The Path of Pins | By : girltype Category: InuYasha > General Views: 7423 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story. |
AN: I know this has taken forever…and a day. But I have reasons! VERY good reasons! And they totally aren’t laziness…well one of
them is but the others are perfectly valid.
I got a beta! I’d have two but
the other had technical difficulties which was sad. So DarkDragonFemale is my hero.
I luffs her…in a completely platonic way (reading this story you might
get confused, I’m a good girl I am.) If
something is messed up its still my fault cause I’m good like that.
Its summer all
I’m doing is working full time so if you feel the urge to entertain ME in some
way (only fair really) come check out my livejournal and leave comments
(actually still entertaining ‘cause I frequently hurt myself in really funny
creative ways and write about it on there).
I don’t know if
anyone checks out my profile but it has a link to my deviantART page where I
colored in my picture of Kagome and mostly nekkid Sesshomaru…it’s a scene that
will eventually someday be seen in this very story. Yes, I’m shamelessy whoring out my pictures. Artists are needy…and a bit loony.
Speaking of needy
(and loony) reviews are adored, admired, and when particularlly eloquent (and
have more than update in them *I still love you I swear) made in to song and
danced to when I’m in inappropriate places…like the mall.
The Path of Pins
Chapter 7
~
~*~
Women and cats will do as they please, and men
and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
-
Robert A. Heinlein
~*~
I slipped
back into my room without any incident except for the knowing look of a maid
who picked a twig discreetly from my hair at breakfast. No one else saw and I sunk happily into the
realization that I had gotten away with
my midnight escapade.
The afternoon was spent in preparation for the fete. the furisode was
a pale green silk with indigo blossoms spreading out from the shoulder in a
diagonal to disappear beneath my obi, which was also blue. I reflected with a smile as I slid my
fingertips over the fine stitching on my obi that my wardrobe was becoming more
elaborate each day.
When it came time to leave for the fệte I met with Naraku and Kagura
in the courtyard. He eyed me warily,
taking in the clothes I’d chosen and the smile I wore on my face. “Do you feel up to the public appearance?”
“Of course,” I had spent so long in hiding from the world I wasn’t willing
to go back now. I slid a hand through
his arm and turned us towards the waiting carriage.
“You’d
drive us all to distraction if he dared hide you again,” Kagura said with a
laugh from behind us as Naraku handed me up into the carriage and then turned
to do the same for Kagura.
“I would
at the very least do my best,” I agreed and bated my lashes. Naraku followed and after a moment of
silence Kohaku came in. I watched in
fascination as he swung into the carraige gracefully, using only one hand, his
muscles rippling with the movement. Kohaku rapped on the wood of the ceiling
and the carriage started with a jolt.
In Naraku’s presence Kohaku only ever spoke when forced to. I could tell, by watching the two, that Naraku was in the mood to do just that,
enjoying the easy way he could fluster my guard. Kagura saw it too and spoke quietly to Naraku, careful to keep
her eyes away from the two of us. I watched Kohaku stare out the window as I
listened to them.
“Sesshomaru
hardly attends these gatherings so why are we going?” asked Kagura Naraku
shrugged.
“We were invited. It’s a good
oppurtunity to catch the attention of other family members. Through them Sesshomaru will have to meet
her at some point.” I looked out the
window to hide the smile. I had taken
care of that much at least.
“The brothers are continually at odds…” Kagura went on.
“True.”
“Would there not there be a problem if Sesshomaru decides that Inuyasha
being close to Kagome makes her undesirable?”
I swallowed nervously as Naraku laughed, his hand coming up to run a
lock of my hair through his fingers.
“Kagome undesirable?
Impossible.” I glowed despite
Kohaku’s sudden scowl. Naraku and
Kagura continued to speak softly, I listened with half an ear but did not
concern myself over much with the rest.
~*~
The palace was gorgeous, I saw it long before we arrived its sheer size
daunting. Even
in the darkness it was still easy to see torches and lanterns placed
everywhere. The walls were white and its green steepled roofs lifted into the
air until they resembled mountains.
After a tense moment, Kohaku was forced to leave his weapons in the
carriage, Only the Inu family was allowed to carry weapons, there would only be the inu family with weapons. We entered the palace with other revelers in
the midst of a wall of sound. Everyone was
laughing and talking to each other.
Decorative scrolls lay in oshiita along the walls and next
to them hung mitsugusoku with the traditional incense burner giving off
the faint scent of amber with a flower vase and candles.
I felt a
now familiar tug as we entered the room; but, seeing as, the room was enormous
and filled with so many people I could not pinpoint where the feeling was
from. The tug distracted me as I walked
through the crowds of people smiling and nodding, gracefully ignoring the
peculative stares. Naraku glanced over
his shoulder at me and smiled. I made
certain not to fall behind, it would be horribly embarrassing to not be present
when introduced to the hosts of the fệte because I had gotten lost, not
to mention rude. It seemed to take an
eternity to make it to the dais where the inu clan waited, I approached with my
head bowed as was proper so I did not see anything but the floor at first. “Higurashi, Naraku and. . . household,” came
the soft hesitant voice of the announcer. That hesitation made me wonder if the
invitation to Naraku had only included himself and Kagura.
“Welcome to my fệte,” a deep voice said smoothly, ignoring the slip
of the announcer, the voice was like the far off rumble of thunder. I looked up
and forgot to breathe for a moment, sitting before us was a demon who commanded
the attention of
everyone in the room just by being.
His hair fell in waves of silvery white around him, a section was pulled away
from his face to show the delicate point of his ears and the dark blue slashes
of color that ran along each cheek. I
looked up into twinkling eyes the color of the setting sun, brilliant gold with
a hint of red, and could not help smiling back at him. It was obvious that this
was Sesshomaru’s father; his face was a wider less angular version of that cold
inuyoukai’s. With that thought my eyes
slid away from the father’s face to look for the son’s, but were drawn to the
woman at his side who leaned forward slightly.
“Please
introduce us to your companions Lord Naraku,” she said in a soft whispery
voice, from the information I’d read the night before I knew her name was
Mazuma. Black hair was pulled back into an elaborate coif held up by gold
hairpins to show the soft pleasant face and dark brown eyes as they moved over
each of us. She smiled sweetly before
looking back down at her clasped hands; she glanced up briefly to see the face
that went with each name that Naraku gave.
I felt eyes on me and turned to meet the stare of wide amber eyes, the man
was looking at me with his lips parted and I had the impression that he had
forgotten to scowl in his curiosity.
The white hair made it apparent that this was the other son, the hanyou. He was his father’s son but I saw his mother
in him; the skin darker than his father’s, the soft curves of a human face, and
the lesser height. He was taller than I
was but he had no hope of ever being as tall as either father or brother. The white hair was also courser, more white
than silver, and behind the bangs twitching irritably were dog ears. They flicked following some sound I could
not hear and I followed the movement with avid wonder. Suddenly, I was planning
ways to get my hands on those soft furry ears.
I had not realized I was staring until I felt a soft nudge on my arm, I
turned to see Naraku smiling at me with an eyebrow raised in question. I looked around with wide eyes and smiled
sheepishly. “Pleased to meet you,” I
said in a quavering voice, hoping no one had asked me a question. ‘He stared at me first,’ I thought
petulantly as I bit the inside of my lip to keep from pouting. ‘I was simply
returning the favor.’
“You are
nothing like what I expected,” Inutaisho
said with a smile and a slight inclination of his head.
“I can hardly imagine what you would have expected, my lord.” I said as I fell into a role I’d been
trained to for years.
“I hardly know,” his head tilted to the side as he took me in and blinked
slowly.
“Then how do you know if I am nothing like you had thought?” That surprised
a laugh out of him and the partygoers near us paused for a moment to look at
us.
“Forgive her, my lord, her tongue sometimes moves without thought behind
it,” Naraku said softly but when I looked at him there was a happy glint in
those dark eyes.
“No mind,
I like an unruly tongue from time to time, makes for an interesting night.” My
face warmed under his gaze but I smiled sweetly and kept my head up. “Meet my sons,” Inutaisho said abruptly with
a regal sweep of his hand motioning to them as though he was putting them on
display. My eyes went to Sesshomaru
without thinking and found him looking at me.
I should have expected it but it threw me and I opened my mouth to speak
to him when Inutaisho went on. “This is
my youngest, Inuyasha.” He inclined his head and I turned to bow, trying not to
bite my lip at the intended slight on the older son when he was not introduced
first.
I could not help glancing at Sesshomaru out of the corner of my eye, his
face was unmoving, as perfect and unfeeling as a Noh mask. The eyes were what gave lie to the calm as
they stared fixedly at the back of his father’s neck. Inuyasha was scowling and shifting from foot to foot as he rested
his arm on his sword’s hilt. I got the
impression that it was a sign that he was
nervous, the weapon a reassuring touchstone.
At the last second he inclined his head and looked away when I smiled at
him. I watched color rise in his cheeks and fought off an undignified giggle.
“And my heir apparent Sesshomaru,” Inutaisho said without moving to
indicate him, not that there was any need, his oldest stood imposing and regal,
to miss him was to be blind. Sesshomaru
did not move; there was no inclination of his head, no twitch of the flesh, I
don’t even think his chest rose with breath, and his eyes stayed on his
father’s neck. I thought he wasn’t
listening; maybe he had fallen asleep on his feet or was counting the threads
in his father’s obi. ‘Or,’ I thought as
I felt a pressure building in the back of my mind, ‘he is counting how many
ways to kill a man just targeting the neck.’
I was trying to think of more ways then just the obvious when Naraku
spoke. “My lord Sesshomaru,” he said
softly and persuasively, it made me want to look at him but I couldn not take
my eyes off the silent youkai. “It’s an
honor to meet you. I’ve heard much
about your many exploits.” Sesshomaru
was looking at him then, with narrowed eyes, the hunting dog sizing up his
opponent, before he let out something that could have been a sigh and inclined
his head.
Inutaisho
hadn’t turned to look at his oldest son, but his hands clenched on the arms of
his chair and his back was stiff with tension.
It was obvious that he wanted to do something; the air was heavy with
the feel of his power. I had trouble
pulling in air and couldn’t help glancing at the others to see how they
reacted. There was nothing save
Kohaku’s hand twitching quietly on his hip where his weapon should have
been. Sesshomaru would be hearing complaints
before the night was out, I was sure.
Then Mazuma put a delicate hand on Inutaisho’s and he shook himself, all
the tension leaving him in a wave of relaxing muscles. I watched in fascination as it left each
muscle in his face down to his fingers.
Mazuma withdrew her hand slowly, without a sound, her eyes never leaving
her lap. “Enjoy the fệte,”
Inutaisho said with a smile, as though nothing had happened since his last
words. “We are honored to have your
company.”
“Thank you, Lord.” Naraku bowed and the rest of us did the same. We backed away, I with one last look at the
two brothers. Sesshomaru was staring
off into the distance and Inusyasha’s eyes were flicking away, color again
rising in his cheeks.
“It is surprising to see that Sesshomaru
is here,” Kagura said from behind the fan she was fluttering delicately.
“Luck is with us today,” Naraku said as he put a hand under her elbow, I
caught a low murmur of something else as I let them lose me in the crowd. I glanced behind me to see Kohaku trailing
me and with that last bit of reassurance I made my way through the
revelers. Though the bodies were packed
close together I slipped through without touching a one until I saw one of the
few humans in the room.
He was
handsome in a very human way, the demons around him making otherwise wonderful
features look not so much common as alien.
It did not seem to bother him as he smiled at something that was said to
him. It was a gentle smile that caught
me from turning to somewhere else.
Brown hair fell into eyes that did not shift from the man speaking to
him, unlike the many people around him who were continually glancing about for
one reason or other. I gnawed at the
inside of my lip as I watched the other man bow and turn. I circled around until I was at his back, he
hadn’t seen me but he felt it when I tripped into him.
I let out a very delicate “oh” as he turned to help straighten me. I said “I beg your pardon,” as he took hold
of my arm to steady me saying “are you hurt lady? Not sick?”
“Oh no,” I smiled shyly around the heat in my cheeks, “I had something to
break my fall, and am in perfect
health.”
He smiled and his whole face lit up with it. “Glad to be of service.
I’m Hojou.”
“Higurashi, Kagome,” I bowed my head and looked up into confused eyes.
“Where have I heard that name?” His voice was low but not deep, it was a
soothing voice like the sound of rain on the roof. I waited for the realization of who I was to sink in and felt the
corners of my lips tip up when his eyes widened and his mouth fell open slowly. “Higurashi? I’ve heard—” he stopped and
turned red, I watched the color rise up his neck and fill his cheeks before
coming to his aid.
“So much about me. You’ve heard so
much about me.” He sighed and gave me a
sheepish smile more boy than man.
He cleared his throat, “yes, exactly.”
“It’s amazing how many seem to know of me when I have only just entered society.”
“Yes, well, people always talk. . . and I know people.” He was flustered; he would be running his
hands through his hair if he wasn’t clutching so hard at his sleeves. It was possibly the cutest thing I’d seen in
weeks, other than Inuyasha’s ears of course.
One would never guess that he was heir to a fortune, lands that were
smaller than my own lord’s but carried an influence that most humans could not
boast. We talked and his strangle hold on his sleeves loosened but his cheeks
remained a pleasantly flushed pink.
I saw a flash of black out of the corner of an eye and turned to follow
it. Naraku was standing amidst men and
women talking pleasantly in a loose circle but he was watching me. I lifted a brow and he inclined his head to
something past me. He smiled before
turning to a small-boned kitsune woman with flaming red hair. I turned slowly distantly aware that Hojou
was still talking although haltingly. I first saw Sesshomaru talking idly to
another youkai, a tall man who almost came up to Sesshomaru’s height. He laughed and waved a hand in the air,
looking strangely animate next to the stoic youkai who only moved his head to
nod occasionally. It did not seem a
good time to interrupt and a ways behind them leaning against the wall was
Inuyasha. He was talking to a human
with black hair and monk’s robes. The
idea that a youkai family would invite a monk to a party threw me enough that I
stood blinking with my mouth half open even as Inuyasha turned and saw me. He froze for half a heartbeat and turned
back to the monk scowling, but he glanced back once.
My mind was made up before I was turning back to Hojou with a smile to
light up the whole palace. “It has been
a pleasure talking to you, but I should be going.”
His face fell and he looked down at his feet before stuttereing out a
quick, “Can I possibly see you again. . . I’ve enjoyed talking to you,” he
added and looked up hopefully.
“I’ll look forward to it,” I smiled sweetly and bowed away from him. I felt his eyes on my back as I walked to
where Inuyasha stood. I smiled at the
monk whose violet eyes gave a twinkle as he brushed past Inuyasha without any
effort and stood before me. “What is
the name of this vision of loveliness?”
“Kagome.” I answered and offered a hand which he kissed, his lips lingered
over my knuckles as he rolled his eyes to look at me through his lashes. They were thick and long and I loved the
effect, he was worth a few extra looks.
“Would you bear my child?” My mouth fell open and before I could say
anything he was lying on the floor clutching his head.
“Shuddup you letch!” Inuyasha yelled as he stared down at the prone
figure, fist raised incase he twitched in my direction.
I leaned down to see if the monk was still alive and heard a groan. Keeping an eye on the angry hanyou I touched
a finger to the silky black hair. “How
can I possibly consider such a thing if I don’t even know your name?”
The groan cut off and violet eyes blinked up at me blankly. I glanced up at Inuyasha to see an identical
expression with amber eyes. I could not
help myself, I laughed and picking up a hand to cover my mouth I tipped back to
land with a thump on the floor next to the monk who was grinning like a maniac
at me. “Oh dear,” I gasped out, “this
certainly will not look good.” I held a hand out to Inuyasha with what I
hoped was a sweet smile. “Help me up.”
I’m sure the only reason he did was pure shock. “I think fresh air is in order, don’t you?” I asked the two men,
the monk having managed to stand shortly after me.
“A wonderful idea,” he said and clapped Inuyasha on the back. He offered me an arm but the hanyou pushed
him on ahead. He did not make the same
offer so I followed silently beside him.
“The gardens of the house of the moon are the most beautiful in the
land,” the monk said happily, glancing back frequently to smile engagingly.
“I’ve heard about them. I’ve also
heard about—” I cut off biting my tongue.
I’d almost mentioned the library but women weren’t supposed to be
interested in books. Inuyasha was
eyeing me waiting for me to finish. I
smiled and feined embarrassment pulling out a fan to cover the lower half of my
face.
“You’ve heard about what?” The monk asked.
“There’s much about the house of the moon that I’ve heard. It is a very popular topic of discussion.”
“You sounded like you had something specific in mind,” Inuyasha said softly
sliding a screen to the outside open.
Flustering him would be so easy, so I did. I dropped the fan down
meeting his eyes.
“I’ve heard about how handsome the sons of Inutaisho are…I trust the tales
of the gardens are just as accurate.”
His cheeks went pale for a second then ren and he started making
inarticulate sounds as I swept past him.
“Miroku,” said a soft voice from beside me. I turned to the monk and blinked, he smiled and bowed his head
slightly. “My name is Miroku.”
“Oh, pleased to meet you.”
“Now will you bear my child?” There
was a growling from behind us and I laughed holding up a hand to forestall the
angry hanyou.
“I’m afraid I am not in the child
bearing business.” I kept walking but
the other two stopped, there were some throat clearing noises but I did not
look behind me to see the faces that went with them. The gardens really were beautiful; vibrant flowers swayed in a
night breeze while torches cast flickering light on the paths winding through
trees and bushes. I heard the soft
sounds of lapping water and turned towards it.
There was the sound of sandals skidding on stones and Miroku was beside
me once again.
“What business are you in?”
“I doubt even such a great monk as
you would be able to afford my services.”
There was silence except for a strange choking sound.
“Your services?” Miroku echoes
softly and looked up as though the answer was written somewhere in the
trees. “Oh my…” he trailed off and
looked at me from the corner of his eye.
“You could give me a discount,” he grinned and there was the choking
sound again.
I found the source of the water
noises, a pond beneath some trees, rocks lined the edge and I sat down
carefully arranging my skirt around my legs.
“Doubtful,” I said absently as I peering into the water. There was a flash of orange and I leaned out
to catch another glimpse of koi.
“Of course, you hardly know me. We should get to know each other first.” He
waved a hand through the air placatingly.
“Why don’t you come see us tomorrow; Inuyasha, myself, and another
friend plan to go on a small excursion.”
“You want to be my friend so you
can have a discount?”
“A discount on what?” Inuyasha said
softly flopping down beside me and folding his legs seiza style. I stared at
him opening and closing my mouth slowly trying to figure out what exactly to
tell him when Miroku started talking again, one hand flapping up and down.
“Hardly, hardly. Everyone knows two beautiful women are
better than one.”
“Two?”
“Ah, yes, two. It is very important to keep things balanced
you know. And Sango, you’ll love Sango,
she is a rare find.”
“You’re going to be in a lot of
pain tomorrow, you realize that don’t you?” Inuyasha asked his ears
twitching. I let out a soft sigh, glad that he seemed to have forgotten his earlier
question, I could not even begin to figure out how to approach the subject to
someone who was quite obviously clueless.
“Love hurts,” Miroku said sagely,
folding his hands into his sleeves.
“Especially for you, you letch.”
Inuyasha mumbled.
I smiled sweetly and leaned towards
him. “If I come can I play with your ears?”
“What?” Inuyasha squawked flailing
his arms to move away from me.
“They’re adorable, please?” I
reached out to touch one and he scooted back.
“No!” He was like a cornered animal, eyes shifting
from side to side looking for an escape route.
A warrior of the realm, an inu hanyou, done in by the merest slip of a
girl. I could have laughed but I was
too busy reaching for the tufts of fur to manage it.
“Please?” I scooted after him and
he moved further back, closer to the pond.
“Really Inuyasha have you learned
nothing in our time as friends? You
have a beautiful woman trying to touch you.
Let her!”
“Yes, let me!”
“No!” he flailed his arms again
moving back too far and started to fall back into the pong. I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and pulled
him towards me, he tipped forward his weight bearing me down until I lay on my
back with him on top of me. Realizing
the position he was in he froze. I took
the chance to reach for his ears. They
were like down under my fingertips, soft and silky before he started to pull
away, waving my hands away with a “hey! What’s the big idea?”
“Well, you did just get to be in a
position that most men would pay a great deal for. I’ll say we’re even.”
“You can play with my ears—” Miroku
started but couldn’t finish on account of the face full of dirt he was shoved
into.
I smiled and leaned back on my
hands. “Tempting but it’s really the fur that does it for me.”
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