Forbidden Fruit
by: Wareta Shooki

Thank you, minna-san, for reviewing on this story and loving it like you have.
As promised, this is the end of the story, the epilogue and beginning for the sequel.
All other notes at bottom.
Disclaimer in prologue.


Forbidden Fruit
Chapter 14
Ending-
Finalé
The aircraft was silent, almost eerily so. But for once the silence didn't bother me like it should have. I stood up and stretched, knowing that tomorrow we'd land on KaibaCorp Island and the final rounds of Battle City would begin. Glancing over at the corner where my brother slept soundly, I felt guilt spike in me from nowhere. I'd dragged him into this, let him see that sociopath, Malik Ishtar, and didn't help any of those other second-rate duellists as he picked them off one by one.

Removing my trade-mark white trench coat, I slipped it over my brother's slumbering form, not wanting to move him for fear of being bombarded with angry questions. Shaking my head whilst trying not to smile at too fond memories, I walked from the room, letting the computer system continue happily translating the Egyptian text on the God Card the guy pretending to be Malik had used.

Walking onto the observation deck, I leaned against the railing, gazing out into the space where heaven and earth met, the waters of the deep, far-stretching ocean reminding me too much of our mother's eyes as the moonlight played across it. Bowing my head, my eyes drifting shut, I listened to the nightly melody. The doors leading up here opened and I looked over my shoulder seeing Yuugi Mutou walk up to stand beside me.

But it wasn't the little, amethyst-eyed Yuugi Mutou I'd know since virtually eighth grade and the years that followed, but the older Yuugi, the one I always faced during duels except for that one time. Crimson eyes stared at me briefly before gazing out over the railing to the waters and heavens spread before us like a proverbial red-carpet. The gods only knew it was.

"You're up late, Kaiba. I'm surprised." That deep voice flowed to me.

I glanced sharply at him. Was there a point to that comment? Seeing his eyes, there was, but it wasn't in the words he'd spoke aloud. It was there in those crimson depths that always unnerved me more so than I'd ever openly admit. It was there in the riddle that enshrouded the very Sen'nen Item around his neck. A puzzle that fit him so perfectly, I often wondered if there was a puzzle out there that fit me as perfectly as the Sen'nen Puzzle did Yuugi Mutou.

Finally, I looked away, not wanting to see the knowing look in those crimson eyes. "I always am, Mutou. You know that." It wasn't the truth, but it was a lie either. It was somewhere in between and I really didn't want to decipher just where it lay between the two.

His soft chuckle made me turn on him harshly, he stopped my words by simply holding up a thin-fingered, slender hand. "Kaiba, you wanted to jump up there to save Katsuya, didn't you?"

Suddenly my eyes burned and I turned away from him swiftly. There was no way I could lie staring straight at him. Yes, I had wanted to save that damned puppy. But fear of so many things kept my feet rooted to the spot. I hated the one standing next to me for jumping in front of that attack without hesitation. The blonde had been a fool to try and save that female duellist. And I hated her for ever winning his affection. My vision bled green before it faded. I was beyond being jealous. Hell, the damned mongrel had everything I never had. Friends, a family, people that actually, genuinely cared.

Yes, I had Mokuba. . . but sometimes. . .it wasn't enough. Sighing, I finally bowed my head. There was no use hiding it. The ancient spirit already knew my answer. And I could only guess that he wouldn't leave me alone until I said it aloud.

"Of course I did." I snapped, moving away from him towards the door.

"You know, Kaiba, he was disappointed when it was me that saved him, not you." Those words caught my breath and held it, twisting the knife of guilt further into my heart and gut. What kind of fucked up mind games did these people play? If thought I had issues. . . I was nothing compared to these people . . . .

I looked over at that crimson gaze only to find it was amethyst again. I shivered involuntarily. I always hated when the spiky-haired duellist did that. It was as if he were schizophrenic. And for all I knew, he was. "I can't please everybody, Mutou."

"You can't always run from everybody either, Kaiba."

I left swiftly before he caught the emotions in my eyes. I never would forgive him for being right.


Nikolaos fell to the stone floor, her right arm curled beneath her, her left arm stretched out past her head. Her body lay stiff on the floor, her hair splayed across her shoulders like some odd form of art, her skirt barely hiding her modesty. Her skin still had steam rising from it after the golden, fiery-light had dissipated. It was no wonder she wasn't moving.

Kaiba took a hesitant step forward, the magick flowing around him starting to fade. It was hard to simply stay standing. At least fifteen pairs of eyes stared at him and for the first time, he felt self-conscious. Put aside the fact he'd been naked as the day he was born but minutes before. . . No, he'd just performed a highly complex piece of magick like it was nothing and he felt more than self-conscious. But when his icy gaze locked with that of a warm, wolfish-amber, his heart soared and he smiled. The emotion touched his eyes, lighting them further on fire, the mercurial state of them surpassing what they'd been seconds before.

"Vous. . vous hybride!" A soft voice hissed.

They all turned and watched as Nikolaos floated, yes floated to her feet. Seeing her blazing, cold grey eyes, Kaiba's life passed sharply before his eyes. Memories of the times spent in ancient Egypt, his times as a child with his parents, his time growing up under the watchful, abusive eye of Gozoboro Kaiba, his precious days spent with Mokuba, and finally, the first time he and Jounouchi had ever kissed. Everything came and went like someone had viciously pressed the fast-forward button after rewinding his memories all the way to the very beginning. But at some point, the film stuttered before coming to a final halt.

Nothing prepared him for the wave of intense magick that hit him. Staring into her eyes still, those cold grey pools became soft ones ofwholesome sapphire-violet. His mother's eyes. That ebony hair became curly almost, falling just past her elbows, a few wisps falling into her delicate face. "Seto-kun, it's been so long."

His body shook. In his heart he knew it was a trap, a set-up by Nikolaos. But his soul ached for the smooth touch and caring voice of his mother. Taking an unsteady step forward, his magick slowly failing around him, he fell to his knees. The clothing of a High Priest of Egypt fell away into dust, scattering in a nonexistent wind. The Sen'nen Rod clattered to the floor as he struggled to crawl closer to her. The sweet scents of spices and vanilla permeated the air and he whimpered softly when she moved farther away.

"Why don't you say anything, Seto-kun? Do you not love your Kaachan anymore?" Her pain echoed in that voice, so familiar yet so desolate. In the distance, he heard his name being screamed in fright. But his mind processed only yips and growls. Yet, just as he was about to touch her, something huge and furry bowled into him, sending them both rolling over the stone floor.

Looking up he was startled to say the least when he saw a pair of honey-brown eyes staring coldly at him, felt a too human body pressed against his own, saw golden tresses falling around them like a curtain that hid the world around them from their view, leaving just the two of them in their own made up reality. He felt those familiar hands run the length of his body, remembering every hot and weak spot as they explored. Shivering he looked away only to feel soft lips on his neck and something hard pressed against him.

"Seto. . . Look at me." A voice, deep and husky, whispered. Flashes of a time when Kaiba had met the other in the locker room at school, how Yami's phone call interrupted them, resurfaced and he groaned throatily, bucking his hips upward, his own erection pressing against the blonde's. "Seto, look at me."

He did. He stared into those beautiful, honey-brown eyes that were so deep they were mysterious, and so mysterious, they were inhuman. He reached up and touched his face. "Katsuya. . ." He didn't have time to finish his sentence before the blonde kissed him roughly, claiming his mouth as his own, rubbing their bodies together, marking his own scent on the other and visa versa. Kaiba was his, god damn it, and he'd be damned to hell before he let anyone take him away.

When they drew apart someone grabbed Jounouchi by the back of the throat and easily tossed him into a far wall. Kaiba growled his name before finding himself drowning in cold grey eyes again. He smirked, and for the first time in too long, it was the trade-mark, condescending smirk he'd had before he and Jounouchi began dating. . . Before he figured out the lump in his chest that beat every few seconds was his heart. Nikolaos faltered and he could see somewhere in the corner of his eyes, Yami and the rest locked in a vicious battle.

Leaning close to her, his smirk widened. "This is for my parents, bitch." Pressing his lips to her own, he stifled her shrieks as he tore out her throat, working on her heart. When he held the still beating muscle in his hand, he kicked her off him and threw the organ at her. She stared at him, her eyes slowly going blank, slowly dying. "Good morning, Nikolaos." He whispered as her body fell back against the floor, her blood pooling around her.

Sitting up, he looked around the room. Yami was fending off a black leopard whose crystal eyes were like chips of ice as it tried to claw through his barrier to get to the two fallen duellists. Yuugi was at Yami's back, sitting on the floor as he kept shooting round after round into the body of a vampyre whose long hair gave it the impression of being female. Had he not been naked, Kaiba would have thought him so.

Grabbing his Sen'nen Rod, he raised it in the air, calling forth a magick so powerful and so ancient, it shook the very foundation of the warehouse itself. Yami's puzzle, Jounouchi's necklace, and Bakura's ring all glowed brightly, increasing in intensity until the light itself was blinding. "Let it be known, it ends tonight!" Kaiba screamed as the power caved in on itself before washing over the ground like ripples of radiation after an atomic bomb goes off.

"Kaiba! Get Katsuya!" Bakura yelled, helping Ceilya to her feet.

The brunette didn't need to be told twice. He ran towards his lover, falling to his knees as he cradled him close. "Katsuya. . ."

"Seto, where's Mokuba? Otogi? Honda? Mai?" Jounouchi asked softly, his eyes opening to half mast.

"I'm not sure."

"Ryou, Erik, follow me. We'll get the humans, the rest of you get out." Anzyle cried, running past them and disappearing into the gathering shadows as the sky seen from the sky lights in the ceiling began to turn an odd shade of grey. Dawn was coming. Shit! Yami picked Yuugi up in his arms easily as he ran through the doors, Ceilya helping Bakura aid Ryou in walking, his right leg bent at an odd angle.

Kaiba tried to stand, watching with a clouded vision as Jairyd, Asher's lover and master, came running towards them, a torch raised. Kaiba dodged the attack, watching as Jounouchi kicked the torch from the vampyre's hand, the wooden stick flying end over end before landing on a pile of linen perilously close to tanks of flammable gas. Cursing, Kaiba helped Jounouchi get to his feet before moving past Jairyd. Anzyle, Draco, and Erik ran out of nowhere it seemed with the four other prisoners in their arms.

They were halfway to the front doors and safety when the fire reached the cans of gas and ignited. Kaiba dove to the ground, covering Jounouchi's body with his own as fire and flaming debris flew over his back, some pieces landing on his bare skin, burning him slowly but not enough to cause terrible damage. Anzyle screamed as she was knocked over by a flaming piece of metal that caught her right in the face. Mokuba fell to the floor a few feet from her, his indigo eyes wide with fear, his face covered in nasty cuts and bruises.

Draco and Erik cowered behind a half-decayed wall as debris came flying their way. Another set of explosions sent more debris their way, and Kaiba watched in horror as the wall collapsed on top of them and the three they'd been trying to save. Crying out in agony when flames seared his back, legs, arms and buttocks, he buried his face in Jounouchi's neck, wishing for the fire to stop exploding already so they could get up, get out, and find out what to do then.

As if the cans of gas were listening to his wish, they no longer exploded. Lifting his head, he saw Jairyd caught mid-movement, nothing but burning flesh, only his over-bright brown eyes left fully intact before he fell to the ground with a muffled cry. Looking over to Anzyle and Mokuba, he saw the woman was conjuring a blanket to wrap around him. "Anzyle, I need a blanket and something for Jounouchi to wear. Check on the others." He called.

What he'd asked for appeared beside him and he tried to stand, only succeeding in falling off his lover and landing on his burnt backside. Jounouchi sat up swiftly, dawning the pair of jeans Anzyle had conjured and wrapped him gently in the blanket. Those honey-brown eyes looked around, watching as Draco and Erik emerged from the burning rubble of what had once been a crumbling wall. Kaiba closed his eyes, ready to pass out from the smoke that had begun to fill the room, the flames growing hotter by the minute.

"Come on! We've gotta get outta here!" Jounouchi cried so suddenly, it made Kaiba jump. He watched as Anzyle swept past them, Mokuba in her arms. Draco and Erik helped Mai Valentine and Ryuuji Otogi walk as Hiroto Honda moved slowly, but surely towards the door. With strength he didn't know the blonde was capable of, Jounouchi picked Kaiba up into his arms and ran out after the others, the Sen'nen Rod tucked neatly into his back pocket.

As they made it outside, the sun rose and the warehouse's foundation fell in on itself as the fire continued to rage. Kaiba took one last look at it before consciousness failed him and he fell into darkness, thankful that it was all over.


Katsuya Jounouchi sat at Seto Kaiba's bedside in the hospital room, his eyes closed, head bowed in sleep. He was clad in only a pair of worn in jeans and a simple white T-shirt with a blue stripe across the middle of his chest. Hanging around his neck was the picture of his sister, Shizuka Jounouchi. His golden hair glittered in the afternoon sunlight that poured in through the window. Crystal blue curtains hung open and docile, the steady beeping of the heart-machine going as the other continued to sleep.

Icy midnight eyes slowly opened to the world around them. Looking to the right he saw the object of his dreams, of his nightmares, of his life, sitting in that straight-back wooden chair beside his bed. A single hand, wrapped in bandages from the wrist almost to finger-tips held one of his own, the other pierced with an I.V. hooked into the various monitors and machines beside his bed. He found he could only stare at the other as he slept, knowing this was the only time the other actually looked peaceful, no longer having to worry about the cut-throat world around him. He shifted and the other stirred. Mentally cursing himself, he waited, not wanting to pretend to be asleep.

As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to see those eyes, the very eyes that had haunted his sleep for almost two years. Sure enough, honey-brown irises opened slowly, blinked, and were wide open when they saw he was staring into them. A smile slowly spread across feather soft lips as Jounouchi leaned down and kissed the brunette CEO of KaibaCorp.

"Glad your awake." The blonde whispered when he pulled back.

"So am I, koinu." He whispered. Jounouchi chuckled and nuzzled his neck before sitting up straight again. For the longest time they just sat or lay there in silence, caught up in the other's gaze and lost within the flood of their own thoughts. Finally, unable to take the heavy silence anymore, Kaiba whispered, "How long have I been out?"

"Three weeks." came the swift reply.

Kaiba faked a look of utter fear. "Shit! I haven't been to work in months! They'll have think I died!" He joked. Jounouchi's sweet laughter was music to his ears as he watched the other shake his head.

"Damn it, Moneybags, ya need ta stop bein' such a fuckin' workaholic. It's bad for yer health." Jounouchi murmured, his eyes sparkling. Kaiba sat up slowly, grateful when the blonde helped him. Pulling his lover closer, he whispered in his ear soft words of gratitude before enveloping the other in a deep, passionate kiss.

"Thank you Katsuya." He murmured, his voice deep and husky, retelling stories of a night that was still burned freshly into Jounouchi's memories.

"Likewise."

Again, silence enveloped them before the door to the room opened and a rather tall, black-haired teenager stepped into the room. Violet-sapphire eyes held a deep intelligence as they gazed at the two. Finally Mokuba Kaiba rolled his eyes and walked up to his older brother, whacked him over the head and simply stated, "Seto no baka!" Before sitting down at the foot of his bed and staring at Jounouchi pointedly.

"It doesn't help if ya come in, hit him, make him mad, and simply sit there. So ya know." Jounouchi said, sounding embarrassed and irritable all of the sudden.

There was the blonde duellist he knew.

"Koinu, whatever happened to you?" Kaiba asked suddenly, making both his lover and brother jump and stare at him as if he'd finally lost it.

"Um. . . You, perhaps? 'Though it mighta been somethin' else. I dunno." Jounouchi said, the sarcasm thick in his voice. Kaiba chuckled and looked pointedly at Mokuba who threw his hands in the air and left the room mumbling about stupid big brothers and their boyfriends that think they know everything. The two simply shook their heads before staring at each other.

"Why did you come for me, Katsuya?" Kaiba finally asked, wanting to know the answer, needing to know the answer.

"I didn't want ta lose ya, Seto." Was the soft reply. I didn't want you to be disappointed when someone else saved ya. He finished mentally, looking at the floor as if it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the whole world. Which, by far, wasn't true considering one of the most interesting things in the world to him just then was laying in that damned bed, naked if it weren't for the hospital gown the doctors made the patients where. It was like some standard procedure to make people get bad cases of embarrassment.

Even in his mind he was rambling. This was not good.

"Katsuya. . ." He looked up at that voice, not wanting to, but because he had to. To keep his gaze averted meant that he saved Kaiba three weeks ago because he'd been obliged to do so. Which, in some twisted way he had. And why? Because there were too many times when the icy-eyed brunette had saved his sorry little ass from so many dangers. So many times when he simply wanted to pull the other close and whisk away all the bad things in his childhood. Sure, Jounouchi's past wasn't all bunnies and happy things, but Kaiba's was so much worse. "Why did you really save me?"

He mentally cursed the CEO for being so damn smart and perceptive. Right then, however, staring into those icy midnight eyes, he realized Kaiba already knew his answer, just wanted to hear it out loud for the first time. Then something else occurred to him. After they'd made love for the first time, Kaiba had whispered, Je t'aime. What the hell had that meant? He knew it was French but still. . .

You took French with Anzu in tenth grade, dipshit, you should know what it means. Jounouchi thought before sighing softly. Then something in his mind clicked and a voice whispered, I love you. That's what he's said all this time and I never knew what he meant. Leaning down, he smiled as he kissed the brunette softly, tenderly. "Because, you piece of sarcastic shit, I love you."

Kaiba laughed and deepened the kiss, pulling the blonde onto the bed so he straddled his hips. Curious hands dove under the blonde's shirt to re-explore toned muscles and a flat stomach. Jounouchi shivered at his touch, moving his hips against the others, feeling Kaiba jump beneath him at the sudden contact they hadn't had in months. The kiss grew more desperate as they struggled not to take each other right then and there.

And, like all good things between the two, something just has to interrupt it.

"Hey, Jou I heard Kaiba. . .Oh my GODS!" A shriek sounded. Both broke away to turn and stare icily at the person who had interrupted them. "Jeez, you two, get a freakin' room!"

Jounouchi laughed darkly at the look on Anzu's face. His mind became devious as he subtly drove the one beneath him insane with need, and cursing the one who stood at the door for interrupting their fun. "We do have a room, Anzu. You're the one that barged in out of bloody nowhere." He said, his voice so deep and sophisticated that Kaiba shivered. He loved that voice, he knew it meant pleasant things in the future. Though not pleasant for other people to see, pleasant for him.

"Come out when you two are done. Try to make too much noise. Yuugi's trying to sleep in the next room." She disappeared, closing the door behind her.

Amber eyes returned to meet icy midnight irises clouded with need and lust. "Now. . . where were we?" He asked, leaning down and nuzzling the other's neck, kissing and licking the sensitive flesh, sending wave upon wave of pleasure and need to the brunette's already hardening member.

"Here's good." Was the stuttered response.


Yami leaned against the wall beside Yuugi's bed, his presence alone making the other feel more comfortable. The amethyst-eyed boy wasn't really sleeping, but pretending to be. When Anzu told them what she'd walked in on, he laughed and shook his head, opting to keep the comment he'd been about to say to himself. However, that didn't keep him from sharing it with Yuugi through their mind link. The teen only laughed harder.

"It's good to see him smile again." The cerulean-eyed girl said, then promptly shivered. "I just wish I hadn't walked in on that though."

Hiroto Honda snickered. "Sure. . . You know you're a huge fan of yaoi, Anzu. You wanted nothing more than to sit and watch." He said, running his hands through Ryuuji's hair where the inventor of Dungeon Dice Monsters sat at his feet in front of the chair.

Her cerulean gaze was sharp and cold when she glared at him. "Shut up, Hiroto, you don't understand. With them. . . it's different. I mean sure, when Yuugi and Yami kiss we can all feel the power of their close bond." Promptly the two spiky-haired teens blushed. She ignored this, continuing on. "But I could hardly touch the handle of the door, it felt like it burned when I did. Their power is amazing, their bond probably stronger than the one Yami and Yuugi, or even Bakura and Ryou share. It doesn't seem possible on so many levels, but they're made for each other."

Yami snickered, still blushing. "I understand what you mean, Anzu-chan. I've felt it to. Just being around them when they're together. . . The power is amazing." He bowed his head, muttering something about the past that only Yuugi caught. The ancient spirit gripped his aibou's hand tightly before smiling fondly at him.

"I'm just glad this whole Nikolaos crap is over and done with." Mokuba spoke up suddenly.

The door to Yuugi's hospital room opened and Ceilya poked her head in, smiling. "Jeez, it's hot in the hallway." She commented. "How come it's so freezing in here?"

Yuugi laughed and Yami had to answer for him, "Check next door and you'll know why."

Being the curious vampyress she often can be, Ceilya walked next door and they heard her yell of surprise before a "So sorry!" sounded and she flew in the door, slammed it shut, and promptly attached herself to a chair along the wall farthest from the door and wall connecting to Kaiba's room. "That. . .was just . . . plain WRONG!"

The group of friends broke out into laughter as Ceilya just glowered.

Some things, it would seem, never really change. Others. . . now that, was an entirely different story.


End Chapter 14 of Forbidden Fruit

:she cries softly: Ra, it's finally finished. I can't believe it:for a few more moments she cries before wiping her tears with a tissue and standing up, attempting to look dignified:

Okay people, that was the final chapter of Forbidden Fruit. Be looking for the sequel, 'Pleasures of the Guilty' in the near future. Probably in two or three days it'll be out. Once again, I want to thank all of you who've reviewed, sent me cookies, made funny comments about things characters have said in this fanfic. . . Love to all of you!

And now, I must leave before I start to cry like some babbling idiot!

Arigatou, minna-san!
-Wareta Shooki

Last Edited 3 / 22 / 05