Disclaimer: All characters from Meitantei/Detective Conan and Magic Kaito are the intellectual properties of sir Gosho Aoyama. All characters from Big Hero 6 are the intellectual properties of Disney/Marvel.
Author's Notes: Ever since I've seen BH6, several plot bunnies had been gnawing at my raw brain (induced by slaving away in study). This happens to be one of them. Hope you guys stick around with me for the ride that is to come.
Fractured Realities
Chapter 1
This. Was. Not. Happening. At. All.
At least, this was the mantra his mind had begun to chant in a slow, steady drone. It would've probably calmed him down had it not been for the incessant beeps blaring out of the blasted cardiac monitor.
And the smell…
Antiseptics were only making the headache forming behind his temple so much worse. Did he mention that waking up to a white ceiling swirling over his line of vision wasn't helping either?
For the umpteenth time, Shinichi had to wonder how he had landed in the hospital. Alone.
It was proving to be a challenge. His thoughts were sluggish at best and it was taking quite a bit of effort to stave off the drowsiness beckoning him to sleep. It was tempting.
Must be the meds, he noted despondently.
If the dull sting along the back of his hand was any indication, he was probably hooked up to an IV. There was no need for a visual confirmation though. He was far too drained for that.
Drips with dosages this high were never good news. The boy was no fool. Heavily sedating a patient only meant their condition was, in the very least, serious.
And if he was banged up that bad, Ran would not be pleased. Heck, pissed off would have been the understatement of the century. If he didn't die from his injuries, he was almost certain his childhood friend would happily finish the job.
An involuntary shiver traced its way along his spine. There wasn't much of a chance this seven year old body of his would survive her wrath. He winced.
Kami-sama in heaven, how did he find himself in this mess!?
He wanted to—no, needed to—remember. Anything would suffice, really. As long as he knew something, he wouldn't feel so… helpless.
Nothing.
He recalled nothing. The drug-induced haze blanketing his weary mind practically made sure of that.
The boy had been about to give up out of sheer frustration when the memory hit him squarely on the chest. And just like that, he almost forgot how to breathe altogether.
Voices were calling out to him, begging for him to come back. He paid them no heed. He had just ignored all manners of self-preservation and was currently running towards a burning building.
I. Am. An. Idiot.
Shinichi cursed at himself and the lunacy of it all. Everyone had already evacuated the inferno, all except one.
Kid.
He was still in there.
Left for dead.
He gritted his teeth.
To heck with the law! Criminal or not, someone had to help.
Trying not to choke on the acrid smoke billowing from every direction, he pressed on with determined steps.
He cursed again. He couldn't see a thing with a veil of smog this thick.
I swear, if we make it out of this alive, I'll be sure to kick your sorry hide into tomorrow, Kid.
He had only been inside the building for less than a minute before bits of the ceiling began to cave. The urgency of their situation immediately settled in. It left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth that was too hard to overlook.
Breaking into a sprint, the boy tried to ignore the searing heat that was now lapping at his exposed flesh. His eyes began to water. His throat was raw. His puny hands were shaking. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.
Relying more on his instincts than anything else, he kept moving forward until his foot made contact with something rather large. Shinichi stumbled with a strangled yelp, not expecting the lumpy mass to cushion his fall.
Kid!
A moan of pain confirmed his suspicions not long after. He'd found him alive. Barely conscious, but alive nonetheless.
He was about to give the stupid thief a piece of his frantic mind when he heard the splintering of wood. Eyes rendered useless widened at what came next.
Metal groaned. Far too loud. Far too close.
Kuso—
Before he could try to shield the body beneath him, everything went white. Then scarlet.
His world had turned scarlet.
There were only two possible outcomes, really. Either he allowed his ego to get the better of him and suffocate to death or swallow what petty pride he had left and live.
The answer came to him with relative ease. Suffice to say, the crushing tightness in his chest proved to be quite a convincing incentive.
Not sparing another second, he fumbled for the nurse call button only to realise there wasn't one in reach. Left without any other alternative, he let out a strangled cry for help.
'Tasukete—'
One uttered word.
That was all it took to push his already fragile composure past its breaking point.
The voice that left parched lips hadn't been the shrill, boyish soprano he'd been expecting. Far from it. It was a raspy baritone.
Foreign.
Unrecognisable.
An adult's.
Alarm setting in, Shinichi lifted his untethered hand up to eye level, desperate to prove himself wrong. His heart beat faster with dreadful anticipation, its tumultuous waves thundering away in his ears.
What he saw made his stomach drop. Even in his drugged up state, it was all too apparent the appendage he was staring at belonged to someone other than the child he'd been reduced to.
It was too big. Too pale.
This… this couldn't possibly be mine!
Reality struck. Hard. The mental whiplash left him paralysed, unable to even avert his gaze from the thing that shook the foundations of his world.
As his lapse into catatonia passed the minute mark, his breathing whittled down into nothing more than ragged, shuddering breaths. He had been so far out of it that he barely even heard the pneumatic hiss and clanging of metal somewhere off to his left.
'Yes? Nurse sta…ion, pat…ent 1412… he… awa...'
To Shinichi's relief, a moment of clarity pierced through his stupor. Despite a rapidly failing consciousness and his inability to decipher the jumble of words, he was able to latch on to a familiar voice.
There just was no way he could ever forget who it belonged to. Its tone, timbre and every nuance it held had been deeply engraved within his mind.
Ran…?
His eyes widened, confusion materialising itself between furrowed brows.
Belatedly realising he had regained control of his body, he slowly turned his head to the left, a part of him apprehensive of confirming what he already knew. It didn't take long until he found himself staring at blue orbs with the same gleam of mirth and kindness as Ran's.
Shinichi promptly fainted then and there.