Author's note:
Greetings everyone!
First, thank you for reading this one-shot! This is a story based on A Key to His Heart, about Hiei and my OC, Yukimura Kyoko. I do hope you'll like it!
I was writing this when I got a review from CeresMaria, which stated: "What do you mean there are only 7 chapters?!
Especially when it just got good?
Oh, can we hear more about Kyoko growing up with Yusuke and the others?
Thanks!"
Coincidentally, I was writing this one-shot. I hope you're reading this and will like it! Thank you for your review and follow, by the way!^^
Enjoy, then!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Photo Album
On a warm spring day, Kyoko was spending the day cleaning around her home. The sun was shining energetically outside and the wind blew pleasantly, a perfect day for spring cleaning.
While Kyoko was busy airing out books, Hiei was busy airing out the mattress. He was using his sheathed katana to lightly hit the mattress like Kyoko asked him to. When he declared this morning that he was going to train in the woods, Kyoko stopped him, telling him that he could train with her at home. At first he didn't understand her, but now he does. Sly woman, his mate is.
"Well, look at what we have here." He heard Kyoko said to herself and stopped for a moment, turning to look at her over his shoulder. Kyoko was looking at a thick-looking book with white leather cover. Suddenly, she stood up, putting the book down and going into the house.
Out of curiosity, Hiei went towards the place where she just sat. He picked the book up and raised an eyebrow at the cursive writing in gold ink which read 'Memories'. He flipped the cover open and eyes instantly zoomed at the picture of a baby. The baby had short tuff of black hair and sleepy warm brown eyes. He instantly knew who the baby was.
Below was another picture of the baby. This time, she was sitting around dolls and toys, wearing a tiny pink dress with two familiar elders smiling behind her. He identified them as Mr and Mrs Yukimura. Flipping the page, this time he saw a picture of a toddler with familiar features, hugging a small baby with brown hair and matching eyes.
"Curiosity kills the cat." A gentle voice sang behind him and he looked at his mate over his shoulder. She was smiling at him, carrying a tray of a pitcher full of iced tea, two empty glasses and a plate of chocolate cookies she baked just the day before.
She put the tray down beside him then sat down beside the tray. Pouring the iced tea into the glasses, she offered him the cookies. He took one, liking the taste. It was not too sweet and there was a tiny bit taste of bitterness there.
"I was just about to tell you to rest and go through the album together."
He drank the tea and she took the album from him. Moving the tray to her other side, Kyoko scooted closer to him, her unusually short skirt rose up her skirt a few inches. She didn't seem to realize the way his crimson eyes lingered there just a few seconds longer. She wouldn't mind though, would she? Considering she was his mate and all.
"Ah, look at this." Kyoko said, pointing to a picture of her sitting on an old woman's laps in front of piano, fingers pressing on random keys. Her eyes softened and she traced the picture of the old lady, "It is grandma."
Hiei had heard the story of her grandmother countless time. It seems like his mate was truly close to her grandmother. Even at the picture, the bright smiles adoring little Kyoko and her grandmother's face were so happy.
She flipped the page and this time, it was a picture of her, a lot more mature now, with Keiko and Yusuke. The three were eating cakes in the Yukimura residence, Yusuke's face covered in cream. Kyoko was affectionately wiping at his face while Keiko stole a piece of Yusuke's cake.
"Oh, I remember this…"
Flashback-
"Wow!" six years old Yusuke looked dreamily at the big slice of chocolate cake in front of him. Kyoko smiled, putting a piece of cake in front an impatient Keiko, before cutting one for herself. "I didn't know you can bake, Kyo-nee!"
Kyoko ruffled his hair, "I didn't do much. Mom did almost everything. All I did was put the batter in the oven and decorate the cake with the cherries."
"But it's still amazing!" Keiko grinned, "Thank you for the cake, nee-san!" Yusuke didn't have the time to thank Kyoko, however, as he was already shoving cakes into his mouth, getting creams all over his face. Keiko pouted.
"Yusuke! You should thank nee-san for the cake first!" she scolded, eating her own cake in a slower pace. Kyoko giggled. She took a napkin and began cleaning Yusuke's face with it. Yusuke turned to her with red puffy cheeks.
"Hey! Don't treat me like a kid!" he whined. Keiko saw the opportunity and broke a piece of his cake with her fork. Yusuke saw it from the corner of his eyes and he whirled around, right at the time Keiko put the cake in her mouth. "Argh! My cake! Keiko, you-"
Keiko stuck her tongue out at him. "It's your fault for being rude, idiot!" Kyoko laughed at their antics.
The three were oblivious to a pair of grinning parents taking pictures of the moment.
Flashback ended-
"Even at such young age, Keiko's already trying to set Yusuke straight." Kyoko laughed. Hiei stared at the picture with amusement, seeing how much his mate was like her little self. So at the age of eight, she was already so motherly.
They continued looking through the photos when Kyoko stopped and smiled at another picture of her, Keiko and Yusuke. But this time, there was Kuwabara in the picture. Both he and Yusuke were scowling, glaring at each other. Keiko stood between them, smiling widely while holding onto a flag with the number 1 printed on it. Kyoko stood behind Keiko, smiling with her hands on Kuwabara and Yusuke's shoulder.
"Let's see. This one was when I visited their sport festival back in junior high school."
Flashback-
Yusuke, now in his fifth year of elementary school, was shoving food into his mouth. Riceballs, fried eggs, cheese sandwich, fried chicken, fried fish, octopus sausage, etc. Keiko, beside him, ate her own lunch elegantly, avoiding the flying bits of food Yusuke caused.
Kyoko poured some tea into a plastic cup and put it down on the boy beside her, fiddling with the food on his lunch box nervously. "Here's your tea." she said.
"Thank you, Kyoko-san. For the lunch too."
"It's okay. How was your lunch?"
"It's good!"Kuwabara exclaimed in an instant. She smiled at him and his face blossomed.
"I'm sorry that Shizuru couldn't make it to the festival. She's busy preparing for her test." Shizuru was her senior in junior high school. She asked Kyoko to take care of her little brother for her, even giving her money to prepare lunch for him, which she refused.
"It's okay." He answered. Then his blush darkened, "since Kyoko-san is here…" he mumbled the last part inaudibly. Kyoko smiled questioningly at him.
"Hey! Don't flirt in front of me! You're grossing me out!" Yusuke yelled, pushing Kuwabara away. "If you don't wanna eat, than give that to me!" the small bully took the pink lunchbox from Kuwabara and ran away.
"Oi, Urameshi! Give that back! Kyoko-san made it especially for me!" Kuwabara stood up and chased Yusuke, who turned around to stick his tongue out at Kuwabara.
"Yeah, dream on! She made lunchboxes especially for me and Keiko too!"
"It's 'Keiko and I', Yusuke!" Keiko reprimanded, getting a 'Whatever' from Yusuke, who was still running from Kuwabara while eating his lunch. Closing the lid to her empty lunchbox, she handed it to Kyoko. "Thanks for the lunch, nee-san."
"Do you enjoy it?"
"Very much!" The teacher informed of the next competition through the intercom. Keiko stood up and yelled, "Yusuke, Kuwabara! We are up next!"
The two boys ran back, glaring at each other with Kuwabara holding an empty lunchbox. He gave it to Kyoko, thanking her while still glaring heatedly at Yusuke. Kyoko chuckled and patted his head, "I'll make you lunch again sometimes, okay? Now you go and win."
A goofy grin lit up Kuwabara's face and he nodded eagerly, "Of course! When I win, I'll give the trophy to you, Kyoko-san!"
"I'll be waiting."
"Don't get your hopes up, Kuwabaka." Yusuke interrupted, "It's been decided that I'm the winner!"
Keiko sighed tiredly when the two boys began to argue and banter. She dragged them by the ear to one of the tent, smiling at Kyoko. Kyoko waved and yelled a 'Good luck'.
She watched as the three stood on their positions. When the race started, all of the competitors ran as fast as they could. Kyoko stood up and cheered for the three while also taking pictures of them. Yusuke and Kuwabara appeared to be the fastest as the two reached the checkpoint faster than the rest.
Both boys picked up two pieces of papers and opened them quickly, eyes scanning through the page. In a matter of second, the two boys turned around and ran. Kyoko was shocked when they stopped in front of her.
"Kyo-nee! Hurry!"
"Kyoko-san, please run with me!"
"E-eh?" she was surprised. The two boys looked at her with determined eyes and she was confused. She wondered what were written in their papers.
"Nee-san!" they looked at Keiko, who was running toward them at full speed. She took a hold of Kyoko's hand and pulled her, "Let's go!"
Kyoko smiled at her little sister, "Of course. Now, let's hurry!" they ran, leaving two gawking boys whining and yelling after them. Kyoko and Keiko ran as fast as they could and they reached the finish, both yelling, "Goal!" in cheer. They were congratulated and got the number one flag, which Keiko hugged.
"Yay! We won!" Keiko gave her older sister a big hug, "Thank you nee-san!"
Kyoko panted, patting her younger sister's back. She wasn't much of an athlete and running like that sure tired her. "I-it's… very fun."
Keiko giggled.
"Kyo-nee! You should've ran with me!" Yusuke complained.
"T-the trophy I promised…" Kuwabara whimpered.
"Sorry," Kyoko giggled. "anyway, can I see what you got?"
Both boys blushed. Keiko gave her hers and Kyoko opened her palm to the boys, waiting for them to give her their papers. She raised an eyebrow when they did nothing.
Keiko rolled her eyes. "Boys." She muttred before going to them and snatching the paper from them, giving it to her sister.
"Keiko, you thief!" Yusuke stomped his feet.
Kyoko straightened the crumpled papers and read Keiko's first. It said, 'Someone you look up to.'
"That's sweet." She commented, ruffling Keiko's hair. She read the next one, Yusuke's. "…your family member?" Yusuke blush a thousand shades of red and he fumbled with his hands. Kyoko smiled at Yusuke.
"D-don't misunderstand! T-t-that's just because the paper says so! And Ma's not here! A-and the teacher wouldn't know anyway!"
"Then why didn't you pick Keiko, hm?" Kyoko teased. If it was possible, Yusuke's blush turn shades darker. She worried he might explode. "Could it be…"
"T-that's because- b-because she was also running!"
Keiko blushed. "A-anyway! What does Kuwabara's said?!" she asked in great hope of changing the topic. Kyoko grinned knowingly at the two. She read the next paper and giggled. It said, 'Something/someone you treasure.'
"Thank you, Kazuma." She said, patting his head.
The boy shuffled his feet shyly, blushing. "Sorry I couldn't get you the trophy, Kyoko-san."
Kyoko shook her head reassuringly and smiled brightly at him, "You've done a very great job. You look really amazing there." Kuwabara's eyes glinted hopefully. "Yusuke and Keiko too!" the hopeful look vanished in an instant and he slumped his shoulders.
"Nee-san, let's take a picture!" Keiko suggested when she saw the camera in Kyoko's hand. Kyoko agreed and asked one of the staff there to take a picture of them. They got into position, Yusuke and Kuwabara still glaring at each other.
"Say cheese!"
Flashback ended-
"They are idiots even in childhood," Hiei said, rolling his eyes after Kyoko finished her story. Kyoko laughed.
"They are loveable idiots, though," she said, flipping the page yet again. They looked through more pictures, one at Kyoko's birthday party, a picture of toddler Yusuke and Keiko in puppy get-up, which got Hiei to snigger, a picture of their first visit to the temple on New Year and lastly a picture of Kyoko in a Victorian dress. When Hiei asked of it, she answered, "That's the costume I wore for the play in the culture festival. I played as Cinderella."
"Hmm…" he hummed in an odd tone. His eyes were scanning the low neckline of the dress and the way the tight dress accented her slim waist when he felt a tug on his ear. He turned Kyoko and said tonelessly, "ow."
"Now, where were you looking at, hm?"
"The picture."
"Right. Of course." She rolled her eyes and flipped to the next page. It was a picture of her in a two-piece swimsuit, at the beach with her school friends. She had her arm entwined with another girl, both giving piece signs and smiling at the camera. "This is Sayo. She's a good friend."
"Hn." He grunted, once again, too focused on her attire. Kyoko sighed and flipped the page. Her face lit up at the photo of Yusuke and Kuwabara, both boys had red hand prints on their cheek and bowing in front of an angry Kyoko. Noticing the laugh in Kyoko's eyes, he asked, "What about this one?"
Kyoko laughed.
Flashback-
"Nee-san, how do you do this number?" Keiko asked. Yusuke, Keiko and Kuwabara were all gathering in the Yukimura residence to do their summer homework. Kyoko volunteered to teach them what they didn't understand, though progress had been slow with Yusuke.
She taught Keiko patiently the formula to do her math homework. The smaller girl 'oh'ed and 'ah'ed while nodding. Keiko is a smart girl and she was sure to already understand what Kyoko taught.
"I'm going to the bathroom. Keep doing your homework, okay?"
"Okay!" Keiko and Kuwabara chorused enthusiastically. Yusuke just groaned tiredly. He never was good in the academic department.
Keiko was being a good girl and doing her homework with greath focus. Kuwabara was trying to solve a question, letting out frustrated noises once in a while. He had an idea and grinned, scooting to where Kuwabara sat.
"Hey, Kuwabara."
"Can it, Urameshi. I'm doing my work." he grinned dreamily. "Kyo-nee will be so proud."
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "I'm bored. Let's fight or something."
"Nope. I'm busy."
"Urgh! You're so boring!" he complained. "Hey, don't you want to get Kyo-nee's attention?" that got him Kuwabara's attention. The bigger built boy turned to him unsurely. He grinned. 'Gotcha.'
"What?"
"Well… I know a quick way to get her attention!"
"I'm listening."
"It's easy! Just flip her skirt!" Yusuke moved his hand as if he was flipping someone's skirt. He was an expert at it since he's been doing it to Keiko ever since they got to the fourth grade.
Kuwabara's eyes widened, his cheeks bloomed and he coughed. Yusuke smacked him several times on the back hard, making Kuwabara's cough worsened. Keiko sent him a look. He shrugged.
"Are you alright, Kuwabara?" she asked kindly. Kuwabara lifted his hand and nodded. Keiko smiled and went back to her homework.
Kuwabara turned to Yusuke, "Are you crazy?! I'm not doing that!"
"What? Are you chickening out?"
"Hell no!"
"Then, do it!"
Keiko gave them a suspicious look when the two boys kept whispering back and forth. Why were they wasting their times whispering when they should be doing their homework? 'Stupid delinquents.' Keiko thought. 'Nee-san's not going to be happy with them.'
After some more bantering between the two, Yusuke finally succeeded to get Kuwabara to agree to do his dare. The orangette was trembling in fear and gulping. Kuwabara was always so much fun to pick on!
"I'm back. How's your homework going?" they turned to see Kyoko walking over to the table. Yusuke nudged him and Kuwabara stood up, walking quickly to Kyoko. "Kazuma?" she voiced curiously.
Kuwabara gulped, shut his eyes tightly and flipped her skirt. It was silent; the only sound being heard was the rustling of Kyoko's skirt and Keiko's angry gasp. Yusuke watched the scene with wide, waiting eyes.
When Kyoko's skirt went back down in place, she seemed to snap out of her shock, screamed and lifted her hand high up in the air, smacking Kuwabara's cheek hard and sending him flying to the couch. Yusuke squeaked when Kuwabara's bigger body landed on him, knocking the air out of his lungs forcefully.
"What do you think you are doing?!" they both trembled fearfully at the cold, murderous look in her eyes and the downward tilt of her lips. She walked over to them and stood in front of the couch. She crossed her arms, eyes darkening.
It took an hour to get Kyoko to calm down. Kuwabara then told him of the dare, which got her angry again and earned Yusuke a matching hand print. They bowed down in apology, trembling fearfully at Kyoko's furious gaze. They both jumped and looked up when there's a flash and a loud SNAP!. Kyoko stood there, holding a camera.
"That's what you got for being perverts."
Flashback ended-
"They did WHAT?!" Hiei exploded, hands instantly going to his katana, "I'll cut off their hands!"
Kyoko laughed and touched the back of her pointer finger to his cheek, "You're so adorable when you're jealous."
He blushed and growled, "I told you not to call me adorable, Onna."
"And I never listen." She sang. Hiei opened his mouth to speak but was stopped when Kyoko closed the book and put it aside. He raised an eyebrow.
"There're pages left."
"Well, I'd love to show it to you but it has to wait. We have cleaning to do."
Hiei sighed and stood up, taking his katana with him. Just as he was about to go back to the mattress, Kyoko hugged him from behind, standing on her tip-toes so she could place her chin on his shoulder. "Work hard, Hiei. If you do a great job, I'll give you a massage tonight." She whispered. And just as fast as it happened, it ended.
Kyoko released him and pushed him towards the mattress. "Do well, now!"
After what she promised, he had no doubt he'd do so well.
So, how do you like it?
Oh, and this one-shot will probably has a continuation. Because as Hiei said, "There're pages left." and I intend to show it to you guys! I wonder if this one-shot is good enough... My objection for writing this is to show you the bond between Yusuke, Keiko and Kuwabara with Kyoko. I hope I've done good.
'Kay then, thank you for reading and please leave me some love!