Love & Friendship of Yuuki Kuran
Or where’s the root of Zero’s unsuccessful romantic relationship
ATTENTION: This article is tagged with “anti zeki”. Therefore my earnest request for those who support this ship would be to scroll down and skip this post if you feel uncomfortable while reading negative content about your ship. Thank you!
At first sight VKM 10 seems to be a ZeKi chapter and to some extent it is, but what in fact is Hino-san trying to show us? Slow step-by-step progress of their relationship? Or Yuuki’s acceptance of the reality? To my mind, this is a mixture of these two important things and due to the following.
Truth be told, Yuuki doesn’t have experience of unhurried romantic start. The moment when she awakens is the moment when she remembers that “everything she truly wanted was hers from the beginning” (Night 66), i.e. Kaname, his love and ties with him. She never had to conquer Kaname’s heart and soul because the feelings he had for her grew up with him. Unlike Yuuki, he wasn’t forced to forget about their true relationship, therefore during entire period they’d been separated Kaname just needed to suppress his emotions. Meanwhile all what Yuuki had to do is to dream about her being one day together with the vampire saviour, which seemed impossible for a young innocent “human” girl. And this is the reason why at the point when Yuuki got to know that they’re actually in official relationship, an engaged couple of purebloods, Kaname was able to act as a lover, and Yuuki was not yet (plus she had problems with her vampire identity, which was a bigger issue than an ability to be playful straightaway). She was in the stage of learning how to be a fiancée, and a lot of chapters in the Kurans’ mansion arc are depiction of Kaname being a protective lover who indulged her desires and Yuuki in process of accepting their new status.
Hence we know that Kaname was a leading partner in their relationship, and that is understandable. But I’m more than happy to add on top that Yuuki had always been sensitive to Kaname’s feelings; whenever he felt desperate or sad she was fast and determined enough to calm him down with her kisses, hugs, words of consolation and love.
As a significant detail of Yuuki’s final acceptance of all sides of her relationship with Kaname and her personal wishes I would like to mention her behaviour in remarkable Night 89. Perhaps my opinion is not popular, but I’m pretty sure it was Yuuki who induced them both to lovemaking due to the fact how she acted towards Kaname’s body during the whole conversation. Yuuki pressed Kaname tightly in her embrace, she initiated the kiss and didn’t want to let him go at any cost. So obviously, Yuuki bearing in mind that she most likely would end up her life sacrificing it for Kaname soon wanted to spend last hours with her loved one in atmosphere of intimacy.
Conclusion of the above is that Yuuki is capable to express her ardent romantic feelings and needs when she feels to. When feelings are so overwhelming that her heart and body tell for herself.
Now, let’s see what’s going on between Yuuki and Zero at the moment when all obstacles to their “happy existence together” are gone. Given the time for anything a regular couple can do, Yuuki and Zero do not know how to communicate properly as lovers. Yuuki, never being a leading partner, doesn’t know how to behave – she’s used to an attitude when it was hers who was caressed and guided. Zero, never being in relationship at all, doesn’t know where to start. He’s trying to find out what’s needed for Yuuki, and I can only say that it’s not a good sign – after having spent side by side with her more than fifty years not to know what turns your beloved woman into romantic mood is ludicrous.
Here’s the point where I come to a question that bothers me a lot. Since we have so many people who believe that Zero was Yuuki’s true love from the very beginning (vibes of unrequited love to another man included) how it happened that she didn’t need him as a lover? Theory about Zero being the only and true love suffers a defeat because of the below:
- Yuuki didn’t feel the need to express any romantic staff in front of Zero for more than half a century -> Zero didn’t know how to act properly with her while in any type of romantic relationship.
- Being an adult woman, Yuuki wasn’t in necessity of kisses and sex meanwhile the “most appropriate object” for satisfying these urges was supposedly alongside her. Supportive fact: Yuuki has never visited Zero’s apartment! (Till VKM 10). It was Zero who joined Yuuki and Ai in their mansion, and maybe, just maybe, Ai was kind of an obstacle to any sexual intercourse, but the princess was asleep at the period when Yuuki offered Zero to date. And still, her “passion” is at so low level that Yuuki doesn’t feel like wanting to have with Zero something more intimate than a conversation about the job.
- The main sign of vampire love (strong desire of blood of the beloved) doesn’t prove its essence in their relationship as soon as it was admitted by Zero that blood drinking between them is not of sexual nature, but more like an issue of taste (VKM 9).
- Despite the fact of blood drinking Yuuki isn’t fully open with Zero, one more thing admitted by him (VKM 9). Zero is aware about Yuuki’s grief over Kaname and Yuuki evidently knows about Zero’s feelings – in this case what can make Yuuki be not frank with Zero? It can be only a desire of love for the sleeping man, but as soon as Zero is also a dear person for Yuuki she is careful not to offend feelings of his heart.
The fact that Yuuki is okay with Zero as her companion, but does not let him go further, only supports ideas about Zero being her second love and not the great one. The woman needed time to resign herself to the reality where Kaname didn’t exist, then come to the stage where she could move on and try to consider the closest friend as a lover, if possible.
But I assume that Yuuki’s love for Kaname is not the only thing that put her relationship with Zero in impasse for a long time. I would make Zero responsible for this failure as well. Though his wish to be patient and wait Yuuki as long as she needs to was born from his noblest motives, it didn’t play in his favour at all. Had he been more decisive with her and behaved in a way as men in love do, to put it in simpler words, courted her, they could have come to official relationship sooner. What I mean by that is a sudden kiss from his side could cause some Yuuki’s unusual reaction, but as we see Zero doesn’t intend to do anything. He doesn’t know how to act and goes on this path, the guy is inexperienced and it leads to his long time fail. And what I’d like to emphasize here one more time, that even considering all the problems Yuuki and Kaname had to cope with, the pureblood King still knew how to talk to her. It was even mentioned by Ai in VKM 4 that Kaname “has a knack for talking to women”. Obviously, Zero hasn’t such knack. He can be a good friend – at least he had a lot of communication with other people to develop this skill, but with women he didn’t have an opportunity to do so. It’s not like I’m blaming him – the guy seems to be head over heels in love with the woman who longs for another man, but as an adult man and supposedly smart one he should have presumed that this could lead to problems in his future private life with this lady. But he chose the way of stagnation letting Yuuki decide when and where to start. He feels comfortable in this type of relationship as well.
Which makes me ask myself another question: is it really that passionate love everyone is talking about? To me Hino doesn’t believe in it herself
Side note: I’m still one of those who believe that Yuuki loved both men, Zero including. However, her love for Zero developed only in decades after Kaname’s “death” and it looked more like she settled than all of a sudden acknowledged her deep feelings which is no wonder, she didn’t have such towards Zero at that time. And these are the facts Hino gives us to understand how difficult it was for Yuuki to get over her grief. So don’t fool yourselves.
