Chapter 9
"Are you okay?"
"Kagome!" Shippo exclaimed. "Did you throw those fans?"
"No, I did," said Saia. She glanced at Sessho-Maru, who was glaring rather venomously at her.
"You're Sessho-Maru?" she asked skeptically. "You don't look like much." Sessho-Maru growled. Suddenly, he leaped at her. Saia pulled out a black leather whip as she sidestepped his attack. She absently cracked the whip, and Sessho-Maru fell to the ground, groaning. Saia nodded.
"Now, how can you be a strong demon if you can't withstand the magic of my whip. Really, you'd think - " She cracked the whip again, smiling slightly as Sessho-Maru suffered. Then she looked back at Kagome and Shippo.
"You guys okay?"
"Yeah," Shippo answered. "But Lady Kaede...." Saia looked around, then knelt next to Kaede.
Do you want me to heal you?"
"They are not deep wounds," Kaede answered. "I - " She broke off as Saia dipped into her pack and pulled out an assortment of different powders. She carefully mixed some of them together, then added a ocher-colored liquid to it. She swirled it around with her finger, before pouring the mix on Kaede's wounds. Instantaneously, they went away. Saia helped Kaede to her feel before putting the powders back into her pack.
"Now, as for you - " She looked to where Sessho-Maru had lain, but he wasn't there. She glanced around before snapping her fingers.
"Darn it, he got away. Oh, well. How do you feel?" she asked Kaede, who regarded her with a searching gaze.
"I feel fine. But what are you," she asked. "That you could heal me so easily?"
"I can do many things," Saia answered. Kagome looked at her and took a deep breath.
"Are you," she began. "A...a..."
"A what?" asked Saia testily. "A demon, a witch, a sorceress?"
"A....dominatrix?"
"WHAT!?"
"A dominatrix....I mean, with your whip, and - "
"Kagome, I'm a priestess," Saia said indignantly. "This whip has been in my family for centuries." She wrapped it around her hand and secured it to her waist.
"It's useful for subduing demons and such," she continued. "I thought it might come in handy. My aunt gave it to me, along with some other family heirlooms. The fans I made myself. Now let's go. We need to chase after Sessho-Maru."
"Kagome, you may have been right," said Myoga from her shoulder. "Sessho-Maru might be holding Inu-Yasha captive. He wouldn't have come for the Tetsusaiga if he knew that Inu-Yasha was here." Kagome turned pale.
"You think he has Inu-Yasha?"
"It's possible," Myoga admitted. "My lord is powerless in his human form. It would have been easy..." He trailed off.
"Where would Sessho-Maru take him?" Saia asked. Myoga frowned.
"Anywhere in the Western Lands, I suppose. He could have taken him to the castle, but I've heard that he hardly ever goes there."
"Well, we might as well take a look," Saia said decisively. It's our only lead." They nodded.
"Will you need help here?" Saia asked Kaede, who shook her head.
"Go and rescue Inu-Yasha. We'll be fine." Kaede looked at the rubble and sighed. Saia noticed, and frowned before turning back to them.
"Let's go," she said. "The sooner we get back, the better." After making sure that Kaede would be alright, they left the village and headed west.