10 Years Too Early

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It was 10 years too early for them to meet or was it 10 years too late? What happened during the two and a half hours between Present Yui and Past Keima? KeimaxYui. Takes place before the start of Chapter 220.

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"You're surprisingly calm."

There was an unlikely pair walking towards the Goido house residence. Yui, a girl who was more handsome than most men, held a box of videogames. Keima, a boy who literally has a heart of a seven-year old, was tagging along quite excitedly. To say that he was the least bit awkward with what was happening was an understatement. As long as there were games, he would question if anything was REAL later. Yui recalled that her first experience of a body swap and how panicked she was. Young Keima on the other hand didn't seem that much bothered.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the treasure box of games while they walked.

"Aren't you at all concerned that you're suddenly older?" Her brows furrowed. Then an idea hit her. This may be her only chance to see the cute side of Keima's younger self. This convenient opening would never come again. "Also, you're in an unfamiliar place. Aren't you scared?" She teased.

"Are you making fun of me?" His eyes narrowed all of a sudden. "This kind of nonsensical scenario… I've experienced this before! In games!" He crossed his arms and huffed proudly. "It's similar to the amnesiac premises of protagonists typical in fantasy RPGs. It's not supposed to make sense until the second disc."

But his rambling was cut off by laughter. Yui was chuckling. The box too sounded like it was laughing as it shook in sync with her laughter. As expected of Keima to explain everything with games. Even his younger self doesn't seem any less informed. It's as though the switch never happened. The idea was comforting in itself. Keima was the person he was now because that was the person he was before. The same adorable Keima with his own values. He would not change if not become more passionate (about games). Likewise, Yui couldn't see her feelings for Keima to change. Not now, not ever. Somehow, it made her feel happier.

She ruffled his hair affectionately. "Sorry 'bout that. You just reminded me of someone I know."

"You're mean." He pouted like the child inside.

"I said I was sorry." She grinned. Thankfully, it was enough to make his frown turn half-hearted. "I'm still listening. Now, what were you saying?"

He pretended to cough. Really, he was so childish that Yui briefly wondered what happened to him to forget this side of him. "That's why what I'm trying to say here is that the only logical explanation for this is that this is all just a dream." He finished proudly.

"A dream?"

"An ugly dream too." He scowled. "Seriously, if my mind could come up with such a plot and realistic character designs then couldn't it have made it in 2D instead?" Ah, this was truly Keima.

"Then what does Keima-kun do in these kinds of dreams?"

"Before that." He abruptly stopped walking which made her pause as well. "This is a strange dream. For a figment of my imagination, you sure do know a lot about my circumstances like my conditions in the REAL." His eyes suspiciously narrowed. "Why is that?"

The answer was obviously easy. This was not a dream. Seven-year old Keima swapped with seventeen-year old Keima. Yui was aware of this due to circumstances– but that was a long and tedious different story. The answer, though easy, was not supposed to reach him. She would have to think of another logical answer within Keima's gaming reason. So it was in this situation that she thoroughly gave thought to "What would Keima-kun think?".

"Hmm… why is that?" Her back was still facing him. If only she turned around a bit then he would've seen the smile on her lips. "I guess you could say I'm special." She faced him with a smirk that was challenging. "So what will Keima-kun do when faced with such an unexpected character?"

The last thing she expected him to do was to smirk. "Hmph. That line has actually confirmed my suspicions." He pointed at her with such a force that it looked almost dramatic. "You just turned yourself from mysterious to a totally expected character."

"I'd be happy if you'd explain it to me." She politely said though unsure as to where this would lead her.

"Revealing your nature upon first meeting at least shows to me that either this will be a short game or you're one of the key characters. I assume it's both seeing the pace at how I was previously escorted by the pink-haired girl. You may know more than I do but you will never share this information with me or at least until the main conflict is pronounced."

It didn't surprise her anymore since after all, this was Keima she was facing. Given time, he could flesh out what was truly happening. Even at seven years old, his mind was brilliant. He just made himself even more worthy of being her husband. Yui refused to be defeated so easily. She would fight him within his domain. "That may be so but what will you do to progress in this story?"

The air went completely still. Tension hung heavily.

And Keima completely sliced through it. "Nothing."

"Huh?"

"I don't want to do anything." He stuck out his tongue. Then he began to rant like the child he was. "I may be young but I'm not that stupid. Nothing can come out of nothing. Being productive in dreams is useless once I wake up." Finally, he gave in to his age and whined. "Besides, I thought you said you'd let me play games!"

That's right. Keima's first love was games. They would always come first even when he thought he was dreaming.

Yui just giggled at his outburst. To take young Keima so seriously, maybe she was the childish one after all. "Yeah, we'll play games. Lots of games." She threw her arm over his neck in a friendly embrace. "Let's go?"

"I'm only coming because there are games." He grumbled.

They went on like this for a while. An arm holding a valuable box of gaming goods and the other slung over his shoulders. He was peeved at their positions but said nothing because of the allure of videogames. She hummed happily on the way to her home. That was until they finally reached their destination and began to set up in one of the sheds.

"So which game would you like to play first?" She nonchalantly asked.

"It doesn't matter." His eyes held such an intensity of an adult's. "I shall save all the heroines!"

That attitude was all too familiar to Yui. Her eyes softened.

"Say, Keima-kun." The softness in her voice caught his attention as well. "What will you do if you see me when you wake up?"

"You sound so sure." He scoffed. "Don't dream dwellers usually ask if I'd remember them first even when I wake up? Your question's supposed to be asked second."

"It's fine." She said calmly with all the confidence in the world. She's trusted him before and she would still trust him now. Even if it was his younger self, that fact wouldn't change. "If it's Keima-kun then I'm sure you'd remember."

"When I wake up and I do remember you…" He let the sentence hang for a few moments. "I'll just decide what I do when that happens. Although it's highly unlikely we'd meet again. My dreams don't have sequels neither do they come in series."

"I'm sure." Her smile was ever so serene.

After all, this doesn't count as an official meeting. At least, not when one party believes all of this to be a dream. For Past Keima, their first meeting was ten years too late while unbeknownst to all, for Present Keima, their first meeting was ten years too early. And to Present Yui, it's only been a while since destiny had her meet with her future husband. It's only been a while since she's met with Keima.

For the first time.

And from then on, they'd meet each other again and again whether by chance or even by sheer will. They would always meet again. She would make sure of it.

"Even if it's a different time and a different place, you and I will definitely meet."

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Shinra-ex-SOLDIER

Omake:

"I wonder what game we should play together."

"Can I take a look at those games?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." She handed him the box.

With lightning fast speed, he scanned through it. He smiled in satisfaction. "You sure know my taste."

Her pride kicked in. "Of course! If it's Keima-kun then I should at least know this." She winked.

"Then you should at least know that the games I play are only one-player."

Her world suddenly froze over.

"I feel like I made a crucial mistake."


For those who didn't understand the last part, please refer to Chapter 216. For the A/N, please read Chapter 220 of the manga before proceeding.

I've been meaning to write for that chapter for a while now but I was stumped. Seriously, the hilarity of the ending was too much. Given that he would "bro-zone" her left me with little opportunities. So I struggled with this because I had to not drop any hint of feminine Yui.I had to make this sweet using "bro-zone" worthy actions.

Also, I could not develop the relationship as much since Yui (and I) respect the age gap and won't do anything overly romantic like she would normally do. It was a nice challenge though. Really fun when I actually started it.

I still haven't written one yet for Young Yui and Present Keima. Now that's an even harder challenge. I'm hoping it will come to me one of these days. KeimaxYui love!