Nobara the Wolf-Dragon

Backstory

Nobara is the daughter of the wolf-dragons Chikara and Takeo. She was born at the base of Mount Fuji, hence her remarkable powers; she can shapeshift between a human, wolf, or dragon and has the ability to control fire.

Unfortunately, due to their rarity, her parents were frequently hunted by those seeking to harness their power. Some attempted to kill the wolf-dragons whereas others wanted to enslave them. One such group was from Yōkai Taijiya village, the home of the demon slayers. Believing the wolf-dragons to be evil, the demon slayers hunted them persistently. Chikara and Takeo found solace in their daughter, despite having to move around constantly. They were able to hideout near the Sacred Tree for a few years, since the nearby village was relatively well-guarded, and demons seldom approached it.

When Nobara was four years old, Chikara and Takeo longed to return to Mount Fuji. On the journey there, they were discovered by the demon slayers. A long, brutal hunt ensued as the wolf-dragons struggled to keep their daughter out of sight from the slayers. They drastically changed course, heading towards the mountains. Chikara and Takeo outran them for a short period of time, but were outflanked in the end. While in dragon form, their wings were damaged by a trap set by the slayers, and they were no longer able to fly, which meant they had to remain in winged wolf form since they were unable to shift into human form. During the hunt, Nobara automatically shifted forms to match her parents since she didn't have full control over her powers yet.

Trapped as wolves, Chikara and Takeo ran as fast as they could, carrying Nobara by the scruff of her neck. Due to the extra weight in her mouth, Chikara tripped on the path and broke her front left leg. She couldn't even stand, and with the slayers closing in, Takeo had no choice but to flee with their daughter. Chikara was able to take down two slayers with her, but she was soon killed. Takeo was able to avoid the other trap the slayers had laid, but his exhaustion eventually caught up with him. With the death of his mate, his resolve to fight grew exponentially. Once he reached the mountains, Takeo stopped and hid Nobara in a nearby cave, commanding her to stay put no matter what. When the demon slayers caught up to him, all hell broke loose. Unleashing an unexpected attack, Takeo tore the group apart. It was only by feigning death that one of the slayers managed to fatally injure the wolf-dragon by stabbing Takeo in the chest with a sword. Only two slayers managed to survive, whom Nobara would later learn to be Sango and her father, Dalso.

Nobara waited until she couldn't smell the slayers anymore before dashing out of the cave to her father's side. He lay there, gasping for air on the brink of death. With a shrill wail, Nobara began howling for help. By a stroke of luck, the current leader of the wolf demon tribe, Raiden, heard her cry. Gathering a few of his wolves and clanmates, he went to investigate. It didn't take long to find the traumatized pup sobbing over her father's slain body. Raiden approached the wolf pup, and the instant he touched her shoulder, she shifted into human form. It only took him a moment to realize Nobara was no ordinary wolf demon, and brought her to live among the wolf demon tribe where she could blend in and hide from the slayers.

As Raiden returned to the cave, he was greeted by his son, Koga. After hearing what his father had discovered, Koga remained by the young girl to help Nobara recover. It took time, but Nobara was eventually able to explain what had happened to her parents; what she couldn't explain was why. As time passed, Nobara grew into a skilled warrior. Without proper guidance, she never tapped into her fire-controlling powers. She was able to shapeshift between a human and wolf easily, but never knew that she also had the ability to transform into a dragon. Despite this, her prowess and intelligence made her one of the clan's top warriors. As the leader's son and her best friend, Koga was highly impressed with Nobara, and the two spent a lot of time together.

Ten years later, when Nobara was fourteen, she caught wind of a demon slayer's scent near their territory. It immediately brought back her childhood nightmare, and in an outrage, Nobara ran off to track the slayer down. Unknown to her, it was a trap. The scent trail led Nobara far from the mountains all the way to the Sacred Tree. Confused and angry by the useless chase, Nobara struck out at the tree, but when she touched it, the bark erupted in a bright light. When it had faded, Nobara lay on the ground, unconscious. When she awoke, she had no memory of the last ten years. All traces of Raiden, Koga, and the wolf demon tribe were forgotten. All she could remember was her name, the death of her parents, and the fact that she was now in the middle of a forest all alone. Upon walking around to the other side of the tree, Nobara saw a hanyou trapped against it with an arrow in his chest. Since she didn't know who he was or how he had gotten there, she immediately fled and instead found the nearby cave where she had been raised. Nobara stayed there for four years, since it was the only place she recognized.

One night, while she was hunting in wolf form, Nobara saw a strangely dressed girl being chased by a centipede demon. Curious, she followed from the shadows, watching as the girl ran towards the Sacred Tree. She remained hidden while the centipede attacked the girl, reviving the Shikon Jewel's presence in the world. Nobara watched with slight fascination as the girl awoke and freed the hanyou that had been pinned to the tree, learning that her name was Kagome and the hanyou was called Inuyasha. Once the centipede demon had been killed, Nobara made her move, leaping from the trees in human form and snatching the Shikon Jewel from the ground. The moment she touched it, however, Nobara's hand burst into flame. With a yelp of surprise, she dropped it, and the surge of power through her body caused her to shift into dragon form. When Inuyasha tried to attack her to steal the Jewel back, his claws didn't even make a mark on her scales. Kaede and Kagome interceded at this point, placing the prayer beads around Inuyasha's neck and subduing him. When Kagome went to retrieve the Jewel, Nobara didn't even try to stop her as she was in too much of a panic at the sudden rush of power in her system. Kagome was able to calm Nobara down enough that she was able to turn back into human form, and they returned to Kaede's village to seek answers. Kaede revealed to Nobara her true species was a wolf-dragon, not simply a wolf demon.

Unnerved by her newfound power, Nobara wanted to prevent other demons from possessing the Jewel, and therefore chose to travel with Kagome and Inuyasha when it was broken and scattered across the country. Until the day she was reunited with a childhood friend...