'How you have grown, Genjo Sanzo.'
"Sanzo, can I please have some sake, please?"
"Would you shut up! You aren't old enough to drink!"
'Your…charge is very persistent," A smile.
"C'mon, Sanzo-sama, let the kid have a little drink. It won't hurt him."
"Yeah, it won't hurt! I just want a little…"
"For crying out loud…"
'But…I see that you bear a heavy burden.'
A chair pushed back, scraping against the worn wooden floor. "Do whatever you want."
'The charka upon your forehead has brought you pain and suffering…'
The flare of a lighter, then a cigarette being lit. A room engulfed in darkness. The rain beating on the roof.
'Do not mourn for me, Genjo Sanzo.'
"Damn rain," Words hissed in annoyance, frustration, pain.
'It isn't your fault. I chose my path.'
"Sanzo, are you alright?" A polite query from outside the thick door; muffled.
"I'm fine."
'I died so you could live.'
A gun, heavy in a sweaty palm. The muzzle pressed tightly against a temple.
'Is this the path you wish to take? There is still much for you to learn, to see, to feel.'
The cocking of a hammer, echoing in the small room, in his head.
'Do you wish for him to suffer as you have suffered?'
His hand trembles, his breath wavers and his hand drops to his side.
'Live, Genjo Sanzo. Live so that I may live through you. So that my death was not in vain.'
Another cigarette lit, burning brightly in the dark; blinding.
'Do not be in such a hurry to die. We will drink our sake together soon enough. Until then, enjoy it with him. With them.'
A deep breath. A tear, wiped hastily away.
'You just continue being strong, Priest Genjo Sanzo.'