First submitted to IB4Y.2. Won second position.
Pure energy crackled around the monk. 'Too pure,' he thought grimly as he leaned against his staff. Indeed, it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe, let alone walk through the perilous mountain terrain. He had been travelling without a break for a whole day and yet his destination always remained just beyond his reach.
A pebble rolled away from his feet and disappeared into the dark depths of the cliff. On the other side a stone wall rose almost vertically into the sky. The narrow road in front of him disappeared round a bend. The sky was an unbroken gray. Miroku looked forlornly at the lonely prospect that stretched out in front of him. Even the monotonous jangling of the metal rings attached to his staff had begun to tick him off.
He needed to discover the source of the pure aura that was mocking him, berating him for his depraved thoughts. But all that in good time. Right now his entire attention was focussed on the matter at hand. In a way it was right there in front of him, half hidden by the fog; and yet it was tantalizingly far-off – a hypnotic landscape that he could never struggle on to. Beads of sweat formed upon his forehead and it seemed as though his feet were dragging two gigantic boulders. Would it be better just to give up?
'Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go', he remembered the words of his sensei, spoken long ago.
No, giving up was definitely not an option for him. Taking a deep breath, Miroku willed his feet to move a few brisk steps closer to his goal. Then silently, he extended his right hand to caress Sango's shapely behind.