Tsukiko - The Feudal Era, 1550 (book 1)

Chapter 1 - Dragged Through the Bone-Eaters Well

       My whole body hurt like it always had when my father beat me. My body trembled from the fear and soreness that flooded my senses; parts of my body were already taking on a pale purple color, and the bruises were already appearing. I don't know the reason for him beating me that night, I was worried he had found out about my job. I pushed myself backward, my back hitting the living room wall as I stared at my father. He loomed over me; his face contorted with anger and hate; his hands tightly curled into fists.

       "You're a disappointing daughter, Tsukiko!" My father yelled, throwing his fist down and punching me. My body recoiled into itself, my hand on my cheek, where my father had hit me. Tears welled in my eyes as I glanced up at him.

       "I should have followed your mother when she left! I would've been so much happier!" He continued to scream, throwing punch after punch to my face and body, his eyes burning as he glared into mine. I cried out at each attack, tears flowing down my face. After five minutes of this beating, he stepped away from me. I lay limp against the living room wall. I was too sore to move, my body trembling from the numbness it had developed from the repeated hitting.

       "I despise you with everything in me, Kiko! Do you hear me?!" He yelled, crouching down and leaning over me, grabbing my chin roughly and turning my head, forcing me to look at him. "Do you hear me, you ungrateful child?!" He yelled again in my face. I nodded hastily, tears glossing my vision as I looked into his face. He let go of my chin, moving my head to the side harshly as he did so, and then walked to his bedroom.

        "You have school tomorrow, don't forget," He retorted before closing his bedroom door loudly. I slowly pulled myself up, shaking as I struggled to catch my breath. I inhaled and exhaled rapidly, nearly to the point of a panic attack. I covered my mouth and slowly went to my room, gently shutting the door behind me. I uncovered my mouth and folded over myself, placing my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath once more. After a minute, I calmed down and walked over to my vanity, looking at myself in the mirror. My left eye and in places on my arms, legs, and torso were bruises. My eyes shook a bit as I stared in shock.

       "This is the worst beating I've ever gotten," I whispered. Taking a rag, I had used for the bruises the night before, I made my way over to my bathroom in my bedroom. My father had made me one, so he didn't have to see me. I ran the rag under the cool water from the sink and then placed it on the black eye.

       "I could hide the bruises on my body with clothing, but I can't hide the bruises on my face," I thought, sighing heavily. I put my eyepatch over the cloth on my eye and tied it around my head; usually, doing this and wearing it to bed would help the bruises fade quicker for school the following day. I stretched my arms above my head and left the bathroom, shutting off the light and shutting the door gently behind me. I then changed into my pajamas and threw myself into bed, curling up in a ball underneath the covers. Soon enough, I fell asleep, snuggling close to my comfortable stuffed animal, Kuyo.

       The following day, I woke up to my alarm blaring into my ear. I sighed tiredly and shut my alarm off, sitting in my bed and rubbing my eyes. I looked at my bedroom door; it was open slightly. My eyes widened slightly, and I quickly exited my bed and shut my door completely.

       "Dad's watching me when I sleep again," I thought, my heart racing. I shook my head quickly and hurriedly changed into my clothes: a white crop top with a green bow and a green skirt, knee-high white socks, and my brown schoolgirl shoes; this was my school uniform. While doing all this, I kept a keen eye on the door. Then, I moved to my vanity and sat down, removing the eyepatch and cloth. The bruise had nearly faded except for the light purple color. I put mascara on my top and bottom lashes and then started putting on my concealer around my bruised eye when my phone buzzed with an incoming phone call. It was from my friend Ayumi. I picked up my phone and answered it, holding it against my ear as I blended the concealer with my makeup sponge.

       "Good morning, Kiko!" Ayumi's sweet voice said through the phone; she sounded happy.

       "Good morning, Ayumi," I said softly but happily, smiling as I gently patted underneath my bruised eye with the sponge.

       "I'm calling to let you know Kagome won't be in school today. Her grandfather said she got a new disease called 'Laketomica,'" Ayumi informed me.

       "I see. I'll visit in a few minutes and bring Kagome a few chocolates I have as a gift," I say happily, smiling as I put my makeup away and spray my face with setting spray.

       "Alright, sounds good! Tell her I say I hope she gets better!"

       "Will do," and with that, Ayumi hung up the phone. I looked at the time, 7:12 a.m. I decided I had time to pay a visit to Kagome before school. I went to the kitchen, snuck a few Hershey candy bars from the cabinet, and ran out of the house quietly so I wouldn't wake my father. I ran down the street in the direction of Kagome's home.

       I arrived at the steps leading to Kagome's shrine house a few minutes later. I walked up the steps, the morning sun shining warmly, lighting the stone stairs. When I stepped onto the landing, I looked around. I saw the sacred tree Kagome's grandfather was obsessed with and her home and shrine house. Suddenly, Kagome runs out of her house with a big grin. She didn't notice me as she ran into her shrine house. She then removed her backpack and threw it down the well, jumping in after it. My eyes widened, and I froze, trying to figure out what to do. I glanced from her home to the shrine house, then, finally regaining my senses, I ran over to the shrine house, looking down into the well. It had been a few minutes since she had jumped down the well, and it was too dark to see. My heart began to beat a bit faster as my concern grew for my best friend.

       "Kagome...?!" I called down the well, my soft voice echoing back at me. I waited a few moments before calling out again, and as I did so, a dark, turquoise-colored tentacle flew up from the well. I gasped and fell back onto the wood floor, my eyes wide as I trembled fearfully. The tentacle wiggled around as if looking for something before it stopped. In a flash, it quickly reached down to me and wrapped itself around my stomach, dragging me upwards and into the well. I shut my eyes and screamed as it pulled me into the darkness of the well, squirming and hitting it to try to escape its grasp.