Ushio and Tora belongs to Kazuhiro Fujita and Shonen Sunday
Ushio laid down on the shrine's floor, covered with bandages on his torso, or where his torso would have been had it not been stabbed by that spider Yokai, leaving a big, gaping hole. To think Tora has survived stuff like this before, he saw his limbs getting cut off, just so he could put them back on like it's nothing.
He barely felt anything, he felt numb and was entirely unable to stand up, let alone walk. Maybe being an azafuse wasn't too bad now that he thought about it.
He's got inhuman healing now, and he's able to support would-be deadly circumstances for any other living being. Ushio's mom took off the bandages, much to their surprise, the gaping hole in his torso remained there.
"Strange… He should've recovered at this point." Tora squinted his eyes in frustration, looking closer, he found a strange black goo mixed in with Ushio's blood.
"What's that?" Sumako looked at Tora with worry.
"I… It looks like… some kind of poison," Tora growled as previously unearthed memories came back.
"Poison?" Sumako jumped towards Tora, worried for her son's well being.
"Poison like that can't kill a Yokai, but it disables our powers, including healing," Tora spoke in an unconventionally thoughtful manner, as he started recalling.
"W-who was that guy anyway?" Ushio muttered, struggling to speak from the pain.
"The Tsuchigumo… He's an old enemy of mine," Tora closed his eyes, ready to retell an old story. "It was a long time ago… I'm sure one of my old comrades told you already, but I fought against the Hakumen before, in a war like the one from three days ago..."
The First Hakumen War, 1160
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 folklore. 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…
Amidst the war, Tora, or shall we call him, Nagatobimaru, floated in the middle of the air, dealing against the hordes of Gyou threatening to destroy them. Amidst the chaos, was someone helping to command the white spirits. A spider-like yokai floating right in front of him with a sadistic look on his face.
"Grrrr… So it's you who's been sending them all toward me," Nagatobimaru growled profusely under his breath.
"I see the biggest hindrance to the mighty Hakumen is approaching," The Tsuchigumo thought aloud, his equivalent to a grin as the younger Nagatobimaru rushed towards him, "Get ready to meet your definitive fate, tiger!"
Lightning crackled from the azafuse's forehead, he flew closer and closer, ready to get an attack on him. Little did he know he'd fall in the spider's web. His six eyes locked on Nagatobimaru who was ready to electrocute. Right as he released the thunder, the spider disappeared into smoke.
Nagatobimaru looked frantically to both sides, panic turned frustration, he growled, "Grrrrr! Show yourself you damned bug!"
Suddenly, what looked like a sword, hard as iron, passed through his chest, Nagatobimaru coughed up some blood and looked over his shoulder. It was him, the Tsuchigumo laughed as he retired his sword-like paw, letting him plummet into the ground below.
The Kappa looked from below in shock, "Nagatobimaru-sama!" He yelled as he was curing someone else's wound.
Nagatobimaru landed in the swamp, on dry land thankfully. He noticed the blood on the gaping hole he had on his chest, alarmed as he noticed a strange, black, gooey liquid mixed in. He tried to keep it cool, knowing it would heal itself in a short while, which passed by, yet the hole was still there.
"Grrr… C-Curse yo-you! Y-you da-damn bug…" Whatever it was, Nagatobimaru knew he did something to him, something to hinder his rapid healing powers.
The Kappa ran towards the nearby swamp, he knew he couldn't leave his position, but this was urgent, Nagatobimaru was an essential asset to winning this war.
"Nagatobimaru-sama! Are you OK?" The Kappa asked in a concerned tone.
"Tch! O-of course I am, It just– needs more time!" Nagatobimaru groaned, attempting not to damage his pride. Ignoring his words, the Kappa came closer, noticing the same substance mixed into the Azafuse's blood.
"This doesn't seem right," The Kappa said worriedly, "This is poison, a special kind of poison that nullifies any natural self-healing powers for a Yokai like you!"
"Grrr! I– I can handle… myself!" He groaned before coughing up more blood. Ignoring his words, the Kappa started dragging him away.
"My medicine can't take care of this alone, I'll have to bring you somewhere else!" The persistent Kappa yelled.
He pushed through the battlefield, weapons and attacks from humans and yokai alike firing through their way. The Kappa pushed his body further, carrying the wounded Nagatobimaru on his back. Eventually, they made their way to a small hut at the edge of the battlefield, near a forest with a hot spring. Normally, that's where humans got cured, but the Azafuse's case was a special one.
"Madam! We have a big problem here! Nagatobimaru-sama 's heavily wounded! He was poisoned and can't regenerate!" The Kappa told the priestess
"I don't like healing monsters," The priestess said, "Why can't you do it yourself?"
"My medicine can't do that sort of thing, it's a special kind of poison that can't be cured by normal means!" The Kappa begged her desperately as Nagatobimaru growled. "It mixes itself into the victim's blood, not allowing them to regenerate!"
"Heh! Do that… and I'll… eat you!" Nagatobimaru told the priestess
"Why should I heal someone like him?" The priestess asked, trying not to panic, "any person with common sense wouldn't heal something that threatens to eat them."
"He's a very important asset for our victory," The Kappa tried reasoning once again, "The Hakumen would've won a long while ago if it wasn't for him!"
"Fine, I'll make a single exception here," she assured, "Go back to your position, I'll take care of him!"
"Purifying powers could kill him, so try to be careful and only vanish the poison," The Kappa said before running away, "Be careful please!"
The priestess placed her hands on the gaping hole, trying to purify the black liquid, "This may be a bit risky, try not to move as my powers could make it worse for a beast of darkness like you."
He growled quietly as the poison vanished, and in no time he started to heal slowly. He felt the gaping wound closing in, and despite suffering through wounds like this several times, he never managed to get used to the feeling of tissue re-connecting.
The recovering warriors around them looked at the beast in fear that it may attack them. Never in his life he thought he'd have to team up with humans, and he wished to never do so again, but right now, that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to him back then was slaying the Hakumen…
Aotsuki Shrine, Present
"In short, the poison can only be washed off with pure healing powers," Tora explained, looking at Sumako.
She quickly understood this, but there was one problem. "My powers are still extremely weak right now, I used them all up on sealing the Hakumen no Mono away during the fight."
"Hrrr… of course there had to be an inconvenience, there's always an inconvenience" Tora grumbled angrily under his breath.
"I-if I can recall correctly, wasn't… Mayuko originally destined to… seal the Hakumen away for the next… 300 years?" Ushio asked.
"Tch! Of course!" Tora yelled with an embarrassed look, he had to find that girl of all people. "Don't tell this story to anyone else, brat!"
Asako and Reiko were hanging out at Mayuko's house, with two needles and some wool in their hands. Asako was yet to perfect his techniques, but didn't even know if it was worth it anymore, not feeling any better about the loss of Ushio's humanity than Ushio himself.
Some people denied the Hakumen's existence, but others became truly panicked at the existence of Yokai since that tragedy so what she knew was just Ushio under a different body, was a blood-thirsty monster preying on her to them. Her father especially, he was never very bright, but this time he disappointed her more than ever before.
Reiko gave her a reassuring pat on the back, "Just because he's a beast doesn't mean he can't paint. He'll still appreciate it." She said with a soft timid smile, still not truly grasping his transformation into a beast. "He must've felt very bad that night."
Despite this, something about Ushio being a monster still irked her. Ushio couldn't do anything bad like that, he hated harming the innocent. Unless it was a threat, he wouldn't hurt a fly…
But on the other hand, he was also very impulsive, quick to use brawn over brains to solve any issue. A subconscious part of her thinks he could accidentally use his claws to harm them, or try to eat her for real. He just didn't have the self-control Tora had.
Mayuko came back with two drinks in hand, she took from the fridge. "Don't worry, When I met Tora, I was afraid he'd eat my hand off, him threatening to eat me and all, but we quickly grew to trust each other mutually" Like Reiko, she put her hand over Asako's shoulder, "If someone like him can be nice to me, there's no way Ushio would try to harm us."
"What did you say about me?!" Tora yelled as he phased through the wall, much to Mayuko's excitement, "Stupid humans think I care about them, when the only thing I want is to eat them!"
"He tends to just pop up like that sometimes," Asako whispered to Reiko, who was surprised by his sudden appearance, taking the tiger demon's words seriously, while the other girls knew he was only playing it up, especially Mayuko, who rushed to hug the Azafuse.
"Tch! We got an urgency at the shrine," Tora sat on her shoulder, refusing to elaborate.
"What is it?" Asako asked.
"None of your business."
"You aren't trying to hide anything from me, are you?" Asako said in a concerned manner, something about his sudden appearance made her think of Ushio, and that worried her.
"None of your business," Tora repeated as they took a few steps further, Mayuko was also curious as to what was going on exactly, but chose not to ask until later.
"If you really want to hide this stuff from me, then I'll have to go myself!" Asako shouted at Tora, trying to push her way out, but the tiger demon placed a front paw on her head, not willing to let her get past them.
"Tch! You're really a persistent human, It's the third and final time I'm telling you it's none of your business!" Tora said as Mayuko was already standing outside by this point.
Suddenly, someone came from upstairs with a tired look. It was Kirio, "Take your relationship issues somewhere else, I'm trying to study!"
"Tch!" Tora slammed the door right in front of her, leaving her with a desire to kick him in the face.
She sighed as he strolled back to the sofa, leaving only her and Reiko were at Mayuko's house now. Reiko began to calm her down, both of them hoping Mayuko would return quick enough for the celebration sleepover they had planned.
This was the second time Mayuko used her still developing powers. Being extra careful not to harm Ushio further, she slowly vanquished the strange, seemingly magical venom that prevented his recovery.
Ushio moaned quietly as his wound began to close, feeling nothing but an uncomfortable feeling mixed with sharp pain as his torso closed in and he regained sense. Ushio tried getting up, using as much strength as he could, his jaws clenched, he cried, but it was fruitless.
His body was still fragile but despite the excruciating pain, Ushio was strong enough to endure it, not yelling that much in the process. Mayuko was stressed out and seeing Ushio recover brought nothing but relief, she still needed someone to comfort her after her effort.
"Tora-chan, mind if I hug you for a while? I'm tired," She said with some weakness in her typically soft and tender voice.
"Fuck no!" Tora denied, trying to act all tough as usual, but a part of him wanted to hug her aswell, it's been a long while since last time after all.
"Aww c'mon! You know you like it!" She insisted, kneeling close towards the older Azafuse, who couldn't resist any longer, "I just did you a favor, It's time for you to return it!"
"OK then, but don't get too touchy!" Tora grumbled as she felt the beast's coat of fur.
It was soft, very soft, better than any blanket. She felt she could fall asleep at any time soon, being hugged by his strong, manly arms. Tora didn't feel any different either, he smiled softly for a beast like him. Even the recovering Ushio joined in, feeling the need for company.
"Y'know, while I was taking care of Ushio, he told me you met Ms. Yuki back in that war from a couple centuries ago," She muttered, "Is that true?"
Tora's eyes widened in embarrassment, he seriously had to tell her about that didn't he? "Tch! Brat, you had to be such a loud mouth!" He muttered angrily, grinding his teeth at the recovering azafuse, before sighing.
The First Hakumen War, 1160
Nagatobimaru was in a situation he's never been in before, one too embarrassing for a feared Yokai as feared as him. He couldn't believe he was being helped by a human girl. "(Stupid Kappa… why did you have to humiliate me like this!)"
He tried getting up, using all of his strength, he wanted to get back at that spider jerk for what he did to him, but most importantly, he wanted to defeat the Hakumen, but he was too weak. He slammed back into the floor, hopelessly looking at the ceiling in frustration.
"Your body is still too fragile, You wouldn't be able to walk for a while," The priestess said in a soft tone, Nagatobimaru could do nothing, growling like the wild beast he was, she laid her hand on the azafuse, petting him much to the other humans' shock.
"I know how you feel, Nagatobimaru, I don't like doing this either, but you wouldn't be able to fight the Hakumen with that wound."
"If you don't like doing this, then why did you team up with us in the first place," He asked to no response, "It's not like I care about you guys anyways, I'm just curious."
"The Hakumen is just as much of a threat to us as it is to you, Nagatobimaru," She gladly responded, "The amount of people that died in it's initial attack was devastating, teaming up you guys were our only hope."
"And how do you know my name anyways? Only other Yokai call me like that," He said, after all, most humans he's seen just called him a variation of "raiju" or "monster"
"Well, that Kappa just told me a while ago, silly," She said with a smile, as she kept petting him.
"(Stupid Kappa)" He thought, "Whatever, but you'll be nothing but my meal once this war ends," He muttered in an angry tone, making the priestess giggle.
"I'll definitely be tasty, but what matters right now is defeating The Hakumen… remember?"
Nagatobimaru closed his eyes, smirking, "Yeah… I'll get my revenge," he spoke in a soft, but growly, threatening voice.
"Many think you're scary… but I honestly think you're cute." Nagatobimaru tried resisting as much as he could, only hoping there weren't any Yokai around here. The thought of getting caught purring, especially because of another human being, was terrifyingly embarrassing for him.
Uncharacteristically he pushed her hand away in a soft manner, as to not harm her, contrary to his normally brash demeanor. "You won't say that when I eat you!"
"I surely won't," She shook the beast slightly in a playful manner, "(Maybe Yokai aren't that bad after all)" She thought.
Aotsuki Shrine, Present.
"I had no idea Ms. Yuki was like that towards Yokai," Mayuko said, "At least I was sweet from the start, unlike her," She giggled.
"Don't be so naive, I only like you for the Ham-barkers!" Tora yelled.
"If you think so, then you must like those 'Ham-Barkers' enough to willingly spend time with me," she said, "I may get you some when I get better. After all, I bet you've been craving some for a long while."
The atmosphere in the shrine became more quiet. Mayuko looked to her left, and noticed Ushio laying right beside them. "Seems your story made Ushio fall asleep," She said quietly, "It must be more fun and comforting to have another one of your kind around huh?"
Tora glared at her and took a deep breath. Having another one of his kind was indeed fun, but something about it felt… wrong… "I don't understand why humans like him care about everyone but themselves, that dumbass only made his own life harder."
Tora sighed, after centuries worth of making excuses, he wasn't used to talking about his feelings so openly, "He should've been studying, going to that place you humans call college, marrying that Asako girl and having a little shrimp or two as I rested peacefully in the afterlife…"
He looked blankly at the horizon with pure anger, "Jie Mei… Giryou… Stupid spirits, why did they have to listen to that shrimp's demands," He said, growling in a deep, menacing tone.
Mayuko's eyes widened in shock. "Tora… It's not everyday you open up like this," She said, but Tora only huffed in response, "Y'know, I also felt defeated when Asako was about to sacrifice herself too, I felt like I should've been the one to jump into that fire pit. I felt as if I should've sacrificed myself instead."
"Tch! You were lucky Ushio saved both of you in time that day."
"And Ushio was lucky enough to live," She said with a confident smile forming in her face, "Nothing is stopping him from adapting to life as an Azafuse."
The atmosphere became quieter, almost awkward in a way, as they didn't say a word for the next couple seconds. Mayuko pet Ushio, careful not to wake him up as Tora huffed again, "You're the only one who's fine with Ushio losing his humanity."
She smiled, "We all grow to accept change eventually."
Mayuko closed her eyes, the warmth of Tora's fur made it easy to fall asleep. Before she could drift off, Tora spoke softly in a worried tone, abandoning his rough persona temporarily, "Thanks," He sighed, watching as she fell asleep. With that thought, he closed his eyes, falling asleep himself.
