Bones
Gojyo walked on ahead of Sanzo, muttering something about the food being gone once they got back. He paused to flick the old cigarette away, mashing it into the dirt. "That monkey better not have—" The kappa stopped short and raised an eyebrow. "I still smell smoke, and it ain't your brand, either…. Do you think we're close to the camp?
"How the hell should I know? You're the one with the good night-vision." Sanzo was still dwelling on the imagined voice in the fog and quickly becoming rather irate at Gojyo for interrupting his thoughts. If the priest's arms hadn't been occupied, the kappa would have received a sharp smack on the noggin with a large paper fan for opening his mouth. Said kappa grit his teeth in irritation with a glance in Sanzo's direction.
"I would be able to see if it weren't for all this fuckin' mist!" the redhead snapped, choosing instead to use the smell of smoke as a lead.
"Fine, just pick a direction and take it." Sanzo answered shortly. A fleeting sensation that something unpleasant was lurking nearby crept its way up the priest's spine. With a slight shiver, Sanzo prodded the kappa in the back with one of his sticks. "Get moving."
" 'Ey! Don't poke me, I'm going…" Gojyo protested, setting a faster pace. He began to rely on smell of smoke, for the mist had grown too thick to see past the end of your nose. Sanzo followed blindly behind, keeping his eyes on the bobbing red hair in front of him. The brightness of the kappa's hair was the only thing keeping the priest walking on the same path, as his eyes weren't as developed. A growing sense of unease was gradually taking over his thought process, making if difficult to concentrate on anything else. After a short time, Gojyo stopped and glanced around, his lip curling.
"There's someone out there…" the kappa whispered, muscles tensing visibly as Sanzo approached. "Do you hear it, Sanzo?
"No…but I feel…" The priest's words trailed off as he felt something brush by his head. Dropping the armload of sticks, he whirled around aiming his gun in the direction he thought the touch had come from. He stood, arms outstretched, peering through the heavy mist. When no attack came, he lowered the gun, perplexed. Gojyo had jumped at Sanzo's sudden reaction, tensed and ready although he had no idea what had caused such a reaction in the blonde. No telltale shot signified the splattering of Youkai brains on the forest floor, no hurried cursing, no scuffle of feet on the dead leaves…. The kappa blinked at the priest curiously, quite sure he had heard something just a moment ago.
"…?" Sanzo turned slowly, checking all around for any sign of movement. Finally, at a loss, he looked up, toward a nearby tree. Barely visible in the dim glow filtering through the forest canopy was a rotten old rope, swinging feebly in the stale breeze. It was frayed and mossy, as if it had been there just long enough to not completely disintegrate. As he watched, it creaked lazily past the place where his head had been. "…What the hell…?"
Gojyo eyed the priest suspiciously, thinking that perhaps someone had the late night jitters. "Congrats, you almost ended the life of a crummy old rope."
"Shut up" he snapped back at the kappa. Sanzo leaned down to re-gather the firewood, although he wondered why he kept bothering—the stuff was so damp now he doubted they would be able to light a fire even if they could find their way back to camp. "You're the one hearing ghosts, if I remember correctly."
Gojyo watched him pick up the wood distractedly, wishing fervently that he were back with Hakkai and Goku and the Jeep with a friendly cigarette. "At least I didn't stop to try shooting them."
"It…it brushed the top of my head…. You would've done the same under these circumstances." Sanzo paused to shoot his companion a scathing look, before resuming his pointless venture of stick gathering. He picked up what he hoped what the last piece and began walking again. As he got up, the priest's ears started ringing slightly, as if he had gotten up too fast, but more persistent. Shaking his head to clear the sound away availed nothing. What the fuck…? Gojyo was no longer paying attention to the priest and therefore didn't notice Sanzo's change of expression. The redhead was surveying their surroundings, trying to determine the best course of action.
"Maybe they started a fire without us—I wouldn't put it past them. That bastard monkey…. Hakkai probably let him start eating our rations…." Gojyo rambled on to himself in response to successfully picking up the smoky scent again. "Hey, almighty one—I think we're close."
"Hn…" Sanzo responded slowly, deciding to ignore the ringing in his ears for now. He figured it was either the damp atmosphere or the way he stood from bending down or a combination of both. He didn't care as long as it went away after a good night's sleep. "Close to what, kappa? I don't see anything."
The redhead sighed, "Close to camp…. It's that smoke again—I can smell it. Why the hell did they send us to get wood if they had some already?" Gojyo growled low, really not concerned with anything besides the prospect that he'd been tricked into taking the sour priest on a wild goose chase/nature walk.
"How the hell should I know?" The ringing in Sanzo's ears was getting a bit worse the farther they walked and it was making him irritable. "I don't see any fire…." The priest shifted the sticks over to one arm so he could jam a finger in one ear. After trying both, nothing seemed to have changed.
"Neither can I, but this fog is so fucking thick I—" Gojyo glanced back at Sanzo and realized the priest was trailing several steps behind. Quirking an eyebrow at the other's behavior, "Sheesh, I didn't think I was talking that much…."
"Obviously, you are, as usual." Sanzo's reply was slower than his usual barbed retorts. The noise was getting more and more distracting and was even starting to affect his hearing. Gojyo sounded fifteen feet away instead of five. "Shut your trap and move."
"What's crawled up your ass this time?" the kappa replied, stalking off and muttering to himself. There were plenty of things he'd rather be doing than getting lost in a forest with someone who wouldn't stop ordering him around like a servant. Behind him, Sanzo clenched his teeth together, wishing the kappa would quit talking as it was wearing on his already frayed nerves. The ringing in his ears was becoming more than an annoyance and he suspected there would be a headache along with it soon enough. The priest suddenly realized that the mist was becoming even more concentrated than before, if that was even possible, and the ground seemed to be changing. The hard ground was less rocky and uneven with roots, giving way into a smoother terrain. It was almost as if they had come to a road. Gojyo remarked pleasantly on the improved condition of the ground, making empty threats about how he was going to confront Hakkai about this little excursion after they got back. All suspicion has fled from his mind after no other strange sensations had yet emerged from the forest. Sanzo vaguely though that they had entered a clearing, though most definitely not the one they had started in. The air here felt off, almost foreboding in its distinct presence. The priest tried to see into the surrounding area, still following the kappa's blob of red hair and obnoxious rambling. The odd feeling was getting stronger, but thankfully the ringing in Sanzo's ears seemed to have reached a peak and would not get any worse.
"…I think…we're on a road…" Sanzo mumbled, not really caring if Gojyo heard him or not. The redhead had good hearing, but only when he chose to use it; Gojyo missed the priest's comment completely, but seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
"What is this? A road? I don't remember any road. Does someone actually live out here?" The kappa snorted in surprise, pulling strands of lank red hair from his face. "Hmph…."
"Who knows? I can't see a goddamn thing…." Sanzo was dragging his feet, air around tugging him down toward the ground. Just as he though the weight of his limbs was going to pull him down, the priest caught sight of was looked to be the remains of a building through a gap in the fog. He blinked at it stupidly, looking around and seeing more dark shapes and little piles of rubble all around them. Gojyo was already inspecting on of the piles—by standing on it—and peering into the distance.
"Gyah…what's an old building doing out here? Can't we get lost in a normal forest for once?
"This was a town…" Sanzo said slowly, still straining his eyes to see through the mist. The breeze kicked up just enough to swirl the fog around, offering snatches of the derelict village. The priest could see the decaying remains of houses, blacked by age and probable fire, weeds everywhere…and bones. There were human bones here and there, charred and broken among the rubble. That was when Sanzo's skull turned inside out.