Silver Tears & Crimson Blades

Chapter 1: Swept away

The Battlefield was bathed in blood,enemy and ally alike. Those who survived stood in awe of the destruction.

"Who's alive?" came a gruff voice.

"Kirara and I are okay." Sango the Demon slayer announced as she held her bleeding left side.

"Shippo and I are alive Inu-Yasha." A monk clothed in purple and black was leaning against a tree bleeding from a nasty gash in his left leg, a small child laying passed out next to him.

"Where are Kagome and Toboe?" The gruff voice now recognized as the Half-breed Inu-Yasha said. A crash and subsequent thud was heard followed by a loud yelp.

"OWWWWWY!" came from a slightly bloody young woman with black hair.

"Kagome!" bellowed Inu-Yasha. "You okay? Need help?" he asked as an afterthought.

"Inu-Yasha? Have you seen Toboe? I can't find her!" The worried voice of the woman Kagome trembled slightly. Inu-Yasha helped the girl up the embankment that they were sitting on.

"Miroku! Are you alright?" Kagome asked as she saw the monk.

"I am fine Kagome-sama! How are you?" he asked.

"I am okay, a few scratches and things but I am in one piece." Kagome replied. They heard a dull thud some feet away, looking Kagome spotted the missing members. Kagome ran for the demon horse and his rider. "Entei! Toboe!" Kagome grabbed one of Toboe's hands. "Are you alright?" Toboe smirked and patted Kagome's shoulder as she leaned on her swords sheath. "Nothing that can't heal."

She looked at Inu-yasha and noticed that he had his eyes on the ground. "You collect all those pink-menaces?" Kagome turned and almost ran into Sesshomaru. He held out his hand and when she held hers out in return he dropped the shards in it. She drew the ones out of the bottle around her neck and watched them fuse together so that only one sliver remained to be added. "We need the last shard." Kagome and Inu-yasha looked at Toboe who smiled.

She pulled out of her shirt a silver chain attached to a locket engraved with a nine-tailed fox. A gift from her favorite youkai, her fox tail flickered as she open the locket and held the shard out to her friend. "Finish it at the village Kagome." Entei turned and started towards the village. Kagome yipped and called. "Toboe can I catch a ride with you? Inu-yasha's pretty hurt."

Toboe smiled and held out a hand to help her up. As Kagome settled behind her Sango and Inu-yasha had gotten Miroku and Shippo onto Kirara. Sesshomaru summoned his cloud and flew with the two women. Inu-yasha looked back at the shadow near the trees and followed the group. Entei and Kirara took to the sky to make the trip faster for their riders. Toboe noticed that Kagome had fallen asleep against her and chuckled.

An hour later they touched down in a seemingly abandoned village. Toboe had poked Kagome awake gently. "Kaede its us!" Then one old priestess came out of her hut and stood before the group. "Prove ye are who ye say ye be." Inu-yasha held out the Tetsusuiga and it flared red. Sesshomaru fingered Tensuiga. Kagome held out the nearly complete but pure jewel. Sango held out the dagger she'd been given. Miroku smiled and held out his prayer beads and Shippo his spinning top. Toboe held her locket for the elders eyes."Welcome back all of you." The village exploded into life as people appeared and cheered at the victorious return of the group.

It was after they had been fed and bathed, wounds dressed or healed. The group watched with tears as Toboe and Kagome packed their bags. Toboe strapped Sounga to her side. After that the enlarged group journeyed to the well.

They took there places within the clearing. Toboe climbed off of Entei and watched as he took flight and within moments vanished into the open sky. Kagome had hugged everyone and sat crying as she embraced the children. Inu-yasha looked at Toboe and was struck that the woman had silent tears rolling down her tanned cheeks. "I pray that we can stay. I don't want to leave."Kagome said as the tears chocked her voice.

"Do It Kagome. Waiting will only make it hurt more" Sesshomaru said as the priestess set the children down and stepped next to Toboe. "Here we go." Kagome placed the last shard in the matching point in the jewel. For a moment nothing happened but Kagome felt the jewel pulse and then it shown with a blinding light. Inu-yasha felt a hand on his shoulder and then noticed that it was Sesshomaru's. Then the light vanished and they looked to see that the two were also gone. Kagome and Toboe floated through a warm blue light. "Welcome Guardian of the Jewel" They looked at one another. Kagome was the first to speak. "Midoriko? Is that you? Where are we?"The voice laughed lightly. "Yes Kagome its me. You are going to where you are needed."

Toboe spoke up. "Why am I here?" Midoriko smiled softly before looking at the two women. "You two must restore the balance between Light and Dark, or this world will crumble. Beware your powers are growing. Changing. You must remember this." She spoke gravely. "Can we ever go back?" Kagome questioned. "I do not know, Remember your purpose. I will be dropping you in different locations but near one another. Good luck!" They noticed that the blue was starting to fade into colors. The two women nodded at one another as Midoriko teleported them down to the land below. Kagome had landed near a battlefield, as she watched a group of people fighting a monster. She noticed that the blond spiky-headed one was wielding a huge sword. The black clad woman beside him was hitting the monster with her fists and kicking some serious monster butt.

Kagome noticed that another monster was sneaking up behind the group and pulled her bow. The monster went to lunge at a young girl with her back turned and she released the arrow. Its laser-blue light trailed across the battlefield the arrow struck the monster and blew it to dust particles. The people who she had helped finished the monster they had been fighting and turned to look at the woman who had lent them a hand. The blond approached her as she had placed her hand on a small knife. "I am Cloud Strife. Who are you?"he extended his hand to her and she smiled relaxing slightly as she shook his hand. "I am Kagome Higurashi. Pleased to meet you." They sat down and Kagome noticed a few were injured she asked if they minded if she healed them. They were surprised when she didn't pull out a meteria in fact she would only let her hand touch their skin and she would glow a light blue for a moment or two and then there wounds were gone but the tiredness remained.

As the questions came and stories explained Kagome found out that one of their former companions was similar in a few ways to her. She watched the teams flawless setup of a campsite and a few tears escaped from her eyes as she thought of her friends. "Kagome? Are you OK ? Your crying." Yuffie asked and Kagome wiped her eyes. "I'm OK Yuffie I just miss my friends." Tifa approached the woman and keeled down next to her and looked her in the eye. "You said you had a friend who came to our world with you?" Kagome nodded. "Yes. Toboe." Cid butted in. "Isn't that a guy's name?" He asked as he stuck a cigar in his mouth, Kagome laughed. "No, Toboe is a woman and she rarely lets people know her true name." Yuffie scratched her head. "Will your friend be OK alone tonight?" Kagome nodded chuckling. "I would feel bad for who or whatever crossed her path tonight." The others looked at Kagome as if she was nuts.

As Kagome was helping cook dinner she ran into Red13. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't see you there." "Its alright I am told I should make more noise often." Kagome smiled at him astonishing the rest of the group when she spoke to the fire cat as an equal. And had dropped to his level so that they were on the same level. "I am surprised that you took my appearance in stride Kagome. I am called Red13 or Red for short." Red said as he finished eating. "I have met a lot of different kinds of people in my life your just a new friend to me." Tifa laughed at the expression of shock crossed Red's face. "Tomorrow we'll help you find your friend." And with that the whole group settled down to sleep with one new member.

--Meanwhile--

Toboe had found a cave and set herself in there quite nicely. Sounga pulsed gently in her hand. She had allowed her true appearance to show. She'd met her first monster when she'd claimed the cave. She looked at the ravine carved by her sword into the surface of the world. "I wonder if Kagome found a comfy spot for sleeping ' Cuz I did." she mumbled to Sounga as she sat down on her sleeping bag , she had used her magic to place a barrier on the cave entrance. She had hunted down a boar-like monster and had cooked its meat over her fire. As she sat eating her eyes were glowing eerily. She finished her meal noticing that some raptor-like monster was standing outside the barrier looking at the remaining boar meat and bones. The creature was male. He was a striking beast to her eyes all black scales with silver teeth and talons,His eyes a glittering crimson. She picked up a leg bone with some meat on it and tossed it though the barrier to him. Within moments it was gone and she chuckled until she noticed the long bleeding slice down his side and the multiple cuts and scratches littering his hide.

It had taken her all night and almost until dawn to get the creature to let her treat him and trust her. She had noticed that the wounds were human made and she was angry. She had hunted for him finding a few young boar monsters probably the young of the one she'd killed earlier. She fed him the tender meat and gave him fresh water. She snorted to herself when the monster settled into a healing sleep. Her mother always said, one always seeks its own when injured. She placed a small barrier over her sleeping place and over her food to prevent her guest from picking on the meat. Her fingers ghosted over the creatures hide the smooth scales glittering in the firelight. A while later she laid down and fell into a light sleep her hand clutching her swords hilt.