Chapter one "Steal Away"
~~Someone's POV~~
My name is Kayla Hadley and I am an American living in Tokyo, Japan. For now any way. I use to live with my family in Karakura Town until we had to move. Not sure why, but we did. This is the story of how I got caught up in a strange adventure even though I already was on one in Karakura Town.
It started out as a normal day in Tokyo for me, I sat staring out my bedroom window at the blue sky wishing I could be back with my friends Ichigo Kurosaki, Keigo Asano, Mizuiro Kojima, Sado 'Chad Yasutora, Tatsuki Arisawa, Uryuu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Rukia Kuchiki. I longed to be back with them fighting Hollows and such. Yupe, I have strange powers just like Chad and Orihime.
I sighed then got changed into jeans, sneakers, and a fitting green t-shirt with a picture of a tanuki on the front of it then headed out to walk around for a while. My family knows I do it and they trust me. "I'm going out for a while," I called as I headed out the door.
"Have fun," my little sister, Kia, called back as she continued her game of backgammon with my little brother Pete.
With that I was out the door and headed to the park that was nearby. There were a few kids there playing yet I passed them up. What little kid would want to play with a 15 year old that has strange powers? Not many would if they knew the truth, but they don't and I'm glad for that. A butterfly caught my attention as it fluttered towards me. For some odd reason I can receive messages or images from any butterfly I encounter. Just another of my strange talents. I extended my index finger and allowed it to land on it. When it did I saw in my mind's eye Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Uryuu, and Rukia fighting another Hollow. I sighed as the butterfly flew away wishing I was there. I wandered further until I found myself standing before the steps to a Shinto shrine. For some odd reason I was sensing something coming from the shrine, but it was faint. 'This is odd,' I thought to myself.
"Can I help you?" came a male voice off to my right. I glanced over to see a male standing there with some grocery bags in his hands.
"Just passing by and wishing I was back with my friends," I replied as I turned to leave.
"You remind me of my sister just now," the man said and something in the way he spoke made me stop and turn back to him.
"Your sister?" I questioned.
"Yeah, she had this secret ability that she couldn't tell anyone else about except me, my mom, and grandpa," he said which set my heart pounding. "Do your friends know of these abilities?"
"Yes. The friends I have also have abilities," I replied not revealing much.
"Come on, I'll show you around the shrine," the man offered, "I'm Sota Higurashi."
"Kayla Hadley," I said as I followed him up the steps.
"That's an American name. What are you doing here in Japan?" Sota asked.
"Work. My dad's job got him a position in Karakura Town first then her in Tokyo. Instead of leaving the rest of the family behind he brought us with," I explained. Once at the top my blue eyes scanned the area; a large house, a large tree, some shrines, and a smaller shrine.
"That large tree is called the God Tree. It supposedly brings people together," Sota explained pointing out the large tree.
"I see," I murmured.
"The mini shrine holds a dry well called Bone Eaters Well. In the past it was said you could toss the bones of demons down it and they would disappear in a few days," Sota continued as he lead me into the main house, but my gaze lingered on the mini shrine for some odd reason.
Inside the house in a rocking chair was gray haired woman who looked up from her newspaper as we entered the living room. "And who is this lovely young lady?" she asked looking at me.
"Mom, this is Kayla Hadley. Kayla this is my mom Sora Higurashi," Sota explained.
"You remind me of my daughter and Sota's older sister Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi said directing my attention to a picture on a wall beside her of a girl with black hair and brown eyes wearing the colors of a local high school I had seen other teens wearing. "You even have that same caring spark in your eye like she had."
"What happened to her?" I questioned as I gazed at the other pictures on the wall that featured a young boy I could guess was Sota and an assortment of other pictures.
"She married her long time crush," Sota explained. I took note that there wasn't any pictures of this marriage or wedding, which I found strange and odd. Just then that odd feeling from before returned and stronger this time. I turned back to the door me and Sota entered. "What's wrong?"
"My ability is telling me that there is something out there," I answered him as I headed towards the door.
"Ability?" Mrs. Higurashi questioned in a surprised tone.
"Stay inside mom," Sota said as he followed right behind me. "How accurate is your ability?"
"Almost pinpoint. I've had a lot of time with my friends to work on it," I answered. Once outside I glanced around trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Upon seeing nothing I let my senses roam to see where it was coming from. To my surprise it was coming from the mini shrine. "There," I said pointing.
"T-the mini shrine?!" Sota asked in shock. I glanced back at him to see a truly shock surprise on his face as he stared at the mini shrine.
"You were keeping something hidden, what is it?" I questioned in a demanding tone.
"My sister's crush lived in the Feudal Era and both of them could travel there and here through the dry well in the mini shrine. She told me a bit about it, the Feudal Era, from time to time. She said that he god tree also is still standing tall in that era," Sota explained.
That was a surprise to me. "Is the portal still active?" I asked.
"No. For 3 years it was closed then one day it opened one last time for my sister to travel back to the past to be with InuYasha. He's a dog hanyou." I gave him a quizzical look. "My sister said he had a human mother and a demon father aka a dog demon." I was just as confused as before. We moved to the shrine and I saw him get tense as we got closer. "When my sister first went down the well she got dragged there by a creature who she later told me was a demon by the name of Mistress Centipede. Do you think the portal is open again?"
"Not sure, but there's one way to find out," I said and then opened the door to the shrine. I stepped inside followed by Sota, together we went closer to the well. I peeked over the edge of the well and saw nothing. "All I can see is blackness down there." I glanced back at Sota to see his face in utter shock. "What?" I asked turning back to him with my back to the well.
"It must be open because when it closed all you could see was the dirt at the bottom of the well," Sota explained.
Suddenly I felt a strange tug on my arm like something was wrapped around it and trying to pull me somewhere. I looked down sharply to my left arm, but saw nothing until something gleamed in the light. It looked like some type of thread. "Thread?" I questioned as I tugged to see if I could break it. It didn't give or break and it seemed to tug back. I narrowed my eyes at the thread as I tried to figure out where it was coming from. "Stay back," I called to Sota who I sensed took a step back, "It seems something is here."
"Do you think your gifts can help you fight a demon?" Sota asked me.
"Never had to fight a demon before. But there's always a time to try," I replied. Suddenly both of my arms were yanked hard, pulling me towards the well. I yanked back, but whatever was controlling the threads was not letting me go. "Let go!" I growled out as I got pulled closer to the well. There was a strange noise that sounded like a chuckle, almost a dark chuckle like you know one of the evil villains in a show would have.
After the sound faded the thread yanked me hard one more time and I fell into the well. "Miss Hadley! Sota called after me as I tumbled down the well.
"I'll be okay!" I hollered back before I turned my attention to my captor…or should I say captors. Before me attached to the threads which turned out to be many threads possibly over 20 all together were about 12 pure white spiders. "You think you got me huh?" I questioned them as I let my spiritual pressure flare, "You picked the wrong girl to target." It seemed these little spiders could sense what was going on inside me because they slowly began to back away. "Too little, too late," I said as orbs of blue spiritual energy appeared in the palms of my open hands. "Take this!" I shouted launching both blasts at the spiders. Both were direct hits blasting the spiders away and breaking the threads attached to me.
"The…Soul…Dew…" I heard the spiders utter as they disappeared from my sight.
"Soul Dew?" I questioned as I found my footing suddenly. "That was a long fall." I glanced up to the top of the well. "Sota?" I called out then realized something. I could see the sky and when I fell it was inside a well inside a totally covered and enclosed mini shrine.
"My sister's crush lived in the Feudal Era. Could travel there and here through the dry well," I heard Sota's words replayed inside my head.
"Could I have really gone through a portal in time?" I questioned myself and then looked back to the top. "One way to find out." With that I grabbed hold of some ivy hanging inside the well and used it to climb up to the top. Once at the top I was surprised to see that the well was sitting in the middle of a clearing in the middle of what looked like a forest. "Looks like I did past through a portal of sorts. The others would probably have a hay day with this. Now…where should I go?"
"She said that the god tree also is standing tall in that era," Sota's voice rang in my head again.
"Oh, right. The god tree. Now if I can find it," I murmured glancing around.
"Uh oh," I heard a small male voice say somewhere nearby.
My head snapped around in all directions trying to locate a body to the voice I just heard. "Is someone there?" I called out to see if they might reveal themselves.
"Yipe!" the voice said and then I saw movement some distance ahead of me, but it looked like it was close to the ground. Maybe the being was a child?
"Wait! I don't mean any harm!" I called after the figure and then gave chase to it, but lost it soon after that. "Great. Now I'm lost," I murmured with a grumble. Just then a gentle presence caught my attention. I followed it until I came to a large tree that seemed familiar. "Wait a second. This must be the God tree." I cautiously moved closer to it and found myself drawn to a strange spot where there appeared to be a strange hole in the trunk at an odd spot. 'Something happened here. But it feels like a long time ago,' I thought to myself.
A strange sensation raced up my spine and I knew it was a warning. Someone was coming at me from behind. I stayed calm like I didn't sense anything until I felt they were right on top of me then I leapt out of the way and slide into a fighting stance. "Who are you?" demanded the person who tried to sneak up on me. The person was male from what I could tell. Long dark silver hair, dressed in a blue kariginu and hakama, no shoes, and long claw like fingernails on his hands.
'What the hell…' I began to question before I sensed 2 more beings approaching me. I glanced to my right and saw a second male, similar to the first, but with totally silver hair and red clothing.
"You are not going anywhere," this male said.
I narrowed my eyes at him. 'Okay that's one, but where…' Out of the corner of my eye I saw the gleam of metal and saw a woman on the other side of me with a bow drawn back with an arrow notched in it. 'Like that will hit…' I paused as I got a good look at the woman. She had the same face, hair color, and eyes as the Kagome I saw in the pictures at the Sunset shrine. "K-Kagome?" I questioned, which shocked them all it seemed.
"How do you know my name?" the woman demanded glaring at me still with the arrow drawn back.
"Your mom and brother told me about you in a way. Your brother, Sota, told me more after I sensed something coming from the dry well with my abilities. I was dragged down the well by some strange spiders, but I managed to use my abilities to get away. Then I found myself here and after following someone for a little, never saw who it was, I wound up here where you guys decided to corner me like I am some type of criminal or something," I explained at a quick, but clear, pace not revealing too much about myself unsure what to make of them.
"Sota did?" Kagome asked lowering her weapon. I nodded. "What's your name?"
"Kayla Hadley."
"What the hell kind of name is that?" the first male questioned and I was so tempted to use my powers on him.
"Its mine and I like it. That's the same attitude my classmates in Karakura Town had until they got to know me and I made friends there," I said in reply then looked at my feet not wanting to show any signs of weakness to them as I thought of my friends.
"You must really miss them and they must mean a lot to you too," the second male said as he came towards me. I went to a defensive stance again. "Its all right. You haven't lied one bit since we began to question you. Yes her name is Kagome and I am her husband InuYasha. Our son Ikume was the first one to approach you," he, InuYasha, explained. I eyed Ikume and I saw him eye me in returned.
"Keh," he snorted turning his nose up at me ticking me off to no end.
'Okay. Your pissing off the wrong girl,' I thought to myself. "What? You think I can't defend myself the way I said I can?" I questioned glaring at Ikume.
"You got that right," he replied.
"Then come at me again and I'll show you what I can do," I challenged, which caught them all by surprise.
"There is no need for that," Kagome said as she approached me. "Come on. We'll take you to the village we live at." I calmly followed behind Kagome and InuYasha while Ikume matched step with me.
As we approached the village we were greeted by 7 other beings, 4 were girl while the rest were boys. Two girls appeared to be twins and they were introduced to me as Leiko and Akako, the twin daughters of Sango and Miroku, there was their younger brother Hiroshi who seemed to be as old as me, a girl named Rin, and a small boy by the name of Shippo. He was the one I had been chasing before. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. He seemed young, but Kagome told me that he was a kitsune aka a fox demon, even though I had no idea what she was talking about.
"Its not a problem," I said to him. Then the ground shook and we all turned to see a giant creature coming towards us with the pure white spiders around it. 'Just my luck,' I thought to myself as InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Leiko, Akako, Hiroshi, and Ikume adopted fighting stances.
"So this is where my meal ran off to," the large creature said as it eyed me. It looked exactly like the spiders around it, but something felt off to me for some odd reason.
"Shippo protect Rin and Kayla while we deal with this demon," Kagome ordered as they advanced on the demon with a battle cry.
The big demon hung back letting his little spiders attack the group. I noticed that Ikume was getting tied up by some of the spiders and no one was paying attention, so I decided to pitch in. I raced forward into the fray. "Miss Kayla!" Rin shouted, but I was now in battle mode.
One of the little spiders was leaping at Ikume from behind while he was focused on the group in front of him. "Hotaru Senkou!" I shouted as I launched a blast of energy at the spider saving Ikume who looked shocked by what happened. He got free of the threads that were on him and saw the spider I blasted behind him.
"Nice shot," he murmured to me as I went to his side ready to fight.
"I'm usually right on the mark," I replied then we looked on in shock as his mom and dad along with the others were tossed like rag dolls by the giant spider. As the giant spider moved I saw something that made my blood boil. 'Okay. Time to use the big guns,' I thought to myself as I stormed forward towards the 'demon'. I stopped a few feet before it and crossed my arms across my chest. "Oi! Take off that ridiculous pelt and face me instead of hiding coward," I called out in a daring and pissed off voice.
The little spiders backed off as the 'demon' glared down at me. "What did you call me?" it growled at me. I sensed Ikume start to head towards me, but I held up a hand to stop him and I sensed him pause. They all were probably pretty confused by what was going on.
"You heard me. I called you a coward because only a coward would send little things to get what they wanted instead of going after it themselves. So take off that pelt Hollow and face me!" I ordered.
The 'demon' jerked back in shock. "How do you know about me?" it questioned me.
"I know because I'm friends with…a Soul Reaper and she taught me about Hollows and how to fight them," I answered with a smirk as it peeled off its pelt to reveal it was a Hollow in the form of a giant spider.
"So you were taught to fight me, but I see no sword at your side," the Hollow countered causing me to roll my eyes.
"I don't need a sword to fight you. I could've let you live a few moments longer with my attacks, but you've really pissed me off so this is gonna be a quick death," I said as I let my energy flare making the Hollow stagger back in shock. "Safaia Chou!" I called out as my deep blue energy engulfed me, which I have been told appears to be a cocoon, and I reappeared from it with sapphire colored butterfly wings attached to my back, which allowed me to hover in the air.
"What the?" I heard Leiko question.
"Beautiful," Akako said in awe.
"This is Safaia Chou aka Sapphire Butterfly my ultimate form. I don't normally go to this form, it is saved for serious battles or for battles that need to be ended swiftly. This battle is the latter so…" Two large blue stingers appeared over my hands and reached all the way up to my elbows. Without a word I lunged towards the Hollow striking its mask with one of my stingers while it was still in awe. "Yuudoku Bachi!" I growled out and a sapphire blue light flowed quickly across the Hollow's body then it turned to dust instantly. "And that's how its done," I murmured before a surge of pain exploded inside my chest. I gasped in pain as my wings and stingers faded away quickly and I plunged towards the ground without my ability to fly anymore.
Suddenly a pair of strong arms caught me before I hit the ground and I glanced over to see that it was Ikume who has rescued me. "You okay?" he questioned me after he lightly touched down on the ground as the others gathered around us.
I took a few breaths in and out to calm myself. "Yeah. I'm good. That happens from time to time, which is why I try to stay out of that form unless it is necessary," I answered as I slid out of his arms to my feet.
"What in the world was that all about?" InuYasha questioned.
"Let's all get inside and sit down before we let Kayla explain," Kagome said and I was lead inside a hut where we all sat around a fire pit. Ikume sat on my right while Rin with Shippo in her lap sat on my left.
"You may start whenever your ready Lady Kayla," Miroku said causing me to cough slightly in surprise as how he addressed me.
"Not exactly sure where to start, but I'll start with that creature. As you can guess there are good and bad spirits. That one was a bad spirit. Its called a Hollow while good spirits are called Pluses. A Plus can become a Hollow if they hang out here among the living for too long or a Hollow tempts them into doing an evil deed," I began.
"What did it mean about you not having a sword?" Hiroshi questioned.
"To my assumption I believe all Soul Reapers carry a sword with them. I only know of one Soul Reaper and her name is Rukia Kuchiki. I meet her awhile back in a place called Karakura Town. Let me give you a bit of backstory about me before I continue. As you can guess I am an American yet I can speak Japanese pretty well. The reason I am in Japan is because of my dad's work. We first moved to Karakura Town and not long ago moved to Tokyo. At first in Karakura no one wanted to befriend me until I met a boy named Ichigo Kurosaki along with a few others named Keigo Asano, Mizuiro Kojima, Sado 'Chad' Yasutora, Tatsuki Arisawa, Uryuu Ishida, and Orihime Inoue. We all became good friends, but Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu, and Orihime became my best friends after Rukia arrived. Ichigo told me he could see spirits ever since he was small and by accident he and Rukia in her Soul Reaper form lead a Hollow right to Ichigo's house where it almost killed Ichigo's two sisters along with them if Rukia didn't bestow some of her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo, though she said she was giving him half her power, he got all of her power."
"So your powers are those of a Soul Reaper?" Sango asked to which I shook my head earning confused looks from them all.
"Chad, Orihime, Uryuu, and myself have our own gifts. Uryuu was born with his while Chad, Orihime, and mine came to us because we were in contact with Ichigo. That's because of his overflowing spiritual presence he was able to allow some of his more spiritually sensitive friends to get special gifts. Chad and Orihime's are different from my own. Sort of like the stingers I had on my arms on Chad's right arm is this large gauntlet type thing that lets him punch a hole in a solid rock wall without getting hurt. Orihime can summon six fairy like creatures called the Shun Shun Rikka that can do 3 different jobs. 3 of them form a shield, 2 form a sort of healing space while the last one is her attacker. Uryuu is what is known as a Quincy. They use bows and create energy arrows which they shoot. Uryuu didn't like Ichigo and Rukia at first because supposedly Soul Reapers and Quincy's are at war with each other or something like that," I explained. I paused to catch my breath when I remembered what the spiders in the well said before they left. "Hang on. Would any of you know of something called…the Soul Dew?"
"No," Rin said followed by a negative from everyone else in the room.
"Why?" Ikume questioned me.
"The spiders who dragged me down the well, after I blasted them, mentioned it before they disappeared. I have no idea about it either," I answered then I glanced down at the watch on my left wrist. In any case I should find a way home because my parents will start to worry about me."
"If you came down the well it should be able to get you back to your time," Kagome explained.
"Should is the keyword in that phrase," I said and she agreed with me.
"Although…" InuYasha began catching all of our attentions, "someone should go with her. At least to make sure no demons have escaped to the future and to see what its like now."
"I will," Hiroshi said with a wide smile.
"No!" came the answer from all the girls in the room including myself and he pouted. Kagome had informed me that Hiroshi was like his dad who was a pervert and would try to feel any girl up. He was not going to do that to me on my watch.
"I will." All of us turned to Ikume who looked extremely serious about it.
"Are you sure Ikume?" Kagome asked her son. He nodded, but from the way he was glancing at me I sensed that there was more to it then what his dad had said.
"Fine, if he wants to he can," I said. With that the two of us began our trek back to the dry well. Half way there I glanced at him and broke the silence that had settled between us. "There's another reason your coming with me isn't there?" He glanced at me with a bored expression on his face. "You think I'll go down the well and never return right?"
"The thought did cross my mind," he said calmly.
I stopped quickly making him come to an abrupt halt beside me. I turned fully to him with anger evident in my eyes. "I could've done just that when that Hollow appeared yet I didn't. I helped you guys and I believe it is my fault that the Hollow ended up here following my spiritual presence, so I plan on finding a way to fix it. Plus I wanna know more about this Soul Dew thing. When I set out to do something I see it through to the end."
We glared at each other for a few seconds before a smirk graced his lips. "I believe ya," he said.
I looked confused for a few seconds. "Sneaky dog," I murmured as we began walking back to the well. He had tested me, wanted to see what I would say to see if I would justify myself. Plus Kagome had explained to me that dog demons even half demons have a very acute sense of smell meaning they can follow faint scents and even tell if someone was lying.
"I try," he said in reply and I gave him a slanted look then rolled my eyes. When we reached the well I paused looking down into its depths. "Something wrong?" Ikume questioned me.
"I know your mom and dad could pass through before, but we don't know if it will let us both go through," I replied.
"Keh. Is that all?" he asked. Before I could say anything he took hold of my arm and hoisted me up onto his back. "Hold tight," he told me.
"What?" I questioned before he leapt up into the air, diving feet first into the well. To my chagrin I let a squeak of shock slip as I wrapped my arms around his neck to try to keep myself in place.
~~Ikume's POV~~
I felt her grip me tight as we descended into the well. For some odd reason I felt a shiver race up my spine as her body pressed closer to mine. I began to question myself. Why did I leap to her aid when her powers gave out and why did I offer to go with her to her time? Even though she was a threat at the start I was intrigued by her appearance. I touched down at the bottom of the well and glanced up to see what looked like a roof over my head. I glanced back at her and to my mild surprise I saw she had her eyes tightly shut. "Hey. You can open your eyes. I think we made it," I said to her.
~~Kayla's POV~~
I opened my eyes as I flushed in embarrassment swiftly. I glanced up to see a roof above the well. "Yeah, we did." I looked to Ikume. "Think you can go easy on the ascent then what you did on the descent?" I questioned him.
"What? Did I scare you?" he taunted me.
"Scared, no, shocked, yes," I countered. He smirked and gently leapt up to land on the edge of the well. Before I could slide off his back he began to growl low. "What's wrong with you?"
"Someone's outside," he replied still growling.
"I'll take a peek. It might just be Sota, your mom's little brother. Making him your uncle," I told him. He let me slip off his back and I peeked out the door. I saw Sota mulling about and I sighed in relief. I glanced back at Ikume. "Stay here for a little. I'll call for you when its safe." He gave me a slight nod and I slipped out the door.
Sota looked up sharply at the sound of the door. "Miss. Hadley! Your all right!" he said in happiness as I approached him.
Just then Mrs. Higurashi came out of the house. "What a relief," she said as she came over to us.
"What happened? How did you get free?" Sota questioned me.
"Long story, but I had a little help from two familiar people to you. But first…I want you guys to meet someone." I glanced back at the mini shrine. "Ikume, its clear. You can come out. You will want to meet these two," I called out. Slowly the door opened again.
When Ikume stepped out fully both Sota and Mrs. Higurashi's jaws dropped. "He looks…like InuYasha," Sota stuttered.
"That's because he is InuYasha's son meaning…" I let it fade as Mrs. Higurashi cautiously approached Ikume.
"He's…he's my grandson," she said with tears misting her eyes in happiness as she reached out to place a gentle hand on his cheek.
Ikume took a step back as her hand got closer. "Looks like the puppy is scared," I taunted. He glared at me, but this was payback. My cellphone rang and I answered it to discover it was my mom asking where I was. I told her, lying as well, and I told her I would be home soon. Once I hung up the phone that's when I sensed that something felt wrong somewhere. And it felt like it was coming from Karakura Town and it felt like something was wrong with Uryuu.
"Kayla? Something wrong?" I heard Sota ask me.
I turned back to see all three looking at me. "I'm…I'm not sure. It feels like Uryuu's presence is fading," I replied then I sensed a giant spike of spiritual pressure that I recognized right away. "Ichigo," I murmured glancing out into the night.
"Your friend with the reaper powers?" Ikume questioned appearing at my side.
I was about to reply when Ichigo's presence begin to fade like Uryuu's and Rukia's presence just simply disappeared. "Something's wrong. Now Ichigo's presence is fading and Rukia seems to have disappeared."
~~Ikume's POV~~
She turned to me and I could see in her eyes and smell that she was very worried about what she seemed to be sensing. "Your worried about them," I stated simply and she nodded. She looked off into the night and I stared at her. What harm could happen if we just went to check on her friends to calm her? "If you want…" I began, "I can accompany you to visit your friends. Just so you can calm your worries."
She looked at surprised. I just gave her a nod. "Thanks," she murmured, "Think we can leave tonight after I slightly tell my folks?" I nodded again. With that both of us made our way towards her home and then we would be off to where her friends lived. For some reason this felt like just the tip of the iceberg of what was to come.
Too be continued…
Kayla's voice: Next time me and Ikume make our way to Karakura Town to find out what's going on. What I find out shocks me and I have a hard decision to make…do I take a road trip with my friends or do I decline?
Attack name translations: (Mildly)
Hotaru Senkou – Firefly Flash
Safaia Chou – Sapphire Butterfly
Yuudoku Bachi – Toxic Curse