Of Curses And Demons

Chapter 3

{June 2018}

Kagome's birthday had come and gone in the two months she'd been enrolled at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. The school had been close enough for her to visit home, and she had spent her birthday weekend (April 30th) with her family. Both Gojo and Fushiguro had joined her in the small celebration, her teacher and fellow classmate becoming both friends and welcomed houseguests' in the Higurashi household.

At sixteen, Kagome hadn't expected to feel any different; hell, she had been pulled into the past on her fifteenth birthday, and yet she felt different. One would think that two months wouldn't be enough time to change a person, and yet Kagome had fallen headfirst into her new life as a Jujutsu sorcerer. Kagome wasn't suddenly an all-powerful person, but she was learning and growing into her powers every day with the assistance of Gojo's unorthodox training/teaching style. There was so much to learn and so much she had yet to discover that every day was like waking up to a new adventure.

That wasn't to say Kagome wasn't scared of the monsters she faced; it was that she was finding herself with every new personal growth; even a sliver of growth was like feeling herself bloom despite the challenges.

But something about today had Kagome's hackles raised; her intuition wasn't one to be ignored, and yet she couldn't pinpoint what could make her so tense until her teacher knocked. Gojo always gave her the opportunity to open the door, waiting for her to be ready, unlike the persistent knocking he did to Fushiguro.

She dressed quickly, checking her uniform in the mirror before hurrying to greet her hyperactive teacher. The Jujutsu uniform had been custom-tailored to her needs and taste; although it had been her teacher who'd filled out the form, Kagome liked the uniform. Kagome wasn't tall at 5-foot, but the uniform complimented her slim physique. It consisted of a dark blue gakuran-style jacket with gold buttons that was cropped at the waist and a matching high-waisted pleated mid-thigh length skirt (with built-in shorts making them more of a skort), finishing her uniform were over the knee black socks and black ankle boots. In her skirt pocket, Kagome kept a pair of archery gloves that were also used for close-up combat to channel her reiryoku or cursed energy.

Opening the door, Kagome was greeted by an enthusiastic Gojo and a disgruntled Fushiguro. The student and teacher were like polar opposites and yet were able to foster a friendship based on mutual respect. And Kagome called both friends.

"Good morning K'gome!" Gojo exclaimed cheerfully despite the early hour. "Good news, you and Megumi here are going on a mission!"

Her stomach dropped.

The mission was to go and retrieve a cursed item, a special grade curse item. One of Sukana's fingers, to be exact.

Her stomach was twisting into tight knots, the uneasiness growing the closer they made it to their destination: Miyagi Prefecture Sugisawa Third High School. The fact the school had a cursed item wasn't surprising; it was the severity of said cursed item that was shocking. Having cursed items often would dissuade places from becoming overrun by curses by acting as a type of protective talisman, but in this case, having such an old and strong cursed item would attract more curses than it could repel.

It's only a retrieval.

She repeated it like a mantra, annoyed that Gojo had prohibited her from bringing her bow. Just having it next to her would have dissipated her worries because then she would be able to protect herself. In this case, all she had were her fists, which is why Gojo forbade her from bringing it. Gojo wanted her to rely on her other skills instead of relying so heavily on her bow.

Kagome knew she was capable, but that did nothing to alleviate her anxiety.

"We're here," his voice was soft, pulling her out of her thoughts and towards the school outside her window. It was a large building of four stories stationed on a hill beyond cement walls and a metal gate. It looked like every average high school building, its only difference being the cursed energy that encompassed it.