THE
Ogre Artist: Giacinto Platania
Edited by author
Crime: Accused of cannibalizing the people passing by the Gates of Rashomon in Kyoto, Japan.
Punishment: Never
convicted for this crime.
Special Powers: Shapeshifting
These villains were dangerous and unpredictable. There was a very real possibility that they could lose their temper and kill anything in their path. You paced back and forth in the narrow hallway while pondering if your insurance had kicked in. Agent Targaryen assigned you to get to know the biggest one first. At seven foot, three inches, there was no denying this creature sitting in front of you wasn’t physically daunting. He did not hear you walk in and take your seat. You watched him as he had his eyes fixated on something on the table. Was he reading? It has always been said that ogres were not smart enough to learn how but his furrowed brow and eyes darting along the words on the page told you otherwise. The chair that held his monstrous frame was four sizes too small for him. You snickered at the sight of him alerting him of your presence. His head shot right up and he stared right at you.
Uh oh.
Oh yes, Agent Targaryen mentioned something about your skilled ninja stealth. Very impressive. I guess I am supposed to tell you more about myself. Well, it is no secret that the world hates Ogres. We’re big and ugly; people naturally shy away from our physical appearance. However, I figure if Shrek and Fiona can go mainstream, why can’t I? My name is Hiko, by the way. I have heard the new recruits refer to me as 'Ogre' in disgust and let me tell you, it really hurts my feelings. I may be ugly, but I am certainly not stupid.​
He looked so hurt it made you lean in towards him in sympathy. Hiko just shook his head and went on with his story.
I lived in Kyoto for a thousand years in peace. It was not until the Oeyama clan of Ogres started making trouble that I felt like I had to hide out in the Gates of Rashomon. The chief master and his band of fools were so terrible that they put everyone on edge. All of Japan believed that ogres were synonymous with cannibals at that point in time. I mean, every kind has a bad batch but to be compared to those monsters is absolutely dreadful. The elders knew of my presence and a few even suggested to go into hiding at the gates. I suspect they were even the ones that spread rumors not to go to the gates at twilight. To this day I am still unsure whether it was out of salvation or condemnation. Then one day, a man called Wantanabe came to the home I made for myself and dared to cut my arm off. The tales of his victory made me very angry. So I went to this man’s house disguised as his old caretaker. Since my morphing abilities do not last long, I knew I had to get him to show me my arm, his most prized possession, quickly and swiftly. When I finally got back what was rightfully mine, I left Kyoto. A witch I befriended during my travels was able to spellbound my arm back but I feel a great amount of pain in my left shoulder whenever it rains. The only reason I did not kill Wantanabe in vengeance was because it was he and his Knights that killed the Oeyama clan. He had my respect but definitely not my forgiveness.I vowed to never come back until my name is cleared of any wrongdoing. This is why this is so important to me.
Hiko was one big ugly brute but you could not help but feel compassion for him. He was torn away from his home based on the ill doing of others. You started to think that this project may just work. Maybe.
Author's Note: From the intro, the reader learns that in order to gain the trust of the recruits, these villains need to earn their trust by telling their stories. From there, it is up to the recruit to decide if their skepticism is necessary. The first villain is derived from the story The Ogre of Rashomon. There was not much of a backstory on the ogre that supposedly haunted the gates of Rashomon so I improvised a lot on his background. However, a lot of the story stayed the same. It was just told in Hiko's perspective. In the beginning, the new agent learns that ogres are actually a lot smarter than what they are credited for. I included this so the new agent knows that he can trust that the ogre is mentally capable of handing out orders. I also wanted to give him a name to sort of pull out the humanity aspect of this creature. The reader finds out that Hiko has been around Kyoto for many years and lived in peace with the people. That was until another bad group of ogres ruined the ogre's reputation. However, no one had even actually physically seen Hiko eat nor kill a human. I also wanted to point out that Hiko had every opportunity to kill Wantanabe but he didn’t. It also explains that he cannot go back to Kyoto morphed into another being because his shapeshifting abilities don’t last very long. Since honor is a very big deal in Japan, Hiko feels he cannot go back home until he is redeemed of his bad name.
Bibliography: Ozaki, Yei T., ed. Japanese Fairy Tales. 1908. The Ogre of Rashomon.