Detective Conan and Magic Kaito characters, settings, and ideas do not belong to me but to Aoyama Gōshō.
Warnings: Violence, language, and character death
Blackout
A Collaborative Story by Stelra Etnae, neonquincy1217, and Taliya
Akai Shuichi
Saturday, September 9: Two days after Operation Raven
Masumi had cried her heart out on his shoulder the night before, raging against him, the Organization, the world, and even that stupid, self-sacrificing idiot Kudo Shinichi himself because she did not know who to blame until she had finally fallen asleep exhausted with puffy red bags under her eyes.
Shukichi had been there as well, smoothing down their little sister's hair in a soothing caress and letting her clench his other hand in a too-tight grip without complaint. Shuichi felt his brother looking at him, could see that Shukichi wanted to say, "It's not your fault," but the younger man kept his silence, knowing that those were not his words to speak. So Shukichi simply reached out his hand to gently curl around his, offering wordless support. Shuichi squeezed back in response, tucking Masumi's tear-streaked face more comfortably against his side.
They mourned that boy together, remembering him as not the teen detective Kudo Shinichi nor the intelligent child Edogawa Conan but as the boy Masumi had called a magician.
And it killed Shuichi inside that he was allowed to hold his family like this while just a few steps down the hallway, another family could no longer afford that luxury.
Written by Stelra Etnae