(A/N: This is my first crossover! With Death Note and Tokyo Ghoul being my two fav animes, I was disappointed at the lack of crossovers, and there is also a lack of Tokyo Ghoul high school AUs, so why not combine the two? Updates may not be very regular, as im in the middle of two other long running fanfics, but nevertheless, I'm quite proud of this. Also, I cant promise all the chapters being as long as this one, as it was sort of an introduction.
Finally, this fanfiction deals with mature topics, like drug use, self harm, alcoholism, addiction, abuse, violence, some yaoi I guess, so its rated M for a reason!
Please review! I wont update unless I know someones reading.
Disclaimer; I do not own death note or Tokyo ghoul, or any of the characters)
~Chapter One~
Kaneki looked up and read the beaming white and blue sign above him.
'Wammy's High'
He sighed. As much as he loved reading and learning, Kaneki never asked to move schools. It was the only option though, since now he was living with his Uncle Amon because his mother died. Walking cautiously past the gate, he approached the Student Services.
After a long, tedious talk with the head teacher about his situation, the school rules, and what the school was about, Kaneki finally left. He hoped to get at least a bit of a lesson before lunch, but no. Apparently, the school bell hated him, as the second he checked the time, the bell for lunch rang, and echoed through the hall.
Shortly after, loud footsteps and lively voices travelled through the corridor, and Kaneki panicked. No, this was not a good time. Gasping at the sudden outburst of people, he turned around and ran to the toilets, slamming the stall door shut and placing his head in his hands.
"No, no... why on the first day?..." Kaneki whispered to himself, crying slightly and chocking on sobs. "Stop it" he demanded to himself, wiping his eyes, but he continued to stay emotional.
He thought for a bit, then realised that he couldn't walk out a tear-filled mess. The tingly feeling crept up his arms. No... not right here... that's... Kaneki halted his train of thought and took the small sharp object out of the inside pocket of his wallet. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Rolling up his sleeves revealing all of the old and new scars, Kaneki hesitated for a bit before hastily slashing two cuts into his right arm. He hissed silently at the sharp pain before using a tissue to clean the blood up.
Feeling better but still nervous about the new school, the black haired teen managed to leave the toilets and proceeded to the field to find somewhere to sit in the shade and read. The chances of him actually making friends in a place like this were minimal, so he didn't even bother trying.
For about 10 minutes, Kaneki found tranquility in the shade and his book.
"Hello. You're new, aren't you?"
Kaneki jumped at the sudden interruption, and looked up to see a student with dishevelled black hair, grey eyes with huge black bags underneath them, bad posture and a baggy white long sleeved shirt.
"Sorry, I apologise if I scared you" the raven said, "I'm Lawliet."
"Uh, I'm, K-Kaneki"
"Really, you don't seem too sure" Lawliet chuckled.
"Oh."
"Anyway, i couldn't help but notice that you were here alone. Care to join me and my friends? We're very welcoming."
Kaneki froze and looked at them; they looked nice enough (and by that, he meant the type of friend group which were highly likely to be picked on in a high school.) "um... Okay, sure. Thank you, I appreciate it."
"No problem," Lawliet smiled weakly and guided Kaneki over to his friends. He stood before them, "Guys, this is Kaneki, he's new here. Please be friendly, he seems very intelligent"
There was a murmuring chorus of 'Hello's and 'nice-to-meet-you's before Kaneki sat down with Lawliet next to a blonde boy with headphones on.
"Hi Kaneki!" The boy exclaimed, excited by the new member of their group, "I'm Hide."
"Um. Hi."
"Hide is a great friend" Lawliet grinned, then leaned in closer to Kaneki and dropping his voice, "He is loyal. The only problem is, he can be a little... loud. And the headphones don't exactly help."
"Oh. Well, uh, thank you for telling me" Kaneki whispered back, then spoke up, "So, who are they?"
Kaneki was pointing to a girl in a white dress and purple hair, who was sitting in the lap of someone who looked exactly like Lawliet, but with flatter, more emo black hair and red eyes. He felt slightly uncomfortable watching the couple make out across from him.
"Oh." Lawliet grimaced as he noticed the two's daily lunch time make out session had just started, "The girl, that's Rize, and the guy is Beyond. They've been at it a year now, and this is not the worst they've done in front of us."
"Wow" Kaneki was astonished, "they, urrm... seem to be getting along very well"
"Hmm yes" Lawliet hummed to himself, "The girl is quite scene and Beyond is quite emo. They suit very well. They go to concerts a lot together."
"You and Beyond look very alike. Um, are you guys..."
"Yes" sighed Lawliet in defeat, "We're twins"
Kaneki continued to look around at the friend group when he spotted 3 guys, "So who are they? The one with the white hair looks a little too young for high school"
"Yes, you're right" Lawliet agreed, "That's Near, he's Matt's younger brother. He was in the first year, but he got moved up due to his abilities. Matt is the one smoking and Mello, the blonde, is his best friend."
"I thought smoking wasn't allowed on school premises" Kaneki thought out loud.
"No, it's not. But because we're settled at the back of the field, no one sees."
"Oh."
"Hey Kaneki" Lawliet said after a long pause of silence.
"Yes?" replied Kaneki.
"Why do you always seem so shy and nervous?" Lawliet asked, noting the sudden panicked look on the others face, "If you're not comfortable with answering that, it's fine, honestly."
"Um no, I'll answer" He thought for a bit, "But this is between us."
"Of course" Lawliet smiled at him, assuring him of his trust.
"Well, a month ago, my mother passed away." Kaneki clenched his jaw and tried his best not to cry at the thought of his mother. "My father left when I was young, and my mother was left alone. She worked day and night, and it took its toll." He had to pause, gritting his teeth harder as he tried so hard not to let the tears fall. Lawliet placed his hand on Kaneki's shoulder, then he finally continued "A month ago when she was working, she passed out. We took her to hospital, but... it was too late.I moved in with her brother, Amon. But, I uh, I got really depressed and I get social anxiety I guess."
"Wow" Lawliet was stunned, "I'm sorry to hear that. I never knew you'd been through so much."
"Yeah. It's not you're fault."
"Well, not to sound too depressing, but you'll fit in very well here. Nishiki's parents ran away, and he moved in with Touka and her twin Ayato, who hates them. Their parents are dead. Touka has been his best friend since junior high, even though they argue a lot. They're not going out, yet, but we think they will."
"That's awful"
"It all is here. But we have each other." Lawliet looked at the ground. "Uh, me and Beyond, our father is an addict and mother died in a train crash. His girlfriend Rize, she has to live alone. Her parents work away. Finally, Mello, Matt and Near all live together in an orphanage. Mello's parents were killed in a fire, and Matt and Near escaped an abusive household."
"Oh my god, I didn't realise" Kaneki spoke softly, looking at all the broke souls ahead of him. Maybe he did fit in here after all. "So, what happened to Hide?"
"Nothing. He's the luckiest. But, in some ways, he's the happiness and social glue which holds us all together." Lawliet smiled at him, never once removing his eyes from Hide, "He's always there for you, through everything."
"He sounds great" Kaneki stared at the blond boy and smiled. He already felt the happiest he had in ages, probably since it happened, and that was because someone was there for him.
Maybe moving schools wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Kaneki and Lawliet got on well for the next half an hour. For the first time in a while, he actually felt slightly happy.
That was until he noticed four other guys walking over to the group.
They looked like trouble. One had dark black long hair and glasses, wearing all black and standing at the back with a slightly shorter boy with short black hair and an untucked white shirt. In front of them stood a guy with long-ish indigo hair and dark clothes, looking tough. The one who struck Kaneki as the 'leader' of this gang was wearing very smart fitted clothes and had neat brown hair. He looked like a genius groomed for success on the outside, but his face said murder.
"So" the 'leader' said harshly, looking Kaneki up and down making him nervous, "You retards managed to recruit a new member I see? I'm Light, by the way. Light Yagami"
"He'll fit in well," the purple haired one stated, then turned to the other two behind, "Mikami, Gevanni, how much attention do you think we'll attract from beating up this pathetic loser on it's first day"
Kaneki gulped. Beaten up? No, please no.
Before any more trouble erupted, Touka stood up, rolling her eyes, and walked over to her brother.
"Ayato" she stated firmly, glaring at the purple haired boy with a fiery gaze, "Stop this."
"Why should I?" he scoffed back.
"For gods sake Ayato not again. You reek of alcohol. You're pissed aren't you?"
"Fuck off Touka" he replied harshly, pushing her back, "Not now okay?"
"Like hell with that!" She yelled, "You've got a problem Ayato, just admit it! If mom could see you now she's truly be ashamed! Get help!" Touka was closed to tears, she hated having to shout at her brother, "I want the old Ayato back!"
He felt guilty. Not because he threatened to hurt the new kid, but because he was hurting Touka. Nevertheless, those emotions hadn't even reached his conscience as he threw a punch at her, only to be stopped by a wrist clothed by a brown sweater.
"Don't"
"Nishiki, you have no authority over me, got it?" he spat at the smaller boy in front of him, trying to stop him, "I'm the one who pays the fucking bills for you to live in my god damn house, so don't fuck with me"
Nishiki scoffed and walked away, taking a tear filled Touka away with him by the hand and returned to their original spot on the grass to try and comfort her.
"Yagami Light" Lawliet said calmly, "I think that it would be best if you were to leave now. I would not appreciate you hurting anyone else here." He lowered his head, and Hide lightly rubbed him on the back, feeling sorry for the fact that Lawliet had to deal with everyone, "As you know by now, we all have our own problems. Let's not create more.
Light hesitated for a moment before turning around and walking away silently, the other three allies following him like his servants.
"I'm sorry Kaneki" Lawliet looked to see a frightened Kaneki, who seemed to be looking down at the sleeves on his wrists, "I know you were not comfortable in that situation. This happens a lot though, and there's not much I can do to help."
Kaneki sniffed, "I- I understand"
The friend group had fallen into an awkward silence, despite this not being usual for anyone but Kaneki. He wasn't used to this.
But then it hit him.
These people around him.
They were all broken.
Like him.
He was far from happy, but he finally,
Finally,
Kaneki had found somewhere he belonged.
He'd already witnessed one of their personal issues with his own eyes. The torture had been right in front of him so much.
It hurt him, as much as it filled him with the desire to help them.
They had each other, and Kaneki had someone to be there for him.
Surely that meant it would be ok, right?
At least, for now.