I'm a very bad girl I know. Please excuse me for not updating my other stories in an extremely long time. They will eventually get the next chapter…before a year or two passes hopefully.

This idea, along with another one, just wouldn't leave me alone and let me sleep at night. And so here's the result. However, whether this one continues or not will depend on you readers and your responses. If it's good enough to go on please tell me. Otherwise…it'll just stay as a one-shot.

Disclaimer – I do not own the greatness called Inuyasha. If I did…Inuyasha would've been knocked over the head a few times for being too stubborn.

Mine – She was his and he's waited fourteen years to claim her. Now it was time to brand her, show her who she belonged to mind, body and soul.

Chapter 1 – Haunting Gold

….

Tiredly running a hand through her raven locks, Kagome glared at the overly cocky boy before her. Cobalt eyes showed no emotion even though a smirk twisted his lips. She wanted to throttle Kouga so badly it was becoming an itch. He had just brazenly declared she was his woman, had always been his woman, and always would be his woman in front of the entire freaking class. All the girls were glaring at her with thinly veiled jealous hate in their eyes, most of the boys slack jawed while the rest were copying the negative glares of the females.

Kagome wished the ground would just open up and shallow her.

"Kouga," she started patiently, fingers curling into a fist by her side, "For the last time. I am not your woman." She angrily hissed the last five words, a vein noticeably twitching on her forehead. Kouga's smirk widened and he casually draped an unwanted arm around her shoulders. Kagome clamped her teeth together to distract the rather appealing urge to drop kick the infuriating man to next century.

"But Kagome," he lowered his voice as he took a tiny step closer to her slightly quivering body. "I'm only telling the truth here." Several loud snickers followed his statement. Kagome closed her chocolate eyes, fervently praying for the non-existent patience within her to deal with her childhood friend. She questioned, not for the first time, why she even tried to stay friends with the obnoxious man.

Breathing deep once, the dark haired young woman slid out from underneath his arm, turning around to face him at a respectful distance between their bodies. The quivering settled down in her hands, anger rearing its ugly head more than ever. This…issue needed to be dealt with once and for all.

She was not some possession.

Kagome could practically feel the heated stares on her back from the unwanted audience. This was getting embarrassing. "Why won't you get it through your thick skull that I will not date you!" Her voice started low but ended on a higher note from the passionate sentence. The cocky smirk didn't waver, having never once slipped off his tanned face. Usually their argument over whether or not she would court him ended with her storming off to cool down and him chuckling at her obvious anger. This time however, something else briefly flashed through his blue eyes.

The abominable smirk finally tilted downward, eyes narrowing as he inched a step closer to her. His expression turned stony, making Kagome suddenly wary of her friend. One of his hands reached up to tightly grip her forearm. She knew the situation had just turned south and her breathing sped up from the sinking realization. Something had changed in Kouga – maybe he was finally tired of her rejecting him for the past three years.

Or maybe he was finally showing his true colors.

"It's been ten years Kagome." He began in a hard tone, referring to when they first met and became friends. "You have been mine since we were kids." Her jaw dropped at the ridiculous notion. Childhood friends though they were, she would not put up with his annoying attitude regarding her any more.

Enough was enough.

Kagome glared at him, chocolate eyes burning brightly with her raging anger. She barely reigned in the pleasant urge to kick him where the sun don't shine so he would let go of her arm and raised her other hand to push at his chest. They were standing too close for her comfort. "Let me go Kouga."

His grip tightened, bringing her close enough that his breath tickled her ear. "What do I have to do to make you understand?" The low sentence froze her momentarily; there had been something else hidden within his voice. A sort of achingly desperate underlying note. For a brief second, Kagome felt pity for her childhood friend. Then she mentally shook off all concern. He didn't deserve anything after the way he was handling her.

The two stared at each other, both ignoring the not so subtly hidden eavesdropping from the other students in the classroom. She wondered what it would take for him to understand her side. He was a friend, nothing more. A dearly beloved childhood friend but still just a friend. Her heart skipped a beat at the sudden unbidden thought that she might have to choose between her freedom and her friend. A trickle of fear spiraled through her veins; would she loose one if she choose the other?

Any answer was drowned out by the loud shrill ringing of the school bell as it rattled in her ears. The not so subtly listening students abandoned the two arguing friends, wasting no time in crowding out the classroom door to head home after immediately packing up their things. Kagome let out a shaky breath through her nose when Kouga's hand finally dropped and he stepped back, the empty classroom ringing in silence. Her heart hammered in her chest as she realized that had been scary. He gave her a hard look, a promise of the conversation not being over quite yet sending a cold shiver down her spine, before following the previous flow of traffic out the opened classroom door.

Breathing deep once, Kagome blinked at the now completely empty school room, mind whirling around what had just happened. She shook her head a second later to dispel any doubts or lasting anger, knowing it would be useless to dwell on what had happened and what might happen. A long sigh escaped her lips as she trudged back for her school bag then out into the nosy hallway. It was crowded by the students littering around to talk with friends or gathering last minute things for any after school clubs. She had to weave her way through the traffic jams, heart constricting slightly from the earlier events.

Why couldn't Kouga let her go? They had been friends since before elementary school, following with all of middle school and now most of high school. He was one of her very first friends along with Sango and Miroku. Their group had enlarged to include three others about three years ago but the original four had remained very close nit. She missed the days where she could laugh freely together with Sango and teasingly joke with Kouga about how Miroku would never be cured of being a pervert and that he should stop taking lessons while he was ahead. Their friendship was as dear to her as her own family. In some ways, she did think of Kouga and Miroku as older brothers – there were only a couple of months between her birthday and Miroku's – while Sango was a close sister.

She frowned as she paused by her locker to stuff unneeded textbooks inside before resuming the journey home, suddenly remembering things had changed one day back before high school had started. Miroku had asked Sango out during the summer vacation – no surprise there since he had never stopped since meeting her – but what was the biggest shocker was that she had actually accepted – for once. It had always been obvious the tall dark haired girl had strong feelings for the incurable pervert yet she had always rejected his advances, usually giving the violet eyed man a good hard slap for touching her rear. Why she had finally said yes remained a mystery. She eventually whispered the reason to Kagome after months of persistent pestering, fervently making Kagome promise to never utter it to anyone else on pain of death (that still made Kagome giggle at the ridiculous notion of Sango ever harming her).

But after that, Kagome and Kouga were basically left on their own. Sango and Miroku spent the majority of their time together, on dates or just hanging out, and the other two felt left out. The four of them had always done mostly everything together once becoming best friends. Now that group had been split – and now Kagome suspected that was the reason why Kouga was hitting so hard on her. Either he'd had feelings for her all along or he was just feeling a little lost without the lovebirds and trying to hold on to the remaining constant.

The latter made Kagome smile sadly. She had felt the same way afterwards…then a cute guy named Hojo began chasing her halfway through her first year of high school and making her forget her loneliness. Kouga had stepped up his flirting a notch in response, probably trying to win a race against Hojo. Both men drove her bonkers with their constant nagging.

"Yo, Kagome!" The pleasant sound of Miroku's voice snapped her out of memory lane. A big grin broke out on her face upon spotting him and Sango at the school gate, momentarily confused as to why they were there and not at their meeting tree nearby. Miroku had an arm securely around Sango's waist, Sango's fingers twitching as if ready to slap his hand if it ever got anywhere near her scrumptious bottom (Miroku's words, not hers).

"Sango! Miroku!" Kagome waved at her friends, speeding up her pace to reach them. The rest of the students were either gone or in their after school clubs, making it easier for the three childhood friends to leisurely walk home. She noticed Kouga wasn't with them and subconsciously bit her bottom lip in worry. Was he still angry over their argument earlier? More often than not, the cobalt eyed man would shallow his pride and overly inflated ego and still keep to the tradition of walking home with everyone after school.

The two waiting for her started down the sidewalk once Kagome caught up with them. Normal exchanges of how their school day went proceeded for most of the journey as per usual, albeit for a few times Sango harshly pinched Miroku's arm whenever he began going off on how beautiful his dear Sango was, or how he loved her only and only wanted her to bare his children – he had always had this sort of morbid fascination with women baring his children. Both Kagome and Sango never bothered to figure out why or question him on it.

The answer would probably only make them roll their eyes in disgust.

"Hey, where's Kouga?" Miroku asked unexpectedly while tenderly rubbing a painfully throbbing spot on his side (Sango finally decided to try a different area after his particularly embarrassing speech on how perfect her body was). Sango didn't miss the way Kagome visibly tensed at the mention of their other friend.

"I don't know," Kagome supplied when Sango stayed silent, the latter eyeing the raven haired girl with a knowing look. Pointedly ignoring the look, Kagome elaborated further,"I saw him in math and that was it." It was one of three classes she shared with Kouga. It was also one of three classes she shared with a close friend at all.

Miroku opened his mouth to further question Kagome but snapped it shut when Sango gently nudged him while shaking her head before gesturing at Kagome with one hand. She was walking with her chocolate eyes downcast, feet seemingly dragging across the pavement, white teeth absentmindedly chewing her bottom lip. Miroku cocked his dark head at his girlfriend, silently sending a question, to which she mouthed a later. Satisfied, he cheerily started on another, less disturbing for Kagome, subject. Sango squeezed his hand in appreciation, aiming a warm smile at him. The pervert did have his moments.

The buried worry within Kagome steadfastly gripped her heart. She fiercely hoped she hadn't destroyed her friendship with Kouga over such a petty thing in her mind. Her friends meant the world to her and she would be devastated to lose any of them. Though, she wondered if they even knew that.

By the time the little group of three reached the steps leading up to Kagome's home in a shrine, Miroku had fallen quiet, Sango eyeing Kagome worriedly while Kagome stayed in low spirits. It wasn't until she literally ran into Miroku that her head finally lifted and she saw where they were. Her chocolate eyes widened, guilt washing through her. She hadn't meant to be gloomy for the whole trip; this was basically the only long period of time she ever got with all of her friends.

The hairs on the back of her neck tingled and her heart skipped a beat as they stood in silence. Her gaze flew to the tall green trees surrounding the hill, skin prickling with goosebumps, swallowing in fear. Mumbling a quick apology for her unexplainable behavior, she hurriedly started ascending the million steps to the shrine, not wanting her friends to notice her reactions. Sango shared a look with her boyfriend, raising a dark eyebrow at how Kagome had made a quick escape so soon after arriving at the shrine. Miroku shrugged then gently urged her toward their next destination – his house. Which just so happened to be conveniently right next to hers.

She could never get away from that man.

Laughing at the thought, Sango allowed him to lead her past the steps, worry for her sister like friend reseeding for the moment. She resolved she could always corner Kagome later and demand answers.

Besides, if she couldn't get Kagome to talk...

Who could?

….

Kagome slammed the door to her bedroom shut, chest heaving as she leaned back against it, school bag falling to the carpet. She had ignored all the concerned questions her family had bombarded her with once stepping through the entryway in favor of all but bolting to her room while silently cursing her family's ability to usually know when she was feeling low under her breath. After resisting the strong urge to lock the door, she spotted her open window and frantically closed and locked it. Her fast breathing eased somewhat with that small measure of security, weary body sinking down unto her made bed.

It had come again.

The hair rising feeling of someone watching her, blatantly staring at her, had fully seized her on the way up to the shrine. Fear had pounded inside her veins and all she could think about was running for the safety of her home. There, whatever was looking at her couldn't get through the protection barrier placed around the edges of the house. She was safe…for now at least.

Several minutes of her breathing deep past before a timid knock came at her door. She groaned, knowing she owed her family a reason but dreading to lie once again. She hadn't told anyone about the weird feeling, not quite knowing why she didn't. When it hadn't come for a few days, luring her into a false sense of security, she had totally and completely forgotten about it. Even the burned image of twin pools of molten gold eyes had faded for a brief time.

She shuddered at the clear memory from that fearful day. Of all the memories she could forget throughout her lifespan, that was the one she most wanted gone forever.

Kagome giggled happily as she ran outside, her four year old mind focused on one thing. Her mother was finally coming home with her younger brother and the little girl couldn't wait to see him again. Her grandfather grunted on his way as he followed after her, old eyes watching his granddaughter protectively. The sun was shining brightly that day, a warm wind rustling between the trees in the forest surrounding the small shrine.

The tiny child stopped halfway to the shrine steps, looking back at her grandfather in complete glee, little hands clasped excitedly before her. Her long raven locks moved in the breeze and she impatiently pushed some strands out of her dancing chocolate eyes. When her grandfather finally reached her, Kagome merrily skipped in a circle, hardly able to contain her excitement.

Her body suddenly froze for a second when something akin to cold fingers squeezed her heart. She quietly gasped in surprise, fear pouring thick in her veins, the weird feeling of being watched prevailing over all other senses. Her grandfather didn't notice the tiny child's unexpected halt, eyes now looking at the steps leading down from the shrine.

Kagome managed quick, uneven breaths, eyes big and wide, body beginning to tremble. The cold fingers around her heart gripped tighter with each passing second. Her vocal chords disobeyed her and refused to work properly so she couldn't call out for any help at all. Little fingers desperately bunched in her light sundress as she raised her frightened gaze to the trees around the shrine, half hoping to find the cause of why she was so terrified, half dreading what the source could be. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up; there was something within that forest, she just knew it. Butterflies danced within the space inside her stomach, the fear still coursing through her veins, hot tears starting to slip down her pale cheeks. All she wanted at the moment was her mother's arms. Her mother would be able to soothe away all the dreadful feelings within her body.

A loud gasp left her parted mouth, eyes blinking rapidly at a single spot. It was only for a second but she had glimpsed something in the darkness between two tree trunks. She idly realized her grandfather was worriedly shaking her small frame, having apparently finally noticed her peculiar condition. No words, no other sounds, would come out. Her body was like a statue and her young mind was on overdrive.

Then a low sound traveled to her ears.

A sound that she thought somehow fitted with the two gold spots she had sighted earlier.

A sound that chilled her small body to the bone.

A sound she knew she would never, ever forget.

A sound that would forever haunt her dreams at night.

A sound she inexplicitly wanted to hear again.

Kagome fainted from the prolonged exposure of hard fear, her grandfather's worried voice frantically calling her name the last thing she heard. The blackness of unconsciousness was dotted with gold and the low sound that had been the last straw still ringed in her ears.

It had been the low rumble of a dark purr.

….

He grinned as his female dragged herself off her bed, hesitantly going to the bedroom door. Her window was shut tight and his sensitive ears had picked up the sound of a lock clicking. His grin grew wider at what it had signified, showing two sharp canines.

So she was being careful now, huh?

He knew she could feel whenever he watched her. It gave his inner demon quite a bit of mirth over the fact she foolishly thought she could ever hide from him. There was nowhere she could run to that he wouldn't be able to find her. After all, her delicious scent was forever imprinted upon his memory.

"It's time." His inner demon purred. He nodded in agreement at the sentiment, deadly pointed claws digging into the rough tree bark beneath him in anticipation.

After waiting fourteen long years, it was finally time to claim her.

A glint entered his golden eyes, heart beginning to race in his chest. The thrill of the very special hunt looming closer almost made him drool.

Oh, he couldn't wait.

….

If I do continue this, there won't be a set update schedule. Stupid work keeps switching my shift times on me.

3-35-15: I added what I did because I felt there were places that could have been expanded that I hadn't when I first wrote this. Hopefully some areas flow better and others make a little more sense now. But on another note, the second chapter is out and probably surprised a few of you. Man, I love doing that to people.

Please leave a word (or two or three or five) in the box. You know you want to. *smile*

Lightning Mistress