" Mommy, what are ghouls?" The little girl asked her mother, as she laid in bed with eyes half closed enjoying the sounds of rain pounding against the night sky.
Her mother smiled softly, as she looked upon her sleepy daughter with a small sense of sadness. " Ghouls..are creatures that are have been here since the beginning of human history. They're strong, monstrous cannibals that feed upon us innocent humans for food" The mother stated. "And why are you so interested in this?" She inquired from her daughter.
"Because mommy...I was wondering if monsters could ever become humans?"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Kaneki, awakened from his dream wondering what it could've possible meant. Ghouls, in his opinion, were nothing more than monsters that fed upon humans like lambs to a slaughter house.
BEEP! BEEP!
The alarm rang, possibly even louder, causing Kaneki to look over at the time disastrous machine reading it the time as 7:10.
" I'm going to be late again." He thought, as he rushed to do fulfill his proper essentials for the day and "try" to at least make it to his first class of the day on time.
Kaneki, walked to his University reading the sign saying welcome to Kamii University! He sighed softly, continuing his trek to his literature class only to be stopped by a certain voice.
"KANEKIIIIII!" Yelled Hide Nagachika, otherwise known as his best friend. The orange haired boy tackled Kaneki quite comically as they both went rolling like a tumbleweed in the desert.
"Hide, what are you doing?" Kaneki stated, as he stared at his best friend with a small smile. The boy had know him for the majority of his life, and had protected Kaneki from the bullies in school.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after we finish classes for today. You know, go out, go see some ladies, go to bookstore for you." He dragged his statement on marking all the places and things they could go do."
Kaneki, was going to initially say no, but he realized that the man wasn't going to take no for answer and he would least be able to go bookstore. " Hide? Hide? Hide!?" Kaneki continued to call out his name before the boy finally had snapped out of his long list places.
" Huh? Oh yeah, kaneki. I'm sorry. I kinda got side tracked and you what not you know ." Hide mentioned, as he rubbed his head sheepishly feeling quite bad that he had bombarded his friend with a list of places and things they could do.
" We can go, but can't you please get off of me?" Kaneki pointed at his friend's heavy body on top him.
"My bad Kaneki." Hide stated, as he jumped up and held out his hand to pull the man up. "I need go to class Kaneki, so I'll see you later on." Hide shouted, as he ran off in the distance waving his hand in the distance.
Kaneki sighed, as he made his way back to the class wondering if he could go the rest of the day without something happening.
Time skip : End of Class
The sun is high in the sky spreading its light through the window's of Kamii University, and for Kaneki it felt like it was aiming at him. He thinks hopefully it that this means he will have better day, than the last couple of weeks. Kaneki began his search to find Hide, but he had forgotten to tell him what their meeting place would be.
Hide, looked around for his friend kaneki not thinking of that fact that they had not set up a meeting place after their classes were over. He took out his phone, and called Kaneki. Figuring this would be way faster, than running around searching for his best friend like a headless chicken. Waiting on the phone to stop buzzing, he finally got his wish as Kaneki had answered with a subtle hello.
"Kaneki, where are you?" Hide asked, slightly worried about his friend tone of speech.
" Hide, I'm at the gate waiting for you. It's been 5 minutes or so. And I'm not trying get a tan, so come on please.!" Kaneki said in a half pleading, half annoyed tone.
" I'm coming! I'm coming! Don't go anywhere Kaneki!" Hide answered, as he ran to their new rendezvous location forgetting to even hang up the phone. He spotted Kaneki reading a book, however he could not think of the name of such book for the life of him. Goat egg?black goat? The Black Goat's Egg!? He mentally patted himself on the back for remembering one of his friend's favorite novels.
The sound of running had alerted kaneki to a new presence, and when he had looked up from his book he saw Hide running towards him. However, the boy was running like a madman not giving Kaneki anytime to avoid yet another one of his friend's tackles.
They crashed into the ground from tackle with then led to a small fit of laughter from both of the boys, as they got up. "So, where are we going first Hide?" Kaneki asked, as he dusted himself off.
"Well, to make it up to you for tackling and being late. I decided that we can start by going to the bookstore and cafe. Because you know it's few of your favorites hobbies." Hide stated energetically.
Kaneki just smiled, as he thought of his friend's consideration. "Well let's get this show on the road, shall we?" Hide stated. Breaking Kaneki out of his thoughts, as they both head to their first destination the bookstore. When they first arrived they noticed the store was unusually crowded. "Is there something special going on today Kaneki?" Hide asked bewildered by the site before him. " It's usually quite empty and silent. But what makes today so different?" Kaneki replied. The two ventured further into the store seeing the source of all the attention was an author, a famous one at that.
" Sen Takatsuki!?" Kankei said quietly in admiration. "She is my favorite author Hide. Do you think she'll sign my book?" Kaneki asked quite afraid to actually approach a woman of her stature. "Wellll Kaneki, it's time to find out." Hide half stated, as he dragged Kaneki to the author not noticing the boy's timidness growing by every second.
Finally making it to the desk, and the author herself Kaneki could only stare in admiration. "Hello." Sen said noting the boy's nervous. Hide seeing that his friend is basically shell shocked, "He would like you like to his sign his book. He's just very shy and timid is all. Is that right Kaneki?" Kaneki, finely regaining his senses nodded and handed her his book.
Sen giggled softly, as she sighed the boy's book. Thinking there was something deeper beneath that sweet, timid Kaneki. "What's your favorite thing about this book in particular if you don't mind me asking ?" Sen asked curious about his response, while wanting to know more about this boy.
"The book, it just reminds me of certain things that I can relate to." Kankei said sadden, as he thought of his terrible childhood with his now-dead mother and aunt. Sen looked into Kaneki's eye noticing the boy's hidden depression the mask that would hide it from the average person, or ghoul...
She licked her lips, thinking of all the potential prospects of the young man. Mr. Kaneki, you are very interesting she thought herself. Giving the book back to Kaneki, " I'll see you again, Kaneki." She stated cryptically. Never noticing that Neither of the boys had tense every so slightly.
Kaneki and Hide, walked out the store with different thoughts of what just took place. Hide, figured that his friend was gonna get a piece of action going by how the author was so intently staring at Kaneki. Meanwhile, Kaneki himself was enveloped in thoughts that he had gotten rid of, or better yet repressed such memories. He sighed softly, as they made their way to the cafe know as Anteiku.
The two went inside the cafe, noting the aromas of fresh coffee in the air and the few people that were actually in the cafe. One in particular was a woman with long purple hair that was reading a book similar to kaneki's own nonetheless. They found a spot near the window, and looked out observing the bustling streets of Tokyo.
" Do you think something was off with that author in the bookstore?" Hide asked, as prepared his order. " What do you mean by that Hide?" Kankei asked, as he looked over the cafe menu. " What I mean is that she looked at you like food, or some type of experiment. Then she was kinda creepy in way Kaneki." Hide has stated as he signaled the waitress that they were ready to order. " Maybe you are just overthinking, but maybe you could be right. She looked at my in way that no one has before, almost as if I were-" Kaneki was cut off, as the waitress had asked me what they wanted.
Hide looked at her, " It is rude to not give your name first "miss". However, I would just like a mocha." Kankei looked at the woman, noticing her purple, short hair and eyes that were filled with annoyance from his friend. "Miss, can I just have a coffee." Kankei stated.
She looked at the two, and with a small grumble "My name is Touka." As she finished writing down both of their orders she disappeared into the back.
" How can she even work here? She is so rude." Hide stated. "But she does have a nice body eh right Kaneki?" Hide asked his friend. " I did not look at her like that Hide, besides you appear to have small interest in her." Kankei retorted, with a small smirk.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Kaneki." Hide stated. He looked over to see that the purple hair woman was still reading her book, and he decided to get some payback on his dear friend Kaneki. "Oh Kankei, it's time for you to get a date." Hide had thought evilly to himself.
Their beverages had arrived, as Touka place them down on the table and left not wanting to be bothered with the orange haired guy in particular. Hide seeing his newfound opportunity walked over to the purple lady, as he would now dub her.
" Um miss, my friend would like to talk you about that book you have in your hand." Hide said, as the lady stared at him with interest. " "Would he now? Why would he want to do that?" The lady had asked. " That is because you two are reading books by the same author." Hide stated. Thinking of his genius for noticing the author's name on her book. " Well where is he?" She has asked. He pointed to the table where Kaneki was, and she nodded. Getting up, as they made their way to Kaneki.
Kaneki looked over to see his friend bringing a woman over to him, as he internally cursed Hide for his actions. Seeing them move closer only made him all the more anxious, as he fidgeted in his place. "Kaneki! Something came up, and I have to go see ya later" Hide exclaimed grabbing his mocha and winking at Kaneki as he bolted out of the store laughing evilly.
The lady sat on the other side of Kaneki, wondering why he seemed so nervous. " Uh...Um hello there Miss." he stated nervous and shyly making the woman giggle had at timidness. "My name is Rize, so you don't have call me miss it makes me feel old. And I presume your name is Kaneki?" She questioned. " Yes-s it is Ken Kaneki ma'am." Kankei had stated.
"You wanted to talk me about the book ?" The now known Rize had stated.
She looked over at Kaneki, observing his characteristics. The black hair that looked soft as pillows, the black eyes that were as soft as a puppy at first glance, and lastly the air of timid but sadness that he holds around himself.
Getting himself together Kaneki had realized how that this would be his first interaction with a woman in a very long time. "Life can't get any worse than this." He had thought to himself. "Yes I would like to talk about the book." Kaneki stated gaining some confidence, as she smiled in a way that melted his heart.
They talked about the books of Sen for hours on end, as the day turned into night. "Well I should be on my way home now, but I am too scared to walk home at night. You know with the ghouls and all." Rize stated, making her fear well known.
"I can walk you home, if you don't mind miss Rize." Kankei has stated. Thinking it's the least he could do for holding her up for so long. " I would really like that Mr. Kaneki." Rize stated, as they made their way out of the cafe leaving the staff of Anteiku especially Touka to worry for the poor boy.
The moon hanged high in the sky illuminating the city of Tokyo, as the young duo walked down the path. Rize grasped Kaneki's hand causing his usually pale face to turn a bright red. "I know a shortcut Mr. Kaneki." Rize mentioned, as she led Kaneki to a construction area. Kaneki felt at ease not worrying about the shortcut as he thought to trust Rize.
They had stopped, and Kaneki could hear giggling from Rize. Not the average cute giggles that would make your heart flutter, but the giggles that had put his heart to panic as his body started to shake.
Rize, took off her glasses as her kagune came to life four long tentacle like masses that were glowing a bright red and sickening black. She smiled in a sadistic manner, as she stabbed kaneki in his leg not wanting her prey to run too far from her.
Kaneki looked at the woman in absolute terror, and said " you are a ghoul!?" Feeling the blood leak from his leg, as he ran from the beautiful nightmare in front of him.
"Of course I am Kankei, and you are my prey. That pale skin that holds in all your sweet flesh, and delicious blood that makes me feel warm in a lot of places. I am going to enjoy torturing you and ripping all your organs out of your slim body." Rize stated, she dragged kaneki with her kagune suspending him in the air as she stabbed him in a multitude of places enjoying his screams of agony. "More Mr. kaneki! More!" Rize exclaimed, as felt his blood splash over her clothing and face licking her lips in pleasure.
Kaneki could only feel pain, and more pain eyes closing only to awaken again to the agony that he felt from the tentacles stabbing him. Closing his eyes, as the last saw was large steel beam dropping.
Rize looked at her prey, Kaneki, seeing that he had gave her enough fun for one night she aimed for his heart, but a steel beam fell onto her and kaneki.
Kaneki, awoken in a world of pain. Hoping that yesterday was just a horrible nightmare, and that he could just past it off. However, life wasn't so fortunate as told him that he was in a tragic accident. Furthermore, the fact that Miss Rize's vital organs were placed inside of him.
"Dr kanou, when can I leave the hospital?" Kankei had asked, more depressed than ever realizing the fact that he may just be a monster.
" We are going to keep you her for a week to track your vitals and health. After that you will be discharged, and free to go." The doctor stated will a smile that put Kaneki at some ease.
" Thank you doctor." Kankei said, as he closed his eyes falling back to sleep.
Time-skip: 1 week
The incident had made kaneki more worried about the fact that he has a part of a monster inside him. He was discharged from the hospital, so he decided to go home that night seeing if he could possibly be a human. " I am not a monster." He thought to himself, and I will prove it. Since he had been on hospital food for the time of his hospitalization, he decided to eat a hamburger which would never match the taste of his mother's.
He cooked the meal, and decided to bite into it. When he it tasted like a pure atrocity, so he bit it again throwing up the meal as his stomach growled in disgust. He ran to the kitchen trying every ounce of food that he had, which only led to him throwing up again and again. He felt the effects of the hunger that was over taking him, and he knew that only one thing could satisfy the hunger of a monster.
He slammed his head into the wall, as he cried " I don't want be a monster! I don't want to be a monster!" The hunger only grew as the night passed on, and his mental state was deteriorating by the day. Days had passed, and he hated himself more and more everyday. " I can not be a monster." Kaneki stated, as he grabbed a knife from his kitchen.
" I will end this hell! I will not be a monster! I refuse!" Kankei exclaimed, as he stabbed him self in the stomach only for the knife to break into pieces. He screamed, as he really was becoming a monster. He walked outside deciding that a rainy night will help him to calm down. The smell of fresh corpse had invaded his senses, which to a hungry Kaneki was heaven. Not even able to rationalize he ran to the corpse, he stopped looking at it the fresh blood was tempting to lick and the smell was so good.
In his head, Kaneki was resisting eating the body. He was a human, not a monster. To eat a person was an abomination's nature. He refused to submit to the ghoul's nature, but his thinking was cut off as the sound of footsteps were heard.
Touka was on the prowl for a snack, but imagine her surprise to see the boy, kaneki, next to a dead body talking to himself. She walked over to him, and grabbed his chin seeing that one of his eyes was a kakugan." How did you get that!?" She yelled, but realizing that guy was in no state to answer question she had to take a different approach.
"Have you eaten a human yet?" Touka asked softly. Kaneki only stared at her for a few seconds before answering, " No, I haven't eaten anyone." "You need to eat, or you will die Kaneki." She had guessed that was his name form her last interaction with him and orange hair guy.
"I am not a monster. I will not eat this person." Kaneki stated in defiance looking away from the purple haired girl. Touka looked at him before walking over to the body grabbing a piece of the woman's flesh as she brought it close to his face. "You will eat this, and you are going to enjoy every bite of it." She stated in an irritated tone.
"I already told you, I am not going to eat that. I rather die from hunger, than to eat like an abomination." Kaneki had stated softly. She looked at him before saying, " That is okay because it was not a choice." She slammed the flesh into his mouth, and held him against the wall as he began to eat the flesh that was forcefully put into his mouth .
Kaneki could feel his body crave more and more, as the flesh tasted better than a fine steak or even one of his mother's hamburgers. He wanted more, as he look at the corpse but his human mentality struck him. "What have I done?" He said as he looked at his bloody mouth in the reflection of a rain puddle. Before he could go onto another rant, his entire world went black.
This is the end of the first chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it. I take any suggestions, so feel free to Pm. Lastly, I will try to have a new chapter every week, so stay tuned, TheDarkAurora out.
A/N: This is my first book, so their may be grammatical errors and other literary errors that may occur. However, I will revise the chapters as we proceed throughout. In addition to this, I'll get a beta-reader that can help smooth out the chapters.
A/N: This story is book 1/4 out of the series. There will be themes of cannibalism and other mature content that may not be suitable for less mature readers. The main paring of this book will be Kaneki X Eto, and there will be other minor parings as well.
A/n: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul, or its characters. The only characters I own are my own Oc.