(Sorry, sorry for taking so long. I've been working on several other things and I know that this story has been neglected, I'm sorry. I hope that the next chapter won't be as difficult to write. To tell you all, the next chapter we learn about Rin's and Shippo's stories on how they became vampires! Hope you all look forward to it. I promise that it will go up as soon as I finish it. Until then, I hope that you all enjoy this.)

Chapter Twenty: Forbidden Fruit

"NARAKU!" the fox called Shippo shouted in panic. "He found out that we're meeting here tonight! He's coming!"

That one word had just acted as a trigger to them all. As soon as Shippo called out Naraku's name they all leapt up, ready to fight. Inuyasha let out a dog-like growl and crouched down, as if he expected this Naraku vampire to pop out and start attacking. Miroku and Koga leapt to the door and stuck their heads out—looking around in the darkness, as if daring someone to appear.

Sango and Kirara both pushed Kagome, Rin, Shippo, and Kohaku back into a corner as they stood in front of them protectively. Ayame hugged Koga's arm and looked eager for a fight. Koga, looking irritated, tried to throw her off as he kept his eyes on graves outside, thinking that the enemy might all be hiding behind them. Sesshomaru didn't react at all; he just stood there in the corner—looking bored. In fact, he actually let out a yawn as he straightened up slightly.

"Shippo?" Miroku asked looking at Shippo who was shaking in the corner, "Are you sure about this? I don't see anything out there!"

"I'm telling you he knows! I was coming over here when I saw Kanna and Kagrua talking about it! They heard about our meeting here tonight and they were planning how best to…" he gulped, "D-deal w-with us!" He trembled as he then hid behind Kagome's legs and started to shake.

Kagome, feeling so bad for him, bent down and pulled her in her arms. "You're Shippo?" she asked friendly, trying to calm him down as feelings of worry were beginning to sink in. If this crazy, psycho vampire could make a whole coven of vampires shake with fear like this then she knew that she was in big trouble.

"We can't stay here," Miroku whispered to Inuyasha. "They don't know about Kagome yet do they?"

When Inuyasha shook his head, Miroku continued, "Then we need to keep it that way. Listen, you take Kagome home and…"

"You're crazy if you think that I'm going to miss the showdown with Naraku!" he yelled at him so suddenly that Miroku jumped about a foot in the air. "If you think that I'm going to just run off while you're all here fighting the bastard who ruined all our lives, then you've got another thing coming!"

Koga smacked him over the head. "Would you shut up for once mutt? We don't have time to listen to you complain!"

"ME? COMPLAIN? WHY I ATTA…" but before he could finish his threat, Miroku grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and whispered to him. "I know that you aren't happy about this, Inuyasha…" he began.

"You got that right," he interrupted. "And if you think that I'm just going to let you talk me into retreating then…"

"What about Kagome?" he whispered fiercely with his eyes flying to the corner where Kagome sat with Shippo in her arms. He looked back to Inuyasha and went on, "If Naraku finds out about her, she's as good as dead! Or worse… he could end up cursing her like all of us! And I'm sure that you understand that if that happens…"

Inuyasha looked taken aback but he finally got it what the lecher was trying to say, not that he was ever going to admit to it of course.

"Just make it quick then," Miroku begged. "Just drop her off at her house and come back! You'll only be a few minutes if you hurry real fast! We can hold out on our own until you get back. But the more time you waste arguing with us, the less time you have to get Kagome out of danger."

Inuyasha glared at him. If there was one thing that he hated… it was whenever Miroku was right. He spun around and went straight to Kagome and took her hand. "We've got to go!" he almost commanded.

Startled, she let him pull her to her feet without saying anything. She had never seen Inuyasha look so panicked than he did right now. What was he so worried about this time? Is this Naraku really as bad as they said? He pulled her to the door but before he could do anything else, Kirara called out, "No wait Inuyasha!"

"What now?" he barked at her. He wasn't in the mood to hear from her right now. She turned to look at him and said, "Take, Shippo and Rin with you. They're still not ready to fight yet."

Shippo seemed offended at with those words. "What?" he cried and shook his fists from the safety of Kagome's arms. "I'll have you know that I'm a brave warrior and I can take on any vampire out there!"

Ayame went over and patted his head sympathetically. "Yes, we know that. But let's not forget that we need someone here to protect Kagome and Rin while we deal with Naraku."

As Shippo thought this over, Ayame winked at Kagome—who understood. She nodded with a smile and said to the little boy, "That's right, Shippo. I'm going to be needing a strong vampire to keep me \ from getting hurt."

After a few seconds, he grinned cutely at her as Rin then came running up and took Kagome's hand. "Ok," she cried cheerfully. "Looks like we're going to be spending the night with you until it's all over."

"Good, yeah, let's get this over with!" Inuyasha yelled impatiently as, quick as a flash, picked all three of them up and hoisted them onto his back.

"Yeah!" Rin called happily. "We're going for a ride!"

"Oh, be quiet," Inuyasha groaned. How did he get stuck doing this?

Miroku opened the door to the shrine and went running out. He then called to the others, "Aright! Everyone get ready! I don't sense anyone yet, so you better go now Inuyasha before they get here!"

"Keh," Inuyasha spat, and without wasting another second, took off running, faster than Kagome had ever been before. Everything else had faded away to leave nothing but a world of speed… the wind rushing pass her, her hair becoming tangled and wild—the darkness and the few street lights spinning around her—and the sounds of Rin and Shippo whooping with excitement.

Kagome had to admit that she loved this speed as well. She bent down low, clutching Inuyasha's shoulders and holding on like a monkey as if she did this every night. She didn't have the slightest clue of what was going on, but at the moment, that was quickly driven out of her mind as they ran.

Too soon for her enjoyment, they suddenly stopped. She blinked as her watering eyes looked around her with polite curiosity, and she saw that she was suddenly in her front yard. From the graveyard—to her house in less than 5 minutes… impressive. She looked up at her house to see her open window and the curtains blowing in the cold breeze.

Inuyasha then bent his legs, knowing what he was about to do, Kagome clung on even tighter. He sprang up as if launched as cannon, flew up gracefully and landed on her window sill—before entering her dark room.

As soon as they landed, Shippo and Rin both jumped down and began examining their surroundings.

"Wow, Kagome!" Rin called as she looked around at her stuff. The pink walls (Though it was hard to tell in the dark) the few designer clothes that she left hanging over her bed and on the floor, the desk with all of Kagome's favorite books, the table in the corner filled with knickknacks, jewelry, a CD player and the few CD's that she didn't loan out to her friends.

But the thing that really got Rin's attention was the large teddy bear that was at the foot of her bed. Rin squealed in delight before running over to it and hugging to her like a best friend. Shippo began looking at the little planet mobile that was dangling from the ceiling and was trying hard to jump up and touch it.

"Kagome!" he called out, "I can't reach it!"

"Shhhh!" Kagome shushed them with her finger to her lips with an uneasy eye on the door. "We need to be quiet," she whispered. "My mom, brother, and grandpa are asleep."

"Oh, really?" Rin said smiling brightly. "I wanna go meet them!"

"Me too!" Shippo actually started to the door, and Kagome had to run to cut him off.

"No," she begged. "No, please. They can't know that you're all here! They don't know anything about any vampires and…"

"You mean you haven't told them about us?" Shippo cried out a little too loudly. Kagome bent down and covered his mouth. "Shhhh!" she said again. "Please. I promise to introduce you to them tomorrow. But you have to be quiet now because they're all sleeping. Waking them up right now would not be a good thing." She picked up Shippo and carried him to the bed and set him beside Rin, who was looking a little disgruntled.

"Besides," she said quietly as she reached down her mobile for Shippo to play with. "I only met you both tonight, so it's not like I could've told them about you before now could I? Now, if you both promise to be quiet for the rest of the night, I'll take you to meet the rest of my family tomorrow, deal?"

"Ok," they both sighed for a brief moment before they went back to playing with the toys. Sighing in relief she looked up at the window, expecting to see that Inuyasha was already gone. But to her surprise, she saw him looking out at the darkened grounds before shutting the window tightly.

"Inuyasha?" she asked him. "What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, sorry," he snarled suddenly angry. "I just took you home! Don't mind me!"

"No, no, no," she said quickly running to him. "I didn't mean that! It's just that you were so keen to get back that I thought that you already left."

"I can't just yet," he whispered to her as he pulled the curtains shut. "We might've been followed here. I don't see anyone yet. But I don't think it's safe for me to leave out the window." He turned to look at her and asked, "You have a lower window at the back I can leave through right?"

Kagome nodded as she crept to the door and looked out at the dark hallway. She could see the room to her mother and grandfather were closed, while Sota's was open by the tiniest crack. Since she couldn't hear anything except the sound of snoring, there were no other noises coming any of the other rooms. She looked behind her, and jumped to see him standing so close to her—looking impatient.

"What is it?" he hissed darkly.

"N-nothing," she told him as she looked back to the kids who were now playing a game together. "I'll be back in a second," she told them. "I'm just taking Inuyasha to another window ok?"

They nodded, not paying much attention to them as Rin started to sing a song, one of her own works obviously, before Kagome showed Inuyasha through her dark house. She could hear him growl slightly behind her as she led him down the stairs and into her pitch dark living room. "Here," she whispered, showing him a window right above the squashy couch that showed the backyard.

"This should get you out," she felt her way to the sofa and sitting down as she tried to find the latches to open it.

She then felt Inuyasha's strong hands on her own. "Thanks. I can handle it from here. Even in this darkness, Kagome could see his golden eyes shining at her as they looked at each other. She then felt his hot breath on her face and knew that he was leaning in and she was raising her head to him. But before his lips met with hers, he quickly pulled away from her. "I have to go," Inuyasha told her, leaning over the window and opening it. "There is no way that I'm going to be missing this fight."

"Wait," Kagome whispered to him.

Inuyasha turned around back at her.

"Will I see you again?" Kagome asked worriedly.

Inuyasha nodded with a confident grin that she knew he was giving her. "After I beat Naraku, I'll be back. Sorry about making you babysit those two little demons." He looked up at the ceiling before explaining, "At least Kohaku can hold his own in a fight. But those two are completely hopeless."

"It's ok," she told him, holding onto his sleeve, not wanting to let go. "I'm just worried about you." And then thinking about Sango and the other vampires quickly added, "You and the others. I wish that I could help you somehow. But just please promise me that you'll all be careful."

"Keh," he snorted. "Please, I'm a vampire. You're a human. You wouldn't have lasted two minutes out there."

Kagome gave him a reproachful look that she knew he could see. "I know that you can take care of yourself," she told him. "But I can't help but worry. I don't want anything to happen to you, ok?"

She felt his clawed hand take her own fragile one and held it as she felt his breath on her face again. "I'll be fine," he repeated in a softer voice than normal. She looked at him questioningly, and she felt him touch her cheek lightly. "It's you that you need to look after."

She licked her lips nervously as she leaned her head into the touch of his hand, wondering what to do next. She wanted to show him just how scared she was for him, so she reached up and gently brushed her lips over his in a chaste kiss—hoping that he would understand. Apparently, he did… but it wasn't enough for him.

When she made to pull away from him, he moved forward, his hands wrapping around her slim frame and pulling her closer to him. She let out an intake of breath as he repositioned her so she was sitting across on his lap, before he wrapped one arm around her waist, and the other underneath her legs and actually picking her up.

"What are you…?" she began in a loud whisper, before he brought his lips to hers in the most passionate kiss that he had given her yet.

Her mind went completely blank at this moment as he teased her bottom lip with his teeth. He nipped softly, not hard enough for his fangs to pierce her, but hard enough that and she had gasped in surprise, allowing his tongue to slip inside to deepen the kiss. His held her up in his arms bridal style as he continued to kiss eagerly, and her arms moved up to encircle his neck. One of her hands sought out his cute little dog ear and started to rub it, losing herself in the kiss.

But with all good things, they never last.

He finally pulled his head away from her and both of them were panting. She was still wrapped around him, and his arms still held her captive. "I have to go," he repeated softly, breaking the silence, she nodded silently in understanding. Neither moved for a moment as they both stared into each other's captivating eyes. Then he gently laid her back down onto the sofa as she unwound her hands from his neck.

As she felt his hands leave her, she saw it… for that tiniest second she could've sworn that she saw his eyes glow a bright, fire engine red. But when she blinked, she could only see gold shining from the darkness again. Before she could wrap her mind around it, Inuyasha jumped out the window and the cold wind was blowing through her.

Kagome went over to her window and looked out to see him run through the yard before disappearing right into the shadows. When he was gone, all Kagome could do was reach up and feel her sore lips. Her limbs felt weak, and her body was feeling hot as though her vein's were flooded with liquid fire.

She ran her fingers over her lips softly, that had been the best kiss she had ever had she admitted to herself with a small smile… of course, she had only ever kissed Inuyasha. So maybe she should say, the best kiss that Inuyasha had given her… yet.

She walked back up her stairs in a slight daze. 'What was that just now? Why on earth was she feeling like this? Just what was that vampire doing to her? And what just happened to his eyes?' Kagome thought strangely.

Never in a million years, would she have guessed that she would meet a vampire. A cynical, sarcastic, over-confident, egoistical and may she add proud vampire… and yet at the same time… he was kind, caring, soft, handsome as a god… and speaking of god, God can he kiss good… no, no, what was she thinking?

She never had a boyfriend, was never given a kiss until she met him. She never gave it much thought about it before—that is until he came into her life. What was she supposed to do? She never knew that she was capable of feeling this way. When he kissed her just now… oh, it felt so right! It no longer mattered to her that she could taste blood on his lips… she wished that he was here so that she could kiss him again… she had to pinch herself hard to snap her out of it. Oh what was the matter with her?

She's a human… he's a vampire. They could never be together. Unless…

She stopped on the top step and thought over what she learned tonight. This sacred, something-or-other jewel was the key. If they could find it and use it by the time the eclipse came, then they could remove this curse.

She would talk to the kids upstairs and get the whole story from them. So with that thought, she went back to her room to where Rin and Shippo were both still playing on her bed. But as she approached them, she was no longer thinking about the jewel, the eclipse, or even the battle of vampires that was taking place probably at this second.

No, she was just thinking of the man or to be more specific, vampire, who did the thing no human boy could ever do, and stolen her heart.

She felt even more sympathy for Edward and Bella… she now knew how they must've felt when they were separated by a curse and yet longed to be together. And for some reason, she suddenly felt like she and Inuyasha were Adam and Eve… about to be cursed for being tempted by a forbidden fruit.