Forbidden Fruit
by: Wareta Shooki

Okay, for the first time I'm doing a note at the beginning of a chapter, not after with the rest of them. So here it is, the lemon has been moved. Thanks to Malia, my wonderful reviewer who teleported me cookies (much thanks to you!), Jiro has awoken from what could have been a possible writers' block. But thankfully, it wasn't. Let us all pray for that. :bows her head, muttering noncommittal words: Anyway! Like I said, the lemon has been moved. I'll explain that later.

Thanks to those who've reviewed.
The disclaimer is in the prologue.
Leave me the hell alone you damn layers, I'm poor. And if I wasn't, why the hell would I be begging for cookies from my reviewers? For fun? Dream on. I ain't the tooth faerie for heaven's sakes!


Forbidden Fruit
Chapter 7
The Bane of Darkness
Part 1
"There's a darkness in all of us, my dear Seto."

He turned icy midnight eyes to her, taking in the curved body draped in linen skirts and tops. In all her dark beauty, she was evil and he knew that. But something about her was alluring in a such a way it made his body ache for the power she held. Those deep, emerald eyes danced with dreams of a peaceful world filled with a power that couldn't change anything, but couldn't destroy it either. It made her one hell of an idealist.

"Look, Iilya, I hold only a light that purifies at such a dark touch." Was his cold reply, though, even to him, it made no sense. Oddly enough, her emerald eyes sparkled with an amused understanding that made his blood boil.

"I understand, Seto. For once I really do." She turned to face him fully, her raven hair falling over her shoulders like liquid silk. Her dark skin contrasted against the powder-blue, linen skirt and strapless top she wore. The golden bands on her wrists, upper arms, and ankles made her dark brown skin have an almost bronze tint to it. The necklaces around her neck and the earrings she wore made her face seem all the more exotic. But she was just another Egyptian. Another idiot searching for idealistic power they could never have.

"No, Iilya, you don't." He almost snapped, his icy eyes glaring daggers at her. He raised the Sen'nen Rod and pointed it at her, the eye of Horus glowing on the item and on his forehead, nestled nicely between his rich, brown bangs. "You hold the power to foresee the future with the Millennium Necklace, but that is all. Outside that cone of power, you are nothing. I'm here to teach you that."

She smiled and ran at him, and that's when the screaming started.

Seto Kaiba sat up straight and stiff in his hospital bed, staring at the white wall opposite him. The screaming from his dream hadn't stopped, it only continued. Growing louder and louder all the time. He groaned at the force of it and realized who was screaming. Cursing himself for being an idiot for reasons he didn't quite understand just then, he flung himself out of the bed and through the door, ignoring the fact his chest felt like it was on fire, and his left leg was stiff as a board.

He ran down the hall to room 718, his little brother, Mokuba's, room. He kicked open the door and saw a figure dressed in all black from their shoes to their shirt, holding his brother's pale form against the wall by his throat, their other hand gripping a weapon that was lodged in his shoulder. His brother's violet-sapphire eyes were opened wide, his mouth open as scream after scream ripped from his already sore throat.

Anger the likes of which he'd never seen nor felt before tore through him. His blood boiled and he felt the heat singe his body and the loose midnight-blue, drawstring pants he wore. Jounouchi had brought them for him from his house earlier that day. Balling his hands into fists, he let out a sound somewhere between an enraged growl and a hiss that most definitely was NOT human and charged the figure. It turned to him, glowing emerald eyes widening in what might have been surprise before it grunted as Kaiba caused them both to crash into the opposite wall.

The minute he felt the impact of both their bodies hit the wall to his left, Mokuba stopped screaming, seeing his brother's tall, lithe figure struggling against the one who had snuck into his room and attacked him. His violet-sapphire eyes grew dark and he clutched his right hand to his bleeding left shoulder and ran from the room to get help. He trusted Kaiba to take care of himself, and as he disappeared into the hall, he felt it. . . . Something unexplainable, but definitely pissed and powerful, was in the room behind him. And he didn't have to pause and think of who it was.

He just knew. And that scary thought alone gave him the strength he needed to run and find the security guard that was supposed to have been on guard in this hall along with the five cops that had been positioned outside his door. Where the hell were they!

Kaiba growled, punching the figure beneath him in the face, taking them into a roll before kicking it in the stomach and causing it to fly back into another wall, listening to the satisfying thud it created on impact. Standing up swiftly and lunging forward he kicked the knife from its hand and pinned it down. Whispering "Turn on." he stared down at the figure below him as light flooded the room. Ah, the wonders of advanced technology in hospitals.

Deep emerald eyes stared at him through ebony bangs, the rest of the ebony tresses falling over slender shoulders, hovering over full breasts. He blanched and growled low in his throat when she tried to struggle. Pesky bitch, who the hell did she think she was? He leaned back, letting her sit up from the floor before he slammed her back down. She let out a breath between clenched teeth, the sound so close to a hiss it caused more anger to spike in him.

"I know you." He said finally, his voice, to his utter amazement, calm and smooth. But the ice that coated it was nowhere close to being nice and he couldn't help but feel sadistic right then. Darkness was a funny thing. It played with the mind and heart, but never touched the soul. Perhaps that's why he was still considered human. Heh, understatement of the year that was.

"Do you now?" She asked, her voice sounding like bells and chimes on the wind.

For a moment, he considered letting her go before he rammed a knee between her legs causing her to gasp before he elbowed her in the stomach and she promptly stopped squirming and stopped being a damned smart ass.

"You're Iilya Ah'kentyah." His voice was still so soft and so calm. It only meant that if you twitched, you died. It was that simple. Here was hoping Iilya wasn't as stupid as he originally thought she was.

"Well then, didn't think you'd remember me first off. I thought I'd get to play with you awhile." She whispered in his ear, suddenly on top of him. He growled in response throwing his head back and hitting her square in the nose. She shrieked, flying off him and somehow ending up beside the torn up hospital bed, tangled in the wires from the machines that had been hooked up to Mokuba.

Mokuba. He looked around and didn't see the black-haired boy anywhere. This unnerved him but he was given no time to ponder it as Iilya came running at him again, her lips curled back in a snarl he knew wasn't human at all as she knocked him off his feet before he went into a perfect backwards roll, pinning her down, again.

"Haven't we done this already?" He asked casually, simply buying time he knew they didn't really have. This bitch had hurt Mokuba. So. . . why wasn't she dead yet?

"Yeah, we have. But how did you remember my name so quickly? It's been five thousand years." She replied, her eyes bearing into his own.

"Huh. Really? Could have sworn you were just another whore on the street trying to get in my bed." He replied. That got him a slap to the face. His head turned to the side with the force of the blow and that was all the time she needed to disappear - once again - for the second bloody time and run out the door. It took him a minute to chase after her.

Tackling her, he put his right knee in her back, his left on the floor with his right hand holding her own right arm behind her back at just the right angle to snap it if she so much as twitched, his left hand keeping her head pressed into the cold tile floor. It was at that exact moment that Mokuba returned with their doctor, two nurses, five cops, and two security guards.

"Damn, what happened?" One of the cops, Ted Forester, asked as he knelt down, cuffing the woman and allowing Kaiba to be helped to his feet by Dr. Takeida.

His icy midnight eyes turned to Mokuba.

"I. . . I was sleeping. She came in and said she knew Seto. I kinda recognized her, but didn't remember where I knew her from. She sat down next to my bed and talked with me, I don't remember the questions, but I felt myself growing less afraid of her. I stood up when she told me to, and then I was pinned to the wall by her hand with a knife in my shoulder." He said so softly, Kaiba had to strain to hear him and he was not even a foot away.

Kneeling painfully, he opened his arms, letting his kid brother run to him, hugging him close. It had been six weeks since they'd been attacked, some three days since Mokuba woke up and began to heal. Why was it someone was after them? Why was it only they were being attacked? He sighed deeply, and stood, holding his little brother against him, Mokuba's arms wrapped around his neck, his legs curled around his waist.

"I want my brother moved to my room, no exceptions, and I want two cops outside our door. If this happens again, I'm suing the damn hospital." Kaiba said, walking to his room, the two nurses following. He talked softly with them before disappearing into his room. Dr. Takeida sighed deeply and looked down at the woman. Emerald eyes stared back up at him.

For a moment he felt the familiar pull of her power and only smiled. But that smile wasn't the pleasant one all of his patients and co-workers saw. It told of dark secrets and coming pain. In her mind he whispered darkly, You failed, now Nikolaos will punish us both. She hissed at him just as the cop called Ted pulled her to her feet and led her down the hallway and out of sight, his two partners following. The other three walked to stand guard outside Kaiba's hospital room, the security guard walking away with Dr. Takeida whose oddly dark smile still hadn't faded.


The phone rang, causing the gathered group of friends to jump collectively before Yuugi laughed, standing up and walking to the phone. Picking it up he said, "Moshi moshi, this is the Mutou Residence."

"Yuugi, put Katsuya on the phone."

The spiky-haired teen's eyes widened, the amethyst hue of them sparkling in the light of the kitchen. He nodded and sighed, walking into the living room with the phone and grinning faintly at his friends before handing the phone to Jounouchi saying simply, "It's Kaiba."

Honey-brown eyes flicked to the clock before he took the phone, standing up and walking behind the couch to pace while he talked. Ever since he'd started dating Kaiba and they talked on the phone, he'd developed the odd habit of pacing while he talked. It helped keep him calm and to appease any odd nerves that decided to jump should the brunette get kinky over the phone. One bad experience would teach you to be more careful. It was just that simple.

"Seto, it's Katsuya. Why've ya called me at one o'clock in da mornin'?" He said into the phone, knowing Anzu, Honda, Ryou, Otogi and the rest of them were all watching him, listening attentively to his side of the conversation.

Kaiba groaned on the other end of the phone, before replying. "I called to ask what you were wearing and if you wanted to hold me as badly I as want to hold you right now." He replied.

Jounouchi laughed softly, genuinely, before shaking his head. "I'm in a pair of black pajama pants and a button up silver shirt. And yeah, I wanna hold you right now, too. But why'd you really call me, Seto?"

"Mokuba was attacked again." Was the soft reply, the anger in that voice so great Jounouchi staggered and if he hadn't been by the couch, he would have fallen.

"What? Again? You're kidding."

"Would I really be kidding about this, puppy?" Kaiba snapped in to the phone then paused and Jounouchi listened to him breathe deeply for a few seconds over the phone before adding, "I'm sorry I snapped, I'm just - I'm so sick of this game these geeks keep playing."

That drew a soft, almost inaudible laugh from Jounouchi's throat. Once upon a time, Seto Kaiba had called him, Yuugi, and the rest of their group geeks. Now the honoured name had gone to a group of thugs trying to kill him and Mokuba. Odd, he thought Kaiba would use much nastier words.

"I'm guessing you kicked the asses of the cops that were supposed to be guarding the room? Or did you simply just kick the ass of the attacker?" Jounouchi replied, getting off the tentative subject of Kaiba being fed up with cat-and-mouse.

"Iilya Ah'kentyah. Ask Yami if he knows that name." Kaiba said so suddenly Jounouchi stumbled again. Cursing softly as he banged his knee on the stand next to the couch arm-rest, he turned to Yami and asked if he knew the name Kaiba had told him. He didn't like the answer.

"Yeah, he knows her. Says she's with an organization called Darké Enyäto." Jounouchi paused and ran a shaky hand through his hair, his eyes bleeding to amber, something they hadn't done in almost three months. He, too, was tired of this stupid game. "He knows for a fact that that organization apparently doesn't accept human workers."

"What does he mean by they don't accept human workers?" Kaiba asked, his curiosity caught; hook, line, and sinker.

"Here, talk to him." Jounouchi handed the phone over to Yami who shook his head at a soft question from the blonde that Kaiba didn't catch.

"Come on, Pharaoh, I don't have all day."

That was a new one. "Yeah, I guessed that, Kaiba."

"Just get on with it, I want information on these people so I can track them down. I'm getting very tired of this game they're playing." The tired irritation and protectiveness in his voice made Yami's crimson irises soften before he nodded his understanding.

"Darké Enyäto only accepts people with. . . .inhuman qualities." He began slowly, wondering how well this would sit with the 'I don't believe in magick.' CEO who was just coming around to accepting he was a High Priest of Egypt five thousand years ago.

"Inhuman qualities?" The ancient Pharaoh didn't even have to be in front of the brunette to know he was raising an eyebrow. He knew it by the tone of his voice alone. That was scary enough. Scarier still was he was beginning to ease up around the CEO, almost treat him like a brother he never had.

"Yes, inhuman qualities. Like fangs, psychic abilities, things of that nature." He paused before continuing hurriedly, not wanting Kaiba to go into one of his now infamous 'magick doesn't exist' speeches. Hell, it was one o'clock in the morning - not that he was tired - but still. It being this early in the morning wasn't the best time for an argument. Especially one he'd never dutifully win. "It is rumoured that they have a leader, a female Master Vampyre that's lived thousands upon thousands of years who goes by the name Nikolaos."

"Anything else?"

"You're accepting this notion?"

"Why the hell not? After all, I saw Iilya's fangs. Ra, Yami, she hissed at me and flung her self across the room in a matter of seconds. She wasn't human and I'm not going to pretend she was - is. But, where can we find this organization?" Kaiba replied, his tone stiff and angered almost.

Yami paused, looking over at Yuugi's wide amethyst eyes, he didn't like the look in them. Fear and anger darkened those irises until they were a cold, hard colour. Shit, this wasn't going to end well. "I know how to find them, but not where." He replied finally, still watching the amethyst eyes of his lover who was soon to be his husband in a matter of months. Though no one knew this as of yet.

"Then tell me."

He took a few deep breaths through his nose before letting the last out his mouth in a long, low sigh. "I have a friend, Ceilya, that you can call. She'll help you find out who Nikolaos is and if and why they're after you."

"Tell me the number."

Yami told him the number, discussing for a few more minutes what to say when he called before handing the phone back over to Jounouchi whose amber eyes held in them a feral look that meant nothing good was being thought in that mind of his. Nothing good and nothing bad, but something kinky, dangerous, and highly naughty that Yami didn't want any part of. Knowing or not.

"Seto. . .Tell me you're not calling Ceilya tonight." Jounouchi said casually, but Kaiba knew by his deeper tone of voice and the way he spoke his words that he'd undergone that subtle change.

"Your eyes are amber right now, aren't they?" He asked instead of answering.

"Yeah, they are." Was the soft reply.

"No, I'm not calling her tonight. I'll call her tomorrow. But can you come out here tonight?" Kaiba said, his voice pleading.

"Seto, I really want to, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have no ride and the buses don't run at this hour."

Silence was his answer before Kaiba spoke. "Fine, Ted just told me he needed a statement from me on Iilya and what happened when Mokuba ran from the room to find them. Can you come after dawn, around eight?"

Jounouchi smiled, his eyes still amber, still holding that feral look, and still whispering of the dark secrets within. "Yeah, I can."

"Thanks."

"Do itashimashite."

Kaiba snickered softly and shook his head. "Good morning, puppy."

"Good morning, Seto." Jounouchi said before Kaiba hung up and he clicked the talk button to shut off Yuugi's phone. He cursed and hung it up in the kitchen, grabbing a soda from the refrigerator before stalking back into the living room. He stopped when he saw everyone staring at him. "What?" He asked, not entirely liking the look in Bakura's ruby-chocolate eyes.

"You're eyes, Jou, are amber. Did you know that? They're like freakin' gold." Honda muttered, staring avidly at him, clearly not embarrassed.

"Yeah, I knew that." Jounouchi said, sounding irritated.

He opened the soda and sat down on the floor again, staring at the drink in his hands, nestled in front of his crossed legs. His unruly golden hair fell across his face, hiding one eye from view, but leaving the other to glitter in sharp contrast.

"We'll leave in the morning, Jou." Yuugi said softly.

Those amber irises pinned him down and he whimpered softly, snuggling up in Yami's lap. The crimson-eyed ruler shot Jou a possessive look, clearly telling him to back the hell down. Surprisingly enough, those eyes met his glare and shattered it with one fell swipe of the feral-ness within them.

"Yeah. This damn Darké Enyäto is going to pay. No one attacks Seto Kaiba without saying hello to me first." Jounouchi said, finishing the rest of his soda before tossing it in the trash by the kitchen door and laying down, curling under the blanket he was using, soon falling asleep, his entire body going slack. His friends just stared at him in wonder. Anzu sighed and stood up, stretching. She walked over to the couch and lay down, her cerulean eyes reminding Yami way too much of Fahren's as she stared at them all.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night, you guys." She said before crawling under her own blanket, rolling on her side so her back was to them before she, too, fell asleep.

Ryou curled up next to Bakura, the two of them sharing the rather large loveseat, Honda and Otogi laying on the floor beside where the two white-haired teens lay. Yuugi and Yami were the last to fall asleep, but even so, Yami's crimson eyes tore red holes in the darkness of the room after he'd shut off all the lights, only the glow of the slowly waxing moon that shone through the big picture window illuminating the now darkened room.

Yes, Yami thought, pulling Yuugi closer to his body, wrapping his arms and the blanket around the boy's petite frame, the Darké Enyäto Organization is going to pay. I'll personally make sure of that.


Cold gray eyes glimmered sharply in the soft glow of the torches that were placed expertly along the walls of the room their owner stood in. Long silver hair that fell past toned shoulders shimmered in its own way, reflecting easily the light of the candles and the moon that shown through the skylight above. Pale skin that was almost parchment pale seemed to grow darker in the moon and candle-light.

A soft knock sounded on the far door and blood red lips curled into a rather nasty smile. Fangs, barely seen, glinted with a hunger that no one would truly ever understand.

"Come in," were the words that figure's voice spoke. It turned, showing a full chest and brilliant curves accented by a leather tank top and pants with straps crisscrossing here and there. Two knife sheaths were strapped to her thighs and a long sword was strapped to her back, the hilt hidden under her hair.

The doors opened allowing a woman with ruby hair and cerulean eyes to step into the room, slowly closing the door behind her. She bowed on the floor, her own body accented by dark blue jeans and a crimson tank-top that made her somewhat pale skin seem paler in contrast. The sweeping trench coat she wore pooled around her as she knelt on the stone floor, the shoulders of that coat cut out expertly with a few more tears along the arms and along the back.

"Mistress, Iilya Ah'kentyah has failed you." That voice was soft and calm, gentle and rippling. But the power it held wasn't kind and it lusted for blood.

Those blood-red lips twitched, still lifted in that almost deadly smile. "Punish her for me, ma petite. Show her why it is I don't tolerate failure."

"Yes, Mistress." That woman answered before rising to her feet and turning to leave.

"Oh, and darling?"

Those cerulean eyes turned to her.

"I do know your name."

"What is it?" She asked, her voice cold and unforgiving.

"Fahren Faolan." She replied.

Those gold gray eyes watched as her precious werewolf left the room, closing the door behind her. The rush of power that was left behind made her stagger slightly before her eyes lit up. So, it had begun. A game that had been played unknowingly thousands of years ago had just become known. Now, if only to see how well Seto Kaiba played it. She sighed soundlessly, her eyes flashing with an odd emotion that set her eyes on fire.

On the nightly wind words echoed like thunder:
Haunted dreamers beware, it's time for the ultimate scare.
Prepare your weapons, prepare your friends.
Because the darkness has come, and its time to make amends.

And Nikolaos only smiled.


End Chapter 7 of Forbidden Fruit

Konni', minna-san. There really isn't much to say except that I'd like to thank Malia for sending me those cookies. Those were much needed. Jiro is quite happy with how this chapter turned out and so am I. Chapter 8 will tell you all a little more about the organization called Darké Enyäto, which stands for "Heirs and Heiresses of the Ultimate Darkness." Odd that those two words have such a long meaning. Huh, other languages are just like that.

Anyway, this chapter goes out to GiddySchoolGirl and Lord Kurama who helped give me ideas for it, though they didn't really know this until now. However, I'm sorry to inform those of you who wished this chapter would hold the lemon that the sex scene between our dear Seto Kaiba and Katsuya Jounouchi has one again been postponed. It will happen, I kid you not, but just. . . not soon.

Oh, and any of you who believe I should do a sequel let me know in your reviews. Also, I have the rest of the story pretty much planned out (including the lemon) and the ending. Though I won't make the epilogue until I know if my readers wish a sequel of this story or not. So review and let me know!

Arigatou, minna-san!
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 2 / 27 / 05