Ushio and Tora belongs to Kazuhiro Fujita and Shonen Sunday
Ushio was walking alone, spending a cloudy evening in the middle of the ancient swamp as the wind whistled through his long mane. It was rather calm and peaceful despite the tense fog, the place seemed to be endless as he could barely make out anything.
He looked up, noticing an army of Yokai, including a certain orange Azafuse, fighting a certain 9 tailed fox among a stream of Gyou. Despite his familiarity with those two, he was rather confused, as if he knew nothing about them prior. A cold breeze creeped as he noticed a certain spider Yokai stab him.
Suddenly, the smoke covered his entire view, not being able to see anything. He saw it turn purple, as the atmosphere rapidly became ominous. It was dark, but he could clearly see the purple smoke forming into the silhouette of a spider. The silhouette of fear itself.
He took a couple steps back, noticing a bunch of dead bodies, as the water below him turned into blood. The Tsuchigumo's mandibles opened in a terrifying cackle. "Son of that hateful priest… You don't feel hungry after escaping my poison?"
Ushio growled like a dog, emotion changing into an irrational, angry fear. He knew he had to attack, he knew he had to defend himself, but he couldn't… he didn't know how to. The spider in front of him continued.
Ushio backed off more, stepping on a skull in the process. "Who would've thought that the once feared Nagatobimaru would become nothing but the house pet of a dirty Beast Spear wielder like him? Beasts don't hunt forest animals, they hunt for humans."
"What do you want from Tora?!" Ushio yelled, "What do you want from my dad?!"
"You'll find out soon…"
"USHIO!" He was snapped out of his dream. It was early in the morning from the looks of it. The sun hadn't begun to rise yet and of course, Mayuko was gone. He couldn't believe he spent the rest of the day sleeping. Ushio yawned in return, weakly rubbing his eyes. "Tora?"
"C'mon sleepyhead. It's time to train!" He continued, "That scumbag could come back at any moment and it's better you're prepared as soon as possible."
Ushio noticed his dad woke up incredibly early as well, which, unless he had an appointment with the sect, was incredibly rare for him. He took a sip of tea and placed the cup on the table, maintaining the laid back but serious look he had on his face he's come to know.
"Even your dad agreed to help." Tora grabbed Ushio by the tail and dragged him along. Ushio didn't even bother to struggle this time as they headed to the backyard.
They were standing in front of each other, separated at opposite ends of the backyard, looking each other in the eyes, not losing sight of each other as wind blew between them.
Shigure was watching from afar, standing right in the door with a cup of tea in hand. He took a sip as they leapt into each other, an indistinguishable blur of fur and claws followed after. Ushio was about to claw Tora in the eye, but he wrapped his hair around his wrist, arms crossed, and lifted him above his head before throwing him into the ground behind.
The white azafuse stood up slowly, shaking as his view directed to him. "Melee is important, but you have to learn how to use your powers in a fight. You can't rely on one or the other, so striking a balance is the key to victory for Yokai like us." Tora said calmly, despite the already frenetic rhythm of their brawl.
The Azafuse continued to pounce at each other, before Tora landed a blow on his cheek, he wiped the blood off his cheek and giving into his new instincts, licked it off delicately. It was gross, but he didn't care. He was truly enjoying himself to the point where even getting hurt felt good. It gave him the adrenaline necessary to continue.
Ushio stood up and jumped highly unsure of what to do, his current goal was to get stronger, he had to do some justice to that spider-asshole. He couldn't let him roam around freely, violently killing and eating people, getting stronger every second as he targeted his father for revenge on something he didn't do. The thought of it made him mad.
He couldn't wait to lay his claws deep on him, scratching and dismembering him, tearing him apart with all the rage in the world… that thought excited him and terrified him at the same time. He felt like he was losing the little humanity he got left, but the temptation was too much for him.
He felt a tickling sensation through-out his fur only grew stronger by the second, the fur on his mane ruffled more aggressively each time and It wasn't his idea. The static electricity was traveling through his fur and before he knew it, he shot a wave of electricity towards the ground, burning the grass down to ashes.
He opened his eyes, noticing Tora giving him a proud thumbs up from below, amongst the ashes "That was some admirable lightning for a rookie like you, kid!" The older Azafuse chuckled, this was great for the first time he did this, but it definitely needed some work.
Tora responded by drawing in his breath as much air as possible, before launching a burst of fire, which Ushio dodged with a leap sideways as it crashed into the warehouse beside it, causing significant damage to it.
Ushio landed on his four paws in a perfect, elegant manner and Tora only stood in front of him, licking his paw like a big house cat. His dark orange tail flicked back and forth like a pendulum, trancing impatiently in a hypnotizing, tempting motion.
"I know you aren't used to fighting without that damned Spear, but you don't need it anymore… your fangs… your claws… your powers… they're your Spear now!"
Ushio grinned in realization, completely agreeing with the older Azafuse. Tora hated it if anyone touched his tail. It was the most sensitive part of his body and the one he treasured the most. He would've been dead if he tried doing this as a human, but it was different now.
He leapt low hoping to dig his jaws on Tora's tail, hoping to feel the small, weak bones cracked under his needle-sharp teeth not long before Shigure interbeened, swinging his staff right in front of the tiger demons' neck and pointing at the broken down shed.
"You Idiotic Yokai, I thought we agreed to not do any damage to our surroundings!" He yelled, "We'll have to pay for any damage done after this!" They both looked down in disappointment, the sparring was over right when it was getting good.
Ushio sat at the table, finally eating a proper breakfast. It was the home-made Miso soup he was waiting so eagerly to try. Right after serving, Ushio was violently shoving the food into his maw. His needle sharp teeth weren't made for chewing, so he just gulped it down, not thinking about it twice.
He couldn't help it, for someone who's been keeping a giant 9-tailed beast for nearly 200 years, she seemingly didn't lose her practice, or was it his meddled senses that made it taste better? Shigure came the moment he finished his plate, looking at his son proudly.
"I was really impressed by your fighting skills, son." Tora left the room as Shigure spoke, in search of something he could eat while Ushio finished his breakfast.
Ushio blushed, as he barely did anything. "Thanks I guess, Pops… there's something I wanted to tell you ever since I woke up," He said, making his dad raise an eyebrow.
"I had a strange dream, I was wandering a swamp, in what seemed to be ancient China, I saw Tora fighting the Hakumen far in the distance before getting hit by… something, then, that same purple mist from yesterday covered the place, and then, the Tsuchigumo appeared right in front of him. I tried to ask him something, before Tora woke me up."
"Don't worry about it," Sumako said as she passed by, briefly petting the young Beast. "It was probably a nightmare from the stress."
They had to keep his son calm before the time came, otherwise he would be too stressed. As a father it was his duty to support him. He needed for him to get used to his powers as soon as possible, otherwise he wouldn't have a chance against the Yokai approaching them.
"I almost forgot!" Shigure went back to the kitchen, he grabbed a cup and served some tea. He grabbed and straightened one of Ushio's fingers, before placing the cup in it. "Keep it balanced that way, do not let it spill. I'm sure that will help you concentrate and that way, improve your Yoki"
Despite the current situation, his parents had some work to do. Shigure put on the Takuhatsugasa and grabbed his Khakkhara staff. He gave a peace sign to his son, wishing him good luck and closed the door behind him, with all the calm in the world despite being the main target of a powerful Yokai.
Ushio looked at the cup of tea again, hot and fuming. He had to balance it, not letting an eye off, this will improve his Yoki… at least according to his dad. "(Man, training like this was so boring)" He thought to himself, "(but this will help me, somehow, against the Tsuchigumo)"
Ushio sighed and looked at Tora, "Can't we do something else?"
"Can't help it, if this means you'll get to be useful for once, then better stare at that tea cup."
Ushio instantly grabbed Tora by the shoulders. "Don't call me useless, you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me!"
"You threw the cup off." Ushio looked behind him, noticing the broken cup on the floor. His eyes widened, he had failed his task so quickly.
"See? You're useless." Tora remarked with a bold grin, "I have an alternative, I bet it's far more entertaining than the bullshit that old geezer makes you do."
Later That Day…
The sky was clear and the two girls walked down the suburban streets. It was their first day of College, and Asako was excited but also nervous. They had a whole life and career ahead of them, and now that Ushio wasn't there to help them through it, she felt a bit anxious.
School came back surprisingly fast, she thought they'd take a bit longer to rebuild the institute, much to her disgust. As they passed by the mall, still being repaired, she heard a faint scream come from the top. She knew it was Ushio, still training how to fly with Tora or something. She confirmed by looking above her, vaguely noticing the two.
"Asako! What are you waiting for!?" Mayuko waved at her from far off, as Asako ran towards her, she gave one last look at the two Azafuse before leaving. "What are you lookin' at?"
"Ushio's learning how to fly again with Tora," Asako said, "Or at least that's what they say. Tora just throws Ushio off a building until he's tired. I don't get why they'd waste time on this."
"Well, he's gotta learn somehow," Mayuko shrugged before giggling. "Maybe someone is a bit jealous that she doesn't get to spend much time with him anymore."
Asako blushed, "I- I… What are you talking about? I'm not jealous! I'd never be jealous of a man-eating cranky old Yokai like him!"
"Well, I find his grumpy attitude endearing to be honest," Mayuko said with a soft smile, as Asako rolled her eyes. "He may be mean, and he may threaten to eat us, but actions weigh more than words, right?"
"I guess so…"
The sky was clear and the wind blew strongly on Ushio's mane, he could see a good chunk of the city from up there. Sadly, he wasn't there for the views, or rather, he had no idea of what they were here for, or what they were going to do. "Guess there needs to be a looming threat in place for you to be a half-way decent menor."
"Guess there needs to be a looming threat for you to be a half-way decent student," Tora patted him on the back, "You aren't used to fighting without the damned Beast Spear, but you're a beast, fanged and clawed with great powers, your very body is your Spear now!"
"Now do as I say, close your eyes and concentrate on your surroundings." Tora said and Ushio nodded, following his orders despite his confusion, "The moisture of the air, the direction of the wind. Remember how I told you about the natural essence flowing on everything, right? Try calling it in."
"Yeah?" Ushio asked, eyes still closed.
"Your will to cause harm attracts it, hatred is what gives us power, what drives our very being." Tora explained calmly, "Your hatred towards the Tsuchigumo attracted the clouds above, try thinking about everything he did to make you hate it again."
After a few seconds of silence, Ushio began growling. That same tingling sensation from earlier was intensifying more and more as small bursts of lightning began flowing through his mane. "Great, now concentrate on your very core, on blending your Youki with nature!"
The power of lightning itself running through his body made him stand right up, his hands tensed up as he took it all in. "You're losing control! Try concentrating on driving it all to a specific part of your body or else you may electrocute yourself!"
Ushio tried his hardest to move it to his arms, but the power overwhelmed him so much, he had no option but to let it go. A large wave of lightning shone over the unfinished mall, attracting the eyes of many below. Ushio was steaming, feeling as though he lost his breath. "You really need to work on it, kid."
"What was that?" A voice said as Ushio slowly stood up. He slowly opened his eyes, shaking his head to drown out the dizziness.
"Well, I guess it's time to leave. CLOUDS COME!" Tora yelled, A small group of gray thunder-clouds formed in the sky right above them, before following Tora who proceeded to use it as camouflage. The young Azafuse was so tired he fell head-first in the level below, there was no way Ushio could follow him anymore, he was stuck there figuring it out for himself.
"Damn it Tora…" Ushio groaned as he saw a construction worker in front of him, who lent a hand to him.
"Sakaguchi-san! What are you doing, he's a monster!" A construction worker yelled from behind, "Do you want him to bite your hand off?"
Ushio was too tired to move. He weakly looked upwards, his eyes widening as he saw the two construction workers right in front of him. Quickly, he built enough strength to back off into a nearby pillar and panicked at the sight of the human approaching him, appearing and disappearing trying to turn invisible, but too scared to concentrate.
"He seems to be scared of us," The man grabbed him by his front left paw, helping him stand up. "But I can't resist helping people-er monsters I suppose."
He was certain he had seen this guy before. Wasn't this the guy who saved them from getting crushed a year ago? If so, he was the first person besides him and Mayuko that he's ever seen defending Yokai. But that happened all the way back at Hokkaido, that's almost the other side of the country. How was that possible?
Possibly answering his own question, it's been a year since that happened, and The Hakumen no Mono's rampage. Maybe some extra working hands were necessary or maybe he moved to Tokyo? It was none of his business but he was glad not everyone saw him as a man eating Monster, that calmed him.
That Yokai… something about his appearance reminded the kind construction worker of something he recalled seeing a year ago. It looked like a boy, a tiger and three weasels. The boy was holding a large boulder, with two of those weasels looking at them in distress as the tiger tried carrying one of the bulldozers, trying to save the third one from getting crushed.
The oil that was spilled caught on flames, thanks to a cigar one of his old co-workers threw. They were about to get burned, and he couldn't help but save them. Only a couple years later, he saw that same boy on TV, fighting the 9-Tailed beast. They gotta be grateful for what he did since that happened.
Ushio looked at the construction worker carefully, digging in the details of his face. "Wait… aren't you that guy who saved our lives a year ago?"
"Y-yeah?" He said, unable to recognize him as the long haired-child.
"It's hard to believe, but I was the child you saved, the same one who fought that 9 tailed beast," He explained, "My father would've killed me if I told any random person about it back then, but when I was human, I had a powerful spear that gave me the attributes of a monster every time I used it. In short, that weapon took my humanity away and so did many others"
"(Ugh, why did I have to tell this to some strangers!?)" He thought as the construction workers looked at eachother, thinking about the boy in awe, "Then again that weapon doesn't exist anymore, and I'm getting used to this, it's not a big deal now."
"Ushio! Stop gossiping with strangers and come here!" Tora yelled, he detected the wave of Yoki he emitted a bit ago.
"Sorry! I have to go!" He said quickly as Tora grabbed him by the tail and flew away.
When he panicked, Ushio felt like he accidentally sent a big wave of Yoki through the town, almost like a sonar. Not only was he scared that they'll panic, but he was also scared of guiding the Tsuchigumo near them. Involving random, unknowing, innocent people is the worst of his nightmares, one he lived enough times already.
The Kohamei Sect's Head Temple
As was his usual routine, Shigure came to the Head Temple, bringing his wife, Sumako, for the first time. He told them about this through the phone before, Ushio's mom was the third Oyakume, a line of shamans formerly dedicated to guarding The Hakumen.
She was taking Mikado's place after her death a couple months ago as Nigira, the head priest, was having a hard time in her absence. However, Shigure wasn't there only to introduce her to the sect. He plummeted down, kneeling into the ground as he had something to say.
"A powerful monster has been targeting us. it's too powerful even for me. I need help."
"Shigure? What are you talking about, you're one of the most powerful priests we have!"
"It's true, but even I can't take him on alone. His powers were too overwhelming, it's something you have to see to believe."
"Who is that Yokai you're referring to?"
"It must be that Daiyoukai Shigure's son calls Tora!"
"Let's not come to conclusions just yet!" Shigure yelled, trying to stop them.
"The Beast Spear's gone, there's nothing that can stop him from attacking them anymore," He said, "It was a mistake to trust him."
"And his son became a Yokai too," One of the other priests said, looking a bit different from usual, "Only such an evil Spear Wielder would've become one willingly."
"What did you say!?" Shigure ran towards the suspicious priest, grabbing him by the robes with confronting grasp, only to receive a grin from him in return, "And how did you know that!?"
"Shigure! Calm down!" Nigira said, as he and Sumako looked at him worriedly, Shigure released the priest, apologizing
"While that's true, Ushio and Tora aren't doing anything wrong now." She clarified, "What Shigure's referring to, is a much more powerful Yokai, one who's been targeting all of us, including them."
The priest who Shigure let go of sat nearby, with an inhuman, almost demonic smile, He was a master of illusion blending in. The priest who tried stopping him didn't even have a chance, he had enough power to possess him and use his body to deceive the sect. Even if the higher ups disapprove, he could convince the lower ranked monks to go after them anyways.
That hateful monk… he had no escape… and Nagatobimaru… He'll be nothing but dust by the time they come. He fought the urge to laugh, not wanting to make it apparent, but his plan was working. "(The Beast Spear was destroyed)" Shigure's words echoed on his head, the world had wronged him and he'll get his revenge, the world will bow upon his knees.
