Ushio and Tora belongs to Kazuhiro Fujita and Shonen Sunday
It was a stormy evening. Throughout Japan, everyone had been fighting a war against a new kind of giant eldritch horror, the kind of horrors many thought were only possible in Kaiju flicks. The barrier between Humans and Yokai, Yin and Yang, Light and Darkness, broke as they joined forces in a war against a common enemy…
The Hakumen no Mono..
In the midst of the battle, the giant silver nine-tailed fox gouged his amber, bloodshot eyes out, insisting on fighting the very weapon made to destroy him, blinded and mad, floating in the midst of a poisonous storm.
Even if all odds are against them, the Hakumen's greatest enemy and the one who gave birth to him, Tora, and the 14 year old wielder of the Beast Spear, Ushio Aotsuki, kept fighting, struggling to stay alive.
As the intense gusts of wind blew in his long orange mane, Tora looked at the Hakumen with a mix of rage, excitement, hope and this would kill him, Tora stabbed himself with the spear where he got sealed, his shoulder.
Ushio tried to remove it, but Tora refused, believing this was necessary even if it cost him his life. The Hakumen could only panic, she couldn't see or smell anything. The Beast Spear is going to finally fulfill its purpose, she was going to die…
The creature yelled her final words. "Somebody… somebody name me, call me by my real name! My name is not Hakumen!" It begged, "You hate me, you fear me!"
"I don't hate anybody, hate only bears fruit you can't eat!" Tora said with a cocky attitude.
"Name… me," The hakumen begged as his body slowly disintegrated into particles of gold, the creature of darkness was finally reaching the light. His last tail, the tail that buried his deepest desire, showcased a picture…
"Look at the Hakumen's last tail!" Tora yelled as the duo looked in awe, it was of a baby laying on a nest.
"A baby," Tora said.
"He... wanted to be a baby?" Ushio asked with an air of uncertainty, left confused.
"I don't know… but he went to pieces pretty nicely," Tora replied as the poisonous storm disappeared, leaving the duo with a nice look at the region. Ushio turned around staring at Tora.
"Looks like my time's up as well," Tora added as smoke rose from his wound, his best friend, his partner, he was going away… the thought of it saddened Ushio, this wasn't happening… Tora wasn't dying was he?
"Same with me, I'm becoming a beast just like you!" Ushio sobs, shedding a tear in an attempt to cope. After all, why would he need him if only he could just replace him… right?
"Don't make me laugh, beasts don't cry! You'll never be like me!" He said, retaining his attitude despite his imminent faith.
"Damn it Tora! You can't die now! You haven't eaten me yet… right?" Ushio started getting desperate, "YOU CAN'T DIE NOW! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO EAT ME!" he screamed, crying.
"But I'm already full," Tora said, coughing up blood as smoke came from his chest.
Ushio clung onto his body, refusing to let him go, he fell with him, slowly falling to the ocean, faster and faster, just like Ushio's heart pressure as the spear broke into a million pieces, crumbling into dust... just what is happening? The ghosts of Girou, the forger of the Beast Spear and his sister, Jie Mei emerged from what was left of the legendary spear.
"Thank you… The souls of my brother and I.. so long we've been living in that cold spear, we would like to let us rest in your warm body," Jie Mei said kindly, closing up to Ushio's face "So that you won't ever become a beast... or at least that's we, with our might, wish"
"NO!" Ushio responded much to their shock. Ushio was too selfless, he couldn't let his best friend die, "I'd rather become a beast than let Tora die… bring him back," He said shedding a tear in pure desperation, time was running out.
"But… this is the last thing we can do for you," Girou said in disbelief, they've never seen a person willingly turning into a beast in two-thousand years. Shagakusha hated humanity so much he prefered being a beast, hence he became the Azafuse currently known as Tora, but he noticed a difference… he didn't do it out of hate… he did it out of love…
"Just… bring him back… BRING BACK TORA!" The boy screamed, struggling to breathe as his conscience flipped in and out. Everything became blurry, Tora was halfway disappearing.
"We promised we will be in your heart when The Hakumen is defeated…" Giryou said as they creeped closer, staring at his eyes, which started to split like shattered glass and tufts of hair appeared in his arms. "We will never be in the heart of a beast…"
"I know that but Tora's different…" Ushio said, shedding a tear, "He's done so much for me, I owe my life to him on so many occasions, and The Hakumen would've never been defeated without him... I can't just let him die… so please… save him."
"If you say so… We'll do as you wish," Jie Mei said.
It's the first time that has happened in all two-thousand years of the Spear's existence… Ushio was easily the most benign spearweidler they've ever seen… maybe she'll give him a "special gift."
The last thing Ushio saw was the spirits entering the orange beast's body… Ushio heard one last thing coming before finally blacking out… "Ushio… you… idiot!"
The war was officially over. Tora opened his eyes, looking up at the hordes of Yokai flying away. He was floating in the middle of the ocean, completely unharmed. Looking at Ushio, who was holding onto him unconsciously, he huffed. "Stupid brat!"
Tora held Ushio tightly, before lifting off. Mayuko yelled Tora's name excitedly as he approached the stone pillar in the middle of the sea, carrying Ushio's body with him. Tora floated down slowly, putting the newly-turned Azafuse's body on his mother's lap.
Mayuko was confused as he sat closer to the former temple boy, inspecting him closer with disbelief. She brushed his silver hair aside, noticing the small scar on his forehead became a star-shaped mark connected to the mask-like fur pattern around his eyes.
"Ushio gave up his humanity for me," Tora said, "He would have remained the same had he allowed the spirits of the Beast Spear to stay inside him."
"(He's truly a fool)", Shigure thought to himself, trying to process the change. He was very different from his former self, looking a lot more like Tora's twin than his son. As his father, he was worried about the direction his life would take after this, but he wasn't surprised either. Ushio was always the kind to sacrifice everything for others, even if it cost him his life.
As Mayuko gently combed his smooth silver mane, she and Kirio couldn't shake off the utter shock of Ushio willingly giving it up, their biggest fear however, was the thought he'd lose any memories of who he was like all the other Azafuse, a fear that remained throughout the way home.
