Disclaimer: I own only the twins, and mind you, they are a scary bunch.

Author's note: Response to Kat Lady's Random Monthly Challenge at Dokuga, 'Witch Doctor' theme in 2009. This one grew six legs and ran away from me! I exceeded the maximum word count by forty words initially, but managed to chop it down somewhat. The flow feels… umm… choppy because of that. I sure hope I've delivered what the challenge asked for! Bleargh.

The half-brothers' relationship is a lot warmer here. In this universe, there is no difference between the life-span of youkai, hanyou and humans, just that youkai & hanyou have superior faculties and physical endurance. (Hey! I'm the author, right?)

Where's the SessKag-ness, you ask? That which is not obvious is implied. Enjoy!

Word count: 1500 (narrative only)

Summary: (A/U) A spell cast for evil and a costly cure. No one really wins in the end.


No Price Too Dear

Lady Kagome was known for her warm disposition. Yet, that changed a few months after she wedded the hanyou prince. At first, she became more introspective and withdrawn, sometimes unresponsive to questions and comments. Then her appetite diminished and she became thin, haggard. Afterwards came the nightmares; she woke up screaming and gibbering in the wee hours, rousing the mostly-youkai denizens of the palace, including the king himself. The nightmares spilled into the daytime and Lady Kagome would be seized by sudden panic, crying and screaming, before fleeing from horrors only she could see.

The royal family was understandably worried, for a few reasons. Lady Kagome is distantly related to Lady Izayoi, the reigning king's human stepmother; she is also Izayoi's favourite attendant, sent to the palace at nine years old. As she grew into adulthood, Lady Kagome and the hanyou prince, Inuyasha, fell in love and were subsequently married.

The king summoned healers skilled in all manners of arts – youkai, hanyou and human alike – to cure his sister-in-law, but there was little any of them could do. In the end, it was a young priest who revealed the source of their distress. He discovered a bronze mirror amongst Lady Kagome's belongings which emitted faint traces of magic, cunningly woven into the metal. But try as he might, the priest could not break the spell; it was old magic, beyond his experience. However, he knew of others who could possibly help.

"In the northern islands, there are sisters with great powers. It is said that they are skilled in arcane knowledge that most have forgotten. But, my Lord, the cost of their service is great..."

"Thank you for your assistance, houshi-sama," Lady Izayoi murmured. Though her hand rested on Inuyasha's shoulder, her gentle eyes gazed anxiously at the deceptively calm visage of Sesshoumaru. Stepmother she may be, but the king was a son of her heart, even if he was not a son of her womb.

Mothers, Sesshoumaru observed, feeling the weight of those soft loving eyes, are the same no matter the species. Such infallible instincts.


"I should go, Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha said. "Not you."

"You will act as regent while I am gone," Sesshoumaru said quietly, holding Inuyasha's gaze. "You will see that no other harm comes to Lady Kagome."

In that moment, Inuyasha understood what Sesshoumaru never said or showed. Mutely, Inuyasha fell to his knees, movements stiff and formal, formed a triangle with his fingers and lowered his head before Sesshoumaru's tabi-clad feet. Must you be so damned honourable, ani-ue?


Weeks of travel finally brought him to his destination.

Somewhere within the cave, an unsteady fire burned, throwing silhouettes against the curtain that hung from wooden frames across the opening. A shadow detached itself from its wavering, dancing brethren and moved forward. The shadow walked on two legs, helped by a staff, had a disproportionate wedge-shaped body and two heads. What in the world…?

The curtain of tattered fabric was twitched aside to reveal two women, twins joined at the waist, sharing a pair of legs for their two torsos. They have beautiful, fine features set in oval faces. One had white hair and shiny black eyes that missed nothing. The other had black hair but her eyes were blind, irises shrouded with milky white film. The women wore nothing but a long coarse skirt, ragged blouses and strings of beads and bones upon each neck, as if the cold climate did not affect them in the least.

Sesshoumaru tossed the polished bronze mirror at their bare feet.

"My sister-in-law became ill because of this. A priest told me that you have the skills to undo this magic," Sesshoumaru said with quiet imperiousness.

The women knelt, and the white-haired twin picked up the mirror with a grace that was at odds with their deformity, caressing its surface almost lovingly. The sightless, black-haired one lifted up a hand, palm outward. Slowly, she clenched her fist and Sesshoumaru found himself unable to move, breathe or think. When the woman spoke, her melodious voice sounded loud and hollow to his ears.

"Manners, manners. Tsk, you come here demanding that we do this and that, with such arrogance too," the dark-headed sister said. She spoke in measured, cultured tones. "The first of the dog spirits, your ancestor, was created and tamed by the likes of us, koinu. You may be lord and master in your petty province, but here, we rule all that lie between sky and earth, and we command all that crawl in the shadow realms between earth and hell. Here, we are god and it would serve you well to remember that you come from nothing but a four-legged cur."

The blind one slowly unclenched her fist and bit by bit, Sesshoumaru's senses returned to him. Once fully restored, he snarled his displeasure, hand gripping the hilt of his blade. The woman closed her hand loosely, stilling the youkai king's movements again.

"Every heartbeat you waste yapping and growling at us is one heartbeat wasted for your beloved sister-in-law. Save her or kill her, O King?"

Long minutes passed as Sesshoumaru's grappled with his pride and anger. At length, he grounded out between clenched teeth, "Save her. Please."

The twins smiled, revealing gleaming teeth and released him from their hold.

"Then, do sit down," the twins gestured with four arms. "Our price is steep. We may ask for your eyesight, so that I can see. Or we may demand your voice, because my sister has none. Or we may want your most precious memories or half of your lifespan. Or we may bind your lust to ours, so you can slake our desires..." The women leaned forward and smirked at Sesshoumaru's revulsion. "Would you pay then, Lord of the Dogs?"

He nodded curtly, without hesitation. The black-haired twin laughed, a tinkling sound.

"Why do you do this for her, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"It is my duty to her."

The twins sneered knowingly, unimpressed with his false declaration.

"Such a soul she has, poor Lady Kagome. So enormous, so pure. Had she been a lesser creature, she would have been dead already."

"What is wrong with her?" Voice devoid of haughtiness, there was only genuine worry in his question.

"Someone wants her to suffer so greatly before they kill her. They wish to break you, and send your house into chaos."

"She and my half-brother love one another. Surely it is him that they mean to harm."

"But it is not your half-brother who sits before us today," the tone was light, derisive. The woman whispered words in a dead language and blew onto the mirror. Each twin took hold of the mirror with one hand and broke it easily as if it was made of wafer instead of metal. There was a sudden surging wind in the cave, causing the flames to gutter alarmingly, and the air was filled with whispers and hisses, coming from everywhere. "There, it is done."

A regal eyebrow arched upwards in disbelief. The twin who could speak laughed coldly.

"The spell binding her is broken, but her recovery will take time."

"Do you have nothing to aid her?"

"We do." An arm reached out, elongated and plucked a fine celadon flask from its niche in the stone wall. "She will have to finish this, a mouthful a day."

"The one who delivered the spell… I ask you to return the same to the sender. I want him or her to suffer like the lady did."

"Done." Dangling the flask tauntingly from a slender hand, the woman said, "Now, our payment…"

Outside, the cold wind howled for hours, mournfully.

They were the longest hours in Sesshoumaru's life.

Sesshoumaru woke up the next day, lying in the dappled shade of trees. It took him weeks to reach the twins, yet they could spirit him back in a matter of hours. The air was warm and sweet. He knew he was not far from home but, Kami, he was in such agony. He tried to rise but it was too much, even for him. The world shifted, blurred and turned black again.

They found him a short distance away from the castle walls, unconscious.

His face was caked with dried blood - one eye gone – and all that remained of his left arm was a partially healed stump. In his right hand, he clutched a flask tightly. When they laid him down gently in the infirmary, he woke up long enough to issue garbled instructions with regards to the flask and its contents. Relinquishing the precious flask to a distraught Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru sank back into the pillows, comatose once more.

That night, Inuyasha stole into the infirmary and knelt at the feet of his sleeping half-sibling. For a long time, he simply stared at the ruin Sesshoumaru had become. Shoulders bowed under the weight of debt, gratitude, guilt and grief, the hanyou prince pressed his face into his palms and screamed silently