You guys are the best! I got 13 reviews for chapter 6! YAY! Once again, I can't believe how well this fic is doing! At only 7 chapters, it's got 25 alerts; yet IFOF is at chap 25 and hasn't got double the amount! (43). Thanks everyone!
Oh and thanks to all those who wished me luck for sorting out my problems with my best friend. We are currently sorting out a time to talk everything through. Hopefully everything goes well, cuz we're going to Auckland together in a few weeks for my 18th!
Review replies…
x-Black-Dranzer-x – thanks so much for the review! Your words were heart-warming XD Hehe, Kai's problem will be delved into later. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
the Light Shadow – lol, sometimes you gotta wonder why the hell Voltaire ever even had children! Hmmm…-thinking plot ideas…- thanks for reviewing, hope you enjoy XD
xBenihimex – thanks! Hopefully an update a day is quick enough for you! Hope you enjoy the chapter :)
Cyborgshi – thank you so much! Dark is what I'm going for lol. I don't think I've done a fic this dark before. I've certainly thought about writing one and I think I have a few un-posted ones on my computer…Glad you liked! Hope you enjoy.
BloodRedViolet – it's all good! Thanks for the review XD I'm working all day too, so I know what you're going through lol. Then, when I get home from work I write! Hehe. My friend and I are staring to sort things out. Thanks for the support so far! Hope you enjoy XD
jellybean-kitty – hay! Long time, no see. Sorry I haven't reviewed any of your fics for a while o.o I haven't really been reading Beyblade fics lately. I've been hooked on Devil May Cry after watching the anime XD It rocks! Thanks for your kind words! Hope you like the chapter.
shininglake – thanks! Hope you enjoy the chapter. Kai does wake up in this chapter XD
american farmer – no, Tala and Bryan didn't tell the police. More will be revealed later XD Hope I updated quick enough for you! You're lucky though, I was thinking about putting in the MOST EVIL cliffhanger I could think of, but I've decided to save it for later :) Enjoy.
Secret Thought – thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Miako6 – you saved it onto your PSP? YOU CAN DO THAT?? WOW. Thanks for reviewing! Hehe, updated quick enough for you?? Enjoy.
HimekoSukie – omg, so many reviews! Your review did make my day a lot better! Thanks! Your words are so kind XD Hope you like this chapter as much as the last :)
pheonix80 – not exactly… :) Thanks for reviewing! My friend and I are starting to sort everything out. Hopefully it goes okay XD Enjoy.
FlamingIce94 – hehe, Voltaire definitely is a psycho! Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy the chapter, and yeah, my day was MUCH better today! (I read all the wonderful reviews XD)
OMG 13 reviews! Wheph, that took a while lol. On to the next chapter of Ten Black Roses.
TEN BLACK ROSES
DancerInTheDark101
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the song and lyrics to Ten Black Roses or the band The Rasmus (although I do own all of The Rasmus' albums!). Oh, but I do own the plot.
Summary: When Kai's friends start to suspect something isn't quite right at home, they pry into the matter. What they find shocks and horrifies them, but does it explain the constant bruising and bandages? What is Kai hiding so desperately? Abuse, dark themes
Chapter 7: You're Surrounded, Drifting Alone
One week later…
Kai moaned. Something was lodged deep in his throat. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable. Air was passing through the tube and into his lungs with a hiss and Kai felt his chest rising and lowering with every hiss.
There was an annoying beep that kept sounding two or three times a second and it was a while before he realised that was in fact signalling his heartbeat.
Screwing his eyes shut tighter, he prepared himself to open them. He felt like he had been sleeping for months.
After a few moments of gathering his strength and wits, he forced his eyes open and gazed straight into the bright light of the room. He winced as the light burned his retinas and hissed.
"Kai?" came a very familiar voice, concern and shock lacing the tone.
Kai turned his head slightly to the right, grateful as the lights were dimmed. Sitting in chairs beside his bed were two people who he trusted more than anyone else.
"Tala, Bryan…" he whispered, throat sore. He couldn't believe how terrible he sounded; his voice was raspy and hoarse. He also couldn't believe that he could still talk with the tubing down his throat. It didn't make any sense.
"Hey, Kai," Tala smiled lightly. "Glad to see you awake."
"What am I doing here? What happened? Where's my Mum and Dad?"
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as the statement sunk in. Kai saw the incredulous looks plastered over his friend's faces.
What? Why are they looking at me like that?
"Kai…" Tala began, his voice low. "You're parents are dead…"
WHAT!? No…they can't be dead…when, how, why? Tala has to be lying! Mum…Dad…
A flash of blinding light burned into his eyes and Kai gasped. The light didn't hurt at all, but the shock of it made him close his eyes quickly.
When he opened his crimson orbs again, he looked over to see Tala and Bryan staring at him, concerned.
Kai's mind flitted back to what he had just thought. Why had everything been so muddled? He knew his parents were dead; they had been dead for many, many years. Then why did I act the way I did? I know all this already. What's going on?
"Kai?" Tala leant forward, placing his hands on his knees and gazing towards the bluenette. "You okay?"
Blinking, the injured teen nodded slowly. "Sorry. I…I don't know what happened just then. My…my head feels weird."
He frowned, bringing a bandaged hand up to massage his temple. He had a fairly bad headache pounding at his temples and it was making everything fuzzy and distorted.
A light knock came from the side of the room and Kai looked over to the door and watched warily as a tall, dark-skinned man stepped through the threshold. He was wearing a typical white coat with a large, plastic name badge clipped to the pocket over his heart. The badge read Dr. Samuel Kulsion.
"That is probably of the concussion, Mr. Hiwatari."
Kai blinked. Concussion?
"It's good to see that you're awake," the doctor continued. He strode over to the end of the bed and picked up the clipboard hanging there. Kai watched as his dark brown eyes flicked over the words written there, frowning and making small 'hmm' sounds every now and then.
After a short while, Dr. Kulsion put the clipboard back and looked at the three occupants in the room.
"Kai Hiwatari, I presume?"
Kai nodded slightly, trying not to aggravate the jackhammer that was trying to destroy his skull.
"Right. I suppose you want to know what your injuries are and how they've been treated?"
The Russian teen didn't say anything, just nodded again and leant back against the fluffy, white pillows lying against the headboard. He was tired, but focused on hearing what the doctor had to say. If he listened hard enough, maybe he could find a way to make himself better and he could finally get out of the damned hospital.
"When the car you were in crashed, it flipped several times before landing back on the road. We think that was when the head injury occurred; probably from your head slamming into the window or side of the car. You also sustained several minor burns on your arms and legs as well as a fractured right wrist and sprained ankle."
"There a is a particularity nasty contusion on your lower back from where we believe your spine was jarred massively when the vehicle hit the road after becoming airborne. Several abrasions had to be stitched in surgery when you arrived. I cannot stress enough how injured you were when you arrived here one week ago."
Kai couldn't help but gape at the man. He had been that injured? "Then, Doctor?" he spoke, wincing at the coarse sound of his voice. "Why do I feel relatively okay, apart from the headache?"
"We've been pumping you with every kind of drug that we can," Samuel Kulsion explained. "I understand that you suffer from asthma?"
"That's right…"
"We've put you on a special medication that should help combat the symptoms of the asthma. I understand that you're a physical boy and tend to 'forget' to mention to people that you have asthma. This medication should help with your performance in sports, as it will clear your lungs easier and should stop the attacks from happening as frequently."
Nodding, Kai processed it all. It was a lot to take in, but he seemed to understand a lot of what the doctor was saying.
"Also," the doctor added," I suppose you're all wondering why Kai can talk with the ventilator down this throat?" They all nodded. "Well, it's still in the trial stage really, but the ventilator Kai is currently on is different to those normally used. The tubing is flexible, so flexible that it bends and flexes, so that the voice box is not completely cut off and is still able to be used."
Kai felt his eyes widen. Well, that was definitely different. He wasn't complaining.
"Right," Dr. Kulsion said, smiling at the three teens. "It's time for Kai to get some rest and there are a few more tests that we'd like to perform, so it would be best if you two left."
Kai looked at Tala and Bryan. They both looked sour at the doctor's words and Kai had to let loose a little smirk. They weren't happy, but there was nothing they could do.
Yawning, Kai closed his eyes and mumbled a 'goodbye' to his two friends.
"See ya, Kai," they chorused. The door shut with a small click.
Tala glanced over at Bryan as they walked the hallways of the hospital. It had been good that Kai had woken up, but the incident where Kai had completely forgotten that his parents had died had been scary.
Shit! Tala mentally screamed. I forgot to tell the doctor about the welt-mark we found on Kai's arm! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…
"…Tala?" Bryan's voice shot through his thoughts and Tala looked into Bryan's pale eyes, confused.
"What?" he growled.
"Um…" Bryan sounded a little nervous. "We're at the exit and you've been standing there with an angry look on your face for the last minute. People are staring…"
Oh…
"And where may you two boys be going?"
Tala stiffened. No…it can't be! Oh, god, please no. Anybody but him…
Turning, the redhead found himself staring into the cold, dark eyes of the man who had tormented his dreams for many, many years.
Boris…was the last thing he thought as something hard slammed into the back of his head, dropping him to the floor.
--
Tala screamed as the large hand came crashing towards his face. Boris' fist slammed into his cheek, sending the teen flying across the room. He hit the wall and slumped against it, finding a little relief in the cool concrete.
His head was pounding from the many hits his skull had endured. After he had been knocked out, Tala had woken to find himself in a small, concrete room. He was bound and gagged, with Bryan lying next to him.
Ever since that time, Tala had been subjected to all kinds of torture. Blood ran down his arm from a nasty knife wound, dropping onto the cold floor to made small puddles of red liquid.
Breathing heavily, Tala stole a glance at Bryan. The teen had yet to awaken and Tala had a sinking feeling that something was horribly wrong with the pale-eyed Russian. Did it have something to do with his cancer?
A sudden, hot pain flared through his leg and Tala gasped, looking up to see Boris staring down at him, wide-eyed. There was a large knife sticking out of his leg, buried to the hilt.
Shocked, Tala couldn't help but whimper as the purple-haired man pulled the knife out with a sickening slurping sound. As the knife was yanked out, Boris twisted his wrist violently to the left and Tala let a scream of agony loose.
Blood pooled in the wound and spilled over the top of his leg to stream onto the ground, mingling with the blood and sweat already decorating the stone.
Gasping as the pain continued to flare up and down his leg like hot poker irons, the redhead focused on a spot on the wall in front of him. He had to calm himself down or he would most definitely pass out.
"Now," spoke a slippery voice. Glancing up with blurry vision, Tala saw the telltale purple hair of Boris Balkov. "We are going to have a nice little chat about what you and that thing," he motioned to Bryan, "over there found out today about my favourite little phoenix…"
Tala groaned. Boris had found out what they had seen. He was not looking forward to their 'chat.'
…TBC…
Please review!
Preview: Chapter 8: Don't Leave Me Now
"Kai!" a loud, intruding voice shouted out. Kai swivelled around to see Tyson Granger standing in the doorway that opened up onto the roof. He was waving frantically, trying to catch his attention. "Come back inside! You're gonna get sick staying out here!" the boy yelled, trying to be heard over the loud rumbled of thunder.
Sighing, Kai stood slowly and rotated his head, satisfied when he heard a few clicks. The pressure that had built up in his neck was instantly relieved and after that had been done, the slate-haired teen sauntered over to the door.
Before losing sight of the dark sky and the bright flashes of lightning, Kai turned towards the mountains off to the East. A boom of thunder crackled across the sky and two names escaped from his lips in a hushed whisper.
"Tala…Bryan…"
Don't leave me now...
How was it? I typed up this entire thing in just over an hour! Whoot! Hope you all enjoyed. Please tell me what you thought XD
-Dancer-
