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 VI
Hurt
Warnings: Corporal Punishment, Mentions of Suicide and Depression
Year 3 went by much smoother than Year 2. By then, Senichi was already used to being separated from his twin brother. Alistair was still in the same class as him, though his assigned seat was a few desks farther. Senichi was just grateful that he didn't have to be in a classroom where he knew no one. He didn't want to deal with an annoying child friend but Alistair was a quiet student and wasn't a bother to Senichi.
In Year 3 they were taught how to read more complex words, understand the structure of a story, read a variety of texts, make connections between texts, and understand lessons within a story. They were able to add and subtract numbers one through twenty using mental math, solve two step addition and subtraction problems, began multiplication, break down three digit numbers, read/write/count up to a thousand, and add four sets of numbers. The students were taught to read time using analog and digital clocks, create picture and bar graphs, and break up shapes in halves, thirds, and fourths.
In Year 4, Senichi decided to give up focusing on the lessons, knowing that he'd be able to answer all the questions. This did not sit well with his math teacher, Mr. Edgar Lo. Lo was not a kind teacher. He would give long, boring lectures and ridicule anyone who got any wrong answers. Whenever someone asked a question or requested help, he'd scoff and tell them that they should've paid closer attention.
During one lesson, Senichi decided to take a nap. "Akai!" Lo stormed over to the eight year old. "You do not sleep in my class!"
Senichi yawned and lifted his head. "Sir, I have already completed my entire workbook for the school year,"
"I'll be the judge of that!" Lo snatched up Senichi's math workbook and quickly flipped through pages of worksheets all answered correctly. "You must've gotten an older student to do it! You're always daydreaming in my class!"
"Sir, I assure you that I answered all of those myself," Senichi said in a polite tone.
"Liar!" Lo yanked Senichi out of his seat. "Hold your hands out!"
"Why?" Senichi asked. "I did nothing wrong,"
"You're an insolent child that is too stupid to have solved any of the problems in this book!" Lo smacked the book harshly against Senichi's head.
Senichi winced. "That's assault!" 'This teacher's crazy!'
"Hold your hands out or your punishment will be much worse!" Lo yelled.
Senichi was terrified. Never had he felt so helpless. He was not seventeen years old physically. He was only eight and therefore would have no chance to fight off the angry, full grown adult. His body was trembling and he brought his knees up to his chest, eyes wide with fear. 'Stop…stop please….Someone…someone make him go away!'
"Hold out your hands!" Lo slammed the ruler down onto the desk.
"Corporal punishment is illegal!" Alistair intervened.
"Shut up and sit down Rei!" Lo snapped. He forcefully grabbed Senichi's arm and brought the ruler down a couple times, causing several pained yelps.
"Leave him alone!" Alistair tackled Lo and the two engaged in a struggle.
The commotion drew the attention of the neighboring classrooms. "What's going on in here!?"
XXX
Alistair's elder brother was a young man with dark black hair slicked back and pale grey eyes. The man gave off the intimidating aura of a mob boss yet at the same time the aura of authority that belonged to a king. Craton Rei stood beside his younger brother, his piercing glare shifting from the principal to Edgar Lo and finally to Senichi Akai.
Senichi was sobbing against Tsutomu's chest. Both Tsutomu and Shuichi tried their best to calm him down, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Senichi's hands were wrapped in bandages and, despite the pain, he gripped tightly onto Tsutomu's shirt.
"Corporal punishment is illegal in England," Craton stated calmly.
"It's the only way to get anything through that idiot child's head!" Lo claimed.
If he weren't holding his two sons, Tsutomu would've assaulted Lo right then and there. "Do not call my son an idiot," He wanted to keep his voice even and avoid yelling. Shouting would only cause Senichi unnecessary stress.
"He's an idiot and a cheater!" Lo slammed the math workbook onto the principal's desk. "He never pays attention in class, always sleeping or daydreaming! There is no way he could've answered the entire book!"
"My son is an intelligent child," Tsutomu glared at Lo's accusations.
"Lo is a terrible teacher!" Alistair argued. "He ridicules anyone who gives a wrong answer, even when they try their hardest! He doesn't even help us when we ask questions or request help!"
"You and all those other students should've paid more attention in class!" Lo shouted.
"Mr. Akai," Craton addressed the only parent in the room. "Please leave with your sons. Being near that man is only stressing them out more. I will take care of things from here,"
Tsutomu nodded. Even though he had never met the many before, his guts told him that Craton would deal with the problem.
XXX
Mary's blood boiled when she saw the bloody and bruised hands of one of her precious boys. Shukichi waddled over to him and hugged his brother. "Senichi needs his mother by his side, not in prison for murder," Tsutomu told her. "Alistair's brother said he'd take care of it,"
Mary begrudgingly nodded and cradled Senichi in her arms. Neither of them had seen Senichi act this way before. He was always acting strong as if he were a solid wall. But now…now that wall had crumbled into ruins. Mary whispered words of comfort and ran her fingers through her son's hair. "It's going to be alright Senichi. We won't let him hurt you anymore. You're safe here,"
Shuichi clenched his fists tightly. "I'm sorry Senichi…I failed as an older brother! I failed to protect you! I'm a terrible big brother!"
"Y-You're wrong," Senichi sniffled. "You're a good big brother. D-Don't beat yourself up over this. I…I-I'm not dead and my hands will heal f-fine," A quivering smile formed forcefully. "I'm okay, Shuu. You're not a terrible brother,"
"I wasn't there for you!" Shuichi screamed. "You're hurt because I wasn't there!"
"You can't be there for everyone," Senichi said. "That's the harsh truth of reality. Sometimes…no matter how fast you run, you won't get there in time. Even if you desperately want to save them…" Senichi's voice had cracked and tears started to fall. "Shit!" He furiously wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve. "Don't think about them! Don't think about them!"
"Sen?" Shukichi asked. "Who's them?"
"Ah, why don't I bring Sen to his room so he could take a nap?" Tsutomu took him from Mary. "Shuu, stay here and, uh, work on your homework. Sen needs some time alone,"
"But—"
"Sen's emotionally exhausted," Tsutomu claimed as he quickly walked to Senichi's room followed by the family dog.
"I couldn't save them!" Senichi sobbed against Tsutomu's chest. "I couldn't save Mom or Dad!"
"You're still haunted by their deaths," Tsutomu realized. "Senichi, it wasn't your fault. They didn't die because of you. Did you set the fire?"
"N-No…"
"Did you order someone to set the house on fire?"
"No…"
"Then stop blaming yourself," Tsutomu said. "You said it yourself. You can't be there to save everyone. That's the harsh truth of reality. Sometimes, no matter how fast you run, you won't get there in time, no matter how desperate you are,"
"Have you ever lost anyone?" Senichi asked.
"Yeah," Tsutomu nodded. "My mother committed suicide. She acted so happy all the time. I was only young so I didn't know it was only a façade. I didn't know that she was really hurting on the inside. She kept it all to herself. After she died, I kept blaming myself since I was the only one inside the house at the time of her death. My father was at work. As I grew older, I started to understand the signs and then started blaming myself. If I had noticed that she was suffering from depression, then maybe I could have helped her. Maybe I could have saved her. It took me a while, but I managed to get over the guilt,"
"But that's different," Senichi told him. "You were a young child. I was seventeen when my parents died. I was older, almost an adult. I should've been there to save them,"
"Senichi, seventeen is still a child," Tsutomu reminded. "Besides, you said that you were at school. You couldn't have been home unless you were sick and even then, you probably wouldn't have had the strength to rescue them,"
Senichi looked down at his bandaged hands. "You know, in all the isekai fanfiction I've read, and all the isekai anime I've watched, the dimensional traveler tends to have a happy life. Some of them are even overpowered. Heh, I wonder how my life would be if I was a Gary Stu. I'd be overpowered but would be able to save everyone. I wouldn't have to worry about anyone dying,"
"Unfortunately, that's not how it works in this world," Tsutomu responded.
"But with the knowledge of future events, I will at least change some things," Senichi replied. "However, I need to get stronger. I…I've never felt so helpless before. Only now do I fully understand how weak I am, not just physically but mentally too. Alistair…he's an actual child yet he had the courage to stand up to Lo. I was frozen in fear,"
"I guess I can enroll you and your brothers into a martial arts class once your hands are fully healed," Tsutomu offered. "Any specific one you want to learn?"
"I know that Shuu is a Jeet Kune Do practitioner and he's the reason why Masumi learned JKD too," Senichi recalled. "I guess it's never early for him to start. But I want to learn more than one martial art,"
"Let's just start with Jeet Kune Do first," Tsutomu suggested. "I don't want you overexerting yourself and I heard some people that are practicing two martial arts at the same time sometimes get the lessons mixed up. Once your body is accustomed to the physical strain of practicing JKD, then I'll enroll you into another class,"
"I want to learn Sining panlaban ng Pilipinas after Jeet Kune Do," Senichi said. "My father in the past life, Adrien Field, won Filipino Martial Arts tournaments when he was younger. He practiced Kali, Arnis, and Eskrima. I want to somehow honor him in this life,"
"Then it's settled," Tsutomu declared. "You guys are learning JKD and then FMA,"
So Senichi is planning on getting stronger in order to protect those that he cares about.
I decided the third arc would be too long as just one arc so it'll be divided.
Arc I: Childhood
Arc II: Mad Dog Arena
Arc III: Trainee
Arc IV: Scarlet Crow
Arc V: Recovery/Aftermath (Basically the Epilogue)
Hiyori:
At first I thought Sen was going to be bullied, thank god Alistair was there to calm him down…
Anyway, happy 7th birthday Shuichi & Senichi!
Skai:
I was going to have him bullied but decided to have a teacher be an asshole instead.