Keiko Yukimura growled to herself when she saw the stockroom. Everything...EVERYTHING was dirty! Sure. That's what cleaning up is all about. Grimly, she put on her apron and, just for the heck of it, a band on her hair. Then, she pulled back her sleeves. "Alright! This calls for a good housekeeper!"

Not that she was...

A few minutes later, she found herself muttering that all over again. "I hate this! I can't do this all alone!" Why DID she volunteer? Oh, well.

She lifted a box from the trunk carefully. 'Man, this is HEAVY!' With a grunt, she tried to balance it and set it on the floor.

But she didn't notice the ball.

With a loud THUMP, the box fell on the ball, then on the floor. Notebooks, old pictures, and dust scattered around the small space.

"A--ACHOO!" Keiko grabbed a handkerchief and covered her nose. Her eyes were straining to see against the tears that formed from the dust. "Dammit, why?!" she moaned.

I will NEVER do this again, she vowed to herself. NEVER!

Angrily, she knelt down and began to pick up the fallen contents. Then, she frowned. "Oh. These were my notes when I was still in junior high." She opened the fragile cardboard notebook and smiled when she saw the careful handwriting she used to have. Her notebooks were always so neat. 'WERE' was the keyword. Now, she just scribbled.

She dropped it inside the box once more and picked up the other stuff.

Albums. Pictures.

Without realizing it, Keiko had already sat down on one of the few spaces on the floor and began to look.

Most of them were stolen shots of her best times. She held up one to see better and grinned. It was a picture of her sitting under a tree, reading. "Boy, was I studious!" she exclaimed to herself.

She looked at the other pictures in the page. There were her with her friends, her parents...

And Yusuke.

Yusuke.

Her smile disappeared.

Yusuke had been gone...for six years already. Gone to Makai and never came back. Well, he promised he'd come back. And he promised he'd write.

Keiko laughed wryly. "Sure, he'd write."

Yes, he'd written. They came flowing for the first month. A youkai brought them, letter after letter after letter. Then, they became three letters a week, then he wrote twice a week. Then, once a month. After a year, the letters stopped coming completely.

She couldn't really blame him. He had his duties to perform. He was always busy. But then, it never hurt anyone to sit down and write. Right? No. It was Makai. Makai was a place where someone always gets hurt. And time passes by real quickly by battles.

Keiko fought back the angry scowl and concentrated on the pictures.

There was one of Yusuke, looking pissed and as if he was about to cover the camera. Luckily, someone had pushed his hand away.

Another picture was of Yusuke again. This time, he was with Kuwabara. Yusuke had a V-sign on Kuwabara's head, making the carrot-topped boy look like he had horns.

Then, there was Kurama. Cherry blossoms danced around his face, his body. This was a stolen shot, but Kurama probably knew they were there.

Then, Keiko burst out laughing. There was a picture of Koenma screaming, his eyes in light blue fires. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked like they were shrinking. Kurama was laughing and Hiei was rolling his eyes. Another stolen shot from Botan.

Then, there was another picture of Hiei and Kurama. Kurama was lying beside Hiei, who was sitting down. The black-haired demon looked serious, but Kurama was smiling as he said something. It was obvious that Hiei was trying to ignore him...but failing. Keiko chuckled.

Yusuke, sitting on the roof of the school. He looked like he was thinking.

There was another picture of Hiei, a solo, who was staring at the camera with no expression. Behind him, although you can barely see them, were Yusuke and Kuwabara, making faces.

And then, a picture of Puu when he was still small. There were two hands reaching out for him, and Keiko knew it was she who was reaching for the blue creature.

Another picture of herself, smiling prettily. How long has it been since she smiled like that? Far too long than she could remember. A solo picture of Botan, of Kurama, the whole group, all of them in the beach, Koenma with his work...

She laughed as she saw all these pictures. Scene after scene, they unfolded before her. And then, she was nearing the final pages of the thick album.

Yusuke...telling her goodbye. Of Yusuke, smiling.

Kurama in a suit, going off to work. It was sent to her a few days before the Makai Tournament. And then, there was a picture of Hiei when he discreetly came back, and Kurama had taken a picture of him.

And then, the pictures of Yusuke, leaving for Makai. His new life was waiting. His destiny. Taking her heart along with him.

When will he came back?

The pages were turning faster, the pictures becoming blurred. Yusuke fighting, ruling, becoming greater and greater and forgetting more and more.

Finally, she came to the last page of the album. "Yusuke," she whispered, tracing the outline of the fading picture. It was of her and Yusuke for the last time, trying hard not to stare at each other, yet cannot help but look. They were in front of the ramen shop.

It was six years ago. Everything was six years ago.

She sniffed, then wiped away her tears. Yes, she could never blame Yusuke for not coming back. She was about to close the album when she caught sight of a small square.

Keiko frowned, then picked it up. It was caught between the last page and the back cover. "Hm. Not much to look at."

The paper was faded, but she can see it. It was a letter. Her last letter to Yusuke that she was not able to send, since the youkai to deliver the mail to him never came back. He was assigned to come back at least once a week to see if there were new letters, but he never did after the last time.

Keiko smiled against her sadness. She put the album on one the tables, then proceeded to clean the stockroom, her mind somewhere else. An hour and a half later, she was finished, and the silence was ringing through her ears.

She placed the album in her arms, cradling it...the memories. Should I bring it upstairs? Then, decided against it.

With some regret, she replaced the album on top of the box, then put it on the highest shelf.

Goodbye, Yusuke. I'll see you next time.

With that, Keiko Yukimura went out of the stockroom, but not before glancing back at the old box where the album of pictures stayed.

Maybe...the one I've dreamt of...will only stay in pictures...

She was right. She knew she was right. But it still hurt to think about it.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Keiko closed the door behind her.