Fade to Darkness

Title: Fade to Darkness
Rating: M
Fandom: Detective Conan
Summary: Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

Arc I
Chapter II
Haneda
Warnings: Nothing really, just jealousy and guilt

Shuichi and Senichi were two years old. It had been two years since Michael Leo Field died, since Senichi Akai was born. Senichi's state of mind had slowly healed over time, though dark thoughts would form from time to time. Being surrounded by a loving family helped, even if they didn't know about his trauma. Senichi wasn't sure if he'd ever tell them about his past life. How would they react? Would they call him crazy? Would they disown him? Would they call him a freak?

He was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the doorbell ringing, followed by welcomes and footsteps. As the footsteps got louder, Senichi looked up from his sketchbook while Shuichi was still playing with his construction toys and pretending to building something. There three people with Tsutomu: a man, a woman, and their young son. The boy seemed to be a few years older than Shuichi and Senichi, probably around six years old.

"Shuu, Sen," Tsutomu addressed. "I'd like you to meet some friends of mine,"

"Hi!" Shuichi enthusiastically greeted while Senichi silently waved a hand half-heartedly.

"This is Yasuharu Haneda. He's like a brother to me," Tsutomu introduced.

"Brother?" Shuu asked. "Like Sen?"

"Yes, like you and Sen," Tsutomu nodded. "The person beside him is his wife, Ichiyo Haneda. The boy is their son, Kohji," He turned back to his friends. "These two are my sons, Shuichi and Senichi,"

Senichi was slightly surprised. 'I thought he would be younger than me and close to Shukichi's age. The photo of him in the articles that were shown in the anime and manga made him look to be between his late teens and mid-twenties. Then again, that image was seventeen years before The Big Shrink. Akai was fifteen and Shukichi was eleven at the time of his death,'

Kohji seemed a bit saddened. "I thought Uncle Tsutomu's kids were gonna be older. I was gonna play shogi with them,"

"What's shogi?" Shuichi questioned.

"It's basically Japanese chess," Senichi answered, articulating his words clearly. He didn't know much about shogi but he knew it wasn't exactly like chess and had some different pieces, but it was similar enough to just call it Japanese chess.

"You're a smart boy," Yasuharu gently ruffled Senichi's hair. "What are you drawing?"

"Family portrait," Senichi hummed as he started adding light shading in the shadow areas.

"That's amazing!" Ichiyo commented once she saw the paper. "Who taught you how to draw?"

"I draw too!" Shuichi picked up a messy crayon doodle he had done yesterday for everyone to see.

"That's very nice," Ichiyo smiled.

"Do either of you know how to play shogi?" Kohji asked the twins.

"Nuh-uh," Shuichi shook his head. "Is fun?"

"Everyone has different interests," Senichi said to his brother. "Some people find it fun while others claim it's boring,"

"Those are pretty big words you're using," Tsutomu chuckled. "Who taught you them?"

"Self-taught," Senichi was starting to grow uncomfortable with all the attention on him. Wanting them to change their focus, he pointed at Shuichi and blurted out, "Akai built a big house!"

"Uh-huh!" Shuichi nodded energetically. "I make big house!" He started describing his pretend creation in toddler talk.

Kohji walked over and sat down in front of Senichi. "You called him by your guys' last name. Why? He's your twin so you should call him by his name,"

"Force of habit," Senichi mumbled, though he was pretty sure that Kohji heard him. 'It feels so degrading to be speaking as a two year old. I really should be careful of what I call Akai though. In the Real World, I always called him Akai rather than Shuichi. He's one of the characters that felt weird calling by their first name,'

"You're smarter than you look," Kohji smiled. "Wanna to play shogi?"

"I can't read kanji," Senichi told him. "But I can play chess,"

"I have a chess set too!" Kohji dug into his backpack and took out the aforementioned item.

While they played, Senichi was genuinely enjoying himself. He didn't hold back on playing. Kohji was actually quite skilled for someone his age. Senichi knew how to play chess but he never really had anyone to play with. Tsutomu and Mary treated him like a child and Shuichi was too young to understand the rules. Even back in the Real World, Michael didn't really play chess. If he ever did, it tended to be online chess.

'Kohji will die when Akai is fifteen,' Senichi thought. 'I don't want him to die. I need to establish connections and somehow fake his death. That way Tsutomu will still investigate his 'death' and I'll have to fake his death too. The case is what caused Akai to join the FBI. I want Kohji and Tsutomu to live but the FBI will be severely weakened without their Silver Bullet. It will also alter the plot greatly,'

Kohji and Senichi were so engrossed in their chess battle that they hadn't realized that the others were now watching them. Eventually their game ended with Kohji as the winner. "You're really good,"

"You too," Senichi nodded.

Shuichi pouted at the sight of his brother and Kohji getting along. "My brother!" He wrapped his arms around Senichi and glared at Kohji.

For the first time in the two years of his new life, Senichi laughed.

XXX

The Haneda's joined them for dinner. The meal was macaroni and cheese with hamburger meat mixed in. "So how long is your vacation?" Tsutomu asked.

"About two weeks," Yasuharu answered.

"Vacation?" Senichi questioned. "You don't live in England?"

"Nope," Kohji replied. "We live in Japan,"

"So you speak fluent Japanese?" Senichi inquired.

"Hai,"

"I know a few words like ohayo, baka, and arigato," Senichi listed. "I think 'Ore wa Akai Senichi' is how to introduce myself,"

"Did Uncle Tsutomu teach you those words?" Kohji asked.

"I was going to start teaching them Japanese when they start elementary school," Tsutomu denied. "I don't know where Senichi learned those phrases. He also knows how to play chess,"

"He's a prodigy," Ichiyo said. "Hey Senichi, will you become a professional chess player? Kohji's dream is to become a professional shogi player,"

"I'm gonna achieve all seven titles!" Kohji declared. "Osho, Kio, Oza, Oi, Kisei, Ryuo, and Meijin!"

"Shuichi, are you full already?" Mary noticed that her older son had stopped eating. "You barely touched your food,"

"Not hungry…" Shuichi mumbled.

Senichi looked towards his twin brother and he could see the green orbs filled with jealousy. 'Earlier he was also glaring at Kohji because I was talking with him. Is Shuichi getting jealous? All this attention I'm getting…' He sadly looked down at his hands. 'It was never meant for me. In the original timeline, there was no Akai Senichi to steal it away from Akai Shuichi. Everyone is praising me for these 'accomplishments' but I did nothing to earn that praise. It was all knowledge from my past life. Shuichi worked hard to learn how to do everything that's normal for his—our—age, and I'm overshadowing him. It's unfair,'

"Hey Shuichi," Senichi called. "Can you tell me about the house you built earlier?" Even though he really didn't care about the imaginary things Shuichi built, him being interested in it made his brother happy.

Shuichi's face instantly lit up. "It's really big and with lots windows and pool and…"

About twenty minutes later, the twins had fallen asleep. "Shuichi and Senichi are really tuckered out," Mary held both in her arms. "Senichi doesn't tend to sleep unless it's time for a nap or bedtime,"

XXX

"Today we'll be going to the amusement park!" Tsutomu announced. "I'm sure the kids will love it!"

"Park?" Shuichi smiled. "Yay, park!"

"Even better than a normal park!" Senichi was really eager to go to the amusement park.

"It's got lots of games and food and rides!" Kohji excitedly told his cousins. "It's really fun!"

"Yay! Fun!" Shuichi cheered. "Park is fun!"

The car ride was filled with all three children's excited chatter. Once they got to the amusement park, the trio could hardly keep still as they waited in line to purchase day passes and scrips. Tsutomu and Mary had to carry their kids in their arms to stop them from running off. They soon entered through the amusement park gates.

The first ride they went on was the merry-go-round. Ichiyo volunteered to take photos while the three other adults rode with the kids. Senichi grinned widely with glee. If he were physically seventeen, the carousel would've seemed quite boring. However, since his body was that of a toddler, the ride seemed faster and more exciting to him. It was a great change of pace than his normal day to day routine as a toddler. Senichi enjoyed the other attractions too. He and Shuichi rode on several small roller coasters for toddlers. They spun around on the spinning teacups and gently sat back on a boat ride, watching the animatronics as they passed by.

They decided that it was time to eat when their stomachs started growling. Senichi and Shuichi munched on small pieces of apples, French fries, hotdogs, and pizza with ice cream for dessert. Of course they were still two years old so their appetites were sated faster than the adults and six year old.

At one of the game stalls, Shuichi saw a large German shepherd plushy that he really wanted. The game was darts. Of course Senichi and Shuichi were both not allowed to throw the darts. Yasuharu, Kohji, and Tsutomu all tried to no avail. However Mary, being an MI6 agent, took a deep breath, aimed, and struck the center of the target. She then played another round and got another bull's eye. She won a plushy for each of her baby boys.

They decided to end the amusement park trip with one last ride: the Ferris wheel. The line was long and Senichi was starting to grow drowsy, but he forced himself to stay awake. It was finally their turn and Senichi was held in Tsutomu's arm so he could see out the window.

Senichi was enamored by the view of not just the amusement park, but the city around it. 'It's so pretty. I never thought the world could be this beautiful. In the Real World, I kept myself shut in my room except for school and important appointments. I never took the time to enjoy my surroundings. I…I really missed out on a lot in the Real World. Michael Leo Field's life revolved around the internet. But I won't let the same thing happen to Senichi,'

By the time the ride had finished, all three kids had fallen asleep, exhausted from the day's activities. The parents carried them to the car and started driving home. "At first I thought that our sons wouldn't get along with Kohji well," Mary said. "But Senichi immediately clicked with him,"

"Shuichi didn't seem really fond of Kohji at first too," Tsutomu added. "But he started to get along with him,"

"Do you think that Senichi is really only two years old?" Yasuharu inquired.

"I can assure you that I gave birth to him and Shuichi two years ago," Mary said coldly.

"We know that he's two years old physically," Yasuharu corrected himself. "But it's just that sometimes I see it in his eyes. They seem to be filled with many different experiences far beyond two years of life. On the Ferris wheel he seemed a bit regretful and sad. I know you probably don't believe in reincarnation, but it feels like Senichi if one,"

"He did know a lot for his age," Tsutomu added.

"It doesn't matter," Mary declared. "He's still our son, whether he is a reincarnate or just a normal boy like Shuu, I'll still love Sen,"

"You're right," Tsutomu nodded in agreement. "But if he is a reincarnate, aren't you curious about his past life?"

"If he is a reincarnate and has the memories of his past life," She gently ran a hand through Senichi's hair. "Then he'll tell us when he's ready. I won't force him to tell us,"

So the adults suspect Senichi is a reincarnate or that he is a child prodigy.

Hiyori:
So this is where you put this story, in the rated m section... you're right, in Mitsuharu, Haru immediately adjust to his new life, while in here you made Senichi slowly come to terms with his life and his death/former parents' death...
Is this story going to be more serious/angsty than Mitsuharu's fluff humor but also serious genre?

Skai:
There will be some family fluff in Arc I (Rated T). Arc II and Arc III (Rated T to M) will be the darkest part of story. Arc IV (Rated T) will not be as dark and the darker parts will probably be flashbacks.
Arc I: Childhood
Arc II: Mad Dog Arena
Arc III: Crows
Arc IV: Recovery