AN: This chapter is a flashback…just so people don't get confused.
Japanese lesson: 'Oba' is 'Aunt' and 'chichaii' is 'little'. Also, Inuyasha refers to his mother as 'ofukuro' (rough, slang version for ' 'mother') in the Manga, I changed it to 'Kaa-san' ('mommy') cuz that is how young boys refer to their mothers (Arigatou, Tsuzuki Love ). .
AN: I refer to Fluffy as 'Tai-youkai' ('lord youkai') now since he is the lord of his father's domain. Enjoy.
Chapter VI
Nobara-oba
The sun ends its journey across the horizon, painting long dark shadows across the landscape. A small child with silver hair wanders beneath the darkening branches of the trees. He was alone in the woods outside of his village. He was exhilarated; he had never been out there before by himself. But now as the shadows crept up with the chill of his spine, he realized he was lost and getting anxious. He stopped and turned, searching the trees with his gold eyes for the familiar ornate rooftops of his home, but found only shadows. He swallows hard and begins walking in the direction of which he came, hoping to find his way back. Suddenly a large one-eyed oni emerges from the shadows and looms before him. He freezes and gazes up the monstrous form to the blood shot eye. The massive creature chuckles menacingly and licks his wart covered lips. The child takes a step back, unsure of what to do. The oni raises his paw and swings it towards the child. The child screams and ducks away running into the forest shadows. The vibrations in the ground from the oni's approaching footsteps send chills up the child's spine. He desperately searches for a place to hide. The oni is almost on top of him and swings at him again. He yelps and dives into a crevice between two large boulders. The oni bends over and looks with his straining eye into the crevice and finds the young boy cowering as far as he could go. The crevice was too small for his paw so he raises his arm to smash the boulders out of his way.
"Honouikari!"
The large oni turns just as is it slashed into bits by the flaming red katana. The child's eyes widen as he peers through the crevice and chunks of the oni rain onto the ground. A woman in blue kimono and hakama with a mane of yellow hair tied back from her face, lands where the oni once stood, her back to the child. She searches the area with her senses her grip tightening on the katana's hilt. Seeing that everything is now safe she sheaths her youkai blade and turns to face the whimpering child. Her pale blue eyes search into the crevice and he jerks back unsure. She takes a step forward and kneels down to his level.
"It is all right now, you are safe," she coaxes gently. Her pale blue eyes focus tenderly on his frightened gold ones. Warily he takes a step towards her. "Come on, I promise I won't hurt you," she continues reaching out a coaxing hand. She smiles as he slips out of the crack into the moonlight. Something in her freezes though as she looks at him. It had been so long; he still had his gold eyes and long tresses of silver hair. Just like his father did.
"Inuyasha?"
He remained timid in front of her, still unsure.
"Inuyasha," she says softly. He looks up at her shocked.
"How do you know my name?" he asks innocently, watching the mysterious youkai who saved him. She smiles.
"You don't remember? Of course you were only a baby when I last saw you," she says quietly. "Come, I'll take you to your Okaa-san." Inuyasha watches her rise to her feet and stand before him. She looks around into the night.
"Who are you?"
She looks down and smiles.
"I am Nobara."
"Nobara."
He walks up and gingerly wraps his small hands around her great fingers. They start to walk back. Both were silent for a while as they walked.
"Why were out here all by yourself?" Nobara asks, sensing sadness in the child's heart and wanting to know why. Inuyasha glances up at her and then looks down at his feet.
"They wouldn't play with me."
Nobara stops, she walks in front of him and kneels before him. There were tears in his small eyes. She already knew what he was going to say.
"They were calling me 'youkai' and 'oni'," he sobs wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve. Nobara places a hand on his shoulder and looks at him close.
"Inuyasha, I understand what you are going through," she tells him, her eyes full of reassurance and acceptance. "You have to learn to be strong."
She pulls him into her, wrapping him in her arms. Something she had been dying to do all night. She breathes him in; he smelled of rain fresh after a hot summer day and rice candy. She smiles, it reminded her of Inutaisho. She weaves her fingers into his long silver strands of hair. She remembers holding him like this when he was a baby, so long ago. She did not want to let him go.
"Inuyasha."
They finally made it to Izayoi's village. Nobara walks down the road, carrying the sleeping Inuyasha as villagers stop and stare. The rain had begun to fall and her hair matted to her face. She finally walks into the western gates of the noble's manor into the courtyard. Guards suddenly run up, halberd blades pointing at her. She had an impulse to run, but glares at them with her pale eyes. She holds the sleeping hanyou close to her.
"What business do you have here youkai!?" a large guard demands, his blade pointing in her face. She turns her fiery gaze towards him and sneers.
"Where's Izayoi?"
The men anger slightly hearing their lady's name spoken without the proper title.
"What do you want with Izayoi-sama!?" The same guard demands. Nobara's eyes search the manor courtyard and the shuttered windows. She sees a crowd of nobles begin to form along the outer corridor of the manor. Her eyes then land on the scowling man's small dark eyes.
"I have her son," she sneers at him.
"Inuyasha!?"
Everyone turns as a young woman in a brightly colored kimono runs into the rain towards them. Inuyasha stirs at the sound of his mother's voice. He opens his eyes and turns to see Izayoi running towards him.
"Kaa-san!" he cries leaping out of Nobara's arms into the arms of Izayoi. She holds him close, the rain falling on them, and tears forming in her eyes.
"He is safe."
"Izayoi-sama!" one of her attendants calls and runs over to her placing a cloak over her and the boy. Izayoi continues to looks at Inuyasha, too relieved to scold him.
"Gomen, Kaa-san," he whimpers. She just holds him close. The guards stand watching them, still pointing the gleaming tips of their blades at Nobara, who stands there silently. The rain dripping off her face like tears. Izayoi looks up and sees Nobara. As lightening flashes her eyes darken. Nobara stands motionless, watching the woman's face contort into anger.
"For what you did all those years ago, how dare you show your face here!" she yells. Everyone is astounded by their lady's sudden temper. Nobara looks down shamefully. Izayoi gazes back down at Inuyasha, her face softens. "But for this," she adds kissing him tenderly on the forehead as his eyes droop back to sleep. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu."
Nobara looks up at Izayoi stunned. Izayoi turns and walks back to the outer corridor to get out of the rain. She then stops and turns, looking at the soaked Nobara.
"You look tired," she suddenly calls. "Men, stand down." Izayoi looks to her attendant and whispers something to her, the lady looks stunned for a moment then nods quickly. Izayoi turns back to Nobara before she steps inside. "You may stay in the guest wing overnight. In appreciation for saving my son's life."
Nobara stands in the courtyard for a moment and glares down the guards as they back away confused over their lady's orders. She then turns and walks, the following attendant surprised that she knew where to go.
Once in her room she shooed the attendant outside. She hated being tended too. Even when she was in Inutaisho's palace, she never let his attendants help her. She quickly undressed from her dripping kimono and hakama and squeezed the excess water out of her hair. She then threw on the plain yukata left for her. She places her wet clothes outside for the awaiting attendant who took them to be washed and dried by that night. Nobara sets Hisuibara against the wall next to the futon. She ducks underneath the blankets and feels the soft mattress sooth her tense muscles.
She smirks at the irony of her situation.
"I never would have thought I would be sleeping under the hospitality of Izayoi."
She had been wandering most of the week, aimlessly searching for something known only as the Shikon. Not many demons knew about it and those that did, did not share. She had realized she was in the western lands only that morning, recognizing all too familiar landmarks. She did not know how her wanderings brought her back, but she decided to leave until she heard a scream and went to investigate. She saw a small child dive into the crevice of rocks while being chased by an oni.
"Now here I am. 'Welcome home'."
She blew out the lantern and lay in the darkness. She could hear the guards walking outside, hear the whispers. She knew it was about her and she was used to that. She lay in the dark and closes her eyes. She knew Izayoi would not be happy to see her. Not since she realized so many years ago that Nobara aided her kidnapping by Takemaru. Nobara dug her claws into the futon.
"Bakayarou!" she scolds herself at the memory as she strains to erase Izayoi's angry eyes from her mind.
With the sunrise, Nobara's clothes were returned and she was dressed. She had bathed in a hot bath and relaxed the tense muscles from a sleepless night. She was used to not sleeping for a few days. She also did not join Izayoi for a morning meal, though it was courteously offered by her attendant. She could easily skip a meal, many days she skipped several, especially if it meant eating with that woman. She wandered through the village, ignoring the stares from the villagers. She knew what they were thinking. She could here the snide whispers under their breaths.
"Youkai."
It was something she referred herself to all the time, but the scraping hushed whispers scratched down her back as she passed. She hung her head; not knowing if that was to shield them from her stone glare or to protect herself from the rock rolling in her stomach whenever she looked at them. By late morning she found herself near the manor and entered the courtyard. The guards watched her closely in silence. She stops and begins to wonder why she came back.
"Why can't I leave? What is keeping me here?"
"Nobara-oba!"
A small voice calls and she looks up surprised. There before her was Inuyasha, a bright smile on the young hanyou's face.
"Oba?" she wondered if she had heard him correctly.
"Ohayou, Nobara-oba," Inuyasha greets her. A bright red ball clung to his small hands.
"Why did you call me 'oba'?" Nobara asks puzzled. Inuyasha looks down, a little embarrassed.
"I thought, since you are the only youkai I have ever met and since you saved me from getting hurt last night, that I would call you 'oba.'" He kept his face down and Nobara could feel his heart trying to reach out to someone who understands him; someone who accepts him; someone besides Izayoi. The youkai could feel his heart breaking with the thought of her rejecting him. Something she knew she could never do. She kneels down and tilts Inuyasha's face towards her gently with a slender clawed finger. She smiles exposing her fangs proudly.
"Inuyasha, you can call me 'oba' if you want to," she says. Inuyasha's face brightens. "I would be honored if you called me that. As long as I can call you my 'chichaii youkai'."
"Hai!" the little hanyou cheers happily and leaps into her arms. Nobara holds him close again, but this time he quickly pulls away in excitement.
"Do you want to play?" He asks, holding up the red ball eagerly. Nobara hesitated; she knew how silly she would feel. Here she was a great youkai warrior and she was about to play a child's game. Nobara looks around the courtyard at all the vigilant guards. She then looks down into the small golden eyes. She couldn't resist.
They were kicking the ball back and forth between them, Inuyasha laughing brightly. She found herself laughing as well. The sound emanating from her was alien to her, she had not laughed for so many years. The game continued towards early afternoon.
"Inuyasha!"
The ball rolls and stops at Nobara's feet. There stood Izayoi in her brightly colored kimono. Inuyasha runs towards her.
"Kaa-san!
He runs up to her and she hugs him, she then whispers something in his ear and he turns to look at Nobara. He nods reluctantly then turns and walks to the manor. He then stops and looks at Nobara smiling.
"Arigatou, Oba!" He calls with a wave of his hand and disappears into one of the many rooms. Izayoi turns and faces Nobara.
"Inuyasha has really warmed up to you," Izayoi states, unable to hide her disapproval.
"It's hard for him to be what he is in a human world," Nobara responds, bending down and picking up the ball. Izayoi looks away for a moment her eyes sad. She then turns back to Nobara.
"Why are you still here?" she asks quizzically.
Nobara looks down at the ball in her hands and she scratches off some dried mud absently with her claw. She didn't know why she was still there.
"I want you to stay away from him," Izayoi said, warning prominent in her voice. Nobara tosses the ball up and glares at the woman.
"So, I take it the hospitality is over," Nobara states as she caught the ball in one hand.
"There was never any hospitality here," Izayoi sneers. "I was just thanking you for saving my son. And now I want you to leave."
"Why so soon? Inuyasha and I were just playing. Something he obviously needs."
Izayoi walks up and jerks the ball from Nobara's hands. The fire in her eyes burning into Nobara's cold gaze.
"I know what you think of me, youkai," Izayoi growls quietly so that Nobara was the only one to hear. "I will not allow you to hurt my son. To betray him as you do everyone else."
Nobara jerks back, sad astonishment in her eyes at Izayoi's cold words. She felt the anger boil inside of her.
"How dare she!!!"
Izayoi saw Nobara bare her fangs and steps back unsure. She looks to the guards who were watching intently. They run through the courtyard towards her as Nobara snarls extending her claws. Izayoi is pushed back by the guards and Nobara faces the points of their halberds once again. Nobara stands there angrily.
"I will not forget this, Izayoi," she snarls as she sees Izayoi dash into the manor. Her eyes dart around to the faces of the guards surrounding her. She smirks exposing her inhuman fangs.
"So, wanna play?" she says tauntingly, as she quickly swipes across the halberd dismembering the blades from the staff and does a back leap over the remaining blades and over the men. She pulls out Hisuibara and smiles wickedly as she lands behind them. The men with broken halberds look at their weapons shocked as the still armed guards run towards Nobara. Nobara is about to fight them until she sees a small face out of the corner of her eye.
"Inuyasha!"
Not wanting to spill blood before his young eyes, she sneers at the guards and flips backward to the courtyard wall. Arrows begin to fly at her; she knocks them away with Hisuibara and dives into the woods. She sheathes Hisuibara as she leaps through the trees and finally runs on the ground. She continues running, cursing Izayoi under her breath until a figure steps in front of her. She looks up shocked and instinctually leaps back. The figure stands before her, only slightly older than when they last met. The afternoon sun shining in his silver hair as he watches her with expressionless gold eyes. She places a hand on Hisuibara.
"Sesshoumaru!"
The young tai-youkai continues to watch her with his unreadable face.
"Nobara," he finally speaks with a voice matching his expression.
"Sesshoumaru," she sneers, not knowing what to expect.
"I heard that you had returned to the western lands," he speaks after a moment of silence.
She looks down for a moment remembering how she swore she would not return until she could defeat Ryuukossei.
"What are you doing here?" she demands, hoping to deter the questions from herself. She tightens her grip on her youkai blade. She then notices the sword at his hip and recognizes it immediately. She smirks. "I see Inutaisho entrusted you with Tenseiga," she says half mockingly.
Sesshoumaru frowns slightly.
"I can tell you are not pleased with his choice," she continues seeing his slight reaction. "But if he had given you Tessaiga you would have destroyed everything in your path."
Sesshoumaru glares at her, and continues to stay frozen on the spot.
"I just wanted to see if it were true," he finally states as he is about to turn and leave.
"Nobara-oba!!"
Nobara spins around stunned as Inuyasha runs toward her. Sesshoumaru looks over his shoulder to see who would be referring that name to her.
"Inuyasha!" she cries out startled as he runs into her arms. Sesshoumaru hears the name and freezes, he turns slowly and faces them. Nobara's heart freezes with the sense of danger and she turns to see Sesshoumaru standing there threateningly. She watches him raise a clawed hand menacingly and glare intently at the child. Nobara looks down at Inuyasha realizing what is about to take place.
"Inuyasha, run!" she calls as she pushes him behind her, just as Sesshoumaru leaps towards them with incredible speed.
......End Chapter