Author's Note:
So originally, I was gonna describe the meaning behind Morie's name and I still have done that but it's changed slightly from how I originally spelt it. The original spelling of the Morie part of her name was 萌里恵. That has since been changed to 守恵 because I felt that it would better suit her during later points in the story. Morie is spelt with the kanji for protection (守) and the kanji for wisdom/blessing (恵). Her last name Masuda comes from the kanji for wealth/benefit/profit (益) and the kanji for rice field (田). From what I have seen Masuda is also a common Japanese surname but it can be spelt in a few different ways. So, if we were to write her name out in the traditional Japanese order with last name first it would be 益田 守恵.
Things have started to ramp up for me with the school year coming to an end and final exams. That being said I still intend to write everyday it just might not be a page a day.
Also, I would like to say hello to my first follower~ :3
Morie found herself frequently visiting Anteiku whenever she got out of university lectures. She'd cart her papers and laptop with her on the way there and set up inside the café at a table for two towards the back.
Not many customers payed attention to her but she payed attention to them through the lenses of her sunglasses, analysing and identifying which were ghouls and which were humans. It turned into a strange game of sorts for her whenever she got bored of writing documents. Through doing this she saw a plethora of fascinating individuals. There were those who came into the café on a whim probably because they got hungry or tired from walking down the streets and humans who were dressed in hipster fashion who found the place and declared the coffee and food were "to die for". Then there were the ones she knew to avoid in the future.
"Morie! Hey, Morie." Hide's voice berated her eardrums as he slapped his hand on the table.
She looked up at him from behind her screen. "Yes?"
He smiled at her. "We should get Kaneki over here with us."
"He's working, Hide," Morie sighed as she went back to typing.
Her friend had also started visiting Anteiku after they got rescued mainly to stalk Kaneki in the way all best friends did. Morie really didn't know what to feel about the situation as having him there posed risky threat. If Hide was found dead the next day, she didn't know what Kaneki would do. Furthermore, Morie knew how crafty the kid was and she slightly feared what he could do with all the information he had gathered just lounging about in the ghoul infested café.
When she brought her attention back to Hide, he'd already called Kaneki dressed in a waiter's uniform over to the table. Although Kaneki was smiling his visible eye was gazing at him in disapproval. "I've told you; this is one of Touka's tables. You can't call me over here to service you. Besides, I though you wanted Touka to make your drinks."
"Aww but please~" Hide pleaded, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. "You've been so busy with uni and at Anteiku and I can't help but feel like everything is taking you away from me."
Kaneki's eye drifted to Morie who had closed her laptop screen and rested her chin in the palm of her hands. Noticing his stare, Morie shrugged her shoulders. She knew what made Kaneki very busy and to bluntly put it, she mentally called it Ghoul Training. Often, she wondered if she should request to join whenever she saw him get called by the Manager late at night.
Kaneki's gaze softened after hearing Hide's reply. "Look, I promise that once I get some free time, we can do something together. Now, did you want to order something?"
"One coffee, black as can be!" Hide announced whilst raising his hand into the air. Bringing it back down he rested it back on the table. "Oh, and this one's for Morie, not me."
"You know your wallet is going to suffer if you keep ordering. Eventually you won't be able to buy that CD you've been wanting to get for a while now."
"Yeah, yeah." Hide gave two quick claps. "A beverage now if you please," he jested as Kaneki jotted down the order.
Morie turned her head and watched as Kaneki casually walked away from the table and behind the counter. Nothing appeared to be stressing the boy out and Morie was glad knowing that he had a place where he could relax that wasn't around Hide.
She turned her head back towards Hide. "Are you trying to get me to be your girlfriend?"
"What? No." He waved a hand. "You're not my type anyway. You're too serious and always walk around with an expression saying 'I'm dying on the inside' or something. Speaking of which, those shades of yours is making it harder to read your expression lately and they don't even suit you. What's up with that?"
Knowing that the vague answers she usually gave only intrigued the man more, with a sigh she pulled her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose revealing her eyes. She stared him directly into his before picking up the notebook next to her, flipped to the page where she had recorded her RC count and handed it to Hide. "You're a smart person, Hide, so I don't doubt that you will figure it out eventually."
His mouth hung open and his eyes bulged reading the notes. "You should be in a hospital!" He flicked through more pages reading the notes Morie had scrawled down including detailed labelled sketches of RC cells and the enzymes that prevent ghouls from eating human food which had been based off the samples she received from herself.
At Hide's comment Morie pushed her sunglasses back up and leaned back. "It's been monitored since I was nine and other than the high count, I am medically sound."
She reached out for her notebook and received it back just as Touka arrived holding a cup of black coffee. Plastered to her face was a fake smile that she easily passed off as being real due to spending so much time with humans. Morie knew differently though. Upon revisiting Anteiku for the first time after the rescue, Touka dragged Morie and Kaneki aside. Her kakugan activated and she cocked her head to the side menacingly, threatening to tear Hide limb from limb if he ever found out that the people at Anteiku were ghouls. Morie hated her for that knowing full well that with every day Hide wanted to see Kaneki that his life would be at risk. Adding to the problem was Hide's sharp deduction skills that allowed him to pick up subtle gestures in other individuals. Going with the car crash story seemed like the best option to keep Hide safe even though Morie had come to the conclusion that Hide had already figured out what had happened.
Morie gingerly sipped her coffee as its taste flooded her sense, thankful that she could at least properly taste at least one drink properly. Cleaning out her pantry, fridge and tiny freezer had been dragging on her and coffee was the only solace she had left unless she wanted to be tasting air for the foreseeable future.
It was when night time had just began to fall over Tokyo that Hide decided to retire for the day and head back home. Morie had decided to remain behind when the Manager called her upstairs into the meeting room thus, she shoved her gear into her backpack and marched up the stairs.
Although she had been asked to retrieve different bags of coffee from the storage room which also happened to be the same room where she came into consciousness after being rescued, this was the first time she actually stepped foot into the meeting room. Sitting on the green couch sipping coffee from a fine china cup was Yoshimura who motioned for both Kaneki and Morie to sit across from him on another couch.
Once everyone had made themselves comfortable, Yoshimura placed his cup down on the wooden table in front of him and began to speak in a serious tone. "I think it is time that we organise a mask for the two of you."
"A mask?" Kaneki questioned whilst slightly tipping his head to one side before leaning back with a face of dazed confusion as he pictured himself wearing a face mask like so many rushing people do in Japan.
Morie on the other hand smiled knowing full well where this was going. She turned to Kaneki. "Correct me if I am wrong Manager but as far as I know most ghouls wear ones when they are partaking in ghoulish activities like hunting."
Yoshimura nodded in agreement as Morie continued her explanation to an increasingly paling Kaneki.
"Masks help hide identities so if you are ever caught, your face won't be known. It causes the CCG so many issues as it makes it harder for them to complete their tasks. But for those who need to hide it can act as a perfect disguise."
"Oh, so it's a safety thing," Kaneki said as his completion started returning back to its normal state. "I understand why I might need one but why does Morie need one now as well?"
"Do you know what the punishment for someone who assists ghouls is, Kaneki?" Yoshimura asked him, frowning.
Morie's expression turned sour as she took off her glasses revealing stern brown eyes. "Article 88 of Ghoul Countermeasures Law: Person's harbouring or otherwise preventing the arrest of a ghoul will be severely punished," she spat. "I have seen reports of people who have aided ghouls and they have received a life time in prison. Article 119 further elaborates on this sever punishment by stating 'human involvement in harbouring or preventing the arrest of a ghoul will result in an offence punishable by the death penalty."
Kaneki remained silent and looked down at the floor but ended up asking, "Then why do you remain here?"
"It's simple to me I suppose but I do it for a few reasons," she stated leaning back on the couch. "Firstly, to screw with the prideful CCG who think themselves better than that of a group of living beings that they could be helping. Secondly, because I believe that the CCG should be gaining more information from live sources that aren't locked away in ghoul prison. Thirdly, because of my situation. It is better for me to learn now because if I don't, I will be tossed into their world suddenly like you Kaneki." She then turned to the boy and gave a closed lip smile.
"Oh" was Kaneki's only reply as he focused his attention back on the old man.
Yoshimura cleared his throat to bring the conversation back to himself. "Regarding the masks, I also have made plans for you two to assist Yomo in gather food for our clients." Seeing Kaneki begin to worry about the concept of gathering food for ghouls, the Manager further clarified by saying, "During this process, I promise that you will not bring harm to anyone."
The door to the room opened as Touka stepped inside, stretched her arms and yawned. She eyed everyone in the room before stopping briefly on Morie. At the sight of the brunette she sneered and was about to turn her back but stopped when she heard Yoshimura's voice.
"Ah, Touka, just the person I needed. Tomorrow I would like you to escort Kaneki and Miss Masuda so that they can receive their masks."
Touka flinched with exasperation. "B-but tomorrow's my day off a-"
The girl was cut off by one of Yoshimura's stares. "I have heard from Yomo that two 'police investigators are in our ward."
Hearing this Touka's eyes widened as Morie pondered if she would know the two investigators if she saw them.
With a sigh Touka focused her attention on Kaneki and Morie. Her eyes darkened menacingly. "Tomrrow, 4:30. Shinjuku Station. East entrance… If you're late, I'll kill the two of you."
At this comment Kaneki inched further into the back of the couch and held his hands up in surrender as Touka slammed the door on the way out. Morie on the other hand causally balanced her sunglasses back on her nose not caring for the fierce girl's comment. Her mind filled with ideas of what her possible mask could be.
Morie arrived outside of east gates promptly at exactly 4:28 pm and saw Kaneki dressed in a simple shirt and blue jacket leaning against one of the polls with a book in his hand. As Morie walked up to him, he shifted his head in acknowledgement.
"Good afternoon," Morie greeted as Kaneki place his small book into a pocket of his jacket. "No sign of Touka, I assume?"
"I haven't heard from her yet."
With a sigh, Morie leaned next to the boy and fiddled with her sunglasses. If she was being honest, they made her stand out and Hide was right, they did not suit her at all. She just happened to buy them on one particular day to block out the pesky sun that had decided to burn her retinas and the overly large aviators were the only ones stocked in the convenience store she visited. Thinking that her appearance would draw more attention to herself as they wandered to wherever Touka would be taking them, Morie removed them and mentally pleaded that her eyes wouldn't drastically change.
Whilst waiting for Touka the two of them engaged in a causal conversation before Morie offered to get the two of them some coffee from a nearby vending machine to kill time as she doubted Touka really cared to be on time. Kaneki agreed and offered to give her some loose change he had on hand to pay for the drink but Morie declined stating that she could spare spending 130 yen for his drink as she knew she would be getting paid soon from the CCG for her research papers.
As Morie walked to the vending machine and inserted the coins her mind wandered to the mentioning of two investigators who would be patrolling the 20th ward. She gathered that in the coming days she would be able to discover who they were and if she knew about them, she would warn the people of Anteiku about their prowess. Due to the relative peacefulness of the 20th Ward Morie guessed that the two investigators would be a rookie who had just graduated from the Academy and an accompanying investigator with experience in the field. Although she had no idea who the rookie could be if there was one, two individuals came to her mind when she thought of experienced investigators who moved from ward to ward; Kureo Mado and Yukinori Shinohara. And she hoped to god that it wasn't Kureo Mado.
Due to her fascination with inspecting the organs of ghouls, when Morie was still trapped in the Academy he had seen her and thought that she too loved the idea of making quinques from the kakuhou of deceased ghouls. The way he looked at her with his bulging eyes and a grin far too wide for a sane person made Morie compare him to a slug, slimy and disgusting. That being said, she'd heard rumours of his daughter in the class above hers and apparently the famed intuition and technical skill ran through the Mado family.
As the coffee dropped into the holding area at the bottom of the machine, Morie returned to thinking about the matter at hand, Touka's lack of appearance. On the way back to Kaneki she found the boy kneeling on the ground as Touka casually stood behind him. Morie, with a sigh turned around and headed back to the vending machine to buy another can of coffee for the newcomer.
When she arrived back at the pole, Kaneki had picked himself back up and was nervously talking to Touka who wore a neutral face.
"Here," Morie said as she held out a can to each of them whilst clutching her own one jammed between her rib cage and one of her arms. Kaneki reached for his and quietly thanked Morie. Touka on the other hand simply grabbed hers, opened it and started walking away from the station.
Fumbling with the can's tab and trying to run after Touka was not working for Kaneki but after nearly tripping he managed to get his footing. Morie stayed by his side, keeping track of the girl's movements so that they would be able to catch up. Once Kaneki stood upright again, the two of them started to job towards Touka.
They began winding their ways through the busier streets of the 4th Ward but soon the civilians around them started thinning out one by one. Dim street lamps dusty store fronts passed by them until Touka walked down a set of splintering wooden stairs and into an alleyway littered with graffiti. She stopped at a small wooden door with a sign flipped to open on it. Surrounding the sign included a pair of oil barrels painted with floral designs, a swinging Mediterranean lantern and a few A-frames. What caught Morie's attention the most was the labelling of the store, a large street art painting of the words HySy ArtMask Studio covering a black sun. Although in a dim alley, the store itself looked flashy.
Walking up to the door Touka grasped the satanic looking brass knocker and tapped it twice before she swung the door open. Inside was decorated with a black and white checkered floor that hurt Morie's eyes if she looked at it for too long. Hanging from the grey walls were masks of every shape and every size imaginable from clown to kabuki to insectoid. The glass cases were no different as they too displayed the handcrafted masks.
What caught Kaneki's seemed to be a cream cloth draped over a mannequin. He walked up to it and raised a hand to touch the fabric just before Morie was about to state the he shouldn't touch things without permission. Kaneki received his reward when the cloth suddenly dropped and he fell butt first onto the tilled ground in fright. Looming over the face of the startled Kaneki was a tattooed man gazing at him with curious eyes coloured red and black.
"Uta, you shouldn't scare customers," sighed Touka as Kaneki got up off the floor clearly afraid yet trying his best to be polite. Morie didn't blame him with tattoos like that. The ghoul in front of her could easily pass off as being a member of the yakuza.
Taking more interest in Kaneki than in Morie, he sat on a stool and inched it towards Kaneki. He cocked his head to one side before his intense eyes focused on the boy's face. "You have an interesting scent, like a female ghoul and a human. That being said…" Turning his face the ghoul then looked at Morie. "Another interesting scent comes from you as well. More human than ghoul yet it is still present. I'm curious. Which one are you?"
Morie shrugged at the comment and didn't answer it whilst Kaneki continued fight his urges to pass out from fright.
"You're scaring him again," Touka once again sighed.
"Oh, sorry. Now, masks was it?" Uta patted another stool next to him. "Who wants to be first?"
With his nervousness, Morie couldn't see Kaneki volunteering to be first so she promptly sat down with her hands in her lap and back hunched over from bad posture. She didn't know what to expect yet her heart was beating more rapidly at the thought of receiving a mask, a disguise utilised by ghouls. It was like a fan seeing their favourite thing yet she internalised her glee.
A hand clasped her cheeks and pushed her head side to side as Uta inspected her facial structures. "Do you have any allergies? Rubber, leather, metals, ectara?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"What about mask shape? Full? Half?"
She felt the squeeze of a tape measure wrap around her head. "Full," she said without a second thought. When Morie was brainstorming she knew she had two certain features in mind for a final design and one of them was for the mask to be full even if she thought that it may be inconvenient in the heat of ambushing. Then an idea came to her. "Is it possible to make it a hybrid? A full mask that can become a half mask? Also, would it be possible to add a voice changer?"
The constriction of the tape measure stopped and Uta's face appeared sideways to Morie. "Oh, what a fascinating idea," he mused. "Any reason in particular for the voice changer?"
Morie narrowed her eyes. "I have doves who know me on a personal level."
"Impressive and if you don't mind me asking, how do you know them? Perhaps you are an academy student? If that is the case why hang around us ghouls?"
"The Academy can go to hell," Morie sneered as Uta pulled out a ruler and started measuring her nose. "All they do is brainwash children there. It feeds into a cycle of hate and if someone doesn't do something then both humans and ghouls will eradicate each other. Through research I will observe how to break the cycle and your help is greatly appreciated." Morie shifted her head so she could gaze directly into the mask maker's captivating eyes and she gave a sly smile.
Uta with his stoically placed the ruler besides him and grabbed a sketchbook and pencil. He paused briefly and looked back up at Morie. "If you are interested, I could show you a place where one can see a show of 'cannibalism' if they are lucky."
"That would be fascinating to see. Afterall, it is for science and the greater good."
At the mention of cannibalism Kaneki took a step back and lightened slightly in colour. He had nearly forgotten about how Morie took interest in questionable activities such as animal experimentation and now she seemed fascinated by the thought of witnessing ghouls tear each other apart.
Uta sketched a few lines and wrote a few notes whilst looking at Morie there were still some things he needed to ask in order to get a better view of Morie's personality. So, he simply questioned her.
"Favourite colour?"
"Burgundy."
"Any lovers?"
"No, and I have no intention of finding one currently."
"Do you like animals? If so what species?"
"Frogs, mice, rabbits. They are interesting to investigate. Although I have only examined the bodies of frogs and mice as of yet."
"Interesting." With a crisp snap, Uta closed the sketchbook and concluded the measuring.
Morie stood up from the stool and started inspecting the masks around the store as Kaneki took the seat, still disturbed by Morie's answers.
As Kaneki got measured and questioned, Morie noticed how each of the masks displayed had their own flair from their shape and colours to the overall themes expressed in each and every one of them. A lot of them looked gritty and dark with the leather stretched along their frames and others looked metallic. A small handful of them had embroidery delicately stitched on them. Just viewing them made Morie see how these beautiful masks could be a lifeline to many ghouls and for that moment she appreciated the artistry put into them. No longer would she view a mask of dove's victim's the same way.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Touka appeared by her side along with a curious Kaneki. Morie gathered that his conversation with the mask maker piqued his interest with the way words were woven and discussed.
"Let's go," urged Touka pushing slightly on Morie's back. "Uta will send them to Anteiku once he's finished making them, so move. I don't want to waste any more time than I've already wasted."
Morie narrowed her eyes but turned back to the strange mask artisan. "Thank you." She turned away from him and followed her companions out the door and back into the busy streets of Shinjuku.
"A curious duo," mused Uta to himself. He'd tilted his head and began looking at the ideas he had sketched, a black leather mask with an eyepatch and the silhouette of a bird's head. "A curious duo indeed."
Author's Note:
So, I have created a Google document that people can look at if they are interested in seeing drawings of Morie that I have drawn. These drawings range from sketches to full pencil and Copic marker illustrations. Just be aware that I will post them in chronological order of events that happen in the series so original Tokyo Ghoul Morie will be first and re: Morie will be last. That being said be careful as you scroll as you could end up seeing spoilers for future events. If I do any new drawings, I will also update the document and will say if a new image has been posted when I post chapters.
Link - Just type (without spaces) https / docs. google document/d/1KQpUE8eX_fcEt3pgsBj6UQ3L9eKExyo4rPz5O4ZgJa8/edit?usp=sharing
Onto fun info about Japan~
Japanese Vending Machines Part 2: So, in this chapter I mentioned that coffee from a Japanese vending machine cost 130 yen. This is about the price for all type of drinks in a vending machine. Fun fact, whilst I was looking at vending machines, I found some themed ones like pokemon themed and Persona 5 themed vending machenes.
Sharing an umbrella: So, I feel like back in chapter 1 I mentioned Morie offering to share an umbrella with Hide. This came up again in chapter 2 when Hide was joking with Morie about sharing an umbrella. The act of a man and woman sharing an umbrella in Japan is seen as a symbol of love and it is known as ai-ai-gasa (愛愛傘). The kanji for love is 愛and the kanji for umbrella is 傘 so the act of sharing an umbrella literally translates to love love umbrella. This is such as big thing in Japan that their version of a heart with names calved in it is a drawing of an umbrella with two names either side of the handle.