Finally, a new what-if scene :) This one is probably just rated K+ - for once it's not smut! Wow! It's also a lot shorter than the last one. I think it may be a bit weird... Sorry if it is!

Btw, I have had a few what-if scenario requests so far - which is great! I know I haven't got round to writing them yet, but I will, don't worry! It's just I want to make them a decent length and I've been a bit short on time (and have started writing another long Tero story which I want to write more of before I post it).

Anyway, hope you enjoy this :)

Burglar

"This is now the fourth high-profile robbery within the last two weeks, leaving many residents of the Nakano area of Tokyo fearing for their safety and that of their belongings after a seemingly expert team of thieves has broken into a series of apartments and stolen large quantities of valuable goods while the residents slept on.

In one notable case, the thief or thieves were discovered by one resident on his way to the kitchen for a glass of water during the night. The man was instantly set upon and his throat slit before he could make a sound to alert the other residents. Police are considering the possibility that an organised crime syndicate is behind the robberies, while some citizens are in a state of panic over a supposed new clan of ninja setting up their operations in the area.

All residents are strongly urged to check their security systems and take maximum precautions when walking the streets of Nakano, and especially when entering their homes…"

Miyagi started when he felt a small hand suddenly grab at his arm. Turning away from the news to face his young lover who was sitting beside him on the couch, he gave an indulgent smile and pulled the fearful boy into his arms.

"Nothing's going to happen to us, Shinobu-chin," he reassured.

An anxious face peered up at him.

"You don't know that, Miyagi. Those robberies happened quite near here, they could come here for all we know!"

"Really, Shu-chin, what do you think we've got that those burglars would even want? You heard the news reporter, they were targeting places with lots of valuable goods – you think they're interested in that old TV? Though I daresay some of my rare books and of course my unique research would be considered extremely valuable," he smirked.

Shinobu merely pressed his worried face into Miyagi's shirt. Clinging to him a little more tightly, he asked in a small voice,

"You have got good security here, right?"

"Sure, of course!" Miyagi shook him gently. "But hey – look… Don't worry so much. I promise you, we're not going to get burgled here." And he tilted Shinobu's face up and pressed his lips lightly against the boy's.

Shinobu rested his head once more on Miyagi's chest. His body was still tense. After a moment, he quietly asked,

"But Miyagi – what if they did try to burgle us?"

They both jumped as they heard a somewhat familiar whirring start up in the spare bedroom…

Miyagi gave a loud snort as he was roughly shaken awake. Spluttering a little, he groggily opened his eyes and managed to mumble,

"Wha…?"

Shinobu was sitting up in bed, fully alert, cocking his head like an anxious bird which has somehow sensed the sly approach of a soft-footed cat. He jumped suddenly, and the hand gripping Miyagi's shoulder tightened as he shook his lover once more and leaned over to whisper agitatedly,

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That noise! What was it?!"

"Shinobu," Miyagi grumbled, "I didn't hear anything!"

"Listen!" Shinobu ordered, before lapsing once more into attentive silence.

A minute passed and Miyagi could swear he heard nothing. His eyes were finally starting to droop shut when Shinobu gave a small squeal and pressed against him.

"Shu, what's the matter?" he asked tiredly.

"Miyagi, surely you heard it? That noise?" Shinobu squeaked, starting to sound a little panicked.

Miyagi sighed. "No, I haven't heard anything. But if it'll make you feel better, Shu-chin, I'll go and check it out. Just to prove to you there's nothing and no-one there so we can both go back to sleep!"

He tossed the bedcovers back and swung his legs over the side, but before he could stand up, Shinobu threw his arms around Miyagi's neck and half-pulled him back onto the bed.

"No! You're not going out there, it's too dangerous!"

"Shinobu!" Miyagi choked through the boy's death grip, "Let go, I can't breathe!"

Shinobu loosened his grip slightly but didn't let go.

"It's perfectly safe, love, I promise you there's no-one out there, I'll be fine."

"No… Please, Miyagi, don't go out there…" Shinobu pressed his face into Miyagi's shoulder and the older man suddenly realised the boy was trembling with fear as he clung to him.

Concern filled him, and Miyagi turned and enveloped the boy tightly in his arms, whispering to him to reassure him. When Shinobu had calmed down somewhat, Miyagi pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and pressed him down onto the bed, tucking the covers around him. Shinobu looked up at him, his eyes still filled with anxiety, and he reached out and tried to tug Miyagi down to him.

Miyagi pulled out of his grasp and placed Shinobu's hand on top of the boy's chest.

"I'll just be a minute," he whispered and quickly got off the bed.

Shinobu's eyes widened and he sat up quickly.

"Miyagi!" he hissed, "Get back here! Miyagi! Please!"

Miyagi turned to him from the bedroom door and pressed a finger to his lips. Then, he slowly twisted the door knob and edged open the door. Pausing for a moment, he strained his ears for the sound of any movement, but the apartment was silent.

Slipping through the small gap in the door, he pulled it quietly shut and peered around. He was sure there was no-one else here; yet perhaps Shinobu's fear had still affected him somewhat as he felt a sudden tightness in his chest, the muscles in his limbs all taut and ready for flight. He didn't question the need to tiptoe as he moved out into the apartment.

Even though this was his flat, the place he had lived in and called home for the better part of seven years, in the middle of the night it had an eerie atmosphere. It was familiar and yet felt wrong, new and unwelcoming. The faint light oozing through the fabric of the curtains from the street lights barely lit up the darkness indoors; everything that was usually a bright colour had faded away, turned black and indigo, seemingly larger than usual and throwing huge shadows up the walls.

One of those shadows moved.

Miyagi's head whipped round. He was sure he'd seen it, something had moved out of the corner of his eye. It had disappeared into the spare bedroom. His heart pounded in his chest and he suddenly wished he'd brought something with him as a kind of weapon.

Though what kind of weapon you could use against an undead shadow monster, he didn't know.

His palms starting to sweat, he stood rooted to the spot as he searched his mind for something he could easily get his hands on that he could use to defend himself. A large part of him wanted to just tiptoe backwards and barricade himself in the bedroom – but at that thought he remembered Shinobu. Nothing must happen to Shinobu. He'd protect him with his life if he had to.

With that thought, he steeled himself and, peering around once more, tiptoed over to the front door and carefully picked up a long umbrella. Taking a deep breath, he edged his way over towards the bedroom next to the one that he shared with Shinobu.

Mentally he praised Shinobu's acute hearing for picking up the sound of the intruder who had made, according to Miyagi's ears, no more noise than the brush of a feather against silk. Then he amended his thought, deciding instead to curse Shinobu-chin's inhuman senses when he could have otherwise rested undisturbed in his bed, blissfully unaware of any intruder until it was safe to emerge from the bedroom.

He was just approaching the bedroom door, umbrella held out in front of him like a sword, when the door opened. He froze and stared in shock into an equally surprised pair of eyes, the lone feature visible to him as the rest of the intruder was fully clad in a black catsuit, black gloves and snug black balaclava.

Maybe ninja had returned to Japan after all!

Miyagi just had time to register that the burglar had been busy stuffing his secret supply of emergency funds and a necklace that Risako had left behind into a black duffel bag, when the man suddenly grabbed at his waist and a bright, glinting blade flashed dangerously close to Miyagi's eyes.

Crying out, he jumped back, narrowly avoiding a disfiguring scar to the face. He instinctively swung the umbrella up, but the intruder grabbed it and yanked it out of his grasp, throwing it to the side. He lunged at Miyagi and Miyagi hurled himself out of the man's path, falling to the floor beside the umbrella.

Hearing the intruder's panting breath behind him, he grabbed the umbrella and turned over, swinging towards his attacker. By chance, the handle hooked onto the man's outstretched arm and Miyagi yanked, the sudden jerk causing the burglar to drop his knife.

Angry eyes glared up at Miyagi and the man snarled. Miyagi started to pat his hand around desperately, anxious to find the knife before the intruder did, but as he stared up at the man, his eyes widened with fear as another shadow loomed above them.

Crash!

The fierce eyes of his attacker suddenly rolled back and the man slumped forward on top of Miyagi as pieces of ceramic and metal scattered over their bodies.

"Miyagi! Miyagi, are you ok?" came the frightened voice of his lover.

"Shinobu!" Miyagi burst out in a mixture of fear and relief. "You were supposed to stay in the bedroom!"

"I heard you cry out, what was I supposed to do, go back to sleep while you were being murdered?" Shinobu retorted, a trace of annoyance behind the panic.

Miyagi pushed the unconscious man off him and forced himself to his feet. As he made his way over to the light switch, he asked,

"What did you use to knock him out?"

With light now flooding the room, he looked down at the still body and identified the saving weapon just as Shinobu replied.

"Your lamp."

"My grandmother's lamp."

Miyagi sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"That was an heirloom…"

Shinobu's back stiffened and he frowned.

"Hey, would you rather I'd left you to die in order to protect your precious heirloom?" he snarled.

Then his face paled and he turned distressed eyes up to Miyagi. Rushing forward, he threw himself into his lover's arms and whimpered. Miyagi pressed his face into Shinobu's hair and squeezed the boy back. They were both shaking, he noted.

"Shu-chin, we'd better call the police – we need them to get here before this git wakes up."

Shinobu nodded and pulled away.

"I-I'd better go back to my place before they get here, right? Otherwise they'll wonder why we were both sleeping in your room…"

Miyagi nodded, surprised he hadn't thought of that already himself.

"Wait a bit though – you don't need to go just yet. I don't like the idea of you being in there alone," he said. Though that wasn't the entire truth; Miyagi didn't particularly want to be alone at the moment either.

Checking the burglar to make sure he wasn't about to wake up, Miyagi picked up the knife and took Shinobu's hand, pulling him over to the sofa. Shinobu rested his head gently on Miyagi's shoulder as the older man dialled 110 for the police.

Shinobu stared at the What-If Machine's screen with round eyes. His chest rose and fell in short, quick bursts as he gasped, panicking.

"Shu-chin…" Miyagi said worriedly as he rubbed the boy's back soothingly, searching the room with his eyes for a bag to help his lover stop hyperventilating. "Urgh… we shouldn't have watched that… You know that that machine doesn't necessarily tell the future, right? It only shows a possible scenario – after all it answered my question about if you were tiny – and that's never going to happen!" he anxiously pointed out as he turned back to Shinobu.

Shinobu turned terrified eyes up to his older lover.

"Miyagi! We need bodyguards! And…and security cameras, twenty four hour surveillance!"

Miyagi frowned. "Shinobu, that's going really a bit too far."

Shinobu screamed as a loud hammering shook the front door. Even Miyagi froze for a moment, before sighing with realisation. Pulling on Shinobu's hand, he led the struggling boy to the door. Opening it, he smiled and gestured to the boy.

"See, you silly idiot? It's just the pizza we ordered!"

He turned back to the delivery man and started to pull out his wallet. Glancing up, he froze suddenly as he stared into a disconcertingly familiar pair of eyes. The smile vanished and he slammed the door shut, forcefully sliding the bolt across – but not before he glimpsed the smile slide off the 'delivery man's' face only to be replaced with a familiar and terrifying snarl.

"Shinobu – ring 110!" he squeaked. "Damn thieves are posing as delivery men to scout out their next mark… I think I definitely need to look into those security cameras…"

A.N. Hope that wasn't too weird! I have pretty much written it and posted it straight away - I did read through it, but normally like a longer pause before uploading to look at it with fresher eyes, so I apologise if there are spelling mistakes etc or if it doesn't flow well..

Please let me know what you think!