Hi everyone! Wow, I got 6 reviews for the first chapter in just two days! I'm officially hyper now! Or maybe not. :-P Anyways, I'm updating. And remember, I own nothing here except maybes the plot! BTW, this is set about three months after V-Force, only Kai has his scarf because I think he looks better with it:-D And people, please review again! Now to answer the reviewers:
Sproxy23: Yes, I've put it up. Yes, Kayleb's chapter was up - for the last two weeks! And glad you like it!
cath-gem-we-luv-anime-woo: Go you! You read the first sentence! Well, see you at school, Catherine! (Only 4 weeks to go!)
spirtfox: I'm glad you like it! I guess it IS scarily real… I wrote it for an English assignment on 'A Nightmare World' and kept it longer than everyone else to type it up. Luckily my teacher understood! And I have a knack for putting myself in other people's shoes… enjoy!
BeckyKai4Eva: No! No yaoi! And if you read my profile (pokes penname) you'll know why! Rei is just concerned for Kai… I mean, wouldn't you be? And he is the most likely to notice something like this anyway…cos Tyson and the others certainly wouldn't!
Shizuka-Yuki: Well, I'm updating! Glad you like it!
HiddenPortrait: Wow! I read your profile and you're from Australia! It's so cool to talk with people from other countries! Anyway, glad you like it! Don't worry, it's SO much more than a one-shot!
Chapter 2: Life Goes on Without Me
'Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken
Hello, I'm the lie,
Living for you so you can hide
Don't cry…'
Hello, Evanescence
Kai's POV
I sit in my desk at school, staring out of the window. I should really be listening to the teacher, but I don't care. Everything has just gone downhill since I left the team after the last tournament. Oh, I may have complained about sleeping in the same room as them, but at least I wasn't so afraid of going back there every night.
Not like now.
I can't seem to concentrate on anything now. I'm too scared of what I have to go home to each night. At best, my grandfather just ignores me. At the minute, that suits me just fine. It's better than the alternative. At his worst…well, my injuries speak for themselves.
My mind wanders back to this morning, and I remember what Rei said.
'If you ever want to talk…you know where to find me.'
I only wish that I could tell. But I can't. I never will do. Because I've got nowhere else to go.
"Kai Hiwatari, are you even listening to me?" I'm dragged out of my thoughts by the teacher's voice and look at her, startled.
"Welcome back from outer space Kai. I trust re-entry was not too difficult for you?" Inside, I'm seething with anger, but my face reveals nothing. "Here on Earth, we've been doing poetry. If it's not too difficult for you, maybe you could join us in writing some?"
Poetry. I guess that saying 'life goes on' is more true than some would think. Life does go on. It just leaves me struggling on behind it, living a lie. How am I supposed to think about poetry at a time like this?
Everyone's writing. I can hear paper rustling around me, but I can't write anything. My mind's too full of everything. I return to staring out of the window. It's raining outside now, coming down in floods. Rain washes everything clean, it freshens things up. If only it could give me a fresh start and wipe my slate clean.
I place my throbbing head in my hands. I want to scream, to do something to relieve all of my pent-up feelings, but my pride won't let me. My gaze rests on the blank paper in front of me.
Hell, I think, it's something.
I pick up my pen and begin to scrawl away.
Rei's POV
I yawn and stretch as the bell rings for lunch. About time too. I've been finished for the last half hour. I gather my stuff together and start to leave the room, half-listening to Tyson chattering. As I look around the familiar place my gaze rests on Kai.
Kai. I've seen those bruises he's trying so hard to hide from everyone. He's obviously not telling us something. Somehow, it's all linked, but I just wish I knew how! Knowing him, he will never tell us otherwise.
I see a piece of paper drop out of his hand as he walks out. He hasn't noticed.
"Errm Tyson, guys, I'll see you at lunch, I just need to do something…" I tell them. That paper could be important. Or I may just be curious. But anyway, it's his and he'll probably want it back.
I pick it up on my way out . Looking at the paper, I start reading the spidery writing on it. I know I shouldn't, but I'm just curious. It's a poem;
Long ago there wasn't any hurting,
But now it's gone
And I'm all alone,
Covered in scars that no- one can see.
Everybody hurts sometimes,
But I don't want to hurt anymore,
I want out.
I'm so sick of not being heard,
They can't even hear me screaming.
As my spirit is imprisoned in darkness
By fear and pain,
I think that life must hate me,
And I think I hate myself.
I don't know what to think. It's just a poem, I tell myself, but I know it's more than that. Kai needs our help.
I pocket the paper and head off to the lunch hall to join the others. I'm going to bring it up with them sometime. Sometime soon.
Kai's POV
It's the final lesson of the day, getting closer to the time when I have to return to that hell-hole. I'm trying not to think about that. Hell, I always try, but it never works. It's like a black cloud, hanging over me. Even sitting here in this classroom.
Dully, I watch, only half-listening, as the teacher introduces this guest speaker. As she starts to speak, two words reach me and make my blood turn cold.
Child abuse.
No, not that. Memories of every beating I ever got from my grandfather rise to the surface of my mind and stay there. I decide not to listen to her and concentrate on blocking out everything, burying my head in my arms.
This works for about half an hour. Then Hilary, who's sitting in front of me, taps my head sharply. I raise it and look at her.
"What do you want?" I hiss. She looks annoyed. Really annoyed.
"Kai, how can you ignore something like this? All over the world, things like this could be happening right now. I mean, just imagine, being afraid to go home at night because someone might hit you for no reason. Not being able to tell anyone. Imagine that." Her every word cuts deep into me, and I bite my lip to stop myself from crying. I don't need an imagination, I want to shout, because I know what it's like. I know what it's like because I go through it every day. I'm living it. You think I don't care? Of course I care! I'm hurt. I'm alone. And no-one wants to know. But I don't. How can I?
"Fine," I say thickly. "But don't expect me to do any more." Satisfied, she nods and turns around, leaving me to my misery.
Finally, the end of the talk comes. I rouse my self and am preparing to go when the teacher speaks thirteen words that make my day even worse.
"For your homework, I want you to write a report on child abuse."