Disclaimer: Yoshihiro Togashi's property. Not mine. I love this show, its characters, and everything about it. This show is my childhood.

For the record, I have always been and will always be a Hiei fan. But as I rewatched Yu Yu Hakusho during my early twenties, I developed this love for Yusuke (man, he's a hottie!) and Keiko's relationship. So here I am, writing about them, but I'll be writing snippets about the other characters as well so watch out for them ;)

I am currently watching the anime for the nth time, and I'll be constantly adding in chappies to this story while I am still under the influence of the YYH craze.

Keiko may seem very OOC in here; but let's face it, it's been three years, and I wanted to make something realistically different about her. I wanted her to graduate from her previous self and act more like a young woman. So here's my take on it.

Heat

The room was close to silent, other than the sound of scribbling, a few frustrated grunts, and barely audible sipping of tea.

Yusuke popped open an eye and gazed at his girlfriend, or more accurately, his fiancée, while she absent-mindedly chewed on the top of her pencil. This was one of the most adorable things about her, Yusuke thought fondly. She was the perfect young woman in the eyes of the human male species, yet only Yusuke was allowed to see her flaws – the way she would chew on her pencil when she was frustrated over something, the way she would lose her temper and be violent towards him, the way she could cry like a little girl whenever he was in trouble, and the way she allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of him when she thought no one else was there.

Despite everything, he was undeniably in love with her.

The way she tucked her hair unconsciously behind her ear when she became pensive, the way she loved to argue with him, the way she delicately treated his wounds whenever he returned from a fight, and how he would always wake up with her right next to his bed when he was badly injured and out cold for days.

However, Yusuke's favourite part was returning from Makai and realizing that his best friend of more than ten years has changed so much over the three years they have been apart.

Yusuke could not fathom how a reserved girl such as Keiko would run towards him, knocking him on the sand, and without warning, suddenly kissing him in front of their friends on that beach.

Yusuke watched her as she recited foreign words out loud – they must be English – and then jotted down some words before she recited another string of words. Her hair was longer now and was braided to one side of her neck, making the other side exposed. When his eyes darted to the exposed side of her pale neck, he resisted the urge to run his calloused fingers over her smooth skin and make his lips leave a lingering mark on it.

He wanted to groan in frustration; the two of them didn't exactly have much time alone together, with Keiko being busy with her University entrance examinations. After that, she will be moving to their campus dormitory, which meant that they would have lesser time together, with her being away for most of the week, and living in an all-girls dormitory where men were off-limits. Then again, Yusuke thought happily, the fact that she would be living in an all-girls accommodation would make him feel more secure. Despite all of Yusuke's bravado, he can be very insecure whenever it concerned Keiko and her never-ending string of suitors.

'I know you're awake, Yusuke,' he was shocked when he heard Keiko speak to him, without her looking up.

Keiko finally closed her textbook and turned to him with a small smile on her face.

Yusuke's eyes travelled down her body and he gulped, hoping that the heat rising up his face was not very obvious. She was wearing a thin oversized shirt above her shorts, making her look like she wasn't wearing anything underneath. It was days like these when Yusuke was thankful for those scorching summer nights, and even more when Keiko's parents were out to visit relatives during the summer and he could freely sneak in and out of Keiko's room whenever he pleased, as long as he didn't distract her with her studies.

Keiko sat down on the edge of the bed, while Yusuke sat up against the wall. He watched her as she fanned herself and tried hard not to stare at her long and toned legs.

Yes, his best friend is now on her way into turning into a woman. What used to be a very shy and slightly tomboyish girl has now physically and emotionally changed into this young woman, who was completely unaware of the effect that she had on Yusuke and other men.

Maybe it was high school that changed her – she was as athletic as ever, being the Captain of her school's volleyball team. She was still the top student in her class and one of the most popular girls in school. But she became less shy over time and was more confident of herself, not being afraid to express her feelings especially towards him. Not that Yusuke didn't like it; but ever since he came back, he realized that she was slowly becoming a revelation to him every day they spent together.

'Keiko, shouldn't you be…ugh…use this,' Yusuke grabbed a pillow and tossed it above her legs, effectively hiding them from sight.

Keiko chuckled and raised her brows in genuine surprise, 'But it's hot, Yusuke. Besides, what's with you acting like a gentleman now? You used to flip my skirt a lot.'

Yusuke made a face.

'Darn it, Keiko. It's hard enough with this heat…' He muttered.

That was when the weight on the bed shifted, and Yusuke was beyond shocked when Keiko lunged forward, her face only inches away from his. She touched his hot forehead and cheeks, then gave him a confused look. 'Are you running a fever?'

Yusuke wanted to groan in frustration. He felt the heat rising, and he didn't like it one bit. His heart was racing and his blood was rushing through his veins uncontrollably. It didn't help that Keiko smelled of mild sweat and shampoo, intoxicating all of his senses.

Then Keiko suddenly smirked knowingly, slowly leaned down to brush her soft lips against the edge of his, and detached herself from him. Suddenly, Yusuke released the breath he didn't know he was holding. How Keiko developed an irresistible kind of sexuality over the time they were apart was beyond Yusuke.

Yusuke's brown eyes happened to gaze at a small framed photograph on Keiko's bedside – a photo of them when they were in Elementary School. His eyes inconspicuously looked back and forth from the Keiko in the photograph, looking evidently awkward with her denim jumpsuit and loose shirt, and the Keiko right in front of him who was now capable of teasing him and subtly using her sexuality against him – how she had managed to turn the tables partly scared and partly excited him at the same time.

'This heat is killing me, Yusuke. Shall we go for a walk?' Her soft voice shook him out of his reverie.

His eyes turned to slits when he saw that she was still wearing the same clothes. Keiko seemed to have noticed his expression, and she chuckled. 'Oh don't be such a baby. I'll get changed out of them.'

Before Yusuke could utter a word, however, Keiko opened her dresser and pulled out a white summer dress. Yusuke's eyes widened when she took off her top and shorts, revealing her matching white cotton underwear for a brief moment before she pulled the dress over her body.

Keiko straightened up and walked to her vanity mirror to ease her locks from her braids and brushed them slowly. Yusuke gulped silently as she swept them to one side and slowly tried to wipe the sweat running through her neck and forehead - if he didn't know any better, Yusuke could have sworn that she was doing this on purpose, knowing that he was watching her. Her eyes suddenly turned to Yusuke through the mirror, and upon seeing the shocked look on his face, she smiled teasingly and said softly, and perhaps a bit shyly, 'What? We're engaged, aren't we?'

For the first time, Yusuke Urameshi was speechless. Inwardly, he wished that his ancestor Raizen or anyone else could have taught him a thing or two about hormonal self-restraint.

And summer was far from over.