Hiyou Pursuit

Hakumen no Mono, sensing the coming of the Beast Spear sends out its familiars or hiyou to destroy the spear and it's wielder. Ushio ends up encountering one of the successors trained by the Kouhamei sect to wield the Beast Spear, Seikimori Hinowa. She demands the spear, stating that Ushio's lack of training has been the paramount factor in why so many people have been put in danger. Ushio ends up giving up the spear but when Hinowa encounters a more powerful hiyou, she finds that it will not lend her it's power. Ushio and Tora return to save her and she acknowledges Ushio's worth for a time. Later, as the duo try to head to their next destination, Tora is sidetracked by a duel with another one of the successors, Akiba Nagare. Tora defeats him and relates that the reason he continues to follow Ushio is that he's never bored when he's with him.