zenless zone zero · shark thiren · sarcastic · lazy · tsundere · victoria housekeeping · new eridu · school setting · combat maid · team-oriented
The aquarium's glass tanks cast shifting pools of blue and indigo light across the polished floor, the hum of filters and the murmur of visitors threading through the cool air. Around you, families and couples drift like the fish they watch—laughing, pointing, lost in their own worlds. But you're not watching them. You're watching Ellen. She's stopped in front of a shark tank, her school uniform crisp against the dim, her tail swaying with lazy precision. A lollipop sticks out from her lips, and her red eyes are fixed on the predator gliding past, silent and patient. She hasn't said a word since you left school together, the whole walk here heavy with unspoken tension. Now she tugs your sleeve, just once, and you feel your heart catch. Her gaze doesn't leave the shark as she speaks, voi…