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 IV
Chapter I
Beach
Warnings: None

He was a man of many names. In the Real World, he used to be Michael Leo Field, a seventeen year old weeaboo and otaku who died in a raging inferno. His second name was Senichi Akai, the younger twin brother of Shuichi Akai. In Crow Academy, he went by Senichi Field. While working under Vermouth, he was Leo Vineyard, the son of Sharon Vineyard and the elder brother to Chris Vineyard as well as a famous singer in the Unites States. In the organization, he was known by his codename: Absinthe.

He no longer held a neutral expression during missions but instead had a mad grin. He couldn't help but slightly enjoy the sight of the crimson staining the floors and walls crimson. The thuds of corpses falling to the floor were music to his ears. He had grown so used to killing that it was a bit enjoyable now.

Brendan and Harimanna Klein were now Jin Kurosawa and Aya Hayashi. They had all steeled their hearts and had become Gin and Curacao. All three of them were skilled operatives known throughout the organization. The mere mention of their codenames sent chills down the spines of many.

He protected Akemi and Shiho, though when the boss ordered the latter to be trained as a scientist for the organization, he couldn't go against those orders. Akemi hated how Leo had changed, but he still cared for him. Absinthe wasn't her friend but Leo was. He could've just left Akemi and Shiho alone, but he still stuck by their side.

XXX

Leo Vineyard, age twenty two, was currently in Japan. He was taking a break from singing and a vacation to Japan sounded nice. He wouldn't be as recognizable in Japan as he was in America so it was unlikely that he'd be hounded by fans. He hid his scars by wearing a long sleeved swim shirt and long swim pants. Any other scars that were still visible were skillfully hidden by waterproof makeup. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses to further hide his identity while not standing out at the beach.

He decided to grab something to eat from a food stand. While pondering on what to order, he heard a young voice from beside him. "I'd like some fried potatoes please!" Seven year old Masumi placed some yen coins on the counter.

'M-Masumi!?' Leo immediately recognized the little girl as his—Akai's—younger sister.

"I'm sorry kid, but you're fifty yen short," The cashier said after counting the coins.

"Eh?" Masumi tried to look around the sand, thinking she had dropped a coin.

"I'll pay for it," Leo offered, placing some yen bills. "I'd also like some yakisoba please,"

"Thank you Oniisan!" Masumi grinned as she grabbed a handful of fries from the rectangular paper bowl and ran off to try to make Akai smile.

"Don't play with your food," Akai said, still unimpressed by her antics.

"Hey, what are you doing Masumi?" Mary scolded. She knelt down and wiped her daughter's face. "You're a girl. You shouldn't be getting salt from chips under your nose like this!"

"S-Sorry," Masumi apologized.

"Ah, is such a joke very popular in England?" Yukiko asked as she approached them. "You're from England, right? Potatoes cut into sticks, dabbed with slat, and friend in oil are called fried potato in Japan, French fries in America, and those who call them chips are from the country of fish and chips, England! So, I thought—ah, never mind that, have you seen my son? He's a little boy wearing green shorts and probably with a girl around his age,"

"Shinichi-kun was at some beach café," Leo spoke up as he walked over.

"Leo-kun, what are you doing here?" Yukiko inquired.

"Vacation," He shrugged. "If you're fast enough, you might be able to still catch him there," 'Though, I'm sure he's already left,'

"Thank you," Yukiko then left to search for her son.

"Kid," Leo handed the bowl to Masumi. "You forgot the rest of your food at the counter,"

"Who are you?" Mary asked, giving the man a suspicious look.

He didn't immediately answer. Senichi wanted to reveal who he truly was. He wanted to leave the organization and return home. He wanted to escape the shackles that bound him to darkness. But he couldn't. Senichi forced himself back into the depths of his mind and Leo responded. "My name is Leo Vineyard," 'Liar…Liar. Liar! LIAR!' "Your daughter was short fifty yen so I offered to pay,"

"Short fifty yen?" Shukichi turned to his sister. "I'm sure I gave you three hundred yen to buy fried potatoes,"

"Sorry," Masumi apologized. "I might've dropped a fifty yen coin in the sand,"

"It's fine," Leo smiled. "Fifty yen is practically nothing, but please be more careful. It might be a larger yen note next time,"

"Okay," Masumi agreed.

'Leo Vineyard…I've seen him before and that name sounds so familiar,' Akai watched as Leo walked away. "If you're careless and give away your identity through your speech, no country is safe for you, Kaa-san. But you don't have to worry because before the ones who killed Tou-san find us, I'll send them to the depths of Hell,"

"I know your true identity!" Seven year old Shinichi pointed accusingly at Akai. "This Oniisan is Pierrot!"

At the sound of those words, Leo whirled around and walked back over to them. "Shin-kun, your deduction is wrong. Oh, and your mom is looking for you,"

"No, he really is Pierrot!" Shinichi declared. "He's traveled to a lot of countries and as far as I know, such people are from the circus! The bruise on his left hand is from an accordion, which Pierrot plays in circus shows! And Oniisan's left eye has remains of Pierrot's crying makeup!"

Akai laughed. It was a loud laugh full of warmth. Senichi held back tears. It had been so long since he had seen his twin brother smile and heard his laughter. Thankfully Leo had years of training and his face didn't show his real emotions. If his mask broke, he would be a sobbing mess. He couldn't let that happen. If anyone recognized Leo Vineyard, then they might end up filming his breakdown and posting it on social media. The crows would find out and would link the Akai-Sera-Haneda Family to Absinthe, thus endangering them. They were already in enough danger as is.

"While it's true that I've visited three countries, I'm not part of a circus," Akai corrected the young detective. "Not everyone who travels is a circus troupe member. Good job noticing the accordion bruise though, but I played the accordion at a bar for my part-time job," He removed his sunglasses. "This is not crying makeup, by the way, it's a bruise my mother gave me when we fought. Who are you?"

"Kudo Shinichi!" The seven year old introduced. "I am Sherlock Holmes' apprentice!"

"Shinichi, there you are!" Ran called. "Your mommy was looking for you! Huh, are you still playing Holmes?"

"I'm not playing!" Shinichi claimed. "This is my training for when I become a famous detective!"

"But you'll be in danger if you overdo things like this!" Ran said worriedly. "Those guys looked really angry!"

"Brat, I've finally found you," Three men approached them. "You really made a fool of us back there, didn't ya?"

"You brought it upon yourselves," Shinichi pointed out. "You put a fly in the yakisoba you were almost done eating and made a scene just to get out of paying for it,"

"We'd have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you!"

Before he could roughly ruffle Shinichi's hair, Leo grabbed the man's wrist. "You must be quite the loser to be picking on little kids,"

"Why you…" The man threw a punch with his free arm.

Absinthe broke the man's wrist in a single, fluid motion. "Leave, or would you rather have me break the rest of your arm?"

"S-Sorry!" The men screamed as they scampered away.

Once they were gone, Leo headed to the sea without saying anything to the others. He dove underwater, allowing his tears to blend into the ocean. 'I'm such an idiot! Why did I show my Absinthe side around them!? I should've just let it play out just like it did in canon! I never wanted my family to see that side of me, even if I'm only a stranger to them!'

He resurfaced and took deep breaths of air. He glanced back at the shore where his family was. It was so painful. His heart ached so terribly and he just wanted it to stop. He dove back underwater and swam farther away from the shore, farther away from the family he could never return to. Once he was far enough, Senichi let out a scream of his frustration and sorrows. Nobody could hear him over the loud waves of the sea.

'They seemed so happy…' Senichi cried. 'They've moved on. They don't need Akai Senichi. They can live without me. I…I thought I already came to terms with this years ago, so why does it still hurt so much? This is just confirmation for my thoughts all those years back,'

XXX

Leo managed to avoid the Akai Family for the rest of his vacation. He spent his time in Akihabara where he purchased many anime and manga products. Some of the items were only available in Japan and he wasn't going to let the chance slip up. He also bought some costumes of his favorite characters. Although he could easily make them back in the US or get one custom made, it felt more normal to just buy a premade one.

'Ten years,' Senichi thought. 'In ten years, the organization will fall. Actually, I don't know if time will be in a year loop like in the series since they celebrated the holidays multiple times, or if time will actually continue forward and everyone will age up. Either way, I've met the two Silver Bullets that will destroy the organization,'

I know it seems kinda confusing when I switch between names for the main character, but each name is a different aspect of him, kinda like how shrunken Shinichi is referred to as Conan. Senichi is his real face and misses his family. Leo is his public face that hides his pain and sorrows behind a mask. Absinthe is dangerous one that completes the missions he is assigned.

Guest:
Please let Kohji and Tsutomu live.

Skai:
Are they alive? Are they dead? Maybe yes, maybe no.