For hundreds of years, Kagome's soul had wandered the Earth purposelessly, unable to move on. That was the effect of the curse placed on her by Kikyo, a curse so powerful that even Kagome couldn't figure out how to break it.

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"You are nobody!" Kikyo shouted angrily at Kagome, her look of despise burning into Kagome's mind. "You'll always just be a reincarnation of me. You're not special at all. What have you done that I haven't? I spent my life protecting this village from evil! All you have done is stolen my identity! Why should I suffer? Why should I die while you live on happily, living the life that should've been mine? You may have stolen Inu Yasha's heart but I will make sure that you will never be happy! I will make you suffer as I have suffered! With all the power I still possess, I place this curse on you!"

For as long as mankind lives,

Your soul will be bound to earth, unable to leave.

Many lives will come and go,

But yours will never follow.

A life of sorrow you will lead,

'Til you give up what you need.

"Even though I will die today, I am happy, for you shall lead a disastrous life and even when you die, your life will still be miserable. Your soul will not be able to reincarnate, it is doomed to spend eternity wandering the Earth, never able to return to the world of the living again." Suddenly Kikyo coughed, spraying blood all over Kagome's uniform.

"Kikyo!" Inu Yasha shouted running to the scene. "Inu Yasha…." Kikyo said lifting up her head slightly before falling back to the ground covered with blood. "Kikyo! No!" Inu Yasha shouted as he held Kikyo to his chest. "Don't make me lose you again" he whispered, tears appearing in his eyes. Kagome stood over the crying Inu Yasha, her own tears appearing. 'Kikyo, you were wrong. Inu Yasha does not love me, he loves you. He sees me only as a replacement for you. You died a pointless death.' Kagome thought sadly, uncertain about how to comfort Inu Yasha. Before she could speak however, Inu Yasha said quietly, his voice full of accusation. "You! You killed her! How could you?"

"I… I didn't kill her!" Kagome exclaimed shocked at Inu Yasha's accusation.

"Stop lying. You knew I love her and not you. You just can't handle that can you? Only you could've done something like this to her. This whole thing reeks of you!" Inu Yasha shouted coldly. "Leave! Go back to your time! I never want to see you again!" "B...but…" Kagome stammered, tears streaming down her face as she turned and ran towards the well.

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Kagome felt tears coming into her eyes at that painful memory. Though that had happened many years ago, Inu Yasha's words still torn at her heart. Kagome could never believe how he could've thought that she would do something like that. Kagome wiped the tears away, 'It doesn't matter now, I will never see him again.' She thought to herself.

She was sure of it, after all she had made sure of it herself. The doorway between the two worlds had been destroyed. 'Yes, I will never see him again' she thought quietly as she remembered the brutal way she had destroyed the well.

There were times when she regretted what she did but she had always convinced herself that it was for the best. She had to move on with her life, she couldn't spend her whole life moping for him. Ironically, just as she realized that, she was hit by a car and was killed instantly. Just as Kikyo promised, Kagome's soul was unable to move on, unable to start a new life.

Kagome saw her funeral, she felt a twinge of sadness as she saw her coffin get lowered into the ground, and it was then that she had finally come to terms with the fact that she was dead. She hung around looking after her family for a while and when they died, she felt utterly sad and lonely. She was all alone in the world now, there was nobody to care about her anybody. All memories of her had been demolished, it was almost as if she had never existed, as if she was just a figment of imagination.

Kagome began spending all her time developing her miko powers. To past the time she would follow a random person for a day, living that person's life. It was through this method that Kagome realised how lucky her life was, she had a kind and caring family and loyal friends. Kagome began to protect other people in the world. It felt almost as if that was the purpose of her life, to watch and protect innocents from evil doings.

Kagome looked down at her watch and was appalled when she saw the time. "I'm going to be late!" she shouted. As she was in a hurry, Kagome decided to use one of her new ability. She closed her eyes and concentrated on an image of her classroom. When she opened her eyes again she was there, just in time for class.

Though it seems weird, Kagome had decided to repeat school again, after all she had never really appeared in school much, what with her adventures with Inu Yasha and all. Kagome took her usual seat down the back which was always vacant. For some reason no one liked to seat in the back row. Some people believed it to be haunted, but Kagome didn't mind, she liked the peace and quiet. She had no fear of being seen as there was no one in the class that possess great spiritual power, which would have enabled them to see her. However, Kagome was cautious. She made sure that she hid her energy level with a shield so that no demons would be tempted to kill her for her power, causing mayhem to occur.

"Class, we have a new transfer student. His name is Shuiichi Minamino I want you all to be nice to him. Now Shuiichi, why don't you take one of those empty seats down the back?" Mr Muruka said.

'Hmmm, this will be interesting' Kagome thought as her miko powers identified the red haired male as a demon. 'Although his body is pure human, his soul is one of a demon, a powerful one too.'

If Kagome wasn't so caught up with her thoughts she would've noticed Kurama's eyes narrowing in her direction.

As Kurama walked towards the back row, all the girls in the class sighed. "He's so cute!" a girl whispered to her friend. "I think I'm in love!" her friend answered back dreamily. Kurama groaned inwardly, he should've known he would have the same effect on girls here as well. 'I wonder what the soul of that girl is doing here. Shouldn't Boton have guided her soul to the gateway?' he thought, puzzled.

Kurama sat down on the seat next to the mystery girl and spent the whole lesson ignoring the looks the other girls in the class were giving him. He was blessed with an attractive face but sometimes he couldn't help but hate it. He was often teased by the guys about it and chased by the girls because of it.

Once in a while he would sneak a glance at the female soul next to him. He couldn't help but notice her beauty. She had a dreamy face with soft, kissable lips. Her eyes were an intriguing light blue that shone with innocence, yet there was certain sadness in them. Kurama couldn't help but wonder what had caused the sadness in her eyes, the sight of it made him wants to reach out and comfort her.

'What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way about someone I don't even know?' he thought astonished at his feelings. 'It must be my kindness, after all Hiei's always saying that I'm too kind.' Kurama thought, continuing his work. When the bell rang, he was the first out of the room. He escaped from the group of girls following him and headed towards the courtyard. Kurama climbed a particularly tall and leafy tree, knowing that it would keep him hidden.

Suddenly he felt the presence of the mystery girl. He looked up and saw her staring at him with a confused look on her face. 'I guess she doesn't know that I can see her' Kurama thought, amused. 'Let's see what she'll do…' he thought wickedly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Perhaps it would be easier if you just asked me what you would like to know" Kurama said, the corner of his mouth twitching as a startled look appeared on her face. "Y..you can see me?" she asked baffled.

Before he could answer she started rambling. "I guess it's logical, after all people with high spiritual awareness would be able to sense me, some would even be able to see me, so a demon would definitely be able to see me, especially one as strong as you."

"Huh? Oh I guess you didn't know that I know that you're a demon" Kagome when a look of astonishment appeared on his face. "Well, you're not really a demon, I mean you are but you have a human body. I'm rambling again, aren't I?" Kagome asked after a pause.

"Sort of. I think it's kinda cute how you get so carried away when you're nervous." Kurama said. He cringed at his words, he didn't mean to say that but it just slipped out.

Kagome blushed at his words, "So…what's a demon like you doing here? She finally asked feeling self conscious.

Kurama winced, "I prefer not to be called a demon but if you have to… I'm just here to learn, I guess. My mother doesn't know that I'm a demon and she sent me to this school. You see I'm actually Youko Kurama, a few hundreds years ago, I made a foolish mistake and to prevent being caught and killed, I hid myself into the body of an unborn child. My mother named me Shuiichi, that's why I'm known as that in the human world. In the Spirit World, I am known as Kurama."

"Youko Kurama, heh?" Kagome said, liking the sound of it. 'It suits him' she thought immediately. "You can call me Kurama……if you like," Kurama said wondering what she was thinking about.

'Why am I telling her so much about myself? I wasn't going to tell my true identity or my past, why is it that one look at her face makes me feel like sharing my most intimate secrets with her?' Kurama thought, puzzled by the effect the mysterious female was having on him. 'Could it be? Could she be an enchantress?' Kurama thought suspiciously, glaring slightly at the stranger across from him.

"Alright, who are you? Who sent you after me? Are you here to spy on me? Or to kill me?" Kurama asked angrily, demanding an answer. 'How could I have fallen for her tricks?' he thought, frustrated that it had only taken a vulnerable soul to get pass his defences.

"Huh?" Kagome said, puzzled by the sudden change in Kurama, 'What's wrong with him?'

"If you wanted to know who I am, you could've just asked. You didn't need to snap!" Kagome said, a slight hint of anger coming into her voice. "My name is Kagome, and as for the other question, no one sent me. If you haven't realised, I was at this school before you were. If you don't like me, tough! You'll just have to live with it!" she said, more than a little angry now.

'How dare he!' Kagome thought and she spun around and stomped to class. 'Accusing me like that! As if I would try to kill him. Who does he think he is anyway?!"

Before she could continue her angry thoughts, a hand grabbed her wrist and spun her around. "What do you want now!" Kagome said angrily when she saw who it was, that had so rudely interrupted her thoughts. "If you're here to accuse me of more malicious things, you can forget it! Why don't you go and find someone else to get your kicks out of!" Kagome shouted furiously as her eyes darkened with anger.

Kurama flinched at Kagome's harsh words, but he knew that he deserved it. He had hurt her, he could see it in her eyes, even as she tried to hide it as she stared at him lividly. "I'm sorry" he said apologetically. 'Stupid! What did she ever do to you?! What made her worthy of that accusation?!' he thought, shouting at himself for his foolishness. He knew that she was innocent, he could see in her eyes that shone with purity.

"Why don't you go sh- Wait…You're what?" Kagome said, surprised at his apology. "It's ok, I guess I just got carried away. It's not everyday that I get accused of being out to get someone from a guy that I had only known for a few minutes. Then again it's not everyday that someone talks to me." She said when she recovered from her shock.

Kagome gasped as she remembered her outburst. After all, he had a right to be suspicious, what with her following him and being a ghost and all.

Before she could apologise, the bell rang, signalling that class was starting. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" Kagome shouted before she dashed wildly in the direction of her class, leaving the fiery red haired male behind.

"She's a mystery all right."