Author's Note: Well everyone, we're at the end. The final chapter and I hope it will be a good ending. One important note that I have is that the "Limbo" referred here from the American version is the equivalent to the Japanese version of "Hell." Although this "Hell" is nowhere close to the Christian concept of such a place. But despite all of that, I would like to encourage everyone to read and review, and I'll have a final note at the end.
Memories are bittersweet.
The good times we can't repeat.
Those days are gone,
and we can never get them back.
Now we must move ahead.
Despite our fear and dread,
we're all just wishing we could stop, but life goes on.
Come of age,
turn the page.
Time rolls on.
Wipe your eyes.
Yesterday laughs,
tomorrow cries-
"Can't Repeat"-The Offspring
An End to Bliss
Chapter XV
"It looks like Yusuke pulled it off," a young woman said, while a gentle breeze swayed her pink hair.
"Did you really have any doubts that he couldn't?" replied a young man in a light-green trench coat with a pair of black sunglasses. "You knew how strong Yusuke was."
"It's not his strength; it's his brain. Sometimes that dimwit doesn't think when he goes into battle."
"Perhaps not at first, but something always seems to click in his brain during the battle. I learned that well from my ultimate fight with Yusuke…You watched the funeral they gave for you earlier, didn't you?"
"…Yes…It's ironic."
"What is?"
"I remember that when my parents died I could do nothing but cry."
"That's to be expected."
"Yes, it happened back when I was young…I think I told you about it, didn't I, Toguro?"
Toguro nodded.
"Well…listening to what Yusuke, Kayko, Kuwabara, Yukina, Kurama, Shizuru, Botan, Koenma, Chu, Hiei—though it shocked me that he'd be there—and even little Kosuke…What they had to say about me…Well, I never imagined that I'd cry at my own funeral."
"But at the same time you knew they were happy as well, right?"
"…Yes, particularly after Koenma told them about you."
Toguro chuckled. "I guess that once you take control of Spirit World you receive a great deal of influence, such as getting me out of Limbo…Although I'm sure that since you were his friend it didn't hurt the negotiation process any…I'm pretty sure that my brother'll not receive the same treatment as I did. And while, I suppose, I should feel some sorrow for him, I really don't have any. He was truly a man without honor."
"Such as killing me…Although…I guess it's weird, but it brought me back together with you."
Toguro smiled. "I suppose that while we couldn't have had a life together on Earth, Genkai, we can have one here in eternity."
Genkai returned the smile, and leaned next to him. "At least that's something, right Toguro?"
Approximately eighteen months after Yusuke and his friends defeated Elder Toguro, Kosuke Urameshi charged towards a sandbox, while his parents followed closely behind him. In Yusuke's arms was his one-year-old daughter, Atsuko.
"Here you go, Atsuko," Yusuke said, while he placed her in the sandbox by her brother and ran his fingers through her brown hair.
Atsuko responded to the gesture by flashing her bright brown eyes and a giggle, which led to a kiss from both Yusuke and Kayko.
After Yusuke and Kayko left their children alone, the two of them decided to sit on a pair of swings that were near the sandbox.
"It's been a while since I've been here, Kayko."
"You should try to come here with me and the kids more often, Yusuke."
"Yeah, I know…But it's hard to get away sometimes."
"Yeah, I know…This playground has a lot of memories for us, Yusuke. I told Kosuke and Atsuko about it."
Yusuke chuckled. "I seriously doubt that they cared."
"Oh, I think they did. Well…I think Kosuke thought it was interesting, but I can't say the same for Atsuko. She's still too little to understand that this is where her mommy and daddy first met."
Yusuke smiled. "It's pretty weird how the wheel of fate can take a situation of a little girl asking a young boy if he wants to be best friends with her and what it can turn into."
Kayko returned the smile. "Has it turned into something good?"
Yusuke kissed Kayko. "Of course…Looking back on everything makes me think of something I told you a while back."
"What's that?"
"The way things are now compared to how they used to be. Kurama decided to leave college and help his step dad out in his shop—although his girlfriend's still going—and Kuwabara and Yukina have a child of their own."
Kayko chuckled. "True, I was actually surprised when Hiei stayed around long enough to watch the birth."
Yusuke laughed. "And his only word to describe it was 'interesting.'"
"Urameshi!" called Kuwabara in the distance.
Yusuke and Kayko turned to see Kuwabara and Yukina, who carried their one-year-old son, Yasashiku.
"Hey everyone!" Yukina replied, while she removed her son's hand from her hair.
"I take it you're here for the same reason we are?" asked Kuwabara.
"You mean to play in the sandbox?" began Yusuke. "Sorry, Kuwabara, but I let my kids do that."
"Hey, I like playing with Yasashiku—he's my little buddy!"
"Maybe you should be more like Kuwabara with your son and daughter," interjected Kayko.
Yusuke smiled. "It isn't worth me trying to argue with you, is it?"
Kayko returned the smile.
Yukina kissed Yasashiku's cheek and placed him at her feet. Yasashiku's very dark brown eyes—that almost appeared red—gleamed when he toddled over to Kosuke and Atsuko with a bright smile, while his red hair gently blew in the wind.
Yukina chuckled, as she followed after her son, followed by Kuwabara.
Kayko turned to Yusuke. "Come on, let's follow them and hang out with Kosuke and Atsuko."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
The End
+ Cody the Impaler +
August 22, 2005
Author's Note: Well, another story has come to an end. But I do have a sequel in mind for this story, although it will take place many years in the future. I'm not sure when I will have the time to write it though. Still, I hope we can all eat, drink, be merry, and listen to more Iron Maiden (especially after that shit that the Osbourne management did to them at OzzFest).