Home Is Where The Hurt Is

by Rogue Pryde

Prologue

"Miss Higurashi?"

Kagome Higurashi looked up, startled, at the sound of her name. "Yes?"

A relatively young nurse stepped into the room hesitantly, and Kagome recognized her from some of her previous visits. "Hello, I don't know if you remember me, but I've been you're nurse before. And I was just wondering . . ." She let her voice trail off, and met Kagome's gaze to gauge her reaction before continuing. "Is everything alright at home?" The sixteen-year-olds face remained expressionless, and the nurse pressed on. "Or are you having any problems with your boyfriend?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. I'm just clumsy." The words were bitter to her ears, but the nurse just nodded.

"Well, you should be more careful." The older woman's voice was brisk as she headed out of the room. "People are starting to wonder."

Her father appeared just in time hear the nurses parting words. "What was that?" To the casual observer, the question would have been mildly curious, but Kagome knew she was treading on dangerous ground.

"She wondered why I was here so much." Her voice was soft, and she hated herself for it.

"What did you say?" The tone of his voice never changed, causing a chill to make it's way down his daughter's spine.

"I told her I was clumsy." She couldn't keep all of the exasperation out of her voice. She'd been through this at least a hundred times before.

"Watch it." He didn't even bother to make his voice casual. "Never take that tone of voice with me."

She didn't reply, subconsciously tracing the outline of one of many forming bruises on her forearm with the tip of her finger. After a slight pause her father turned to leave.

"Pack your bags when we get home."

She let out a sigh of relief as she watched his retreating form become smaller and smaller through the hospital room window. She shouldn't have let her frustration show. She'd pay for it later. Wincing, she slid out of the hospital bed and headed toward the restroom to survey the damage. Years of experience and similar situations helped her keep her face calm, but even she had to stifle a gasp at what gazed back at her through the mirror. Her face was a mass of bruises, dark purple and blue blotches covering most of it. Right above her left eye was a small cut with a small trail of blood still trickling out of it. She turned away from her image, deciding not to survey the rest of her body for damages. If she didn't think about it, it wasn't entirely real. If she didn't think about it, she could push the pain, even the memories, to the back of her mind and pretend to be a normal girl with a normal life.

*Well there's one good thing about moving.* She told herself, slipping under her covers. *I can make another new start. Maybe this time I'll be able to hide it longer, without people getting suspicious.* She hated moving all the time. Her father would be angrier than ever, and there'd be new people to explain her "clumsiness" too. Closing her eyes, she struggled to fall asleep before the doctors would come to release her. She knew she wouldn't get much rest once at home. But no matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't relax. The day's events played over and over in her mind causing her body to tense.

********Flashback**********

She had known right away that something was wrong. She had felt her heart sink as soon as her father stepped through the door.

"Kagome." His voice was low. It was always low before he got really angry.

"Yes father?" She had tried to make her voice super-polite so he wouldn't be offended.

"Come here." As she approached him, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. The smell made her dizzy and he grabbed her arm painfully, jerking her even closer. She winced and bit back a gasp as his nails dug into her flesh, forming instant bruises. The sound had only enraged him still more. Suddenly he began screaming at her, pouring all his anger and frustrations into a physical assault on her defenseless form. As she felt fists hitting her body, her face, she heard his words buzzing in her brain echoing until they were etched there forever.

"Worthless."

"Pathetic."

"Stupid."

The degrading insults and obscenities came faster and faster, matching his fists blow for blow, until Kagome's body could handle no more. Mercifully she had faded into oblivion where she could no longer hear his words or feel his hands pounding against her skin. When she finally woke up, she was in the hospital again.

********* End flashback*********

It had been her third time that week. No wonder the personnel were becoming suspicious. Briefly she allowed herself to imagine herself on the run, heading anywhere away from the man who called himself her father, but she dismissed them as soon as they came. She had tried once, and when he had found her she had suffered more than she knew was possible. No one had believed her either when she tried to explain what had been done to her. Her 'father' was an upstanding businessman. No one would take her word over his. No, she wouldn't try to escape again. It hurt too much. She didn't want to hurt anymore. Maybe, if she could just stay out of his way, he wouldn't . . . mercifully she fell asleep before she heard her inner voice laughing bitterly in self-mockery.

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Well, that’s all for now.

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