A/N
Thank you guys for the support! I decided to rewrite the first chapter and actually try to make this a full story. It was something that I dreamt and so I decided that I needed to see what happens.
Chapter I: A New Hope
Ghouls, humanoid creatures that survive by consuming the flesh of human beings. They have always been a concern, especially in Tokyo, Japan. They never seemed to be a problem in America, until one month ago, the war between ghouls and humans made its way to Arcadia Bay. The small town suffered many losses because of the sudden ghoul attack, one of the casualties was 19 year old Chloe Price, Chloe had been killed by a ghoul named Mark Jefferson. Jefferson had also taught at the local prestigious school, Blackwell Academy, it is believed he used the ruse of being a teacher to kill and consume both Chloe and another Blackwell student named Rachel Amber. After the attack the American government decided to fall in the footsteps of Tokyo and form the CCG (Commission of Counter Ghoul) with David Madsen, stepfather of one of Mark Jefferson's victims. With Madsen's military background he became a top investigator and now leads the CCG branch in Arcadia Bay.
November, 2013
Max Caulfield woke up to the sound of her alarm going off, early in the morning. "Do I really need to go to class?" Max thought as she begrudgingly got up from the warmth and comfort of her dorm room bed. Max is of average height of 5'5, she is slender and has short shoulder length brown hair, she has blue eyes, and freckles on the upper part of her nose and both cheeks.
She does a little stretch to help mentally prepare her for her daily classes and checks her phone for any messages, in which she has two.
"Hey, Max! Me and Brooke and heading to Two Whales after school, you down or what?" Her friend Warren messaged
"You know I don't like being the third wheel, Warren. But I could definitely eat a burger, I'll let you know." She responded
"Hey, Max! You're not going to miss our tea session this weekend, are you?" Max's friend Kate messaged
"Of course not, Kate! I definitely could use a "bitch about life session"!" She replied
She got up from her bed after wasting a few more minutes to contemplate and grabbed her shower supplies and headed for the showers. Blackwell is a prestigious schools for gifted students, so the students sleep in dormitories rather than going home and so each dormitory floor has its own shower.
"Hey, Mad Max." A familiar female voice called as Max closed the door to her dorm room, Max turned towards the voice and was welcomed to the sight of a smiling Victoria. Victoria is about 2 inches taller than Max, she has short blonde hair, and is a member of one of the richer families in Arcadia Bay, she and Max used to be enemies until Max had saved her from becoming the ghoul, Mark Jefferson's third victim.
Oh! Hey Victoria." Max said as she returned the smile
"Did you hear about the new transfer student?"
"Transfer student?" Max replied with a confused look
"Yeah, apparently he's from Tokyo."
"No, this is the first time I'm hearing about a transfer student."
"Well, Juliet did some digging, and he's just like you, Max."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, he's really shy. Juliet tried talking to him, y'know to welcome him and he got really shy. I think he would be perfect for you."
"Thanks, Victoria." Max said sarcastically
"I'm just saying, Max. Plus, Juliet says he's really cute."
"Well, I have to go shower before class, I'll see you later."
"Alright, and make sure you wear something cute, you have to make his head turn."
Max just let out an awkward chuckle and made her way to the showers as Victoria headed back into her dorm.
The shower room is rather small, with only four showers and sinks. She got undressed and went into one of the open showers.
"I wonder if Victoria was serious when she said that the new guy would be perfect for me…" Max thought to herself "Guess I'll just have to wait and see for myself…" Max finished her shower and threw a tower around her and made her way back to her dorm.
"Let's see." Max said as she opened her closet and went through her clothes, which mainly consisted of t shirts and jeans "I know me and Victoria went shopping and I was able to get some really cute outfits, but I can't help but want to wear my usual t shirt and jean combo." Max picked out a pink t shirt with the word love on it, and a dear on the right side, both shaded in white. She then grabbed a pair of slim fit blue jeans, and got dressed. She then grabbed her grey zip up sweater and threw it on before she headed out the door.
Photography class
Usually Max was the first one to arrive in class, but not today. Once she entered the photo filled room, she saw the new teacher, Mrs. Johnson, the new photography teacher who took over after the Mark Jefferson incident talking to who Max assumed to be the new guy. The new guy looked to be an inch taller than Max, he had short black hair, he was wearing black jeans, with black running shoes, a white dress shirt, buttoned to the collar, and a green zip up hoodie.
"Good morning, Mrs. Johnson." Max said with a smile as she took her headphones out her ear
"Ah, good morning, Max. You're just in time." Mrs. Johnson replied with a soft smile "This is the new transfer student, his name is Ken Kaneki, he'll be sitting next to you, is that alright with you?"
"Of course."
"Great! Now Kaneki, if you have any questions just ask Max. She's one of Blackwell's star photographers" Mrs. Johnson said which made Max blush a bit. "Now why don't you two go take your seats and get to know each other."
Kaneki followed Max to a table near the back and took the seat next to her, the room was filled with silence as Kaneki took out a notebook and pencil to take notes with
"So, where are you from?" Max asked trying to break the ice
"Tokyo, Japan." Kaneki said in a soft, shy voice.
"And you speak perfect English? Did you learn before coming to America?"
"Yeah, I didn't want to move to a new country without knowing how to speak its language, it was easier to learn than I thought it would be."
After that a silence fell between the two as they still had 15 minutes before class would officially start
"So you're a star photographer?" Kaneki asked with a smile
"I wouldn't say a "star" but I guess I'm pretty good."
"Don't let her modesty fool you, Ken. She's brilliant with her photography." Mrs. Johnson said from her desk, which once again made Max blush.
"You know, hearing someone call me Ken feels weird."
"Why?" Max said giving Kaneki a questioning look
"Well, usually everyone would just call me Kaneki."
"Kaneki? They would call you by your last name?"
"Yeah, I know it sounds weird." Kaneki replied as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head
"N-No, it's nice. I like that name, Kaneki."
Just then the rest of the students began the flood into the classroom and take their seats, Victoria walked in and saw Max sitting next to the new guy and a smile grew on her face
"I see you took my advice, Max." Victoria said with a teasing smile "I was gonna grab him up if you didn't."
Kaneki looked at the two girls' interaction with a confused look on his face "What does she mean?" He asked the blushing teen
"I-I don't know, she always says random stuff."
"Alright, students. Settle down. Now, we have a lot of stuff to cover for today, but before that let's let the new student introduce himself. Kaneki, if you'd please."
Kaneki walked up to the front of the classroom and suddenly all eyes fell onto him "W-Well my name is Ken Kaneki, but you can just call me Kaneki, I'm from Tokyo, Japan and I love to read."
"Do you have any experience in photography?"
"W-Well no, not really."
"Then it's a good thing you have already befriended Max." Mrs. Johnson said with a smile as she motioned towards Max "Thank you, Kaneki
Kaneki went back to his seat and Mrs. Johnson began to go over the lesson. Throughout the lesson Max found herself unable to look away from Kaneki, she didn't know what it was about the new guy, but she couldn't help but look as he tried to keep up with the lessons even though he wasn't familiar with photography.
"Wowsers…. He is really cute." Max thought to herself
After school
Class had let out for the day and Max had exited the school main building and began to take pictures of different students, animals, scenery, anything that caught her eye. She began to scan the area through her camera lens until they fell onto the one thing she found herself infatuated with the most, the new guy, Ken Kaneki.
Kaneki sat on a bench by himself with his nose in a book, he looked at peace being alone and reading with the cool breeze of the wind blew his combed hair into his eyesight every once and awhile, Max once again found herself unable to stop watching him, even from a distance. Snap after snap Max took pictures of the unaware teen.
"Hey, Max!" A familiar voice called out to her, breaking her out of her trance like state, Max turned towards the voice that had called out to her and was welcomed to the sight of her friend, Kate Marsh. Kate wore a tan skirt, white dress shirt, buttoned to the collar, a blue fleece sweater, and a cross necklace hanging from her neck.
"What's got you so focused that you didn't hear me?"
"What do you mean, Kate?"
"Well I called out to you four times!"
"Oh, sorry."
"So what was it that's got your attention, Max?" Kate questioned as she looked towards the direction that Max had been looking until she saw what had caught her friend's attention
"Oh… I see, Max you sly dog."
"I-It's not what you think, Kate." Max said nervously as her face began to blush
"Max, you have a crush on Kaneki!"
"N-No I don't."
"Sure, look at you, you're flustered to the the max!"
"I-I don't know, I guess I do… I don't know."
"Go talk to him, Max! I mean you two already sit together in Photography! Now go!"
With a metaphorical and literal push from Kate, Max made her way to Kaneki "Come on, Max. You've already talked to him, this is no big deal." Max thought to herself, trying to calm her brain down.
"H-Hey Kaneki."
"Oh, hey Max." Kaneki said as he looked up from his book "What's up?"
"I'm not bothering you, am I?"
"No, not at all." Kaneki said with the smile still present on his face, the smile that for some reason made Max's heart melt.
"I was wondering that since you're new here, maybe you'd like a tour of Arcadia Bay?"
"Sure, I'd actually really like that."
"Great! I mean, when would you like the tour?"
"Well, I'm free right now, if you're willing to play tour guide."
"Alright then, let's get going!"
Kaneki marked his place in his book and placed it back in his bag and followed Max to the bus stop.
"Do you always take the bus?" Kaneki asked as they awaited the bus
"Yeah, I don't really have a car, and besides I like taking the bus, it's calming just sitting there, looking at the scenery, and listening to my music."
Just then the bus arrived and the two of them got onto the bus, they made their way to some empty seats in the back and sat next to each other, once the bus began to depart Kaneki reached into his messanger bag and took out the book he had been reading earlier
"What are you reading?" Max asked, curious about the kind of books the young teen liked to read.
"Oh, it's called "The Black Goat's Egg" it's definitely my favourite book."
"What's it about?"
"Well, The story centers around the relationship between a young man and his mother, a brutal serial killer known as the "Black Goat". Though he is disgusted by his mother's cruel actions, he begins to discover the same depraved impulses exist within him as well. It focuses on graphic descriptions of violence, as well as an exploration of the protagonist's mental state."
"Wowsers, didn't think someone like you would like to read those kind of books."
Kaneki sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and let out a small chuckle "Yeah, I get that a lot. I don't know what it is about this book that draws me to it."
"Since you like those types of books you should read "Silence of The Lambs""
"That's actually on my list of books to read." kaneki said with a chuckle "So, what's our first stop going to be?"
"Well I was thinking that you'd be hungry, and so what better place to start this tour at than the Two Whales Diner, they have the best food you'll find in Arcadia Bay!" Max said with an enthusiastic smile
And then as if on queue Kaneki's stomach began to rumble "I guess I can eat." he said with an embarrassed chuckle
Soon enough the bus had arrived at their destination and they both hopped off of the bus
"Max!" A female voice called out to her as they both of them got off the bus, Kaneki seemed confused as he couldn't really tell where the voice was coming from, until Max began to walk towards the side of the diner, where they both were met to a homeless lady "How are you, Max?" The homeless lady asked
"I'm doing good, oh this is a new transfer student from Tokyo, his name is Kaneki." Max introduced kaneki
"It's nice to meet you, ma'am." Kaneki said as he bowed
"My, such manners." She said with a smile "And he's cute, looks like you've got a nice catch, Max." She said which made Max blush "Listen, Max. Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Yeah, sure. Of course. Hey Kaneki can you grab us a table? I'll be right there."
Kaneki nodded in agreement and headed inside to grab him and Max a table
"He seems nice." The homeless lady started "But he carries a lot of sadness in those eyes." She said
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not fully sure, but I can tell from his eyes, he hasn't had a great childhood, all I'm saying is be nice to the boy, he's been through a lot."
"Sure" Max said not fully understanding what she had said "Hey, are you hungry? I can grab you something on our way out."
"Oh, you're so sweet, but no thanks. I've had my dinner, you go enjoy."
"Well, I'll see you later then." Max said as she made her way into the diner, she searched for Kaneki and saw that he had grabbed a booth near the back, next to the jukebox, he sat there with the same book out.
"If you wanted to just read, you could've just said so and I would've left you on the bench to read." Max jokingly said
"Oh… Sorry." Kaneki said embarrassed as he shoved the book back into his bag which made Max chuckle
"Y'know I was just kidding, you didn't have to put it away."
"Well if it isn't Max." A female voice called out to Max
"Oh, hey Joyce."
Joyce is a middle aged woman, she has long blonde hair in a bun, and she is wearing a waitresses' outfit. "Hello there, Max. And who is this handsome young man?" Joyce asked as she looked at Kaneki
"This is Kaneki, he's a transfer student from Tokyo."
"All the way from Tokyo? Well I hope you can make yourself at home, my name's Joyce, I'm basically Max's second mother."
"She really is."Max said with a smile
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Joyce." Kaneki said in the same shy voice
"As a welcome to Arcadia Bay, order whatever y'all would like, it's on the house."
"We can't let you do that, Joyce." Max protested
"Nonsense, it's my treat, so what would you like Kaneki?" She said as she readied her pen and paper
Kaneki scanned through the menu until his eyes found the one meal that he hadn't had in a while "C-Can I have the hamburger steak."
"Of course, hon. How do you want it cooked?"
"Well done, please."
"Alright, and what about you, Max? What would you like?"
"Can I have the bacon cheeseburger, with extra bacon" Max said as he mouth began to salivate
"Alright, I'll be right out with your orders, you two."
"She's nice." Kaneki said with a smile
As silence fell between Max and Kaneki, Max couldn't help but think about what the homeless lady said "I wonder what she meant by "He carries a lot of sadness."" Max thought to herself as she studied Kaneki as he looked out the window "Hey, Kaneki."
"Yeah?"
"May I ask you a question?"
"Uhm, sure. What is it?"
"How did your parents feel about you moving out here by yourself?"
This question had caught Kaneki off guard and he had stayed silent for a while until Max had repeated the question "Oh, well they seemed okay with it." Kaneki said as he cupped his chin "I guess they just want me to get a good education, no matter where I get it from."
"Do you miss them?"
"Of course." Kaneki said still cupping his chin
"Here you go, you two." Joyce said as she dropped their orders in front of them "Hamburger steak for the adorable gentleman, and the bacon cheeseburger for the beautiful lady" Joyce said with a smile
"Thank you." The two teens said in unision
"Now you two enjoy."
Kaneki and Max ate their meals while they had conversations about various topics, from their favourite music, movies, tv shows, books, and food, until they both finished eating. After they had finished they began to walk around the town rather than taking the bus to every stop, Max showed Kaneki around the town, taking him to various hang out spots such as, the mall, movie theater, and Kaneki's favourite the bookstore, before they knew it the sun began to set and they made their way back to their dorm rooms.
Kaneki and Max stood outside the girl's dormitory, unaware that they were being eavesdropped on by Victoria, Kate, Juliet, Dana, and Brooke
"Thanks for showing me around town, Max. You definitely made my first day a fun one." Kaneki said as he gave Max a soft smile that put butterflies in her stomach
"Well thanks for letting me play tour guide." She jokingly replied
The two of them stood their in silence, neither of them knowing what to do next
"What are they doing?" Victoria said with frustration in her voice "Just kiss her!"
"Quiet, Victoria! They'll hear you!" The girls just looked on as the two awkward teens just stood there
W-Well I'll see you tomorrow." Kaneki said in his shy voice
"Y-Yeah, totally. See you."
Max then turned and head into the dormitory and the group of spying girls all let out a frustrated sigh "I can't believe we waited for 2 hours just for that." Kate said
Later that night
Max laid in her bed unable to get out the words of the homeless lady "His eyes carry a lot of sadness in them." that question rattle itself inside her brain until she finally gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep.
Max then woke up in what seemed to be her dorm, but different. She looked out the window and saw something that made her pale as a bed sheet.
The students of Blackwell Academy torn apart, limb by limb and a sole figure standing in the middle of the bloodied school ground. Max covered her mouth from the shock, the figure was dressed in black shorts, with black legging like clothing, a black short sleeve pullover sweater with four red tentacles sticking out the back, a black long shirt under the sweater, and white shoulder length hair. The figure turned towards Max's window and she couldn't believe what she saw
"Kaneki?!" She said as tears began to build up "You're a…. Ghoul?!"
Max then shot up from her bed, covered in sweat. She quickly got up from her bed and looked out the window, it was still night time, she looked at the time on her phone and it read "3:35 AM"
"What the fuck was that?"
To be continued