So, yeah. I have a new obsession with Ajin and I thought, what better to cross Ajin over with than Tokyo Ghoul? Thus, this fanfic exists. I'm testing out 3rd Person so please don't be too harsh although I would love some constructive criticism :3 It's very short, this I do know and I'm sorry if you wanted it to be longer. I'm just testing the idea out to see if anyone likes it and if they do then I'll definitely continue on with it.
Anyway, peace out!
Disclaimer : I'm an awful writer so if you don't like it, don't read it.
Basic Story :
After Kei Nagai discovers that he is a demi-human, or Ajin, he flees to Tokyo in hopes of starting a new life. His friend Katio helps him escape and drops him off in Tokyo with some money and a promise that he will return once things calm down back in their hometown. Kei is left wandering the streets of Tokyo in search of a job. He eventually runs into the kind folk at Anteiku and decides to schedule an interview there the very next day. In terms of the plot of Ajin Demi Human, the only changes I have made are that Kai and Kei do not escape to the mountains and they run to Tokyo instead where Kai leaves him there so as to not draw attention to him. As well as those changes, Kei Nagai's name has yet to be revealed to the people in Tokyo.
Ken Kaneki has also just discovered that he is indeed not human, in fact, he's a half ghoul. In terms of the plot of Tokyo Ghoul, Kaneki has already begun work at Anteiku and is not too far away from his 'confrontation' with Jason.
Chapter 1:
The night's air was still around the somewhat empty streets of Tokyo. Word of a recent ghoul attack had spread through the area and had chased away most of the pedestrians, save for the few who were mindlessly roaming the sidewalks. Among the few people there, a young boy stood alone, letting the dying crowd trickle past him. He slowly began half limping half walking towards a corner store which had a few faded posters still clinging to the windows. A puff of warm air swirled into sky as the boy exhaled and stood in front of the window, clutching his arm as if it were a frail piece of china. Through the clouded window he could just barely make out a job opening at a coffee shop by the name of Anteiku. He winced and turned to walk away, only to be stopped by the sound of a radio, announcing the discovery of a new Ajin whose name had yet to be revealed to the public, stating that he was considered to be highly dangerous. "D-Damn..." " he stuttered, slowly moving back down the street. The boy stumbled into a back alley, sliding down to the ground against a wall to sit on the cold, damp floor. He glanced down at the alley floor where something glinted in the streetlight, catching his eye. Lazily reaching forward, he took hold of the item that he had found, bringing it up to his eyes to inspect it. The faded light in the alley was just enough to illuminate the sharp edges of a shattered piece of glass, sharp enough to cut, sharp enough to kill. "I-If I really am an Ajin…" The boy said, breathing heavily, "Then I can't really die." He glanced down at his other arm, seeing it was broken. "So if I do this now, I'll be good as new. Right?" He slowly brought the shard of glass up to his neck, taking a deep breath and squeezing his eyes shut as his hand began to shake. "I can't die! I can't I can't I can't!" He yelled, gripping the glass a bit too tightly as a line of crimson red blood began to drip down his wrist. A few tears ran down his face as he looked up into the clear night sky. "Why… me?"
"Your name is Kei Nagai? Is that right?" The purple haired waitress asked the strange boy who stood in the entrance to the Anteiku coffee shop. In the doorway, stood an average looking boy, wearing a collared white shirt, black trousers and buckled shoes. He nodded nervously and held out his hand in greeting.
"That it is ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said politely as the waitress grudgingly accepted his gesture of respect. She sighed and brushed a strand of hair to the side of her face as she turned to set the tray of coffee she was holding down on a vacant table next to her.
"Please, call me Touka." The waitress said as looked across at Kei, forcing a smile, "And you're here for an interview, would that be correct?" Kei shuffled his feet and nodded again as a door next to kitchen opened and a kind looking old man stepped out, wearing a warm smile unlike Touka's false mask of amity. "Thank you Touka, that will be all." The man said in a soft voice, dismissing Touka who stormed off through the door in a huff. "My name is Yoshimura and I'm the manager of Anteiku. Kei Nagai is it?" "Yes sir, thank you for having me here." Kei replied, bowing in a respective manner. Yoshimura chuckled softly to himself and waved his hand for Kei to stand back up.
"There's no need to bow! Please, we're all friends here." His warm smile seemed to brighten up the room which helped Kei to feel more relaxed and secure. From behind the kitchen countertop one of the waiters switched the television on to the news channel whose current news story was about the recent ghoul attack in the area. Yoshimura stiffened his posture slightly as the reporter talked about the ruthlessness of the ghoul who had attacked and killed several people the evening before. Kei followed his glance to the TV and fought back a sigh of relief, glad that they hadn't shown his name yet. "Terrible isn't it." He said, catching Yoshimura by surprise. The old man frowned for the first time since Kei was there and his brow creased in thought.
"What do you mean by that?" He replied, he could tell that Kei wasn't a ghoul but he could certainly sense something off about him, that's why he had considered to hold an interview with him in the first place. He knew he was special and he knew he was running from something. Kei sighed and shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"The world has gotten so dangerous, you can't go anywhere nowadays. It's either a ghoul," He said, taking a deep breath before finishing his sentence, "Or an Ajin." Yoshimura relaxed and nodded, turning his attention back to the TV and waving for the waiter who had switched it on to turn it off. "I agree, it's a real pity that there's so much violence." Yoshimura said solemnly before clapping his hands which made Kei jump slightly, "Right, back to your interview, are you currently studying at any school in the area? If you are then we could figure out a shift that matches your study hours if you would choose to work here." Since Kei had just arrived in Tokyo he hadn't the chance to look into any high schools or colleges yet.
"No sir, currently I'm in my last year of highschool and seeing as I've just moved to Tokyo I haven't had the chance to find an adequate school… or apartment." He trailed off, thinking about where he would stay the night this evening. Although Kaito had given him enough money to live on for quite a while it wasn't enough to stay in an apartment for long. His attention was brought back to the conversation by Mr. Yoshimura snapping his fingers, bringing him out from his deep train of thought. Kei blushed, embarrassed that he had been careless and rude enough to lose focus during a job interview. He was just about to bow in apology again when Yoshimura turned to face the door which had been opened by another young looking boy, about the same age as Kei, if not then older. "Ah Kaneki! You're quite early to work today aren't you?" Yoshimura exclaimed, seemingly happy to see the dark haired, eyepatch wearing boy in the café. The boy who had now been identified as Kaneki shuffled his feet and looked past the manager at Kei and then down at his feet.
"Y-Yes sorry, should I leave and come back later?" He nervously spoke, giving Yoshimura a quick glance before looking at Kei again.
"That won't be necessary, please, have a seat." Yoshimura kindly replied, waving both Kei and Kaneki to sit at a table near the window. "Kaneki is the newest addition to Anteiku so I'm sure he'll make sure to help you get used to things around here." Kei blinked, unsure of what the old man meant. From the way he was speaking, it was as if he had already been hired and was starting his first day of work.
"I'm s-sorry sir I don't quite understand." He replied in the most respectful way possible, trying not to sound like he was judging Yoshimura's overly kind attitude. As if to prove Nagai's point, Yoshimura chuckled and smiled.
"That means you start work here at Anteiku tomorrow!." He said, extending his hand to Kei who responded with a faint laugh and a nod of his head as he took the old man's hand. "Welcome to the family."
Once Kei had received the good news, Yoshimura invited him to take the free room they had upstairs in the café. At first he was reluctant to live in the building where he worked, especially in a place that was constantly filled with people. Eventually, Yoshimura won him over and he half heartedly accepted the key that was handed to him and retired to his new room. He lay a faded leather suitcase Kai had lent him against the wall, the bloodstained collar of a white shirt faintly peeking through the corner. Once he had organized his things and made sure the door was locked properly, he turned on the small television that was left in the room for him, immediately checking the news channel. His shoulders tensed as he waited for his name or his picture to be shown, forcing him on the run again, stealing away his chance for a normal life yet again. A sigh of relief swept his body when the news caster announced that the identity of the new Ajin had yet to be revealed to the public for confidential reasons. Kei lay back upon the small yet surprisingly comfortable bed and turned off the lamp next to him, leaving the room in complete darkness. Whether he was awake or asleep, Kei Nagai always dreamt of the strangest yet most intriguing things. His mind was his greatest strength, yet also his greatest weakness. It was the reason why he had gotten into this mess in the first place. The reason why his normal life had been ruined. The reason why he knew he wasn't human. He blinked and shook his head, pulling the duvet up over him as he slowly drifted to sleep, his mind still uneasy. Surprisingly, for the first time in a long time, Kei Nagai had finally found true peace. Even though he was on the run, he felt like he had truly found a home. A place where he belonged. As he slept, a swirl of black, dust like matter pooled on the floor of the room, slowly crawling its way towards the corner. A faint buzzing sound could be heard as the dust lurched up and slowly began forming a human like figure with clawed fingers and a slouched posture. "Why… me." It echoed, it's voice rasping yet strikingly similar to Kei's. "All I wanted… was a normal… life."
"I-I can't..." Kaneki stuttered, his hands trembling at his sides. The eye that wasn't covered by a cloth white eyepatch watered and reflected pure horror at whatever he was looking at. "I can't!" His knees wobbled and his hands flew up to his mouth in shock. His vision slowly blurred and a ravenous hunger suddenly stormed its way through his body, making every muscle in his body ache and his head pound in agony. He slowly crumpled to his knees and held his head in his hands. "I won't!" He yelled, his voice cracking from the steady stream of tears that now ran down his face.
"You need to," A voice said, closely followed by its owner, a familiar looking purple haired waitress. She stepped forward towards Kaneki and crouched down in front of him, holding out a small white dish. "Otherwise you'll die, is that really worth it?" Kaneki's breathing slowed and he tilted his eyes up towards Touka. "I-I'll die?" She nodded, pushing the plate into his hands, nearly causing him to throw it to the floor in disgust. "The worst part's already over, you're not doing anything wrong." She insisted, standing up again and looking down at the sniffling dark haired boy who had the small sandwich plate in a death grip. "You don't understand…" He said, looking down at the floor as his eyepatch slowly began to fall from his head, landing softly at his knees. Closing both eyes, he stumbled to his feet before taking a deep breath and letting his eyelids slowly flutter open, revealing his once hidden left eye. One eye shone a lustrous grey while the other looked so menacing, as if it could pierce straight through you. Its iris was a vibrant crimson and it was set on a glossy onyx black background. An eye of a ghoul, or rather, the single eye of a half ghoul. He held the plate out to Touka, forcing it back into her hands as he violently shook his head before looking back at her with tear filled eyes. "Then I won't be human anymore!"