Forever This Way

Yusuke Urameshi and Keiko Yukimura have been friends since childhood. Keiko was the only person who could ever stand up to Yusuke, saying that he was a bully and everybody was afraid of him or was mad at him. Her special ability against the powerful half monster Yusuke was to slap him across his cheek which left his cheeks red for days. Keiko deeply cared for Yusuke though she tried to hide it. Yusuke also cared for Keiko very much and loved her.

"Rrrriiiiinnnngggg!" the school bell rang. Lunch was finished. Keiko entered her classroom and found her seat. She looked at the empty chair beside her and realized that Yusuke was skipping once again. She looked straight to the board and crumpled her forehead. She muttered to herself, "That skipper! What does he plan to do with himself!" The teacher entered the class and soon the class started. Keiko directed her attention to the lecture and tried not to think of Yusuke.

After class has ended, she hurriedly ran up to the school rooftop. She busted the door open and ran out. She looked around looking for Yusuke. "Ugh! Yusuke! I know you're here!"

A voice called out, "Oh… What do you want? I'm up here…"

Keiko looked up at the rooftop of the doorway. She planted her feet on the ground and screamed out, "What do you think you're doing!"

"Hey! Quiet down there! I'm taking a nap!" Yusuke answered.

She growled and sighed. Putting her hand on her forehead, she asked calmly, "Why were you skipping again?"

"That class is boring. We should really get a new teacher… who can teach."

"Come down from there!" She put her hands on her waist, "Yusuke, you can't keep on doing this! Mrs. Tusaki is a good teacher. How will you get into college if you keep on slacking off?"

Yusuke jumped down, "Who said I wanted to go to college?"

Keiko glared at him, "Are you seriously telling me that you don't intend to go to college?"

Yusuke faced her, glaring back at her, "Why do you care? It's none of your damn business." He grabbed his coat and put it over his shoulder. He walked away from Keiko. After waving his hand without looking back, he was gone, leaving Keiko alone on the rooftop very furious.

After school, Keiko was walking with some of her friends. They talked about guys, like normal girlfriends would do.

"So, Keiko, have you thought about your date with Ju?" Sakura asked.

Meiling barged in with, "He is so going to ask you out!"

Blushing, Keiko answered, "You guys, stop. I'm not going on a date with Ju," she looked at the excited face of Meiling, "And he's not going to ask me out."

Kit nudged Keiko, "Sure. That's just what you and him want us to believe!" They all laughed.

In her head, Keiko could only think of one thing: How can I even think of going on a date with Ju if I have feelings for someone else? …I wonder where he is now. Probably fighting Kuwabara or another guy from another school. He's such a jerk! He doesn't think of anyone else but himself… no. He doesn't think at all! That bonehead!

The girls said their goodbyes as they separated their directions. "Bye!" Keiko bid as she waved goodbye to her friends. She walked alone through an alley. She could feel that someone was following her. As soon as she turned around, a face was right in front of hers, about two inches away. She shrieked. The person jumped away and laughed hysterically. "Man! I love seeing your face all scared!"

"Oh my God! Yusuke!" Keiko's face turned red due to her frustration. "What do you want now?" She turned around and continued walking towards her house. "I was pretty sure you'd be out there in the streets fighting."

Yusuke put his hands behind his head like he was resting on them, "I was. But, you know, Kuwabara's nothing. He punches like a girl and runs away like a horse. Anyway, so, what are you up to?"

Keiko kept her focus head on, "None of your damn business."

"Home to study, huh?" He teased.

She turned around, "You know what, Yusuke? Just leave me alone, okay? I am not in the mood to goof around with you right now."

"Goof around?"

"That's what I said. Oh and yes, I am going home to study. We have tests tomorrow and unlike you, I care about my grades and my future." She continued to walk home.

"Loosen up, why don't you?" Yusuke laughed as he grabbed Keiko's arm.

Keiko turned fully around and smacked Yusuke across the cheeks! Yusuke, out of his guard, falls on his ass as he got hit. "I am so tired of you!"

Yusuke held his cheek. "Ouch! That hurt! Man, calm down. That hurt even more than it did the last fifty times. You're getting really good at this. Maybe you can be my partner and we can beat up kids like Kuwabara and some other dudes from other schools."

"UGH!" She groans in disgust, "You are so annoying! Can't you be serious for once!" She walked away.

Yusuke lied down on the ground. "Hmm…" He thought: I just love to piss her off. …Man, that really hurt. He put his hand on his cheek again.

Keiko entered the restaurant. Her father looked at her and saw how flush she was. "What happened, Keiko?" he asked.

"Nothing, dad," she forced a smile and ran up to her bedroom.

She sat down on her desk and piled up her books and notes neatly. She turned on her desk lamp and started reading through her notes. She stopped. Keiko skimmed through the pages without really reading them. Closing her book, she got a weird feeling. Keiko rested her head on the desk as she imagined herself in a beautiful place- almost a paradise.

In her paradise, there was a tree on top of a hill. She ran up to the tree and looked up. A figure of a young man showed. He was lying on a tree branch with the shade of the leaves covering parts of his face. "Come down," she whispered. From a distant angle, Keiko imagined herself and the young man lying down on the grass under the shade of the tree. "This beautiful is… beautiful," she heard herself say.

"Not as beautiful as you," the young man replied.

A blinding light was behind them when they kissed. The light was too bright, so she could hardly see the two of them actually kiss. But right at the last moment, the young man's face was shown. It was Yusuke. Keiko opened her eyes. She realized that she had fallen asleep and she was awakened by the sound of someone's voice whispering into her ear and the light, soft, cool feeling that she felt beside her. The voice whispered, "I love you." This freaked her out. The door suddenly opened.

Keiko let out a small shriek and sat up, "Oh. Dad."

His voice was breaking up, "Keiko… I have… I have bad news for you…"

"What's wrong, dad?" Keiko was worried.

He gulped, "Your friend… Your friend Yusuke…"

"What about him?" She suddenly got scared. Deep down in her gut, she could feel it do a couple of flips. "Dad?"

"Yusuke… is… dead. He died walking home. Apparently, a little boy was playing a ball near the road. The ball got kicked into the road and the boy chased after it. The little boy would've died if Yusuke hadn't saved him from a car…" His voice cracked as he looked at Keiko who has turned pale. "Are you okay, Keiko?"

She stared into space. She couldn't feel her face or her whole body, for that matter. In a matter of seconds, she could feel teardrops streaming through her pale cheeks. Her whole body was numb. Her dad embraced her tightly but she couldn't hug back. Her arms were just hanging from her body like spaghetti strings.

That night, Keiko found herself bawling her eyes out. Her dad came up to bring her her dinner but she never ate it. He comforted her but she just wanted to be alone. She hid under her blanket and her pillow. Her eyes were puffy red because she had been crying for hours, mourning for Yusuke's death.

The next day, her dad came in her room and asked her, "Would you like to come with me to his house for his funeral?"

Keiko faintly answered, "No."

Her dad sat beside her and put his hands on her face, "Are you sure about that?"

She sat up, "Dad…" She stammered. "I- I- No! Tell me it's not true! Please! Tell me that Yusuke's still alive… Tell me that he will still come to your restaurant and eat here… Please tell me that-"

He shook his head, "Keiko… Even if I say it a hundred times, Yusuke is gone."

Keiko closed her eyes. The tears were back. This time, she didn't push her dad away. She just held on to him tightly and cried.

At night time, Keiko looked out the window. She thought that she had seen a figure of a young man walking down the street. "Yusuke!" She called out, "Yusuke!" her shouts turned into whispers, "Yusuke… Come back. Yusuke, come back!" She put her arms around herself and plopped down on the floor. "Yusuke… come back… Please come back to me…"

For two days, Keiko missed school. She was miserable. But finally, on a Wednesday, she pulled herself together and summoned up her strength to go to school. Her friends came running to her giving her hugs and chatting about Yusuke. But that's the last thing Keiko wanted to hear at that time.

She sat down on her chair even before lunch has ended. When the bell rang, the classroom started to be filled by students. Everyone was present. Only one seat was vacant- Yusuke's. Keiko could feel the tears forcing their way out her eyes but she held on strong. She didn't cry. Keiko's focus on the lecture wasn't as great as it used to be, though. After class, she walked up to the rooftop. Opening the door lightly, she could hear the creak it made that she wasn't aware of before when she'd slam it open. The blinding light of the sun hit her eyes. She walked outside and looked around. She walked towards the edge and held on to the net that surrounded the rooftop for safety. She looked down at the other people outside. Keiko looked back at the rooftop of the door. No Yusuke. She walked slowly towards the spot where Yusuke would lie down. Putting her hand on the wall, she broke down in tears. "How could you have left me? You're such a bonehead! I hate you! I hate you so much! Why did you leave me!"

Something touched her shoulder softly. Keiko looked back but there was no one around. "Is… Is that you…? Yusuke!"

A very faint figure of Yusuke showed. He was smiling at Keiko. She was both scared and happy at the same time. Yusuke's smile remained as he whispered, "Keiko…"

"Yusuke, is that… you?"

He put his hand on her face, "I never left you. I would never leave you."

"But you did!"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"But… you're dead. You're gone!" Keiko cried.

He wiped her tears, "Don't cry for me, please. It just hurts me more. Keiko, listen to me when I say that I would never leave you. I would never hurt you." He chuckled, "Maybe piss you off, but hurt you? No. Aren't you happy that I actually did a good deed for someone else?"

"I am. But did you have to sacrifice your life?" Keiko sniffled.

Yusuke smiled, "Things happen for a reason. And I think that the reason to what happened to me is… so that I can be with you forever. I will always be beside you, guarding you. Protecting you. Comforting you. …Loving you."

He stared deep into her eyes. He put both his hands on her face and gently moved forward. He gently kissed Keiko and he stayed there for a moment. Keiko couldn't feel anything physical. But she could feel love as she closed her eyes. She believed what Yusuke said and trusted him. And for a second or two, she might have actually felt Yusuke's lips against her.

"I love you," Yusuke whispered one last time.

With a teardrop, Keiko whispered back, "I love you, too."

After the kiss, Yusuke's faint figure totally disappeared. Keiko went to Yusuke's funeral and burial the next day. She dropped three roses on his coffin and bid farewell.

At night, Keiko would still cry but each night, her mourning and sense of loss lessened. Deep inside, she still loved him but she was starting to move on. Keiko still missed Yusuke at times but she coped with it just fine.

After two years, Keiko started going out with Ju and they both graduated a year after. Yusuke? He became Keiko's guardian angel.