A/N: OMG yes I am alive! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated this thing (well over a year…) A lot has happened since I last time I was on this site – one of the saddest being that I got a new puppy last September –named Kansas- and he died just a little over two months ago :(

Real Life has been bloody hectic and I have felt extremely bad with every passing month that I never updated. I honestly thought about this fic often, but never had the inspiration to write it. Not sure what changed so suddenly lol. Also, thanks for everyone who has reviewed/read/favourited/alerted this story. You guys rock!

(You can thank Ms. Controversy for this chapter. It was after reading one of her fabulous fics (Dirty Little Secret) that I finally got the urge to write this. So, thanks!)

In exciting news: the rugby world cup starts in a few weeks! Whoo! (Being from New Zealand, I am very much in love with the game haha).

And even more exciting: I am going to America next year! I have been waiting to go there for years and I'm finally doing it! Going to be bloody expensive though lol.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now and let you all get on with reading the new chapter. Hope you all enjoy!

Tears Aren't Made to Fall

DancerInTheDark101

Chapter 9 One month later

Kai Hiwatari sighed and lay back against the headboard of his bed, closing his eyes against the slight beam of sunlight filtering in through the gap in the curtains. Breathing deeply, he snuck a glance at the digital clock situated beside the bed and groaned at the time. 6.34 AM… He was supposed to be meeting the Bladebreakers at 9 to discuss the next part of their training. So now he had three hours to kill.

Groaning, the slate-haired teen pushed back the covers and sipped out of bed. Dressed in a pair of baggy grey pants and a white singlet-top, he ambled over to the bathroom of his latest apartment. Turning on the cold tap, he splashed some of the water on his face in an attempt to get rid of the haze filling his mind.

The teenager then proceeded to start his morning routine which included a scorching hot shower and then the task of taking all the medication that had been prescribed to him. Over the past month, the headaches had been getting slightly more frequent (but not more painful, thank god) and he had been receiving sudden bouts of nausea at the most inappropriate times – like in the middle of training.

As he swallowed the pills, Kai grabbed the bottle of eye drops and squirted three into his almost-blind eye. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to see out of it and to be honest, it was scaring him a little. It seemed that every time he looked in the mirror, that eye was a little more hazed; a little more vacant.

After dressing in a pair of black jeans and a black button-up shirt, he rolled the sleeves up to the middle of his forearms – revealing part of the flame tattoo on his left arm – and slipped on a black and silver studded belt. Running a hand through his hair, the ex-blader decided to put a little bit of gel into his unruly hair and styled it as he normally did.

Wandering back into his bedroom, Kai looked at the time again. Good, he had wasted half an hour.

Quickly calculating the time difference between Japan and Russia, Kai decided that even though it would be the middle of the night in Russia, he would call Tala and see how things were going in that part of the world.

Ring… ring… ring…

After several more rings (Kai counted seventeen in total) there was a snapped and somewhat sleepy hello answered on the other end?

"Tala? It's Kai."

"What the fuck? Kai?" Tala definitely sounded more awake now, Kai mused as he listened to the slight ranting of his friend.

"What the hell Kai? It's just after two AM! I'd just gotten to sleep too. Fuck you, man."

Kai laughed at that. Tala definitely sounded like he needed the sleep. He always swore a lot more when he was tired. They all did.

"Sorry. But I've got another two hours to waste before I have to meet with the brats again, and I was bored."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Tala?"

"You were bored…" the words were laced with disbelief. "So naturally you decided to call fucking Russia when you knew it would be in the middle of the night! I repeat, what the hell Kai?"

Rolling his eyes, Kai held the phone receiver away from his ear at Tala's raised voice. "TO be perfectly honest Tala, I thought you would have still been awake."

"Oh," was the ever-eloquent reply.

There was a minute of awkward silence where neither teen knew what to say. "So," Kai started. "How's training going over there?"

"Uh… huh? Oh yeah, training's going alright I guess. Bryan's managed to almost control the new attack and Spencer's increased Seaborg's power by about 10 per cent."

"And you? How's Wolborg coming along?"

"Managed to upgrade his blade a little without slowing it down, so that's a start at least. I'm more focusing on getting Bryan and Spencer stronger at the moment. I can train myself later. There's still months to go before the world championships."

"True."

"And what about you? How's training going with Tyson…?" The question was almost hesitant and Kai had to laugh.

"Tyson will always be Tyson. I haven't let them use their bitbeasts in a month-"

"WHAT?"

"I made them have an all-out battle and came to the conclusion that none of them could control their bitbeasts properly. So I took them away. They've been training without them for almost a month now and I can see the improvements starting to take form."

"Wow. That's pretty intense. I guess they're going to give us a real run for our money this year, huh? Have you told them about the new points system yet? Surely they would have heard about on the television or something?"

Kai sighed. Yes, he had in fact told the Bladebreakers about the new points system. It hadn't gone down too well with Tyson at all. He didn't like the fact that his teammates would now be gunning for him too. And to make it even more difficult, they all knew each other's attacks like the back of their own hand. These world championships would surely be an interesting one.

"Yeah I've told them – about a week ago. None of them (especially Tyson) were too happy about it. I think they've all decided to have sperate training sessions as well now, to develop new attacks the others don't know about. It's quite funny really. Tyson's freaking."

Tala laughed on the other end. "Yeah he would be freaking out. In the past he's always had his teammates to help him get to the top, but now those teammates will be pulling in two different directions. They'll want to help him win the team champs, but will also be gunning for him so that they have a chance to win the solo. But I suppose that will be the case with every team out there. The Bladebreakers just have the unfortunate problem of being the world champs."

"Yeah." Kai pressed his head against his shoulder so that the phone was wedged in place as he stood up and started to rummage through the fridge for something to eat.

"So how is everything else, Kai? You still getting those headaches all the bloody time?"

"Yeah, but they're not as painful as they were when we were in America." Kai knew that Tala and the others were worried that he was over doing it and that was the cause of the headaches, but Kai had a feeling it was something else entirely. What it was though, he had no idea.

"Shit Kai, that's pretty bad. You been to see a doctor yet?" The warning in Tala's voice made Kai wince. The members of the Blitzkrieg Boys had tried and tried to get him to see a doctor and he had – but he hadn't exactly been truthful, that's all.

"Fuck Tala, you know I went because you made me…"

"But have you been since then?"

Kai frowned as he listened to his friend speak. "You sound like someone's mother, Tala. It's not a good look for you, acting all motherly towards others. You'll ruin your reputation y'know."

"Very funny, Kai. Anyway, I'm going to get some shuteye now because I need the sleep and you decided to be a pain in the ass and wake me up. Keep me updated with what's happened in your neck of the woods."

"Sure, you too."

"And Kai?"

"…yeah?"

"Go see a fucking doctor would you!"

And with that – no goodbyes or anything like that – the connection was cut and Kai was once again bored with nothing to do.

Placing the phone back on the cradle, Kai opened the fridge door again. He had shut it before and had spent the rest of the conversation with Tala staring at the silver door. Inside, there wasn't much to be honest. A carton of milk, some cheese and a few other bits and pieces. God, you'd think that he didn't eat at all. Grabbing the milk, Kai opened a nearby cupboard and produced a blender. Pouring the right amount of milk into it, he also emptied a few different types of fruit into the machine and hit the power button.

Once the smoothie had finished being blended together, Kai emptied it into a glass and decided to get some of the paperwork done that he had been putting off for a few days now. It was the registration forms for the Bladebreakers for the upcoming qualifying tournament.

It had only been revealed a few days before, that even though they were the world champions, the Bladebreakers would still have to qualify to become the Japanese national beyblading team to compete at the world champs. So now, on top of all the BIOVOLT and Hiwatari Enterprises work, he had the bloody paperwork of his team to complete too.

Shifting through the forms, he came to the member registration part. Letting out a long breath, the slate-haired teen began to fill them out.

Fifteen minutes later, he had finished filling out everything he knew about Max, Ray, Tyson and Kenny. And now he had encountered a problem. He was officially registered as their coach, but did he want to put himself down as a substitute blader if he was ever needed? Biting his bottom lip in frustration, Kai quickly signed his name under the 'blader' section before he could change his mind.

Massaging his temples, Kai sat back in the chair and closed his eyes, letting the morning sun wash over his tired body. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was eight fifteen AM. Almost time to go.

Kai went back into his bedroom, grabbed a bag and slipped the paperwork inside. The Bladebreakers would have to sign their registration forms before he could hand them over to the BBA. Grabbing his keys off the kitchen bench, Kai locked his apartment behind him as he prepped himself for another day in hell.

Meanwhile at the Granger household…

"TYSON!"

Splash!

"Gahhhh!" A blood-curling scream rose from the depths of the house as Tyson Granger was woken from his slumber. Sitting up in bed, the teen was wide-eyed and gasping after having a bucket of ice-cold water dumped all over him. Standing in the doorway of his room were two of his best friends; Ray Kon and Max Tate. And they were holding the blue bucket of doom, which had until only moments ago, held 9 litres of icy water.

"Max! Ray! That was so unfair!" Tyson grumbled as he shivered. His PJ's were soaked and now he was freezing.

"It was time to get up Tyson, and you just weren't getting up. We had to take drastic measures!" Max grinned, his blonde hair falling into his eyes.

"Yeah… well…" Tyson stuttered as he tried to come up with a good excuse, but failed. It was too early in the morning. Yawning, he pried his soaked shirt away from his skin. "What time is it anyway?"

Ray looked at his watch before answering. "Almost nine AM. Kai's going to be here any minute now and if he sees that you're still in bed…" The statement was left hanging and Tyson screamed again.

"Gah! Shit, crap, bugger, dang it!" He quickly jumped out of bed, staring at the mess of blankets that were soaked right through. With a quick shake of his head to get himself into action, the world champ raced over to his dresser and grabbed his clothes and ran to the shower.

Ten minutes later, Tyson was ready for action. He ran into the kitchen and was virtually salivating at the smell of the blueberry pancakes frying away.

"Mmmmmm," he murmured, "pancakes!" He made his way over to the table, only to stop short at the sight of his coach standing in the way, two-toned eyes narrowed in what Tyson could only call anger.

Uh oh… Tyson thought as he skidded to a halt, a wary grin forming as he stared at Kai.

"Hn. Hurry up and eat Tyson. I'm not in the mood for your antics. You've got work to do."

Tyson couldn't help it. His mouth dropped open in shock. Did Kai just… let him off the hook?

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Tyson quickly grabbed a chair and flung himself in it, piling up the nearest empty plate with a delicious stack of pancakes and topped them in maple syrup and whipped cream.

After five minutes of non-stop eating, Tyson finished. He sat back with a sigh of content and smiled happily.

"Mmmmm, that was good. Thanks to whoever cooked!"

"Training. Now." Kai's voice cut through his reverie of blueberry pancakes, syrup and cream. Heaving a great sigh, Tyson groaned, but obliged. He couldn't really say no when Kai had let him eat breakfast. Normally the Russian coach would have made him go without.

Ray, Max and Kenny trailed behind the two, talking amongst themselves as they made their way to the training ground. Immediately, Kai made them pair up (Tyson with Max, Ray with Kenny) and battle each other, once again without their bitbeasts. He wandered between the two pairs, observing their technique and advising them on what they could improve on.

"Max if you straighten your elbow a little when you pull on the ripcord then that will give you more stability on the launch and Draciel will enter the dish at a higher velocity."

"Tyson, if you would just concentrate instead of blabbering about nonsense then you might actually get something achieved!" Kai yelled, even though he was impressed with how much Tyson had improved since he had become the coach again.

"Ray, you're putting too much strain on Drigger at the launch. He's spinning way too fast for the blade to handle and eventually it will fall apart. Kenny's going to have to upgrade it significantly to keep it at that speed, but it will take time."

By the time three hours were up, Kai called a break. Just as he sat down on the grass, away from everyone else, a buzzing in his pocket informed him that his cellphone was ringing.

Puzzled, Kai pulled the black contraption out of his pocket and looked at the caller-display. It read: blocked number.

Pressing the 'answer call' button, Kai put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Am I speaking with a Mr. Kai Hiwatari?"

"…yes."

"Ahh, good, good. I am Dr. Kowelr, one of the doctors at the Tokyo Memorial Hospital. I understand you came in for a few tests about a month ago?"

"Yes. What is this about?" Kai asked, completely lost. Yes, he had gone in for a few routine tests, but never before had one of the doctors called him about any of them. They just informed him of everything when he next went in, which he was due to go in just a few weeks.

"We have received some of the test results back and were wondering if you would be able to come in and discuss them."

"Why? What did you find?" Kai questioned. He was getting a little angry now. Fucking doctors and their pussyfooting around. He wished they would just tell him and get it over and done with.

"I would prefer to talk to you about it in person. When would you be able to come in?"

Kai thought about it. Letting out a breath, he realised he wouldn't get anyanswers unless he went and talked to the stupid doctor.

"I can come in any time after three this afternoon."

"Good, good," the doctor repeated and Kai rolled his eyes. "I shall see you then, Mr, Hiwatari. Just ask for Dr. Kowelr when you get to the main reception."

"Whatever." With that, Kai hung up, one thought repeating over and over in his head so much that he didn't notice the stares he was receiving from the four teenage boys standing only a few feet away.

Now what!

TBC

A/N: Chapter 9 is finished! Once again, sorry for the long wait. Thanks for reading! The plot is slowly beginning to unfold and if all goes to plan, some answers will be provided in the next chapter :)

I know the chapter is a bit shorter than the rest, but I reallywanted to get this uploaded for you all.

Thanks again!

Rachel