Announcements went out over the intercom of the airport. Keiko sat in one of the chairs by the window. She held a ticket for Italy. She wanted to begin a new life. Her hands began to tremble as they announced her plane number. This was her last chance to turn back. She shook her head and picked up her red backpack. She held onto the strap. She gave the lady at the gate her ticket. The woman offered a smile and Keiko nodded her head. When she got on the plane her stomach began to turn, there was no way of going back now. People shoved her aside as she wandered around to find her seat. She finally found her seat. An old lady smiled up at her as she had just begun to knit. She was sitting by the window. Keiko sat beside her.
"Well hello."
The woman's voice was soft. Keiko smiled at her. She placed her bag in her lap.
"Hiya," she said, watching the woman knit a scarf.
"My name's Lizzy," the woman said, holding out her hand.
"I'm Keiko," Keiko said, taking her hand.
"Hope not to be rude, but what are you doing heading to Italy by yourself?" Lizzy asked. "You're going off to college aren't you?"
She laughed at her question.
"I haven't decided yet," Keiko said, rubbing her left arm. "Right now I'm just trying to get away from my past."
Lizzy looked at her thoughtfully.
"You can never escape your past child," she said, taking her hand. "But I know how you feel. You have a home to come to."
Keiko was taken aback she had just met this woman.
"Ma'am," Keiko said.
The woman held up her hand.
"Do you have a place to stay when we land?" Lizzy asked.
Keiko shook her head.
"You do now," Lizzy said. "Well I have a new house across the street from my son. I think it would be nice to have a roommate."
She patted her hand. She returned to knitting and Keiko laid her head back on the seat. The pilot announced they were ready to leave. She buckled up her seatbelt. She closed her eyes. She hoped she had the courage to survive. She didn't want to cry in front of the woman. She felt a cold hand on hers. She knew it was Lizzy. This was not how she planned her life. As they took off she began to think about what had happened to lead to where she now was.
The halls were filled with echoes. The match had ended about thirty minutes ago. She had finally got away from Shizuru and Botan. The girls wanted to head off to grab some drinks, but Keiko wanted to go see her guy. She headed down the hall to Yusuke's locker room. She wore the blue v-cut shirt Yusuke loved and also her favorite pair of tight pants. In a few months she wouldn't be able to get into them. As she turned the corner she had wonderful news for him. Fangirls were crowded around the door. Yusuke was signing autographs and making jokes about the scum he had just defeated. A blonde rubbed her breast against his arm. Yusuke gave her a smirk. Keiko felt her face flush with anger. As he looked up he knew he had been caught by the way she tilted her head at the blonde. Keiko walked up to the crowd. She pushed some of the girls out of the way to get to her man. She looked straight in his eyes. That said they needed to leave. Yusuke got the hint. He let go of the blonde's shoulder and moved back.
"Sorry ladies," he said.
He opened the door to his locker room and Keiko walked in. He walked in behind her shutting the door.
"That was cute, did she get your number?" Keiko asked.
She laid her arms over her chest. Yusuke shrugged his shoulders.
"What can I say, they love me," he laughed.
He bent down to kiss her on the lips. She turned her head away from him. He kissed her neck.
"Now that ain't nice," he said.
He nuzzled his head on her neck. Keiko pushed his chest, but that didn't work. He pressed her against the wall, thinking that she was just playing around.
"Enough!"
She shoved him again. This time he got the hint. He looked surprised.
"What's wrong?" he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Yusuke you were flirting!" she shouted.
"Well we ain't married, so I see no harm," he said.
He realized those were the wrong words. Keiko turned her head. She held back her tears.
"If that's how you feel maybe we shouldn't see each other," she said.
Yusuke got really quiet. He walked over to the bench and sat down. He looked at the ground. He laid his elbows on his knees, putting his face in his hands.
"That might not be such a bad idea," he said quietly.
Keiko felt her heart shatter.
"Since the end of the demon world tournament, we've been dating steady and maybe we oughta see other people," he said, without looking at her. "I'm saying you might find someone who is better for you, and I can have some fun again."
Keiko pushed off the wall. She walked up to him.
"Fun?" she said, her voice shaky. "You're saying I'm no fun!"
"No, well you're just careful about things when I wanna just go with it," he mumbled.
"Yusuke …"
She didn't have a comeback.
"I miss my old life-"
"You mean the drugs, alcohol and whores!" she screamed.
"Yes!" he shouted back. "They were a lot more fun than you."
Keiko knew right then her heart shattered.
"How long have you been seeing other women?" she asked.
Her hands were shaking.
"No, I ain't cheated on ya, but I have thought about it."
He looked up at her. Her hand went across his cheek. He knew he deserved that. He placed a hand on his left cheek.
"You coward, I thought you loved me," she said.
Yusuke stood up. He wrapped her up in his arms. She tried to shove him off, but he wouldn't let her go.
"I do, I still think I do," he whispered in her ear.
She started to cry. She wanted to shout she was having his child. But she bit her lip.
"You need to leave. We'll talk about this later," he said.
He kissed her on the forehead before he let her shove him away. She stumbled back. She wiped her tears away. He turned around taking off his uniform. He picked up his bag and began to pull out some pants and a red shirt.
"I got training with Kurama in a few minutes, you need to go home and relax," he said.
Keiko walked to the door.
"We'll talk about this tomorrow when I got time to be with you," he said.
She turned the knob and threw the door open. She didn't turn around. As soon as she heard the door shut behind her she took off running down the hallway. She ran all the way to her house. Her parents weren't going to be home until late as they were off on a date. She wrote a note to them saying she would call once she got settled and that she loved them. She packed a suitcase of clothes. Grabbing her red bag she threw in some books and pictures. She grabbed a photo of Yusuke and her at the beach holding each other. She threw it at the wall, where it shattered on impact. She couldn't do this she had to leave.
Keiko opened her eyes. She looked to the side to see Lizzy was getting her handbag. She had slept through the whole plane ride. She was surprised. She unbuckled her seat belt and got up. She knew there was no turning back. She laid a hand on her stomach. I will always love you. She rubbed her stomach. She dragged her suitcase and followed Lizzy to her son's car. Keiko looked up at the sky seeing some stars. I will make this work.
(Next chapter it's been five years since that day. Keiko works as a nurse for the local demon fighting league. She is living her life with her kids. She has a new love and life is going great until the demon world has a new tournament and old friends start reappearing.)