InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Invitations to Trouble ❯ Barriers ( Chapter 15 )

A/N: No Ba and Ka today. They just sent me some papers via the legal department stating incidents of 'cruel and unusual punishment' on Ka's behalf. For some reason, he swears that it has nothing to do with that live chicken I made him eat.

Go figure.

}

}

}

Chapter Fifteen

'Lying bitch.'

'Ungrateful bastard.'

{}

Shippo, was bored.

Rolling onto his back as he examined the ceiling for what felt like the hundredth time that day, the kitsune wondered if anyone else in history could have possibly been as bored as he was.

He wasn't experiencing the common strain of 'Nothing to do today, so let's just sit around until something happens' boredom. This wasn't even a case of the passing 'Once upon a time I had a life that needed my attention' boredom. Oh no, our loveable little fox was flat out 'I can't believe I actually miss that loud-mouthed, hot-headed, half-bred idiot!' bored.

Giving a small groan as he got up to drag his feet around the confines of his room for what had to be the thousandth time that day, Shippo knew without a doubt that he was clutched firmly in the worst kind of boredom possible.

'Maybe I should make out my will now, because I think I remember saying something to Kirara about dying before I would ever admit to being worried about that mutt-head!' Trying to alleviate some of his restlessness, Shippo pulled an acorn from his pocket and proceeded to transform it into a purple toy duck. It didn't work.

Staring at the quacking creation between his fingers, he gave a gusty sigh, "Me missing the big dummy is the first sign of the apocalypse, I just know it."

Dulcet tones pierced his gloomy world. "Shippo, I need your help for a sec!"

Pointed ears twitching, he sprang happily to his feet and raced out the door. As he skipped down the hallway, he passed a few servants who called out greetings as he went. Returning the friendly waves, Shippo's tiny chest puffed up with pride at the thought of his mom needing his help at such a stressful time. After all, with the announcement of the war and Inuyasha being missing, it meant that he was the man of the house!

As he rounded the corner and waved to another servant, Shippo slid the screen doors aside and burst into the room, every limb quivering with eagerness to fulfill his role.

"Yes momma-?!" When confronted by a veritable wall of shining eyes that he recognized all too well, he gave a yelp and backed away as dread sent a different kind of shiver through him. From within the mass of bodies, Kagome made her way towards him, scowling as she caught sight of his horrified expression.

"Shippo, don't be rude! Come in a talk to the other kids." With her fisted hands dug into the contours of her hips, she walked quickly around the last child to grab his stiffened arm. "Come in and play."

"Uh-uh. Don't wanna!"

Surprised by the adamant resistance to what seemed like a good idea, Kagome blinked at him before laughing lightly. "Don't be shy Shippo! They're only kids like you."

If she hadn't turned away, Kagome would have seen a look of affronted dignity cross the round face of her ward at the comparison. Grumbling silently at the hand he was trying to get free from, Shippo thought hotly, 'That's what you think!!' In his opinion, each pound of flesh in the room held the malicious and destructive capability of ten Narakus!

'I swear, they are not going to get me this time!'

Shortly after his betrothal to the Lady Shinaki, Lord Yamatsu had stopped by the hut of the elder miko, Kaede. Excited to see his new grandpa, Shippo had jumped straight into the older youkai's arms for the customary bear hug and sweet.

After giving his grandson both, the lord had inquired if the two of them would like to come to the mansion for an impromptu visit. While Kaede had politely declined, citing poor joints and a need to be in the village in case of an emergency, she was completely supportive of the idea of the cub currently staying with her going to pay a visit to his new grandmother.

After a quick trip, they had arrived at the grand home and Yamatsu had introduced Shippo to his new bride and step-children.

Glancing at the smiling brood he was being dragged towards, Shippo amended ruefully, 'All twenty of these sniveling little monsters.'

Needless to say, the day had boiled down to a case of unrequited love, with all of the affection resting solely on the part of the other children.

When a grubby hand reached out towards him, Shippo bared a fang until it withdrew, but he knew that it wouldn't be the last attempt on the kids' part. Finally releasing the ramrod-stiff arm, Kagome cried out in dismay when he dashed to the wall and proceeded to edge warily along it.

"Really Shippo, now you're just being ridiculous!" Ignoring the jibe, he continued to scoot sideways while trying to simultaneously scan the room for a safe spot and keep one eye on the expectant pack. 'I might be ridiculous, but I won't be caught this time around.' Especially by that purple weasel hanyou named Tama.

'If anyone ever needed a reason for an itachi ookami and a human to never have offspring, that kid is the best example I can think of!' Brilliant green eyes that uniquely marked the diminutive half-breed from the rest of his kin, zeroed in with innocent glee on the fox before a childish voice cooed, "Shippo-chan!!"

That high-pitched squeal of zealous love was more than enough warning for Shippo. With a cry and a 'poof', he jumped straight up in the air and burst into multiple copies of himself. As the mimics leapt and danced around the room, the real kitsune made a dash for safety and to keep his precious fur.

'Hide in the chest? No, they'll find me and I'll be cornered.' Dismissing that option, he dodged an arm and headed for the door, but had to dash away again when three small forms blocked the exit. 'They're getting better at this, but no one out foxes a fox!'

As he made a beeline for the safety of the nearest closet, Shippo broke out in a cold sweat when a decoy 'Shippo' next to him was ruthlessly enveloped in the crushing embrace of an excite blue toddler. Blessedly, the poor thing died with a 'pop' that left the toddler in sulky tears.

'Better him than me.' Shippo thought when he scooted around the smoky remains of his hapless doppelganger and its attacker. 'Cute is a burden that no one should ever have to bear!' Suddenly, the area between him and his goal filled up with the press of little bodies, and Shippo realized that his decoys had evaporated faster than he'd anticipated.

'Uh-oh! I f I don't do something quick, not only will I have to deal with the kids, I'll have to deal with mom!' Faced with a double dilemma, he started tossing out copies of the toy duck he'd created earlier. Much like the 'Suddenly Shippo' tactic, the new wave of toddler-friendly items provided another distraction. Unfortunately, the ensuing ruckus did nothing to endear him to his mother.

"Shippo! When I find you young man, you are going to wish you were the one who 'popped'!" Clearly upset, Kagome struggled to bring some kind of order to the chaotic mess she now found herself in. Shippo really wanted to apologize when he saw her frantically trying to calm the youthful brood, but to do that, he would have to stop, and there was no way he was going to do that!

'Sorry mom, but there is no way that runt Tama is getting a hold of my--!"

"AARRGGHH!!!" Flying into the air like a deformed kite, Shippo shrieked as tears sprang unbidden to his eyes following an unexpected bolt of agony that originated at the base of his spine. When the pain didn't subside, his screaming rose in its intensity.

"SOMBODYGETHIMOFFME!!! GETHIMOFFME!!! GETHIMOFFME!!!

In an instant, Kagome raced to his rescue and vainly tried to pull one child off of the other. "No Tama!! Let him go right now!" Planting both feet firmly on the floor, she continue to tug them apart. On his side of the tug of war, Tama would have none of it and only held on tighter. Having experienced his favorite kitsune's tricks before, the hanyou cub had kept his eyes on the 'real thing' through the entire fiasco, waiting patiently until the object of his affection was within grabbing range.

What exactly was the object of his youthful desires?

An armful of warm, fluffy red tail. Pouting as his little fingers were pried away from the russet prize, Tama sat down heavily with lips a-tremble and broke out in a wail that only an upset three year-old is capable of.

Which is basically one that's loud enough to punch a hole in inch-thick steel at forty paces.

Now reeling from the double assault to both his bruised tail and tormented ears, Shippo muttered what sounded like 'why me?' before passing out. Kagome swept him up and held him aloft out of the reach of the more ardent children who saw his unconscious state as a means to get at the little fox and claim the miniature fluffy for their own. Confronted with the various levels of determination, Kagome found herself being backed up by the tide of small bodies.

"Now children, Shippo doesn't feel like playing right now." She shook her leg to dislodge a kid who was trying to scale her like a ladder. When it looked as though ten more were going to follow suit, she frowned and said forcefully, "Leave him alone, all of you!"

Backed by a reproachful twinge of her powers, Kagome managed to clear a space around herself and her son. One or two of the children voiced their displeasure by plopping down much like Tama and crying their heads off. For the second time, Kagome began to doubt her limited skills as a mother.

"I take it that you do not have more than one sibling in your home mistress Kagome?"

Looking around for the voice that obviously belonged to someone who could reach the top of a shelf without adult supervision, Kagome spotted Midori, Ki and Aka staring at her from the doorway. The green girl smiled kindly and walked in to scoop up the still crying Tama, who quieted down instantly when presented with shiny snakes. Taking a chance, Kagome lowered her arms to cradle Shippo more effectively and to inspect the damage to his tail before shaking her head.

"No. I'm the eldest of only two. My baby brother Souta is back home in-" She broke off, unsure of how to explain to the three ladies about her family's exact whereabouts. Midori resolved her dilemma easily.

"In the future that you go to through the old well?" Waving a hand through the air, mint-kissed lips drew up in another smile. "Oh, I know all about it. The lords Yamatsu and Inuyasha would often discuss the well and your time period at great lengths whenever your husband would come to visit Lady Kuroi." Patting the happy child, she added sadly, "Most times father and son would wind up in a heated argument that could be heard throughout the hallways."

'Yeah, that sounds like Inuyasha.' Still, Kagome was a bit grateful to have the burden of thinking up a convenient excuse taken off of her shoulders. Fascinated, she looked on as Ki and Aka shepherded the children into different corners of the room, apparently sifting them according to their ages.

Short and sunny as a buttercup, Ki transformed from her usually timid demeanor into that of a formidable matriarch when facing the older children. With a combination of both stern looks and words, she got the rowdier children settled down and engaged in an impromptu lesson.

On the other end of the spectrum, Aka took command of the toddlers. Always the bolder of the trio, the woman clothed in layers of scarlet and rose whisked them away with a charming tale of children doing great and fantastical feats. From the chaos contained in the small room, they bred a serene order.

"Whoa." If there had been any doubts before about her prowess as a mother-to-be, they solidified into a knot when confronted with what Kagome felt was proof of her inadequacy. 'Geez, they aren't even pregnant and they're better at this than I could hope to be!'

"It always appears so easy to tame them when you are not the one to do so, is that not right mistress Kagome?" Jumping a bit because she'd forgotten all about Midori's quiet presence beside her, Kagome nodded as she nervously stroked the much put upon tail of the ill-treated cub in her arms.

"Yeah, I guess it does. How did you guys get so good at handling kids anyway?" Since her own hands were currently full, she used her chin to indicate the now sleeping Tama, who was happily cradled within loose folds of emerald and jade.

"I mean, you guys are really good at this!"

Leaf green eyes shone back into stormy blue ones. "Have you never wondered why we are all named after colors, mistress Kagome?"

Kagome gave a short laugh, "Well, I kind of assumed it was because of your skin and hair." She blinked dumbly when her comment elicited delighted laugher from the women in their distant corners as well as the one right next to her. Understand brought an embarrassed flush to her cheeks.

'Darn! I forgot about youkai hearing.'

Wiping away a merry tear, Midori beckoned for Kagome to go with her to Tama's room. As they left, the snakes hissed in disapproval at the remaining sisters, causing a longer laugh from them than before. Unmindful of her hair, Midori shook her head, "Although that is a good guess, I am afraid that it is not the reason." After placing the violet-skinned child in his bed, the two left the room before she continued. "There is another reason for the names, and I would like to tell it to you."

Intrigued and more than a little surprised, Kagome listened attentively as the young woman prepared to open up to her. 'Well, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised now that I think about it. I mean, we're not at each other's throats like me and Kikyo, but Midori wouldn't even look at me for very long when I was here before Inu-Papa and Lady Shinaki wed. I wonder what happened to change that?'

Unaware of the other's musings, Midori continues to talk as they moved onwards. "Actually, Aka, Ki and I are just three in a set of septuplets." That hefty piece of news halted Kagome in her tracks.

"SEVEN?"

Ebony brows rose on the pale green brow as Midori broke into a giggle at the other's expression. "Since you came from such an advanced time, I had thought that it would not be such an unusual amount of children. In this time, I am aware of how rare it is for humanoid youkai to bear that many children at once and have all of them live."

"Yikes, and I thought Lady Shinaki had the market cornered!" Having arrived at Shippo's room, Kagome dashed inside and tenderly placed her poor child in bed. When she came back out, she finished her outspoken thought.

"Well, since most of the kids were orphaned before she took them in, I guess it doesn't count does it?"

"Did mistress Kuroi not tell you?" At the blank look, Midori huffed once and shook her head sadly. "The children who are here now are nearly the hundredth set of twenty that the lady has taken in."

"Huh?"

"Mistress Kuroi told me that there are always twenty children in the lady's household! Mostly, it is because the human ones grow up so fast that they move on with their lives long before their hanyou and youkai siblings have fully matured.

"Lady Shinaki did indeed have twenty children of her own with her late husband, but they were all grown and settled almost two hundred years ago. I believe it was right around the time when Kuroi came to live with her." Passing by a lovely scroll, Kagome glanced at in admiration, but struggled to keep track of this startling new information.

Turning a corner together, Midori seemed to have a definite destination in mind, even as she talked. "As the youngest of that first set, it is understandable that Kiso and Kuroi would be the last to leave. My husband told me that he and his big sister stayed home as long as they did in order to help their mother care for each of the following sets of human, hanyou and youkai children who were taken in."

Taking a moment to tally the numbers in her head, the cheerful young woman piped up, "I think the ones back there will definitely be the hundredth set!"

"Wow. I wonder why she does it?" A bit solemn after learning this part of her new mother-in-law, Kagome wondered at the generous heart that would undertake a task as daunting as the one Shinaki had willingly shouldered. However, it didn't answer a question niggling at the back of her mind.

"Where are your other siblings Midori?"

"Oh!" Midori's mouth formed a small O as she blinked once, "They're around here in the mansion."

"Here?!" queried Kagome. "Right here inside these very walls?"

Midori wondered if her sister-in-law was as brilliant as the old lord claimed. 'She does seem to be having difficulties grasping what she's told. Ah well.'

"Yes, my sisters are here." Brushing aside a hissing lock of hair, she asked, "Why does that surprise you?"

"Well because I haven't seen any…that is, there haven't been any…there hasn't appeared to be…" The rest of the sentence faltered off badly because quite frankly, there is no delicate way of saying something like;

'I'm curious because there doesn't seem to be any other women running around here looking like a family-pack of Skittles.'

At a total loss, Kagome settled for shrugging her shoulders, "No reason in particular."

She could see understanding come at once to her companion. "Oh, is it because you have not seen anyone else who wears only one color?"

'Damn, this girl is nowhere near as stupid as I'm coming across!' Nodding her head once, Kagome just said, "Yeah."

Hiding another laugh, Midori simply lead her new friend further into the mansion. "Part of the reason my sisters and I are sought after as handmaidens is because of our names, and because many lords seem to find the sight of us near one another, quite exotic."

"You make it sound like a side-show."

"In a way, it is." They pulled up before a door that Kagome couldn't remember ever having seen before. Placing a hand on the side of the doorway, Midori glanced down at her feet and sighed. "Since learning of my marriage to Kiso, all the offers of work had ceased for my siblings within days of the ceremony. Much like Aka, my sisters have a lot of pride and would not come to live with us in our new home, saying that they would not take food from our mouths to satisfy themselves.

"Were it not for Lady Shinaki and Lord Yamatsu's kindness, I feared that they would quickly become destitute."

Infuriated at what she perceived to be callous treatment of the unknown sisters, Kagome exclaimed hotly, "Well if they're good at their jobs, it shouldn't matter if you got married or not! Their sister falling in love shouldn't be an acceptable excuse for them to be fired or something!" Crossing her arms in a decisive gesture, she frowned cutely, "That's just plain wrong."

Instead of an affirmative compliment to the rallying cry, all she got was a mildly pitying look from the former handmaiden.

Kagome wondered what stupid thing she'd let fall from her mouth this time?

The hand resting on the doorframe moved to open the panel, and Midori waited until Kagome had gone in first before she closed it behind them. Like a master artist revealing their masterpiece, Midori wove her arms in front of her with a small flourish.

"Mistress Kagome, I would like to introduce you to my little sisters."

Taking in the sight of the humongous space was one thing, but the sight of the four stunning women artfully arranged within it was another. Kagome realized that it was a type of show.

'Now I get it. If you need something done, you'd remember a color before you'd remember one servant out of many. A busy nobleman would never be wrong!'

From one corner to the next, the room was split up into seven parts and decorated according to the sister occupying it. None of the women had looked up when the visitors had entered, choosing to remain diligently focused on the task before them. Inside of the ample space, Kagome thought that the atmosphere around her was one of studious creation strong enough to challenge any muse.

'Boy, I bet I could have gotten straight A's if I'd studied in here!' Aloud, she asked her companion, "Did you guys always have to stay inside the places you worked?" The question was prompted by the fact that she realized that she knew absolutely nothing of the people who worked at the mansion.

Walking carefully through piles of various crafts and unfinished projects, Midori answered in the same reverent tone in which the question had been posed.

"Oh no! Many times between our duties, we would have picnics together in the inner gardens of some of the homes, or get together with other servants for small celebrations and such." On top of her head, the snakes nestled deeper into the cover of the dark greenish strands until only their flickering tongues were visible. "Of course I often went out to feed my snakes, but other than that, we stayed inside and worked."

"But what about visiting your family and friends? Didn't you ever want to just do things like that?" Although there were days when she knew that the Sengoku Juidai was light years away from the time she came from, in more ways than one, Kagome sill found herself wanting to believe that this vibrant person beside her hadn't lead as harsh a life as some of the other people she'd encountered since coming through the well.

Her hopes were dashed with the next quiet statement.

"What family I have is right here around me. Our parents died when we were very young and we started working as serving girls for a local landholder shortly after that." Going past a girl who was cutting out a pattern for a kimono, Midori led Kagome directly to the back of the room where a part of it was painted in a misty shade of sea green. From floor to ceiling, the walls and matting was touched up with accents and leaf-motifs in subtly darker shades of green.

Kagome almost swore she could smell fresh bamboo and pine.

Fondly looking around at what obviously used to be her area, the youkai studied it for a moment. "Even though our lives were hard, we were happy because we were always together through it all." The sight of the capable smile brought one to Kagome's lips as well.

For the first time, she noticed that unlike the other sections, the one they stood in was bare of anything except it's elegant designs. When she looked around, she realized that the red and yellow areas stood in a similar state.

"When I married Kiso, I removed my things at once. Aka and Ki did the same when they finally agreed to come live with us." Kagome was surprised when Midori supplied an answer to an unasked question, and wondered if the snakes let her read people's minds.

"No, they don't." When the other girl jumped, Midori waved an apologetic hand to calm her down. "Sorry. It's just that after all the years of answering to spoken and unspoken commands from my masters, I've become quite good at reading body language."

"Oh." Kagome began to doubt if she could come up with more to add to the conversation than monosyllabic comments. Midori hid a laugh behind one hand. "Excuse me, but I'm not laughing at you. I just realized that with everything that is happening, I might have to put all of my things right back."

Reminded of the sobering reason that they were all there in the first place, Kagome nibbled on her lip nervously. 'The whole idea of a war probably shouldn't be as surprising to me as it is, considering the period of time I'm in, but I can't believe Kouga would agree to something like this!' About to search for a cushion, she accidentally bumped into someone close by.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-oh!" the someone turned out to be a small table. Quickly righting it, Midori brought their attention to the young woman it appeared to belong to.

Settled right next to the faux forest of Midori's corner was a world seen through amethyst and lilac. Purple in every shade and hue mingled together to form a pastoral scene of a shadowed hillside right before nightfall. Staring at the painted blades of lavender grass and the pastel sky that slowly darkened towards the ceiling, Kagome felt she could reach out and pluck one of the tiny flowers nestled in the scenery.

'The person who painted this is beyond good!'

Right in the middle of the beauty sat a young woman dressed in colors matching those around her. Even her hair which was gathered in a low ponytail behind her, was a feathery mix of jet black with violet highlights. Sweeping past Kagome, Midori took a seat beside the rather morose-looking girl who was busy embroidering the hem of the robe she had cut out earlier.

"This is my baby sister Murasaki. I know I said that we were all born on the same day, but mama always told us that Mura was the last one born, so she's the baby."

Kagome nodded her head automatically since her attention was elsewhere. A needle made of silver and bone flashed through the air as nimble fingers created an eye-catching and achingly exquisite design right before her eyes. 'It's like time-lapse photography, except that it's happening right in front of my eyes!' As she looked on in amazement, Murasaki threaded two smaller needles in one fluid motion and used them to create a floral design in double shades of pink.

When the studious youkai didn't pause to return the introduction, Kagome decided to take the initiative and extend the figurative olive branch.

"Hello Murasaki, my name is Kagome and that pattern is lo-"

"Forgive me for not telling you earlier Kagome, but she cannot hear you." The soft words were filled with the sound of a heartache that was too old to trouble one further, but had never been forgotten. Midori pressed a loving kiss to the pale cheek of her sibling and received a distracted smile in return.

"Nor can she see us."

"But how-?"

"The same way your husband can tell when you are feverish or chilled. Murasaki has learned to see the world around her through her hands and skin. She found out at a very young age that she enjoyed the sensation of various cloths, so before she died, mama had her apprenticed to an old seamstress who'd been going blind herself."

Without moving her hands too far from the fabric she held, Murasaki slid a purple cushion towards her sister. Midori accepted it, but tapped the wrist twice and trailed her finger in a circular pattern. Another cushion was passed over to Kagome, who accepted it gratefully, but with more than a little surprise.

"The seamstress worked out a method to communicate with her student and taught it to the rest of us as well." Taking a seat to watch her sister sew, Midori continued. "The seamstress, Mistress Orime, also taught Mura how to tell the difference between fabric, needles, thread and the proper placement of a design through touch alone."

Now that she'd been made aware of the unique method, Kagome could see that the youkai maiden was placing her stitches just shy of her own thumb, obviously using the digit as a guide for the next row of flowers. Leaning in closer, she accidentally brushed up against Murasaki's shoulder. Before she could apologize, those same fingers dropped the kimono and flew up to grab the sides of her startled face. Wide-eyed, Kagome stayed still when Midori nodded at her encouragingly.

Cool and slightly roughened, the long fingers danced over her eyes, nose and cheeks in a feather-soft caress before vanishing. Reaching out unerringly, Murasaki pulled forth two bolts of silk, in shell pink and pristine white. When she made no other movement, Kagome turned to Midori for a clue as to how to proceed.

"Tap the one you like and she'll make you something out of it. She must have chosen those colors because she thinks that they would suit you best."

Glancing around at the array of gorgeous attire within the area, Kagome asked disbelievingly, "You mean she wants to make something for me?"

Once again, she got that mildly pitying look. "Yes Kagome, she would like to make something for you." Even though Midori tried to keep the note of exasperation out of her voice, sensitive ears still picked it up.

"She ain't the brightest flame in the fire, is she sis?"

Scowling at the sarcastic quip, Midori left her friend to stand next to one of the other girls. "Aoiro, if you don't behave I'll move you next to Aiiro again."

"Bite me grasshopper." Completely unfazed, the blue-haired woman waved a hand the color of milk at her greener sibling. She paused in the middle of passing a shuttle between the open threads of the loom before her in order to glance over her shoulder at the guest she'd taken a pot shot at.

Kagome was taken back by the deep cobalt-blue eyes that landed on her.

"Hey kid. I'm Aoiro and I'm the second eldest right after grasshopper here. As you can see, I weave a lot of the fabric our little Mura uses." Pushing away from her work, she half turned to give a quirky grin. "Unlike Mura, I can see and hear perfectly well, but just don't ask me to dance and we'll get along like a hut on fire." Having said her piece, Aoiro winked once before going back to finish her weaving, resettling the vacant folds of the kimono in front of her as she did so.

Jabbing her sister playfully, Midori laughed at what must have been an old joke. "Like someone would want to dance with a wicked-tongued girl like you!" At Kagome's horrified expression, she laughed harder. Alone in the privacy of her old room, Midori felt comfortable enough to drop the proper mannerism she adopted when dealing with the nobility. "Aoiro was born without the rest of her legs below her knees but it doesn't stop her from being a pain in everyone else's behind."

"Shit, all I do is sit and weave, so what good would feet do me anyway?" Acerbic and practical, Aoiro's attitude seemed slightly out of joint with the brightness of her coloring.

"I swear, you have the mouth of a hooligan!"

"Bite me grasshopper."

As one, the snakes hissed as though they would be more than happy to fulfill the request.

"Evil vermin…" For some reason, Kagome didn't think Aoiro was talking about the serpents.

A foreign giggle from off to the left made Midori pause in mid-retort. In a part of the room as richly colored as the heart of the sun, a golden-skinned woman with a bob of snowy hair blinked shyly at them. Large, coppery eyes lowered when she saw the audience her amusement had brought.

"Um, sorry." Ducking her head to hide a blush, she fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. Midori came to her rescue by walking over and making the introductions.

"Kagome, this is another of my little sisters, Kin. If she looks a bit familiar, it's because she was born right after Ki." The similarities were apparent, even if Kin looked like Ki in reverse. "They share the same nervous little tendencies as well."

"I am not nervous, just shy!" Personally, Kagome thought that the outburst was more at odds with the statement than Aoiro's had been.

'Shy as a clown at the circus maybe.' While she returned the friendly smile from the sunny girl, Kagome noticed a floral arrangement sitting half-finished on the table between them and exclaimed loudly.

"Oh, you made all of those gorgeous arrangement around the mansion? Could I get one please?"

Blushing harder at the effusive compliment, Kin asked timidly, "What flowers would you like for me to use?"

"Could you pick please? After seeing all of those other settings, I'd hate to think that I hampered your creativity by choosing flowers that you didn't think would look well together."

"Oh." Instead of looking relieved, Kin pursed her lips in indecision. She brightened a moment later, "Since you chose the pink for Mura to work with, I'll make you an arrangement in that color as well!" Caught up in the new task, Kin missed the pained look that passed behind the storm-blue eyes watching her when she began to snip and place fresh blossoms in a vase with her tabi-covered feet.

The full sleeves of her buttery kimono hung slack and empty.

Afraid that she would make a fool of herself if she said anything else, Kagome pressed a hand across her stomach and let Midori come to take her to the corner near the door. She snapped back to reality at the next introduction though.

"I am sure you are eager to meet Aiiro since I've often found you admiring her work." Bowing quickly, Kagome gave a tremulous smile to the last sibling and mentally kicked herself.

'This woman is right by the door! I can't believe I didn't see her!'

Except that it would probably have been easy to overlook the unassuming young woman who sat in the midst of shadows. 'No, not shadows, just a really dark blue.' Putting a bit more energy into her smile, Kagome bowed again, "Hello Aiiro. It's nice to meet you and Midori is right, I do love your work."

"Nice to see you too. Aka talks about you all the time, as does Lord Sesshomaru." Pushing back a stray bone-white tendril that had managed to escape the severe bun entrapping the rest of her hair, Aiiro glanced up to return the smile but returned her colorless gaze back down to the scroll she was working on.

"Sesshomaru talked about me?" Curiosity about these women seemed to have a firm hold on her today because Kagome found herself bending over to get a better look at what the shadowy woman was doing. As she watched, a picture of the western palace took shape in ink and water. "Why would he talk about me?"

"He was amazed that his brother had done something intelligent by being with you, or at least that's what it sounded like to me. I'm not entirely sure because he was really agitated that day." Bricks and tiles flowed and constructed the towering structure in blacks and grays.

"He kept saying something about scrolls that were an abomination to man and youkai alike." Shrugging her shoulders under the deep blue robes, Aiiro started on the landscape next. "All I know is that when he sent for my sisters and I, the very first thing he told me to do was to create enough paintings to replace every single one in the mansion. When I delivered them the next day, he proclaimed them worthy of his eyes and appointed me as the official artist for the mansion and shiro!"

"What happened to the old artist?" Mesmerized by the graceful and fluid lines, Kagome almost fell over at the casual answer she got.

"Lord Sesshomaru had the man burned alive on a bonfire made up of his own paintings! I remember that the eight foot scroll burned really well." Making a small noise, Aiiro switched brushes. "I didn't agree with the young lord killing the man outright. Personally, I would have just cut off his hands or sent him back to train. But after seeing one of those hideous things that had been maliciously called art? Well, I heartily agreed that they should have been destroyed for the good of every person in the mansion!"

In the distance, Aoiro snickered from her sky bright area, "Probably possessed with evil spirits like the ones belonging to that baka of a ningen who made ink with a jewel shard and blood." Her eyes crinkled in admiration of the miko among them.

"I heard that you and your husband had a hand in stopping him. Good work."

"As an artist, I second that sentiment." Huffing rudely, Aiiro rolled her eyes. "Making demonic scrolls, kidnapping a hime and causing havoc in general. Obviously a poseur."

More than a bit embarrassed by the double praise, Kagome scratched the back of her head. "Well thanks, but Inuyasha actually tried to save the guy. It was his ink that killed him, not us."

An ink-ladened brush shook in triumph. "Ah ha! I told you art can kill you if you disrespect it Aoiro!" Snorting derisively amid her midnight blue setting, Aiiro smiled over at her lighter sibling. "And to think, you doubted me when I told you. If you had seen some of those things Lord Sesshomaru had destroyed, you would agree with me that they were ugly enough to kill someone!"

"Kami save me…" Shaking her head to deny any desire to witness the horror her sister was describing, Aoiro pointedly tried to ignore her. "I'll take your word for it sis."

Midori was the one to clarify the barbed banter between the two women. "Aiiro is Aoiro's birth twin, since the two came into this world at almost the same time." Indicating the large gap between where they worked, she laughed shortly. "Unfortunately, they haven't been able to stand being close to one another since that day!"

"Brat spills ink on my cloth all the time!"

"I'm very careful with my inks, and don't call me a brat just because you were born a minute before me! All that clacking you do on that infernal contraption of yours drives me crazy and the vibrations from it spoil my lines!"

"Brat!"

"Lummox!"

'Why does this sound like me and Souta when we wanted the remote at the same time?'

"Oh shut up!" Framed in the doorway like the last rays of the sun, Aka came inside and stood glaring at her sisters. "Do you two have to argue all the time?" Behind her, Ki slipped in and went over to sit next to Kin, instantly creating the illusion of matching dolls. Aka ignored them in lieu of baiting her older sisters.

"One can't walk and the other can't tie her own obi, but you both can make snide remarks about the other like old roosters in a cage? Amazing."

At the jibe, Aiiro shook her arm in a warning, "Leave Aoiro alone you rude thing, or I'll put you over my knee!" When the sleeve of her kimono fell back, Kagome could see that the faded blue skin that it had covered was blotched in a calico pattern of white and indigo and that the finger being shaken in admonition ended at the first joint, as did the other nine digits.

Not to be outdone, Aoiro glared hotly at Aka as well. "If you say one more thing about Aiiro, I'll get you myself. I might not be able to run after you kid, but you know good and well how accurate my aim is." To illustrate her point, she hefted a particularly heavy looking shuttle in one hand.

Holding both hands in front of her to ward off the double assault, Aka apologized and took a seat next to Murasaki. "Well if you're going to get all defensive about it, I'll stop. I'm sorry." Kagome saw her hide a smug smile by kissing Murasaki on the forehead. The purple youkai trailed her fingers through the air in a complicated gesture that made Aka laugh.

The gesture confirmed a theory of the only woman not related to anyone in the room. 'A kiss on a different part of her face must tell Murasaki which sister is with her. It makes sense though. Back home, all the teachers used to tell us daily to follow K.I.S.S., or Keep It Simple Stupid. Why should things have been different 500 years in the past?'

Nodding primly in satisfaction, the 'Blues Sisters' as she was beginning to think of Aiiro and Aoiro, went back to work completely unaware that they'd been tricked into looking out for the person that they'd previously been attacking! From the looks passing between the other four ladies, their visitor guessed that it was a regular occurrence. Amidst such a congenial gathering of family, Kagome wanted to laugh and joke right along with them.

Which is why the tears coursing down her cheeks caught her completely off-guard.

Oddly enough, the first to notice them was Murasaki. Tapping her big sister on the shoulder after sniffing the air, she pressed a handkerchief into Aka's hand before resuming her sewing. Terracotta eyes widened in understanding.

"Midori, take Kagome back to her room please. I think the twins are giving her problems again." Tossing the square of cloth into the air, she knew that the jade youkai would catch it well before it was in danger of hitting the floor.

Weaving through her family, Midori pulled Kagome gently to her feet and headed for the door, calling out to her family and making soothing noises to the weeping girl beside her.

Murasaki tossed her another handkerchief and much like the first, it came in handy.

{}

'Deceitful, conniving bitch.'

'Arrogant, pig-headed baka!'

{}

At the front gate of the mansion, a small argument was taking place.

"Look, we were sent by the lord's messenger. We even have the script assuring us passage."

Assessing the two humans and the fire-cat hovering just beyond the softly glowing barrier, the gate guard shook his head. "I don't care if Kami signed it with a secondary notary by Buddha himself, if you can't pass that barrier then you ain't getting in."

"This is a waste of time Miroku." Hopping down from the back of the flaming beast, Sango readied her weapon. "If I can't get through the gates, I guess I'll just have to go through this youkai."

"Taijiya, you can swing that big stick of yours all day if you like, but you still ain't getting through this barrier or me, because I'm behind it!" As an added insult, the pointy-faced guard made a rude gesture before ignoring them.

Miroku wondered if the flames around his beloved Sango were from being so close to Kirara or self-generated.

"Now, now Sango. I am sure that this man is only following his lord's orders, so let us try to have a bit more patience with his astounding lack of common sense and good manners." Behind the invisible wall, the guard bristled at him. The monk's face never lost its look of serene goodwill.

"I mean, how many humans could the Inu no Taisho of the Western Lands have sent his head messenger to with a hand-written invitation to come and seek shelter with his new wife and family? Surely the numbers must be staggering for this man to deny the two of us entrance." Looking up and down the obviously empty road, he finished brightly, "Why, we must be the hundredth group he's seen today alone!"

Growing increasingly uncomfortable under the barrage of scathing logic, the guard shifted from foot to foot. "I can't drop the barrier even if I did believe you. Which I don't! Only the lord Yamatsu or sir Jaken can do it."

"JAKEN?!" Even the neko youkai echoed the cry with a disbelieving 'mew'.

"You called?" As sanctimonious as the ruler of the world, the squat figure came through the gates to smirk at them from behind the safety of the magical shielding. "And what exactly do you want with me ningen?"

Stepping sideways to avoid the new flare up from the exterminator, Miroku put on his most winning smile and fervently hoped that the retainer had forgotten that the man before him had once threatened to personally guide him to oblivion with the kazaana.

"Good evening Sir Jaken. Might I say how well you're looking today?" From the way the other man narrowed his eyes at the effusive compliment, the monk knew that the memory of the cursed void was still fresh after all these years, but decided to push ahead anyway.

"We recently had the good fortune to entertain a certain mister Hebiki." The image of the shrieking serpent being chased like an overgrown mouse threatened to undo Miroku's placid demeanor, but years of training did their job.

"He graciously informed us that your Lord was looking for us both." Flourishing the short scroll, Miroku smiled helpfully. "He even left us a signed pass."

"And?"

Scratching the side of his chin, the monk tried to figure out the slimy little toad's angle and asked slowly, "Well, since we have a pass and I'm sure Sir Hebiki will vouch for us, shouldn't you let us inside?"

"I'd love to." Jaken drawled in a way that said he'd much rather watch them roast in hell with a ringside seat than assist them in any way. "However, the spell is very specific and Lord Yamatsu only told me how to create it, not how to dispel it." Every pretense of mercy and generosity bled out of the impish features as though a wound had opened where the retainer's heart should have been.

"After all, why would there be any need to remove a spell that keeps anyone disloyal to him out? We mustn't upset the balance of things should we?"

Satisfied that he'd made his point with the right amounts of devastation and timing, Jaken turned on his heel and prepared to stroll back through the gate.

A giant boomerang cut him off.

"Wha-! But that's impossible!" Quivering when he realized that the highly proficient exterminator he'd just verbally flipped off was smiling gleefully down at him, Jaken switched from ruler to ruled as he wailed for mercy.

"How did you get through?"

Snatching the toad up to her face, Sango said evenly, "Well, I got to thinking, 'Does that loyalty extend to Lord Yamatsu's family as well?' Imagine your surprise that it does!" Tightening her grip around the greasy throat, the cool smile on her face widened.

"I swore friendship and loyalty until death to his son and obviously the barrier considers that sufficient enough to let me pass." Jerking a thumb over her shoulder, she let him see the shield waver and settle as both the monk and neko youkai strolled right through it.

"Guess that applies to them too."

Jabbering and squirming in a way he hadn't done since his lord Sesshomaru left, Jaken pleaded with Miroku as the young man walked by.

"Are-aren't you going to stop her? I thought you were a man of god?!"

Violet eyes twinkled devilishly in the calm face as the monk went right on through the gates ahead. "Sango is a youkai exterminator and you are a youkai. So as you yourself just said Sir Jaken, we mustn't disturb the natural order."

{}

''Dishonest, two-faced, back-stabbing bitch!'

'Ill-tempered, unmannered, pin-headed bastard!'

}

}

}

For a picture of Lady Haniko, Ukiyo, Shinaki, and Niambi, check out my gallery on Deviant Art under 'colanah' in fanart. Or hit Mediaminer.

Whichever's easier.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Invitations To Trouble: The Lady of Mystery; Kenami's journey to the past! Ride on for true love!

… … …

That was a little too Gundam Seed wasn't it?

Gomen.