Chapter Text
The traditional mansion the group stood before was a lovely one, with its delicate wooden carvings and its well maintained gardens.
It was also absolutely swarmed, with small but slimy creatures crawling all over the structure, some even attached to the servants bustling about. Said servants didn't seem to even to be aware of the creatures, though most of them walked sluggishly as if still being weighed down.
Kagome couldn't help but to cover her mouth with a hand and flinch at the sight of it.
"How does it look, Houshi-sama?" the old village head asked worriedly, his withered hands wringing in distraught.
"I've never seen an infestation this severe," Miroku replied solemnly, already reaching into his sleeve for a handful of ofuda. "There is nothing to worry about, though. I should be able to completely exorcise your home before nightfall."
"Of course, of course," the village head said eagerly, nodding his head in quick bobs. "I will have meals and beds prepared for you and your companions right away."
"Hey Miroku, it looks like you'll be doing some honest work for once," Shippo spoke up from his place in Kagome's arms as the old man quickly scampered away. One of the demons leapt off of the roof of the mansion and onto the man's head, causing him to stumble slightly before continuing on inside.
"Hey now," Miroku remarked, annoyance tinging his expression and voice.
"He's right," Inuyasha, Sango, and Kagome all replied simultaneously. Miroku's eyebrow twitched.
"That said, it doesn't look like any of these people can see the demons here," Kagome said, watching an older woman trudge by with a load of firewood along with another spirit on her back.
"It's likely these demons aren't born from flesh and blood, but rather manifested from negative emotions," Miroku answered her. "Cursed spirits, to be exact. Thankfully, these all appear to be weak ones and it's unlikely that anyone here will die from them, but as I said before, this is a severe infestation. Though with this kind of volume, these cursed spirits were probably attracted to this place rather than being manifested."
"Cursed spirits?" Kagome repeated. "Negative emotions?"
"It's entirely possible something more powerful will come by sooner or later. If something is attracting them here, we should find and destroy it," Sango added.
"I'll clear out the curses first before we go looking," Miroku said, stepping up and swinging down his staff at the woman with the firewood. She froze and shrieked, clearly believing that the monk was attacking her, but his staff only went through the hitching spirit like a hot knife through butter, destroying it instantly and leaving nothing behind.
"Eh?" the woman looked up and blinked. "My body feels so much lighter now. Was that your doing, Houshi-sama?"
Miroku gave her a gracious smile. The woman bowed deeply in gratitude before walking away with a girlish blush on her cheeks and a childlike spring in her steps.
"Either I use up the rest of my ofuda or this really will take the rest of the day," Miroku said with a small sigh, his ofuda-filled hand resting on his shoulder as he rotated the joint. His gaze then landed on Kagome, and his expression grew thoughtful. The schoolgirl cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Kagome-sama, will you grant me the honor of assisting me for this exorcism? I'll give you a quick lesson on cursed spirits while you help me."