The Taisho fire

Damage control

闘牙.

That name always stirred something in his guts. No matter how long passed, how the world  changed, he could never remain indifferent. Those two syllables, the fighting fang, defined him so well, yet came short of all the depth of his character. He had packed insane power and excellent strategic skills, but it was his compassion that made him truly different.

His teachings had taken such a long time to seep in, but now he knew. He knew that strength and power were nothing if not used for a good cause, that honour could dwell in one's sacrifice, that love wasn't meaningless.

Tōga.

No one, in the yōkai world, was stupid enough to bestow that name, no one outside of his long line of great-grandchildren... Surely he had misheard.

Amber eyes narrowed at the scene, watching swirling yōki dance around ugly humanoid forms. Now wasn't the time to linger upon past regrets; he had a mission to complete. Thank the Kami his spies always kept an eye on the descendants of the dragons. Their brutal attack was about to break the yōkai agreements with the ningen.

A smirk lifted narrow lips; the modern world curbed his bloodlust, but the daiyōkai had found an excellent way to feed his instincts. Hunting down trespassers was a much-appreciated past time that allowed him to keep his fighting skills honed.

A belt whipped in the silence of the night, followed by a pained cry. He almost chuckled, approaching without a noise, hoovering over the ground in hopes of surprising the dragons. That human woman was incredibly stupid, and just as courageous. There was nothing extraordinary about her, neither in her energy, nor in her fighting skills. But she stood her ground, facing two opponents that could crush her with their pinkies. And yet, she didn't retreat as she brandished one weapon in each hand.

Interesting; as she lashed out with the belt – clever ! – the umbrella thrust forward in the other direction. For a human, she sure was ballsy, and had a good hand coordination.

Too bad she was about to die.

He lurked in the shadows, waiting to see if the dragons had dismissed him completely. Were they so inadequate that they would ignore the greater threat, focused on a pathetic human rather than checking their backs ? Even though he could camouflage his yōki well enough, the great Inuyōkai was used to being the top predator. Their ignorance was offensive.

He sneered.

The woman's fear permeated the very air; he could see her hands shake. But her gaze didn't waver, her jaw set. She knew she was about to die, and still she stood beside the form sprawled upon the ground. Her husband, perhaps. Someone to protect.

A pang of loneliness bled through his heart. He had once loved as fiercely, and been loved just as much. Her loss had hardened his heart, but their children and grandchildren lived on, mellowing him day after day, century after century. He'd lost hope that their mother would return... and he lived on with only a part of his heart to keep him going.

It was her memory that spurred him into action; she once stood in that woman's place, protecting him when he couldn't fight. The dragons sprang forth, too fast for the human to dodge them both. His light whip cracked, eager and deadly.

A head fell off. Wide, dark eyes turned to him, puzzled by the turn of events.

Finally !

The stupid winged beast had figured out who the biggest threat was, and turned his frightful eyes to him just in time to spot the whip coming his way. He dodged at the last second, only to step close enough to the human for her to land a mean hit to the back of his knee.