IMPORTANT NOTES:
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Keiko and Kuwabara are 17 years old, Hatanaka Shuuichi is 15 years old.
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Minamino Shuuichi is 18 years old, but he got held back a year, so he's in the same class as Keiko and Kuwabara.
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They all go to Sarayashiki High School.

Word count: 1090 words

Night passed and Friday morning came, bringing with it breakfast, children getting ready for school… and two Shuuichis glaring daggers at each other from across the table. Minamino Shuuichi had always felt his younger stepbrother was a loser who couldn't even take care of his own homework, and Hatanaka Shuuichi had always felt his older stepbrother was a jerk who was too lazy to help explain the latest math problem he had come home with. The two simply couldn't stand each other, and their parents always took care never to leave them in one room together without a grownup nearby.

This made sure that the two didn't actually fight each other physically. However, the downside was that the Hatanakas quickly became very stressed; they had to put a lot of their energy into keeping their children from fighting, making them constantly tired. It put a strain on the entire family, even more so than Shuuichi stealing.

But today, the glaring was not as bad as usually, their thoughts occupied by the trip organised by the school to the new science museum. This museum was different from other (boring) musea, because they were actually building a machine to create a path to other realities; (1) every newspaper, television network and radio station had done several reports on it. Never mind the fact that it sounded like something out of an anime, the interest of every student had been piqued: contrary to other museum trips, this was the trip everyone actually looked forward to. Even the elder Shuuichi, who disliked science, was interested.

When the two stepbrothers left their house, Keiko was waiting for them. She usually walked with them to school, mostly to keep the two from beating the crap out of each other. It frustrated the older Shuuichi to no end that she was equally polite to his stepbrother as she was to him. But today, he didn't have time to be frustrated with her: she was babbling away about the museum trip with her enthusiasm barely kept in check.

"Everyone has been talking about it for so long, it's absolutely fantastic! It has been rumoured that the machine for going to other realities is going to be tested during our visit there; (2) it would be really exciting to travel to other realities, don't you think? I wonder if we would have counterparts in those other realities. You know, people who are us, but act different because they grew up a bit different than we did. It would be so exciting to meet your doppelganger; what do you think, Shuuichi?" Keiko finally finished her rambling.

"I don't know. I mean, I heard that the easiest reality to enter was one who is the most like ours, so our double would be almost the same as we are. I certainly know how I am, so it wouldn't be all that interesting to meet someone who is exactly like me" was the younger Shuuichi's reply. The older Shuuichi was even less enthusiastic: "I already have one annoying stepbrother. I seriously don't need another one". This, of course, earned him a slap on the head from Keiko, and a harsh glare from his stepbrother.

The next two hours passed in frenzy; after rounding up all of the students, the teachers herded the students trough the streets intent on getting them to the museum without any accidents. This proved to be an immensely difficult task, because convincing two hundred students to keep walking in line as well as keep quiet is pretty much impossible. Not that it stopped the teachers from trying, of course. After all, they had to do something to preserve their sanity.

Meanwhile, the weather was slowly becoming worse; while morning had been relatively sunny, large thick clouds were now looming ominously over the heads of the students. The teachers were grateful for the fact that it hadn't started to rain yet when they reached the science museum. When the last students had entered the building, rain started to pour.

And so, four hours after breakfast time, two hundred students were admiring the latest piece of technology; the InterRETRAM, or Inter-dimensional Realities Transportation Machine. Basically, a machine to visit other realities. Most of the students were asking the guide numerous questions about the machine; how did it work, had they already tested it before, and were they really planning to test it right now? They were absolutely delighted when the scientist said that they would be able to see the testing taking place now. However, some of the students were concerning themselves with slightly other things…

"You can't go any closer! You're not allowed to!" Keiko whispered furiously to the older Shuuichi. "Ah come on. It'll be fun to see that machine from up close. You're not scared are you?" came the reply. The younger Shuuichi decided to support Keiko. "She's right; if we get caught we'll be in bigger trouble than ever! I for one don't feel like being grounded for the rest of my life!" The older Shuuichi didn't answer. Instead, he was trying to sneak closer without being seen by the numerous scientists standing around. When he turned around, one of the other students had joined Keiko and his stepbrother; Kuwabara Kazuma, also known as the number one punk at Sarayashiki High School. (3) And by the looks of it, Keiko was convincing him to go and drag Shuuichi back to the group.

Shuuichi stood up and leisurely walked back to Keiko; suddenly he grabbed her arm and ran back to the machine. "SHUUICHI! What are you doing! Stop it!" Keiko yelled. Kuwabara and the younger Shuuichi quickly followed the two, while one of the scientists ran after them as well with the clear intention of stopping them; everyone else panicked…

And right then, the storm that had been accumulating now fully unleashed its power. Unexpectedly, a bolt of lightning struck the building of the science museum. The lightning coursed trough cables and computers, effectively frying most of the equipment. Then it reached the generator that provided energy to the InterRETRAM; the same machine a small group of students and one scientist were standing next to right now. The generator had, for some unexplainable reason, never been equipped with a surge protector, (4) and the sudden increase of energy was directed right to the InterRETRAM.

The last thing Minamino Shuuichi was aware of – to a strange background resembling a kaleidoscope - was that the scientist who had just grabbed his arm had gone very, very pale.

(1) – Very clichéd of course, but I couldn't think of anything else. Therefore, this stays.

(2) – Any self-respecting company would guard their secrets closely. Especially big projects, such as this one, are always kept top secret for years, if not decades. Then why is this company letting a bunch of teenagers gawk at their invention, and even give them a demonstration? Simple, it's fanfiction! ; But seriously, those scientists wouldn't have revealed their invention to the public… unfortunately, it was the only way for me to dump everyone in another reality.

(3) – Of course, now that Yuusuke isn't there Kuwabara is the number one punk. The reason that Minamino Shuuichi doesn't hold that 'title' is because he has no intention of having a reputation even worse than the one he has now.

(4) – Which is of course a dumb thing to do. After all, rule # 224 of the Evil Overlord List clearly states: I will build machines which simply fail when overloaded, rather than wipe out all nearby henchmen in an explosion or worse yet set off a chain reaction. I will do this by using devices known as 'surge protectors'

Posted: June 06, 2007
Next chapter: Alternate Reality