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 II
Chapter II
Branded
Warnings: Branding

When had he fallen asleep? How could he have fallen sleep in this situation? The heavy footsteps and chatter of the people passing his gates were now mere background noise to him. He opened his eyes and sat up at the sound of something sliding through the gap in the cell bars. There were two bowls of water and a single loaf of bread.

The small amount made Senichi frown. 'All of that is to be shared amongst all four of us? Then again, why would these bastards even care about our health? Why would they care if we starve?'

Ahren was the first to go to the water and bread. He tore the bread into four uneven parts and gave the two largest ones to Brendan and Harimanna along with one of the bowls of water to share. He held a piece out to Senichi. "This piece along with half the bowl of water is yours,"

'Even in this situation, he is willing to share what little resources there is?' Senichi glanced to the twins and then shook his head. "You should just worry about your brother and sister. I'm just a stranger that is now your cellmate,"

"We are in the same boat," Ahren told him. "We are all victims. We should look out for each other, ja? It's be rude to hog the rations all to ourselves and I'd rather have allies than more enemies,"

Senichi took his share from Ahren and tore it in half. He held it out to the two youngest kids. "You guys need it more than me. You've been here longer," 'I doubt we'd be here much longer. I'm sure my family is still alive. They can't have died. They're not that weak. Dad will tell Uncle Yasu and Aunt Chi. The Haneda Clan is a rich and noble family. Since they're rich, then they will use their money to find me. When they find me, they'll help free everyone else,'

Brendan and Harimanna both stared at the food that Senichi was offering them. They both wanted to take it but looked to Ahren for advice. "You're stubborn junge," Ahren sighed. "Bren, Manna, go ahead and accept it. But junge, at least drink your ration of water,"

"Fine, fine," Senichi agreed and brought the bowl to his mouth. He took a few short sips before giving the other half to Ahren.

XXX

The four remaining Akai Family members were all gathered in the living room. The two youngest of the family that were present, Shuichi and Shukichi, were sobbing loudly. Mary and Ichiyo were doing their best to comfort them. Tsutomu was biting his thumbnail and tapping his foot impatiently. He let out a frustrated cry and stormed out the door. Fourteen year old Kohji followed after him with concern. "Tsutomu-ojisan!"

"I'm a terrible father!" Tsutomu fell to his knees. "I can't even comfort my own children at a time like this!"

"We'll find Senichi!" Kohji told him. "We'll find him and—"

"Those bastards killed Sable, Kohji," Tsutomu reminded. "What's the chance that Senichi's still alive?"

"Don't talk like that!" Kohji argued. "Senichi wouldn't want us to give up on him! He's waiting for us to save him! We will find him and rescue him!"

"How can you be so hopeful?" Tsutomu asked.

"Because Senichi put faith in us to change the timeline," Kohji said. "I'll make sure he lives to see the future,"

"False hope is a dangerous thing," Tsutomu stood back up and wiped his tears. "But you're right. Besides, it's only been a few days. There is still a chance that he isalive. No—he is alive,"

"The people who took him," Kohji asked, though his voice held great hesitation. "Do you think it's the people who want to kill me?"

"It's a possibility but unlikely," Tsutomu replied. "Those people, the crows as he referred to them, wouldn't leave such a mess behind. And I'm sure they would have taken us as leverage against him. We were also careful that nobody outside of you and me knew about The Truth,"

"Then who would kidnap him?" Kohji clenched his fist. "Who would kidnap my cousin!?"

"There have been many child kidnappings cases lately," Tsutomu recalled hearing the news a few days ago. "Law enforcements are currently investigating but the victims and the culprits haven't been found yet," 'Senichi, we will rescue you!'

XXX

Something was happening today, but none of the four prisoners of Cell J knew what was going on. Everyone had been forced out of their cells and forced to march through the corridors. Some kids took this chance to attempt escape but they were immediately killed with a few shots from the guards' guns. Their corpses were left in the hallways for all to see the example of what fate would befall them if they dared to disobey orders.

Brendan and Harimanna both clung to Ahren's arms. Ahren forced them to face forward and keep walking. He tried to block their view of the dead bodies but there were still corpses that they came across as they walked through the hallways. Senichi stared at each corpse with wide eyes, taking in every detail from their hollow cheeks to their pale skin to their skinny limbs. He took in the bloody wounds, some fresh while others old. He took in the newly made bullet holes in their skulls, though there tended to be other bullet wounds in their arms, back, and legs since the guards were not perfect shots.

Senichi forced himself to resist the urge to vomit. 'In the Real World, death was a regular occurrence in the series. I never took it seriously since everything was fictional. But now…but now I'm alive and these corpses are so real. These are children that are being ruthlessly murdered! I…How does Conan and Ran and Kogoro all handle murder so well!? How do the Detective Boys handle it without being traumatized!? Granted, it's anime logic but still…' He felt Ahren tug his arm and realized that he had suddenly stopped in the middle of the walkway and a guard was taking aim at him. He swiftly started walking once again. "T-Thanks,"

"Don't get distracted," Ahren warned.

"R-Right," Senichi was baffled by how calm Ahren was and how even his tone stayed. But he then noticed that the teen was trembling, yet he did his best to keep a calm façade on his face. 'He's trying to be strong for Brendan and Harimanna,'

They were then split into four lines, each member of a cell in a different line. Ahren was to the far left followed by Brendan and then Harimanna. Senichi was in the line that was rightmost. He could hear the sobs, the whimpers, the screams, and the pleas of the children all around him. It did not do anything but make him even more nervous, especially since Ahren and the others weren't with him. He dug his nails deep into his palms but not enough to draw blood.

Then he caught a whiff of a horrendous stench. It smelled of something that was severely burned. It was the scent of smoke. The scent was foreign yet so familiar to Senichi. He couldn't exactly place his finger on it. As he neared the front of the line, his eyes widened when he recognized where he had smelled that scent before. It was the scent of burning human flesh.

Senichi gagged and took a step back only to accidentally bump into the prisoner behind him. He couldn't bring himself to mumble an apology. He wanted to run but some kind of universal force kept his feet planted in the ground. The scent of burning human flesh was only familiar to him because it was the last thing he had smelled before his death. It wasn't only the sight of his parents' corpses that stuck in his mind throughout the years, but also the scent.

Soon it was his turn and he couldn't help but let out a shriek as a muscled guard held him still, lifting the sleeve of his shirt and preventing him from escaping. He could see the hot rod in the pit of flames, the blaze reflecting in the guard who was waiting for it to heat up. The guard that held the end of the metal rod was grinning and the children's screams were music to his ears. He lifted the rod to inspect if it was hot enough. There were still pieces of other children's flesh stuck in some parts, but it didn't bother the cruel man.

Senichi absolutely hated fire. No, he not only loathed it, but he feared it. Fire was what had killed him. Fire was what had taken away the lives of his parents. Fire was what had destroyed his home. In the past, Mary and Tsutomu sometimes took him and his brothers camping from time to time. Of course that meant that there was a campfire but Senichi tended to stay as far away as possible. Tsutomu quickly took the hint and sat by Senichi a couple feet away from the fire while Mary, Shuichi, and Shukichi were roasting marshmallows and warming up around the flames. If it were a chilly night, Tsutomu would wrap a warm coat or blanket around Senichi. Neither he nor Mary would force him to be near the campfire.

Senichi felt the branding stick make contact with his left shoulder and he immediately screamed. He couldn't even hear Ahren's, Brendan's, or Harimanna's screams. He was sure that it was his own scream that overpowered everyone else's. The scent of burnt flesh grew stronger and Senichi tried to thrash around in order to escape. However, due to the fact that he had not eaten or drank properly in days, he was malnourished and weak.

Once the branding process was done, he was dragged away like a trash bag and thrown into Cell J like an old, worn out, ragdoll. Ahren, Brendan, and Harimanna were already there, having been tossed in just a few minutes ago. All of them, including Ahren, were crying loudly. Brendan and Harimanna curled up against their older brother's chest. Ahren held a shaky hand out towards Senichi who immediately accepted and was brought into the hug too.

Senichi didn't fully understand why Ahren was comforting him, a random kid who just happened to be their cellmate. But he didn't care what the reason was at the moment. Instead, he was grateful that he wasn't alone, even if he didn't really know the three silver haired kids well.

Poor Senichi.

Hiyori:
I forgot Sen was going to be kidnapped at age ten (damn my reading on the summary *sweat drop*) So in this fic Gin & Curacao are younger than Senichi?

Skai:
Yep, Brendan/Gin and Harimanna/Curacao are six years younger than Shuichi and Senichi.