Ushio and Tora belongs to Kazuhiro Fujita and Shogakukan Publishing

Everything became blurrier and blurrier. The world around him was fading into pitch black, His eyes hurt like hell. Stream of blood dripping from his wounded eyes, Tora was crying and his tears only made the pain worse. It seemed like his pride was diminishing alongside his vision.

"Tora!" Ushio screamed at the top of his lungs, pushing his throat as the Azafuse suffered. Holding the Beast Spear tight, hands shaking after seeing Tora hurt, the teenage boy proceeded to charge at the Yokai in front of them, without a care.

Tora tried to downplay the situation like he always does. He knew they'll heal quickly anyways so being blind for a short while wasn't much of a big deal to him, or at least he thought so anyway. He cared much more about his pride to the point that he's willing to die for it.

As his view sank into darkness, only the sounds of the Yokai's metallic blades colliding with the Beast Spear's accompanied him.


One exciting fight later…

The Yokai was dead, nothing but dust on the ground. Ushio was exhausted, he was sweating. He gained some new scars and his new shirt became nothing but rags on the floor but most importantly of all, Tora lost his vision. The great Yokai gladly approached the young boy at a rapid pace using nothing but his smell, and accidentally pushed him to the ground.

"Tora! Stop it!" Ushio said, struggling to get him off.

He just realized how heavy Tora actually was when he materialized. He's a 13 feet tall, robust tiger demon, laying atop a teenage boy like him. Thank god fighting with the Beast Spear gave him enough strength to withstand the beast.

They both walked their way home. Tora was sitting on Ushio's shoulders like usual, except this time, the brat willingly carried him on his back. Tora's eyes were covered by bandages, which Ushio always brings in case of an emergency. Afterall, you never know how strong these Yokai could get.


The Azafuse laid on the floor, posing like a big cat while that shrimp took a shower. His belly grumbled when the sudden smell of something delicious made its way onto Tora's nose. Fighting so much gave him a craving for meat. "(Humans live in such cramped spaces, how the hell am I going to get around now?)"

Then he remembered his long mane wasn't just for looks. Just like cats use their whiskers to get around, Azafuse are able to use their hair, as strange as that sounds. He slowly made his way down the stairs, sensing every wall with strands of hair. Creeping closer to the source of the smell.

It smelled like the meat of an animal, a dog to be specific. He usually didn't like eating small animals, but even if it was some brat, the wielder of the Beast Spear was something to fear. He'd kill him right there if he ever dared to eat another person again. So ready to jump and phase through, he leaped before hitting the window, which was closed. Scared by the sudden noise, the dog ran away as Tora rubbed his snout. Beasts can't phase through glass.


Tora was enjoying a nap, the warm light of the sunset sparkling on his orange fur. He couldn't really do anything right now, and by this point, living in pure darkness would make anyone feel sleepy. He sensed that brat Ushio was painting something and he didn't know what it was, but it's not like it mattered since he couldn't see it.

Suddenly, loud knocking on the door interrupted the silence. Ushio quickly stood up, rushing down the creaking stairs and from pure curiosity Tora followed suit, of course, using his hair to sense his surroundings. Whatever the smell was, it was delicious… almost like… 'ham-barkers'.

"Mayuko?" Ushio said.

"Ushio! I brought you guys some hamburgers, I know Tora loves them," She said gleefully, before noticing the bandage around the great Yokai's eyes. "What happened to his eyes?"

"An evil Yokai slashed him in the eyes, as if looking over him was a pain in the ass already." Said Ushio as he crossed his arms, eyes rolling over as he noticed Tora right behind him.

Worried, Mayuko leaned closer, holding the bottom of the beast's chin to direct his face upwards to inspect the wound further. Knowing how much it matters to him, she refrained from saying anything that could harm his pride further, but she only hoped he healed soon.

"Tch! Humans like you make such a big deal out of this stuff, why do you care about a monster's wellbeing?" Tora paused, walking away, "I've been decapitated in my lifespan a couple times before. A little scratch is harmless in comparison," He chuckled as he walked away.

Out of nowhere, he felt a metallic tip poke his shoulder. Unmistakably, that of the dreaded Spear, which Ushio left near the stairs. Like prey running away from a predator, he quickly ran away and being in such a cramped space, he hit the wall head-first, printing a hole of his silhouette as Mayuko looked at Ushio worriedly, but only a sweat drop of embarrassment came from the boy's forehead.


Tora was starting to get sick of his blindness. And could only hope it healed faster. The "Ham-barkers" were delicious as usual, but he sadly wasn't able to see the stars today, something he always loved doing.

He fell asleep at the mesmerizing sounds of whatever Ushio was watching, which taking advantage of the fact Tora couldn't see, was a samurai movie. It's been such a long while since he's last seen one. He vowed to never watch these movies in front of him ever again, otherwise he'd have to pay for yet another TV, and those ain't cheap.

If Tora learned something from his experience today, it's that he's got more weaknesses besides that Spear. To think the once mighty and feared Nagatobimaru would end up depending on some little boy. "(Maybe Kagari was right… I'm that brat's pet now…)" He chuckled, "(Of course not, he'll be my lunch sooner or later)"


The Next Day…

"I'm going to school, be sure to behave while I'm gone," Ushio said, then he wrapped the Beast Spear on a blue sheet in order to go unnoticed as Tora did nothing but lay there as he left.

A couple of hours passed, when he felt a sudden, strange sensation in his eyes. He took the bandages off and saw the world slowly fade in. His vision… It was starting to come back. It was only a matter of time before his sight recovered fully. Tora grinned, chuckling devilishly. Ushio was completely unaware of his healed sight. He could easily sneak up on him if he wanted and so he did.

Confident in his newly recovered sight, He didn't bother using his hairs to move around, being more reckless on his way to Ushio's school. Of course, his vision still wasn't the best yet, so he ended up hitting everything on his way with people freaking out at the suddenly bent lampposts and holes in the wall.


It was recess and the school halls were busy, students of all types chatting about all kinds of random things. Despite being the school's most popular kid, Ushio preferred keeping to himself, only ever talking to close friends like Mayuko, Asako and sometimes Masaki and Reiko. He went outside, as he preferred to draw in a quiet place where nobody could bother him.

Tora looked at him from afar, hiding at the edge of the crowd. He silently spied on him, waiting for a perfect opportunity to catch the brat off guard. The crowd cleared up right as Ushio was about to leave.

It was the perfect moment, so he charged as fast as he could. Many regular students only felt a strange breeze, before Tora bumped into Asako causing her to scream. Mayuko, who was right beside her, giggled before noticing his healed wound.

"Tora? Looks like your vision came back." Tora blinked twice as he saw her clearly. She was right, the world was much clearer than before.

"Hrrr stupid girl, you ruined it." Tora said.

Asako slowly stood up clenching her fist, little did he know she'd be even scarier than Ushio with the Spear. Without any fear in the world she punched the beast in the face with all her might, while the regular students only saw her with a judgemental look as she punched thin air, like she just went insane.

And speaking of Ushio, he approached the three of them, putting special attention on Tora and Asako. "I didn't know a girl like you had any strength." He joked, much to Asako's anger, "Besides, what the hell is Tora doing here? and without his bandages!? I thought his–"

"My eyes are healed now!" Tora yelled.

Ushio sighed. "Just wait here okay? Don't do anything rash."

With that he walked away heading back outside as Tora silently passed through the ceiling, leaving the building as he went to do something else. He was certainly glad to have his sight back. But they just had to hope there wasn't another Yokai attack as has become custom by this point.

THE END.