Of Curses and Demons

Disclaimer: I, wolfYLady, own nothing. I am nothing more than a humble writer whose entertainment comes from manipulating fictional characters. Again I own nothing!

Summary: Humans stood at the top of the food chain, and above them sat both Cursed spirits and Demons. Kagome must navigate a new adventure after being scouted by a strange Sorcerer.

Enjoy!~

It had been exactly three months since the Shikon no Tama had been put to rest, its existence exorcized with a gentle wish. Though that didn't mean it was over.

Since the jewels' "misplacement" from Kagome's side, her eyes had been opened to spirits beyond that of human comprehension. Demons still exist and so too do the spirits created by the ills of humans: Cursed spirits. Before, they had existed as flickers out the corner of her eye and played off as a tired mind or overactive imagination. But now, she understood they had always been there. The jewel's seal on her power having prevented her from seeing.

Returning to modern-day Japan had set Kagome on edge. Her senses were sharp, but her abilities were lacking as she couldn't go around carrying a bow and arrow. She felt uncomfortable anytime she came across a cursed spirit. The very sight sent her skin crawling and bile rising; they were often pathetic creatures without a lick of awareness that matched their monstrous appearance. More often than not, Kagome would feel them before she saw them lurking in a dark corner or hallway. Usually, she'd pick up an item and charge it with her divine energy, Reiryoku, and toss it at them. Each time they would cry out in a horrific screech before fading into black smoke, similarly to when demons deteriorated into purified ash.

Not only was she bombarded by these spirits during her everyday activities (school, the mall, random buildings or bridges, everywhere), but now at home. She had been feeling an overwhelming presence in the storage building on the shrine as of late. The building held many artifacts and family heirlooms, all of which dated back to the shrine's construction over 500 years ago. But this was unusual, there were few things that had felt supernatural in origin, but this presence grew by the day. Before, it had been too weak of a presence to locate in the hundreds of years worth of artifacts, but now she was sure she'd find it.

A shiver raced down her spine, fear lapping at her mind begging her to turn away. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, her eyes always seeming to land on the storage building no matter how much she wished to ignore it. Each day that would pass, the energy would grow stronger, even the cursed spirits she encountered on the shrine became more frequent.

For the past month, Kagome had simply been pushing her fear to the side, more focused on her upcoming middle school graduation than whatever was going on in the storage building. But today, she couldn't ignore it anymore.

The moment her eyes landed on the building, a new power swirled in her gut, bending and curling before settling in her side. Her side burned, the feeling as hot and fresh as when Mistress Centipede had torn into her flesh nearly a full year prior. Fear began to brickle her heart, her fingers digging painfully into her side, feeling along the scar that felt like liquid fire to the touch. She could feel it, she knew the power as well as she knew her own, yet it should have been impossible. The spiral of blue-black energy flickered like a flame, licking at her insides similar to the cursed energy used by the cursed spirit. And yet she could still distinguish it as belonging to the Shikon No Tama.

Was it simply the residue left from the Shikon, or had it never gone away to begin with?

Fear quickly filled her like an inferno, her body trembling and breathing coming out in struggling pants, fighting against the tightness that gripped her chest. Even as she searched herself, she couldn't find the Shikon, only its energy.

A scream in the distance pulled her attention outward, her eyes finding the looming shadow that was the storage building. Its traditional Japanese structure and wood had darkened, looking hauntingly old compared to the other buildings dotting the shrine. But it wasn't the structure that had her running forward, but her mother. The scream had been her mother's.

Her body was moving before she thought to do so, her fear replaced with a need to protect her mother and family. Rounding the corner, Kagome faltered for only a moment. The smell was what Kagome could only call the sickly sweetness of fermenting fruit mixed with rotting trash; it was as stomach-churning as the nine-foot-tall beast. Several bulging eyes lined his bulbous head, their iris glowing red against blue and green skin. It roared at her mother, its large mouth housing teeth the size of her face, while four arms the length and width of her body reached out, grabbing at her mother.

Her mom, on the other hand, had fallen to the ground mere feet away from the beast, her usually kind face twisted into one of terror and fear. The sight had Kagome racing into action. She grabbed the first thing she saw. Even a push broom, when imbued with her reiryoku, could become a deadly weapon.

"Run away, mama!" She yelled, throwing herself between the two.

"Kagome-"

Kagome shot her mother a glance. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" Smashing the broom to the ground, the head of the broom snapped off in splinters. Looking forward, Kagome called forth her reiryoku; the translucent pink energy came slithering forth, encompassing her makeshift staff. Behind her, she could hear her mother running away, calling for both her brother and grandfather.

The cursed spirit grinned as it looked at her, its skin tightening to reveal more of its teeth and gums.

A shiver ran down her spine. Around her, she could feel multiple cursed spirits converging on the shrine, and all of them heading in her direction. She needed to keep them from the building. Whatever was in there is what was luring the spirits here. Thinking quickly, Kagome would need to be able to set up a barrier around the shrine, and from there, she could fight off the curses without worrying. Her intuition told her that should they get their hands on the object, neither she nor her family would be safe.

Kagome made the first move, slamming the staff against its head. The effect was instant but less than what she wanted. Upon impact, the skin began to disintegrate, the smell nauseating, but it only burned the beast instead of destroying it. The screech that tore through its throat was ear-splitting, but Kagome didn't stop. While the beast continued to cry out, holding at its burned flesh, Kagome ran around him. Pushing out her reiryoku and into the building, she made a quick barrier. The barrier would deter most because of the burns and even purify the weaker spirits.

Behind her, the beast turned hungry eyes towards her, with a snarl, it charged. Its hand surrounded her waist, tearing a yell from her throat as it lifted her off the ground with a crushing grip. Grinding her teeth, Kagome called forth more reiryoku, the effect burning the spirit and making it throw her away.

She was sent spiraling, the world a blur before her back met a tree. Kagome couldn't even scream as the impact forced the air from her lungs and blood splattering out. Staggering to her feet, Kagome clenched her stomach with a groan. She only had a moment before the beast was lunging at her again.

Jumping to the side, she hit at the spirit, pushing more and more of her reiryoku into the makeshift staff. She could already feel the brittle wood beginning to deteriorate, the strain of her power taking its toll.

Each time it approached, Kagome would swat at the spirit, burning away more and more of its body. But the broomstick wouldn't last; even if she could purify this spirit, there were at least fifteen more that she could sense.

The beast sideswiped her with its tail, slamming into her repeatedly. Her body was left rattling from the impact, blood sputtering out her mouth after a particularly hard hit to the gut. She almost crumpled from the pain, but then she heard the cry of her brother.

Turning, Kagome looked to see her brother, her mother right behind him, swatting at the smaller spirits that approached the side door of the house. In his arms, he clenched her quiver and in his hand was her bow.

Sidestepping another swipe, Kagome ran towards her brother, tossing the broomstick at the beast. It snarled as the stick became logged in its chest.

Kagome reached her brother quickly. Her body moved on autopilot; swinging the quiver over her shoulder, she felt the bow vibrate the moment her hand grasped the red-stained wood. The Sacred Longbow of Mount Azusa. Her power, and the power of the bow, had long since been intertwined, and now the weapon felt like an extension of herself.

"Thanks, Souta." She grinned. With a bow in hand, Kagome felt more confident. "Now get back inside and put up the sutras I've made." Souta nodded and ran back to the house, his eyes brimming with pride. Although neither her mother nor grandfather showed any spiritual ability, all members of the Higurashi family had long since been able to see, on occasion, the supernatural creatures of this world. Kagome speculated that her brother would also develop spiritual powers in time.

Now that her family was safe, Kagome turned her sights on the spirit that had been causing her such trouble. Her movements were fluid and done with practiced ease. Within mere seconds her arrow was sent flying. The projectile sliced through the air before striking its target head-on. Once it had hit its target Kagome couldn't help but smile in satisfaction; the beast exploded outwards with her reiryoku shining brightly.

Next, Kagome repeated the process, firing and then retrieving what arrows she could to prevent her from running out; she would hate to have to use a broom handle again. So far, she had killed ten cursed spirits, but they were becoming more powerful, requiring more energy to purify them. She was starting to grow tired; she was using more and more reiryoku, and she would be running out soon. Not only had she been purifying the cursed spirits, but she was also maintaining a barrier that was needing more and more reiryoku as well. She needed to keep the barrier as long as possible, or else the next cursed spirit she faced would likely be her last.

Kagome was suddenly hit from behind, the attack taking her not only off guard but sending her flying. Her body hit the ground hard with a shout and kept rolling. She was breathless and struggling to breathe after the hit. Despite her state, Kagome had to keep fighting. She staggered to her feet, eyes briefly regarding the stairs she'd almost rolled down, but it was the people that had her pausing.

The first was a man with shining silver hair; it was mesmerizing and beautiful against his pale luminescent skin. But it wasn't his hair that made him strange- she was used to silver hair- it was the blindfold that set him apart and the feel of his aura that had her pausing. He carried himself with a confidence that was nearly palpable, and he had the power to prove it. Next to him in a similar uniform of dark-navy was a boy roughly her age with spiked black hair and fierce blue-black eyes. There was a darkness that shadowed his eyes, and could be seen within his aura; the boy was scarred.

"Sorry, but the shrines closed," She called down breathlessly, wiping the blood from her chin.

The silver-haired one grinned. "That's a shame, but we're not here for the shrine."

Kagome shrugged. From the corner of her eye, she saw a cursed spirit charging her, it was small, so it wouldn't require an arrow. With a flick of her wrist, she hit the tiny creature with her bow, the act making it explore with a small scream before dissolving into black smoke. "I'm a little busy if you don't mind."

His grin only seemed to widen with a cocky air to it. "I think we can help with that, don't you think, Megumi?" He leaned down with a hum, eyeing the boy despite the blindfold.

"Megumi" nodded lazily. "On it." His voice was low with an annoyed edge verging on tiredness. Changing his stance and with a movement of his hands to look like a dog's head, he called out with a deep voice imbued with power. "Divine Dogs!" from his shadow stepped forth two wolf-like creatures, one white and the other black, both glowing with otherworldly eyes.

The dogs went racing past her, with Megumi following closely behind. She watched as the dogs tore into the cursed spirits while Megumi took to slashing them with a large knife. Each one they attacked was taken down with little effort.

"So what is it that you came here for then?" Kagome eyed the man now standing beside her. He stood over a head taller than herself at over six-foot and was probably in his mid-twenties.

"The same reason they are." His grin was all teeth as she looked at him in a mix of shock and confusion. "For Sukuna's finger, of course."

wolfYLady: I have fallen in love with Jujutsu Kaisen! And as I am a huge fan of Kagome I thought she would be a perfect fit in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe. Her powers are very similar to cursed energy and most users in Inuyasha that use Reiryoku "Spiritual Power", they can do pretty much the same things as basic sorcerers. And as for pairings I am leaning towards Sukana/Yuji and Kagome.

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and look forward to any and all reviews.

Thank you.

*Kagome's abilities*

Reiryoku (霊力れいりょく, "Spiritual Power") all the following fall under this category: Purification, Spiritual energy barrier, Spiritual awareness, Healing, Sealing abilities, Danger Sense, Heightened Intuition/Sixth Sense.

Cursed Energy (this is energy that was left over from the Shikon No Tama- a special grade cursed item) all the following fall under this category: Cursed energy manifestation, Curse awareness, use of cursed objects, simple shikigami, basic barriers.

Weapon user: Archery, basic dagger, basic staff.

Hand to Hand combat: basic self-defense.

More will be added as she grows in strength.