A little girl played by herself in the sandbox, digging holes and making mounds. She hummed to herself to occupy the silence around her. It was scary moving to a new town, especially when you were only five years old.
Keiko looked up from wiping down a table in her parents' restaurant, distracted by the opening of the doors, especially since it was after closing time. In walked Yusuke, strutting as if he owned the world.
"Hey Keiko, what's cooking?" Yusuke greeted.
"Don't you 'Hey Keiko' me!" Keiko glared at Yusuke and put her hands on her hips, "You have been gone two weeks; I didn't know where you were and now you come in here without even an explanation."
Yusuke held his hands up, "Sorry, I had to save the world again."
"Humph," Keiko turned her back on him and crossed her arms. "I don't like it when you disappear; it makes me worried."
"Aw man, I didn't mean to make you worried Keiko. I-I just wasn't thinking about it I guess."
Keiko whirled around in a fury, stabbing a finger in Yusuke's chest, "That's what's wrong Yusuke! You never think about telling me anything, you just disappear and come back expecting open arms." Her temper disappeared as quickly as it came, replaced by sadness. "It kills me inside Yusuke. I don't know if you are on a mission or if you have simply disappeared. It kills me to think that you don't care enough about me to tell me."
Yusuke dropped his eyes to the floor.
Keiko turned her back on him again.
Two older boys came up to the little girl. "Hey, little girl, we want to play in the sandbox, so scram!"
The little girl looked up at them. "There's enough room for all three of us to play in the sandbox, we could play together," She said timidly.
"We don't want to play with a little girl! And we say that there's not enough room for all of us."
"Yeah, so if you don't get a move on, we're going to move you."
The little girl narrowed her eyes; she never did like bullies. "No!"
The boys started to reach for her and she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for a blow.
"I know you're an idiot Yusuke, I…I just wish that you would give me some sign of how you feel about me."
Keiko found herself whirled around by Yusuke, "What do you mean some sign of how I feel about you! Why do you think that I go around saving the world!?"
Keiko sighed, "That's easy, you do it because you like to fight, and working for Koenma is a way you can fight and not get in trouble for it."
Yusuke placed his hands on her shoulders, "That's not the main reason. I do it for you."
Keiko's eyes widened, "For…me?"
"Yes Keiko, for you. I have liked, no loved you since we were little. But I was just a punk, a punk that liked to skip school and get in fights. You were a beautiful, smart girl who always did the right thing. I thought that you just tolerated me, or hung out with me as a charity case." Yusuke dropped his hands from her shoulders.
"When Koenma came to me and I became a Spirit Detective, I thought that it was my big chance to show you that I could do some good, that I—the punk, could be a hero." Yusuke waited for her response, but Keiko was in shock.
He did all this, for me? Keiko thought, But-but that's not right, I have loved him since we were little too; I just thought that he never cared for me that way.
She looked up at Yusuke's nervously awaiting face. She smiled at him through her sudden tears. "You idiot!"
"Uh?" was Yusuke intelligent response.
"I am proud of you for doing what you do for Koenma, but you never had to do that to get my attention."
Keiko gathered her courage and stepped up to Yusuke. She kissed him softly on the lips. "You have always been my hero."
Another boy's voice made her open her eyes. "You wanna mess with her, then you've gotta get through me!"
The two older boys looked nervous and walked off, muttering that playing in the sandbox was stupid anyhow.
With wide eyes the little girl watched as the boy that save her sat with her in the sandbox. "I'll play with you," he said, smiling, showing that he was missing his front teeth.
"Okay," the little girl smiled at him, "I'm Keiko Yukimura."
Her new best friend and hero responded, "And I'm Yusuke Urameshi!"
This oneshot written by Syco is the end of our "Hero" series; four oneshots focusing on each member of the YYH gang. If you haven't read the others, there is Unsung Hero which focuses on Kuwabara, Hero which focuses on Kurama, and I Am No Hero which focuses on Hiei. We hope you enjoy them all.