The darkness. Her friend. Her only friend. Natsumi looked around the cave her deceased sister had called home. Everything as she left it. No longer wanted to pay the price of stealing from Urasue, even if she was no longer here in the flesh to protect her precious herbs and potions. Not even the dust and grime had dare soil the shelves with their bowls and containers of vile-smelling concoctions. She surveyed the scene in disgust. Urasue had never been much of a housekeeper, and it appeared as if even the little she usually did had been sadly neglected in her last days. She had been obsessed. The only things driving her were her quest for the shards and her desire to bring the dead Miko back to life. Kikyou. Even the thought of the powerful priestess brought a bitter taste to Natsumi's mouth. It was her fault, after all. SHE had banished Natsumi from the village and the surrounding mountains. All for killing an annoying child....

"You've killed an innocent child for the last time, Natsumi! I will no longer allow you to terrorize the villagers this way! I should kill you where you stand."

"Why not then, Kikyou? Are you afraid to?"

"No, Natsumi. Don't fool yourself. You know that I would kill you in an instant if I wanted to. But I won't. I refuse to stoop to your level."

Natsumi smiled. "Fine, bitch. I won't be this weak forever. It's your funeral." She rose into the air and flew over the mountains to her new home.

She hadn't even MEANT to kill the little brat that time. But the reason didn't matter. She had been banished, and she did not disobey the Miko. She had not been powerful enough. Now, however, 57 years from the day she had been banished, she was ready to return and have her revenge.

In retrospect, it had been too bad for Kikyou that she thought Natsumi's sister had been nothing but a harmless girl. Yes, too bad indeed. Maybe her sister would still be alive if she had been banished as well. They had never gotten along. Natsumi remembered many long bitter fights with her younger sister. No, there had really been no love lost between them. In fact, their last fight had been over Urasue's plan to bring Kikyou back. She had been warned. Too many things could go wrong... As it turned out, something DID go wrong. Something the witch never saw coming. Kagome. Natsumi gritted her teeth in anger. Yes, she would have to be dealt with as well. Her and the rest of her group. Especially that disgusting half-breed. After all, she had heard from many reliable sources that it was his sword that had delivered the death blow. Now that she thought about it, she might as well kill the others in his group as well. The demon-slayer and her youkai. The monk. They were not present when Urasue was murdered, but that didn't matter.

'Now then, there will be time enough for reminiscing later.'

She turned and left the cave.

'On to the village. I'll deal with the Miko and her elderly sister. They will both die slow, painful deaths.'

Natsumi flew over the trees and houses on the outskirts of the small village to the Miko's hut. She walked up to the modest dwelling, intent upon ending the lives of Kaede and Kikyou. Suddenly, she stopped.

'There is a powerful Miko somewhere close. In the forest. Kikyou must have

gone out, although the hour is late. I'll have to wait to kill Kaede then. I want to be able to surprise Kikyou, and if I kill her sister she will be on her guard.'

Natsumi rose into the air and flew toward Inu Yasha's Forest. Slowly gliding over the trees, she searched for the source of the immense power she felt.

'Ah! There it is!' She landed in a tree and looked down, expecting to see Kikyou leaning against the tree.

'Yes, there she is. The bitch that killed my sister. Well, this will be the last night she ever sees.' Then she stopped.

'Wait. Kikyou always wore her hair up. And she would never go anywhere in

anything but her Miko robes. And I know she used to be taller.' she thought as the girl stood up and started walking away. 'Could this be? Yes, it must be her reincarnation. How in the Seven Hells did she become so powerful?!?'

The witch started to rethink her plan. She couldn't hope to use normal magic against one with so powerful an aura. However, maybe... 'Yes, it just might work. I'll switch the bodies of the two Mikos. Since Kikyou is already technically dead, I'll be able to get rid of Kagome easily. Hopefully Kikyou will not be able to tap into Kagome's powers. Yes, this is perfect. They will all pay for what they did to my sister.'

Natsumi flew from her perch back to the cave. She walked through it, looking carefully around her for the things she would need. It would be a powerful spell. In fact, she would need to harness the power of a shard of the Shikon no Tama to complete her task. She looked up from the pile of things she had collected. It was almost morning. She could see the sun rising over the cliffs.

'Yes, they will be sorry they killed the sister of the most powerful witch in the Western Lands,' she thought, and evil smile spreading over her face. "Now then," she said to herself, walking into the new morning, "it's time to go shard hunting."

She lifted gracefully off the ground and flew towards Inu Yasha's forest. There had to be a shard in there somewhere. The gods knew that the group currently camping in there found enough of it. She couldn't go after the girl's shards, though. Even though she was untrained, her powers far surpassed Natsumi's. The witch scanned the tree tops, trying to sense the presence of a shard. She paused.

'Ah! There's one! This was much easier than I thought it would be.'

She landed quietly on a branch and surveyed the clearing, and quickly spotted the owner of the shard. She shuddered in disgust. It HAD to be a centipede demon. Of all the revolting things... But no matter. Soon there would be one less of them in the forest, and she would take great pleasure in being the one to end it's pathetic life. 'I must be quick, though. I sense the Miko and her friends. They are close, and getting closer.'

She concentrated on the centipede demon, summoning as much power as she

could. With a muttered spell, the energy was released. The demon never knew what hit it. It flew into hundreds of pieces, the various body parts scattering around the clearing. The trees and grass were soaked with blood. Oh, well. Couldn't be helped. Natsumi quickly spotted the shard and flew over to it. She picked it up before the demon could reassemble itself. The witch glanced around the clearing and spotted an herb she needed for her spell growing on the far side of the clearing. She started walking towards it. Never hurt to plan ahead, so she might as well get it now. She was halfway across the clearing when she heard a shout behind her.

"Stop right there! Who the hell are you?!"

She turned slowly to face the group that had stumbled upon her. Her thoughts raced. What could she do? She knew without looking who had found her. Of course, it had to be the hanyou and the Miko. The half-demon looked ready for a fight. She decided quickly. Summoning her strength one more time, she said the words to one of her spells and promptly vanished.