Ah, thank you so much for the reviews. They really keep me motivated to write. Time for another chapter to this story. Now it's time for Kagome to make the big decision: should she keep this a secret and continue to suffer, or should she confess? Read on.

-Randall Flagg2

(1)

She had recovered at last. It had taken her a whole day, but she had gotten better. The pain from the beating was only a dull throb in her stomach now. The injury on her arm however, was still stinging quite a bit. The fact that a large bandage had been applied to it made it hurt even more. Kagome winced as she dragged herself from her bed. It hurt, but she managed. She had been through much worse.

But that was of little matter now. Tonight was the night of the sleepover. Tonight was the night she would be with Inuyasha and the rest of her friends for the night. One night of freedom from her father. It was what she had been waiting for.

Still, Kagome was still a bit reluctant to go. Not just because she would be in the same house as her childhood friend, but also because she had a feeling of what would happen if her father found out she had left the house. She had left the house to go to a friend's house once a year ago. The beating she had received afterwords had been one of the worst. He had even gone so far as to strike her in the face.

Now that she thought about it, she could not recall him hitting her in the face much. In fact he had only done it twice in her entire life, including the time she had left the house. The first time had been when she was seven. She had been helping him with the dishes and had dropped a dish on the ground breaking it. Before she even knew what was happening his fist flew out and crashed savagely against her face. She had fallen to the ground, doing her best not to cry. Crying would only make it worse.

As for her father, he had simply stood over her looking down at her, not saying a word. His eyes were blazing with wild glee, he was smiling. Kagome slowly got to her feet, waiting to see what would happen to her. She had a hunch that one of the real beatings were coming. It was written all over his face.

And then something happened. Something she had never expected. The look of pleasure vanished from his face. He staggered back and gripped at the counter. Isamu began to pant and sweat uncontrolably. He looked as if he was going to have a heart attack. Kagome had no idea in the least of what was happening with her father. He had never acted like this before. Frightened, Kagome had left the room.

Later on that night, she had run into a very frightening sight.

(2)

flashback

Kagome walked slowly through the hallway to her father's room. Loud yelps of pain could be heard from farther up ahead accompanied by a dull WHACK sound every now and again. Kagome knew she wasn't supposed to go into her father's room without his permission, but something compelled her to follow the sound of her father. As quietly as she could, she crept up to the door to Isamu's room and peeked in.

The sight before her was frightening indeed. Her father was standing in the center of his room and he was obviously in pain. He had stripped all the way to his underwear. In his hands was a long, snaky leather belt. It was then Kagome saw that there were large red stripes all over his body. Kagome was wondering how these marks could have gotten on her father when suddenly her father swung the belt. It whickered down and spat against his stomach, creating another mark.

"Idiot!" Isamu was screaming. "You idiot! You didn't do it right! You hit her in the face!! Idiot! You fucking idiot!!!"

Kagome thought he was yelling at her but then the truth sank in. He was yelling at himself.

Isamu swung the belt again and another harsh WHACK was heard. Kagome ran from the room as fast as she could, not wanting to see anymore.

end flashback

(3)

Kagome shuddered at that memory. She had never been so frightened in her entire life. It was not just the fact that she had seen her father beating himself, but it was because of why he was doing it. What he had been saying revealed more then she wanted to know.

"He hurt himself because he beat me the wrong way. How sick can you get?" Kagome thought to herself.

Now that she thought about it, Isamu was not your typical abuser. Unlike most abusers in Japan (heck not just Japan but the entire world) Isamu was very careful about where he hit her. He never hit her in places which could be seen. It was always places like her stomach, her shoulders, her thighs, her buttocks, and so forth. Always in places that had to be covered up. He had never hit her in the face aside from those two times.

When it came to language, he was pretty mild. He had never called her a bitch or a slut or any sort of name, nor could she recall him yelling at her. He never even raised his voice when he got mad. When it came to beating her, he always kept his cool.

Even more, he normally allowed her to have friends over. He just didn't like it when she went to their houses. She had had Inuyasha over to her house many times in her life and her father had not gotten angry. Either he didn't consider Inuyasha to be a very nosy person, or maybe it was because he knew Kagome would keep her mouth shut no matter what. Either way, he never seemed to mind it when someone came over.

Finally, he never blamed any of his problems on her. He had always been happy with the way his life was going, and he never seemed to want more. He didn't expect much from Kagome either. He had never expected her to get high grades nor did he expect her to be perfect in some way. When it came to grades in school, he was very lenient. As long as she passed with the minimum amount required, he didn't care what she did at school.

Kagome sighed as she took out a small backpack to pack her things for the sleepover. For sixteen years she had lived like this. Sixteen years of living hell, all at the hands of one man.

"At least tonight I can get away from him." she muttered as she packed her belongings and some clean clothes. "One night away from it all."

Yes indeed, she would be freed for one night. She could be with her friends, play games with them, and do just about anything with them. Heck she could even-

"Leave." said a voice. "Leave before it's too late."

Kagome had trouble identifying the voice for a moment. Then it sank in. It was her own voice she was hearing.

"No!" Kagome said aloud. "I can't do that! He'd hurt me! I might not recover this time!!"

"But you could free yourself. You know it's only a matter of time before he goes too far."

Now that Kagome thought about it, her mind was right. From how her father acted it would be almost inevitable before he did something like throw her down the stairs or hit her too hard. He was out of control enough as it was. So how long would it be before he did something beyond what he normally did? She did not know and did not want to know.

"But I can't." Kagome whimpered. "If he finds out there is no telling what he'll do!"

"I'm not going to say it again. Get out before he goes to far."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest but then her mind said something that stopped her cold.

"He might eventually kill you."

Kagome froze. Would her father kill her? Surely he wouldn't. He had even said he wouldn't. If he killed her he would get caught. So surely he wouldn't. She knew he wouldn't.

But then it dawned on her. What if he did lose all control of himself? What if he decided that he didn't care what happened to him and let himself go completely over the deep end? It could happen. Kagome imagined it happened in many other homes.

"Get out." her mind half hissed. "Get some clothes and get out."

Kagome let out a whimper. She had made her decision but she doubted it would work. She turned and left her room.

(4)

Kagome came back out of her father's room with a suitcase. He was out shopping so he wouldn't be back for awhile. She went to her dresser and began packing clothes. She packed some jeans, socks, a few pairs of panties, a couple of blouses, and her two favorite dresses. It would be sufficient.

"Please let this work." she prayed. "I only want to be free."

"You understand that you're doing the right thing." her mind whispered.

"Yes." Kagome whispered. She was doing the right thing. She honestly believed that.

Kagome took her suitcase, walked down the stairs, and stepped out of the doorway to see what fate had in store for her.

To be continued...

Things are heating up. Kagome is really in a bind as you can see. And what will happen when Isamu finds out? Rest assured things are going to get interesting. Oh and I'm going on vacation to Florida on Saturday and I will be back Wednesday so don't expect an update until then. Bye.

-Randall Flagg2