The Rabbit and the Frog

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Full speed ahead, Mr. Frog!"

In the woods on the outskirts of Heian-kyo, a massive, green, one-eyed frog with long horns was leaping forward at a blistering pace. The frog left a trail of dust in its wake, its speed truly incredible.

Two passengers were currently riding on the back of this green mountain frog. One was a tiny young girl standing atop the frog's head. She had long rabbit ears, and her small hands were gripped tightly onto the frog's horns as if they were a steering wheel. Despite the breakneck speed, her face was bright with a joyful, excited smile. This was Yamausagi.

The other passenger was a girl significantly older than Yamausagi. She had short yellow hair and wore a conical hat shaped like a frog. At this moment, she was clinging for dear life to the mountain frog's back, her eyes spinning in dizzying circles. She clearly wasn't accustomed to the high speed and frequent jolting. There was a smear of blood on her chest; this was Suwako.

"Huff... huff... Hey, hey! Sister Frog, are you satisfied with this speed?" Yamausagi called out cheerfully, turning back to Suwako while steering Mr. Frog at full throttle. Suwako's mouth twitched before she managed to force out an answer.

"Stop... stop..."

"Huh? Stop? Okay then—brakes!"

As Yamausagi spoke, she let go with one hand and yanked on a small flower growing from the top of Mr. Frog's head. Mr. Frog's body shuddered violently, and he slammed on the brakes. After skidding across the ground and leaving a long friction mark, he finally came to a halt. Suwako, who was completely unprepared for the sudden stop, was thrown forward, flying straight into a distant tree with a thud.

"Hey! How many times have I told you? Just tell me to stop next time, don't pull the flower on my head!" Mr. Frog complained to the rabbit on his head once they were still. Yamausagi put her hands on her hips and replied with righteous confidence.

"That's too much trouble! Besides, Mr. Frog runs so fast that the wind is super loud! Sometimes I can't hear you at all!"

While the frog and rabbit were arguing, Suwako used a tree trunk to push herself up with difficulty. She spoke slowly.

"Cough, cough... Don't you two care about your passenger at all? I... I am... blegh..."

Unable to endure the nausea in her stomach any longer, Suwako turned and vomited into a nearby bush. Watching her, Yamausagi and Mr. Frog exchanged a look. Yamausagi leaned toward Mr. Frog, making a whispering gesture, though her voice didn't drop in volume at all.

"Hey, hey, Mr. Frog. This Sister Frog is one of your kind, so why is she like this? She actually got frog-sick..."

"I don't know either. As a frog yokai, she can't handle my jumping and speed? How embarrassing for our kind..." Mr. Frog said bluntly, his voice laced with a hint of disdain. Suwako, who had just finished vomiting, felt several cross-popping veins throb on her forehead.

"I'm not a frog yokai! I'm a deity! A deity! I'm not the same as you! Besides, I'm an injured person! I shouldn't be moving this fast or being jolted around like this!" Suwako turned around and raised her hand, shouting her protest at the pair.

"A deity? A frog deity? I guess that makes sense. You don't have much demonic power on you, so it seems you really are a wild god evolved from a frog yokai. But even so, you were still a frog yokai before. Don't think you can put on airs just because you became a wild god. We all hatched from eggs and turned from tadpoles. What's so special about that?" Mr. Frog squinted his large single eye, scrutinized Suwako, and spoke with total seriousness. His words made Suwako's cheeks puff out in frustration.

"I didn't evolve from some frog yokai! I used to be..." Mid-sentence, Suwako seemed to remember something and immediately shut her mouth. Mr. Frog glanced at her and prompted.

"What were you before?"

"Fine... fine, I was a frog yokai..." Suwako muttered, covering her forehead in a gesture of defeat. Mr. Frog nodded with satisfaction.

"That's more like it. Is it that hard to admit your own species? We're all the same kind. It's only natural to help each other when there's trouble, so don't act so high and mighty."

I am not the same kind as you... Suwako grumbled helplessly in her heart. Although she was grateful to have encountered this frog-and-rabbit duo at the most critical moment—they had quickly carried her away from the cave exit and temporarily avoided the risk of being found by the Great Snake's pursuers—it seemed she had to pay a certain price in dignity.

"Hehe~ Sister Frog, why are you injured? And why did you ask us to take you away from there at top speed the moment we met? Is someone bullying you? If that's the case, tell Bunny who it is! Bunny will go tell Big Tanuki and Long White-Head and have them vent your frustrations for you! Aside from Mr. Crane, they can beat up anyone in Heian-kyo!"

Yamausagi puffed out her small chest as she spoke. Because of her connections with Rihyon and the tanuki, no yokai in the Heian-kyo Ghost Market dared to mess with her. She was effectively the little boss of the district.

"Um... that won't be necessary. The enemies I face aren't ones ordinary yokai can handle. Let us part ways here so you don't get involved. Thank you." Suwako spoke with a serious expression, preparing to leave. However, a sudden wave of uncertainty washed over her.

Though she was temporarily out of danger, Suwako didn't know where to go. She desperately wanted to find Kanako inside Heian-kyo, but she knew the Great Snake had read her memories and knew their meeting place. Going there now would likely be walking straight into a trap.

In the past, she had other ways to contact Kanako. One was to have her subordinate Curse Gods deliver a message, or she could directly grant a divine oracle to her miko, Kaki. But now, because the Great Snake's power still lingered within her, Suwako was using almost all her strength to suppress and erase it. She couldn't spare any power for anything else. After all, the Great Snake's power was incredibly corrosive to the body of a wild god.

Suwako was utterly lost on where to go, how to deal with the Great Snake, and how to warn Kanako. At that moment, Mr. Frog called out to her again.

"Wait a moment. I don't know where you came from or who you offended, but if you want help and are afraid of involving others, you can go to Inari Mountain. Because outside wild gods often come to Heian-kyo seeking the title of Inari, the foxes of Inari Mountain provide unconditional protection to wild gods. Inari Mountain is the sacred territory of Lady Inari. No human or yokai dares to act recklessly there."

Mr. Frog advised Suwako. Hearing his words, Suwako's eyes suddenly lit up.