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 IV
Scream
Warnings: Forced Fighting, Child Murder, Human Experimentation

Their next rations were doubled. Instead of two bowls of water and a single loaf of bread, they had been given four bowls of water and two loaves of bread. 'This must be the 'reward' for winning the fight,' Senichi thought as he drank a bowl of water and ate half a loaf. 'The bread tastes like sand. The water tastes like blood. A reward for killing another child? Disgusting. This is what they are using to motivate us into killing each other,'

"I'll fight the next one," Ahren spoke up.

"No," Senichi refused. 'Don't stain yourself with the blood of the innocents. I'm already tainted. If I can stop the same from happening to you, I will,' "Can you really kill another human being? Can you really kill someone who's younger than you, someone who might be the same age as Harimanna and Brendan?"

Ahren looked directly into the reincarnated boy's eyes. "I will if I have to," His voice was dead serious and that was what scared Senichi the most.

"Tch, do as you wish," Senichi turned away. 'What's the point is me caring about them? I want to save them, but I'm a dumbass. How do I expect to save everyone when I can't even save myself? I shouldn't bother thinking of them as friends. They'll end up dead when they get chosen to fight and lose,'

Despite his thoughts, he still volunteered whenever their cell was chose to fight. He didn't even give Ahren a chance to speak up. The first fight was just beginner's luck that he didn't end up with any injuries. His opponents managed to land hits on him but he still fought back. He couldn't afford to lose. He couldn't afford to die. He had to survive.

Eventually, he ended up with a serious injury: a fractured leg. This was when Ahren took the chance to volunteer. "Senichi, you can't even stand properly with that leg. You've already fought enough for us. I'm the oldest one here so I should be looking out for you. Rest and I'll fight,"

Senichi knew that if he fought with his leg's current state, he'd be easily killed.

XXX

Brendan and Harimanna were huddled up against Senichi in the time that Ahren were absent. Senichi hated the feeling. He didn't want to comfort them. It reminded him of when he had to comfort Shukichi which caused him to think about his family. But at the same time, he did want to comfort the two four year olds. He wanted to return the favor of Ahren looking out for him. And…he cared about the kids' wellbeing.

Ahren came back about half an hour later, covered in scratches made by smaller hands and bitemarks made by small sets of teeth. There were a few spots of blood on his clothing as he sat down by the three's side. He smiled as if he hadn't just murdered someone. "I told you, Sen, that I would do what I need to do,"

When sleep came, Senichi was awoken by muffled sobs. He sat up and faced the thirteen year old. "Ahren,"

"S-Sen!?" Ahren quickly wiped his tears and put on a smile. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"You were crying," Senichi pointed out.

"No I wasn't!" Ahren denied.

"Bullshit," Senichi said.

"I don't know how you do it," Ahren admitted. "How were you able to kill all of these kids? The eyes…they stared at me as the life drained from them. It's such a terrible feeling. I know I said I'd do what I need to do but…this is terrible,"

"It is terrible and I know it," Senichi nodded. "But we have to do it. We can't let Brendan and Harimanna fight so we have to be the ones to stain our souls crimson. We have to survive until we are rescued. You three will reunite with your mother some day and I'll reunite with my family," 'I'm fooling myself by thinking of my opponents as fictional people. I think of them as the mere background characters that die in every episode of Detective Conan. It helps relieve most of the guilt but none of the murder victims in the series were children,'

XXX

Weeks passed. Ahren fought and forcibly steeled his heart as he killed all of his opponents. He refused to let Senichi fight until his leg was healed. All of their wins earned them twice the amount of food and water but also caused the other cells to hate them. It was known throughout Mad Dog Arena that Cell J never lost a single fight. The other prisoners' hatred was not masked and they glared at them through their cell bars.

One night, their sleep was interrupted and all four of them were forcibly removed from their cell. They were taken to a lab and each of them were buckled down with leather straps to a cold, metal table. "What are you doing to us!? Let us go!"

"Ah, so these are the undefeatable J1 and J4," An old man with a graying beard and large, thick, round glasses stood in front of them. He wore a large lab coat then went down to his knees, indicating that he was a scientist or doctor of some sort. "What about the two youngest brats?"

"Leave Bren and Manna alone!" Ahren yelled.

"Shut up!" A nearby guard slammed Ahren's head hard against the table.

"Oi, oi, don't injure my subjects too badly," The scientist frowned. "Besides, I want them all conscious for the experiments,"

"Yes sir," The guard nodded.

XXX

The next couple hours were filled with the screams of four children that were music to the scientists' ears. Pieces of skin were sliced off like a butcher skinning an animal while other parts were sewn back on. Several needles full of unknown chemicals were stabbed into their bodies and injected into their bloodstream. Vials of mysterious compounds were shoved into their mouths and forced down their throat, burning as they made their way into their stomachs. Tubes were attached to their bodies, replacing lost blood so they wouldn't bleed out.

Oh, they were in so much pain! Nothing could have prepared them for this! It felt like their entire being was tearing apart and rearranging itself! It felt like they were being unmade, that they were unwinding piece by piece! It felt like being torn apart! Oh how they wished that they could lose conscious! They just wanted it all to end!

Finally, they were given a break at last. The scientist and guards all left, leaving the four alone in the laboratory. They had no strength to escape, not even enough strength to remove the binds. All of them were breathing heavily. Their clothes were mere rags laying against their skin. Their skin was a myriad of gashes and stitches and incisions and slices.

"Bren…Manna…Sen…" Ahren gasped. "Are…are you guys alright?"

"Are you really asking us that question!?" Brendan snapped. "We're not alright!"

"It hurts…" Harimanna whimpered.

"How could you even ask such a question even though you've experienced what we've been through!?" Brendan yelled.

"Bren stop…" Senichi managed to rasp out. "Don't…don't get angry at Ahren…" 'It's not his fault and I know that you know that. I know that we're all hurting very badly. I know that we all want this to end. But don't get angry at your brother. Family is the only thing you have here. I don't even have that,'

XXX

It was hard for Shuichi and Shukichi, but they eventually had to return to school. Both of them wanted to stay home but it was pointless. Senichi wasn't there and them waiting would contribute nothing. Shuichi buried himself in his studies in order to keep his mind occupied. If he ran out of schoolwork, he'd read mystery novels, forcing his brain to piece together the clues and solve the crimes. He closed himself off from everyone, including his friends and family. If his mind wasn't preoccupied, he would notice the emptiness in the other half of his bedroom and the missing presence in his world.

Senichi's half of the room was cold. It was devoid of life. Nobody dared to remove Senichi's belongings and didn't dare to disturb the state it was in. They only vacuumed it from time to time when dust started to accumulate. Senichi was alive. Senichi was going to return. They couldn't mess up his side of the room or else he'd be upset when he is found and comes home.

Honestly, the human experimentation was going to be much more graphic but I didn't have the heart to do so.

Lieutenant Myst:
Like how I felt with Heroes of the dark by omytheon, my guess is that Senichi and Shuichi may see each other in the distant future yet Senichi can't leave the BO. …why wasn't Shinichi born around this timeline?

Skai:
Sen and Shuu will definitely see each other in the future. Shinichi wasn't born around this timeline because I'm following the ages of the canon timeline. Shinichi is fifteen to sixteen years younger than Akai Shuichi and since currently Shuu and Sen are ten years old, Shinichi hasn't been born yet.

Hiyori:
Poor, poor Senichi T,T

Skai:
As I said in the previous chapter, it only gets worse.