Until the Time is Through
by Manille
Now and forever
Until the time is through….
Keiko looks down on the grassy ground as she walks. She feels forlorn, solemn, and completely down and out.
There she is, walking with the only guy she ever loved, but she knows that there is something wrong with everything.
"What’s the difference between the Yusuke before and the Yusuke now?" she asks the boy.
"Nothing much, really," Yusuke answers. "We’re almost the same."
"And…did your kaasan agree to it?"
Yusuke shrugged. "She told me that it’s my choice."
I can’t believe it
Don’t know where to start, no baby
So many questions
Deep inside my heart
Yusuke looks momentarily at Keiko, his best friend for so many years now.
He knows how much it hurts her to hear from him that he’ll be gone—leaving again—but what choice does he have? He has to go back to the Makai. He feels that he needs to. He’s not a complete human anymore, after all. When those bald-headed subjects of Raizen came to him not too long ago, he knew—he just knew—that he had to go.
But leaving the Ningenkai—and Keiko—seared his heart.
He knows that Keiko feels the same. He knew it from the time he, being a ghost, looked down on Keiko who tried to kiss his comatose body. And despite of almost-hopelessness, she went into his burning house and saved his body, and she was also the one who gave him the kiss of life.
And he knew that he was loved.
Now, the sight of Keiko’s sad face made his heart plummet to the ground. He never ever wanted to see her sad or go into trouble, but now, he is the one who is making her lonely.
He wants to tell her. Many words come into his mind and he wants to say them all to her, right at that moment.
But where must he start?
He feels trapped, more trapped that being surrounded by powerful youkais. The youkais could only hurt him physically.
Not being able to tell her slashes his very soul.
Give me a moment before you go
There’s something you ought to know
He really is going away again.
Keiko swallows, trying to hold her tears until she is finally out of Yusuke’s sight. Now they are sitting on the grassy bank of a lake. The sun is dipping into the west horizon, making the water shimmer in reddish-gold light. It all looks so lovely.
And it makes her feel worse.
Why does everything have to be so beautiful when he is leaving her and tearing up her heart?
Does he even know that he’s hurting her?
If she tells him how much he means to her, will he change his mind?
No, it is not possible. This probably means a lot to him.
And where would it leave her?
Baby, now and forever
Until the time is through
I’ll be standing here
Waiting and never
Give up my faith in you
Tryin’ to make it clear
It's not as if I won't miss you, Yusuke wants to say aloud. I will! I love you!
But the thought remains only in his mind.
Is saying 'I love you' too much for a tough guy to take? His pride, it's killing him!
"I'll be in there for a long time," Yusuke continues to say to Keiko, hugging his knees, not aware of whether she is listening or not. It's not, after all, what he really wants to say. "But I'll come back."
"When are you leaving?"
Yusuke clears his throat. "Perhaps tomorrow."
"Oh," Keiko sighs. "Is that so?"
Yusuke is speechless. He waits for an inevitable reaction—another slap, maybe.
But he suddenly feels Keiko standing up.
Yusuke keeps his gaze on the lake. Yusuke no baka, Yusuke no baka, his mind keeps on repeating. What the heck are you waiting for?
Something inside him suddenly snaps. "Keiko!" he calls.
Keiko glances at Yusuke.
Yusuke crawls up the rising, pulling on the grass for support. "Don't…don't substitute me for any other guy, okay? Ahh!" Yusuke tumbles backwards, rolling downwards the slope.
Keiko giggles at the sight of Yusuke, silly as ever. But what he has just said….
She runs away.
Without your love I’ll be half a man
Maybe one day, you will understand
Now and forever
Until the time is through
I’ll be waiting….
Yusuke looks up at the sky with his arms spread apart after his oh-so-wrong-timing fall. Darn! Now where could Keiko be?
Amidst the clouds that are changing colors because of sundown, he sees Keiko's face. That girl whom he has always calls a friend—and now he feels like she's more than just a friend to him. She never ceases to take care of him, whether he is in trouble or not. Despite her hard-edged character and her infamous slap, she is very thoughtful and caring, everything a guy could ask for a girl.
Man, how lucky I am to have Keiko.
Yeah, right, his head scolds him. You're so lucky. And you're passing up every chance you get to tell her how she means to you. And now, you want to leave her.
Yusuke sighs. I never wanted to hurt her.
It's just me. It's just stupid old me.
How can I tell you
So that you can see
Love has a meaning
When you are near with me
Give me a moment before you go
There’s something you ought to know
Perhaps Keiko has known all along that he loves her very much. But of course, she wants him to prove it. Any girl wants only that.
What do they always say? Don't pass up the chance to say you love someone. You may get hurt when she rejects, but for silence, a heart is breaking.
Two hearts are breaking, actually.
Right, Keiko can be so annoying, when her tongue lashes out at him endlessly, when he puts a red handprint on his face, whenever.
Yet strangely, she means more to him than anything else in the world. Whenever she is near him, whether she's mad or not, he's at peace with the world, knowing that there's one Yukimura Keiko who cares for this guy whom others call a delinquent.
Yusuke sits up. It is nearly evening. He must go back to his house.
But first, he has to see Keiko—one last time before he leaves.
Baby, now and forever
Until the time is through
I’ll be standing here
Waiting and never
Give up my faith in you
Tryin’ to make it clear
Why do those brown eyes of his always give an effect on Keiko? Those are the eyes of a fighter, one who is always gone, one who is a genius of destroying some Makai monster.
Always gone. Yet she never gets tired of him.
He talks too much, he always gets into fights, he teases her relentlessly, and he doesn't even care about school. What is there in him that makes her fall for him, anyhow?
A tear leaves Keiko's eyes even as she is walking alone in the darkness of the street leading to her house. She knows the answer to her own question.
Those brown eyes are those of her friend, her defender, her hero to the world. And no matter how hopeless or tough everything is, he is always there for her. Inside him lies a sensitive soul that comes out when she caresses it softly, and in return, she finds the true Urameshi Yusuke, the man of her dreams, her one and only true love.
Without your love I’ll be half a man
Maybe one day, you will understand
Now and forever
Until the time is through
I am going to make her understand, Yusuke swears to himself.
Loving Keiko is probably the easiest thing to do in the world, for he doesn't even know that he does—it just comes out naturally, you know.
And telling her should be easy too!
Love sure is full of mysteries.
There is no one to comfort me
Here in my cold reality
I’m searchin’ for words
What can I say
To make you see….
It is nearly sleeping time. Keiko watches the streets through her bedroom window in the second floor of her house.
What am I doing here? she asks herself. Hoping that he'll come?
And like an answer, she finds a figure wearing a jacket walking towards their ramen shop.
Yusuke.
Her heart soars with happiness. Yes! He's here!
But the moment leaves all of a sudden.
For despite all of her hopes, he is only here to bid her farewell.
Keiko shakes her head sadly. "It'll never work out," she says to herself quietly.
Baby, now until time is through
I’ll be here, girl
Baby, now until time is through, I’ll be here, girl
"Hey, Yusuke-kun, you're here!" Keiko's father says when he finds Yusuke walking into the ramen shop. He is the only customer around. "Come on in and have a bite."
"Erm…thank you, Yukimura-san."
"Hey, Keiko! Yusuke's here! Come down and cook for him!"
Yusuke swallows for a moment when he sees Keiko descending the stairs. Her hair covers her eyes so that he couldn't see how they are. But Yusuke knows that Keiko is lonely.
What an understatement.
Keiko ambles straight before the stove and cooks something. Her father tells her how she must cook it. Yusuke stares at her back, and before he knows it, he is smiling dreamily with his head on his fists.
He sure is going to miss this girl.
Man, I love her, he says to himself.
"There," Keiko says a while later, shoving the tray of rice, meat and soup in front of Yusuke. "Have fun."
"Right. Thanks," Yusuke says, feeling giddy all the while. Seeing Keiko, is that why? Most probably, right?
Keiko starts to walk away. Oh no, you don't, Yusuke thinks, grabbing her arm. "Don't leave, will you? Sit here beside me." He motions for the seat on his left.
Keiko sits on the chair and leans her chin on her hand. She closes her eyes exasperatedly.
"Mmm, this is so good!" Yusuke exclaims, shoving pieces of food into his mouth with chopsticks. He wants to say it as a compliment—and okay, as part of making up with her.
Keiko must have thought that he is trying to make up with her. "Thanks," she says flatly.
Yusuke puts a bowl full of rice and meat and the chopsticks with food between in front of her face. "Want some?" he says.
"No," she mutters, still looking away.
"Mm-hmm." Yusuke continues shoveling food into his big mouth. Nope, he never learns how to eat properly, Keiko thinks, almost smiling at the absurdity of the boy beside her.
That's one of the reasons why she loves him.
With his mouth full, Yusuke asks Keiko, "So you know tomorrow's my birthday, right?"
"Of course, I do," Keiko responds, even if the answer is too apparent. "I don't forget those kinds of things."
Yusuke sets his chopsticks on the tray. He has finished Keiko's cooking in such a short span of time. "Keiko," he starts to say in a low tone.
Keiko doesn't know what made her turn to look at him.
"I'll come back in three years," Yusuke says finally. "I promise you that. And then…."
Keiko looks at him questioningly. She now feels her heart beating hard against her chest. "And then what?"
Yusuke suddenly grabs both of Keiko's hands. He turns so that he is gazing at Keiko face to face. "We're going to marry," he said in a husky voice Keiko has never heard before.
Baby, now and forever
Until the time is through
I’ll be standing here
Keiko's eyes widen.
Yusuke's enchanting brown eyes look back at her with an intensity she has never seen before. Her mouth hangs open as she lets the words sink in.
He wants to marry her!
She blinks, thinking that this is probably a dream. But Yusuke is still in front of her, his expression unwavering.
"Whoo!" Yukimura-san cheers. "Yusuke finally pops the question!"
It was when Yusuke's lips turn up to a ridiculous grin. Keiko rolls her eyes and pulls her hands of Yusuke's grasp, although she is secretly ecstatic inside.
A slight twinge of hurt shoots into her heart again. "You're telling me this…after hurting my feelings?"
"But it's the truth!" Yusuke protests.
Keiko sighs, going back to her usual chin-on-hand gesture. "Three years and you'll come back," she finally declares.
"Yes. I promise."
Waiting and never
Give up my faith in you
Tryin’ to make it clear
Still, with her eyes closed, she stands up. "I don't know if I could wait that long," she says while going away. "Three years is too long a time."
"K-Keiko, ai shiteru! Believe in that!"
Ai shiteru.
It came from Yusuke. It really did.
Keiko wants to stop and run back to him and throw her arms around him and kiss him squarely on the lips.
"Yeah, yeah. I do, too," she says airily instead without turning around.
For if she does, Yusuke will have seen her red face.
"Forgive her for that," Yukimura-san says.
"It's okay," Yusuke tells Keiko's father, smiling.
His heart is already swelling with happiness. In a very sudden moment, he had told her.
Although she didn't breathe a word about it, he knows that she will wait for him.
Without your love I’ll be half a man
Maybe one day, you will understand
Keiko walks up the stairs and goes into her room. She looks at the mirror for a moment, wondering what had gone into Yusuke just now.
"Ai shiteru. Believe in that!"
The sweetest sentence Yusuke has ever uttered to her.
Keiko turns to her window when she senses that Yusuke has gone. Surely enough, there he is, walking away.
He suddenly stops.
And raises an arm.
He stays like that for a long moment.
Finally, he puts his hand down and continues to walk away.
Keiko presses a palm on the window, still gazing at Yusuke's disappearing figure. That shall be that last she'll see of him in three years.
Three years.
"I'll come back in three years, I promise you that."
Three years.
She will truly miss him. She doesn't know how long she can wait for her love to come back, but just for him—for both of them—she will remain faithful. She shall remain hopeful.
Yusuke promised her. And he loves her. He feels the same for her.
And she knows that he won't disappoint her—ever.
Keiko's eyes fill with tears as Yusuke vanishes into the night. "Fulfill your promise, Yusuke," she whispers in her heart. "I'll be here waiting for you...forever."
Now and forever
I will be here for you
Until the time is through….
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Disclaimer: Until the Time is Through is a song by 5ive, written by M. Martin and A. Carlsson. It is from their debut album 5ive, released in 1998. This story, as you all know, really came out in the original anime. I just added some details, and so you can see here, I don't claim this story! Please don't sue, I'm just a poor high school student. No $. 11/20/99 (four days before my fifteenth birthday!!!)