsumi headed toward the common room where he knew he would find Tsuzuki with a plate full of sweets.

“Tsuzuki-sa– TSUZUKI-SAN!” Tatsumi’s voice caught in his throat as he stared wide eyed.

Tsuzuki sat at the middle table in a cute little dress with a bonnet on his head. He was in the process of eating a cream puff when Tatsumi scared him right off of his chair and onto Watari’s lap.

“Y . . . you . . . You’re a . . . a . . . girl!”

“Really? I didn’t notice,” Tsuzuki said, tilting his head to the side and smiling innocently.

Watari was laughing so hard that he couldn’t breathe and concluded that he had never seen Tatsumi’s shocked look before.

“Watari-san! So this is what you’ve been up to!” Tatsumi fumed.

---

Hisoka could hear yelling from the common room, and he guessed it probably had something to do with his current situation. He had put on a very baggy orange sweater and a pair of jeans. He never thought he’d be so happy that he normally had girlish looks, and he hoped that not everyone would notice.

Hisoka kept his head down and arms folded across his chest when he walked into the room. He hurried to one of the farthest tables, taking a doughnut on the way. He decided to confront Watari about it away from everyone else.

“HISOKA! You’re so cute!” exclaimed Tsuzuki, bouncing toward his partner.

Hisoka nearly choked on his doughnut when he looked up at the older shinigami. The first thing that came to Hisoka’s mind was that Tsuzuki looked like he was wearing a maid’s dress. Bright amethyst eyes beamed at him almost expectantly from beneath a black and white bonnet. His dress was also black, with a white ruffled apron down the front, tied around his neck and slim waist. Tsuzuki’s hips curved outward slightly, and his shapely legs could be seen from beneath the short ruffled dress.

“Weeelll? Isn’t this fun, Hisoka? Aww . . . why are you wearing what you normally wear?”

After the initial shock of seeing Tsuzuki, Hisoka regained his senses and began to blush profusely.

“Tsuzuki, you knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?”

“Wha? Of course not, Hisoka! I just woke up like this! But since it did, that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun.”

“Wh . . . wh . . . what did you say Tsuzuki . . . ?” Hisoka turned a deeper shade of red than he ever thought possible. “. . . bu . . . but why are you wearing that? You just had it lying around?”

Tsuzuki looked down at his feet. “Well, no . . . I bought it beca–”

“Ah, hah! I knew it!” Tatsumi declared, sounding pleased with himself. “You two planned this from the start.”

Tsuzuki turned to Watari for support and saw a look of pride spread across the chemist’s face.

“That’s right! I, Watari Yutaka, have finally succeeded in making a sex-changing potion! All for the sake of science!” The scientist then struck a pose while all his coworkers gave him hopeless looks.

At that moment, Terazuma stormed into the common room and lunged at Watari. Grabbing the scientist by the collar, he started to shout, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!”

“Well, technically I didn’t do anything to you . . . you’re the one who drank the coffee . . .”

Terazuma’s short, black hair flopped in front of his narrow eyes as his pointed ears twitched in anger. Before he had a chance to yell at Watari anymore, Wakaba ran in after him, tackling him in a hug. “Isn’t this wonderful, Hajime-chan? I can touch you, and you won’t transform!”

Terazuma stopped choking Watari and froze in his place, looking down at the young girl clinging to him. After slowly realizing that he did not transform, a few inaudible words escaped his lips before he slumped down into a chair.

Wakaba turned to Watari with her brown eyes large and sparkling with hope. “Watari-san? Hajime-chan is supposed to transform into a monster every time a girl touches him because of the shikigami he has . . . but why would your potion change that? Even if he is a girl right now, shouldn’t he still transform?”

“Hmm . . . I don’t really know. But I should be able to figure out why it works and then make a separate potion for him.”

“Really?” Wakaba asked happily, clasping her hands together and making her pink ribbons dance in her long, light brown hair.

“Yeah.”

“Say, Watari, how long will this potion last anyway?” Tsuzuki asked curiously.

“Well, umm, I’m not really sure actually. I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out.”

“I wonder if it doesn’t wear off at all . . .” Tsuzuki pondered.

Tatsumi cleared his throat, “well if it doesn’t, don’t think you can get out of doing work. Papers are piling up as we speak.” He shot everyone a warning glance . . . everyone except Tsuzuki. In fact, Tatsumi made a point not to look at Tsuzuki.

As Tatsumi left the room in a hurry, no one seemed to notice that he was blushing slightly.

---

Around noon, Tatsumi was sitting at his desk sorting through paper work when he noticed a card lying under his door. Deciding it was time for his lunch break, he left the room and picked up the card on his way out. As he walked through the hallway, he flipped the card open and read to himself.

You are invited to a sleep over!

Where: Watari’s apartment

When: Tonight after office hours

What to bring: Anything you want!

In one of the corners, a chibi Watari beamed up from the mess of doodles that covered the sheet.

“Figures . . .” Tatsumi mumbled to himself, tucking the card away into his suit pocket. He pulled on his collar to loosen it; his suit seemed to be tugging on him uncomfortably. Not thinking anything of it, he entered the common room and filled a small plate with food.

Tsuzuki was already sitting at a table, looking cuter than usual in his maid’s outfit while he scarfed down a pastry.

“Wha! Tatsumi! Are you going to the party?” Tsuzuki asked, turning to Tatsumi with crumbs on his face as the secretary sat down.

“Wha– ah . . . no . . .” Tatsumi suddenly found it was hard to form words in the smaller man’s presence.

The secretary picked up a napkin and gently wiped the crumbs off of Tsuzuki’s mouth; his lingering hand stayed on Tsuzuki’s cheek for a moment.

“Bu . . . but why not, Tatsumi? It will be fun . . . Hakushaku-sama even sent a bunch of free food. Something about not being able to leave the castle but that he wanted us to have fun anyways . . .”

The kicked puppy look . . . why did Tsuzuki have to give him that look?

If it really means that much to him . . .

A gracious smile escaped Tatsumi’s lips. “Well, in that case, how could I refuse? I can’t let good food go to waste, now can I?”

“Ah–wha! Really, Tatsumi? It’ll be so fun!”

As Tatsumi started to pick at his food, Watari entered the room. The scientist took one look at Tatsumi and stopped dead, silently thinking he was about to get killed . . . again.

“U . . . uh . . . Tatsumi, I thought you didn– . . . didn’t drink the coffee . . .”

“What are you talking about, Watari-san?”

“Umm . . . nothing . . . I have to go . . . right now, actually . . . work to do you know . . .” Without another word, Watari took off in the direction of his lab.

The secretary’s eyebrow rose, “Tsuzuki-san? Do you know what that was about?”

“Oh, he probably didn’t want to get yelled at for changing you into a girl.”

“What? He didn’t change me into a–” Tatsumi silently looked himself up and down before turning the deepest shade of red that Tsuzuki had ever seen.

“. . . You didn’t notice? You’re still in the process of changing, that’s probably why. It takes about an hour to complete.”

Tsuzuki couldn’t figure out what Tatsumi was thinking. He concluded that his former partner had a mixture of shock, rage, and something else. He just wasn’t sure what that something else was.

After a slight delay, Tatsumi stood up and rushed out of the room, mumbling something about going home sick for the day.