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 XV
Clash
Warnings: One of the Worst Written Scenes in the Entire Fic

Black Impact happened while Senichi still remained comatose. In order to make things easier, the unconscious Mizunashi Rena was kept in the same room as Senichi. It was nearly three months after Kir's arrival that Senichi finally woke up. Akai was currently not in the room at the moment and it seemed like the guard had been called to a meeting. Senichi rubbed his eyes and blinked away his tiredness, clearing up his vision. He picked up the black dog plushy that sat on a nearby table.

"Sable…" Senichi whispered and brought it close to his chest. 'How long was I out?' He noted his roommate. 'Kir is already here? This means that I'm in Haido Central Hospital. How long has Kir been here? If I recall correctly, she's comatose for around three months,' He winced and put a hand to his head. 'How…how did I end up here?' He placed the plushy back down onto the table. 'This place reeks of antiseptics and cleaning products. Ugh,'

He disabled the heart monitor before removing the devices from his body so it wouldn't make a flatline sound. He then got to his feet and ended up almost falling immediately but managed to regain his balance. 'I need to get out of here. Right now, I'm in FBI territory. I can't trust the FBI, not even Shuu or Jodie. I have to keep up my Absinthe act and return to the crow's nest,'

He snuck into the hallway and managed to steal some normal civilian clothes while avoiding everyone. He was glad that his black hair dye had been removed or else his blond roots would show at the top of his head and stick out like a sore thumb. Nonetheless, he made sure to also snag a hat to help cover up his face. After all, Leo Vineyard was a famous American singer.

It was quite the walk in the park to leave the hospital once he no longer looked like a patient. Once he got to the parking lot, he realized that he had no means to contact his comrades. 'Shit, the FBI confiscated my phone and wallet. I have not a single yen on me. I'll have to quickly pickpocket an unsuspecting civilian to get some coins for a payphone call,'

Someone grabbed his hand and on instinct, Absinthe whirled around and attacked. The punch was blocked. "You shouldn't be up and walking around,"

"Don't try to stop me, Shuichi," Absinthe growled. 'I need to distance myself from him. I can't let my emotions get the better of me. I am not Senichi right now. I am Absinthe. I am a crow,'

"You don't have to return to the organization," Akai told him.

"I don't have to return but I want to return," Absinthe smirked and attempted to strike his enemy down.

Akai barely managed to dodge. "Sen—"

"Not Senichi," He said. "Absinthe,"

"You don't want to really return to them,"

That angered Absinthe. "Don't act like you know anything!"

"I know because I'm your brother," Akai tried to reason.

"My brother who abandoned me! My brother who gave up on me!" Absinthe yelled, though they weren't his true feelings. "The organization rescued me. They raised me. They trained me. I owe my life to them. I live to serve them,"

Akai held his gun out. "If you are truly loyal to the organization, then shoot me in the head right now,"

Now that caught Absinthe off guard. "What?"

"If you are truly a crow, kill me," Akai held out a wallet and a cellphone in his other hand. "I'll even return your stuff to you,"

"You're lucky," Absinthe snatched his stuff and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm not gonna kill you. It's broad daylight and there's a chance that there'll be witnesses," Not wanting his mask to break, he bolted out of the parking lot.

XXX

Gin's phone was ringing. When he saw the caller ID, he answered it. "Absinthe,"

"I was comatose for darkness knows how long,"

'That speech pattern indicates he's definitely him,' "Where are you?"

"I managed to escape the hospital, though I'm not entirely sure which one. I just wanted to get out of there. I managed to flee when they were probably having some kind of meeting and there was no guard. Pretty stupid of the FBI if you ask me. Look, can you come pick up me? I'm all the way at Danny's since I'm starving. I haven't eaten since before the mission Vermouth took me and Calvados on,'

"Senichi," Gin hesitated as if unsure if he wanted to say it to him. He glanced around at his empty office. "I'm glad you're safe,"

XXX

"Senichi…I'm glad you're safe,"

Absinthe's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Yeah," He ended the call and dug into his plate of spicy curry. At least since he was eating something spicy, he could blame the tears in his eyes on his meal. 'Is it possible that Gin's heart isn't completely cold? Is it possible that he could still care about the friendship between us and also care about Harimanna, even if it's just a little bit?'

XXX

"You let Senichi leave!?" Jodie exclaimed.

"Akai-kun, Jodie-kun is right," James agreed. "He may be your brother, but he is also Absinthe. You're letting your personal relationships get in the way of your work,"

"He has access to important information and various locations of the organization," Akai told them. "He'll be more useful as a line between us and the crows,"

"Did he say that he would supply us with info?" Jodie pointed out. "This was very reckless of you! Now the organization knows about Mizunashi Rena's location!"

"I handed him my gun and told him to shoot me," Akai said. "He refused. That's enough proof for me," 'He seemed really determined to go back,'

"I want to leave the organization and be Senichi Akai once again, but I can't. I can't leave Bren and Manna behind. And besides, I'm already a high ranking member. I want to destroy the organization from the inside,"

'He has friends in the organization. He refuses to leave them behind. Those friends were with him through the hard times he suffered when his own family wasn't there for him. I can't force him to leave them,'

XXX

Clash of the Red and Black happened. Kusuda was revealed to be the spy and killed himself to avoid capture. When communication with him stopped, the crows knew that Haido Central Hospital was where the FBI and Kir were. The crows successfully retrieved Kir, though they were extremely suspicious of her.

"Absinthe," Kir addressed during the car ride. "How did you escape the hospital? There were a lot of guards,"

"If I were a woman, I'd say Vermouth's signature phrase," Absinthe replied.

"Answer the question, Absinthe," Gin ordered. "I also want to know how you escaped,"

"Fine, fine," Absinthe rolled his eyes. "The guard that was watching over me was actually sleeping on the job. The hounds were getting rather complacent, especially since I've been unconscious for months. I treated my escape like any other mission, stole some clothes, and escaped. The reason why they become more alert around you was because I escaped,"

'That doesn't explain how he retrieved his cell phone and wallet,' Gin thought. 'If anything, they'd be kept as far away as possible in the case that he does awaken. They'd also want to analyze his cell phone's contents,' "Hmph, the FBI is full of idiots,"

"Just like that dumbass that blew Rye's cover," Absinthe chuckled. "Then again, whether they're geniuses or idiots, the organization will always outsmart them,"

XXX

Absinthe started sparring once he arrived at headquarters. He had gotten a bit rusty due to being unconscious for a long while, but he was definitely not weak. He defeated all of his opponents though he ended up getting more hits than before he was comatose. In a few weeks, he'd be back to his prime form.

Once he had taken a shower at his apartment, he found Gin in his living room. "We're going to meet with Kir,"

"Okay," Absinthe nodded. "Let me dye my hair black and put in some red contacts,"

"That won't be necessary for this mission," Gin said. "We're leaving now,"

"Okay?" Absinthe shrugged.

They reached Kir's location just as she was finishing a phone call. "Yes, that's correct…I feel that this job is mentally impossible, and I want to quite…I'm really sorry…Bye,"

Gin pointed a gun at Kir's back. "Who were you talking with?"

"Don't be silly," Kir replied calmly. "It was the TV station's human resources manager! I was telling the manager that I can no longer continue to be an announcer, and I want to quit because it's bothersome to have them tailing me badly," She glanced at other nearby operatives. "Besides, the organization can hear everything I was talking about and there are many bugs and transmitters attached to me as well as two to three guards constantly following me. So? That person who finds me discomforting and is still suspecting me has some mission for me?"

"Not just you, but Absinthe too,"

Absinthe ever so slightly tensed up. 'I haven't taken that into account. Of course I'd be suspected just like Kir. Hell, I'm even more suspicious since I apparently just waltzed out of the hospital,' "So what's the mission?"

"The both of you are to eliminate FBI Agent Akai Shuichi," Gin informed.

"Gin, how the hell do you expect me to kill him?" Absinthe asked. "March into the hospital and go on a rampage? That'll not only expose me but I'll potential get captured or even killed,"

"It was too easy retrieving the both of you, especially you Absinthe," Gin responded. "So you both are to kill the FBI's trump card, Akai Shuichi, and prove your innocence to us. And to answer your question, Absinthe, the two of you will lure him into our firing range. Kir will call him out, telling him that it was troublesome for the both of you since you both been caught by the FBI. Request help to leave the organization by escaping to a foreign country and in return, offer good information,"

"Then when he comes, you guys'll surround him and shoot him, right?" Kir questioned.

"Whoever is the faster gunslinger will be the one to shoot," Gin answered. "He has a surprisingly good nose. If he notices our presence he'll discover the trap and return back. We'll be watching how things happen through a bug and camera on you two from a long distance where his bullets can't reach us,"

"Okay," Kir agreed. "I will do as you said. Can you give me some time?"

"No," Gin held up his gun once again. "Call him right now, at this very place! If you can't do it, then you'll be calling your own death!"

'Wait a fucking moment,' Absinthe realized. 'How the fuck does Kir have Nalabaga's number!? Seriously, had the crows known all along what his number was!? I'm surprised no one tried to prank call him,'

"Y-You never considered that I might be deceived by the FBI, have you?" Kir stuttered.

"That's possible, but according to the information our fellow got, the FBI are still staying in that hospital for a bit longer. For some reason, one agent got involved in a case and the FBI's eyes are focusing on him right now," Gin told them. "We can't miss this chance,"

Kir took out her phone and dialed Akai's number, putting it on speaker for Gin to hear to prove that there were no tricks. 'We never took into account that Absinthe would also be ordered to kill Akai! This is going to screw up the plan! Akai won't be able to fake his death! Maybe…maybe I can speak to Absinthe in private to have him agree? But there are bugs all over me and probably Absinthe too. They'd overhear us,'

"Yes?"

"It's me," Kir said. "It's Mizunashi Rena. Can we talk? Is there anybody around?"

"Yeah we can talk. I'm alone,"

"You're surprised, right? That you got a call this quickly from me after I returned back to the org—"

"Explain what you mean,"

"Actually, it's become difficult for both Absinthe and I to stay here. We…we both want to run away to another country to leave the organization,"

"Absinthe is known as Leo Vineyard, an American celebrity,"

"Some makeup and fake documents will help me blend into normal civilian society," Absinthe spoke up. "Plus, I'm an amazing actor. I can play any role,"

"O-Of course we'll offer information to the FBI," Kir continued. "I wonder if we could meet in private now?"

"As long as the two of you are alone, then there's no problem,"

"Okay then, I'll send you the time and place by mail later,"

XXX

The meeting time was at seven o'clock at night on the seventh curve of Raiha Pass. Absinthe rode with Kir to the location. Akai came from the opposite direction and parked against the guard rail. "What's the problem?" Absinthe asked. "You came from the other side,"

"I got here ahead of you guys to scout out the area," Akai stated. "It looks like you both came alone as ordered,"

Kir was the faster one and shot Akai in the lung. Akai's eyes widened and blood started dripping from his mouth. He leaned against his truck and put a hand to his chest. He glanced across and noticed a Porsche 356A. 'Hmph, to think you came this far to get me…'

"Absinthe, finish him off with a headshot,"

"But he'll die in less than thirty minutes even if we leave him here," Kir tried to reason. "I just shot him in the lung after all,"

"A bullet to the head will make sure that his life will come to an end. Absinthe will pull the trigger,"

Absinthe walked over to the Silver Bullet and held the gun about an inch away from Akai's forehead. "Blank," He mouthed clearly for Akai to see. His back was to Kir so she and the camera couldn't see his mouth's movements.

'So he's also firing blanks. That's a relief. I didn't look forward to actually dying since the original plan didn't include Absinthe,' Akai smirked. "To think that you went this far,"

Absinthe fired a single blank bullet. Akai detonated the blood packet and fell backwards into his truck's seats. Police sirens were heard while Kir and Absinthe were setting up the plastic explosives. They then proceeded to leave the crime scene while Akai managed to escape his truck just before it exploded.

Senichi actually remembers a lot of cases very clearly because in order to keep his sanity throughout his childhood as well as in Mad Dog Arena and in the organization, he constantly replayed his memories of the anime and manga in his mind.

Velgamidragon:
But I want to try to help! Especially since you are revising this story. Ironic that the American is telling the Englishman he needs to watch more world news since in my experience, it's usually the opposite. And holy shit, they weren't just kidnapped like Senichi but intentionally sold off and by their own dad no less?! Well damn! Ooh, I just had an idea; can I write a short snippet based on that ending scene and send it to you via the PM system?

Skai:
I'm not sure if it's common for Englishmen to tell Americans to watch more world news since I've never met anyone from England. I actually mentioned Hans Klein selling his own children in Chapter 10:
"One day, our father announced out of nowhere that we'd be going on a trip to England. Honestly, I was reluctant to believe him but we really did travel here. But…a few days later…we were kidnapped. I'm not sure about what happened to Mutti,"
'Judging by the timeframe and the way their father treats his kin, the bastards sold his own children!' Rage filled Senichi's tired body.
I read your snippet and I love it. It's really good and well-written.