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.

The feeling reminded her of what had happened at her family shrine. Kagome was ashamed she'd allowed things to get so out of hand. She didn't want the same thing happening to this simple school.

Exiting the vehicle, they gave a soft thanks to their driver Kiyotaka Ijichi. The man was ten years their senior and yet looked twice as old due to the amount of stress placed on his shoulders as the assistant director. He was kind but matter-of-fact with a pinched face and sunken eyes behind his glasses.

Once out in the open Kagome shivered, her senses telling her of a growing danger, but chalk that up to the aura from Sukuna's finger. Hopping the gate was easy. Kagome almost laughed at the child-like thrill that bubbled up, it was so juvenile and not at all the most dangerous thing she'd ever done, but for a moment, she felt normal.

Fushiguro was equally as quick and once on the other side dialed up Gojo. He was not amused with Gojo pushing off his mission onto them. The teen was like an old man, his brow always set in a glower that made him look far older than he was, and he was always so straight to the point. Kagome wondered if he ever allowed himself to have fun, or if he simply didn't know how.

While he talked, Kagome allowed herself to be guided by the feeling of cursed energy, letting her instincts point her in the direction. They walked past a rugby field, the entrance had been taped off with several signs telling people to not enter. She recognized the feeling almost instantly, there was a curse who'd taken claim to the field, its energy originating from deep within the field itself.

They wandered til coming across a small thermometer shed, it was pretty standard. "They're keeping a cursed object in a place like this? Could they be any dumber?" Fushiguro scoffed, but Kagome immediately felt something was wrong.

There should have been a presence, and yet despite the air being charged with only a fraction of Sukuna's energy, Kagome felt a profound absence. Her stomach dropped before tightening to the point she felt nauseous. She didn't dare reach for the small doors, instead, she turned around, eyes pinned to the school building. It was there, somewhere. It was still on the school grounds, which was good, but they couldn't go into the building

Behind her, Fushiguro gave a sharp yell. The doors opened and then closed before opening again. "There's nothing here," he yelled frantically into the phone. "The damn thing's empty!"

"For real? That's hilarious!" Gojo laughed on the other end. "Maybe it took a nighttime stroll." Kagome rolled her eyes, her teacher had the worst sense of humor.

"I'm gonna punch you!" Fushiguro growled.

Gojo laughed, his voice jovial despite the gravity of the situation. "Well, no going home until it's recovered, understood?" The call then ended with an audible click.

Fushiguro growled, his eyes brimming with annoyance. "I'm seriously going to punch him next time." He spat, looking at Kagome.

"Mmhmm~" She rolled her eyes before looking at the building once more. "Let's double-check the grounds and check back tomorrow?" She could distinctly feel it coming from the building, but it was too large of a presence for her to pinpoint.

He begrudgingly agreed.

~o.O~O.o~

The next day Fushiguro and Kagome were back at the school, their search effort continuing where they'd left off the night before. But to no avail. The building was huge, and the presence was both prevalent and underwhelming. Despite the feeling of Sukuna's aura, neither teen could pinpoint its location.

Kagome was growing equally as frustrated as Fushiguro, she could feel the presence of the Sukuna everywhere she turned, and yet nothing sparked like it had with the finger from the shrine. She was reluctant to think back on the experience, not just out of shame, but because of her reaction to touching Sukuna's finger.

Her heart raced, fingertips tingling with the memory.

The storage building had a distinct smell of stale ink and paper, one that hadn't changed despite the overwhelming cursed energy that now resided there. Dozens of boxes lined the walls and shelves, carefully labeled within organized groupings. Her body was pulled to the far back of the building, and then to the darkest corner.

Her hand moved on its own as if answering the ethereal call coming from the box. There wasn't a voice, and yet she felt the whisper of one against her senses, it was if another soul were calling out to her own.

The small wooden box was practically glowing, the pale wood covered in delicate carvings, a single sutra seemingly having eroded away. Her fingers glided over the wood, sliding open with a soft click with little effort. What had moments been an overwhelming presence had calmed at her touch, the darkness seeming to fade from existence. But in actuality, it sank into her, the feeling crawling up from her fingers and settling in her palm. Her skin tingled as it slithered along her flesh, feeling far too intimate and possessive.

"Higurashi-"

"Higurashi, are you listening to me?" Kagome was pulled away from her thoughts by Megumi's gruff but equally soft voice. "You good?" he asked again.

Kagome quickly smiled. "I thought I told you to call me Kagome."

He gave a huff of acknowledgment. Kagome understood that Megumi didn't care for his first name; it's why he called everyone by their last name so that they could also offer him that same courtesy. "Think there's a dead body buried here or something?"

Kagome followed his gaze, eyes finding the curse she'd felt the night before. It swam through the ground like a fish, a yellow fur lining its spine like a fin against its gray-blue skin. The beast cut through the field before slithering up the goalpost. It sat four red eyes searching like a predator surveying its territory. Worse of all, the creature was all teeth and gums.

"Definitely." she huffed, regarding the beast with a worried glance. "I'm surprised to see one this high-leveled. That's probably a grade 2 curse." She shook her head, sighing in frustration. "Must be that cursed object's influence."

"Damn." He hissed. Kagome could already imagine Megumi punching their teacher; she was already contemplating it. "Its presence is too strong to pin down. It feels like it's close by, but it could still be far away, too." Kagome could only nod in agreement. "This special-grade cursed object is becoming a serious pain. Who could have moved it? Where is it now?"

Around them, the students buzzed around excitedly all of them moving towards the soccer field where the two had seen the track and field club set up early. There were several excited shouts within the crowd.

"Over here!"

"Coach Takagi is taking on Itadori from West Middle!"

"Wow, what are they competing in?"

Bored and seemingly out of options, the two followed the crowd. They stood along the edge, close enough to observe but fair enough to be separate.

The coach was a large man with thick muscles, but overall his toss was a reasonable distance of 14 meters (roughly 46 feet). Even those competing professionally would be pleased with such a throw. However, it was nothing against the national record of over 18 meters.

The students clapped and cheered, each with something to say about their teacher. But it was the student that everyone was talking about. Around them, Kagome could hear the whispers of rumors about the boy, all of which made him seem god-like with his supposed prowess.

The boy was around their age, just under six-foot, with two-tone hair of strawberry blonde and black with pink undertones. He wasn't muscular, but he wasn't scrawny either. If anything, he seemed plain. His aura was almost as mute as his expression. And yet there was something about him that demanded Kagome's attention.

He wavered only once when given the heavy ball before adjusting it. "Hey, can I just throw this however I want?" The teacher nodded with a laugh, doubting the boy everyone was currently chanting for.

With a muted expression, 'Itadori' took up a pitcher's stance and then threw. The force and power that bubbled up shouldn't have been possible for an average person, and yet, the 16lb ball was tossed with such ease that it went beyond the shot-put area and crashed into the soccer goal.

There wasn't even an accurate measurement as a student called back dumbly. "Uh, roughly 30 meters." (roughly 98 feet)

Megumi and Kagome pulled away after, both impressed by the seemingly impossible throw.

"That guy's incredible. He pulled that off without any cursed energy." Megumi said softly, giving a rare compliment.

Kagome nodded, her eyes constantly glancing backward. There was something about the boy that demanded her attention, and yet there was nothing about him she found overly interesting. He wasn't ugly, in fact, Kagome found him to be cute with his lazy smile and carefree attitude.

She almost growled, growing frustrated with herself. "Come on, let's wander inside. Maybe a teacher or student took it." Kagome was on a mission, and the sooner they finished the better.

"Sorry!" His voice came calling from behind. "Excuse me!"

The simple brushing of their sleeves as the boy squeezed between Megumi and her, shook Kagome to her core. A yelp was torn from her throat before she seemingly forgot how to breathe. It was a fraction of a second, and yet it was like she had been struck by lightning. Sukuna's presence was overwhelming.

Megumi regained his wits far quicker, his eyes switching between the boy and Kagome. She was far more sensitive to Sukuna's presence, Gojo having chalked that up to her being a miko.

Still breathless, Kagome waved him off. "Go after him. I'll be fine." She panted. Megumi may come off as aloof, but moments like this reminded her how kind her classmate could be.

He nodded before taking off after the boy who was already running through the school gate.

Several minutes passed before Kagome was finally able to catch her breath. She shivered, wiping at the sweat that had accumulated on her brow. Most students were already heading home, and it would be dark within the next couple of hours.

But something didn't feel right.

Despite having felt Sukuna's cursed energy on 'Itadori', Kagome could still feel it. In fact, it was stronger now that she had made contact with the boy. Her eyes swept the length of the school building before seemingly settling on the third floor.

Shooting Megumi a quick text Kagome cautiously entered the building.

wolfYLady: Hey guys, hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

To clarify a few things based on the dates and timeline. Kagome started at Jujutsu High School in March despite school starting in April in Japan. I did this so that she would have pre-established relationships and training in Jujutsu Kaisen before Yuji Itadori/Sukuna are introduced and then Nobara Kugisaki. This story for the most part will be following the canon story of Jujutsu Kaisen. I truly hope you all have enjoyed it.

And to all my European readers, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and all of Ukraine. Please stay safe, I have faith that Ukraine will prevail.

Until next time!~.