A/N: The lack of recent updates is sponsored by my around Valentine's Day entry for my other Inuyasha collection.
A very terrible, but from the heart gift for Cstorm86

A Deal

An old woman in dark, plain robes sighed, her back arched as she leaned down to inspect the girl laying on the floor in her little hut hidden in the forest. The girl was a pretty one, young and a miko, She had great hair too, just like the witch's long decades ago. She was also dressed in odd clothing. Around her anxiously stood her companions - a team of unlikely allies. The woman was curious what made them join forces.

"The girl is cursed," she said. "By the looks of it, by my sister."

"Again?" the youkai exterminator gasped. The old woman nodded and scratched her hooked nose. The hut was barely lit by the small fire, shelves lining all the walls held various boxes, bowls and jars, dried herbs hung from the ceiling. A huge black cat peered at them all from under a broom in the corner, their own feline glaring at him to stay away.

"I can lift the spell, but you all will have to pay for it," she continued and ran a hand over the frail few strands flying around her head, all that remained from her beautiful locks. The inu hanyou scoffed.

"Figures! What do you want?" he asked. The old hag answered and the half-breed bowed his head before looking to his friends. No one shook their head.

The old witch chuckled and went to fetch a simple glass pipe.

.

Not even a day passed before again her solitude in the woodland was disturbed. The old witch was enjoying a cup of herbal tea, rubbing her cat's back, when a girl ran into her hut.

"Ah, the cursed miko," she smiled with her toothless mouth. "How feel you?"

"Inuyasha can't smell! And Shippou can't taste things! And Miroku lost his touch! Sango doesn't see a thing and... and Kirara can't hear!" the girl panted out.

"Ah, yes, they gave up their senses to allow you live," she nodded with a chuckle. "Such a fine group, none of them hesitated."

"Can't you fix them? What do I have to do for you to make them get their senses back?" the miko asked, urgency and panic in her voice. There was also fear and the witch didn't fault her, after all she was a witch.

"I will give you an answer, but you have to give me something in return" she said and pulled out from her robe a pair of silver scissors.

.

"Keh, you idiot, don't you ever run off like this!" Inuyasha barked and glared at Kirara. There was no use scolding the cat for helping Kagome, since she couldn't hear a word.

Living without his sense of smell was a pain, but a pain he was willing to accept, because he could yell at his favorite miko.

Kagome lowered her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to... Fix things."

"It's fine, Kagome," Sango said, resting a hand on the crook of Miroku's elbow. The monk no longer tried to use any chance of groping her, since he couldn't feel her behind anymore. At least he was still able to fight, she was practically a liability with her blindness. She hoped she could find a new purpose in life, maybe with some help from Kaede. She didn't fault Kagome for her state, nor did anyone else.

It had been their choice and one they had made with no regrets.

Living without their senses, albeit hard, was nothing compared to living without Kagome.

"So, how did you get the haircut?" Miroku asked. He knew Shippou was sitting on his shoulder, tail hanging limply, because he could see him withe corner of his eye. The boy was unhappy because he loved tasting new sweets, but was doing his best to hide it, so Kagome wouldn't feel bad about it.

"I... Uh, I used my hair to pay for something," Kagome blushed. She felt... drafty around her neck. But she hoped Inuyasha would like her new look, after cooling down from his fuming episode.

"For what?" Shippou asked, trying to focus on something that wasn't the misery of not tasting chocolate ever again.

"For Knowledge," she smiled a bright, happy smile that made them all feel a bit better. Even Inuyasha stopped scowling at her. "Your senses will come back when the month ends."

"What?!" they all exclaimed.

"The witch didn't tell you because she wanted to test you," she continued.

"What?!" they repeated, shocked

"She told me that she didn't need your senses but she thought it'd be fun to get her own to how they were when she was young..."

"What?!" the group yelled.

A bunch of crows decided to relocate their meeting to a more silent part of the forest.