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 XII
Match
Warnings: Mention of Suicide

Absinthe started undertaking more missions. He wanted to keep his mind preoccupied so he couldn't think about his deepest desires. He couldn't let his emotions get out of control. Besides, the more missions he did, the more he would rise in rank. It would also help him hone his skills. When he wasn't doing missions, he would be busying himself with training. He would spar with other members without the use of his polar bear strength.

Vermouth called him in for a mission one day. He would be joining her and Calvados on eliminating Sherry. A few days before the mission would be carried out, he and Calvados headed to the designated pier and scouted the area for a good sniping position for the latter. It was be easily accessible but hidden enough to not be immediately noticeable. They found a spot on top of some shipping containers.

The night came and both of them were at their positions. There were no FBI Agents in sight, Vermouth having told them in Jodie's voice earlier that they were done for the night. Soon, the two cars came into sight. In the first car were Haibara and Jodie. In the second car was Dr. Araide, or rather Vermouth in disguise. Both women exited their cars.

"Oh, what's up Araide-sensei?" Jodie asked.

"That's what I want to ask!" Araide demanded. "What are you trying to do to her!?"

"No, no!" We were just taking a drive!" Jodie claimed. "Unlike you, I have plenty of time,"

'Jodie…' Absinthe bit his lip, allowing the small amount of pain to keep him distracted. He knew that he was the wild card that would change the outcome of the confrontation. He didn't want Jodie, Conan, Haibara, or Ran to get killed. He would do his best to ensure that they survived. Unconsciously, he increased his sense of smell and caught a whiff of Jodie's sense. It was so familiar and calming. He missed her.

"Araide-sensei, you have to go to court for that murder case soon!" Jodie told Araide. "You must testify! Although really, you have to hide the truth that your father was killed by your housekeeper Hikaru-san, who pulled the trigger,"

"Hikaru-san pulled the trigger?" That wasn't what was written in the police report. "What are you saying!? The criminal behind that incident was my step-mother and she died from electrocution! It wasn't from a gun!"

Jodie laughed and Absinthe bit into his hand. 'I miss her laughter. I miss her smile. I miss everything about Jodie. I hate how I fell for you. Romance doesn't exist in the world I live in. Someone like me doesn't deserve your love,'

"The trigger I was talking about was the breaker to the electricity," Jodie explained. "The person who planned and conducted the murder was the criminal. However, the person who triggered the murder was Hikaru-san, who didn't know anything about putting the breaker back up. So the criminal and the police worked to create a fake investigation record so Hikaru-san wouldn't get hurt,"

"Well, it can't be helped that you didn't know since the record you stole from the police department didn't say anything about it," Jodie continued. "You stole that record because you were planning to stay as Araide-sensei after the court case finished. After all, it's a record of 'that' incident. Am I not right?"

"W-Who on earth are you!?" Araide exclaimed.

"A secret makes a woman, woman," Jodie responded in English. "Do you remember? They were your last words to me. I've been repeating them many times so as not to forget the words of the enemy who killed my father. Right, Chris Vineyard? No…Vermouth!" She relayed the events of their meeting twenty years ago. "I survived, however, because I went shopping for my father's favorite orange juice,"

"Oh, was that you?" Vermouth tore off her mask, revealing her true face. "I looked for you desperately because they only found your father's remains in the burnt house,"

Anger filled Absinthe but he kept himself under control. 'Vermouth killed Jodie's father! I should've done something. I should've asked Dad to help prevent his death too! But I was too focused on saving Dad and Kohji that I didn't think about Jodie's father! I'm sorry, Jodie!' Guilt pooled in his chest. 'I'm so selfish!'

Both women drew their guns but Jodie was faster and shot Vermouth's out of her head. "Don't move!"

"Oh my, you're carrying a dangerous weapon?" Vermouth held her hands up. "Did you get permission from the Japanese police?"

"I'll request a co-investigation with the police over here after I secure your existence! Of course, I expect to be punished," Jodie said. "There's something I have to hear from you before that, no matter what! Why don't you age!? The first time I laid eyes on you was when you said that line before your mother's coffin. The fingerprints you left on my father's glasses on your fingerprints were a perfect match! You were the same person as your mother, Sharon Vineyard! But there's another thing that bothered me. Your brother, Leo, seems to age normally. I also doubt that he's your brother by blood though,"

A bullet was fired, striking Jodie in her left side. She slumped against her car, smearing blood across the passenger window and door. Vermouth smirked and took the gun from the FBI's hands. "Thank you Calvados. Don't kill her yet. I have something to ask this woman,"

While the two women spoke, Absinthe heard the sound of two approaching vehicles. 'One is a taxi that Haibara took and the other is…Shuichi?' When he saw Vermouth about to kill Jodie, he couldn't help but aim his gun at his Vermouth. Before he could pull the trigger, Conan kicked his soccer ball through the window and disarmed the crow.

Conan targeted his stun gun wristwatch at Vermouth but was caught off guard by Haibara's appearance. Vermouth used the opportunity to stun Conan with his own tranquilizer. She drew a gun from her ankle holster and pointed it at the shrunken scientist. "Stupid woman, wasting that boy's cute plan. To have taken all that trouble to come and get killed,"

'Shiho!' Absinthe started walking to Calvados' location, being sure to be as silent as possible.

"I didn't just come to get killed. I came to finish everything," Haibara took off the criminal tracking glasses. "In return, can you promise me that you won't kill anyone besides me?"

"Fine, I'll spare everyone other than this FBI Agent," Vermouth agreed.

Ran kicked the car trunk open and ran towards Haibara, narrowly avoiding Calvados' bullets. She shielded Haibara with her own body. Absinthe slammed his foot down hard on Calvados' leg, applying enough force to break it. Calvados yelped in pain. "A-Absinthe!?"

Absinthe broke Calvados' other leg. "I can't let you kill them,"

"Senichi?" Standing a couple feet away was none other than the FBI's Silver Bullet.

"I told you this before," Absinthe charged at him with a fist. "Right now I am not Senichi! I am Absinthe!"

The two engaged in a battle, though it was obvious that Akai didn't want to harm his brother. Absinthe didn't hold back. He landed several hits, using a mix of Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts. It was only when Jodie shot Vermouth's arm did he stop. He tossed Calvados' Remington shotgun to Akai. "Help Jodie,"

Akai was a bit startled by the sudden change but nodded and hurried down. As Absinthe watched the rest of the events unfold, he started swaying. Once Vermouth drove away and Calvados committed suicide, he collapsed. The problem was that he had been standing on the edge of the storage containers and thus fell around twenty to thirty feet.

"Absinthe!?" Jodie exclaimed.

Akai was still for the first few seconds with his brain trying to process the events. "Senichi?" Akai received no response. "Senichi?" He rushed over to him. "Senichi! Senichi!" His eyes widened at the pool of blood around his brother's head. "No…No! NO!"

'Senichi?' Jodie gasped. 'Does…does he mean Senichi Soren? As in…it can't be, right? The Senichi I dated couldn't have been Absinthe all this time!'

"Jodie, the story is that the two kidnappers that have been left behind both committed suicide! One of them fell into the sea!" Akai ordered as he gingerly picked the man up. "I'm bringing him to the hospital and asking James to help me hide him,"

Absinthe collapsed from exhaustion. He had been overworking himself to keep his mind off of his family and Jodie.
The reason why the cover story had to include one falling into the sea is because the blood wouldn't match to Calvados and it'd be harder to find a corpse in the ocean.

Velgamidragon:
Well holy crap! Absinthe reveals himself to Conan! Nice! Didn't expect that at all! And pointed out some of Conan's weaknesses early on; perhaps that will have a butterfly effect and stop hm from charging after the Organization without a plan? (Lol, doubtful) Even though I know you have plans to write and post the second draft of this story, I'm still curious to read this one and very happy to see some of Leo's internal struggles regarding the consequences of his actions and what the future holds for him in this first draft. Tonally, I was surprised to see him whine about wearing a suit and going to a party since his current characterization doesn't strike me as the type to whine. Frustrated with Kudo's recklessness though? Hell yeah. Despairing over his relationships work his family, friends, and being lonely. Absolutely.

Skai:
All of what Absinthe pointed out about Conan's plan was what I found frustrating when I read the chapters/watched the episodes. I mean, what would he have done if he did confront Gin and Vodka head on? He only has ONE tranquilizer while there are two crows with many bullets. He would only have managed to possibly sedate one of them, most likely Vodka.
As for him complaining about suits…I think I unconsciously make all of my OCs hate suits. Absinthe is not a big fan of crowds since he spends enough time around them as Leo Vineyard.
The tentative title for the rewrite is Scar(red)let Crow. If you're interested in spoilers, I posted two on my deviant art gallery:
shuichi-akai DOT deviantart DOT com