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.

(because they won't let me make squiggles the bastards)

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."