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 harborred 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-

Chapter 2 - Inter-Species Bonding

It had been a few months since the day of the shark attack, and there still hadn't been any sign of Ichiru. Things in Zero's life seemed to have regained some aspect of normality. He still attended school, he still did chores, and he still retained the same hobbies and habits. However, everyone around him noticed a significant change in his behavior. He had become withdrawn, only speaking when spoken to. Perhaps he had become even a little bit cold or cruel. His former friends noticed a growing acid tongue and were pushed away by his change in attitude. Only Touga put up with Zero because surprise, surprise, the Kiryuus had named him the godfather of Zero and Ichiru in their will.

It wasn't like Zero had planned to become this way. He had just felt so empty after everything had sunk in. Maybe things would've been different if Ichiru was still around. Maybe things would've been different if he hadn't seen his father get ripped apart in front of him. Maybe things would've been different if he didn't blame himself. Maybe thing would've been different if he could have fulfilled his mother's last wish - "take care of him, Zero". Maybe he would've been able to pick up the pieces.

It was at times like this that he resented himself for being the only one alive, and usually, going for a swim was the only way to clear his thoughts. He usually just let his fins lead him wherever they pleased, and he'd turn back whenever he stopped recognizing his surroundings. However, today was different. Today he just didn't care, and that's how she reentered his life. Perhaps if he hadn't lost the will to live that day, this whole story would have never occurred.

Zero's wanderings had lead him to unnaturally shallow waters. Instinct told him that he should turn back and retreat into deeper waters, but curiosity got the better of him. Could this really be the place that he had met that girl on that horrible day? He was surprised that he had even remembered her after all that had happened.

The silver finned merboy allowed his head to break the surface of the water. He peered around cautiously and inched closer to shore, the majorty of his torso still hidden beneath the waves. Unlike when he'd first woken up on land, the sky was painted a myriad of different colors, not just light blue and orange. Today's sunrise was absolutely spectacular. Different shades of violet, magenta, azure, burnt sienna, and blood red made theirr way across the sky, changing shades slightly every few minutes.

Lavender orbs scanned the shoreline for a certain brunette, but saw nothing. How stupid. What were the chances of seeing her again? Why did he even care? Girls should be the farthest thing from his mind, especially human ones. He was about to pull his head back underwater when he saw a figure in the distance with long, flowing brown hair. Zero's heart nearly stopped in his chest, partly from shock and partly from fear. What exactly had he been planning to do if he'd seen her? He wondered why he even cared. Maybe it was because her so-called father was so strange. Yeah! That was it. That guy was way too strange to be her biological father, and she had started to call him "your highness" at one point. He had to make sure she was still alive. Yeeeaaah... That was definitely the reason.

With that rationalized, he swam closer to the girl. There she was, walking down the beach towards him. Her hair and her child-like female figure was bathed in blood red with the morning glow. Unbeknownst to the two preteens, it was like some sort of ghastly premonition. Craning his head, the merboy tried to get a better glimpse of the human without revealing too much of himself. He waited until she was close enough for him to see her face clearly before turning back towards the ocean. Yes. She was absolutely fine. Time to go. He rose up for a second, bringing his full human torso out of the water. Splash! His silver fish tail smacked against the water as he dove.

"Zero!?!" the girl cried out just before his ears were submerged. He groaned and resurfaced when he heard the girl's voice.

"What?" he asked, his tone holding a hint of annoyance. The smile she had had on her face when she recognized him flipped into a frown.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she replied, casting her eyes downward. She felt a little bit guilty for annoying him.

"I'm fine," Zero snapped, turning his back to her and preparing to reattempt his dive. What was he doing? The only reason he had bothered to come to the surface was to see her, and now he was driving her away like everyone else in his life.

"Oh, okay," Yuuki replied, brown orbs still locked on her feet.

He let out a sigh and swallowed his pride. "Look, I'm sorry. Things have just been so different since my parents died. I gues I'm just not over it."

Yuuki looked up and shook her head, flashing a forced smile. "No. Don't apologize. I understand what it's like to lose someone."

Zero blinked in confusion and turned to face her. "You do?"

She nodded. "Yeah. My mom died. The king - I mean, dad tries to raise me well by himself, but I can't imagine what losing both of your parents at the same time must be like."

Zero edged closer to her, using his hands to push himself forward against the sand because the water had gotten so shallow. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." he murmured, for once, embarrassed by his rudeness.

She immediately plastered another fake grin on her face, waving her hands in the front of her for emphasis. "Oh, no. It's fine! It happened a long time ago, anyway."

She waded into the shallow water, not really caring if her clothes got wet and sat down next to the boy. It was a silent for a moment, but curiosity overtook the merboy as he allowed a slightly insensitive question slip passed his lips, "How did she die?"

Yuuki pulled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms against them. Her skirt clung to her legs, soggy with seawater, but she barely noticed, seemingly lost in her memories. "Oh. She died protecting me from a group of rogues. They ambushed us on our way to visit King Cross. At first, I blamed myself for her death, but then I realized that she wouldn't want me to waste my life dwelling on what could have been done."

The silver-haired male nodded solemnly. Her speech had struck a chord with him, but it still didn't completely halt his depression. After all, Ichiru hadn't sacrificed himself, and he knew he had let both him and his mother down by not staying with him. Suddenly, something clicked. He turned his head towards her, a puzzled expression on his face. "Wait. Visit King Cross? I thought he was your father."

"Oh. He's my adoptive father. Mom's previous husband, my real father, died when I was just a baby. She was engaged to be married to King Cross before she died, so he took me in," the brunette explained. That must have been why she never referred to him as father.

"I'm sorry," Zero repeated with a sigh.

Once again, Yuuki shook her head. "I already told you. It's fine. I don't remember my dad, so I can't exactly 'miss' him."

The merboy nodded once again, a grave expression on his face. A natural silence settled between them, but as the seconds ticked by, it grew more and more awkward.

"Zero?" the female questioned, suddenly breaking it. "What's it like under the sea?"

The merboy glanced at her, not finding the topic too interesting. "Dark and cold," he stated, simply.

Yuuki stared at him, incredulity creeping into her tone as she pressed him for a conversation. "That's it? Where do you live? Do merfolk need to go to school?"

Zero sighed and launched into an explanation. "Well, I used to live in a house made of white coral with my parents. Now, I live with master in a cave. It's not as homey, but it's shelter." He paused briefly, then moved onto her next question. "Of course we need to go to school. There are jobs in the merworld that people need to be trained for too."

"Oh?" Yuuki questioned. The information about his houses was actually quite intriguing. "So, there aren't any houses built in the merworld? You just find places to live?"

He shook his head. "No. Some merpeople have houses built, but it's much harder to do underwater. Only the richest can afford them."

"I see," the girl stated, but quickly came up with another question, a playful smile on her face. "Is merschool as boring as human school?"

Zero allowed a grin to slip onto his face. In fact, he almost chuckled. Almost. "I don't know much about human school, but it probably is."

She giggled. "I guess it doesn't matter where you are. Sitting in a class all day is always boring."

She stood up and glanced at the sun's position in the sky. It was getting so late, but she didn't want to leave. An idea popped into her head. "Hey, Zero? Would you mind coming back here tomorrow? I'd really like to know more about your world."

The Kiryuu paused for a moment, considering it, then nodded. "Yeah. I will."

Yuuki beamed. "Great! Tomorrow, I'll tell you things about my world too. Well, I better get going. The ki- I mean, dad, might be worrying about me. See you tomorrow!"

With that said, she stood up and waded back to shore. Zero gazed at her as she broke into a run when she reached the beach, her dress dripping and pale feet coated with sand.

"Bye," he muttered, even though she was already too far away to hear him.

_____

A/N: Finished! Thank God. I think I unintentionally wrote this chapter in Zero's point of view. -Shrugs- Yeah. I spazzed out a lot while writing this one, but I'm too tired to care too much about it right now. Reviews are very much loved! Oh, by the way, next chapter, they will most definitely be the ages they are in the anime/manga, and a plot line will probably start to appear.