Chapter One
Meet the Nowhere Kids
In the land of dirt and plaster
Lies an army of a thousand nowhere kids
A teenage female, no older than fifteen, fell to the hardwood floor with a grunt. Her right cheek started to form a purple bruise. She stood up on shaky legs only to be sent to the ground once more. Her lip split and blood trickled down her chin, she looked hatefully up at the woman she was forced to call 'mother'. The older female held her head and closed her eyes as she yelled at her daughter. The younger female didn't know what she did this time, maybe it was because she had gotten a C in chemistry. Yeah, that had to be it. Willow was very very strict when it came to her schooling, it was either A or B unless she wanted a beating. By the way her mother swayed and held her head; she reckoned that she had been drinking.
"Go, get out of my sight!" she finally yelled, giving her daughter freedom from her torture at last. She ran up to her room and slammed the door, locking it behind her. She took in her appearance; a nice dark purple bruise had formed on her right cheek. Her upper left arm was red and her lip was still bleeding. She brushed out her tangled raven locks and pulled it up into a ponytail. Kagome was used to this by now, she knew better than to let the abuse get to her. At least it was the weekend, hopefully her bruise would disappear by Monday and no one would be the wiser. She let everyone believe that she had the perfect family, that nothing was wrong and it was all smiles. Well, reality check! That was the furthest thing from the truth, but telling someone would probably make it so much worse. Her younger brother, Souta, had taken up refuge in his room doing his homework not wanting to suffer the same fate as his sister. She looked out her window; everything looked so perfect it made her sick! Nothing was like that…nothing. Her stomach rumbled, but she already knew that any hopes for a meal were out the window. She collapsed on her bed with a sigh; it creaked noisily under her weight…or lack thereof. Kagome closed her eyes and tried to think of a life that normal children had. A mother who loved you, a father who cared, a brother who wasn't scared, a cat to pet and cuddle, a safe environment instead of a jail cell. But that would be a perfect family, and everyone knows there is no such thing as a perfect family.
-.-.-.-.-.-
The sound of a bottle crashing against the wall was the only warning the young teenage male had. The fragments of glass fell to the ground and what little liquid was left at the bottom dripped down the side of the wall. The sound of yelling reached his ears as he made a quick escape up the stairs, his head downcast the entire time. He let his book bag fall to the ground the moment he reached the safety of his room; he slid down the back of his door and let his head drop to his knees with a heavy sigh. Crimson hair acted as a curtain hiding his face from view. He sat there for what seemed to be hours simply listening to his parent's argument, although his father's booming voice was most evident. Shuichi was used to this routine by now, it happened at least three times a week. Sometimes twice in one day. His mother had strictly told Shuichi not to get involved when his father started yelling, although each time she ended up with a bruise or cut in some shape or form. He found it hard to stand at the side and let it happen, but sometimes his father would go after him anyway. He finally lifted his emerald gaze to one of the two beds in his room. His friend, Hiei, simply lay on his bed with his hands laced behind his head listening. Hiei's parents had died when he was young leaving him to fend for himself. His sister, Yukina, had been taken in by their grandparents, but Hiei had preferred to stay away from them. When Shuichi's mother, Shiori, had found out that Hiei lived alone she had offered that he stay with them. It had taken much persuasion, but finally he had accepted. Shuichi sometimes wondered if he ever regretted it, but yet his friend never left even when faced with the opportunity. If Shuichi was sporting a nice sized bruise, there was a large chance that Hiei was sporting a similar one. They had formed a strong, brother-like bond over the time spent holed up in the room to escape everything else. When Shuichi felt like simply giving up, Hiei would simply tell him that retribution was coming…it would only be a matter of time.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Walking along the streets was a young male with auburn hair and deep brown eyes. His hands were stuffed into his pockets; he looked over his shoulder then snorted. He continued on his way to nowhere, he knew that he'd have to go back home…only to be ignored. His mother and father had both died when he and his older sister were young. Since then his sister had taken care of him, although it felt more like he had to fend for himself. He was certainly considered a bully and punk; he didn't care what anyone thought of him. Kazuma was used to this by now. His sister didn't give a damn about what he did or where he went. If he came back with a black eye or something she'd just tell him to not get into so many fights. But she didn't really give him any structure in his life, so he had to give it to himself. He felt forgotten and unwanted often, that's why he goes to find fights. He refused to hit a girl, so he would take on the other males in his school. He saw a few kids run by, ice-cream smeared on their faces. They couldn't be much older than five or six. They ran to their mothers, who promptly smiled and cleaned the ice-cream off their children's faces. Kazuma shook his head when the women ushered their kids away from him. His reputation left much to be desired. He kicked a rock along the path and finally kicked it into a trashcan earning a satisfying clang. Damn, he couldn't wait for school on Monday. It was the only place he had friends, friends that actually listened to him. Made him feel…needed. But it was the school part he didn't much care for, it could just blow up for all he cared! He finally came to a bench and sat down. He crossed his arms and looked up at the clear blue sky; he sighed and lowered his head. It was days like this that made him feel so much worse. It was like the world didn't give a damn about any of the horrible things happening within it. Wait, what's he thinking? The world doesn't give a damn, not about teens like him anyway.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Whatever mom!" the young teen growled. He stomped to his room with his mother yelling at him the whole way. He slammed his door and made certain it was locked. He flopped down on his bed and punched the air angrily. His mother had been yelling at him once again. He could care less if she called him worthless, stupid, a punk, or anything. He could care less about her! He let out a heavy sigh and forced himself to calm down. He thought about going out and finding a fight, but he'd already done that and everyone was probably in hiding right now. He ran a hand through his short raven hair and closed his eyes. He couldn't wait for Monday, forget his troubles while around his friends. He'd rather skip school and simply hang out with them. He heard the front door open and close, immediately he knew that his mother had gone out to the local bar. Yusuke hated his at home lifestyle, but could do nothing about it. His mother, Atsuko, never had the energy to clean anything. She worked half the time at a grocery store barely making enough for their bills forcing Yusuke to get a job himself just to help his mother keep a roof over their heads. He was lucky that they hadn't been thrown out onto the streets by the landlord! School wasn't much of an escape because the teachers didn't give a damn 'bout anything, they hated him anyway because of his rep. Only the principle seemed to care enough about Yusuke's education and what he does with himself, but Yusuke didn't trust him nor cared. He ignored him and kept on with what he did each day. He was lucky to have any friends that cared about him. It was actually kind of nice, knowing that someone in the world cares about you. Whenever asked about how things were going at home, he just responded that everything was fine. They never went to each others houses; they always met up somewhere else. No one questioned why, it was fine the way it is. Yusuke let his eyes slide close.
'Family, feh, who needs 'em?' he thought before drifting off to sleep.
These five young teenagers felt unneeded and unwanted. They felt like the world doesn't care, that no one gives a damn about the abuse and torture they go through. Although they are friends, they don't know about each others lives at home. But maybe if they open up, they can find a way through this. They are the Nowhere Kids.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
You see a piece of paper on an oak table, you pick it up and read:
I, Tijiya, hereby state no claim to the following Anime and Songs:
Yu Yu Hakusho (c) Yoshihiro Togashi
Inuyasha (c) Rumiko Takahashi
Nowhere Kids (c) Smile Empty Soul
I only borrow them to amuse myself and my readers.