OMG you are all the best! 17 reviews for last chapter! I'm terribly sorry about the wait, but first I got hit with a mild writers block and then, when I finally overcome it and finished the chapter, I found that my Internet connection was down! But, finally, here is chapter 13!

Oh by the way, I am going away in two days to Auckland for my 18th and the Panic! At The Disco concert, so I will not be able to update for about five days. I will try to get another chapter up before I leave, but I can't make any promises as I am working tomorrow.

Thanks to all that reviewed!

Rapunzelle, pinkjasmin90, x-Black-Dranzer-x, The keeper of lone wolfs, HimekoSukie, StarShinobi, aquaanime, grimnessreaper, shininglake, pheonix80, american farmer, Cyborgshi, Miako6, jellybean-kitty, Annika Preminyer, totally-bobby-dogz, saturnz-moonlit-beauty.

Sorry for not replying to any reviews! Depending on how things go, I may start to use the review reply button instead of posting them on the chapter. It creates a false chapter length and I heard from somewhere that people have been kicked off the site for replying in chapters…and I really don't wanna get kicked off.

Oh and for anyone who loves the show Supernatural, go read the fic Crushed! by lady of arabia. It is an awesome fic and I recommend it to everyone!

On with the chapter :D

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

Warnings: Dark(ish) content in this chapter.

Chapter 13: I'm Still On That Road To Nowhere

Staring at the teacher droning on about Pythagoras, Kai chewed at the end of his pen. His head was pounding and the fact that there were stitches hidden under the bandana on his forehead didn't help one bit.

He didn't know why the headache hadn't disappeared, because he was so doped up on painkillers that he shouldn't have been able to feel a thing. Maybe his body was starting to become immune. Maybe his grandfather should start stocking Morphine…

"Kai Hiwatari!" Kai snapped his head up to look at the obviously fuming teacher. "Pay attention!"

Sighing, the bluenette nodded slightly and concentrated on the equations written on the whiteboard. He frowned as his vision blurred and the writings disappeared for a few seconds, turning into one big blur.

He blinked; trying to bring everything back into focus and after a few tries everything came back. Kai passed it off as a side affect to the head injury.

Just as he was about to give up on the second question, the intercom crackled to life and the school's secretary spoke over the small speaker attached to the far wall.

"Good afternoon students. Today at lunchtime there will be a meeting for all members of the Bakuten A and B beyblading Teams concerning the upcoming interschool beyblading championships. Would the captains of the two teams; Kai Hiwatari and Max Tate please report to Stanley Dickenson at the beginning of lunchtime? It is important and you must attend. Thank you, that is all."

Upon hearing the announcement, Kai realised that he had missed the try-outs for the teams and didn't even know who was on the A or B team.

Well, obviously Max was the captain of the B Team, but what about the others?

It was then that a piece of paper was slipped to him. It was from Tala.

Opening it, he saw the familiar scribble of the redheaded Russian and smirked. On the paper was written:

A Team: Kai Hiwatari (C), Tala Ivanov, (Co-C), Bryan Kuznetsov, Rei Kon, Tyson Granger, Brooklyn Kingston.

Kai noticed that Tala hadn't scribbled out Bryan's name. He smiled sadly at the thought.

B Team: Max Tate (C), Michael (Co-C), Lee, Miguel, Johnny McGregor, Julia.

Kai folded the piece of paper into a small, neat square and placed it in the black school bag lying at his feet. Just as he placed the object in his bag, a shrill ring echoed throughout the classroom, signalling the end of the class. He had twenty minutes before he had to meet Mr. Dickenson and Kai stood, wondering what he was going to do.

The answer came only seconds later when Tala grabbed his arm and hauled him out of the room quickly.

"Hey! Tala!" he protested as the redhead dragged him towards the boys' bathroom. When there was no response from the other boy, Kai got angry. "Tala!"

Kai glared at the redhead, pulling hard as he tried to get his arm out of Tala's grip. Unfortunately, that caused the bandages to shift under the pressure and Kai winced as he felt the cut re-open and blood start to flow from the abrasion.

Obviously the teen had forgotten, considering that the wrist he was now pulling at had only been taken out of the cask a few days before. His grandfather had conveniently forgotten as well. That was why the bandages were now securely wrapped around the injured limb.

He immediately stopped tugging and followed the other teen, growling low as he was pulled along quite forcefully. "Shit, Tala!" Kai grimaced as Tala wrenched the bathroom door open and in the process managed to twist his wrist to the right. A sharp pain ran up from his wrist to his elbow and he swore he could feel the blood continuing to pump out of the cut.

Once safely inside the bathroom, Tala ushered the three people in there, out and whipped around to face him. Kai caught the angry look plastered on his features. Tala's blue eyes were flashing dangerously, his mouth curled in an angry frown and his hands were clenched into fists. In all, Tala was pissed.

"Wha-" Kai began, shaking Tala's hand off his wrist and brining the injured appendage to his chest, massaging it with his uninjured hand.

"We need to talk," was all Tala said. Kai froze at the blatant words and dropped his wrist, letting the blood fall down his fingers to land in a tiny pool on the white tiled floor. Not saying a word, Kai stared into his best friend's blue eyes, pretty damn sure about what the redhead wanted to talk about.

Two words: Voltaire…Abuse.

"Kai…" the redhead began, dropping his gaze to the bloodying floor. "How bad is it? Really? I want the truth. I've been holding back from saying anything up until this point…but Bryan's gone, Kai and I don't wanna lose another friend just because…" Trailing off, Tala looked up again and Kai had to bite back a gasp. Crystalline tears were welling up in the icy orbs and trailing down a pale face. Each droplet seemed to hold so much anguish; Kai couldn't help but gape at the sight.

He stumbled over what to say. "Tala…I…"

"Please Kai…"

Those two words hit Kai like a ton of bricks. He had rarely ever heard the word 'please' being uttered from Tala Ivanov and when it was spoken, it meant business. Kai knew for a fact that all of the children and teenagers associated with BIOVOLT had trouble voicing their emotions, especially Tala, Bryan, two others and himself. It had been drilled into them ever since they were young that emotions were for the weak.

Kai knew differently now. He knew that emotions were not weak, but he still hid them from his grandfather in a bid to maybe hurt a little less the next day. So far, his tactics had worked.

"What do you want to know?" Kai asked as he pushed his back against the nearest wall and slid down until he was sitting with his knees pushed up against his chest. Wrapping his arms around his knees, the bluenette sighed.

Before Tala answered, Kai watched the teen walk over to the door and grip the lock. Twisting it sideways with a click, the Russian enigma realised what his friend was doing. Now, no one could interrupt them. Thankful for the gesture, Kai let a small smile slip onto his features. Talking about his 'problems' at school in the boys' bathroom was not his ideal place to talk about certain things, but it was going to have to do as Tala looked like he wasn't going to move an inch until everything he wanted – or didn't want to hear – was said.

"I want to know everything," Tala spoke in a hushed voice. "How long he's being doing it for, what he does, why he does it. Everything. I don't wanna lose you too, Kai."

Running a hand through his slate hair, the Russian teen heaved in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Why was Tala being so difficult? I suppose, he has had a week or two to get used to the idea, but why can't he see that I don't want to talk about it? It's too hard…

"I…I can't Tala," he murmured, averting Tala's gaze. "It's…"

Kai stopped, his voice trailing off into nothing as thoughts swirled around in his mind. For some reason, the haze that had been settling over his thoughts for the past few weeks disappeared, leaving everything crystal clear.

The pounding in his head grew to an almost unbearable level as he was reminded of every ache and pain dealt to him daily. It was surprising that no one had ever noticed the bruising, bandages or the unsteady walk he often had when his grandfather hit him too hard in certain places – like his legs.

He knew that he had to be very immaculate when covering up the wounds and he was forever running out of the girly shit that was used to cover their faces. Of course, he never used it to look pretty, but to hide the horrendous bruising that sometimes covered the uncovered parts of his body, including his face.

One of the only times Kai had ever stood up to his grandfather had been when the elder man had hit him particularly hard on his cheekbone. The next day, a massive and ugly purple bruise marred the cheek. It had stretched from just under his eye and over the three tattoos to his jaw line. In the end he had stayed home from school, claiming to be sick, until the bruise faded enough to be hidden by the tattoos.

When using the foundation on his face, Kai had found out fairly quickly that he had to be extra cautious around the tattoos. If he got even a smidge of the liquid crap on the fins, it was noticeable. In the end, the teen had resorted to making a stencil to outline the markings and applying the make up that way.

Since then, no one had ever had any clue of what was going on behind the doors of the Hiwatari mansion.

--

Tala watched as Kai sighed and ran a hand through his slate hair. The pain reflected on his face killed Tala. He hated it when things went wrong, especially when they included his friends. God forbid, any of them got hurt or died.

Well…Bryan…

Bryan was gone and he had sworn to avenge the boy by seriously maiming Boris Balkov. Little did he know, Kai had sworn to do the same thing.

Watching his best friend now, Tala couldn't believe he hadn't noticed all the times when Kai must have gone to school or practice covered in contusions and abrasions. But, if there was one thing Kai was exceptional at doing – apart from beyblading – was hiding things from people. All his life, the slate-haired Russian had been hiding his feelings, abused body and pretty much his entire life from those around him. It was only now that there were people who were starting to suspect what his life really had been like.

"Kai…Please…" It was hard for him to say please at the best of times, but he needed to know. If Kai was going to continue to let that bastard hurt him, then he needed to tell someone. It would kill him if he didn't and Tala was pretty sure that he was well on the way to a massive breakdown.

Tala quickly glanced at the black watch strapped to his wrist. Shit, they only had another fifteen minutes before Kai had a meeting with Stanley Dickenson.

"Okay…" the abused teen whispered and Tala could have sighed in relief. Inwardly, he did so.

Kai's voice was soft – softer than Tala had ever heard it. He sounded like the scared, young boy he must have been years before. Crimson eyes were dulled and lifeless, staring into a void where only he could see what was going on. Pale arms wrapped loosely around his knees, fingers entwined to keep them there. Dull, slate locks fell forward into his eyes, obscuring part of the black bandana wrapped securely around his forehead. Kai looked miserable and Tala never wanted to see his friend like that ever again.

"It started just after my parents were killed…" he started and Tala held his breath. Shit, Kai would have been, what, six or seven? Fuck…

"At first it was only a few light hits, slaps and the occasional kick. It was only if I ever did something really bad, but as time wore on, he got rougher. After a few months, the slightest thing done wrong and I was punished…"

"I didn't do anything wrong, Grandpa!" a young boy screamed as the other occupant of the room stormed over, dark eyes flashing with anger. A large hand was flung out to the side and came crashing into the young boy's cheek with such force that he was flung across the room. A single cry echoed as the boy skidded on the wooden flooring and slammed into the nearby wall.

"In the beginning, I thought that I deserved everything he dealt me. Mother and Father were dead because of me and Grandfather was punishing me because he had lost his only child. I didn't blame him for wanting to hit me."

"He's gone because of you! If you hadn't been around, I wouldn't have lost my son! You killed your own mother and father, you murdering little shit!" Another kick landed on the young boy's side, sending another scream into the air. The scream died down to a pathetic whimper and the man looked down at the boy with scornful distaste. "I will revel at the day when you die."

"He said such horrible things and I took them to heart…"

Tala realised after that sentence that Kai wasn't aware of where he was anymore. The trauma of reliving such a horrendous past had somehow stopped parts of his brain functioning properly and as a result, Kai was reliving his past in a world where only he could see or hear the happenings.

"And after a while, I wanted him to hit me. He made me think that everything that went bad in his or my life was my fault. I deserved to be punished because all I did was cause pain and sadness around me."

"Hit me!" the trembling boy screamed at the elder man. "Please! I broke the vase, I'm sorry! HIT ME!" The boy was cut off as a fisted hand smashed into his temple, effectively dropping the boy. Blood pooled from the deep cut on the side of his head and dripped to the wooden floor. Crimson eyes fluttered closed from the head wound and as the boy lost consciousness, he spoke. "Thank you…"

"The worst day was on the five year anniversary of Mother and Father's death. I was eleven and Grandfather had me stay home from school the day. He said that he had a surprise for me. I was so excited, because I thought that I might be getting a nice present. Ha, if only wishes could come true…"

"Yes Grandfather?" Crimson eyes widened at the sight of his grandfather standing in the doorway of his bedroom. There was a small, slightly evil smirk adorning the elder man's features and the child looked up to see a middle sized box in his grandfather's right hand.

"A present? For me?" he said, incredulous. He hadn't received any presents from anyone since his Mum and Dad had died. And it wasn't even his birthday…

"Open it, Kai," Voltaire said, handing the package to he boy. His eyes widened with pleasure and started ripping open the blood red wrapping paper. He gasped when he saw inside the box and threw the package away from him, frightened. He looked up at his grandfather with wide, terrified eyes. "Why…?"

"It was-" Kai was suddenly cut off as the annoying familiar shrill bell rung, signalling the beginning of lunchtime. Tala watched as Kai's twin crimson orbs widened and the glaze covering them disappeared.

"I have to go," he stated and then hurriedly stood up, brushing himself off. Kai then unlocked the door and rushed out.

Tala stood in the boys' bathroom, staring at the place where Kai had been sitting for the past fifteen minutes. He was dying to hear what had been in the box, but at the same time…he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

I didn't know that his life had been so harsh. I bet my life that he's either forgotten or suppressed the really bad memories. Oh god, what did Kai do to deserve all this?

Quickly making his mind up about what he was going to do, Tala rushed out of the bathroom after his friend. He desperately needed to talk to someone.

…TBC…

Please Review!

Preview: Chapter 14: Kiss Yourself For Me In The Mirror

Kai ran, weaving his way through the throngs of people milling about in the corridors as he made his way to meet Mr. Dickenson. He was confused. When he had been in the bathroom with Tala…it had all seemed like a dream. Had he really spoken about all those things? He had almost told Tala his most deepest, darkest secret…or had he?

He didn't know anymore. Everything was so confusing. Why couldn't he have been killed in the car crash and be done with it? He crashed through the door to Mr. Dickenson's office and shot the man an apologetic look at his sudden appearance.

Max was already in the room, sitting in a nearby seat. His electric blue eyes had widened on his entrance and Kai had to fight to maintain his composure at the worried looks he was getting from the two.

"Sorry," he said, wincing as it came out as more of a rasp than anything else.

Stanley nodded, motioning for him to take a seat. "Right, before anything else, there is something that you two must be informed of." Kai frowned. Mr. Dickenson had a serious, almost suspicious look on his face as he was speaking.

"There is to be a tournament held in one weeks time. It is between the top two teams of Bakuten High and the top two teams of the prestigious Balkov Abbey Bladers."

Kai froze. BIOVOLT…

Well, how did everyone like it? I tried this chapter to delve into Kai's mind a little more and show just how scarred he really is and how strong the façade he holds must be. Please tell me what you think and I'll try to get out another chapter before I go to Auckland!

-Dancer-