Toby enjoyed the world of fishing more than anything. Lying on the plush, ticklish grass in his ample spare time, he found relief from all the pressures of the past as he'd doze off, occasionally waking when a leaf smacked to the ground or when something tugged at his cuddled fishing pole.

Yes, Toby enjoyed the life of fishing, and fish especially. To him, fish was the best of all meats; chunky and light, grilled, and crumbling in the mouth– or raw and crunchy– stimulating and refreshing. And the fragrance! Lasting and zesty. Even alive, fish were a visual feast, with their sequined scales and deep eyes which always seemed to see beyond the truth. He could go on, but silence was always better than a barrage of words.

Fish. Toby had never met a person more engaging than the silent, wide-eyed creature. At least, not until now.

Toby's fishing pole crashed to the ground, rattling away, discarded in his wonder. There was a girl, a young woman, but also a fish, all in one, bathing on the river ledge before him. He'd never seen anything more beautiful.

Akari gasped when she saw the young man– slowly, he crept forward, keeping his gaze on her and fighting to steady himself in his flip flops; he was trying to climb over the craggy mountainside between them.

No– stay away! Akari wanted to yell, but held her voice in. If he heard her voice, he could identify her later, so she decided it best not to speak. She still had a chance to escape– after all, she was covered in scales and her hair was slicked down. She barely looked human. Standing up, she clenched her arms close, covering herself in an effort to remain decent.

"I won't hurt you," Toby said, struggling to climb over. Though voice was calm and soft, Akari could sense a severe degree of mania behind it.

Who in their right mind would want to get closer to a fish girl, anyways? Akari could still remember the jeers of her old villagers, calling her an abomination– how her father was green and gross, like a booger. That her mother was an insane freak for marrying such a thing; how whenever they looked at her, they wanted to vomit. All of them would say the same things, over and over, making it true. Then they'd laugh it off and leave her in tears.

This is something I live with, Akari thought; Something I'm fine with. No one else has to know, but– I don't want to feel ashamed anymore! I wanted to escape this! Plunging into the water, terrified, she dove back first, blasting down beneath the heavy bubbles of the pounding waterfall. Falling deeper, she retreated into darkness. There was no greater deed of shame than escape. Two people have seen her already... The humiliation.

Am I a coward? Akari wondered; I'm fine with being alone... I've been used to it for a long time... but why is it... Somehow, her lungs were burning already and her eyes were stinging. Her chest was squeezing so tight, that she wanted to wail and shrivel up. One time, long ago, her mother had explained to her how this was what a breaking heart felt. The pain of drowning. Falling in love was like falling into a watery abyss and losing oxygen.

Akari, however, was certain that she was ONLY just drowning. Dim water roiled above her, croaking dully. Glancing up, hoping to see the comforting glimmer of the familiar stars, she instead saw him– the man who had accosted her– floating down. He was loose limbed and motionless, not making the effort to swim to safety. Watching him, her self-absorption faded and she filled with a different kind of terror.

Swimming like a frog, repetitively swinging her legs outwards, Akari flitted all around him. Poking him, and getting no response, not even a twitch, she determined that he was unconscious! (As if his X'd out eyes weren't any indication. Why would they be!)

Grabbing the fisherman's arms, Akari hoisted him up onto her back and, puffing out her cheeks, swam straight through the rapidly flowing water. I don't know I'm strong enough, she thought, clenching her eyes shut and struggling. My arms are weakening and I keep sinking. It hurts. She had inhaled a great deal of water and it was hard to concentrate through her instinctual panic. Such an eldritch sensation would've driven any sane human mad.

Somebody... help... Akari asked desperately, seeking the magical aid of gods or even harvest sprites; Please–

As if hearing the girl's thoughts, a stream of hot water jetted against her, warming her body and pushing her forward, powerfully. So strong was the current, that before Akari knew it– she had smashed head first into the once-distant riverbank. Yanking her mouth above water and yelling out painfully, she gasped for breath and quickly slung the drowned young man up over the rocky ledge.

Climbing out of the water, Akari momentarily held her throbbing head but then rose to her feet, and with a strong sense of purpose, grabbed the fisherman's legs and dragged him, with an unbearable slowness, away from the river and up onto a boulder– where she hung him upside down to dry. She then proceeded to beat his stomach like a dusty carpet. She pounded and swatted!

At last, the fisherman vomited up a pint of water. And even a rainbow trout!

"Good," Akari wheezed, heavy-lidded and all worn out. "He's breathing now... Geez. This guy... What was he even trying to do?" Looking up at the sky, her tiredness fled when she saw light on the horizon. Time had moved at a supersonic rate and now she was almost exposed in broad daylight while wearing nothing but her underwear. Well, at least she was wearing SOMETHING.

"No way..." Akari desperately scanned the area. Where are my clothes?

Groaning slightly, Toby actually opened his eyes– probably for the first time in years– and gazed upwards at her. His minor back pains vanished. He forgot that he was laying, upside down, on a rock. Time stopped, and his memories filled with what he saw. "Frog print," he said.

Wondering what he was even talking about, Akari looked down at herself, finally realizing what she was wearing: a childish bra and panty set. One covered in cheerful green frog faces. Well, at least it wasn't the fish print one.

Mom! Why did you buy me such embarrassing underwear? Akari thought, holding her face, shaking her head, and forgetting ENTIRELY about how she had helped pick them out in the first place. So agitated was she, that she bent down, procured a rainbow trout, and slapped the fisherman with it.

Toby fell back down, unconscious once again.

I need to get out of here! Akari thought. Finding her clothes on the bank, she bundled them up in her arms and ran– disappearing behind the hill.