Nobara the Wolf-Dragon

Part 2

Miroku and Inuyasha spent the majority of the evening burying the bodies of the slain villagers. Sango and Kagome moved Nobara into one of the empty dwellings, and building a fire from the woodpile outside. It was nightfall before any conversation resumed.

"Shippo, have you heard of the wolf demon tribe before?" Kagome asked, holding some sticks for the fire in her hands.

"Oh yeah. They live in packs up in the mountains and they think they're pretty tough. They bully other demons off their land and claim it as their own territory," Shippo explained. He hopped off the woodpile, carrying a small bundle to the hearth with Kagome following behind him. "Smaller demons like me were driven out and had to find shelter elsewhere because the wolf demon tribe took possession of the mountains and they guard them ruthlessly."

"Interesting," Kagome commented. "So, have you heard of this Koga before?"

"There are so many branches of the wolf demon tribe, but he called himself the new leader so maybe he caused an upstart and took control of the packs by using the jewel shards," Shippo mused.

The two of them walked into the adjacent room where Sango was preparing dinner over the fire. Nobara lay underneath blankets close by.

"We brought more wood," Shippo announced to Sango.

"Thank you. We have plenty of wood for the time being," Sango said. "By the way, have you seen Kirara anywhere?"

"I saw her walking around outside with Inuyasha a little earlier this evening," Kagome said.

"With him again?" Sango asked. "She's been following him around constantly lately. I wonder why."

Kagome glanced over to Nobara, a worried expression on her face. "Nobara has been unconscious all evening. Are we sure she's ok?" Kagome asked.

"It's hard to tell. I'm not sure what that light was around her earlier," Sango replied.

As if on cue, a quiet groan was heard from the wolf-dragon demon.

"Nobara!" Shippo piped up, hopping over next to her and hovering beside her head.

The wolf-dragon stirred, her amber eyes opening. With a strained moan, she pulled a hand up to her forehead.

"What happened?" she mumbled, attempting to sit up.

"You've been unconscious all afternoon," Kagome explained, kneeling down next to her. "How do you feel?"

"Like someone just dropped a mountain on my head," Nobara groaned, bending over to rest her elbows on her crossed legs. She brushed the bangs from her face, lifting her gaze up without focusing on anything. "But...I remember," she whispered, her voice shaky.

"Remember what?" Kagome asked.

"Everything. My parents, my childhood, my family...all of it," Nobara growled. The normally bright expression on her face darkened, covered by a shadow of grief. "I remember their deaths and..." Her gaze shifted towards Sango. "...and the slayers who killed them."

Kagome and Shippo gasped, staring at Nobara wide-eyed. Sango's head snapped up, her grip on the wooden spoon tightening.

"You were there, Sango," Nobara murmured, the rage in her voice burning through the silence like fire. "You were there the day my parents died, because your father was the one who murdered them."

Kagome and Shippo turned to look at the demon slayer, their expressions solemn. Sango's brow was furrowed in confusion.

"Sango, is that true?" Kagome asked.

"I...I don't know," Sango admitted. "I don't remember ever –"

Sango fell silent, her face paling with dread. No one dared move. Nobara sat, glaring at Sango as she waited for an explanation. Miroku and Inuyasha suddenly appeared in the doorway, halting in their tracks as they noticed the tension in the room.

"What is going on here?" Miroku asked, his concern echoed on Inuyasha's face.

"Nobara claimed Sango's father was the one who killed her parents," Kagome explained, not taking her eyes off the wolf-dragon.

Miroku and Inuyasha looked between Sango and Nobara with surprised expressions.

"Sango, is this true?" Miroku asked.

Sango slowly nodded.

"It was my first day of training to be a slayer, over ten years ago," she began. "The Yōkai Taijiya village had been hunting wolf-dragons for decades. The elders believed these demons to be evil and said they needed to be purged."

A defiant growl slipped from Nobara's throat. "What did the wolf-dragons ever do to your village?"

"Nobara, please, let her explain," Kagome said softly, placing a hand on Nobara's knee.

Nobara huffed, using her tail to push Kagome's hand away. Kagome's expression fell, but she said nothing as Sango continued.

"My father believed it to be a worthy first hunt, and brought me along to track down the demons. At first, we had trouble finding them, but my father received a message that a pair of winged wolves had been sighted on a path to Mount Fuji."

Sango paused, lifting her eyes to meet Nobara's steely gaze. The pain from the memories shone clearly through her amber irises. Swallowing hard, Sango hurried to finish the story.

"We succeeded in finding and slaying the two of them by laying traps...but I never knew that they were your parents," she said with dismay. "During the hunt, we never saw any offspring with them, but looking back, it explains why they kept running instead of trying to fight us."

"My parents did nothing to harm you or  your village and you still  hunted them like animals," Nobara snarled viciously, baring her teeth at Sango.

Kagome raised a hand to put it on Nobara's shoulder, but she smacked it away. The wolf-dragon rose to her feet, an enraged glare in her eyes. Sango refused to lift her gaze from the floor.

"Kohaku's betrayal is exactly what you deserve," Nobara hissed.

Everyone in the room gasped.

"Nobara!" Kagome exclaimed, standing up to berate her.

But the wolf-dragon swept out the door as soon as the words had left her mouth, pushing past Miroku and Inuyasha's gaping jaws. Once her feet touched dirt, Nobara shifted to wolf form and bounded forward into the woods. The shadows swiftly swallowed her up, blending her into the night as if she was never there.

Paws pounded on the dirt as Nobara ran, the steady beat keeping pace with her short breaths. The insult had rolled off her tongue before she could stop it, but she didn't regret it. Without her childhood memories, she had remained blind to any connection she once had to the demon slayers. Now that everything had come rushing back, her fury was reignited into a burning rage.

The demon slayers murdered my parents when I was four years old. I remember hanging by the scruff of my neck from my mother's mouth while she ran. Her and father couldn't fly because their wings had been damaged. Mother tripped and broke her leg, and then father carried me because mother had to be left behind.

A log in the path was crossed easily as Nobara leapt over it, her legs never stopping. On and on she ran.

My father died right in front of my eyes. Stabbed in the chest with a blade and left to bleed out. The only reason I survived is because Koga's father heard my cries and rushed to help. He took me in and the wolf demon tribe raised me as if I was one of their own.

As she passed through a small open grove, Nobara slowed to a trot, stopping in the center of the grass. She looked up at the clear night sky. Despite the moon's overpowering size, it still looked cold and alone amongst the stars.

Raiden and Koga were my family...why would my memories of them be wiped? Who took them away from me?

Throwing her head back, Nobara's howl pierced the night sky, shattering the silence around her. Nearby birds scattered from the treetops. Bringing her head back down, Nobara lifted her snout to the air, trying to find a scent in the wind.

I will be reunited with him. I must be.