Disclaimers- don't own, don't sue, AU setting, may contain more than hints of slash. Please read author notes at the bottom if confused.

Chapter One: Kurama

Kyoto, Japan- 1999

Minamino Shuichi, heir to the Minamino inheritance, aged eight, prodigy of several fields and currently awaiting verdict of his trial, contemplated on his studies to distract himself from his immediate situation.

On the thirty second year of emperor Kokau's reign (1812 in the Gregorian calendar), history was altered forever. Namely, the history of the human world could no longer be without the influence that was caused in this year. As America declared war on the British Empire, as Napoleon attempted invasion of Russia, a single man entered the Tokugawa court of Edo and introduced exotic treasures and technology thousands of years ahead of their time. To the uneducated, what he brought was magic.

The immense treasures this man offered ranged from music playing boxes to entertain the nobility, to weapons that could destroy cities with a mere turn of a knob, to tools that could have people read minds, implant memories, and alter them. The possibilities this man presented to the shogun was immeasurable, and by the time Perry brought the black ships to the harbour in Yokosuka, the land of the rising sun was so confident in their superiority that they answered the demand by decimating the foreigners that dared to address them in such an impudent manner. The following years were an unbalanced war which ended with most of the Americas and Western Europe in ruins, and an agreement with the British that made the kingdom still suffer to this day from their restrictions.

Although the event of 1812 was debatably the single most significant incident in human existence, the information on the man could hardly be considered thorough or accurate. All sources agreed that he was striking in appearance, with long silver hair and was noted to be extraordinarily sharp. Some scrolls went on to say not only was his instruments remarkable, but he himself had abilities which could only be possible by supernatural means. By the records of the royal library, it is presumed he resided in court and disappeared without ceremony sometime before the death of the emperor Ninko. The rest was filled with the bias of the scholars. Some theorise that he returned to where he came from, some say he was assassinated while others speculate he simply moved on to prefer obscurity.

It was not surprising that the existence of such a man was a closely guarded secret, as the materials he brought were the key to Japan's power. The Japanese took credit for the strange devices he left behind, and to most of Japan and the rest of the world, Japan was a nation with capabilities beyond their imagination. Shuichi himself would not have known better if he were not one of the few born into the privilege of a court education.

This withholding of information may have been the correct course a century ago, but now in Heisei 11(1999), the actions of the Japanese seemed purposefully contrary from the perspectives of the occupied lands.

Even with generations of the best minds dedicating their lives to it, the mechanism of the devices proved impossible to replicate. The base materials from which these were made from were neither possible to create or find anywhere in the world. The instruments rusted, the fuel needed for them to function became sparse, and the Japanese empire was feeling the beginning of its fall.

It was a year ago that his fudai lord father was sent to subdue the western rebels. His army never returned.

In court, the position of the Minamino house became precarious, and the whispered accusations slowly increased and grew louder. His mother was subtly made outcast by the other courtiers, and while he used to be praised for his dedication to his studies and was even once considered for adoption by the childless imperial family, now he was instead called unnatural, and his nonhereditary foreign appearance was looked upon with distrust.

Finally, the day came when his mother fell ill. He could smell the poison, and could even estimate the exact components from his hypersensitive senses, but the doctors were unshakable in their pronouncement that the cause was natural and incurable. Desperate, he researched without rest but as bright as he was, he was only a child. On the third day after diagnosis, his mother passed away.

Shortly following his mother's funeral, the emperor's mirror was discovered in his room. The significance was in the action, rather than the object. The mirror was nothing but a trinket that could easily be replaced, but the unsavoury action that was disregarding the code of conduct for his stature and the impertinence of stealing from the symbol of their power made the vicious remarks righteous.

There was no one who would care for his innocence. Even before their downfall, the Minamino name was too powerful to not have acquired enemies.

He wondered whether he should have cried. Acting his age had never come easily but he knew his complete lack of emotion did not help in making himself appear unthreatening.

The guards returned to collect him.

A/N

Short, I know.

This story and its ideas originated from two different trains of thought. The first, the more relevant one is that this was intended to be linked to my crossover fic, Pretentious Professional Liars (originally Pretentious Professional Bullshitters but we can't have profanity in the title, can we?). In the fic, Kaitou Yuu lands a twelve episode TV dramatisation deal of one his more shittier works, and the casting of the show eventually affects the main plot. I needed a story which Kaito would not be particularly proud of, that he wrote for the shits and giggles, never intending it to be published, and to make fun of Kurama without endangering him. In Kaitou's novel, the characterizations are very close to the people they were inspired from, but the TV show butchers canon and has Kurama played by a woman although the gender of the character is left ambiguous. Hiei is played by a pro wrestler debuting his acting career, Yuusuke's actor is a Johnnies Jr boy band idol, and Kuwabara is played by a shota-bait extraordinaire child actor. The TV adaption disregards most of the science lingo geekery from the book and adds a whole lot of UST scenes that was nonexistent in the original.

Naturally, I'm going with writing the TV version.

The other reason for writing this was that I really wanted a steam punk au, which this first chapter definitely is not. When the setting moves to London, hopefully you'll think differently. Anyway, I suck, so I encourage others to write more of this genre.