Author's Note: Oh, another correction! After studying the artwork in the +Anima series, I find I agree with other +Anima fanfiction writers on where Husky's gills are. Apparently they are the slits on his chest. The marks on his neck never change, no matter his form, and it appears that his fish form sort of flows over him and whatever he is wearing at the time, not modifying anything it doesn't touch. I do, though, assume a very direct bond between Husky and his fish form, considering he CAN breathe underwater and swims like a fish, not a human with his legs stuck together. And it is always a possibility, from the Kim-un-Kur arc of the series, that one can merge fully with their +anima, truly becoming an animal themselves, so it really should be possible for any trait/feature of an animal to be used by one with their anima.

Sorry for blabbing. It's more me organizing my thoughts than anything. On with the fanfic!

Husky followed the red-haired prince he'd just met yesterday back towards the sea, his mind still thinking about Nana. He really hoped two days would be enough time for her to forgive him. Maybe… maybe he should've told her he was sorry. She deserved it, with everything he she put up with. And she had said she liked him. Did she mean the romantic type of like? Or was she just referring to their friendship?

He frowned, just realizing he may have taken her statement entirely out of context. She could have just been saying that she liked him as a friend… But then why had she thrown the necklace he'd given her back at him? For just friends, that reaction was a little extreme, and Nana wasn't given to extremes. She was always calm and gentle and friendly, making sure they had appropriate clothes for whatever season was right around the corner. She had a great sense of humor, but didn't put up with any nonsense that could get one of them hurt for no reason.

Unless she was the one doing the nonsense, like trying to steal from soldiers to get Cooro a gift. Husky almost laughed at the memory, but then sighed and ran a gloved hand through his hair as he came to a not-fully welcome conclusion.

He really did like her. Her long blond hair, soft green eyes, those cute dresses and hats she was always wearing, that great personality. He felt a blush rise to his face and ducked his head.

Prince Lee entertained himself watching the play of emotions across Husky's expressive face. The child's face was a work of art, truly. And, thought the prince with a satisfied smile, soon to grace my halls. Perhaps Husky wasn't a girl, and there didn't seem to be any chance of him being a cross, but that didn't change the fact that the fish-child was remarkably beautiful. Fish-people were known for loving beautiful things. And the more beautiful your possessions and those in your 'family', the higher status one attained. As the prince of a fish-man kingdom, it was only right for such a beautiful child to live in his house.

The prince had full confidence that he would be able to get Husky to agree to stay in his fish-man kingdom, even if there was a bat-girl Husky liked. After all, bats and fish certainly did not mix. Besides, Husky would be treated as a prince himself. What child didn't love being dressed up and showed off? Having everything they could possibly want handed them on a golden platter? Surely he would even have tens, if not hundreds, of beautiful fish-girls fighting to be his future mate, especially once his status in Prince Lee's family was confirmed (and it became public knowledge that he was NOT a fish-girl or a cross).

When they got to the beach, Husky again took off his vest, shorts, and cape, and frowned at his bag attached to his belt before deciding to keep it on him. He wrapped the vest and shorts in the cape and looked around for a good place to stash it. The boy ended up digging a shallow hole in the sand, placing his clothes in the hole, filling it in, and covering it with a large rock.

Prince Lee had to bite his bottom lip to keep from laughing. The fish-child was already getting prepared to come back in 'a couple' days. Well, he would never have need of those clothes again anyway. Prince Lee would get him apparel far more appropriate for a beautiful fish-child living in the prince's castle.

The two fish +anima waded into the water, transformed into their fish forms, and dived. Two of Prince Lee's guards were already waiting underwater, and Husky followed the others deep, deep into the waters. Further than any non-fish +anima could reach.

Husky felt a chill of apprehension, but chose to ignore it. His grip on his staff tightened.

The first sight Husky had of Lee's fish-man kingdom was incredible. They had a whole city! Large homes built of rock and mud, and decorated with coral and seaweeds, lined roadways of lavarock. There were gardens and parks full of hundreds of different types of underwater plants, shops and various types of businesses with signs carved into the stone entryways, and hundreds of fish +anima of all ages swimming around. And everything was extremely well-lit and brightly colored, though Husky knew for a fact that at this depth everything should be dark and colors should be muted. Perhaps it had to do with the types of lighting they were using, a combination of bio-luminescent fish and plants near the ground and indoors, and some type of enormous jewels that glowed like miniature suns on stands and lampposts around the city.

It reminded Husky of the children's stories he'd read about the lost city of Atlantis, though he knew these people weren't mermen and there certainly wasn't a King Trident or Poseidon anywhere. It was certainly as beautiful, if not more so, than any of the illustrations in those books, and he couldn't help feeling excited about seeing so many other fish +anima.

As their party approached, the people noticed Prince Lee and stopped what they were doing to bow slightly. To Husky's surprise, while everyone's appearance and manner was respectful, there didn't seem to be any fear in the eyes of the people to their prince. In fact, several freely approached Lee to discuss various matters ranging from gardening to border patrols.

Husky noticed he was getting more than a fair amount of attention himself. He easily recognized the look in the eyes of those turning their faces his way, a combination of intense curiosity and admiration of physical appearance. He held his staff tightly with both hands, not sure what to expect.

Prince Lee glanced over to him, then companionably took his arm and pulled him forward to introduce him to the royal counselor he was speaking with.

"Reggie, remember intruder Margo warned us about the other day? This is Husky, who had wandered into our territory quite on accident. He's had his source a few years now, but is unaffiliated with any fish-man kingdoms. I invited him to stay at my palace a couple days."

The fish-man, a large man with strawberry-blonde hair and a yellow tail and fins, smiled and held out a hand to shake Husky's. "Ah, I see. A couple days, a couple years, what's the difference?" He laughed jovially.

Husky frowned and ignored the hand, holding the staff protectively in front of himself. From the look in those large, blue eyes, he was clearly calculating every move the fish-man made and every word out of his mouth. He was not happy with that 'couple years' comment.

"Quite the shy one. Pretty, too. Is he a cross?"

Oh, dear. Prince Lee had a feeling this was going to become a routine question. He glanced over at Husky and recognized the instant flush on the fish-child's face and the flash in his widening eyes as he opened his mouth. He quickly jumped in before Husky made a bad impression.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. I'm sure he just needs time to adjust to everything. It is quite different from the landwalkers' world."

Reggie shrugged. "I wouldn't know, being born and raised as a fish-man. Anyway," he turned back to the incredibly beautiful fish-child. "It was nice to meet you, Husky, and I hope to see more of a hopefully less-wary you in future. Beautiful earrings, by the way. Exquisite sapphires."

Husky narrowed his eyes at the man, but relaxed as the man waved goodbye and swam off towards the castle, which Husky could see a couple miles off, about in the center of the city.

The fish-child frowned and raised a hand to the earring in his right ear. They were not that large, and his hair covered it most of the time, so how had the man even noticed?

"Fish-men love jewelry," explained Lee, figuring out what Husky was puzzling over from the child's body language. "They would spot a ruby the size of a guppy's eye from 50 paces. Aren't you the same? I wouldn't be surprised if you had a small horde of jewels yourself."

Husky blushed and a hand reached for his pouch at his side before he caught himself. "I… isn't it weird? Kind of a girly habit, don't you think?" he asked, confused.

"Not at all. Fish-men wear just as much jewelry as fish-women. Here, one who doesn't collect jewels is considered the unusual one." He lifted the hair over his ears, showing off his own ruby earrings, large sphere-cut gems of the highest quality and luster. "For formal wear, I wear at least three necklaces, two bracelets, one arm-cuff, my earrings, and two or three strands of jewels in my hair, not counting what's sewn into my outfit or worn around my waist or on my tail."

Husky's blue eyes were wide in surprise as he took this in.

"You'll have to wear something similar," said Lee, a teasing smirk on his face. "There's a formal dinner tonight, and even as my guest, you need to dress appropriately to attend."

He expected Husky's eyes to sparkle in excitement. A formal dinner! With royalty, and a new outfit, and dripping in beautiful jewels!

To his surprise, Husky was frowning at the idea. There wasn't a trace of excitement in his body language. If anything, he seemed to dismiss the event as nothing special.

Well, surely the child would be excited when he was shown around the castle, escorted to a huge suite all his own, given the finest of clothing and jewelry, and waited on hand and foot. The fish-child probably couldn't even imagine it. Yes, that was the reason for the lack of reaction. The child had no idea what was in store for him, and so he dismissed it as nothing special. Lee couldn't wait to see Husky's eyes light up in excitement and pleasure, probably some embarrassment at being given so much. This would be so much fun!

Husky was led through the city to the castle, a huge structure built directly of and by corals. The interruptions were continuous as various fish-men, fish-women, and even fish-children constantly came over to speak with Prince Lee, who was obviously extremely popular with his people. The prince played the role of the perfect politician, a beautiful smile never leaving his face, his eyes sparkling with good humor, his manner good-natured and always showing personal interest in whoever he was speaking with.

Husky was not able to tell how much of this was him filling his role as prince, and how much was actually Lee's personality, and this bothered him. He replayed the skill with which Lee had approached him, spoke with him, even his manner this morning as he persuaded him to come to see the fish-kingdom.

Am I being played? thought the boy for the first time. He frowned. No, that doesn't make sense. And what would be the purpose to that anyway? I'm just here to visit. Just a couple days, then back to Nana, Cooro, and Senri.

They were standing outside the castle's main entrance. Had been for some time, actually. Lee had been waved down by another well-dressed fish-man, who Prince Lee had introduced as his brother, Second-Prince Miki. He looked almost exactly like Lee, except his hair and fins were a bright, sunny yellow. Their strong features and well-built bodies were nearly identical.

Second-Prince Miki was the first to not pay attention to Husky, which greatly relieved the boy on one hand, but on the other hand it was probably only because the second-prince was obviously distracted with something of grave importance. He had pulled Lee aside and started whispering to him quickly and heatedly.

Husky had no interest in eavesdropping on whatever royal problems the princes had to deal with, so he ignored them and allowed his mind to wander. For some reason or other, his mind turned to the half-finished present for Nana in his bag, and he casually wondered when he'd be able to get to it, and whether she would like it.

He was still letting his mind drift when Miki's voice rose, thick with anxiety and tense with repressed anger at whatever situation they were dealing with.

"We NEED to do something, Lee! NOW!"

Lee motioned for his brother to lower his voice and glanced at Husky's startled face. "Fine, fine. I'll take care of it."

"NOW, Lee! That's why you're Crown right now! This can't wait until tomorrow!"

"I get it, already!" exclaimed Lee and gestured Husky over. The beautiful fish-child frowned and approached.

"I need to take care of something urgent, Husky. I am sorry."

"Oh. I can just go back to…"

"No! I'll see to it you're taken care of. I just won't be able to be there to escort you, alright? I'll be back late tomorrow. Miki will be your escort."

"Why do I need an escort?"

Lee glanced over to Miki, who smirked and shrugged. "Just someone to show you around, that's all. Okay?"

Husky shrugged. "Fine. See you."

The red-haired prince reluctantly nodded, patted his brother's shoulder in farewell, and swam off.

"A political matter?" asked Husky, not really caring, but getting bored with the way Prince Miki was standing there, staring off after his brother, his face tight with concern. "I really could leave, you know. I'm not moving here or anything."

Miki glanced over at the fish-child, initially with annoyance, then with interest as he really noticed the child.

"What did you say your name was?"

"Husky."

"You are quite beautiful."

The child's eyes narrowed. "I am a boy, just to let you know. Not a girl, and NOT one of those 'cross' things you guys keep talking about."

Miki grinned, and Husky rolled his eyes. This prince was apparently as bad as the last one.

"You might be able to help…" thought the yellow-haired prince aloud.

"Help?" asked Husky, voice full of doubt.

"You'll see. At the party tonight. I'll tell you what to do."

"I never agreed to anything," warned Husky, adjusting his grip on his staff.

"Oh, you won't mind! It'll be a great deal for all involved!"

"I'm going back to my friends in two days. That's the day after tomorrow. I won't be able to help anyone in that time, nor do I want to get involved in fish-man politics."

"No matter, no matter. Come, I'll take you to get a proper outfit for tonight."

Author's Note: As always, would LOVE reviews of any and all kinds! I think I've finally got a plot worked out in my mind, so hopefully next chapter I'll be able to get the ball rolling.