Title: Fish Tales

Pairing: ZeroXYuuki; minor KanameXYuuki

Warnings: Violence and death in the first chapter. More violence in later chapters?

Summary: Zero is a merman, who has harbored a secret crush on Princess Yuuki Cross for years. When he finds out that she has been engaged to Prince Kaname Kuran, he seeks help from Shizuka, the sea witch. He must win Yuuki's heart in a week or he'll lose both her and himself. Zero's a purty mermaid. ;o You know you wanna read it. Zeki.

Disclaimer: -Insert witty comment about how I don't own Vampire Knight here-

A/N: Hi. This was originally supposed to be part of the prologue, but I was lazy. :D And I thought it'd be more dramatic if I left off right where Zero and Ichiru got separated. Oh! And I know I promised two chapters, but I lied. :D Sorry. Like I said, I'm VERY lazy, and I wrote barely anything on vacation. xD

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Chapter 1 - Am I dead, angel? Because I must be in heaven!

It was sunrise. Purple clouds floated above, dividing the sky in half. One side was light blue, the other was stained yellowish orange. Princess Yuuki was taking her usual morning stroll down the beach. The most pleasurable part of her day was feeling the sand between her toes and the wind flowing through her long, brown hair. She sighed, contently, eyes gazing at the cascading waves.

In the distance, she saw a strip of land belonging to a neighboring kingdom, Prince Kaname Kuran's, in fact. She greatly admired her fellow ruler, who seemed to be only two years older than her. Today, she had heard talk of a possible betrothal to him. Yuuki couldn't say she wasn't happy about that. He was good-looking, kind, polite, and she adored the way he treated his people. To add to that, she had had a crush on him ever since she was five, but something about the thought of marriage made her nervous. Maybe it was the fact that she'd officially be queen, or perhaps it was because he was such a respected ruler. She closed her eyes and shook her head to clear her thoughts. Why was she worrying? She wouldn't have to marry anyone for a few years.

Her gaze returned to the ocean. In the midst of the turquoise water, she spotted something that shimmered silver in the early sun. She walked closer to the shore line, chocolate eyes squinting. Her eyebrows shot up and disappeared into her bangs. It was a boy, and he was unconscious. Forgetting that she was a princess and all of the apprehension that went with it, she rushed in to save him. Slowly, she dog-paddled towards the unknown boy, conserving her strength for the task of dragging him back to shore. Grabbing hold of his shoulder, she towed him towards dry land, grimacing and thankful that the current was steering them in that direction anyway. Sopping wet, she stumbled onto shore, hauling half of him out of the water before collapsing next to him. The young brunette glanced over at the silver haired male to see if he was breathing. She gasped, astonished at what she saw.

"Scales!" she cried out without thinking. Instead of pale legs or some sort of garment, the strange boy's lower body was a silver fin.

Seemingly out of nowhere, her father appeared behind her. "Yuuuuuki! I heard you scream! What's the matter!?!" Kaien Cross, shouted out, over-dramatically flailing his arms in the air.

"Your high- I mean, father, I saw this boy floating near shore, and I thought he was unconscious, but look," she explained, pointing to Zero's shimmering sea tail.

The king's expression transformed into a serious one as he grasped his chin in thought. Silently, he kneeled next to the boy's fin, still partly in the water. Soon the man stood up, nodding to himself. "Yes, just as I thought. He's a merman."

Zero's eyes remained closed, listening to the muffled voices of the girl and the man. He had been awake for only a few seconds, but he could tell he wasn't underwater. The feeling of the cool ocean breeze on his flesh was foreign to him, as well as the unnatural brightness that was noticeable even when his eyes were closed.

"A merman?" Yuuki questioned, her brown orbs wide with curiosity. She too knelt next to the stranger, studying his human torso before her eyes trailed down to the tailfin and into the water. She had sometimes heard sailors speak of merfolk, but had always assumed that they were legends.

King Kaien looked down at his daughter, regaining his hyperactivity. "Don't be frightened of him, my dear daughter! Merfolk don't bite!" he cried, and with that, he pushed her closer to Zero. Unfortunately, the young girl lost her balance and fell on top of the merboy.

Zero's eyes shot open as he felt the sudden weight on his chest. He grunted due to a mixture of pain and surprise, and stared up at the thing that had fallen on him. Dark brown orbs met lavender, both wide with shock.

"Sorry!" Yuuki squeaked, rolling off his pale chest.

Zero gazed at the human, mouth agape, yet remaining silent. Suddenly, the memories of the shark attack came flooding back. He tore his eyes away from the girl and focused on the white sand. The atrocities automatically seemed to replay in his mind, and immediately afterward, the realizations sunk in. His parents were dead. His brother was missing. His house was destroyed. He had nothing.

Yuuki noticed the sorrowful expression on his face and started to grow worried. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Zero glanced at her, but said nothing. He wasn't too keen on discussing his losses with two complete strangers.

"Can't... Can't you talk?" the brunette asked curiously. Zero slowly nodded.

"Well, what's your name? I'm Yuuki," she said, sending him a soft, comforting smile.

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. Surely, telling them his name would do no harm. "Zero Kiryuu."

"Oh! You're one of Yagari's students, aren't you?" asked Kaien, recognizing the family name.

The merboy's vision shifted to the king. "How you know Master?" he questioned quietly. Touga Yagari had been the teacher of self-defense at merschool. The ocean was a dangerous place, after all.

A huge grin crossed the ruler's face. "Why, we're gay lovers, of course!"

The two children stared up at the king, stunned, and a little bit fearful. Zero was now more traumatized than he already was. Images of his teacher and the king making sweet, gay love would haunt his dreams for years to come.

"You better be joking about that, Cross," a gruff voice warned from behind them.

The three turned to look out at the sea. In the shallow waters near the beach, a man's torso bobbed up and down, but both Zero and Kaien knew a black fish tail was hidden beneath the waves. His blue eyes were focused, glaring at Kaien Cross.

"Of course, I am," cried the king, waving his hand dismissively. His happy-go-lucky smile remained on his face, unfazed by the merman's attitude. "So, Touga, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?"

The raven-haired man's gaze shifted to Zero. Sorrow, maybe even an apologetic look, could be seen in his eyes. "The Kiryuus are dead. I stopped by their house, and it was in ruins. I saw the bodies of the parents, but not the twins, so I came here to see if they had washed up on shore. Looks like one did."

Zero stared at the ground again, bangs covering tear-filled eyes. Only Yuuki was close enough to notice the few stray drops that fell from his face and darkened the sand as Yagari explained what he had found. The young girl's heart felt a lurch of pity towards the merboy. She longed to touch him and comfort him. The only thing that prevented her was the look he had first given her. It had seemed that he would have fallen to pieces then, and now he was crying.

"Ah, I see," King Cross replied, sending a sympathetic glance towards Zero.

"Zero, do you know where your brother is?" asked Yagari after he had finished.

"No. We got separated," Zero replied, his voice quivering a little, but otherwise, not betraying any emotion.

"Hn... Do you have anywhere to stay?" the black-tailed merman questioned.

The merboy shook his head, bangs still concealing lavender orbs.

"Well, I guess you'll have to stay with me for now," Touga sighed. "Come on."

Zero watched as his master turned back to sea. He started to follow when he felt a hand grasp his.

"Zero, wait!" His eyes automatically jumped to their intertwined fingers, and then the voice's owner. Yuuki stared at him for a moment, hesitating a little. "I'm sorry..."

The silver-haired male gazed back at the brunnette for a moment before tearing his hand from her grasp. Saying nothing, he followed Touga out to the ocean. Even when they were far from he shore and Yuuki's touch, Zero still felt the warmth of her palm in his.

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A/N: Wow. The ending was cornball city, huh? :D Review now, please? Constructive criticism and praise are loved. :3 Flames will be used to dry my socks. Oh, and I apologize if that hint at TougaXKaien somehow offended anyone. xD If you don't like it, don't worry. I think that's the last you'll see of it.

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This is just a rant about what I was spazzing out about during this chapter, and honestly has no importance. :3 It includes a spoiler to the anime/manga though, so be careful. I was worried about the paragraph that talked about Yuuki's feeling of being betrothed to Kaname. I knew I wanted her to have a hint of doubt about it, but I still wanted to capture the way she felt about Kaname when she was younger. D: I think I failed, though. In this, I couldn't make them as close because Kaname doesn't visit her as much, since they live miles apart. I still haven't decided if I'm going to make them related, either. D: Oh well. Screw developing Kaname and Yuuki's relationship. They aren't the main pairing of this fanfiction anyway. D Seriously, though. What do you guys think? Should Kaname and Yuuki still be related... Somehow? xD Well, I'm off to watch some Higurashi. :3 Bye, bye!