The Next Generation
Steins;Gate
Chapter One

2052.05.08 - 5:30 PM JST
Wednesday

It was a dark and stormy evening in Akihabara as our train pulled into the station. My brother was at my side. His name was Hibiki. As the two of us stepped out into the street, we experienced the strong wind blowing between the buildings. The rain was coming down hard. Our clothes were soaked. I pointed out into the distance.

"This way."

I led us to our destination and we soon arrived at the CRT Workshop owned and operated by one Tennouji Yuugo. I had heard about this man before and knew him by a very old and very appropriate nickname. Hibiki slowly creaked the door open. The store was poorly lit. Inside were shelves full of CRT TVs. Including an enormous forty inch acting as the centrepiece for everything. It really drew your attention, which I guess was the point. I actually felt quite uncomfortable entering the store and walking so close to all this expensive and ancient technology. Seriously, most of the stuff in this shop was obsolete when our parents were in their teens. Though all things considered, CRTs were worth a fortune now thanks to collectors. I was honestly terrified that I would break something. We proceeded in anyway.

An old man in his 70s sat behind a desk a few feet away. He stared at us intensely. Hibiki was the first to speak.

"Hello. Are you Mr. Tennouji?" He asked the man.

"Yeah. That's me. What are two kids like you doing in my shop?" He replied.
"If you're trying to trade in something, just know that I can't accept anything without your parent's consent." Tennouji paused. "That's assuming what you're offering is any good."

"Actually, no. We're not here for regarding a CRT TV." Hibiki told him. "We're here for something else."

"What then?"

At that moment I burst into my mad scientist laughter. This threw off the entire mood. I smiled and turned to Tennouji.

"Mr. Braun, my assistant and I have come here with one purpose. We wish to re-establish the presence of the Future Gadget Laboratory here in Akihabara. If you cooperate, I promise to pay you handsomely once the Organization is defeated. I swear it on my honour as a mad scientist. You can trust the word of Hououin Kyouma II."

"I am not your assistant! Cut it out with the nonsense, Asuka!" Hibiki yelled me. He regained his composure and walked up to Tennouji.

"Sorry about that. What my sister meant to say is that we would like to look into renting the apartment upstairs. It is still vacant, yes?"

Tennouji didn't seem to fully process what my brother had said. He just looked at me and then chuckled.

"Tell me young lady, what's your name?"

"I already told you. I'm the evil mad scientist Hououin Kyouma II."

Hibiki's expression turned sour. He was getting really irritated.

"I told you to cut it out, didn't I?"

I sighed. Perhaps Hibiki was right. We weren't getting anything done right now with our constant banter. It was probably a good idea to dial down on the mad scientist act for the time being.

"Okay. I'll stop… for now." I told him pulling my best sad face. I then turned to Tennouji for a proper introduction.

"Hello. I'm Okabe Asuka and this is my brother Okabe Hibiki."

Tennouji thoroughly examined us. The name Okabe must've gotten his attention. It was supposed to. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on. He chuckled again.

"I thought you two looked familiar. Are you two somehow related to my old tenant?"

"Yeah. Okabe Rintarou is our father."

Tennouji smiled, much to my surprise. From what I had heard from Mom, Papa had been nothing but a pest while he rented the upstairs apartment. I thought Tennouji would've still had a grudge against him. I guess not.

"Ha. I remember back when that boy was just another troublesome teenager." Tennouji commented.
"Now he has a family? I wonder who your mother is. I'm just gonna take a stab in the dark and say that it's that Makise girl."

He hit the nail on the head. Makise Kurisu was our mother. I was a bit surprised that Tennouji was able to determine this information so easily. Then again, I was pretty sure Papa left Japan under the pretense of dating Mom. All the lab members were at the wedding too. Perhaps one of them already told Tennouji about this and he was just toying with us. The man then looked over to my brother.

"You said you wanted the apartment? I assume you're aware the advertised rental fee?"

"Of course. Do you want it now?" Hibiki asked Tennouji. He reached into his pocket.

"Sure." Tennouji grabbed the apartment key from under the desk and Hibiki pulled out several 5000 yen bills from his wallet. The two then exchanged the items with a firm handshake.

"See what happens when you act rationally, sis? People aren't so hard to work with."

I gave Hibiki a dirty look and we left the store to head up to the apartment. We got outside and a familiar brown haired woman ran up to us. This was Hashida Suzuha, an old family friend. Hibiki and I hadn't actually got to see her very much in person due to the fact we lived in America. By the time Suzuha reached us, she was exhausted. It looked like she had been running for a while.

"What… happened? I… thought… I was… picking you two… up at the airport." Suzuha told us, desperate for air. I decided to respond as Hououin Kyouma II.

"We left the airport because the Organization was hot on our trail. Agents were everywhere. I couldn't risk us getting captured."

While I thought I had given a perfectly reasonable explanation, Hibiki didn't think that at all. He proceeded to give his own side of the story.

"I'm sorry Suzuha. Our flight arrived thirty minutes ahead of schedule and a certain someone didn't want to wait around for you."

That's what actually what happened. I sort of dragged Hibiki out of the airport before Suzuha could get there. In hindsight, this was a bad move. However, I wasn't about to admit that.

"It's okay… I saw you get on the train… Just don't pull a stunt like that again." Suzuha said. She was still tired, but her breathing and heart rate quickly going back to normal.

The rain was still coming down like nothing else. We all headed inside the apartment we had just rented. It was home to Future Gadget Laboratory once more. The rooms throughout the lab felt quite empty with just basic furniture and appliances. Suzuha set up her laptop on the coffee table as she took a seat on the couch. She then asked me a question.

"Asuka, you have access to the lab now. What's the plan exactly? What are you planning to do during your two weeks here in Japan? I should know because your parents told me to look after you two."

"Wah ha ha ha ha. I'm glad you asked, 008." I loudly addressed Suzuha by her lab member number.
"This is the beginning of Operation Uhr!"

My proclamation was met with silence. I saw Hibiki pull out his phone and started typing. He stopped and looked at me, clearly unamused.

"Uhr? That's the German word for clock. Does this involve something stupid like trying to build a time machine?"

"Haha. No, my dear assistant. We're not ready to conquer time quite yet. My brilliant plan has to do with-"

We were interrupted by a series of knocks coming from across the room. The door then flew open before anyone could answer. Two more familiar faces stepped forward.

"Turturu. Okarin? Is that you?" Said an adult female voice.

It was Shiina Mayuri, followed by her adopted daughter named Kagari. Hibiki and I called her Aunt Mayuri, we had visited each other a few times over the years. As she entered the room, Aunt Mayuri's smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion. I didn't really get why.

"Oh. Sorry for the intrusion. Mayushii thought Okarin was here." Aunt Mayuri commented.

She looked over at me. "Hi, Asuka. That laugh must've been from you. You sound just like your father, you know. It's nice to see you."

I wasn't sure how Aunt Mayuri came to that conclusion. I was a girl. My voice was at a much higher pitch. Knowing the way her mind worked, she probably thought Papa inhaled some helium or something. Kagari then glanced at her phone.

"Mommy. Before you start chatting, I thought I should remind you that you have a meeting in half an hour."

Meeting? Interesting… Does this have to with her work? Come to think of it, I never actually asked what Aunt Mayuri did for a living. Aunt Mayuri's smile returned.

"Right. Mommy remembers now. We'll have to come back later. Bye, you guys."

Aunt Mayuri and Kagari head back to the door, but they soon they stop. Aunt Mayuri then turned to her daughter.

"Kagari, would you like stay here? Mommy doesn't think you really want to follow her to this meeting. She also knows you get along well with Asuka and Hibiki. Suzuha too."

"Could I? I would really appreciate that Mommy. I want to get to know them better."

Aunt Mayuri and Kagari had to be some of the weirdest adults I had ever met. They were approaching 59 and 26 years old respectively, yet they talked like elementary school students. Then again, I couldn't really talk. I was the daughter of a self-proclaimed mad scientist. My family was weird too.

"I would be more than happy if you could join us, Kagari. I use the company of another person that isn't off their rocker."

Hibiki shot me another glare. He just loved poking fun at me. After the that Aunt Mayuri left and I elected to hold an official meeting to finally reveal my plan. Hopefully, there would be no more interruptions.

"This is the 452nd Grand Council meeting of Future Gadget Laboratory's Akihabara division. I am Hououin Kyouma II! Lab member 013! Today, we would be discussing possible action regarding a new piece of intelligence I've received."

I held up an old CD for everyone to see. I knew CDs were a very fragile technology, so I tried to handle it with care while also being as dramatic as possible. The CD had a title, hastily written on the front in permanent marker. The three other lab members gathered around and read this title simultaneously.

"Event Summary: Operation Skuld and Operation Ragnarok."

******
(Chapter Two: Out Now!)