Also Japanese Lesson: Doragon is Dragon

o-fuda is holy scripts (what Miroku throws on youkai)

-jiji means grampa

jyaki is evil aura from youkai

Chapter VIII

The Meaning of Being Hanyou

Inuyasha greedily finishes the last cup of ramen. His face slightly bruised from Kagome's 'osuwari'. He tosses the empty container aside and stretches. He then lounges by the fire, acting content with his full stomach. But Kagome notices that he is keeping a vigilant eye on the still sleeping Nobara. Shippou was sleeping with the curled up Kirara near the fire. The rest sat around the fire: Sango, Miroku, Kaede and Kagome look down quietly. Each busy in their own thoughts over the recent events. Each staring into the fire with their own question. Sango looks over at Nobara then looks down again.

"I still can't believe she is a hanyou," she finally speaks, bringing up the one thought that occupied all their minds.

"Hai," Miroku adds thoughtfully. "When I fought her, I could sense an enormous jyaki from her."

"Could you have been mistaken, Miroku-sama?" Kagome asks innocently, still unsure of the recent events.

"No, Miroku-sama, is right. I too felt great jyaki from her. There was no mistaking that she was a youkai," Kaede added, her wisdom not aiding the mystery.

"Hai," Sango returns. "I felt the same thing."

"Except when I was with her at Kikyou-sama's shrine," Sango adds thoughtfully. "Then her jyaki seemed to fade. I didn't notice it at first until Kirara reacted strangely, then I noticed it too."

All four look over at Nobara. She looked so peaceful, her black hair crowning the back of her head, framing her face. Kagome remembers how her eyes had darkened before they closed. She appeared so different now. Kagome began to wonder if she somewhat changed like Inuyasha did. Was she still the same person?

"Inuyasha-sama!" Myouga suddenly calls and lands on Inuyasha's nose. Inuyasha annoyingly slaps the small bug.

"Myouga-jiji!" Sango exclaims as the flattened Myouga falls the floor.

"Myouga-jiji?" Kagome asks. "What are you doing here?"

Myouga pops back to his normal self and hops to the fire.

"I came to check on Nobara-sama," he informs, crossing his two pairs of arms. He jumps over to her on the futon sleeping.

"Gwa! Nobara-sama!" he exclaims, jumping back alarmed. "So this is the night you lose your youkai powers!"

"Nani?!?" Everybody says in unison.

"Myouga-jiji," Miroku starts, eyes wide. "Are you saying that you already knew that Nobara-san is a hanyou?"

"Hai! Didn't you?" the small flea asks hopping back over to the group and sitting by the fire. He looks up to five questioning faces glaring at him. "Ah, so you did not know."

"Myouga-jiji, we did not know because her jyaki was so strong," Sango explained. "Even to me, a trained Youkai Taijiya, her jyaki was as strong as any youkai if not stronger."

"Hai," Miroku adds head down. "I felt the same jyaki."

Kaede nods thoughtfully.

"How is it that she can have such strong jyaki and be a hanyou?" Kagome asks, her eyes glancing to the dark haired Inuyasha.

"Nobara-sama, is a hanyou and is also not a hanyou," the small flea answers without looking at them.

Everybody looks at the flea with wide eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean she is and is not?" Inuyasha retorts, sitting up and crossing his legs.

"The answer is with Nobara-sama's parents. Her father was a tai-youkai. A doragon-youkai."

"Doragon?" Sango gasps along with Kagome. Kagome realizes she had not really seen any doragons since she had been in the feudal era. They were never really mentioned much, but a doragon youkai? She had never heard of them, just youkai.

"Hai," Myouga responds then continues. "Nobara-sama's mother was a hanyou."

Kagome looks down with realization in her eyes.

"Her mother was a hanyou?!"

She looks over at Inuyasha and his dark eyes showed no reaction.

"So, that is why she has strong jyaki," Miroku mentions thoughtfully. "She is only slightly a hanyou."

"Hai, and that is why despite her having mostly youkai blood, she still loses her powers once a month like all hanyou," Myouga finishes.

"I do not remember hearing of any doragon-youkai from my father," Sango remarks.

"Hai," the small flea continues. "Doragon-youkai have not existed for over fifty years and then they were very rare. A doragan-youkai was the result of a doragan and a youkai. Their legend is very ancient. Apparently a doragon and a youkai fell in love. These creatures were great and very powerful tai-youkai. But eventually they died out. Doragon-youkai can live for over a hundred years and age slower than all other creatures on this earth. It is said that they were true immortals sharing the doragons power of an ageless life. That is all I know. I never met one, until the day Nobara-sama followed Inu no Taisho-sama home."

"I have heard of them as well," Kaede adds, surprising everyone. The old woman stared her good eye into the fire. "They were supposedly sad creatures which were cursed by a powerful miko. They began to fear their unending existence and that most took their own life rather than to face eternity alone."

Everyone looks down thoughtfully. Kagome looks over at the futon and her eyes widen. Nobara is gone. She looks over to the door just as Nobara slipped behind the grass door flap.

"Nobara!" she exclaims, as the dark haired woman quickly runs out. Everyone turns and runs outside to see that she is gone.

"Baka! Where in hell does she think she's going?!" Inuyasha spats as everyone looks around. Sango quickly changes to her youkai taijiya regalia and jumps on top of an enlarged Kirara.

"Kirara and I will search in the forest, she could not have gone far," she says as she takes off.

"Kaede-obaa-chan! Stay with Inuyasha!" Kagome calls as she grabs her bow and quiver and follows Miroku out into the forest after Sango. Kaede nods. Inuyasha stands in the doorway annoyed about being left out. He looks up at the moonless sky and curses his weakness. Shippou, slightly groggy from being awoken stands next to Inuyasha rubbing his eyes.

"What is going on? Where did Nobara go?"

Inuyasha and Kaede go back inside without responding. Myouga jumps back over to the fire and Inuyasha plops back in his place. His dark eyes search the flames. Kaede and Shippou watch him. A memory flashed in his mind form that distant night.

"Inuyasha," Nobara says sternly. "You must not tell anyone you have seen me this way. Not even your Okaa-san."

"Why?" the small Inuyasha asked.

"Because, my chiichai youkai," she begins kneeling down to him and pulling him close to her. "Because for the same reason you hide on the nights of no moon, it is to help keep us safe."

"I know why she left," he suddenly said, the awakened memory still haunting his thoughts.

"Why, then Inuyasha?" Kaede asks sitting down across from him. Inuyasha remains still, glaring into the fire.

"For the same reason I wanted to leave Kagome and Shippou that first night they learned my secret," he explains and looks up at Shippou and Kaede. "To protect myself."

Nobara runs through the forest easily, her shoulder still numb from the medicine Kaede applied. She runs through the trees desperately trying to get away.

"Why? What are you doing?" she asked herself as she ran. "They already don't trust me, why should I trust them?"

She growls at her thought as she continued. Suddenly something cuts into the ground before her. She instinctually leaps and does a flip to land, crouched to the ground. She looks up shocked at the figure in the floating feather above.

"Kagura?!"

"Nobara," Kagura chides. "I guess it was worth the trouble to come back this way - huh?!" Kagura stops and looks at the dark haired figure below her. She just saw the blue kimono through the trees, she did not notice until the dust settled of Nobara's predicament.

"She is a hanyou!" the kaze-youkai realized.

Nobara just glares at her and clenches her human teeth. She sees she has nowhere to hide.

"Well, doesn't matter," Kagura says, regaining her composure. "Naraku still wants you."

"Keh. I don't care. Naraku, that pitiful hanyou, he can come himself if he wants me that badly. It's not like you want to follow his orders, anyway," Nobara sneers a she places a hand on Hisuibara's hilt.

"What! She can read my thoughts?!" Kagura thinks shocked.

"That doesn't matter," Kagura says, reopening her fan and preparing to strike. "Naraku sent me to bring you, and I will."

Nobara sneers and prepares to leap out of the way, her hand grasping the youkai blades hilt. She looks down at Hisuibara, which throbs weakly.

"Hisuibara?" she looks down at the blade shocked to feel it throb with jyaki. "I will only get one chance...."

"Heh," Kagura huffs as she raises the fan above her head and with a swipe releases the wind blades again. Nobara moves as quickly as she can, the current form she was in not as fast as the one she was accustomed too, at least for fighting. The first wave she is able to miss, the second wave hits her with its explosion as it hits the ground. Nobara goes flying and lands, ramming her hurt shoulder into a tree.

"Gaaaa!" she screams as she feels the bones shatter. The pain surging through her entire body, she blacks out.

Kagura watches above very pleased with herself. Nobara's figure was in plain view through the small opening in the trees.

"One more swipe will do it, Naraku can not know how I feel and she can expose me!"

Kagura is about to strike again as Hiraikotsu suddenly appears and she quickly dodges the attack.

"Heh." She says as she waves the fan again and sends Hiraikotsu right back at Sango. Hiraikotsu suddenly knocks into Kirara and Sango, causing the neko-youkai to fall with rider in tow. Nobara opens her eyes wearily and looks up alarmed as she tries to rise.

"Sango?! That Youkai Taijiya is trying to protect me?"

"Sango!"

Miroku leaps and grabs the unconscious warrior and lands on the ground holding her.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome calls running up as Kirara quickly turns and lands on her feet then shrinks and collapses unconscious. Hiraikotsu stuck in the ground before them. Both were unconscious. Kagome runs over and picks up the small Kirara. She then looks up and sees Kagura.

"Kagura!"

Kagome quickly runs over and lays the small neko-youkai underneath a nearby tree.

"Heh, it's the brats," Kagura looks down displeased. She then notices the silence and absence of the hanyou. "Inuyasha? He's not here?"

"Where is Inuyasha?"

"Why does that matter!" Kagome shouts angrily as she slips an arrow into the bow string and fires. The hamaya glows pink and speeds towards Kagura. The youkai simply waves her fan, directing the arrow away.

"Heh, did you forget I control the winds?"

Miroku carefully lays Sango under the tree with Kirara and tenderly touches her face. He then turns, anger in his dark eyes and grabs the prayer beads around Kazaana. For a moment Kagura looks uncertain.

"How dare you hurt the girl I care for!" the houshi yells angrily, about to twist the beads away from his arm.

"Miroku-sama!" Kagome suddenly exclaims as she realizes the swarms of saimyoushou that suddenly appear. "Saimyoushou!"

Kagura smirks as Miroku angrily rewraps the beads.

"So Naraku is watching now," Kagura realizes looking around for Hakudoushi to appear.

Kagome is about to try another hamaya when Kagura sends more wind blades their way. Miroku quickly protects Kagome grabbing her out of the way. Kagome then sees Nobara's slumped form across from them.

"Nobara!"

"Miroku-sama! Kagura is after Nobara!" Kagome realizes. Miroku looks over at the slumped form just as they leap to safety. Kagome fires another arrow to distract Kagura and Miroku tosses some o-fuda.

"Nobara! Run!"

Nobara opens her eyes and sees Kagome. The pain in her shoulder blurs her vision, she sees Kikyou there.

"Kikyou!?"

Her heart stops and she wonders what is going on. Finally her eye's focus and she sees Kagome.

"Kagome?"

She sees Kagome fire another hamaya at Kagura.

"You...will risk your life to protect me?"

As Kagome and Miroku try to deter Kagura, Kagura unleashes another deadly attack. The two are blown across the clearing and land unconscious. Kagura smirks at her suspected success as the dust settles upon the two unconscious figures. Nobara watches in horror as she senses the malice in Kagura's heart and realizes her next move.

"Kagome!"

Hisuibara throbs at her side and with every last ounce of strength she has she rises and unsheathes the youkai blade with her broken arm. She almost drops the blade which throbs even stronger. Hisuibara pulsates and the red flame of shouki begins to burn along the blade. Nobara looks at the blade unsure and only slightly surprised by the surge of jyaki emanating from it. Nobara looks down; hiding her face as the blade surges with power and the flame grows.

"This is the only way....."

Sango suddenly stirs and quickly awakens and sees Kagura prepare to swing her fan towards the two still figures.

"Miroku!" her heart cries as she watches helpless, knowing she could not get there in time. She suddenly senses something and turns to Nobara.

"Nobara?!"

Nobara's eyes glow a bright red through her hair which still fell over her face. A great wind builds around her and blows her hair wildly. Nobara suddenly looks up, her eyes shining with a red glow and her face in shadow, the red flame engulfing her body. In the light of the flame her hair seemed to return to its vibrant yellow. She raises Hisuibara with both arms above her head the blade shining. Her mind is filled with memories of Kagome's kindness to her. Flashes of Kagome taking care of her shoulder; offering her tea; of Kagome smiling.

"Kagome...."

From the hilt of Hisuibara a great flame erupts and Sango for a moment thought she saw the shape of a doragon before it disappeared into the flame. The shouki flame rose quickly above the blade and burned at the tip. Kagome wakes up and looks up alarmed as Kagura releases her wind blades towards her and Miroku.

"Miroku-sama!" she calls stirring the monk. He opens his eyes and immediately senses the great jyaki coming from the human figure.

"Nobara-san?!" he stares at her for a moment until he realizes the danger. "Kagome-sama!" he cries grabbing her and turning his back to the blades to protect her.

"Hisuihikari!!!"

Nobara swings the flaming katana downward and shards of burning jade suddenly shower towards Kagura. Kagura's wind blades are shattered mid-flight and Kagura becomes quickly alarmed as the jade embeds itself in her flesh and tore at her kimono.

"Kuso!" she screams as a barrier suddenly forms around her and she quickly takes off on her feather and disappears.

For a moment all was still. Three weary companions sat frozen as they watched Nobara. Nobara stood there for a moment as the flame faded and returned to Hisuibara. Her hair was black again and the red light in her eyes quickly dissipates returning to their dark human color. Hisuibara's tip jams into the ground as Nobara tries to stay up, panting for breath, her brow beaded with sweat. She stares at Kagome, both their eyes meet and Kagome could almost make out a small smile on her quivering lips. Nobara falls forward, her form crumpling to the ground. Hisuibara clatters on the soft earth, its throbbing now silent. Miroku helps Kagome rise and they stand there silent as Sango steps forward with a still unconscious Kirara in her arms.

"That was a youkai attack...there was a surge of enormous jyaki in that attack...How...how did she do it?"

End Chapter