Urgh. I realize that I uploaded the first version, and that I made such horrible mistakes. Forgive me. And that is why, children, one should always stay awake for one's Biology class or else one will not learn the difference between reptiles and amphibians. *nods wisely* Thank you to bMidou-kun/b for pointing that out. Also, bhanyouwolf/b I'm pretty sure Sai is a 'he', not a 'she'. ^_^
Without further ado, version 1.3 of Sai and his frogs.
The Death of a Go Player
or
How Sai REALLY Died
Fujiwara no Sai was disgraced. The Emperor had been a little sympathetic, but he was a hard man and would not tolerate such betrayal from a friend. The court now laughed behind his back, mocking him when they once bowed before him. He had no more confidante, even though he had conversed with many of the shogunate and monks who visited their court.
All...all because of that...MONSTER!
How DARE he accuse Fujiwara no Sai of cheating! Did no one believe that Sai had too much pride to even think such a thing would happen? He had not liked the other Go master, but Sai had respected him as one would respect an equal. It stunned and galled him to realize that the respect he thought he had earned was not to be realized.
The bamboo stems quivered with the wind and he pushed back his hair, looking up at the full moon. The leaves of the trees have turned red, indicating the coming of winter. The river at the end of the path he walked was now a contrast of dark water reflecting the haunting globe that shone in the black sky.
I am now dead, he thought hollowly, slipping out of his slippers and letting his feet touch the edge of the water. Water weeds and lotus brushed against his robes and water seeped into the fabric of his feet.
GWAH GERO!
Sai startled violently and peered frantically into the darkness. What an end! He had been publicly humiliated when he left the castle earlier, and now he would meet the face of the one thing he disliked the most!
GERO! GWAH! GERO GERO!
...a FROG!
He whirled around and felt 'something' brush against his soaked clothes.
"AAAAAIIIIEEEE!!" he screamed, taking rushed steps into the water.
A frog! A nasty, slimy, ugly toad was staring up at him! Sai could SEE its white eyes stare at him menacingly, grinning. He held up his hands. "Stay away!" he warned.
"GWAH GWAH GERO," the frog replied evilly.
"Why are the gods punishing me?" Sai wailed. Then, to his horror, more eyes appeared at the sound of his voice. They peered into him from nearby bushes, lotus, water reeds, and even from the water!
Sai frantically took another step into the water, trying to ward the evil things away by chanting prayers. "God, please don't punish me!" he begged to the heavens. "I only wanted to play more Go! I have done nothing wrong!"
There was a splash and Sai was too quick in turning that he fell into the river. The water was already waist-deep and he swallowed some of the liquid before he spluttered and tried to pull himself up. The clothes he wore refused to follow him, and he felt his hair float around him.
Help! he screamed in his thoughts. Someone help me! The frogs are trying to kill me! I have done nothing wrong to their god!
He flailed and tried to break into the surface. His long hair wrapped around his neck and he coughed, only to lose himself into a scream when he realized that frogs and toads were everywhere!
"AAAGGGHHH!" he yelled, beating the water. His clothes were dragging him down and if he didn't make it to shore in time, he would surely be pulled into the bottom of the deep river! Already, he could not feel the land with his legs.
He waved his hands at the frogs' direction once more. "Go away," he begged. "Please, leave me alone to my misery."
The vile amphibians did not seem to mind him. Instead, they swam around him, mercilessly taunting him with their ugly, warty faces and bulging eyes. They laughed at him, as the people he once called his friends laughed at him.
Sai wanted to cry but he had to concentrate on trying to keep afloat.
GWAH GWAH GERO GERO!
And everything fell apart at once.
Sai looked up and saw that a toad had somehow perched itself on his head. It looked down to him with curiously bright eyes.
Somehow, Sai was aware that he was screaming and that he was sinking deeper into the dark abyss of the river. The toad left his head to swim for his own life, but Sai was beyond caring.
It isn't fair, he thought just as his eyes began to close, frogs don't even understand Go!
"Drowning yourself just because you can't play Go again is a pretty messed up reason for suicide," Hikaru commented.
'It wasn't only because of the game,' Sai argued. 'I was also disgraced, remember? DISGRACED!!'
"Yeah, yeah, I understand." Hikaru balanced teetered over the pole crossing the canal bank before jumping to the next pole. "Still, you're still whack for doing it. But then I wouldn't have met you."
'And you wouldn't be playing Go now,' Sai told him smugly before amending, 'Or, at least, you theoretically wouldn't be playing, since you really aren't playing right now.'
Hikaru gave him a crooked smile, arms still stretched outwards beside him to balance himself as he prepared to hop to another pole. "Yeah, well, Mitani-kun wouldn't--AH!"
'HIKARU!' Sai screamed in horror as his host fell into the water. He felt himself getting pulled, only he hovered over the surface, trying to peer into water to see if Hikaru had already drowned.
Then, in a breath, Hikaru's head popped into the surface and he grinned.
'Hikaru!' Sai cried out, rushing to embrace his head.
"Cut it out, Sai, I'm okay," the boy explained, waving him away before pulling out his backpack. "I'm just SO going to lose tomorrow's homework." He sighed, then blinked. "Oh, it's a frog."
Sai froze. 'What?'
"A frog, Sai, they're AMPHIBIANS. They usually reside in water--Sai?"
'HEEEELLLPP!'
To Hikaru's surprise, his ghost dove into the water frantically. He turned to the frog that had swum next to him and blinked. Nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the amphibian did not seem to take notice of them except for a pause to say, "Gero."
'Is it gone?!' Sai yelled from somewhere below the water.
"Uh...no." Hikaru began to swim to the bank, dragging the hysterical ghost with him. "Geez, Sai, what's with the frog thing? You saw some horror movie about it or something?!"
'None of your business,' Sai shot back before launching into a wail about the evils of such animals.
Hikaru sighed and prepared to go home.
end
Omake:
Sai: Even in a thousand years, the umbrella still hasn't changed.
Hikaru: I guess umbrellas will never change.
Frog: GERO!
Sai: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Hikaru: Oh, and frogs. Frogs don't change, too. ^_^
Sai: tries to run away
No, I didn't really like how I made this fic, but *shrugs* it's here. ^_^' Sorry, my attempts at humor always seem to fall flat.