Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Dedication: To all of thehardcore Yusuke/Keiko fans out there. You guys and this couple rocks!
Shall We Dance?
Keiko walked alone through the corridor of her school deep in thought. She was a junior in high school and she reflected on the past three years of her life. Botan roomed with Shizuru and Kuwabara. Like Keiko, she attended the high school with her. Yukina lived with her brother Hiei and they attended school as well. Kurama and Kuwabara constantly competed with each other for the better grades. All that time, Keiko had remained close friends with them all. And then there was Yusuke.
Keiko's eyes welled up with tears at the thought of him. When they hit high school, something happened between them resulting in them drifting apart from each other. Keiko remained the quiet girl who always studied and got good grades while Yusuke became popular among the girls as the handsome street fighter with charm. But none of them cared for him as an individual like Keiko did. There was one girl in particular named Sakura who acted like she owned Yusuke. She wasn't at all like Keiko for her attitude was that of a snob. For some reason, Yusuke paid a lot of attention to her and Sakura loved to rub it into Keiko's face. Keiko was pondering about whether or not she should go to the school dance the next night and see if she could get back together with Yusuke when she heard a cold voice behind her.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Yusuke's ex-girlfriend," the voice said putting emphasis on ex.
Keiko spun around to see Sakura standing behind her a mocking smile adorning her pretty features. She had creamy white skin, twinkling blue eyes, long blonde hair and full red lips. She was a natural beauty who ruined it with her attitude and her over-done makeup. Calmly, Keiko replied, "If you want to think that, that's fine. But Yusuke and I never officially broke up."
Sakura sneered at her. "Well, I think you have because Yusuke pays so much more attention to me. It's also rumored that when he chooses his dance partner tomorrow night, he'll be choosing his girlfriend. Oh, I forgot. You probably won't come cause everyone just knows he's going to choose me." Sakura's words rolled off her tongue like honey and made Keiko feel sick to her stomach. She flipped her mane of hair off her shoulders and walked away laughing.
Keiko stood still letting a single tear roll down her cheek all the while watching Sakura's retreating form. She suddenly felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned to find herself gazing into Yusuke's handsome face.
"Don't mind her. Will you come tomorrow night?" he asked gently.
Keiko glared at him and yanked back from his comforting touch while delivering a deadly slap to the side of his face. She watched him stumble back in pain and, pleased with the results, shouted, "If you're going to choose her, then why do you care about whether or not I show up or not?" Keiko turned on her heel and ran out of the school. She tried with all of her heart to ignore Yusuke's heartfelt cries of, "Keiko! Come back!"
After Keiko got home, she ran upstairs to her room and cried her heart out into her pillow. She felt helpless toward Sakura's attitude and ways and she hated it. After all, what had Keiko ever done to deserve someone like Yusuke? Why did he have to be with Sakura? But he wants you to come tomorrow to the dance. That has to mean something a voice in her head told her.
Keiko cried so much that her mind drifted into a peaceful slumber. When she awoke, the warm sunny day had turned into a raging thunderstorm the raindrops pounding their fury into Keiko's window and the roof over her head. The sky turned from blue to gray and Keiko thought that that was the exact way her friendship with Yusuke had become - sunny with a bright future to almost no hope for them at all. Keiko wondered how she and Yusuke had drifted so far apart. Oh, how she wanted the junior high days back. Now, everything between them was over. If there's one thing I know Keiko thought it's that no one will be seeing me at the dance tomorrow night.
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Keiko walked into the school the next day her mind set on not going that night. And no one was going to change her mind. Botan had called her the previous evening asking if she was going to go or not and Keiko had politely declined.
Keiko kept her decision all day and was happy about it until Sakura decided to walk with Keiko part of the way home much to Keiko's displeasure. "I heard you're not coming tonight. Oh well, it's probably that way. Now I can have Yusuke all to myself without some snotty girl intruding on it," she said slyly. Sakura proceeded to yank to Keiko's hair down and shove down onto the sidewalk before walking off.
Sakura's comments and actions made Keiko bristle in anger. Clenching her fists together tightly, she decided that she was going to the dance that night and she didn't want anyone stopping her. Quickly, she picked herself up off the ground, brushed herself off and ran all the way to the Kuwabara household to pay a visit to Botan.
Keiko hurriedly knocked and waited a bit impatiently while tapping her foot nervously for Botan's answer to the door.
The door swung open and the minute Botan's eyes recognized Keiko she shrieked joyously as only she could do, "Keiko! What are you doing here?" Botan then embraced Keiko in a sisterly embrace.
Keiko smiled, "Well, Botan, I was wondering if it was too late to ask your assistance with getting ready for tonight."
Botan clapped her hands together happily. "So you are coming? I knew it! I knew it all along! Do you have a dress? If you do, I can bring my stuff to your place and we can go to the dance from your place, ok?"
Keiko laughed at Botan's exuberant and bubbly attitude towards the situation. Smiling, she replied, "Sure! Why not?"
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Four hours later, Botan and Keiko arrived at the school in their radiating beauty. Botan wore a spaghetti strap silvery white floor length dress, had her hair swept up into a French braid and wore a light touch of makeup. Keiko, on the other hand, wore a strapless green dress, which sparkled like diamonds in the dim lights of the school. Her face had a tiny bit of makeup and her hair had been curled and swept up into a simple hair clip showing off the string of pearl her mother had let her borrow. Off on the other side of the room, Keiko spotted Kuwabara, Yukina, Kurama and Shizuru each of them dressed to their best.
"Where's your date, Botan?" Keiko asked. "I thought you said you had one."
"She does you baka," a voice behind Keiko said.
Keiko spun around in time to see Hiei offer his arm to Botan and escort her into the dance hall and giggled in spite of herself as she observed how short Hiei was next to his date. She looked in over all of the dancers and smiled as she watched the couples sway each other back and forth across the floor. The lights reflected off many of the girl's dresses making the room sparkle.
The DJ sat up on a small stage built at the other side of the room playing different songs and talking although no one was listening. He also let different teenage boys come up on stage, request a song and then ask their girlfriend to dance. It was a funny scene with the young men trying to get through their requests without stuttering or blushing like mad.
Keiko looked around the room trying to spot Yusuke and almost broke out in tears when she saw Sakura hanging on his arm almost forcing him to dance with her. Yusuke's head came up and his eyes lit up when he saw Keiko. Keiko thought she saw almost a sad, longing look in his eyes but convinced herself it was her imagination. Sakura noticed the staring going on between Yusuke and Keiko and, after shooting deadly looks at Keiko, led Yusuke into the crowd of young people around them.
Keiko turned and began to walk out when there was an arm that grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the exit. She turned and saw Kurama staring down at her with his emerald pools he had for eyes.
"Would you care to dance?" he asked quietly.
Keiko nodded her head slowly grateful for his friendly gesture of making sure she had a good time. This continued for most of the night as she danced first with Kurama, then Kuwabara and finally Hiei.
As her dance with Hiei ended, Hiei took Keiko aside much to Keiko's surprise. "What are you doing, Hiei?" she asked.
Hiei glared at her. "Look, if Yusuke is being such a jerk, you shouldn't even think about him. Only reason I danced with you was because Botan insisted I should. I enjoyed it too, because, unlike Botan, you don't step all over my feet."
Keiko laughed. "And I thank you Hiei. Now, go on back to Botan. I think she's waiting for you."
Hiei nodded and left Keiko alone with her thoughts. Keiko sighed and realized that there was no need for her to stay. This night had confirmed that there was nothing between her and Yusuke anymore so with tears in her eyes, she began to walk out the door and return to her home when something stopped her.
"Keiko..."
Keiko listened to the voice and realized it was Yusuke's voice coming over the sound system. She spun around and saw Yusuke standing on the stage and dressed handsomely in his tuxedo looking directly at her. Keiko felt entranced by the look on his face and unconsciously began walking to the stage where he was waiting for her. Everything was in slow motion for her. The sights and sounds of people seemed to fade into the background as her vision was focused only on reaching the one she loved.
Yusuke stepped off the stage and held his right hand out to her. Keiko smiled and taking hold of the hand before her, she fell into Yusuke's loving embrace for the first time in too long.
"Why Yusuke? Why so long?" Keiko sobbed into Yusuke's chest.
Yusuke's strong work-toned hands gently rubbed the middle of Keiko's back as he inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. Why did I let ourselves drift this far apart he tormented himself mentally.
Yusuke pulled out of Keiko's embrace and tilted her head slightly so he could gaze into her deep brown eyes. "Shall we dance?"
Keiko smiled and nodded her head as Yusuke nodded at the DJ to start his song of choice. Moving in sync, Yusuke and Keiko joined hands and began to move slowly across the dance floor as everyone looked on in awe. The lyrics of the song spoke volumes to the couple.
When I first saw you, I saw love.
And the first time you touched me, I felt love.
And after all this time, you're still the one I love.
"Did I ever apologize to you for flipping your skirts when we were younger?" Yusuke asked Keiko his eyes filled with admiration for her.
Yusuke embraced Keiko and then spun her out across the dance floor and then she gracefully twirled back into his open chest. Keiko forgot the feel of being against his strong muscled chest and she treasured the feeling immensely.
"I don't think so..." Keiko replied dreamily too caught up in the fluid motions of dancing to notice much else around her.
Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday
Yusuke gently pecked Keiko on the cheek as he swung her under his arm. "I'm sorry I let things get so bad between us. I never wanted it to happen. I always wanted things to stay the way they are right now."
Keiko flowed back into Yusuke's arms. "I forgive you."
They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong
"What about Sakura? She told me that you and I are as good a broken up," Keiko asked worried that Yusuke might still go back to her.
Yusuke held Keiko close to him. "My love for you has grown a lot. I realized that Sakura was shallow and I was stupid to leave your side in the first place. I love you so much brown-eyed girl. Did you ever stop loving me?"
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night
Keiko paused and looked up into Yusuke's twinkling chocolate brown eyes. "I thought I did. But I realized that you're the one I've always loved and always wanted. But why did you go with Sakura in the first place?" Yusuke smiled in return.
Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missin'
"I only paid attention to her so it wouldn't look like I was ignoring her. She's the one who liked me. I never liked her. I'm glad you came tonight though because that rumor was true. You always have and always will be my girl." Keiko listened to Yusuke's words with tears glistening in her eyes.
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night
As the last chorus began to play through twice, Yusuke motioned to Kurama, Shizuru, Yukina, Kuwabara, Hiei and Botan and all four couples danced for the rest of the song the lyrics meaning something different to each couple. When Yusuke and Keiko began to dance, the rest of the students stood back and watched as soft 'Awwwwwwws' rolled off of their tongues. Sakura was about to go out and grab Yusuke away from Keiko but was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm.
"What the heck do you want?" she hissed at her friend Min who held her restrained.
Min glared at Sakura. "Don't you get it? Yusuke loved Keiko all along not you. And those eight people dancing right now are inseparable because they've gone through everything together since junior high. It would do you good to just watch."
Sakura's gaze wandered from Kuwabara and Yukina to Kurama and Shizuru to Hiei and Botan and finally rested on Yusuke and Keiko. The love that shone for each other in their eyes was too much for Sakura. With a huff, she stormed out of the building and wasn't seen for the rest of the night.
As the song finished it's final notes, Yusuke held Keiko still in his arms. Muttering an 'I'm sorry,' he leaned down and gave her a kiss on her awaiting lips. It had been far too long since he'd done that and he and Keiko both took in the moment as one to treasure.
"Come on, knock it off you lovebirds! It's time to go home!"
Keiko and Yusuke looked away from each other and found that the source of the voice of none other than Kuwabara. Laughing, they rejoined their friends near the school and prepared to walk home. The girls would be staying over at the Kuwabara household and the guys would be staying with Kurama for the night.
They walked in a perfect line with each couple holding hands. Yusuke and Keiko hung behind for Yusuke had something he wanted to give to Keiko. Pulling her aside onto one of the many benches lining the sidewalk, he reached into his pocket and brought out a small box covered in blue velvet. Keiko looked at him confused as to what the box before her might hold.
"Go ahead. Open it," Yusuke encouraged.
Keiko did as she was bid and opened the box to reveal a golden locket on a chain. Gasping, she opened it to see a picture of herself in one side and Yusuke on the other. Too overcome with emotion, she buried her head into the side of Yusuke's neck with silent sobs.
Yusuke lifted her head and looked into her eyes. "This locket symbolizes the love I have for you and the hold you have on my heart little girl. Will you allow me to put it on you?"
Keiko nodded happily then stood and turned around. Yusuke's hands gently took her string of pearls off and he replaced with the golden locket. Then deciding to bring up some old memories, his two fingers took hold of the bottom of the skirt and pulled it up.
But he was too slow.
Keiko's hand came flying out of nowhere but Yusuke being accustomed to this action swiftly caught her by her wrist and lowered it back to her sides. Keiko saw the laughter reflecting out of his eyes and she embraced him sending them both into fits of laughter.
"Shouldn't we catch up with the others before they wonder what became of us?" Keiko asked between giggling fits.
Yusuke nodded then took Keiko's hand in his own. "I guess we should."
They walked under the moonlight and canopy of twinkling stars until they reached the Kuwabara household where Keiko was to stay. Yusuke's departing words stuck in Keiko's head for a long while after Yusuke left.
"I love you."
AN: There you go, a little cheesy, OOC, probably been used before but I don't care. I created Sakura mainly so there could be a better plot etc. So please, if you enjoyed it, please review. If you want to flame me, please exit. -grins-