"Ow

"Ow! Stop it! You're hurting me!" Ryoko Sakiko shouted. This outburst caused her to be thrown against the wall.

"What are you going to do about it? Cry? No one will ever save you because YOU BELONG TO ME! NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU! YOU ARE WORTHLESS! YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT ME!" The man spat at her. He grabbed Ryoko by the hair and proceeded to drag her across the floor mercilessly.

Eventually, he let go of her hair and forced her to her feet. After Ryoko was standing up, he began to slap her across the face until she tumbled to the ground for the second time. He left the room and locked Ryoko inside.

Ryoko began to cry and beg, "Please... somebody... anybody... help me... please... help..." She passed out on the floor.

Ryoko woke up to harsh knocking on the front door. She heard unfamiliar voices enter the house. They are barking out orders...? She noticed that the strangers were going room to room as if looking for something. Maybe they are here to take me away, she thought.

She heard the lock outside of her door being unlocked. Somebody was opening the door.

"Watari, I found the girl." The boy spoke. He looked like he was in his mid to late teen years. His attire was simple; it was a plain white long-sleeve t-shirt with light blue baggy blue jeans. He had black hair in uneven spikes pointing upward and to the left. Ryoko also took in his huge, deep, dark eyes. He turned towards Ryoko and asked, "What is your name?"

"Ryoko. Ryoko Sakiko." She responded curtly.

"Ryuzaki Hideki." He replied. He ignored her attitude and told her, "Follow me."

Ryuzaki grabbed the girl's hand and led her downstairs. She saw three full grown men downstairs, all of them were wearing police uniforms except for the elderly man.

The elderly man went up to Ryoko and asked, "Do you know this man?" He pointed over to the man who has a tense look on his face.

"Yes. He is my father. His name is Tetsuya Sakiko." Ryoko responded blankly. She could see her father's face cringe already.

Ryuzaki got close to Ryoko's face and inquired, "Has this man ever laid a hand on you or abuse you in any way?"

Tetsuya answered, "She is my daughter! I have every right to discipline her in any way I see fit! I have never abused her in any way, shape, or form!"

A middle aged man walked over to Ryoko's dad and said, "We are asking your daughter the questions, not you! If you choose to continue being disrespectful I'll have you handcuffed and put into a police cruiser!"

"Chief Yagami, please move Sakiko-san out of the house. We are not going to get any answers if he is here." Ryuzaki ordered. The middle aged man called Chief Yagami obeyed and Ryoko could see her dad going out of the front door. Chief Yagami was probably in his mid-forties, by the looks of his graying hair. He wore thick glasses and had a combed-back hairstyle.

"Who are you?" Ryoko asked the two remaining police officers.

"Matsuda Touta." The young, dark haired officer answered. Matsuda looked like he was no older than twenty five. He had short black hair and was about five feet eight inches tall.

"Watari" The elderly gentleman responded softly. Watari stood out because he looked like he belonged in a retirement home, enjoying the rest of his life with his friends and family, not doing police work. He wore specs and his face was full of wrinkles.

Matsuda broke the silence by saying, "How old are you? Eight? Nine?"

Ryoko glared at the youth officer, "I am eleven years old."

Matsuda stayed quiet after being treated like he was inferior. He did not talk to Ryoko for a while.

Ryuzaki stood in front of Ryoko and said, "Are you going to give me an answer to my question?"

"No. I will not answer it." Ryoko retorted. She knew she was trapped.

"Would you care to explain this to us?" Ryuzaki held an audio recorder in his hand. He pressed play on the device and Ryoko heard a repeat of last night going through the room.

"..." Ryoko remained silent and turned away. She heard footsteps heading towards her. She thought that someone was going to block her path. Instead, Matsuda grabbed the girl by the shoulders and forced her to turn around and face him.

"Ryoko! Don't ignore us! Answer Ryuzaki's question!" He spoke harshly.

"I am not obligated to answer. I do have the right to remain silent. Do I not?" Ryoko spat testily at Matsuda.

"Why do you refuse to answer our questions Ryoko-san?" Watari asked her curiously.

Ryoko faced Watari and Ryuzaki answered for her by announcing, "Because it is true. If Tetsuya Sakiko was innocent she would have nothing to hide from us. He is an object of terror to her. What does he do to you Ryoko?"

Ryoko still remained silent even though the evidence was against him.

"Ryoko, you did ask for help. We cannot help you unless you tell us what's wrong." Ryuzaki told her calmly, "If Ryoko chooses not to testify, we cannot arrest Sakiko-san. Please bring him back in."

"No!" Ryoko screeched. Her face distorted into fear. "Don't!"

"Do you wish to say something Ryoko?" Ryuzaki asked placidly.

"... No. It's nothing." She responded uneasily.

"If it was nothing, then why did you protest? I saw your face. It was filled with despair." Ryuzaki inquired Ryoko.

"... I... cannot tell you why I acted in that manner." Ryoko said reluctantly.

"Bring Tetsuya Sakiko back inside." Ryuzaki ordered. Ryoko watched helplessly as Matsuda went outside to retrieve Chief Yagami and her father. A moment later, she saw Matsuda, Chief Yagami, and Tetsuya walking into the living room.

Tetsuya bragged, "See! I knew that she wouldn't answer to you! You can't prove squat!"

"Actually, you're wrong." Ryuzaki responded coolly "Ryoko confessed everything to us. You, Tetsuya Sakiko, are under arrest for child abuse/neglect. Ryoko is coming with us..." Ryuzaki looked around for her but she ran away while her father was entering the house.

"She ran away!" Matsuda shouted. He began to search the house for the missing girl.

"You aren't going to find her. She's probably long gone by now." Tetsuya announced, "And I would like to hear this so-called 'testimony' that you got out of her."

"Yagami-san, take the handcuffs off of Mister Sakiko. We cannot arrest him if the victim is nowhere to be found. She was the key to closing this case." Ryuzaki groaned, "You are free to go, but we are going to stay. If she does not show up before dark then we are leaving."

"Stay as long as you like. Ryoko hides for days without ever coming home. Like I said, you aren't going to find her." Tetsuya responded. He went upstairs to go to his room. Everybody heard him shut the door. Only silence lingered on after that.

Tetsuya locked his bedroom door when he entered. He knew where to look for Ryoko. There was no way that he was going to tell them that. He walked towards the closet and opened it. Inside he found Ryoko curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her face held half-dissolved tears on it.

Tetsuya grabbed Ryoko by the arm and pulled her up. Ryoko shrieked in protest. "Why did you testify against me? Do you think that you are too good for me?" Tetsuya yelled.

"I didn't say anything! I didn't do anything wrong!" Ryoko screamed.

Tetsuya did not listen to her and started to rummage in his closet. He eventually pulled out a crowbar and advanced towards the defenseless Ryoko.

Ryoko raised one of her arms instinctively to defend herself. Something inside of her snapped and she used the other hand to grab the wooden baseball bat in the closet that her father has used countless of times on her before. It was stained with dry blood. Tetsuya was strong, but Ryoko was swift. She did not hesitate and landed the second blow on Tetsuya's chest after she was hit with the crowbar on her side.

Tetsuya yelped in pain and surprise. Ryoko took this retreat as an opportunity to call for help. She screamed as loud as she could for a period of time that felt eternal to her. Tetsuya did not finch at this outburst and continued to wail on Ryoko an additional six times before Ryoko broke his hand with the baseball bat.

By the time Ryuzaki kicked down the locked door, Ryoko was lying in a pool of her own blood, completely unresponsive. She had cuts and bruises on her cheek, leg, stomach, right arm, side, forehead, and back. She was in a very critical and fatal condition. Matsuda and Chief Yagami had to restrain Tetsuya Sakiko because he was in a state of madness. He refused to cooperate with the police officers so Chief Yagami finally tazered Tetsuya. He calmed down considerably before he passed out. That was the last thing Ryoko heard before she had finally passed out due to blood loss. She heard the thud of her father's body. So this is the end? Ryoko thought to herself while she saw that her vision was blacking out.