8A/N: After 8 years I decided to return to writing fanfiction to help me get back in the flow of writing in general. Yu Yu Hakusho still remains one of my favorite anime series of all time, so I couldn't resist whipping up this short one-shot featuring Keiko.
Disclaimer: (Do people still do this on the site?) I don't any content from Yu Yu Hakusho and any original content that resembles real persons or places is purely coincidental.
The class bell rang, marking the end of the school day. Keiko gathered her books and slipped them into her bag. Two of her friends approached her desk.
"Keiko, are you coming with us to the mixer later today?" One of her friends walked around to the other side of her desk.
Keiko smiled slightly. "You know that I'm not really interested in those sorts of things."
Her other friend gave her a hard look, "Keiko, you can't keep avoiding boys forever." She leaned in to ask, "Is it true that you turned down that good looking boy from the boy's school next door?"
"He wasn't really interested in me," Keiko answered. "I just don't have time to hang out with boys right now. End-of-term exams are just around the corner."
"Studying is all you ever do, Keiko. Why don't you live a little? We're in high school. We're supposed to be enjoying the peak of our youth."
Keiko suddenly stood up with her bag. "I'm really sorry. I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow." She pushed in her chair and headed towards the shoe lockers.
It wasn't that she was purposely avoiding boys or that she only lived to study. Before he left for the demon world, Yusuke promised that he would return before his 18th birthday, and she had resolved to wait for him.
She didn't miss Yusuke, since he was never around much to begin with. He had disappeared for even more time once we started his spirit detective work.
She barely noticed Christmas and New Year's; those holidays were never happy at his house. If she'd bothered making him chocolate for Valentine's Day, he wouldn't notice the significance. Did he even know what White Day was? She doubted that he even remembered her birthday was in January.
It was almost certain that he wouldn't be going to high school: he was never the studying type. She almost giggled at the thought of asking him for the second button on that green uniform at the graduation ceremony he certainly wouldn't attend.
Later that evening, Keiko silently ate her dinner with her father. "Keiko, you're extremely quiet. Is everything okay? You're not having trouble at school, are you?"
Keiko snapped out of her thoughts. "There's nothing wrong, Dad. I'm just thinking about exams that are coming up." She picked up her dishes. "I think I'll go back to studying. Good night."
Her father looked at her worriedly and wished her a good night.
She went back upstairs and sat the chair at her desk. After a few seconds of twiddling her pencil, she sighed and pushed back her chair. From her top desk drawer, she rustled a few notebooks, before she pulled out a photo of Yusuke, pointing his index finger in his trademark gun point.
"Oh, Yusuke…" Keiko sighed again.
To be honest, those commercialized holidays and signs of affection didn't matter. Those were events for regular girls, who didn't have a demonic spirit detective for a boyfriend. She crossed her arms and laid down her head. She didn't miss any of those things.
It was almost silly to think that she missed being a target of demon kidnappings, supernatural zombie attacks, or freak bug infections. At this point, she even missed being harassed by rival gangs looking for a hostage.
She smiled sadly. How long had it been since she'd scolded him for skipping class? When was the last time that a teacher warned her that he would ruin her future? She never got angry anymore, since he wasn't around to do anything stupid.
Keiko sat up and shook her head. There was no point in feeling sorry; that idiot was gone and he might never be coming back. She'd seen the Dark Tournament and how dangerous the demon world could be. Angry tears formed in her eyes and she clenched her hands. What was the point in waiting? Her friends were right: what was she holding out for? She could be happily enjoying her high school years with a steady boyfriend who shared her interests and was never away. Stupid Yusuke!
She tossed the photo across her room and slumped on her desk again.
Soon, her tears stopped and she slowly walked over to the picture and picked it up. She traced her finger around Yusuke's smirking face.
Somehow she couldn't stop caring about him. He'd caught her attention when they were only children and no one would play with him. She stuck with him through elementary school when his mother was in a drunken stupor every day and he struggled to grow up on his own. She had remained on his side in middle school when teachers were trying to trip him up. When he started fighting creatures that she'd only seen in her sleep, she couldn't leave him alone. Even when he'd come out from the cave last year, almost unrecognizable under tribal markings and demonic hair, she couldn't resist reaching out to embrace him.
He was gone. This was true. But, she believed in him. He would come back, like all the other times. He made her worry. This was fact. He would continue to make her worry, but she would continue to wait. Until he came back, she would endure.
She wiped her eyes and smiled at the photo. "Happy Birthday, Yusuke."
