[naruto]
by catwho
The River
The sun had slipped below the horizon already, lending the forest outside Biwa Palace an aura of darkness mismatched to the intensity of the twilight.
Sai had no planned direction. His first instinct had merely been to flee the palace, to get away from the terrible lies and slander. The shocked, hurt look in the emperor's eyes burned into his heart. He ached inside.
After a few minutes of running, he had to pause and lean against a tree to catch his breath. He was a courtier, and fairly out of shape from years of sitting and not doing much physical activity. He looked up, and saw a few early stars peeking through the edges of the sky through the trees. An owl hooted.
He had never felt so alone.
No one would come to his aid. He had been judged and found guilty instantly. There was no where for him to go. He had no skills outside of go, and even if he had developed other court skills, what kind of work could a courtier do? He was too frail to work in the rice fields. He could neither cook nor clean - in the palace, everything had been done for him.
His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten in many hours.
A hot rush of tears filled his eyes. He knew that self pity was dishonorable, but he was still young and naive, and he allowed himself a moment to feel sorry for all that had happened to him.
The owl hooted again, and Sai looked at the trees above, trying to place it. It seemed to be coming from the north.
He continued on at a slower place, plodding through the forested landscape in his heavy court robes. The clothing was purely for show, to indicate that the wearer did not have to move much as part of daily life. The thin layers of silk were not very warm, and Sai grew cold in the rapidly chilling evening air.
He stopped when he came to the rivers.
The two major waterways of Kyoto joined together at the Tadasu-gawara, and it was to this unique double riverbank that Sai had run. One river wide, the other narrow, the two rivers merged and then formed a single ribbon down through the rest of the city, past the palaces. Centuries ago, the merged river had been altered to move to the east, to avoid splitting the city in two. What flowed before him was really an artificial waterway. Farther south, near the palaces, it dipped over perfect waterfalls. But even this tamed river was capricious, and during the early spring months it was violent and temperamental.
Since he could go no further, he sat on the bank of the river, and stared at the dark water. He felt around on the sandy shore, instinctively looking for something to grip.
What he found was a perfectly round stone, the same size and shape as a go stone.
The agony burst inside him all over again. He would not be allowed to play go any more.
He felt around the ground, and found other pebbles of a similar size and shape. The engineers of the Kamo river had lined its shores with thousands of them on its banks.
With a fistful of stones in his hands, Sai stood up and stared at the sky, now peppered with the stars.
“Is this how you will taunt me?” he cried to the gods. He leaned back, and with a strength borne of misery, flung the river stones out into the middle of the water. “I have been dishonored through no fault of my own. If there is any mercy in this world at all, you will allow me to have another chance.”
Only the hoot of the owl in the distance, across the wide river, greeted his declaration. He stood there for a few moments - hungry, cold, alone.
The anger was gone, and Sai instead felt a strange peace. One of the gods had heard him, surely.
Well, what was one to do when one had been dishonored?
He placed one foot into the river. The cold water caused him to shiver, but he pushed on, setting the other foot inside. The Kamo River was full of snow water from the mountains, and fuller than normal due to the melts from the warming spring.
His full silk court leggings quickly became sodden. He plodded on, determined to find the stones he had cast to the bottom of the river. If he could just recover those stones, he would be allowed to play go again, his mind thought irrationally. It was a bargain between him and the gods, made in an instant. All he had to do was find one of those river stones, and all would be well.
The long court robes weighted him down. He reached down anyway, and felt along the bottom of the riverbed. His moment of triumph when he felt a solid stone in his hands was brief. The river water was strong, and Sai was weak.
The Kamo River swept him away.
The white owl hooted again, in the distance.
The River
The sun had slipped below the horizon already, lending the forest outside Biwa Palace an aura of darkness mismatched to the intensity of the twilight.
Sai had no planned direction. His first instinct had merely been to flee the palace, to get away from the terrible lies and slander. The shocked, hurt look in the emperor's eyes burned into his heart. He ached inside.
After a few minutes of running, he had to pause and lean against a tree to catch his breath. He was a courtier, and fairly out of shape from years of sitting and not doing much physical activity. He looked up, and saw a few early stars peeking through the edges of the sky through the trees. An owl hooted.
He had never felt so alone.
No one would come to his aid. He had been judged and found guilty instantly. There was no where for him to go. He had no skills outside of go, and even if he had developed other court skills, what kind of work could a courtier do? He was too frail to work in the rice fields. He could neither cook nor clean - in the palace, everything had been done for him.
His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten in many hours.
A hot rush of tears filled his eyes. He knew that self pity was dishonorable, but he was still young and naive, and he allowed himself a moment to feel sorry for all that had happened to him.
The owl hooted again, and Sai looked at the trees above, trying to place it. It seemed to be coming from the north.
He continued on at a slower place, plodding through the forested landscape in his heavy court robes. The clothing was purely for show, to indicate that the wearer did not have to move much as part of daily life. The thin layers of silk were not very warm, and Sai grew cold in the rapidly chilling evening air.
He stopped when he came to the rivers.
The two major waterways of Kyoto joined together at the Tadasu-gawara, and it was to this unique double riverbank that Sai had run. One river wide, the other narrow, the two rivers merged and then formed a single ribbon down through the rest of the city, past the palaces. Centuries ago, the merged river had been altered to move to the east, to avoid splitting the city in two. What flowed before him was really an artificial waterway. Farther south, near the palaces, it dipped over perfect waterfalls. But even this tamed river was capricious, and during the early spring months it was violent and temperamental.
Since he could go no further, he sat on the bank of the river, and stared at the dark water. He felt around on the sandy shore, instinctively looking for something to grip.
What he found was a perfectly round stone, the same size and shape as a go stone.
The agony burst inside him all over again. He would not be allowed to play go any more.
He felt around the ground, and found other pebbles of a similar size and shape. The engineers of the Kamo river had lined its shores with thousands of them on its banks.
With a fistful of stones in his hands, Sai stood up and stared at the sky, now peppered with the stars.
“Is this how you will taunt me?” he cried to the gods. He leaned back, and with a strength borne of misery, flung the river stones out into the middle of the water. “I have been dishonored through no fault of my own. If there is any mercy in this world at all, you will allow me to have another chance.”
Only the hoot of the owl in the distance, across the wide river, greeted his declaration. He stood there for a few moments - hungry, cold, alone.
The anger was gone, and Sai instead felt a strange peace. One of the gods had heard him, surely.
Well, what was one to do when one had been dishonored?
He placed one foot into the river. The cold water caused him to shiver, but he pushed on, setting the other foot inside. The Kamo River was full of snow water from the mountains, and fuller than normal due to the melts from the warming spring.
His full silk court leggings quickly became sodden. He plodded on, determined to find the stones he had cast to the bottom of the river. If he could just recover those stones, he would be allowed to play go again, his mind thought irrationally. It was a bargain between him and the gods, made in an instant. All he had to do was find one of those river stones, and all would be well.
The long court robes weighted him down. He reached down anyway, and felt along the bottom of the riverbed. His moment of triumph when he felt a solid stone in his hands was brief. The river water was strong, and Sai was weak.
The Kamo River swept him away.
The white owl hooted again, in the distance.