Ushio and Tora belongs to Kazuhiro Fujita and Shonen Sunday
Hours passed. Asako was constantly thinking about Ushio more than usual. Normally her father would taunt her about it, but he decided to be more respectful due to the gravity of the situation. The kid could be dead for all they knew. as the news was still uncertain.
Despite the worries they kept working, helping all the people whose homes were destroyed by the Hakumen. Suddenly, the bell rang, as two unexpected clients stepped in. They were Tora and Mayuko, and they got some.. interesting news to say the least.
Everything smelled much stronger than ever before. The stale, sulphury smell of salt water mixed with the musty irony smell of Yokai blood stood out the most. The last thing Ushio remembered was killing the Hakumen and falling into the ocean, was he dead? He certainly didn't hear anything about the afterlife smelling so strong.
He knew he was completely naked, but still felt warm like a coat of fur was covering his body. His new tail flicked slightly as his eyes slowly opened to the blinding light, far brighter than ever before. In a very human gesture, he rubbed his eyes, only to be greeted by the muscular, fuzzy arms that now belonged to him. His eyes widened in shock, as he instantly noticed a cat-like snout at the bottom of his peripheral view soon after.
"So, you're finally awake, it's about time." He heard Tora's voice calling to him, he sat up and looked at his body in sheer horror. He had immensely huge legs with elongated three digit feet, his body was covered entirely by silver fur. His fingers were much longer with sharp claws coming out of them. It was clear he wasn't human anymore.
He quickly stood up much to Mayuko's surprise, but tripped in a clumsy attempt to run at a nearby mirror. He looked shocked at his own reflection in the mirror, white pupil-less eyes stared back at him through the mirror as he opened his mouth to rows of needle-sharp teeth. The only thing that remained from his human self was the scar in his forehead becoming part of his fur-pattern, which bothered him a lot, but one thing was clear.
"You practically asked for this idiot, this was the payoff for saving my life." Tora said not long before Ushio grabbed him by the shoulders, looking at him in tears of desperation.
Tora looked smaller and so did everyone else, no, it was the other way around. He was much bigger, only dwarfing Tora ever so slightly, they barely even fit inside. There was no way he would willingly let this happen to him, it had to be a cruel prank played by the tiger demon. He swore the only thing he remembered was killing the Hakumen and falling into the ocean.
"I- I need to take a bath." Ushio said as he slowly rose into his four feet, his new weight made it felt natural. He shook into balance as his tail dragged along the ground as everyone watched him slowly climb up the stairs, it felt so weird having the new appendage to begin with. He grabbed the handle, slowly pulling the bathroom door, only for him to accidentally rip the entire wall.
Ushio felt the water run down his fur as his thoughts of regret were accompanied by the sizzling water. Why did he have to do this? He clutched his face with his hand, shivering in fear of his new self. He didn't want this, he would've prefered living without Tora over this, what was he thinking?
Ushio slowly lifted his head up, noticing Tora looking at him right outside the door with an angry stare, he charged toward the tiger demon, and desperately laid his hands on his shoulders, "Tora, please turn me back!"
Tora was already reaching breaking point, his complaints were driving him nuts, but this stupid request angered him so much so he slapped the boy-turned-beast in the face, leaving claw marks on his cheek, which began to bleed. "How many times should I tell you!? you asked the spirits to bring me back, you got turned into a beast!"
Silence struck for the next few moments, Ushio exited the bath and retreated to his room as everyone else went upstairs to see the commotion, he needed to be alone. He clumsily sat in the small chair, trying not to fall off, and looked at his unfinished paintings, wondering if he'd be able to paint in this form, at least that would distract him for a while.
He grabbed a paint-brush with the very tip of his fingers, and dipped it in paint, followed by the first few strokes. Ever since he was a kid he always wanted to be an artist. It was his passion, so it would be a big bummer to lose any opportunity to live off it.
He struggled making anything coherent with his bigger proportions, it would take him another lifetime just getting used to it, let alone getting good at it. "(Why am I kidding to myself)", he was going to live for a very long time, much longer than any human being, his family and friends will be dead by the time he's considered an adult in Yokai years or whatever.
This only made him pause. Asako… Dad… They might be annoying at times, but he can't waste time on petty things like this either, he needs to enjoy them while they last. Finally, Ushio decided to come out of his room, only to be greeted by Tora, who was secretly watching all this time.
"It isn't every day you see a Yokai painting," Tora said with that characteristically proud smile of his, hoping that drama of his wore down, he wouldn't want to deal with those stupid complaints any longer. "By the way, that gal you like, with the short black hair… she's looking for you."
"A-Asako!?"
The anxiety flowed through Ushio's mind. He shook uncontrollably as he peeked through the window, hearing Mayuko tell Asako about his situation. Ushio panicked at the thought of her seeing him like this. He had to hide like his life depended on it. He tried running despite not being used to walking, when the orange azafuse grabbed him by the tail.
"Get over it. I don't care if you two still get along, but at least she'll know that you're fine," Tora said with a comprehensive look, "After all, you're stuck like that for eternity."
Tora knew Asako was worried about him. Ushio carefully peeked at them talking in the living room, while Tora was more willing to show himself. She was quick to notice Tora and another… smaller monster that looked like Tora peeking from the stairs with a distressed look.
"Ushio?" Asako asked, approaching the white beast from the living room. She knew by her very guts that it was him, it had to be. The white Azafuse was about to break down and despite Tora not wanting to admit it, deep down he felt for the former boy.
The older Azafuse's words echoed in Ushio's mind, he was staying like this, there was no looking back, He chose this. Tora let him go, pushing him into sight. The girl tried to keep calm and extended her arm to him, with some fear coming from both of them.
Asako didn't want to get eaten by her own friend. Ushio didn't want to be rejected for his looks. She creeped a bit closer, Ushio leaning back to avoid contact. As if she was taming a wild animal, she slowly placed her arm at the bottom of Ushio's snout.
"It's fine," She said. "When you're stressed like this... don't think about it. Otherwise you'll never get better."
"You're right," He said. Asako hugged him. She knew he wasn't entirely gone. It was very strange that she'd care so much about him, they were the 'Worst Friends' yet, after all that happened, she cried tears of joy with Ushio following suit. He was alive, even like this, and that's all that mattered to her.
"(He'll never be like me)" Tora chuckled, after all… beasts don't cry.
