• Tag Ch 1 (Misfits don't get along well)

    A few years have passed since the battle between Guard (Guardians Under Authorized Righteous Divine) and SNIPA (Snipers Negate Inferior Protection Agencies) occurred. Though it seemed sudden, it was actually a battle that started hundreds of years ago between two races; Humans, a race of creatures that rely on intelligence and technology, and oni, a species born with special abilities that allow them to surpass others easily and adapt to the environment better. After this battle, a new company was created to help maintain the relationship between these two races. That company's name is Tag.

    Before Tag came, oni were just seen as defect of society. People tried their best to avoid contact with them most of the time, and they usually lived in ghettos among others like themselves. Life wasn’t always like this, but it was now, and with the creation of Tag the situation only became more hostile. They created a device (like a collar) that they used to help them know oni’s locations and keep them under control. This led to not only separation between the two races, it also led to a revolution, and new age of knowledge.

    But we’ll get to all that eventually. For now, let us hear the story of a child who wanders from town to town, trying to achieve something not many could do… except an oni.

    On the outskirts of ZakuTan town, there was an old fashioned parlor. If you were thirsty and needed a drink, all you had to do was ask the bar-keep and he’d give you a drink; You could listen to music as you would chug down your beverages, and make all the noise you wanted. Children were not allowed.

    It just became the afternoon when a young man clumsily walked into the parlor. His looks drew the attention of a few shady characters inside; He had red hair with blonde bangs, wore a dirty skuzzy coat, and seemed to be around the age of a teenager. The youth sat down on a stool and threw some coins onto the bar. "Get me the cheapest thing with taste," he said drowsily. The bar-keep picked up the cheap change and went to fill his order.

    "Hey runt," A man sitting across the bar yelled while devouring a chicken leg. He wore a light gray suit, which needed to be a bit larger, and had eyes as red as the sun. "What are ya doin' in here?" The youth just put his head down. "Hey, don't ignore me!" The "wanna be" mobster was about to signal his henchmen, but then a woman sitting behind him put her hands on his back and diverted his attention. She was wearing a silky crimson red dress with a tan straw sun hat, and long red finger nails. "Come on hun, he didn't do nothin' wrong." She went close to him, whispered something into his ear and slipped something into his hand. A grin appeared across the large man’s face and sat back down in his seat.

    "Here's is your drink sir." The bar-tender handed a drink to the young man, then went back to clean a few glasses. The youth grabbed his glass and examined his drink.

    "It's cold," he said dissatisfied. So, he spat in his glass and stirred it with his finger. "Now it's hot," he said with a smirk, and let out a loud laugh.

    More people were watching the youth now, staring at him with looks of disgust, excitement, and even fear. A few customers got up and left in a hurry; They knew what was coming.

    "Hey kid," The mobster from before signaled a few people to get up, "Your an oni, aren't 'cha?"

    Tension grew in the air.

    "Yeah, I am," replied the youth as he stood up from his seat and turned around.

    "You’re fenced in kid," he said with a sneer across his face. "Everyone attack!"

    Two thugs threw themselves at the youth, but he took his drink and threw it at them before they reached him. They both let out screams of pain and stumbled around.

    "What are you fools doing," said the mobster furiously, "Everyone attack!" Nearly everyone in the bar got up and rushed at the oni.

    "Bring it on," he said with a chuckle, and then extended his left arm. Flames shot out of his hand, and nearly hit everyone that ran after him. Everyone inside drew back from the flames and darted in the opposite direction. The heat was enough to set off the sprinkler system, and everyone inside the establishment, other than the bar-keep, ran outside to get away from the burning building.

    "I regret nothing" the bar-keep said, and continued cleaning his drink glasses.

    Everyone was outside now; the mobster had his henchmen with him, with the woman from earlier standing behind them, all glaring at the oni.

    "What are you all doing just standin' behind me.?Go!" No one moved from where they were standing. "Hn, fine! I'll just have to do this myself." The mobster reached into his pants pocket and took out a small device with numbers on it that ranged from zero to nine around a red dial in the center. He turned the dial over to one, and it made the oni cringe a bit. The mobster burst out laughing. "You have a tag on!" He then turned the dial to the number three, which made the oni reach towards his neck; His face was showing signs of discomfort.

    "Now boys, go and get that rascal so we can get our money, 'kay?" The alluring woman from before gave a wink to the remaining thugs to boost their egos, and they went to collect their bounty. "Careful though, his tag says he's an 'A" class oni," she said while looking at a device on her arm; It projected the information of an oni when you typed a number into it that was transmitted into the mobsters device. The thugs paid no attention to what she said and were glaring at the oni, who was immobilized in place, and the thought of their reward made them forget their fears. They were engulfed in wrath and greed.

    They inched their way, closer and closer to their prize, but then the youth went forward and swept his enemies with a swift sideways kick. "Your all to weak," they muttered.

    "W-what," cried the mobster. "Your tag should keep you down!"

    "Hm? What this collar?" The youth everyone was after let out a sigh and then looked at the thug with a cool look on their face. "This isn't mine."

    "W...What?!" The mobster fell back and then quickly turned the dial on his device to full power. The youth's face grimaced as the tag started to pulse with energy. The mobster let out a loud arrogant laugh. "The tag still works on you," he said as he stood up and took off his coat. "Now then..." He lunged forward, and rushed towards his bounty, with his arms wide open to clutch them.

    "Wait hun!" The woman from before shouted.

    "Hunh?" The youth suddenly ducked, and then did an upward kick that landed on the mobster’s jaw. He then quickly got up and threw a flaming fist at his pursuer. The mobster was sent flying backwards; his hat flew high into the air.

    "Hun'!" She ran towards her partner to make sure if he was okay, but then stopped, petrified in place, staring at the youth walking towards her. They walked right up to her, but past by her and bent down to pick up the mobster’s hat off the ground. They dusted if off and then gave it to the woman.

    "Here you are, madam." They said, bowing in a dignified manner, and introduced themselves; "My name is Kaji, and I am referred to as the Hinote-oni." Kaji crouched down and picked up the device the mobster was using. Their facial expression changed to a grin, and he crushed it with his right hand."Yeah, my name's Koji and I’m the Hinote-oni!" Koji pointed to the tag around his neck. "This thing belongs to another oni. Since it's not mine it doesn't hurt much, but it still stings a bit." He laughed a little before recalling something. "Oh, that reminds me!" He sat down on the mobster’s large gut and leaned his head in the woman’s direction. "Ya’ know where... 'Guard' is?"

    "Uh..." She cleared her throat nervously. "They're just North of this town." Koji grinned again.

    "Thank ya’." He replied. He got up off of the mobster and started walking in the direction of North. "Oi, Kaji, I told ya’ to stop takin' over my body."

    "That Tag interfered with the way you moved." Kaji said to themselves.

    "What do ya’ mean!? I could’a handled the stupid collar myself!"

    "If the tag were actually yours, then you'd probably be in a worse condition than you are now."

    "Tsk, forget you then. It doesn't matter. I'll show ya’ when we get to Guard, then i'll be able to show you myself. I’ll hit you so hard, you won’t know what was a coming!"

    Koji let out a loud laugh as he walked. He was an oni full of energy, of life. Koji was an oni that could control fire, and not only that, had another soul living in his body. Well this is strange… even for oni, but that’s one of the things makes Koji unique.

    Today was a mild day for the Hinote-oni. He was calmer than usual.


    Thank you for reading my story. Here I will give little details to exactly why certain things are written the way they are, and as to why I’m writing this story in the first place.

    First off, Koji means orphan in Japanese. When I wrote my previous story Guard, I made the main characters name Kazu. I did this because of the show S-Cry-Ed in which the main character’s name is Kazuma. It was simple enough, but the name Koji also means orphan in Japanese (which he becomes after a certain incident.) Koji also talks in a western type or accent. This is to show how rough he is trying to make himself, and that he isn’t really well educated.

    He also has another soul in him which is named Kaji. The name may not seem very creative, but that is the point. Koji just named him that because he didn’t really put much though into the idea. The name Kaji though means flame in Japanese; this can be seen as Koji’s true power.

    Kaji is an important character in this story that has strongly influenced Koji since childhood. They act differently than Koji, such as the way he talks and their fighting style. They will be furthered explained as the story continues.

    As I mentioned before, this is a story I made after my other story Guard (which I haven’t really finished, but it’s in a place where I don’t really need to add anything really.)

    This story is meant to be an allegory; A different (pessimistic) look at technology and how there is still racism/prejudice in our society. Forms or symbolism I hope to include are:

    Mask, elements (science/nature), names, weapons, colors, technology, the three companies (Guard, Snipa, and Tag), accents, etc. The name’s Oni (which means demon in Japanese) and Tag are also play on words that I’m using. In Japan, when playing tag you don’t say “your it” you say the person is the “oni.” The Tag collar is also a symbol; Being placed around the neck is to show restraint/imprisonment. Oni are restricted from society both metaphorically and physically.

    Also, this chapter was influenced by the song Ballroom Blitz.