Deceiver: *headdesk* HOW *headdesk* DID *headdesk* THIS *headdesk* GET *headdesk* UP TO *headdesk* MORE THAN *headdesk* 8000 *headdesk* WORDS!? *headdesk headdesk headdesk* And I can't believe I wrote another mermaid fanfic as well…never finished my first one on MMPPP =_=;

So anyway! This is a KanoKido request fanfic, which I take requests and post them here if someone wants one scenario written. I already have like 7 on Tumblr, so if anyone on FF wants more just leave a review one what you want. But first let's read!

Cloudy-Eve's Request: Mermaid!Kido KanoKido

Warnings: Major influence from Mermaid Melody!

~.~.~.~.~

My Mermaid

~.~.~.~.~

The first time Kano met her was when he was six.

It was during the summer holidays when his family went to the beach for vacation. His dad wanted to make up for all the lost time he had with him and his wife because of work. But he didn't care, because Kano loved it there; because he had the best time with his parents since forever.

It was near the end of the first day, while exploring the rock platform, did he saw. She was sitting on top of a rock, staring at the sun setting over the ocean. Her eyes were so green like her long hair, which was rustling in the summer breeze, and they were staring at the scene before her in great fascination. Kano was so entranced by her presence that he didn't look where he was going and tripped. The girl turned around in shock, frozen when he saw Kano looking up at her with wide golden eyes. Before he could call out to her, she jumped into the water and vanished.

That was when Kano saw she had a tail. A fish tail. Instead of a pair of legs, a fish tail.

A mermaid.

Kano raced back to his parents and told them what he saw. Even though his dad joked around with him, his mum told them to stop with the fibs. For the first time ever, Kano was telling the truth and no one believed him.

~.~.~.~.~

The second time Kano saw her, was when his parents died.

It was only a couple of days after he saw the mermaid did his parents decided to go on a 3 days small boat cruise to finish their vacation. He was excited, because the despite the size, the entire ship was huge in his eyes as he ran up and down the entire thing, regardless of people yelling at him to stop. He wanted to give his parents some alone time too, he knew they needed that much.

Leaning against the railing at the very front of the boat, Kano stared out at the setting sun, thinking of the mermaid again. He had been wondering if he was imagining things or not but he couldn't have. He never watched magical girl animes nor thought of such girly things before. And she seemed too real to be a delusion he made up, so she must exist, right?

And as if God wanted to prove him right, she appeared again.

He almost fell off the boat when she just suddenly appeared out of the water, gasping once she surfaced. Kano stared at her with wide eyes until the mermaid saw him, just as shocked as he was. Fearing she was going to disappear again, Kano quickly yelled, "Wait!"

The mermaid froze, unsure what to do. Even from high up, he could tell she was trembling in fear. Luckily there was no one around him, because if there were anyone, he would have been in trouble already and that would scare her away. His little childish desire really wanted to show her that there was nothing to be afraid of and to get to know who she was.

"You came to watch the sun set?"

It was a start at least, because the mermaid blinked before she pointed at the sun. Kano nodded eagerly, a grin on his face before they both turned back towards it.

It was quiet, just watching the day's light disappearing beyond the horizon. The fading sky was slowly covered with clouds but they didn't disturb the scenery at all. While the mermaid was watching, Kano noticed there were staffs walking by, saying something about fireworks, which gave him an idea. Quickly scribbling a message on a piece of paper he had in his pocket and making sure they were gone, he called out to her. "Hey!"

The mermaid looked up before he threw the scrunched up message at her. It didn't fly all the way, but she swarm towards where it fell. The sun was nearly gone, but she could still read the message.

There's going to be fireworks tonight. Wanna watch them together? :) By the way, my name is Kano Shuuya, but everyone calls me Kano :P

He never considered if she could read his language's writing or knew about fireworks, but it didn't matter to him at all when the mermaid looked up, a bright smile on her face as she nodded. Kano jumped in excitement before calling out "I'll see you later then!" and left.

He didn't know it, but an unpredictable storm seemed to have arrived a few hours later. Not only did it cancel the fireworks, but also created huge waves that rocked the entire boat about. Being a 6 year old boy, Kano was frightened when the whole vessel swayed nonstop, creating chaos around him as furniture slid across the dining room and crash into people. He was even more terrified when he couldn't find his parents at all. Everyone around him was running about, almost knocking and trampling him if he wasn't swift and agile. He didn't like it, it was supposed to be a fun holiday without anything going wrong so why?

"Shuuya!"

When he made it out at last, his parents were holding onto the railings as the boat continued to rock. They were soaked from the rain but they didn't dare to move in case they would be knocked overboard. His mum was telling him to go back in but being the dependent child he was, he ran after them, wanting his parents by his side.

But before he could reach them, he was knocked off his feet when the boat suddenly gave an expected jolt and rocked back, making him slip backwards on his back and hit against the wall. Not giving him a chance to recover, the boat was rocked to the other side again and the next thing Kano knew was that he fell into the ocean.

His tiny body was tossed and tumbled about by the large currents, with every single air knocked out of his lungs. Not only that he couldn't scream for help, he couldn't see where was up and where was down. Crying didn't seem to help either, because no one going to save him.

"Kano!"

He couldn't remember the details after that, but what he did remember was someone calling his name, telling him to wake up. He felt dry sand on his back, clinging to his soaked clothes as he opened his eyes. He could smell a strong scent of the ocean as the mermaid loomed over him. She was crying at first, the tears dripping from her mysteriously green eyes, before she broke into a smile.

"You're awake!"

"Yeah…"

Kano smiled at her, a hand reaching up for hers. The mermaid gladly took it as she swept his blond wet hair aside. They stayed like that for a while, until they heard footsteps along with a dog barking.

"I have to go," she said hastily as she tried to get back into the water. Kano tried to reach out for her but it was too late, she was gone with a splash of water.

And he never saw her again.

When the authorities took him in, he learnt that his parents weren't among the handful of survivors from the boat cruise that. The sink managed to He was taken to an orphanage, and later was taken in by a family along with a boy named Seto Kousuke.

He grew up with them, but due to his guardians' jobs, they moved a lot. They went to new school in two to three years times, so making new friends was quite difficult. However, ever since that day, Kano seemed to have distant himself from everyone other than Seto, because he always tried to understand his new 'brother'. Kano didn't like that, so he told him just friends. Because that was the closest he could get.

He treasured his times with his real family and the mermaid close to his heart, as those were the only happiest memories he had left with them before they were gone.

~.~.~.~.~

It was until Kano was fifteen did he saw his mermaid again.

Or at least that was what he thought. His new family moved to the town where his old family had their summer vacation. It was not like he cared anyway since he was used to it. So now he and Seto were at a high school just at the beginning of the school year.

Among the many new faces in his class, there was a girl sitting beside him with familiarly long, green hair. At first Kano was taken aback and couldn't stop staring by the corner of his eyes, because the similarities were strikingly the same from his memory. But when the girl turned to him and gave him a venomous glare, he dismissed it.

The mermaid in his memory was cute. Not scary.

It didn't stop there though, because after the opening ceremony and on the way home back up to class, Seto kept on pestering him about how he was staring at the girl. Kano was internally frustrated, because he was the one who should be teasing Seto, not the other way around.

"How did you know I was staring at her anyway?" Kano growled as they went upstairs. Seto just looked amused as he told his friend in a matter of fact tone.

"I sit right behind you, Kano. I have been sitting behind you for the past nine years in different schools and know your movements pretty well because I live with you."

A good counter attack was formed in his head, making him grin. "Where's Mary-chan? I thought she comes to this school?"

Seto shrugged at the question. Kozakura Mary was Seto's first friend after they moved here. And despite her petite size, she was a year older than them. Seto was awkward witch making friends, but somehow he had become very attached to Mary one their very first meeting. Kano could tell they like each other, but instead of being a normal couple consisting of a girlfriend and a boyfriend, they were stuck as being total lovey birds with hugs and glomps. Kano hoped his love life wouldn't be that cheesy and gooey.

As they rounded the corner, both the boys could hear hurried footsteps behind. They turned around just in time to see Mary came running into view, dragging the girl that was sitting next to Kano this morning by her hand. The blond teen almost jumped out of his skin when she gave him another glare when Mary called out to them.

"I'm so glad to see you before you left!" Mary smiled happily before giving Seto a hug. Both Kano and the girl raised their eyebrows simultaneously before she pulled back, grabbing the girl's hand again as she said, "I'm not sure if you know each other already, but this is Kido Tsubomi!" she was oblivious to the atmosphere created by Kano and the green haired girl. "She's my neighbour and friend, so I hope you don't mind me bringing her along."

"Not at all, Mary!" Seto pipped up before he turned to his friend. "Right, Kano?"

"Uh…no, don't mind," the blond straightened himself, trying to recompose himself before smiling at the girl. "So…Tsubomi-chan, right?"

"I prefer if you refer to me by my surname and without the honorifics, Kano."

It was blunt and shocked Kano a bit. She gave off the aura of the most arrogant tom boy in school. Mary laughed nervously at this before she said, "Please excuse Kido, she's always like that."

"I can already tell," Kano replied, which earned him a hard smack at his back by Seto.

"Kano! Don't rude! Introduce yourself properly!" the black haired boy turned to Kido and offered a handshake. "The name's Seto Kousuke! I live with Kano!"

Kido took it and they shook. "Please to meet you."

After recovering from the blow, and giving Seto an annoyed look, he turned back to Kido and offered his hand with his trademark smile back on his face. "Kano Shuuya. Looks like we'll get to know each other pretty well, huh?"

Kido stared at him in doubt, but after a while, she silently shook his hand.

That night, there was one thing that bothered him after he met Kido, but he dismissed it when he thought it was not possible.

~.~.~.~.~

More than a month past since then, and Kido and Kano couldn't see eye to eye. Seto and Mary were upset with their constant bickering during lunch breaks and whenever they hang out. Kano just seemed to love to tease Kido, which the arrogant girl couldn't stand at all until she kicked him to shut up.

And it was the same today as well. On a Saturday afternoon at Kido's small house, Seto, as always, covered Mary's eyes as he watched his friends lash out at each other again. Actually it was Kido lashing out at the Kano, who was just laughing it off while continuing to tease her.

"But come on, dear Tsubomi, I think you would look great in a skirt!"

"That doesn't give you the permission to go through my stuff!"

They came over because Mary wanted Kido to help her tutor the boys when they had horrible grades from their test and needed to have a retests. Kido didn't like it at first, but after Mary gave her 'the Eyes' (that's what Kano called it), she gave in and let them inside.

Because the house was so small, it piqued Kano's interest on what Kido hides behind the wardrobes. And while she and Mary were telling Seto on how to do the problem, Kano got up and slid open the door, thus creating new chaos in less than an hour.

"Why must you always be like this?!"

"Hey! I was just curious!"

"Um…you two…"

Oblivious to Seto's pleads, Kido launched at Kano, knocking over the glasses of orange juice on the table in the process. Kano was thankful he was quick as he skilfully dodged her attack. "Who gave you that right in the first place?"

"Guys…"

"The awesome me?"

"That does not count!"

"I think you two should…"

"Well it's not like Seto and Mary-chan would let me anyway."

"That's because they have a common sense! Unlike you have any, stupid!"

"Stop."

"That's awful, Kido! Saying that about me!"

"Don't play the victim here when-"

STOMP

Both the arguing teens froze to find a very, very furious Seto standing between them, legs apart as he stared down onto the floor. Even though he had a smile on his lips, the rest of his face just defined pure fury because they could literally feel it oozing out of him.

"As I was trying to say," the tall teenage boy grounded out through his smile, making the two cower. Kido let out a terrified yelp when he turned towards her with dark eyes, "you two should stop fighting already. Every single daythis happens, and Mary and I are sick of it. What's more you ruined her notes that were for us, Kido."

The green haired girl blinked, eyes darting to the table. The sight of the spilt orange juice covering the notebooks and dripping onto the tatami mats made her wince. Especially at the sight of Mary crying in the corner.

"I think Mary finally had enough. And so am I, to be honest. I really want to do well for the retest, so I'll ask Mary to tutor me alone," Seto turned to his girl friend with a brighter smile on his face. "That's fine, right Mary?"

Kano tried to scoot away, hopping he could disappear into the corner. Not going to happen because Seto suddenly snapped his head towards him, instantly petrifying the blond at once.

"Kano, as much I love for you to join us, I think it is for the best you don't. You don't even seem to be very into it and Mary usually gets upset around you, you know?"

With that said, Seto packed up his and Mary's belongings, stuffing them into his own bag before getting the alibino's. He took her hand gently and led her to the door. Kano and Kido were still frozen on the spot, all the way until Seto turned back before closing the door.

"Be nice."

And they were gone.

None of them said anything. Kido's fingers twitched as they tried to point at the door. "Is…is he always like that?"

Kano's legs gave out, feeling too tried to even stand after that scare. "I never fought with someone in front of him before…but yeah…he can get scary…"

Another silence loomed over them, and Kido sat down as well, a hand over her eyes as she shook her head. "Remind me to never get on his bad side."

"Deal."

It was the first time they agreed on something, which surprised the both of them a bit. Glancing at one another, Kido asked, "Now what are you going to do? The retest is next week, right?"

Kano slumped his head forward. "Yeah, and I messed up really badly this time. I really needed help too."

"If you haven't looked through my things, this wouldn't have happened."

"Well…I was just curious, okay?" Kano scratched his head, before he realized he made the girl irritated again.

"Of what?" she snapped incredulously. "My personal life?"

There was no reply, just Kano turning away. Blinking at him, Kido expected a smart remark instead of silence from the blond. She crawled up to the him, leaning over him as her long hair fell from her back and over her shoulders. "Kano?"

"…No one else is here."

She blinked. "Sorry?"

"Your whole house," Kano leaned back, with his arms supporting him. "No one else is here. You're the only one."

Kido eyes grew wide. "Who told you?"

"No one. I had my suspicions the when I came here. Seems kind of sad though. You living alone and I didn't want to believe that."

"And that gave you the right to look through my things?"

"Just want to see if I'm right and get to know you more!"

Kano received a punch to the face.

Kido huffed as she shook her hands to get rid of the stings on it, silent as she watched Kano let out tiny laughs as he rolled side to side, rubbing his sore cheek in pain. "Next time ask me, will you? But yeah, you're right. I do live alone."

Kano looked up at her, an eyebrow up. "Well, I asked you many things before, but you never answer them." He sat up, a grin on his. Kido opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out when she realized that was pretty much true, much to her annoyance.

Still grinning, Kano began to ask, "So how come you live alone?"

"None of your business."

Kano tsk'ed at her. "See what I mean, Kido? That's why I can't ask you anything."

Trying to hold in her rage, Kido sighed, crossing her arms as she answered reluctantly, "I…my family wanted me to live alone."

There was a nod. "You're pretty independent, huh?"

"Not really. I didn't have a place to live when I came to town. Mary's mother, Shion-san, was nice enough to offer me this house, but I feel bad for just taking it without doing anything."

"Is it a rent?"

"Sort of. After school I work at her flower stall."

"Wow! You are independent! You go to school and work!"

Kido rolled her eyes. "It's not that great." They stayed quiet for a while. Kido sat back, a hand going through her hair while staring at Kano with a curious look. "What about you? Why did you and Seto move here?"

"Ah. Our guardian's jobs require them to move around a lot." He paused for a moment; turning away to look out the window and saw the sky. "But I never thought I'd be back here."

Kido titled her head. "Why? You lived here before?"

Kano bit his lips, wondering if he should say anything. "No…but with my real family I…" that was when he realized he said too much, because the look on Kido's face told him so. "I don't want to talk about it," he suddenly blurted out before he got up and grabbed his notes and bag, startling Kido. Bewildered by his sudden change of personality for a moment, Kido quickly got up and managed to grab his arm before he even went for the door.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

It came out fast, too fast he realized. Kido knew that too because she suddenly said, "Liar."

"No I'm not."

"Are too. This is strange coming from someone like you Kano. No offence, but even though I only knew you for short time, you're really easy to read." She tugged him back into the house, stubbornly making him sit with her on the floor and not taking 'no' as an answer.

He finally gave in, but he gave him a glare to say he was not talking. Kido eyed at him challengingly before she crossed her arms, repeating the question again, "What happened?"

"Nothing."

Unsatisfied, Kido tried again, "Tell me."

"No."

"I'll figure it out one way or another, Kano." The blond groaned and faced the other way. Why was she interested in him now? Kido was silent as she tried to think, her fingers tapping against the tatami mats before she let out an, "Oh…"

Kano glanced back at her silently and saw her eyes were wide. A bit curious on why she suddenly looked like that, Kano turned back to her a bit more before she suddenly asked another question, "Kano…I'm…not sure…but…were you part of the boat cruise accident 9 years ago…?"

The reaction on Kano's face seemed to have answered her question well enough, making him wish he had some ability to hide his expressions without fail. Kido shook her head after she realized she went too far. "I'm sorry, I didn't…"

Before she could finish, Kano was gone.

~.~.~.~.~

Even though he tried to avoid Kido as best as he could on Monday, he managed to find him on the school rooftop. She didn't say anything for the first few minutes, just letting him stay quiet as he lay back and stare at the sky above him.

"I heard about that incident when I moved here. It was really sudden on how the storm just came in. But I think I now understand you a bit…why you're like this," Kido began she looked up at the sky too. "I was always mad at you because of your stupidity and jokes…but I guess that's what you became after that happening to you. I thought about it as well, you were just trying to be nice…"

Kano still didn't say anything, but Kido knew he was listening. Unlike his usual self, his eyes were in deep concentration.

"Hey, if it makes you any better, I'll tell you about my parents. It's only fair, right?" No reply. Kido sat down and pulled her knees to her chest, her arms around them as her chin laid on top. Kano glanced at her quietly, waiting. "I…lied too. My family didn't really want me to live alone, they just didn't want me. I was…abandon."

When those words left her lips, Kano shot into sitting position again, eyes wide as he stared at Kido, looking a bit sad as she stared back.

"Why though!? Didn't they love you?"

He didn't mean to shout, but he did anyway. She didn't seem like the child to be hated and thrown away. He was! Kido blinked. "Of course."

"Did they hit you or anything?"

"No."

"Why though?"

Kido shrugged, looking away as she explained in an off handed. "I…I did something wrong, broke a rule that didn't make anyone proud. It was silly, really, but I couldn't help it. But that really made them go off."

Kano couldn't say anything, but look away. "I'm really sorry to hear."

"It's alright; it's fair for me to tell you about my parents after I figured out about yours."

"But you were loved and just did one little thing they didn't like, so they just abandoned you. That's…" Kano breathed in, he didn't know why he was getting aggravated from this so badly. "That's just harsh."

"It's not that bad."

"Not bad. Not bad!?" Kano was beside her at once, staring into her eyes with the most serious look he had ever made. "Kido, you just broke one rule! I may only know you for a short time but you are not someone who would get on anyone's back unless they bother you like I do! There should be more reason! Like hating you! And-And-"

"And hitting?"

Kano froze at the question, with Kido's eyes boring into his. A tense silence followed, before he nodded and moved away slightly. "Yeah."

They remained silent for the whole time. Kido was staring at him, but Kano refused to look up. Not now anyway.

"We really don't know about each other, it seems," Kido finally said, making Kano look back questioningly. "We have just been going off at each other…"

"Mostly you."

"Because of your stupidity!" she snapped back, but paused when a hand was offered to her.

Kano grinned a bit, not his trademark smile, but still a grin. "Kano Shuuya."

Kido stared at him for a moment, before smiling and took his hand. "Kido Tsubomi."

The gin on Kano's face grew as he let go. "So, about helping me with my test this week…"

"I never made such a promise," she replied casually before getting up as the bell rang for the next period. Kano groaned as he followed. "But if you are really not going to go through my stuff and actually pay attention-"

"Deal!" was all the warning the girl had before she was hugged around her shoulders from behind. A short second past before she spun around and kicked him in the ribs.

"I didn't say you can do that too!"

~.~.~.~.~

After that, they began to grow closer. Seto and Mary were surprised, because instead of seeing them just bickering, they were bickering and talking as friends. They were very pleased, of course, glad to have that over with.

Summer holiday came and everyone was happy about it. Seto and Mary decided to go to the beach to have fun. Kano didn't mind, but he was just reluctant on swimming. Not as much as Kido though.

"I can't swim, though," Kido said when she realized Kano was going. They were heading home together with Seto and Mary, and the two dubbed love birds were chatting away in front of them. It surprised the green haired girl to know the blond still wanted to go after the incident he had when he was a child. "I almost drowned."

"Yeah, well so did I."

"Not going!"

"Kido, it's not like we're going there to swim all day," Kano. "There's other things to do there. Barbeque, shell picking, volley ball, exploring caves when the tides down, building sand castles…"

"Sand castles?" Kido snorted at the option. "Really, Kano?"

"Hey! I never built one with a proper shovel and bucket before!" he defended. Kido smirked at him, giving him a thoughtful look.

"I'll only go if I don't get into the water."

Kano smiled. "Fine by me!"

~.~.~.~.~

All in all, it was fun. Just because Kido didn't step into the water didn't mean they had nothing to do. Kano was with her while Seto and Mary played together in the water most of the time. There were no caves, but they went shell picking and explored the rock platform once the tide died down. Kano laughed like a fool at Kido's scream when he scared her by acting like a sea monster with seaweed as the hair, earning a slap.

After a while, they decided to have barbeque for lunch. Shion gave Mary the necessary ingredients before she left the house, and Kido went to work right away. Kano was staring at her from behind as she cooked the burgers and chicken on the grill.

"You know, I never tried any of your cooking."

Kido turned to him, tong in hand. "And?"

"Just saying. I mean, you make your own meals, right?"

"Yeah, but it's pretty easy once you get the basics."

"There are basics!?" Kano was perplexed. "I can't even microwave a mug of milk without it exploding!"

Kido gave him a look. "Not surprising. You're an idiot after all."

"Hey hey hey hey! I was just kidding!"

"Sure you were."

By the time they were done, Seto and Mary were already running up towards them, all soaked in water. When they sat down to eat, Seto and Kano couldn't help but admire the flavour within the meat.

"Kido you should make me lunch from now on!"

"When you get 100% on your test."

~.~.~.~.~

After they were done, they sat back in the shade to enjoy the summer breeze for a while before they decided to end the day with a match of volleyball. Kano and Seto were on one team with Mary and Kido in the other. Even though Mary was weak at sports, Kido made up for her pretty easily, even winning the entire game!

"Not fair!" Kano yelled as they made their way home. Mary, despite not doing much during the match, was exhausted and snoozed away on Seto's back as he carried her with everything else in hand. Kano snorted at his pal, before turning to the setting sun, which was making the whole place glow orange, especially the sea as the ocean's waves crashed against the shores. Nothing changed much through the past years, he realized.

"It's beautiful," Kido whispered next to him. Kano turned around, almost completely stunned when he saw the glow in Kido's eyes as she watched the scenery in fascination. Kano gave her a look, snapping her out of it before she blushed, "Well…I just like sunsets, okay?"

"Why?"

Kido fumed at him. "I just do!"

"Well! How about you two stay back to watch it from there?" Seto pipped up before he motioned his head towards the cliff on the other side of the beach. "You can see from there I bet."

"Sounds fine. But what about you and Mary?"

Seto adjusted the small girl her in his arms, making her mumble in her sleep as her arms tightened around Seto's shoulders. Seto smiled at her, before saying, "I'm taking her home first."

"How about I do it," Kido offered as she stepped up. "We live next to each other anyway, so…"

"No no! I've got her already, so I'll go!" Seto gave them a wink before he walked off, but not before calling back, "You two have fun, okay?"

The remaining two stared at him as he made a dash across the road and disappeared down the street. A moment passed, before they both said it.

"Love birds." Kano shook his head before he and Kido went towards the cliff. It was quite the walk, considering that it was on the other end of the beach. The pathway up was long and steep, but they persisted.

"Almost there and…WHOA!" Kano and Kido came to a halt once they were at the top and saw what was around them.

Being higher above sea level gave them a better view on everything below. They could see the town at the corner of their eyes and the waves below moved so slowly compared to being up close. They could even hear the seagulls cry along with the waves crushing against the bottom of the cliff. Kano never knew he could see and hear things so differently just by being so high up. And Kido must feel the same with how she was slowly approaching the fence running along the edge of the cliff.

"Careful, don't get too close," Kano reminded her, which snapped her out of it and step back quickly. The fence didn't seem to be in the proper condition for them to lean on, so they both stood back to admire the sun set.

Again, Kido had that look in her eyes. That same look, along with her complexion, that reminded him of the mermaid. For the past months, as they got to know each other, Kano tried to tell himself they were not the same person, yet he couldn't help himself from seeing the similarities. Especially now.

Why would she be here anyway? Mermaid didn't have feet the last time he checked…although the last time he checked was almost ten years ago and he only got up close to her once, and that was after he nearly drowned.

"Kano, were you looking at the sun set or at me this entire time?"

Before Kano knew it, the sun was down and Kido was staring at him with a suspicious look. He blinked, couldn't believe he was caught. "I was…umm…" did he just stuttered? He turned away in embarrassment. "I was thinking that maybe I should come here again sometime! Maybe to unwind from school and everything?"

Kido stared at him, eyes blank. Kano took a quick peek at the corner of his eyes, only to see her smiling softly.

"I think I'll come back too."

While they were heading back to Kido's house, Seto was running up to them and said that Shion was letting them stay over at her house tonight. There were also going to fireworks as well, so they should all watch it together.

As they head over to Mary's house instead, Kano turned to Kido.

"Say, Kido, have you seen fireworks before?"

She gave him another look. "Of course."

~.~.~.~.~

Summer was over, and soon came autumn. Christmas holidays followed by the New Year's came by just as quickly as the new school year. Mary was studying for her entrance exams into a good university, with Seto and Kido supporting her. Kano knew he would just be a nuisance, but he was with them most of the time, because his friend told him to give 'moral support'.

Today though, he decided to leave early to go to the cliff. He needed to get something off his mind after his conversation with Seto last night.

"When are you going to admit you like Kido?"

Kano chocked on the gum he was chewing as the question that came out of nowhere. Seto was good enough to help his blond friend breathe and as he coughed it back up his oesophagus.

Glaring, Kano turned to him. "What?"

"C'mon, it's obvious," Seto sat back down where he was, closing the book he was reading in the process. "Everyone in class knows you two like each other."

"No way Kido would like someone like me!"

"Oh, so you do like her?"

The look on Seto's face right now annoyed him to the bones. But then there was this tiny little voice in him that seemed to ask himself as well.

Well, do I like Kido or not?

Words that were meant to come out of his mouth died when they hit air. Seto stared at him, amused before he said this, "If you do like Kido, then don't worry, she likes you too."

This took him off guard completely. "What!?"

Seto laughed at his red face. "Yep, it's true. That's what I believed anyway while observing you two together. But Mary just confirmed it."

"C-Confirmed?"

"Yep, it's a secret but Mary said that Kido told her about her feelings for you. She was just excited when Kido started to act more…what's the word?"

"Like a girl?"

"Nice. More gentle," Seto corrected before he leaned back, observing his friends with his eyes. "Mary said that she hadn't seen Kido act like that for a long time, and it started ever since you twomet. I'm not going to disagree with her though. Because you changed a lot as well."

Kano blinked at this. "Changed? How?"

"Well…you're much more considerate to others, I guess?" there was a glare shot at him, but he waved it off. "And you're livelier too. Not like you weren't before, but you're there for others this time. Also that you open up more, before you seem to bottle up all your emotions. Not all the way, but still." Seto laughed. "I'm a bit jealous though, that Kido could have such an influence on you."

Kano stared at his friends, hands slowly turning into fist as he turned back to what he was doing. "Can't happen…" Seto looked up. "I don't want to get close to Kido like that…"

Seto was an exception since they live under the same roof, but he was not risking on losing someone he cares about again. Because even if he liked Kido that way and she didn't mind, there was no way he could be that close to others again. She was right about what his personality, he became like this because of what happened nearly 10 years ago. It was his way to not be close to others.

"God dammit," Kano hissed once he dropped his bag at his feet. Looking up, he saw the sky was still blue, but he knew the day would be over soon with how low the sun was. That's fine; he could stay until it was gone.

He gave off a sigh; turning to the edge of the cliff, only to have his eyes bulge out from what he saw. At the center of the edge, a part of the fence was missing, leaving an open space for people to just dive off if they were stupid enough to. A horrible feeling came over him as Kano raced over to the edge, mindful of where he stepped as he leaned over a little. He remembered there was no rock platform at the bottom and the cliff was flat along the side, but just in case. All he saw, though, were just waves crushing against the cliff.

"Kano?"

He jumped at the unexpected voice, making his hand slip off the edge and the momentum instantly made him fall. A startled cry was all he heard before he began to tumble down to the ocean below, plunging in with a great force.

Kano finally let out the scream he held in, which was a mistake because a current came crashing into him and knocked the remaining air out of his lungs and filled them with water. Panic started to kick in as he was carried away, as he tried to tell where the surface was again.

Suddenly, a sudden sound of someone plunging into the water as well caught his attention, before he was quickly grabbed from his upper arm and pulled upwards. Kano tried to see who it was, but with the foam created from the waves and how blurry everything was, he couldn't make out anything. Just someone who seemed to have green hair-

Wait wha-?

The world above the ocean greeted him with plenty of air once Kano resurfaced, who was gasping as he spluttered out the water in his lungs. Someone was still holding onto his arm, trying to keep him afloat.

"Kano…?"

The person murmuring his name quickly made him snap up to realize who it was that save him. Kano's bottom jaw slacked open when he saw anxious green eyes staring at his gold ones. No way.

"Kido!?"

The girl just nodded mutely, looking away in shame before they felt another wave hitting them. Kido quickly held onto Kano tighter, telling him to hold on as she swarm against it.

"There's a rock platform on the other side. We can get back up on land from there."

Kano didn't question her, too shocked from the fall and the fact Kido was with him in the water. Despite what she said in the summer, Kido was a very strong swimmer as she went through each wave with ease while holding onto Kano tightly. A silent answer came into his mind as he realized why Kido lied.

Like Kido said, there was the rock platform on the other side, with the upper part of it blocked off by a brick wall. It would be easy to climb over if they jumped high enough. Kido quickly let Kano climb up on land once the water was shallow enough for him to stand up, before she let herself pant harshly and rest in the water.

Kano, however, stayed there. While on his hands and knees, he tried to breathe in a good amount of oxygen as he calmed down. He looked back, seeing Kido still there on her stomach.

"Hey…"

Kido flinched at his tone, not daring to look up to see his face. Kano rolled over and sat where he was, allowing him to see Kido's full form.

"You can't hide anymore. Get up," he said as he watched her green fish tail sway in the waves. "No one's here to see you like this anyway."

Thinking over his reasoning for a moment, Kido sighed and pushed herself up and sat next to the blond, focusing on anything else other than Kano.

"You know…I should have known. Other than your looks, you said my name right off the bat the first time we ever talked. I was sure you got it from Mary, but I guess not."

No reply from Kido, making him remember when she tried to talk to him properly back on the school rooftop. Silent loomed over them as Kano sat back, his arms supporting his weight as he thought on what to say next. "You changed, you know that? You used to be cute."

That worked well. Too well because he received a sharp jab into his side. Kido growled at him, eyes ablaze with fury as he watched him clutch his side in pain.

"What were you thinking?" she finally yelled. Kano glanced at her, an eyebrow up. "Why were you leaning over the cliff like that?! You could have fallen off!"

"Already happened," he responded evenly as he got closer to her. Kido leaned back slightly, her tail swished about for a second. "I was just checking if anyone was hurt because the fence was broken."

While he said that, Kano gave her a hard look, looking up and down at the mermaid in front of him. She was both Kido and the mermaid he remembered, he was sure of it. That arrogant attitude in that body, there was no mistake. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked solemnly. "Why didn't me you were that mermaid I met years ago?"

Kido turned away, quietly bringing her tail up for her to hug as her head laid on top of it. "How am I supposed to? I didn't know if you even remember…or thought it was some dream…"

Kano's hands reached out and pulled Kido's face towards his, forcing them to meet eye to eye.

"I never forgot. How could I forget someone like you?" he paused, thoughtful for a moment before he sighed and let go. "I'm an idiot to not realize you are her."

"You are an idiot," Kido rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, like I said, you're not as cute back then."

A light punch was given at his shoulder. "Don't make me hit you again. And speak for yourself; you changed much more compared to me."

"How would you know? We only met…what? Three times back then?"

The question made Kido turn red again, and she looked away in embarrassment. Kano waited patiently, because the way the end of her tail moved seemed pretty interesting. It was like it responds to her emotions.

"I…well…after we met the first time…I was curious, okay?" Kido turned back to him, still blushing. "No one ever saw me before…and you look…look…"

"Cute?" the blush seemed to intensify on the mermaid's face. Kano grinned in triumph as he snickered out, "Kido thought I was cute?"

"Don't get it to your head! It was years ago!" she huffed before she went on. "Yeah, I wanted to see you again, but it's against the rules for humans to see us, so I watched you quietly. You and your parents…you were all so happy…you were happy. More happy compared to who you are now."

Kano stared at her, before he silently took her hand. She looked up and saw his looking eyes looking downcast.

"Yeah…you're right…after you and my parents left…this is what I became, I realized." He smiled at her sadly, giving her hand a squeeze. "But from what you said, is that why your family abandoned you? You came to the surface to see me?"

Kido shook her head. "No. I was banished because I saved you. That was the last straw really, since I kept on coming up here."

"Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I love the land too much. Especially the sun because beneath the sea, it's all cold and dark all the time, while up here you have the sun to keep everything bright and warm as long as it can. It can even change the sky's colour as it travels above us."

Kano looked up, just realizing the sun was setting for today. He turned back to Kido, pointing at the light as he said, "I guess that's why you always stare at sun sets like it was magic."

Kido blinked at this. "Do I really look like that?"

"Yep! It was like it hypnotized you or something!"

Kido blushed again, and Kano liked it. It wasn't like her usual angry blushes, it was something completely new.

"One more question." Kido nodded, waiting.

"Are you ever going back?"

She didn't say anything, but after a while, she shook her head sadly. "I can never go back. Banishment is serious where I'm from and it can never be undone. I have to stay here on land forever."

The next thing she knew, which surprised her from the suddenness, was Kano pulling her into a hug. Kido blinked as the blond held onto her tightly.

"Good," he said, his voice shaking a bit. "I thought I lost you along with my parents forever. But I didn't." Kano buried his face at the crook of Kido's neck, letting his held in for so long tears go free and mix with the wetness on Kido's skin. "And you're here to prove that I didn't."

He felt Kido's arms slowly raising up to hug him back, making him glad that this was real. A hand came up to pat his wet hair as she murmured softly. "Yeah, I'm here. With you."

"Can you stay with me forever?"

Kido pulled back, hands coming down to grab his as she stared at him with her mysteriously green eyes, a smile on her face. "Yes. I can do that."

The two sealed their promise under the setting sun.

~.~.~.~.~

Deceiver: CHEESE. SO MUCH CHEESE. *shot*

I had two endings for this. The Happy End and the DEAD END. I could have decided but since cloudy isn't an anon, I asked her what she liked without telling her the plot.

And I think the DEAD END would have been much, much, shorter too! XP …Also I think I won't write it, with how Kagepro is going…

WE NEED MORE KANOKIDO TO SAVE US ALL!

SO! IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY REQUEST FOR SOME KANOKIDO STORIES, JUST LEAVE A REVIEW HERE AND I'LL ADD IT TO THE LIST (rules apply in my kikithedeceiver tumblr blog)

THANKS FOR READING! :D