Chapter 3: The Meeting

Meanwhile, with the Hooded One and Kagome, the demon they had been riding was now long gone. Kagome was in a trance, much like Usagi was before, and following the Hooded One as they searched for the Shikon Jewel fragments.

"Now, do you sense any fragments?" Kagome nodded, pointing to the northeast.

"I'm sensing a large fragment in that direction." Her voice was flat, almost lifeless.

The Hooded One giggled like a schoolgirl. "Nice! Let's go!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along behind him. The powers he had used on her wore off and she regained her mind.

She blinked twice and pulled her hand away from his grip. "Wait! Where are you taking me?"

He turned to face her, a smile on his face. "We're going to find the large jewel fragment you pointed out to me!"

Kagome's face paled. We're going to Naraku's hideout.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She looked down at him. He was wearing a maroon cloak, the hood completely hiding his face with its shadow. One of his arms was exposed from the shoulder down. Under his cloak, he was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a plain navy blue t-shirt.

"Are you… from the present?" she asked. There was a tense silence between them. Without answering her question, he grabbed her wrist and started dragging her along again. She didn't resist, for fear of him attacking her with his magic.

They made it to Naraku's hideout and nobody was there. The Hooded One sighed in annoyance, letting go of Kagome so he could look around. Kagome could still sense the jewel shards, but the feeling was stronger than earlier. Almost like…

"Kagura? Kanna? Are you here?" she called out. In response, two figures walked out of their hiding spot.

Kanna walked over to Kagome, holding out her hand. In her hand was the chunk of the Shikon Jewel that she had sensed earlier.

"Take it," she said. Kagome nodded and took the jewel fragment. The Hooded One watched as the fragments Kagome had resonated with the other fragments. They fused into one part of the jewel, falling gently on Kagome's palm.

Kagome… she can help me save Mother! He walked over to Kagura. "Hey, do you know where Naraku is?" She looked down at him.

"He's at some kind of meeting he was called to," she explained briefly. Something clicked in the Hooded One's mind and he quickly grabbed Kagome by the forearm and dragged her out of Naraku's hideout. Once they were only surrounded by trees, the Hooded One pulled out his staff and started to create a portal.

"Where-" Kagome didn't have time to ask her question as the boy pulled her into the portal with him. In a flash of pale pink light, they were in a dungeon. He pulled her forward, locking her up in a cell.

"Don't try to escape, or else," he threatened. None of the childlike playfulness from earlier was in his expression as he glared at her. Kagome nodded and the Hooded One walked away.

After a while, a familiar face walked into the room, her two shikigami girls behind her. "Kikyo!" Kagome called quietly. The revived priestess looked over at her reincarnation.

"Kagome. I see he got you as well," she said. Tilting her head, Kagome watched Kikyo walk over to a chest in the far corner. "This place is called the Castle. It's surrounded by a barrier that is impenetrable. However, there is a room that allows communication with the outside world." She knelt down and opened the chest, pulling out a blue faded robe. She handed it to her and unlocked her cell. "Go!" Kagome donned the cloak and ran out.

She ran and ran, her legs pleading for her to stop, at the least slow down. But she couldn't. As she ran, she passed by a cracked open door. Footsteps were coming up from behind her, but when they passed, they paid no heed to her presence. Making sure no one would see her, Kagome peeked into the room. What she saw in there was shocking; multiple villains, some she recognized and some she didn't know, were gathered around a table. The Hooded One was standing on the table, projecting and explaining something.

"Alright! I know this meeting was sudden, but I have a plan to share with you. First things first, how many of you don't want to be here?" Two of the gathered people rose their hands. "You can leave if you'd like. I bear you no ill will." They rose from their seats, bowed, and left the room. "Now, everyone else is willing to help me, yes?" Everyone nodded. "Good! Here's the plan."

He dug in his pocket and pulled out Sailor Moon's brooch. "This is the Legendary Silver Crystal. It is rumored to have unimaginable power, so I took it from Sailor Moon," he began. Quite a few of the villains nodded in approval, most likely because of their disdain for the sailor guardian and her companions. He dug around in his other pocket and pulled out the fragment of the Shikon Jewel. "This is the Shikon Jewel. It-" He was cut off when one of the villains, Naraku, rose from his seat.

"Apologies, Hooded One, but where did you get that?" he asked. The Hooded One looked at the jewel, then back at Naraku.

"I had some help from one of your adversaries. You know who I'm talking about," he explained vaguely. A scowl rose to Naraku's face as he sat down. "Don't worry. I plan on returning it to you when I'm done." He turned to look at the ground, muttering something incomprehensible.

"Now, as I was saying, I have a plan. I persuaded a master Gate Crafter to create a Time-Space Gate that can take anyone back in time, but it needed a power source. So I have borrowed the two jewels. I hope you don't mind." One of the villains cleared their throat.

"What will we get out of helping you?" he asked. Some of the others whispered among themselves.

The Hooded One pointed at them. "That's a good question, Prince Demande! This gateway will allow anyone who enters it to travel back in time and change history," he explained.

"So what you're saying is that we can go back in time to erase any mistakes that cost us a win?" Naraku reiterated. The Hooded One nodded and everyone clapped.

"Thank you, thank you. So do I have your support?" Everyone nodded at once. "Sweet! Now, I need two of you to stay here as guards." Naraku and Prince Demande stood.

The two men stared at the Hooded One for a moment and left the room. Kagome pressed herself to the wall as they passed by. Naraku stopped and looked around.

"Hmm…"

"What is it, Naraku?"

"I feel like someone else is here in the hallway," he said.

"It's just your imagination. Come on," Prince Demande replied. Naraku looked back one more time before walking off with the prince. When they were out of earshot, Kagome let out a breath. Looking around, she sped off down the hall to find the communication room. As she ran, she heard footsteps ahead of her. She took a quick turn into an open room and closed the door quietly behind her.

Removing her hood, she saw that the room she had rushed into was the room Kikyo had told her about. Without hesitation, Kagome grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled down her message, and slipped it into the box. The footsteps from earlier entered the room right after she pulled her hood up.

"I could have sworn someone was here," a woman muttered. The Hooded One looked around the room.

"I'm sure it's just your-" He stopped when he heard movement. "Wait…" Kagome stopped walking so he wouldn't notice her presence. He took hold of his staff and, when he pointed it in her direction, she bolted. The magic from the staff's orb took hold of her, wrapping around her body and holding her in place. "It seems like I have a rulebreaker," he muttered, chuckling softly.

"Who is this girl?" the woman asked.

"Queen Beryl, meet Kagome. She's the girl who helped me piece most of the Shikon Jewel together," he said. She nodded and left the room, sensing the passive anger radiating from the boy.

Kagome tried to struggle out of the magic's grip, but it only tightened. "You should've listened to me, Kagome. I'm going to bring you back to your cell now." They made their way down the hall and, when they got back to the prison, he set her down in her cell.

"Why are you keeping me here?" she asked. The Hooded One let out a sigh, turning to look out the lone window.

"I realized earlier that you could help me in my mission," he began. "When you fused the jewel shards, I felt the warmth of spiritual energy. Your power can help me save my mother. Please…" He turned and knelt in front of her cell. "Please… Help me save my mother…" She could see tears flowing down his cheeks.

Even though she felt sorry for him, she couldn't truly trust him. "Can I have time to think about my choice?" He nodded. "I'll think about it and give you my answer when I'm ready. Okay?" He nodded again and walked away, his shoulders slumped. For some reason, Kagome knew that he had lied to the other villains just so they would help him.