Love and Loss
Sanzo shivered then frowned, annoyed at himself for showing that small amount of weakness. He pulled a pack of smokes from one of his pockets and lit a cigarette, drawing in a lung full of smoke and then another. The tip glowed red, the only real light in the complete and utter depth of night that surrounded him. Overhead the clouds of an impending storm blocked out the stars and covered the moon in an impenetrable blanket of ebony.
He ached for something though he couldn't say what. Some kind of light no matter how dim to stave of the feeling of falling into a pit he couldn't escape from. He hated nights like this, when the sensation of a loss he couldn't remember haunted him. It was as if there was light and warmth and the sound of voices just beyond the reach of his conscious mind.
Maybe he was going mad, hell, maybe he always had been. It was possible that was the reason he'd ended up in the river in the first place; someone had wanted to spare him the trials of slowly losing his mind. Or maybe, whispered a voice in his mind, you refuse to hear and acknowledge the things you need to. Embrace your destiny and go forth.
Frustrated now and even more annoyed Sanzo dropped what was left of the cigarette and ground into the dirt with a vicious twist of his foot. It was too late to go back now anyway. No matter what the goddess had in mind he was committed to following that voice until he found out if it was part of himself or someone else crying out for help.