Of Demons and Roses

Chapter 6: Secrets Revealed

"Kasan..." Nobara said softly when she saw Kurama.

"It's ok Nobara," said Kurama. He proceeded to treat her wounds and gave her an herb that would give her strength back.

"Just rest Nobara," he said, putting his daughter into bed.

"Kasan..." Kurama turned to Nobara, "Kasan, what did Kokuei mean when he said that I'm different?"

"Get some rest, Nobara. I'll tell you later," answered Kurama.

Nobara fell asleep as soon as Kurama left the room. She was so exhausted from the events earlier that day that she couldn't help it, however, she did cry herself to sleep. Deep inside her heart, Nobara felt that Niji's death could have been prevented. It was as if she felt that it was her fault in a way.

The bus crash and Niji's death haunted Nobara's dreams. She woke herself up because it was too much for her. Tears filled her eyes as se began to cry into her hands. A few minutes later, Kurama walked in, sensing his daughters grief and pain. He sat down next to Nobara and took her into his arms and let her cry. At that moment, no words were needed. When they were, Kurama spoke.

"I'm not going to say that the pain will stop," said Kurama, "If I did, I'd be lying. And I'm finished lying to you, my daughter."

"Kasan, if you're finished lying, answer me this: Who am I? What am I?" Nobara asked as she sat up and looked Kurama in the eyes.

"You are who you think. That isn't a lie. You are my daughter. You are your father's daughter. However, you aren't what you think."

"That man said I'm different. Tell me Kasan, how am I different?"

Kurama took a deep breath. "You are not human, Nobara. Your father and I... we're demons. You are demon, too."

Nobara's eyes widened in surprise. Suddenly everything made sense. Her senses, her strength, her memory, all of it. The puzzle to Nobara's life has finally been completed. Kurama went on to explain about demon world and spirit world, how he and Hiei came to the human world, their past and numerous other stories.

"So all those kid stories of other worlds are true?" asked Nobara, more to herself than to Kurama. Kurama nodded his head. Nobara just sat in deep thought for a few minutes as an awkward silence entered the room. Kurama decided to leave Nobara alone with her thoughts and let all of what he said sink in. When he got to the doorway, he stopped and turned back to Nobara.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you before," he said.

"It's okay," answered Nobara without think about what she said. Kurama left the room and closed the door behind him.

//So I'm a demon. It all makes sense now. In a way, I don't feel so lost anymore. I've been lost for so long. If only Niji were still here. Then I would be happy. I don't care if we aren't the same race. She's still my best friend, and she always will be. I hope she's happy in spirit world. Oh now I wish I could have saved her!//

Nobara's senses jumped, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to the open window, where Hiei stood. They just stared at each other for awhile. Ever since she was little, Nobara knew that her father didn't communicate with words that often. He hides his feeling a lot, much like Nobara sometimes does. They always know what each other is thinking just by looking in their eyes.

Nobara looked in Hiei's red eyes and saw sorrow and regret. Nobara felt that Hiei was feeling that the accident was, in a way, his fault. Like, he could have prevented it.

Hiei looked at his daughter's different colored eyes and saw a sea of sadness. He could tell that she was crying a lot. He knew that for a fact because he was sitting in the tree outside her window, keeping an eye on her. He saw that they were both feeling the same emotions.

Hiei walked over to his daughter and sat down next to her. Without saying a word, he took her into his arms and hugged her tightly, and in a protective manor. At that moment, he made a promise to himself that he would never let anything happen to his only daughter. Nobara looked up at her father and smiled. Hiei stroked her hair before he got up and went back to the window and disappeared.

Kurama came back awhile later to check on Nobara. She seemed better than before.

Nobara turned to Kurama and said, "There's still one thing you didn't explain, Kasan!"

"What's that?" asked Kurama.

"Where did I come from?" Nobara asked in an almost teasing voice.

Kurama sat down next to Nobara.

"Well, my specialty is working with plants. I can use them to heal, kill, and do almost anything. Even to bring life. Instead of growing inside me, like you normally would, you grew inside a rose plant. However, you still got some traits from myself and Hiei," explained Kurama.

"Oh I get it now! So the plant was almost like your womb?"

Kurama blushed, "Yeah..."

"So I developed in a rose plant! There's a headline for ya!" said Nobara.

Kurama giggled a bit, "That is one place where your name came from."

Nobara looked at Kurama. "Eh? What does my name mean anyway?"

"It means wild rose. Actually, Hiei chose that name for you. I guess partially because you developed in one and also because roses are my specialty."

"Or that roses remind him of you, Kasan!" Kurama blushed when Nobara said that. "I mean, your hair is red like a rose, and we have roses all over the house!" Nobara giggled at the sight of her mother blushing.

"Ok Nobara, time for bed. You didn't sleep much," said Kurama, changing the subject.

"Ok Kasan," said Nobara mockingly. Kurama kissed Nobara goodnight on her forehead, turned out the light, and left, closing the door behind him.

Nobara turned to the window. "Goodnight Otosan," said to Hiei in the tree.

Author's notes:

1. I wanted Kurama's explanation to sound kinda like the "where to babies come from" talk that parents give to their 7 year old. Just having a lil fun with that!! ^_^

2. I couldn't resist putting an "Eh?" in this!! ^_^

3. This chapter is a bit longer than the others. There's just a lot to explain!!