Hello hello hello! Wow, I was just checking the stats of this story, and it's getting more popular! I mean, I had 9 reviews for chapter 1, and chapter 4 had 15 reviews! I mean, how cool! I'm finally getting good at this writing thing! Anyhoo, to answer my reviewers:

AnimeBando33: Yep. Hilary is on one massive guilt trip at the moment. Tyson ain't that stupid - just not very observant! Thanx for being so patient!

shinjuu: Don't worry, Helena ain't gonna stick around really… and if you'd read me profile, you'd know there's no pairings in this fic. But enjoy!

PandaPjays: Finished it! Yeah, I know that feeling - when a story I really love gets updated, I just wanna jump for joy…I'm usually hyper for the rest of the day! Glad ya like!

blueraven: Hey, I'm updating! Wow, someone WOWed me! Lol!

Shizuka-Yuki: I agree…to find out if he's alive, read on!

Betrayed by Darkness: Yes, the evilness of the cliffy (Evil laugh) Hope this is soon enough for ya! But for a REALLY evil cliffy, check out storm-of-insanity's story…the evilness…it doesn't bear thinking about!

EagleFox: I think that's the first review I've got from you where you've used an exclamation mark! Hee hee, lol!

safaia-kurome: Yes! Another new reader! Hope this update was soon enough for you!

storm-of-insanity: Mwahahahahaha! To find out, read on… BTW, your cliffy was the evilest of the evils!

Demonchildssister: Yay! I wrote a chapter that couldn't be described with words! And thanks for reviewing!

Kinaua: Hey, you reviewed my other stuff too! Thanks! Yeah, I know. Chinese Cinderella is such a good book. And it's all true. And Kai reminds you of one of your friends? You are helping him/her, aren't you? I really hope so. And good luck!

HiddenPortrait: S'okay about not reviewing. It's hard when you're busy! Glad you like. Chinese Cinderella is such an amazing life story. Expect it to turn up again later. And, I'm from England, mate! The north to be exact!

natakuchan01: Hey, happens to all of us sometimes… lol!

sproxy23: Yay! You read my new look profile! Heh heh, don't go telling anyone! And ta for the compliment.

lolly pop 3: Phew, last one! Hey, you're English too! Great! Thankyou for the compliment, I find that if you write in 1st person for these subjects, it's easier to describe… Enjoy this next one!

Phew. Now, on with the story!

Chapter 5: If I could have said One More Thing…

'…And they found you on the bathroom floor…
…Back home, off the run
Singing songs that make you slit your wrists'
Cemetery Drive, My Chemical Romance

Rei's POV

Gods. I'm in shock. My mind feels so numb. Kai…How…Why…If…

I'm sitting in the hospital with Hilary and the rest of the team. We're all quiet and ashen-faced. Even Tyson and Max are subdued. You could cut the atmosphere in here with a knife, it's so tense. All our eyes are on one person.

Kai.

He's lying, unconscious, in a hospital bed. It's something I never thought I'd see, always hoped I'd never see. And certainly not under these circumstances.

He looks so vulnerable, lying there. Something else I never thought I'd see. The whole room is dampened, darkened, by the thought that Kai could have died, moreover, that he actually tried to kill himself.

And the worst thing is, I could have done something about it. I saw those bruises, saw how unhappy he was. I had my suspicions. Why didn't I voice them sooner?

I look across the room at Hilary. She's crying; I can see the tears on her face. What on Earth is she thinking?

Hilary's POV

Oh my God. Why would Kai do something like this? It doesn't seem like him, not at all. Of all the people…

I steal a glance at his face. He looks almost peaceful now, more than he ever did when we were all sleeping at Tyson's family dojo. When we were a team, really.

Oh, his face. The doctors must have cleaned that face paint that he always uses off. He looks so much younger without it. Or, at least he would, but… those bruises… They look so ugly and dark against his pale skin. No wonder he always used that paint.

I feel so guilty. That's all I can feel, pure, unadulterated guilt. I considered myself to be an expert on psychology and sociology and everything like that; how could I have failed to notice this? Kai Hiwatari was being…oh God, I can hardly bring myself even to think it…he was being abused. And I didn't notice anything. I was even so tactless as to give him a darn lecture on it, and it was probably exactly how he felt. No wonder he was always so distant.

They've hooked him up to a heart monitor. Beep…beep…beep… it's driving me insane, thinking that the steady blips might stop and he might die. I will him with all my heart and soul and mind to keep breathing. He's got to wake up. He must. I need to apologise.

And as for Tyson…he looks as bad as I feel. I watch as he gets up and starts pacing the room. I remember, he used to call Kai all sorts of things, probably without even realising…what does that mean for him now?

Tyson's POV

God, Kai. How long have we been sitting here? Must have been hours. Since the doctors let us in to see you anyways. God, listen to me think. I'm talking in my head to an unconscious dude. I'm going mad.

I can't stop thinking about all those times I ever had a go at you for being a loner, for refusing to come off the sidelines and join in, for…well, pretty much being what I'd call a sourpuss. And all the time this was going on, wasn't it? For God's sake. Why didn't you tell us?

Who would have been able to do this any way? Drive you so far into misery that you'd want to - well, kill yourself?

Stupid question really. Doesn't take a genius to figure out it was your grandfather. No one else would ever have been able to get close enough to the great Kai Hiwatari. To think that he beat you…

Ugh, the very thought of that man makes my blood boil! And he was probably the one who put you into that creepy Abbey too…

Well, here and now, I Tyson Granger, swear two things. One, that I'll apologise as soon as you wake up for every time I ever called you a sourpuss.

And two, I want answers. I want to know everything, and I don't think that I'm the only one. Got it, Kai? You've been hiding long enough now.

Wonder what Max thinks about all this? He's so quiet and sad, not like himself at all…

Max's POV

Kai. Kai, Kai, Kai. Why did he do it? I never…I never thought that any of my friends, would do something like this. Least of all him. It just doesn't seem like him. I want to cry but I feel so…numb. Like everything inside has just dried up. It's funny, usually in a bad situation I'm the one cheering everyone else up. Even when Rei was in his coma at the first World Championships. But nothing like this has ever happened before.

Why was he so unhappy? Why didn't he tell us how he was feeling? Did he think that we wouldn't believe him? That we'd hate him for…whatever it was?

He's always behaved so strong and emotionless, even slightly arrogant at times. I don't think any of us could have ever imagined this happening. It's like a nightmare. I keep hoping I'll wake up and it'll all be a dream.

I hate hospitals. Maybe it's the disinfectant smell and lack of any colour inside them. It's so depressing. We may as well be sitting at Kai's deathbed…

No. stop thinking that way, Max. Kai'll be fine. We aren't gonna ignore his hidden cries anymore. We're finally gonna get him to open up. All of us. Even the Chief…

Kenny's POV

I keep glancing nervously over my laptop at Kai's face. It just looks so - so - wrong, seeing Kai in a hospital bed. I don't even have the heart to talk to Dizzi.

After Helena had her emotional breakdown, we stared at her for a minute, unable to take in what she had just told us. Then, we all rushed out as one to the bathroom. Well, by the time we got there her brother had called the emergency services, they had arrived, the paramedics were there with Kai on a stretcher and… well, let's say he didn't look too good… Okay Kenny, breathe deeply, don't be sick, don't panic…

Helena and her brother went home afterwards, I wouldn't be surprised if they needed counselling or something, after their shock… but I digress. We crowded in the tiny waiting room at the hospital (we got Tyson's grandpa to take us) for hours, all of us holding our breaths, all of us wondering the same thing; why?

And then the doctors finally let us in to see him. I was so worried, I didn't even ask about his condition. And now we're all just sitting here, waiting.

I never really paid much attention to him, if I remember rightly, his was the only blade I didn't upgrade. I guess I was even slightly scared of him, and he didn't take much notice of me either, which was fine by me…but for this to happen…why didn't we notice sooner? How could we have been so blind?

If Kai, the strongest of us all, could do this, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Kai…

(Right, I know I don't normally do this, but this next bit is in a General POV)

In the small hospital room, the only sound that can be heard is the steady blips of a heart monitor and the occasional shuffle or snuffle from its occupants. All lost in their own thoughts.

But their thoughts must hold some common thread. As one, the five conscious teens in the room all think:

Please wake up. I'm so sorry.