Fan Fiction ❯ Renegade Oni ❯ A Dark Stranger ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Forbidden Love- Prologue: "A Dark Stranger"Matoko Shizaki
Matoko Shizaki, 2002.
Odd romance fic. Anyways, this is a bit of a shojo. Never thought I'd be writing a girly girl story. Heh. Anyway, hope you like this!

Dedicated to my friends, Psycho_Kittle and Insane Alice. I know you guys are guitar fanatics so our main girl character is based on you two! Long live Emo! (Yes Kittle, Frost is based after Tiny.)


A black pick flew across the strings of the electric guitar vibrating it in a short warm up. Naomi flipped her long, brown hair and flashed a smile at her bassist. The bassist, Frost, nodded making his short, spiky, light blue hair bob up and down. Frost signaled the drummer, Tack, who waved his drum stick back. Naomi pulled the microphone stand closer to her mouth and prepared herself as the curtains flew up revealing a huge crowd of rebel teenagers and music fanatics. Naomi placed her fingers on the strings and wiped a smudge of oil off of her stick on the guitar proudly displaying the name of her band: "Renegade Oni". With one smooth motion, Naomi hit the first note of her song. "Why? Why am I stuck in a world with reality? " she sung softly. Tack continued tapping on the cymbal lightly with his drum stick. Frost continued the soft cord. "Why can't I find some life in personality? " Frost played a little louder, following Naomi's lead. Tack followed two, switching to the cymbal and the snare drum. Screaming fans lined the night club, their screams just barely louder than the music. After a few short moments of song, Naomi made the final note and pulled her hand away from the string in a dramatic guesture. The crowd roared even louder as the band took their bow.

"Thanks Tack, I'll see you later!" Naomi said, slinging her guitar's case's strap onto her shoulder and over her brown trenchcoat. "No prob. Hey, you need an escort home?" Tack asked running his hands through his hair. "No. I'm a big girl. I can take myself home." Naomi punched Tack's arm playfully. As she turned to leave, Tack yelled after her, "Hey, Naomi! Come by my house tomorrow. There's a spiritual expert friend of mine coming there." Naomi waved goodbye. "Will do!" Tack leaned on the side of the brick wall and watched as his friend ventured out into the shadows of the alley. He smiled faintly, threw his cigarette to the ground, and stamped out its flame with the heel of his steel toed boots. Then, Tack returned into the building, closing the door and blocking all light that had been streaming into the alley.

Street lights flickered as the lead guitarist strolled down the sidewalk towards her apartment in the center of Tokyo. The only noises were her shoes falling heavy on the sidewalk and the pulsing music barely muted by the walls of the night clubs. Naomi flipped her hair and sped up her pace upon seeing the apartment complex looming in the distance. "Hey you!" Naomi turned around to face three figures running through the darkness right at her. Luckily, they were persuing another person. A quick flash of light appeared followed by a short explosion and a moan from the fleeing person. He tumbled to the ground right near Naomi. "Oh my god!" Naomi ran towards the fallen man, blocking the pursuers from shooting him once more. "Dammit, what do you think you're doing?" The three men skidded to a halt, coming into the dim light of the street lights. They all carried guns. "Back away ma'am. This here is a demon!" Naomi wrapped her arms around the man. "You dumb religious bastards! Beat it before I call the cops." They didn't budge and Naomi whipped her box cutter knife from her pocket. "I said, beat it." she commanded. The men backed up. "You're making a grave mistake miss. Don't say we didn't warn you." Naomi scoffed as the men beat a hasty retreat. She put her knife back and using her arm, supported the man back to her apartment.

Opening his eyes weakly, Ran took in his new surroundings. "Wait, I was--" Pain wracked his body and he moaned laying a hand to his shoulder. Naomi looked up from the stove and quickly poured a cup of tea. "Hey, finally you're up." she said helping Ran to sit up. Then she handed him the cup of mint tea which he quickly downed. Naomi carefully studied over the boy her age. Across his face was a newly made scar, so new that it was covered in dried blood. The slash crossed his face from his left ear down his right cheek. His stubborn silver hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, his bangs hanging a little over his red eyes. He was tall, and clearly muscular, his clothes foreign looking. "My name is Naomi Hirosashi. And who are you?" The boy glanced up at her. "The name's Ran. And if you don't mind, where the hell am I?" Naomi retreived her first aid kit and knelt down on the floor next to Ran. "My apartment. Down town Tokyo." Ran nodded. "Nice to meet you Ran." Ran shoved Naomi's hand away as she went to apply alcohol to his wound. "Wait, before we do that can we get something to eat? I'm starving!" Naomi smiled. "Ya, sure. I've got some ramen on the stove. They should be done soon." Ran sighed happily. "So, tell me about your self." Naomi said. Ran shrugged. "Not much to say. I'm alone. Nomad... A fighter." Naomi nodded. "Well, I'm a guitarist in a band and I'm going to college at Toyko U. I'm only 18." Ran's eyes popped out. "You gotta be a smart little bitch to get into Toyko U!" Naomi shrugged. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." The timer in the kitchen went off drawing away Naomi's attention. Ran watched the tall brown haired girl in growing curiousity while flexing his sore fist. Blushing furiously, Ran turned away.

"There you are." Naomi handed Ran a bowl of noodles and a pair of chopsticks. She flopped down beside him with her dinner as he started devouring it. "This--mmm, is-- good." Ran said with his mouth full. Before Naomi could answer, he shoved his head back into the bowl, eating more like a dog but using his chopsticks to do it. Naomi shook her head. "You really like food don't you?" Ran nodded but kept eating. After a half an hour of silence, Ran sat down his bowl and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was good." he muttered. Naomi cleared away the dishes and returned to aid Ran's wound.

'I think I can trust her.' Ran thought. Just as Naomi was about to clean his wound, Ran moved away. "There's no need for that." he exclaimed. "What?" Ran slowly (not to mention painfully) removed his tank top revealing the wound. Blood pooled around the point of penetration and dripped down his muscular chest. "You need to get to a hospital!" Naomi cried while reaching for her phone. Ran grabbed her hand. "Wait." Holding his right hand over the wound on his left shoulder, Ran's hand emitted a bright glow. The lights in the apartment flickered as Naomi watched the blood dry instantly and Ran reach into the wound. He carefully pulled out the bullet dropping it onto the floor and held his hand over the wound once more. The light continued and the wound closed leaving only a small scar. "What-- how-- what the hell are you?" Naomi stammered as she backed away from Ran. Ran smiled and held up his right wrist showing a strange symbol tatooed into his arm. "I'm a demon."