Disclaimer: Junjou Romantica belongs to Shungiku Nakamura, not me :(

Also, the idea for the what if machine came from Futurama, where the Professor actually invented the machine and which I think has had 2 episodes featuring it.

Prologue

Shinobu sighed and trailed behind Miyagi as they entered yet another used bookstore.

Earlier that morning, Miyagi had banged on his neighbour's door and squeaked with excitement that Kamijou had just informed him of an amazing discovery – an entire street of used bookstores that neither had previously known existed! Would Shinobu like to accompany him on an outing?

Too tempted by the proposition of spending time with Miyagi, no matter what they were doing, Shinobu hadn't been able to turn down the offer. Now, five hours later and weighed down by a heavy bag of newly acquired books, he was starting to wonder if he shouldn't have just stayed at home and put his feet up instead.

Miyagi was having a field day; yet beyond his own elation, he was growing aware that Shinobu was starting to tire of searching through precarious, haphazard piles of dusty books. Anxious that his lover would start to think that all their dates were boring and repetitive, he suggested that Shinobu go and see if there were any shops that he wanted to look in, or a café for them to have a hot drink and slice of cake.

Shinobu willingly wandered off, after agreeing to call the old man if he found anywhere interesting.

Stepping out of the cluttered, musty store, he scanned the street, still only seeing used bookstore after used bookstore. Sighing once more, he turned right and began to wander down the road, his hands stuffed in his pockets. His eyes flickered from left to right as he searched for somewhere – anywhere – that wasn't selling books.

About halfway down the street he finally found a different shop. It was a small charity shop, which, like the rest of this area of the city, looked a little tatty, with windows in need of a clean and paint peeling off the white door.

Shinobu glanced through the window. The shop appeared deserted, and he could see why. From the limp and unfashionable clothes and useless trinkets in the window display, Shinobu was sure there was nothing in there that would interest him; yet he couldn't bear to have to trudge back into another bookstore.

He tentatively pushed open the door; he hated being the only customer in a shop, all the attention of the staff focussed on him, watching him browse and waiting for him to select something to purchase. He pushed those thoughts out of his head; Miyagi would surely laugh at him and think he really was just a kid if he thought that Shinobu was too afraid to enter an empty shop on his own!

The door creaked as he opened it; it swung shut with a loud click as soon as he let it go. The shop was crowded and disorderly, items scattered about in a higgledy-piggledy fashion. Stepping further inside, Shinobu noticed thick, grey layers of dust covering the wooden shelves. A cloying smell filled his nostrils and he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

He neither saw nor heard anyone working there. He waded through the piles of junk, trying desperately not to accidentally brush against anything as everywhere he looked, the items for sale were covered in a layer of filth.

He wondered to himself why he was even still in the shop; there was nothing there that could possibly attract him and he was fighting the urge not to cover his mouth and nose with his hand and breathe through his fingers. Really, he should just leave and return to Miyagi.

Still, for some reason, he didn't leave. Instead he pushed deeper into the store until his eyes finally landed on something he found curious.

It didn't look particularly special; it actually just looked like a very small, old television, though it had no buttons that he could see, just a silver metal box with a screen. It tempted him, though Shinobu couldn't say why. He picked his way over to where it sat on a low shelf and reached out a tentative hand. Ignoring the swathes of dust and grime, he lifted it up.

"Got a good eye on yer, boy," a low, scratchy voice rang out.

Shinobu jumped, almost dropping the metal box. He looked round in surprise; he hadn't heard anyone approach. His eyes fell on an old, unkempt man who looked even dirtier than the store. His long, lank hair, thinning on the top, had been pulled back into a ponytail, and as far as Shinobu could tell, the man had likely bought his clothes from this very shop; they were in the same style and just as grimy.

The old man wheezed a little as he squeezed behind the counter.

"I'd say out of everything on sale in this shop, you've just picked out the only prize. Good on yer, kid."

Shinobu frowned at being called a kid – though by this man's age, he'd probably call even Miyagi a kid! He lifted the box up slightly, gesturing to it.

"I don't know what it is."

"That there – it's top end technology! They don't make 'em like that anymore, all those computers and so on. That machine's a special 'un! Whatever yer want to know, just ask it – phrased as a 'what if' question, mind – and it'll not only tell yer, but it'll actually show yer! Give it a try if yer don't believe me, go on!"

Shinobu stared at the shop owner in amusement. Surely a machine with such powers didn't exist! What machine could show you, in an instant, the answer to any 'what if' question you could possibly think of?!

Deciding to call the man's bluff, Shinobu set the machine down on the counter and said,

"Alright then. Er, machine! Please show me, what if I bought this machine?"

Fuzzy black and white lines wavered on the screen, and then the picture cleared. Before his eyes, Shinobu saw himself handing over money to the man behind the counter and rushing out of the shop to find Miyagi, the machine double packed safely and clutched tightly in his arms.

The Miyagi on the screen laughed in disbelief and called him a total sucker when Shinobu excitedly told him what the machine could do. Shinobu scowled and yanked on Miyagi's arm, books falling to the floor as he dragged him out of the shop and home again to test the machine and prove its worth to the unbeliever.

As he watched the events on the screen, Shinobu's mouth dropped open. No way in hell could anyone have made this up – this wasn't a scenario he and Miyagi had ever played out before, nor had the machine ever come into contact with Miyagi; yet it had portrayed his exact likeness and character.

Tearing his eyes away from the screen, he stumbled over his words in his rush to ask,

"How much is this machine?"

"12,000 yen," the man answered immediately.

Shinobu swallowed. That was a lot of money for something he'd stumbled across in a run down, filthy store managed by a man who looked like he hadn't bathed in a year… Still, he wanted this machine, wanted it desperately. It was fascinating! He'd asked it only a simple question and got a simple, but realistic, answer - but imagine what kinds of questions he could put to it! What would it show him? All he had to do was ask.

He accepted the man's price and withdrew cash from his suddenly emptied wallet. The old man packed the machine up carefully, making sure it was cushioned and protected. Shinobu grabbed it, hugged it to his chest and rushed out of the store.

He had to show it to Miyagi!

Bursting into the bookstore where he had left his lover, he found him still contentedly pouring over first edition classics.

"Miyagi! Miyagi, you'll never guess what I've found!" he squealed.

True to the vision on the screen, Miyagi burst out laughing when Shinobu explained the power of the 'what-if' machine. Shinobu's eyes flashed and he grabbed Miyagi's arm, sending books flying across the floor.

They returned home in a rush, Shinobu incessantly pestering Miyagi to drive faster, desperate to try the machine out a second time, and this time in front of Miyagi.

When they arrived back at Miyagi's apartment, Shinobu set the machine up on the coffee table and wiped it over with a tissue to remove a little of the built up dirt. He turned to Miyagi with lit up eyes, asking,

"What shall we ask it? Think of any 'what if' question!"

Miyagi pondered for a moment, then said,

"Well, let's ask it something difficult, something unusual that won't have been predicted by its programmer."

"Ok. Do you have something in mind then?"

Miyagi turned an amused, triumphant smile on Shinobu.

"Got it. Let's see what it does with this."

Facing the machine, he said,

"So, a what if machine, eh? Ok, machine – show me the answer to this: What if Shinobu shrank to be only ten centimetres tall?"

Black and white squiggly lines immediately began to spread across the screen…

Here we go again, embarking on a new, long-term fic... Hope you like it! I will take requests for this, so please PM me if there's a 'what if' scenario you desperately want to see. I have a list of ideas already but am very happy to add to it! I am keen to try a bit of Junjou that's not just Tero, so will try to work a bit of the other couples in too...

FYI, some of the chapters will be M/MA rated, so just to be safe, I won't be posting those here - you'll be able to read them on , but I'll make a note here when I do a chapter like that so you know and can check it out if you're interested. Sorry :/

As always, I adore getting reviews! ;)

Thank you for reading!