The Second Strike-Saeka's Redemption

A Not-So Chancy Meeting

Sesshomaru stood quietly atop a grassy rise, staring at the mountains before him. A gentle wind was blowing in from the north and caressing through his silvery hair, though he hardly noticed it. He was far too preoccupied with other, more important matters, such as the Tetsuaiga, or Naraku, or even his recent illness and the demon girl who cured him, Saeka. She was a half-demon, like InuYasha, only her blood smelled like that of a full-breed demon, such as himself and his father, The Great Dog Demon. She was a dragon demon and a skilled healer. He had clearly been on the brink of death when she had come with medicine after Rin had gone for help. Sesshomaru knew he should be angry with Rin for bringing back the help of his half-demon brother, some humans and a half dragon demon who actually had the nerve to stand up to him. Of course, he had cut her down with his Tokijjin. But somehow, she had replaced herself with a water replica and survived. He had to admit; he was fascinated at the levels of power such a young hanyou had achieved. She couldn't be any older than sixteen or seventeen, much younger than any demons he knew, and yet she was almost his equal in strength. He was, after all a few hundred years old and still growing. He was frustrated to admit that his true form, when compared to that of his father's in the tomb was still downright puppyish in comparison. In short, Sesshomaru was small for a youkai as powerful as himself. Truth be told, it was quite hard getting by without the use of his left arm which was still lying somewhere in the netherworld, wherever it had fallen. This explained his lack of use of his true demonic form. Since he had favored his left hand more than his right, it was extremely difficult adjusting.

" Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin's voice floated over the wind to his sensitive ears. He turned slightly. Rin was running over. She paused beside him. " Lord Sesshomaru, I can't seem to find Ah-Un." She said. Sesshomaru stared down at her and then raised his head to the spot where she and Jaken had been waiting for him to return. She was right; the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

" He will turn up." He said.

" Okay. I'll wait for him." She said. She turned to look at Mt. Hakurei.

" Is that where we are going next?" she asked, pointing at it.

" Yes. Naraku must be there."

He said nothing more. He left out the part that he wished to speak to Saeka about his past illness. Adamant as he was, he knew that this was no time for foolishness and he truly believed that Saeka's words were true and that whatever the illness was had not completely dissipated. He wanted the medicine, should it reappear.

Sesshomaru found Jaken dozing against a tree. It turned out that the dragon, Ah-Un had simply been ferreting around in the bushes and Rin had just overlooked him. She let out a cry of delight and ran to the dragon, hugging one of its two necks. Sesshomaru faced the little imp demon, who startled awake with a loud snort.

" Huh? W-What? Oh, it's you!" he said when his eyes focused and he recognized Sesshomaru. The demon turned.

" We're going." He said. Rin nodded and jumped into Ah-Un's saddle. Jaken sighed and trailed after.

" Please tell me where we are going." He said groggily. Sesshomaru remained silent. Jaken sighed again.

Now I know, that mother was indeed correct. I wonder if that ferryman's job is still up for grabs?

" Lord Sesshomaru! Please inform me of our planned destination! Oh Lord Sesshoooomaru!"

Whack!

" Ouch!"

Saeka slept fitfully beneath her faded blue cover in the back of the cave, secluded and hidden from anyone who dared to enter when she was weak. She only became full demon in her sleep so she could protect herself, but other than that, she remained half-demon. Like InuYasha and Sesshomaru's hair, hers turned snowy white as a full-demon. Now, she was suffering from a terrible nightmare.

" No. Leave…me…be! Stay back! No…NO!"

She screamed, bolting up and gasping for air as though she'd just been underwater. She whipped around and around, searching for some unseen enemy that was still lingering from the recesses of her dream. She sighed and flopped back down, her hair already beginning to turn back to its original brown from awakening. She only knew of her nightly change because she found white hairs on her pillow in the morning that could only have come from her. The only reason it hadn't done so when she was camping with those demons and their human friends was because every night, she wandered into the woods and ate the roots of the Moonflower, which halted her hair change for twenty-four hours. The only drawback was that they caused severe dizziness for about a half-hour and she was always forced to stay in the woods until she could make it back.

Saeka stretched and stood up groggily. It was far too early for this and on top of that, her peripheral vision told her that it had snowed unseasonably last night. Great, she thought bitterly. More trouble. Finding food will be difficult today for sure.

She went to the entrance of her cave and looked out. It hadn't snowed much, just a couple of inches, but enough to make the ground invisible. " Could be worse." She murmured. She reentered the cave, wrapped herself in a warm shawl and headed outside with a wooden bucket. It had occurred to her: she was very thirsty. She knelt down in the snow and began shoveling it into the bucket.

She worked feverishly, anxious to get back inside before the thing from her nightmare came to find her. She grimaced and grumbled. She was far too old to be acting like this, flinching at very shadow that flickered at her from a corner. She was going on seventy years old in a few weeks and she was determined not to let herself be found by…him. She shuddered and lifted the bucket. It was half-filled, but it would serve her purpose.

As she turned to go back in, a tall shadow suddenly darkened the path before her. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide as she stared at it. Whoever it was had very long hair; she could see it blowing slightly in the faint icy wind. She felt a shiver go down her spine and she called, " Who are you and what do you want?"

Whoever it was didn't answer. Saeka slowly began to calm down, reassuring herself that it was only a human come for supplies or a cure. She blew a small cloud of steam from her mouth and started forward. If it was indeed a human, than it was one from the village a few miles away and would know to follow her into the cave.

Out of the blue, a bright whip appeared and snapped violently against the rocky wall, bouncing off and retreating back to its owner. Saeka almost dropped the bucket and gripped her shawl, shaken. But she dared not turn around. She swallowed nervously. " I have no business with you. Please leave me in peace." She called out, barely concealing the terror in her voice. Footsteps crunching the fresh snow brought her extra-sensitive ears to a high perk and she shook violently as the intruder approached. Saeka inhaled quietly, preparing herself for the mad dash into the cave, through the curtain. The footsteps drew nearer and nearer until they were but a few feet behind her.

Now!

Saeka exhaled in a terrified gasp and scrambled forward. She stumbled through the curtain and threw it shut behind her, sorely wishing she'd installed a boulder instead. She then ran to the side of the door, into a tiny crevice she had carved out by hand in case of such an emergency. She crouched there, waiting with baited breath as whomever it was reached the curtain. She watched the shadow pause outside. Then, with sudden decisiveness, the intruder suddenly raised a hand and, claws extended, slashed the curtain to shreds in seconds. Saeka felt panic take hold. One word came to mind as she pushed herself deeper and deeper in. Demon.

Sesshomaru stood amongst the ruined bits and fragments of shredded curtain. He knew she was in the cave somewhere. He would find her. He tried to trace her scent in the air. He found himself surprised. She had disguised herself well, for her scent was mixed with that of whatever she had left simmering on the fire. He boldly stepped further in. His powerful ears would pick up even the slightest whimper. There was no doubt in his mind that she was terrified of him. Unless she did as he asked and gave him the medicine, she had every reason to be. He turned his head this way and that. His sharp eyes located a tiny crevice beside the door. His eyes narrowed and he approached it cautiously.

" Healer. You are back there." He said. Saeka's head appeared in the dim light and one dark eye glared at him. " Oh, it's you." She said nonchalantly. She forced herself out of the tiny crevice and got to her feet stiffly. The demon was standing in the middle of the cave staring at her blankly.

" What have you come for? You seem healthy to me." She snapped. Sesshomaru had wondered how she would react when she saw him. He supposed she'd still be mad about his slicing her asunder back in the forest. Judging by the way her dark eyes were flashing, he assumed his guess was correct.

" I have come for the medicine." He said. She cocked an eyebrow and closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose. " Sesshomaru, I can't just give you the medicine. You have to actually be sick. Now I did say that you were a carrier of the disease, but that does not mean that you will get it again. Besides, if applied incorrectly, the antidote can easily become a deadly poison to which there is no known cure, even to me." She cried, heading over to the cave entrance where she'd dropped her bucket. She cast a wary eye around for the little girl, Rin and that strange imp thing. But they were nowhere to be seen. She straightened up and headed to the fire, dumping the snow into the pot and stirring absently, forgetting completely why she wanted the snow, but pretending to make a spell so she wouldn't have to concentrate on his perpetual stare. She added a pinch of green dust she'd spilled the other day, knowing full well that this concoction was going to explode and fill the cave with a horrible toxic smoke for about twenty minutes until she could get some alicorn. She had to get him out of here before she blew herself sky-high. She glowered at him. " Haven't you got anything better to do than stare at me, waiting for the cure you're not going to get?" she snapped. Sesshomaru, as an answer, simply sat down cross-legged on the floor and shut his eyes halfway. Saeka's shoulders sagged.

This could take a while.

A/N: Ta-dah! The first chapter of the second book! I'm getting god at publishing and thanks to valuable advice from my good friend Kinkatia, this is finally getting off the ground. It's all because of Kinkatia that I'm even publishing. I was too wussy to attempt it. But now, I'm better! Please R&R! I love reviews and unlike some writers, I don't mind flames. I just don't prefer them. But feel free to critique me. Criticism is very helpful.