Kuzuri

by Remus973

Mutation. It is the key to humanity's evolution. It allows us to adapt to whatever adversity come our way. One such adversity is the existence of ghouls, flesh eaters who hunt down humans like lions to antelopes. But for a person named Kaneki Ken, mutation would become the reason why three species of humanity would slowly unite as one. But not without pain from all sides.

1. Ch 0

Hello. This is a new crossover fanfic that has never been done before. When I first heard about Tokyo Ghoul. I dismissed it as jut another anime made for middle school edgelords. It was even on Toonami on Adult Swim for some time, and I still didn't even want to watch it. Then when I saw it on Hulu's anime catalog, I decided to give it a shot. Sure enough, I couldn't believe what I saw! If this anime was a person, I would apologize to it for being such a dismissive dick to it. Some aspects of the anime reminded me of the X-Men, which is the reason why I wanted to do this crossover fanfic. It hasn't been done yet, so why not start now? This chapter is a prologue. A rather long one. It sets up the timeline and events, some of which involves X-Men characters, that lead up to where our story begins.

1944: Nazi soldiers at a death camp reported a young Jew somehow manipulating metal bars with his hands while struggling to stay together with his mother. The young Jew in question was brought to the camp's resident scientist, Dr. Klaus Schmitt. The doctor specialized in genetics, and was interested in humans who exhibited powers worthy of the concept of the Ubermensch. The jew was identified by the name of Erik Lehnscherr. Schmitt ordered Lehnscherr to move metal objects. He fails to do so, which forces the doctor to use the murder of his mother to 'properly' motivate him. It worked. It wouldn't be until the downfall of Hitler's Germany would Erik Lehnscherr be free of Schmitt's influence. But the hatred instilled inside of him would make him embark on a single-minded crusade for vengeance. At the same time, a young English boy living in Westchester county, New York encountered a young mutant girl with blue skin masquerading as his mother. The boy possessed powers as well. He read into the mind of the imposter, and the imposter willingly revealed herself to him. The boy offered the girl a chance to be part of his family and she accepted.

1962: The Cuban missile crisis.

April 14th: The CIA investigates the existence of the secret organization known as the Hellfire Club. Believing them to profiting off the cold war conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, Agent Moira MacTaggart discovered something far more radical. She discovers the members in possession of superhuman abilities, which they used to force a colonel of the US army to place missiles in Turkey to provoke aggression between the two superpowers. He was later killed by the same people.

May 8th: Seeking expert help on the nature of the powers the Hellfire Club possessed, MacTaggart sought an Oxford graduate by the name of Charles Xavier, who wrote a doctorate dissertation of the subject of mutation. An excerpt:

"To Homo neanderthalensis, his mutant cousin, Homo sapiens, was an aberration… Records show, without exception, that the arrival of the mutated human species in any region was followed by the immediate extinction of their less-evolved kin."

After meeting with her, Xavier, followed by his adopted sister Raven Darkholme (the blue-skinned shapeshifter), went to the CIA to prove the existence of mutants. Initially perceived as a threat, one high-ranked officer of the CIA sponsors the mutants and invites them to be part of a special division comprised of mutants to combat the Hellfire Club. When Schmitt, now going by Sebastian Shaw, is discovered on US soil, a covert strike team is ordered to apprehend him. Unfortunately, they were easily overpowered. However, the nighttime operation would not prove itself to be a total loss as at the same time Erik Lehnscherr was there to settle his vendetta against Shaw. Although he failed, it would be where he would meet Charles Xavier. The two would come to be good friends. At first. The threat of the Hellfire Club now becoming more apparent than ever, the CIA orders Division X to eliminate him. With help from the division's scientist Hank McCoy, a mutant himself, Both Xavier and Lehnscherr began to locate and recruit mutants best suited for the mission ahead with help from Dr. McCoy's latest invention, Cerebro, a mutant tracking device best used by a telepath like Charles Xavier. A majority of the recruits willing volunteered, save one.

June 15th: Division X receives intel of Emma Frost, a member of the Hellfire Club, meeting with a Soviet general. She convinces him of installing missiles in Cuba. When captured by Lehnscherr, Xavier, and MacTaggart, Frost confesses to what the Hellfire Club had planned, confident in her organization's success. Shaw desires the two superpowers to destroy each other so the humans would be wiped out by their own weapons while the mutants would survive and inherit the earth. During the mission, the rest of the club, led by Shaw himself, attack the CIA facility housing the mutants and persuading them to join his side. Some took the offer while others refused. Charles Xavier decides to use his childhood mansion as an interim training facility to get the mutants ready to face the Hellfire Club as their machinations were closer to Shaw's realization.

October 22nd: President John F. Kennedy delivers a speech.

"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile…launched from Cuba against any nation in the western hemisphere…as an attack by the Soviet Union against the United States. The cost of freedom is always high — but Americans have always paid it. One path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender or submission."

The United States sets up a naval blockade between the incoming Soviet ships and Cuba. If the blockade is crossed, it will be seen as an act of war from the USSR. The world trembles with fear of nuclear annihilation. Exactly what Sebastian Shaw desired. The children of the atom ruling the world.

October 23rd: Division X mobilizes to the blockade line between the Soviet ship and Cuba. The Hellfire Club also mobilizes to ensure their machinations come to fruition. Although initially outmatched by certain members, Division X eventually defeat the Hellfire Club when Erik Lehnscherr used his mutant abilities to lift the submarine from the sea itself and lands it on a nearby beach. He later confronts Sebastian Shaw, but fails to achieve his revenge as he proves himself too powerful for Lehnscherr to handle. Further diving into his need for revenge, he decides to abandon Charles Xavier due to the fact that during his fight with Shaw, he confesses to sharing Shaw's view of mutant supremacy. That they deserve the earth, more so than the humans. Although the Hellfire Club had been defeated, Division X would find themselves betrayed by the very people who turned to them for help. Erik eventually stops the metal-based weapons and turns it on the ships firing at him and the rest of the mutants on the beach. During the chaos, Shaw abandons the mutants on his side and Xavier would become a paraplegic, by a bullet meant for Erik but deflected by him. The mutants of the Hellfire Club now turn to Erik Lehnscherr for leadership. As does Raven Darkholme, after growing tension between him and Xavier.

November 1st: After a period of rest, Charles Xavier decides to make use of the experience. Even after losing his ability to walk, he is still determined to make a positive impact in the world by transforming his mansion into a school for young mutants. One of the mutants from the mission, Hank McCoy, helps him by being a teacher. While Erik Lehnscherr becomes a radical mutant terrorist, adopting the name Magneto, and creates an organization dedicated to mutant supremacy and domination called the Brotherhood of Mutants. Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw developed a contingency plan. After rescuing Emma Frost from a CIA detention cell, the two of them head for a secluded base which Shaw had in case his plans would fail. Within the base were five stasis pods from which both he and Frost would cryogenically freeze themselves for 40 years to escape any and all intelligence agencies hunting after them.

1973: Vietnam

January 19th: 11 years had passed since Cuba. Charles Xavier successfully opens his school for mutants under the name "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters." For the first six years, the school did its job of aiding and training mutants to control their powers to better fit into society. But as the conflict in Vietnam began to escalate, the shadows of war would soon loom over Xavier's school. Many of the teachers and students end up drafted into the war. Many of them dies, which causes Xavier to turn depressed and become an alcoholic. McCoy creates a serum which would not only suppresses his psychic abilities, but enable him to walk. At that time, a mutant by the name of Logan comes to both Xavier and McCoy for help regarding a mission he was on that involves Mystique, AKA Raven Darkholme.

January 20th: First Logan stops by the house of a comrade named Peter Maximoff, AKA Quicksilver. He quickly joins Logan as he wanted a challenge for his powers. The breakout of Magneto from his prison deep under the Pentagon was as good as any. A carefully coordinated plan of escape first showed success with Quicksilver proving himself to be a favorable asset. He would later discover the reason why Magento was apprehended, other than being a mutant terrorist. Erik confessed to being the perpetrator of Kennedy's assassination. Later, he would reveal to Charles that Kennedy was a mutant as well, and the assassination was actually a botched rescue attempt. Erik is told by Logan that Mystique intends to kill a man by the name of Bolivar Trask, who will create humanoid weapons called 'Sentinels' equipped with the means to track and exterminate any and all mutants within its sights. Erik also learns that if Trask gets a hold of Raven's DNA, Trask would create Sentinels that could adapt and mimic any and all mutant abilities they could see. Although their goals differed and tension filled the space between them, Erik and Charles agreed to work together to stop Raven from committing an act that possessed fatal consequences. Their next stop, the Paris Peace Accords.

January 23rd: The group arrives in Vietnam, where the Paris Peace Accords were taking place. Magneto first encounters Raven, only to be informed that Trask killed the brotherhood to create the Sentinels. At first, he lets her go out of rage for his fallen comrades, but later realize his mistake. At a private meeting, Trask would meet with the generals of the North Vietnamese military, attempting to persuade them to invest his Sentinel program after failing to do so with a U.S senate committee. He even displays the device that could detect the X-Gene that sets off whenever a mutant was detected. It did so, exposing Mystique. Mystique was close to killing Trask, only to be thwarted by Charles, Hank, and Logan. Erik attempts to kill her, but gets stopped by Hank. The fight eventually leads Raven, Erik, and Hank to be exposed to the world as mutants. Trask takes advantage of this as he meets with President Nixon to discuss the Sentinel program. He is successful as Nixon approves the program.

February 1st: Erik returns to the Pentagon to regain the helmet Sebastian Shaw left behind and took for himself. It proved itself useful as it doubled as a protective barrier against any and all psychic takeovers. Later that night, he manages to locate the prototype sentinels being transported to Washington.

February 3rd: Returning to the mansion, Charles, Hank, and Logan mend and think on their next move. Charles, deciding to regain his powers, ceases with using the serum to walk again and makes his back into Cerebro, now located at the bottom of his mansion. At first he fails, feeling that he was simply unable to be the man he used to be. Logan believes the opposite. Charles asks why. Logan eventually tells Charles and Hank the whole truth. Logan reveals that he actually comes from the future. Rather his mind is transported from the future and placed in his past body. He reveals that due to the existence of the Sentinels, the world has become a hell on earth. Both the human and mutant race are hunted down to the point of extinction. Because of his healing factor, Logan could survive the ordeal and if he succeeded, the future that he would still remember would never have existed for the rest of the world. Stunned by this information, Logan requested Charles to look into his mind. At first, Charles would only see his memories from his time as a test subject for weapon X. Then, further diving down into Logan's mind did he find the mental connection to the future. There did Charles meet with his future self, Professor X. Initially dismayed by the state of the future, Charles questions if co-existence with the humans was worth all that he suffered. Professor X helps Charles regain his sense of hope. With it, Cerebro works again, and Charles now finds Raven.

February 5th: President Nixon commences a ceremony, unveiling the Sentinels made to protect the American people against the 'mutant menace' that has the nation paralyzed in fear. Charles, Hank, and Logan search for Mystique within the crowd. Unfortunately, what stands in their way is Magneto, who crashes into the ceremony by lifting the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and using it to surround the White House. Both Logan and Hank McCoy, transforming into his mutant persona the Beast, fight both Magneto and the Sentinels. It would prove itself to be a losing battle as Magneto locates some nearby metal bars, pierces Logan's entire body with them, and throws him into the Potomac river. Drowning makes it difficult for his mind to maintain the link with his body. It would not be long before the link becomes permanent and his body in the future dies. Meanwhile, Magneto makes a speech to the mutants of the world. Charles eventually locates Mystique in the safe room with President Nixon and Bolivar Trask. Magneto rips the safe room from the ground, rips it open, and disarms all of the Secret Service of their guns. He magnetically keeps the weapons with him with intention of shooting the president, but Mystique stops him from doing so by shooting him in the neck with a plastic gun she had with her just in case. She then turns her sights on Trask, but Charles tries to stop her from doing so. He persuades Raven to show mercy on the humans who want to hurt her, and in doing so prevent herself from being an enemy of humanity. She believes mercy to be futile as Raven believes she is already on the path of no return. Charles then does something he should have done a long time ago, but was blinded by both nostalgia and pride. Charles stops trying to control her, and trusts her to make the right choice. Raven, taking a moment to consider the grander consequences of her actions, ultimately decides to spare Trask, thereby showing that not all mutants desire the end of the human race. The hellish future is now erased from time itself due to this act.

February 10th: Public opinion on mutants remains divided within the world, let alone the United States. Some believe the mutants are a threat to the human race while others that the sooner the mutants have full civil rights, the more they would see co-existence as a preferable option. Meanwhile, Logan would later be 'rescued' by a military officer by the name of Major William Stryker. After getting arrested for selling US military secrets to Vietnamese military officials, Stryker makes use of Trask's assets to create a clandestine government organization to combat what he called, the mutant menace. Logan would become the first of many subjects for what he had in mind. Charles Xavier, satisfied that his sister would be seen as a hero for her actions, finds the will to be a teacher once again and reopens his school for young mutants once again. For 15 years, an uneasy tension would exist between the mutants and humans.

1981: Magneto establishes the mutant country of Genosha, an island nation east of Africa and north of Madagascar. After leading a mutant uprising against the preceding government, he exposes to the world the living conditions the mutant populace lived through. A situation where they had no choice but to live through proved itself no different that Slavery during the 1780s or South African Apartheid. The mutant population were treated as if they were property, living in complete squalor. Magneto inspires the mutants to follow him and break their chains of bondage. The campaign took six months before success took place. Magneto's first act as the nation's 'emperor' was the immediate deportation of the human citizens. This decision was immediately criticized by almost every nation leader in the world. None more so than a US Senator named Robert Kelly, who ran his election on anti-mutant rhetoric. Rhetoric that would become more acceptable to embrace when murders of a superhuman and barbaric nature were soon reported by both police and the news. Stories of bodies not just found but mutilated in a way that suggested that parts of them were literally devoured. Experts of the human body were consulted and brought up by news shows to give their professional opinion. One common thread between them were the conclusion. The strength needed to rip skin from bone would have to be superhuman for it to be possible. The only people capable of such acts were mutants. Such facts enabled the human population of many countries to go on 'mutant hunts.' Life for mutants became more difficult than before. None of them were spared the frenzied rage of the mobs who would go into mutant neighborhoods and terrorize them in their own homes. Not even the children would be spared. It would not until the late eighties that these murders were finally captured and arrested by the police. The Chicago 2nd precinct massacre would become one of the bloodiest memories America would have. The mutants used their powers to escape, but how their powers manifested that stuck into the minds of the few survivors. Large, crimson-black appendages sprouted from their back and moved quick. So quick that almost no bullet from the cop's guns hit them. And the few that did never pierced them. One of the survivors of the massacre was a mutant named Tabitha Smith but went by her mutant name Meltdown. Her mutant ability was creating spheres of plasma energy. Which can be used as a custom-made bomb and used her mutant power for self-defense. An excerpt:

"I saw what those guys looked like. I used my powers to defend myself and anyone who didn't want to die. I can relate to that, and did what I could. Main takeaway is this. What I saw wasn't mutant powers. They were too much the same. Mutant powers don't work like that. They weren't mutants. Why? Cause I saw one of them eat some of the dead people. Plus, their eyes became black when they were doing that. Mutants don't eat dead people! THAT'S JUST TOO FU-"

News networks felt compelled to end the interview there, but her story struck a chord across both America and the world itself. All violent actions against mutants dramatically decreased to this revelation. Nation leaders all gave public apologies to their respective mutant populations. Although mutants were cleared of crimes they did not commit, the threat of these individuals did not disappear.

1988: A plan went underway to finally understand what they were. Individuals like the ones seen in Chicago were reported in Yonkers, New York. The person responsible for the capture of them were Charles Xavier and Hank McCoy. The two men made their case to the local city government, the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Since Xavier had a doctorate in genetics and McCoy possessed the technical skills to create holding cells strong enough to hold the likes of the Juggernaut, they would hold them and conduct a series of experiments that would help gain a better understanding of what the likes of the individuals, that caused the Chicago 2nd precinct massacre, were. The capture was successful in part of the police's cooperation and Xavier's psychic abilities. Once the subjects were secure at the mansion, both Charles and Hank could run test to determine the nature of their existence. Acquiring their DNA proved itself to be a difficult endeavor as their skin proved itself impenetrable, but not impossible as it took some creative thinking along with knowledge of anatomy. Xavier got more information by using his powers to make the individuals talk to him. The two men even contacted with various other doctors across the world who specialized in not just genetics, but also physiology and medicine. Once the tests were complete, a press conference was held in front of the mansion. Charles Xavier announced his discoveries to the world. An excerpt:

"After much research into their origins, as well as an intricate analysis into their DNA, our findings have concluded that these individuals, some of which were responsible for the 2nd precinct in Chicago, are a subspecies of humanity. However, unlike mutants, their genetic potential had peaked a long time ago and should've gone extinct. Whether by a miracle or the devil's luck, their species have thrived well into the 20th century. Dr. McCoy and I, alongside with other highly regarded doctors and geneticists, have classified this human subspecies as ghouls. Named after fictional demons from Pre- Islamic Arabic folklore who usually live around graveyards, feasting on corpses."

Xavier went on about how the discoveries came to be, but it gave the people clarification and answers as to how these crimes were conducted and who would do them. Now there are three species of humanity, all trying to live in this world however they can. However, for the humans, ghouls were not just a physical threat, but an existential one as well. This was a species that fed on them. For so long humans considered themselves the top of the food chain. Even though they now had to share it with mutants, until ghouls came along, they never feared the emergence of a predator. The humans never once considered themselves to be in the position of the mouse, the rabbit, the pig, the sheep, or even the cow. As for the mutants, once it was furthered discovered that ghouls could not feed on them due to how they tasted to them, some, like Magneto, said that they should be left to nature. If they died, then the world can belong to the mutants. While other mutants agreed with Xavier's point of view. The ghouls gave the humans a reason to strive for co-existence. Two species united against a foe who has everything to gain by seeing the two sides destroy one another. The rest remained neutral and only desired to live for themselves and keep to themselves. Although Charles Xavier did a great service to both humanity and the mutants, he wondered if his presenting his research to the general public so soon would have any repercussions. Nonetheless, the short-term consequences were the ones he had always worked towards. Governments from all over the earth now had incentive to give mutants their full civil rights.

1992: Agencies dedicated to the elimination of ghouls rose over the next four years. Although they possessed access to military-grade weaponry, they had little effectiveness against the ghouls. Part of the reason why said agencies faced little criticism was due to the mutants that signed up for them. They had the power to face the ghouls on equal footing. Some abilities were more effective than others, but then came another problem that was connected to the ghouls. The rise of mutant vigilantes. Some believed that the ghoul hunting agencies were only effective because of the mutants, which led to younger mutants acting for themselves. Many of the young mutants becoming vigilantes came from low-income neighborhoods, AKA places that people generally ignore out of indifference. Many of these young mutants either went to the hospitals in droves or ended up dead. Their actions and reasons for doing so mostly fell on deaf ears. All except Charles Xavier. He sets up another press conference for two reasons. First, he announced his plans to expand his school across the city and state of New York, and then hopefully the rest of America. He took notice of young mutants acting to defend their vulnerable neighborhoods against ghouls who viewed the people living in them as easy prey, and desires to send teachers who are willing to give them a proper education to using their powers the right way. However, he knows that such an undertaking would take time and money to pull off. Which led to the second reason of the press conference. He announced a team of mutants dedicated to the defense of both humans and mutants against the ghouls. He calls his team of trained mutants the X-Men. All of them from ages 16 to 19, save two. The names of the members and their team names were as followed:

Scott Summers/ Cyclops

Jean Grey/ Marvel Girl

Kurt Wagner/ Nightcrawler

Alex Summers/ Havok

Ororo Monroe/ Storm

Hank McCoy/ Beast

Sean Cassidy/ Banshee

Warren Worthington III/ Archangel

Piotr Rasputin/ Colossus

With his team could Charles Xavier set an example for mutants to follow. Although the first few missions indicated a rocky start, defending innocent people from the onslaught of the ghouls gained them praise from both humans and mutants alike. Charles capitalized on the popularity of their successes and expanded his school thanks in part to the State of New York. The X-Men were viewed as heroes for fighting against the ghouls who wanted the humans and mutants to live in fear them. Their notoriety also helped the X-Men grow in terms of ranks. One mutant in particular caught the attention of Charles. Rather, he found the mutant he once worked with a long time ago. Through Cerebro, he sent his X-Men to recruit him. Initially believed to be violent and feral, the X-Men would soon discover that he shared the values as they did. The reason why he chose isolation was due to his amnesia. He possessed no past, owned nothing to indicate any identity. Save for a military dog tag with only one name. Logan. After a little more persuasion did Logan finally joined the X-Men. He would be known to the world as the Wolverine. His wild style of fighting, as well as his steel claws, made him somewhat more popular than the rest of the team. Nonetheless, Charles Xavier vowed to help Logan to recover the memories he lost after Charles lost track of him during the Sentinel incident. The X-Men would be revered by those who wanted to be protected by the ghouls. For the next 14 years did they showed the world what it meant to be a mutant. Their willingness to defend a world that once hated and feared them gave the mutants of the world pride in being themselves.

2000: A series of terrorist attacks rocks the capital city of Tokyo. News reports, both local and international, all state similar facts. The places where it they happened occurred in densely populated area where the city's mutant population are also located. And that ghouls were sighted afterwards. The X-Men took notice and investigate into the matter. Their investigation uncovered how the attacks were carried out. Minor sound vibration that certain mutants were sensitive to were felt before massive explosions struck afterwards. Afterwards, ghouls appeared and raided the areas for bodies to feed upon. Some of them even gave killing shots to any stragglers they see. During the investigation, Charles Xavier was contacted by one of Japan's most prominent leader of industry. Ichiro Yashida, CEO of Yashida Industries. He reveals to Charles Xavier that the attacks are related to an incident involving the theft of an experimental weapon that Yashida Industries only developed software for. The project was a collaboration effort with the Deterrence Research Corporation (DRC), the world's foremost independent weapons manufacturing firm. To show his cooperation is genuine, Ichiro send his granddaughter, Mariko, to aid the X-Men. She was pleased and honored to work together with the members. The only mutant she had difficulty cooperating with was Logan. Their first meeting, his anti-social mannerisms made a bad first impression on her. Nonetheless, she gave him a chance, and her opinion on Logan began to improve when at the site of the last explosion when he discovered an important clue that both police and Yashida Industries scientists overlooked. It gave the X-Men an important lead to finally reveal the perpetrators and the ghouls partnering with them. Logan later apologized to Mariko for how he acted when they first met. The more time the X-Men spent in Japan, the more Mariko and Logan began to know each other. The two fell for each other in due time. Unfortunately, Mariko was arranged to be married by her father, Shingen Yashida, to a politician named Hideki Noburo. When it was found out that Noburo often played around behind her back, she could not find herself wanting to go ahead with the engagement. But her father forced her to do so, even if it meant suffering indignity of infidelity. Logan, however, wanted to free her from both her uncaring father and her lecherous hump of a fiancé. Meanwhile, the X-Men finally found the man behind the terrorist attacks. It was the head of the DRC himself, Moses Magnum. He had stolen the weapon himself because he wanted a controlling stake of Yashida Industries after he had found out that Shingen had taken the family company to near bankruptcy. With the scandal that would follow, Yashida Industries stock would fall in value, making it susceptible for takeover. However, the X-Men, assisting both Japanese authorities and Yashida Industries, became an unexpected obstacle. One that eventually unraveled a rather petty conspiracy that costed dozens of lives. Magnum did battle with the X-Men, managing to escape in part of his powers to generate seismic waves from his fists, and with assistance from the ghouls under his employ. Cyclops updated both Ichiro and Shingen Yashida on their progress. Both men expressed shock at this revelation, and gave their utmost gratitude to Cyclops. Scott only had one request: that the X-Men would be the ones who brings Magnum to justice. Meanwhile, Mariko began to reach her limit with the two men she felt were suffocating her with indignity. She confesses to Logan that she planned to commit suicide in a spectacular manner. He talks her out of it, and confesses his love for her. She reciprocates. However, the love affair would soon be found out by her father, Shingen. Shingen takes this as an affront to his honor by the X-Men. He tells Scott as soon as Moses Magnum is brought to justice, he would make sure that Logan would never set foot in Japan ever again. Scott hears Logan's side of the story. Although he sympathized with Mariko and commends Logan on reversing her choice to commit suicide, he still tells Logan to keep his distance from Mariko. The rest of the X-Men felt for the two and supported their right to have a relationship, but had to focus on the mission. They soon discover one more site Magnum intends to attack, only to find out that it was a ghoul-infested distraction. They later receive a call from Wolverine, who skipped out this time, to inform his team that Magnum is actually targeting the main building of Yashida Industries. Another set of ghouls under Magnum's employ attack the building with orders to kill everyone in sight. Magnum's links to the terrorist attacks were not exposed to the public yet, and wanted to keep it that way with a pre-emptive strike. The X-Men arrive to prevent further casualties. Although Magnum was brought to justice by Japanese authorities and the ghouls associated with him exterminated, when the fight ended, the casualty count was 23. Among them was Hideki Noburo and Mariko Yashida. Ichiro and his daughter-in-law, Tomoe, were the only ones who expressed profound sorrow over her death. Shingen meanwhile showed little sadness over losing his only daughter. Although he did not show it, Logan also mourned over her. The X-Men were not allowed to attend her funeral. Two months passed since their mission in Japan, Logan received a letter written completely in Japanese. With help from Hank did he found out that it was Mariko under her new name, Sayu Kaneki. It stated that she found an opportunity to fake her death within the chaos. Although she regretted deceiving Logan, she wanted to wait until enough time had passed until she made contact with Logan to come find her. Even though he would be willing to work with the X-Men again time to time, this meant that his life with the X-Men had come to an end. His team, his family, understood and acknowledged his love for Mariko. Or rather, Sayu. Logan made his way to Nagasaki, back to Mariko. He found happiness.

December 20th, 2001: Ken Kaneki is born.

2004:

July 13th: The ranks of the X-Men grew to considerable size. New members added to the effectiveness of the team. Their names:

Robert Louis "Bobby" Drake/ Iceman

Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde/ Shadowcat

Samuel Guthrie/ Cannonball

Amara Aquilla/ Magma

Rahne Sinclair/ Wolfsbane

Jaime Madrox/ Multiple

Ray Carter/ Berzerker

Roberto Da Costa/ Sunspot

Jean Grey was invited by NASA to participate in a project onboard the ISS (International Space Station). During the mission, a strange anomaly occurred near earth's orbit. When it was observed, it took the shape of an eagle or falcon. It headed for the station and, if hit, would tear the station apart. Killing all the astronauts inside. Jean used her psychic abilities to change the direction of the anomaly. However, once she reached the anomaly with her powers, it instantly disappeared. While both the public and her teammates saw the incident as an achievement on her part. Jean felt differently. She felt as if the anomaly affected her somehow. She felt something. Something alive, primordial, relentless in its passions. During a public event where she was in the middle of receiving a Congressional medal of honor, the first mutant to do so, her powers suddenly went out of her control. Professor Xavier managed to calm her down. The official word was that Jean Grey felt some level of exhaustion due to the rescue, and the stress that came with the media attention of her receiving the congressional medal caused her to momentarily lose a grip on her powers. When Professor Xavier examined her, he felt an alien presence inside of her. A presence that slowly consumed her mind and sanity. He attempts to remove it, but it proves itself too strong for Xavier to do anything about. Now sensing danger, the alien presence fully takes over Jean and escapes from the X-Mansion, much to the shock of her fellow teammates. Professor Xavier survives the ordeal and tells his team what he uncovered during his examination of Jean. Only one word made sense for the professor: Phoenix. While the X-Men search for Jean, she is guided by another voice. She eventually follows it to a mutant familiar to Charles and Magneto. Emma Frost. Taking advantage of the naiveite of the alien presence known as the Phoenix, she guides her to Sebastian Shaw. She explains that the two of them arose from cryo-sleep two years earlier. Emma was silently elated at the fact that mutants were now seen as human rather than inhuman, and asked Sebastian to leave behind his plans for mutant superiority and start over. Sebastian, however, saw the world and it made him unsatisfied. It was not enough for him. He wanted humanity to be wiped out by their own weapons to deprive the ghouls of their source of sustenance. He was aware of the existence of ghouls long before humanity ever did. During his time as a scientist in Hitler's regime. This greatly shocked Emma to the point that it made her question her loyalty for Sebastian.

August 3rd: When the X-Men's search for Jean turned in no new leads, Charles uses Cerebro one more time. He senses a familiar psychic signature. One he had not felt since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Charles then makes haste to Genosha. He explains to the team that this was the first time he formed a team like the X-Men, but that he worked with the CIA at one point to stop a mutant threat. And he did so with Magneto. Which played into why he wanted to into Genosha. Once there, Charles told Magneto that he felt Emma Frost through Cerebro. At first Magneto was silent for one minute. He then tells Charles he would lend him his help and would soon join him shortly. Magneto's acolytes were confused by their master's willingness to help, what they called Charles behind Magneto's back, the human lover. Magneto tells his acolytes to leave him alone. Once they did, everything metal around them started to float and shake. Across the island, everything metal floated, then crushed. Charles knew this to be Erik's unresolved anger. Charles attempted to calm down Erik, but the murder of his mother still made him feel both pure rage and sorrow. The anger eventually subsided, and Magneto joins the X-Men to hunt down the last remnants of the Hellfire Club.

August 5th: Sebastian Shaw begins searching for mutants with abilities most useful to him. Emma locates a mutant group that named themselves the Morlocks, living in the sewers of New York. They chose to live underground at first because of the humans who saw them with fear and disgust. They know about how mutants are now living in peace with the humans, but chose to stay underground for two reasons. The ghouls hunting down and killing mutants was compelling in of itself. But the Morlocks also feared that if humanity was successful in wiping out the ghouls from the earth, they would turn their attention to the mutants aboveground and make them suffer the same fate. Sebastian assured them that they would soon be free of their fears because of Jean. Sebastian asks the Morlocks to assist him in usurping the humans of their power by taking the Indian Point Energy Center. At first, the Morlocks hesitate. Shaw then asks Jean to demonstrate what the Phoenix is capable of. She steps up and picks out a mutant by the name of Caliban, a young man who can locate other mutants from far distances. But his albino skin makes him unsightly, even for other mutants. She uses her Phoenix force to enhance his abilities and give more. Now Caliban has psychic abilities like her, along with skin that would withstand the light of the sun. Like regular humans and mutants. Sebastian, surprised by this ability, capitalizes on this makes a rousing speech about how mutants are called Homo Superior for a reason. Shaw, Jean, Emma, and the Morlocks were successful in over taking the nuclear power plant, but were soon foiled by the X-Men alongside with Magneto. A battle occurred between the Hellfire Club, The Morlocks, and the Phoenix with the X-Men and Magneto, to which Magneto would finally have his vengeance against the man who took his mother away from him. The fight was a repeat of Cuba at first, but thanks to Emma Frost's betrayal of Shaw did Magneto finally defeat him for good. This further strained his relationship with Charles, but was smoothed over when Erik gave the Morlocks an opportunity to make Genosha their home. The leader of the Morlocks, Callisto, at first was hesitant. After hearing from Erik that his nation was mutants-only, she looked at her fellow Morlocks in accepting his offer. All except Caliban. It was then the Phoenix got closer to taking over Jean. Charles used his powers one last time to help Jean, but seemed futile. It was then Emma Frost got to be of unexpected help again by helping the professor free Jean from the influence of the Phoenix. The two succeeded, and Jean was finally herself again. Caliban was offered to go to Genosha one last time, but refused as wanted to make use of his newfound freedom he got from the Phoenix to be more in touch with the surface. Although Jean was fully herself, she ultimately feared that her grip on her sanity was tenuous at best. Although both Professor X and Frost were successful, it took too much effort to free her from the Phoenix. She had no desire to see anyone suffer for her. She makes a conscious decision to fully merge with the Phoenix, much to the dismay of her teammates. She was successful, and the Phoenix was now fully formed. Although traces of Jean's consciousness could be felt, the mind of the Phoenix was too prominent to track. It departed into the vastness of space, never to be seen again. The X-Men were successful once more in defending humanity, but this victory came at a terrible price. So much so, it nearly tore the X-Men apart.

November: Time passed, and some of the old guard decided to move on from the X-Men. Hank stays on, but decides to focus more on his lab work and teaching. Ororo goes to Wakanda and resumes her relationship with T'Challa. Kurt travels the world. Cyclops…is just gone. The rest of the team go on to be teachers, some stay at the mansion while others go to the auxiliary schools around New York. Needless to say, losing Jean Grey tore apart the X-Men. For a while.

2006:

January: The U.N. approves of an agency, financially backed by them, dedicated to the eradication of ghouls. The GCB (Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau) is formed, with branches opened across the world.

March 18th: It was reported that various news outlets that there were no new mutants born since the beginning of the new year. This troubles Charles and decides to look into the matter. Meanwhile, Logan visits the mansion for a while for medical help. After the checkup, Charles asks Logan for a special favor. When he was using Cerebro, Charles picked up mental activity from mutant children. Mutant children in distress, to be precise. He pinpointed one in El Paso, Texas. Logan agrees to do this with a condition of his own. If he doesn't report in after a month, Charles would tell his wife to move on from him. At the beginning, Charles receives regular reports from Logan about his progress on his mission. But the last one regarding Weapon X would be the last time he would hear from Logan.

April 20th: After a month, Charles had to assume the worst. It would not be until a group of mutant children came to the X-Mansion with devastating news. He would have to perform one of the most personally devastating duties of his life. He travels to Nagasaki, Japan to visit Sayu in person to tell her the worst news imaginable.

May 1st: Sayu decides to move back to Tokyo with her son, hoping that enough time had passed so she could go back for better job opportunities. With assistance from Hank McCoy, who helped her with faux job experience that matched with what she learned back in Yashida Industries, she was ready to help support her son once the both of them got to Tokyo. Her son did not make much friends, so he did not have anyone to miss. The one thing he wanted to take with him were the many books Logan collected to make sure that Ken would be more educated than him.

May 3rd: Sayu and Ken both made it to Japan. The two of them look at the city in amazement. Trying to see what the future has in store.

2007: The neighbors in the apartment complex contact the supervisor about loud noises that emanated from the seventh floor. The resident one floor below them had even reported that he felt something wet drip on his head. He was shocked to find blood. The supervisor checks, but too much time had passed that some of the residents contacted the police instead. They arrive to see the apartment completely empty. No residents or any of their belongings could be seen. The neighbors refute this by claiming that a woman and her only son lived there. Some of them even remember their names. The detectives assigned to the case discovered that there were no traces of the two of them anywhere. The only physical file that could be found was a copy of a birth certificate for a young boy named Ken Kaneki born in Nagasaki.

2012: A young man in a daze is wandering around the streets, wearing nothing but white latex shorts and sleeveless shirt. Metal claws also stick out from the back of his hands. Everyone who see him are apprehensive of him. Eventually, the police see him and ask him to please retract his claws. The young man shows that he can follow orders. It was eventually discovered that he was Ken Kaneki, but older and in possession of mutant abilities. A man by the name of Akihiro Kanou. He examines the young man to discover two things. They physical examination reveals that although he suffers from minor malnutrition, he is in possession of what he calls a healing factor, which prevents him from achieving any permanent harm. Second, he suffers from amnesia as he presented pictures of his past life in Nagasaki but does not respond to them. The only thing he responds to is a picture of his mother, which causes him to cry but he does not know why. The case was closed, but only with tangential conclusions. Kaneki was placed in a mental health care facility under Kanou's care for a year before being placed in a children's home. He would prove himself to be someone who is capable of being educated and even creative in art. It would aid in his rehabilitation, even unto his high school and college years.

And that is my prologue. I hope that you are feeling at least interested. For clarification:

Both mutants and ghouls exist alongside humans

I renamed the CCG as its translation didn't make much sense in terms of coherence.

Logan is dead, but the rest of the X-Men are still alive.

The first half of the Phoenix Saga is summarized because I wanted to save it for later. As one of the storylines of my re-working of root A, which I am calling route X. Be patient.

I base some of the events of the prologue from the X-Men movies while other from actual X-Men comic books. But I get the information from wikis. I don't own comic books.

The year that the main storyline will take place will be around 2019 to 2020.

Feel free to review. If you have any questions, put them in the review. I will answer them as best I can. Share with your friends if you like this. Later!