/A.N./ Hey everybody! Well, here it is! The big ending! That's right...this is the last chapter to this fanfic (I know, FINALLY!) I worked so hard and had to change so much stuff...ugh. But I felt like I really had to finish this before I left on my two week hell...I mean vacation. (cough cough). Anywho , thanks to everyone who read this fic and reviewed, that means so much. YOU ROCK! Well, this is goodbye for now folks, but don't worry! I'll be back! (dun dun dun)
Also, caz this is the last one, I made it extra long! More to enjoy! ha ha ha!
Thanks fans! Please enjoy and don't forget to REVIEW!
8chapter
Babba threw her head back and laughed. She could feel the immense power from the soul coursing through her body, sending shivers down her spine. Most of the satisfaction, however, came from the look on the spirit detective's face. He thought he was so tough before, but now that the odds were in her favor, the boy seemed to have come to his senses in realizing his mission to save the girl was hopeless.
Already, Babba could feel the power of the soul beginning to take effect. Her wrinkled skin began to smooth out, her bones felt stronger, and her hair began to darken. She smirked at the spirit detective, who had collapsed to his knees.
"Too bad Yusuke," she sneered. "You couldn't save your precious girlfriend in time. But...I will allow you to have her body!" The witch pointed back to the far corner of the room where Keiko lay crumpled in a heap on the floor.
Botan ran over to Keiko and shook her, screaming her name, begging her to wake up. Kuwabara gently laid his hand on Botan's shoulder and blinked back the tears that sprang up in his eyes. Yusuke watched as if in slow motion. The world around him seemed blurred and dim; he couldn't make out faces or voices. The only thing his mind could register was the image of a smiling brown-haired girl, her bright brown eyes dancing merrily as she called out his name...
Yusuke.
Yusuke suddenly snapped out of his daze. Blindly he reached out and whispered, "K-Keiko...?" He could have sworn he had heard her voice.
Babba mocked Yusuke's despair with her cold, cruel laughter. "Foolish boy," she taunted, "Keiko is dead...and it's all your fault!" Yusuke stiffened at her words. "But don't worry. Her soul is in a better place now...I'm putting it to much better use than that little brat ever could!"
Something inside of Yusuke snapped. Before Babba could blink, Yusuke was right in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock as he lifted his hand and pointed his index finger mere inches away from her face.
"You bitch," he growled, his husky voice dripping with malice, "You don't deserve Keiko's soul!"
Yusuke fired his rei gun, the explosion lighting up the cave, blinding Botan and Kuwabara. Before the smoke had begun to clear, the walls and ceiling of the cave began to shake and a loud rumbling sound echoed around them. Kuwabara grabbed Botan and yanked her out of the way of a huge falling rock. He began to drag Botan toward the exit, but she resisted.
"Botan!" he yelled frantically, "This whole place is coming down!"
"Just a minute..." she faintly replied. Picking up Keiko's body, she draped it over her shoulder before letting Kuwabara lead her out of the collapsing cave. Throwing themselves out of the entrance into the dewy grass, they barely managed to escape the cave-in.
Breathing heavily, Botan stood shakily to her feet and took a step toward the mouth of the cave, which was blocked by thick black smoke. Tears began to pour down her face and she knew there was no way Yusuke could've gotten out alive. Falling back to her knees, the spirit guide buried her face in her hands and sobbed, wishing for one last time to hear one of Yusuke's foul remarks, or see his lop-sided smile. Kuwabara again laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and willed himself not to follow Botan's example. Sighing he glanced back at the entrance of the cave and noticed a small glimmer of light cutting through the thick veil of smoke.
"B...Botan," Kuwabara stammered, unable to believe his eyes. Botan slowly raised her head and her eyes widened as the smoke began to disappear.
Yusuke, completely unscathed minus his wounds from his battle with Nazuna, sat on his knees with his eyes closed in the mouth of the cave. The huge chunks and pieces of rock were piled around him, but none hit him. A bright shield of pinkish light surrounded him, probably the cause of his miraculous escape. The crystal ball Babba had been holding hovered inches in front of Yusuke's face, glowing the same pinkish color as the shield.
Easing his eyes open, Yusuke was surprised to find himself kneeling in the middle of a meadow. Blinking, he realized everything from the flowers to the clouds in the sky had a hazy pink tint.
"Yusuke."
Yusuke's eyes widened at the voice. Before him, an obscure figure began to take shape. It didn't take long for him to realize who it was. Short brown hair blew playfully across her face and her dazzling brown eyes sparkled down at him. A slow smile spread across her face and she spoke again in the same cheery voice.
"Yusuke."
"K...Keiko...?" he asked uneasily, not sure what he was seeing. She smiled again and nodded. "Keiko...I thought you...Babba took your soul! What...what happened? I mean, one minute you were on the floor...dead?...and now your right here – where is here? Where'd this meadow come from? Keiko...!" Keiko burst into laughter at his confusion. Still giggling, she walking over to Yusuke and bent down, cupping his face in her hands. She kissed him gently on the forehead before slowly backing away again. Yusuke gave her a confused look and cried out in shock as he saw her body begin to slowly melt back into mist. She smiled one final time at him before she was gone. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"No! Keiko! Keiko wait! Please! Keiko!"
Yusuke slowly blinked his eyes open, adjusting to the bright light that shone down on him from the ceiling. Sitting up, he groaned and clutched his head, finding he had a horrible headache, and the bright lights in the room weren't helping. Muttering under his breath, he pushed the white sheets off himself and stood up. He was in a small room. Small white room. Everything from the floor and ceiling to the walls to the furniture was pure white. A door across from his suddenly swung open, causing him to jump. Koenma stepped in and raised his hand, but before he had a chance to speak, a blue blur zoomed past him and pounced onto Yusuke, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
"Oh Yusuke!" Botan cried, sobbing against his chest. "I was so worried! Are you alright?"
"He was," Koenma answered her dryly, "until you tackled him to the ground."
"What...what's going on? Where am I?" Yusuke demanded, pushing Botan off him and climbing back to his feet.
"You're in spirit world, staying in one of our hospitals," Koenma explained. "You were brought here by Kuwabara and Botan after your fight with the soul-stealing witch. Good job on that case, I might add."
A thought hit Yusuke. "Where's Keiko?"
Koenma and Botan exchanged and uneasy glance before walked out the room, telling him to follow them. His stomach doing backflips, Yusuke hesitantly followed the two down the long bright hallway until reaching a plain white down with the number '175' in golden metal hanging on it. Koenma turned the knob and pushed the door open before stepping aside.
Yusuke was surprised to find the room dark, the only light a single candle on a small table. His eyes adjusting to the dimness, Yusuke saw a still figure lying peacefully in the bed which sat in the center of the room. Slowly, Yusuke approached the bed, taking notice that there was not a steady rise and fall of the figure's chest. He already knew what to expect when he saw Keiko's pale, lifeless face, but the pain that welled up inside of his chest was almost too much to bear. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning slightly, he found Kuwabara, Botan, and Koenma all gazing at him, sympathy sitting heavily in their eyes.
"Yusuke," Koenma said softly, reaching into a drawer on the small table. "This is what saved you from the cave-in that day." He carefully lifted out the crystal ball that Babba had used to trap Keiko's soul. Emotions boiling inside him, Yusuke yanked the ball from Koenma and threw it clear across the room against the wall, shattering it into tiny pieces. Botan let out a gasp and Kuwabara stared at his friend in shock. Koenma calmly looked at the mess on the floor and smiled slightly.
"You freed her." The other three snapped their head to stare in confusion at the young spirit prince. Koenma simply pointed to the shattered crystal ball. In shock, they saw a bright orb of light appear above the mess. With everyone's eyes on the light orb, it slowly floated across the room before stopping above Keiko's body and plunging into it. Everyone held there breath, waiting for something to happen; waiting for Keiko to just wake up and smile at them.
But nothing happened.
Koenma sadly looked down at his feet as Botan buried her face in her hands and begin to cry. Kuwabara whirled around and stomped out of the room. He was followed by a silent Koenma and sobbing Botan. Before she left, Botan turned back to Yusuke, who was staring blankly at the still form of Keiko.
"I'm sorry," Botan whispered, "We were all sure it would work..." She trailed off and left the room, gently closing the door behind her.
When the door clicked shut, Yusuke was left alone in the dark room, the candle light flickering slightly. Silently, he wandered over to Keiko's bed side and knelt down, placing his chin on the soft sheets. His hand crept up and gripped Keiko's as he continued to stare at her lifeless figure.
Then the idea hit him.
The memories of himself as a ghost suddenly came flooding back to him as Yusuke leaned down over Keiko. This worked once for me...I don't see why it won't work for her... Yusuke slowly leaned down, his lips lightly brushing against hers. After a few moments, he broke the kiss off and stared down at Keiko. Nothing. No movement, no breathing, no nothing. His heart sank as he pushed himself up and walked back to the door. Casting a final look over his shoulder at Keiko, Yusuke choked back the tears that threatened to pour down his face. Slowly he shut the door and prepared himself to leave spirit world and the painful trip back home.
(TWO DAYS LATER)
Botan sighed as she gently eased open the door. Koenma had given her orders and she had to go through with them, no matter how painfully it may be. His orders were to collect Keiko's soul and return it to its rightful place in heaven where she could finally rest in peace. As she approached the bed, holding back her tears, she noticed something was different. She looked down a moment at Keiko before letting out a squeal. Her heart soared as she sprinted back out the room, screaming down the hallway.
"Koenma sir! Koenma! It's Keiko! She breathing! She's alive!"
Yusuke sighed and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets as he made his way up the endless steps to the roof of his apartment building.
"Damn stairs," he muttered. "Damn building needs a damn elevator." Kicking the door open, he stomped out onto the roof. The sun had begun to set, and was now a deep blood red color in the pinkish sky. Yusuke wasn't exactly the type to enjoy sunsets, and any other day he would have totally ignored it. But today was different. Today he stopped and gazed at it, almost willing to admire its beauty. He knew how much Keiko would love to see it, so he ordering himself to sit and enjoy it.
"Yusuke," Yusuke began to tell himself, sitting down on the edge of the roof, "you have to enjoy this dammit! Keiko would have died to see this!"
"I very much doubt that."
Yusuke froze. That voice...its...no! It can't be! He thought, slowly turning his head. His jaw dropped and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of the girl behind him. She walked over to him and plopped herself down next to him, her feet dangling over the edge of the building.
An uneasy silence settled over the rooftop as the sun sank lower in the darkening sky. Yusuke's mind screamed it was a trap and when he tried to speak, he found his mouth dry. All he could do was stare at the girl he thought he had lost.
Keiko brushed a few strands of hair out of her face as she turned so look at Yusuke, who was staring at her with his mouth open. With a giggle she reached out and tapped his chin, causing him to snap his mouth closed.
"I'm sorry," Keiko finally said softly. She gazed hopefully at Yusuke, her eyes pleading. Sighing she stood up and crossed her arms. "Yusuke! Snap out of it! I'm alive ok! Koenma and Botan figured out that I needed some spirit energy from someone to come back completely! That's why when you kissed–" she suddenly broke off, pink staining her cheeks.
"So...they explained it, huh?" Yusuke finally asked.
Keiko nodded. "Yea...everything."
Yusuke suddenly stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked toward the stairs leading down. Keiko stared at him for a minute before running after him.
"Yusuke! What's wrong?"
Yusuke stopped and whirled around to face her. "You're what's wrong! I risked my life for you all those times and you turn your back on me for some stalker!"
"Yusuke..." Keiko started sadly, "I thought you'd be happy...to know I was alive."
"Yea? Well maybe you should've stayed dead!"
Keiko felt her heart sink and her mind go numb, his stinging words echoing through her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes and she shoved passed him and ran toward the stairs.
"Keiko!" Yusuke suddenly called, grabbing her arm. Keiko whirled around and punched Yusuke hard in the face, sending him flying a good five feet back. She gasped as she realized what she had done and ran to his side.
"Oh my god! Yusuke, I'm so sorry!" She told him, frantically yanking out a handkerchief and holding it against his bloody nose. She expected him to yell, cuss, or even hit her, but his real reaction shocked her.
He laughed.
Still laughing, Yusuke pushed himself to his feet and wiped the blood off his nose. He tossed Keiko her handkerchief and pulled her to her feet. Keiko stared at him for a minute before immediately sputtering out apologies.
"Keiko," Yusuke said to her, but Keiko continued to flood out about what a complete idiot she was, despite Yusuke's attempts to silence her.
"...and if I hadn't gone off with Daichi – I mean, he is a total creep and definitely the stalker type – none of this would've happened! Look at your nose! Can you believe I punched you? I know I barely can–"
"Keiko."
"– and now my mom's handkerchief is ruined! You know what she's gunna do to me? Kill me! As if I already haven't been there already – which I have. And it was NOT fun! Boring really–"
"Keiko."
"– and I hope you're nose isn't broken! I really had no right to hit you, after I kinda betrayed your trust and stuff...maybe I should listen you more often, huh? Do you think–" Yusuke finally managed to shut Keiko up by pressing his lips against her own.
BEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!
Botan jumped, almost losing her balance as she hovered about the city on her oar. Muttering in annoyance, she reached into her kimono and pulled out her compact communicator and flipped it open.
"Well don't you look cheery today Botan," Koenma said sarcastically, his face appearing on the tiny screen.
Botan sighed. "Koenma sir, can you please call back in a few minutes?" She put her binoculars back up to her face and looked down at the rooftops.
Koenma chuckled. "Keeping an eye on Yusuke and Keiko I see."
"No, I'm spying," Botan said without thinking. When she caught the trap, her face turned pink and she stuck her tongue out at her boss.
"Ha ha ha...got ya," Koenma said. "Seriously now, you gotta get back here to spirit world...we a have some problems to sort out that the witch Babba caused." Botan sighed again. "And Botan. Leave those two alone."
Botan saluted. "Yes sire," she said dully, snapping the communicator shut and putting it back in her kimono. Without sparing a glance at the city below her, Botan zoomed off toward spirit world, all the while wishing she could spend the evening watching those two instead of doing paperwork.
"Where did you say we were going?"
Yusuke smile mischievously. "You'll find out." He grabbed Keiko's hand and yanked her to the street before haling down a cab. They climbed in and Yusuke whispered something in the cab drivers ear. As he sat back down in his seat, Keiko gave him a glare.
"I bet you're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Sure am." Yusuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue handkerchief.
"What's that..." Keiko asked wearily, eyeing the cloth like it had a disease.
"If you wanna go you-know-where, then you gotta put this over your eyes!"
"I don't know where you're talking about, but whatever," Keiko sighed and let Yusuke tie the cloth over her eyes. They drove the rest of the way in silence, and Keiko tried to imagine where in the world they were going.
After what seemed like an eternity, the cab eased to a stop. She heard Yusuke open the door and slide off the seat. The door slammed shut again, and she could faintly hear his crunching footsteps as he made his was around the car and opened her door. Grabbing her hand, Yusuke gently helped Keiko out of the car and shut the door. The cab drove off, leaving them alone. Keiko waved her arms out in front of her and took a careful stip forward, feeling her foot sink slightly into the ground.
"Whoa, hold up," Yusuke said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Now I'll lead you along. Just trust me, 'k?"
"Ok, but you better not lead me into any walls or holes," Keiko warned. Yusuke laughed and they set out walking through the soft ground.
"We're almost there," Yusuke murmured in her ear. She shivered slightly as she felt his hands slide down to her waist. Abruptly the ground changed from soft to hard. Walking further on the new ground, Keiko heard the caw of a bird and the gently sound of water. Smelling the air, Keiko realized where they were – and what Yusuke was about to do.
Whirling around quickly, Keiko yanked her handkerchief off, but it was too late. Yusuke laughed and pushed her off the dock on which they stood, sending her tumbling into the ocean water. Before she hit the water, she reached out and grabbed Yusuke's shirt, pulling him down into the water with her with a loud splash.
Keiko finally broke the surface and gasped for air. Yusuke popped up next to her and smirked. She splashed him in the face before swimming over to the shallow water so she could stand up. The water was pleasantly warm and Keiko was reluctant to get out. When Yusuke swam up next to her, she smiled and stood up. He stared at her and she realized why. Not being prepared for a swim at the beach, Keiko had worn a short pink shirt and white spaghetti strap shirt: both of which now clung tightly to her body. Feeling her face heat up, she attempted to jump back down into the water, but Yusuke stopped her.
"Y-Yusuke!" She stammered. "Don't be a pervert!" Yusuke smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up against him. She looked up at him shyly and blushed deeper, causing his grin to widen.
"I guess you're right Keiko," Yusuke said, pulling back from her slightly and running his eyes up and down her body, "Having a girlfriend isn't all that bad..." Keiko, now cherry red, pushed Yusuke back and raised her arm to slap him, but he caught it before she could. He pulled on her arm, yanking her straight to him. Keiko opened her mouth to object, but Yusuke stopped her as he covered her mouth with his own. Keiko was taken aback at first, but slowly returned the kiss, which seemed to last forever...until the giant waved suddenly crashed against them.
The strength of the wave washed them both up on the shore. Keiko blinked her eyes open and found herself on top of Yusuke. Smiling she brushed a few strands of wet hair out of his face before she felt him pull her back down into another breath-stealing kiss. Finally breaking for air, Keiko smiled down at Yusuke.
"Yea...I'd say this defiantly beats being dead."
the end
Thanks for reading...hope you enjoyed. PLEASE REVIEW PRETTY PLEASE!
