Quick update eh? It's time for another chapter. Now that Kagome is safe from her father, it's time for another chapter on him. Be warned it's violent again. I don't own Inuyasha or anything that already exists that appears in the story. Now read. And thank you for the reviews.

-Randall Flagg2

(1)

"Now. Not tomorrow. Yesterday. Not tomorrow." Isamu sang softly as he turned his car into the driveway of his house. God he just loved David Bowie music. Heck he loved most any rock music from the west. Ever since he had taken that trip to America seven years ago, he had gotten hooked on their variety of music. In particular he was fond of the songs and groups that had come in to play during the seventies and the eighties. David Bowie was only one of them. Others included Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, and so many more. He even had taken another vacation there just to buy a bunch of CD's for himself. Oh the songs were poetry, absolute poetry.

"Time for day one of my week off." Isamu thought to himself. "My job is always exciting, but it's even better to just kick back and spend some time alone. I just hope my daughter is behaving. If not I'll have to†remind her of who is in charge again."

Isamu got out of his car and began to unpack his groceries. Normally he would have asked Kagome for help, but he had decided to cut her a break for the day. Let her go on her way for awhile, as he would have put it.

(2)

Some time later, in the basement, Isamu sat in deep meditation. The room around him was wide and opened. Isamu had feng shuied the room so he could relax his mind easier. It was part of his martial arts which he practiced for three hours every day. Isamu had started practicing kung fu when he was twenty one. Now, years later, he was an expert at this deadly art. Besides relaxing his mind, it would ensure that his daughter would not be able to stand up to him should she ever get the urge. Isamu had some understanding of the human mind and knew that under certain circumstances and pressures a person could snap. He did not want to take a chance that what he did to his daughter would cause her to one day suddenly rise up against him so he practiced kung fu constantly so he could protect himself. Isamu was not a man to be caught off guard.

He stood up and advanced to a large heavy bag that had been suspended from the ceiling. Isamu stood in front of it for a few moments, then snapped his foot into it. The heavy bag rocked to one side. Quick as a flash he spun towards it and launched yet another kick before it even began to sway back. He flashed his fist out and it struck the bag. As it swayed back into position, Isamu danced behind it, spun, and struck with a back blow from his elbow. He turned yet again and did a cross punch. For an hour or so he continued punching and kicking the bag, running his attacks in one graceful string, moving as gracefully as anything. Then, tired, he stopped.

"I must be losing my edge. I normally stop after an hour and a half. Or maybe I'm just getting old." Isamu thought. "Nevertheless, I am tired. Maybe I'll take a nap or something."

So he went upstairs to do just that.

(3)

Just as he reached the top of the stairs, Isamu felt something well up inside him. He couldn't put his finger on it but something seemed out of place. As if something had happened while he was gone that he was not yet aware of.

"Kagome?" he called out. "Are you up here?"

No answer.

Isamu felt his temper begin to slip. He hated it when she didn't answer him when he called. Heck he hated it when anybody did that. But then why would she ignore him? She knew what the penalty was for angering him.

"Answer me Kagome! I don't want to get angry!" he called out, not sounding angry in the least. If there was anything Isamu was proud of, it was how he always managed to keep his cool, no matter what the situation.

It was then he saw that his bedroom closet was open.

Isamu's eyes darted into the closet and saw with mounting dismay that one of his suitcases was missing. Odd. He did not recall taking out one of his suitcases for anything. The only thing he had taken out of the closet last time had been his clothes and briefcase. So why would

No. She couldn't have. She couldn't have dared! Surely his daughter had not done what he thought she had done!

Isamu dashed out of his room and into his daughters room. Frantically he began to search through her dresser. He normally did the laundry and he always kept careful count of the clothes he and Kagome wore.

To his dismay, there were not as many clothes as he had counted last time.

Isamu sat in stunned silence for a few moments, wondering how he could have been caught off guard like this, wondering just how in the world his daughter had escaped from under his nose like she had.

"She ran away." he whispered. "She actually ran away."

"It's about time too." whispered a familiar voice.

Isamu clutched at his head. This couldn't be happening. Not now!

"From how you treated her it's easy to see why she ran away."

"Shut up father!" Isamu yelled. "Just shut up! I don't want to listen to that shit!"

"Didn't I tell you there would be a price to pay for the way you treated me and your mother?" the voice rasped. "You always acted so tough all the time but now it seems that somebody has finally stood up to you."

Isamu curled his hand into a fist and struck himself in the face as hard as he could. This time however, the voice did not stop.

"Shut up. Just shut the fuck up!" For the first time in a long while, Isamu was beginning to lose it. Even more, he rarely ever cursed.

"You always were nuts, you know that? Over the years your mind has deteriorated until all that's left in you is-"

"SHUT UP!!!!" Isamu roared. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!!!!" Quick as a flash Isamu un-strapped his belt and doubled it over. He drew his arm back and swung if full force. The belt connected with his face, making a loud CRACK. A large, red stripe speared on the side of his cheek.

"Get out of my head father! You are not in me anymore! You are dead and in your grave where you belong so shut up and leave me alone!" Isamu swung the belt again and this time it connected with his arm, leaving another mark. He swung yet again, connecting with his face yet again. He was in a lot of pain, but he would not let himself cry out. This was not the first time he had done this.

Still, the voice of his father continued to grow louder and louder. Isamu knew there was only one way he would be able to quiet it. It would hurt tremendously, but then again, there was a price for everything.

So with one savage swing, he brought the belt crashing into his crotch.

Isamu screamed and fell to the ground, his hands cupping his groin where he had struck himself. Pain was surging through his lower body in great big waves. Isamu moaned and panted. At last, the voice had subsided.

It took ten minutes, but the pain finally began to dissipate. Isamu slowly got to his feet. His balls were still throbbing in agony, but nowhere near as much as before. Now at least he could gather his thoughts and consider what to do.

Call the police? No he couldn't do that. If she had enough courage to run away, then she would definitely have more then enough courage to tell somebody about him by now. And if the police found out about what he did to her, he would rot in prison for child abuse.

Ask somebody if they had seen her? No he couldn't do that either. The people on this street didn't notice much of anything, even if it came up and hit them in the head.

There seemed to be only one solution to this problem: he would have to find her himself.

"How am I going to locate her though?" he thought to himself. "I don't know of anybody who would have-"

And then a voice whispered one word to him.

"Kasamatsu."

Isamu smiled. Now that he thought about it, that seemed like a good idea. After all, it had been the Kasamatsu boy he had seen looking into the window the day he had used the lighter on Kagome. Intuition told him that the boy knew something about his daughter's whereabouts.

"Of course," Isamu said aloud, "I can't go just yet. There are a few things I will need."

Isamu went to his room and got out his medical bag. He got out a plain white pair of latex gloves and snapped them onto his hands. They would be essential to avoiding any kind of detection.

Isamu then dug around in his bag and came out with a gleaming, sliver scalpel. Many times he had used this in his career as a physician. Now it seemed he would be using it again.

Finally he went to his closet and got out a yellow rain poncho. Like the rest of the things he had taken out, he would need this for later. And besides, it was starting to rain anyway, and pretty heavily at that.

Isamu tucked the scalpel into his pants pocket, put on the poncho, and went out the door. He had business to attend to at the Kasamatsu residence.

To be continued

That's part eight folks. I'm not going to tell you what happens next. You'll just have to wait to find out.

-Randall Flagg2