Yoriko enters the 24th Ward alongside Touka and Kaneki. It's her first time there, and she is amazed by the size of it. While walking their way to a familiar training area, a conversation occurs.
"You encountered this guy?" Touka started.
"Yeah, in the back of the motel. He killed two CCG officers that were accompanying Hide before threatening him. I was able to rescue him," Kaneki said.
"I see... Speaking of Hide, did you reveal to him your...?" Touka is suspicious if the secret is revealed to his friend.
"Yeah..." was his reply.
"How could you slip up like that?!" Touka yelled.
"He found out on his own," Kaneki added calmly. "He found out ever since that fight with Nishiki. Also, he hasn't told anyone about it."
"Really?" Touka calmed down when she got the story.
"Yes, really. Please don't carry out your threat to kill him if I slip up," Kaneki said with a wince.
"Since he found out all on his own and has kept this secret for a long time, I wasn't thinking on it," Touka assured him.
"This Hide person, he's what he is to you like I am to Touka, right?" Yoriko attempts to join in their conversation.
"Yeah..." Kaneki replied, having remembered of how he told this to Touka in an attempt to stop her from killing Nishiki's girlfriend, Kimi in order to keep her true nature a secret.
"Good to know that I'm lucky to be someone like that," Yoriko smiled at her best friend, who blushed at that very idea.
They eventually reached the training area. Kaneki hands Yoriko a package which she slowly opens to reveal human meat.
"I guess I have to eat this, right?" she asked.
"Hunger is probably the reason your eye has activated. Your kakugan, or ghoul eye, activates whenever a ghoul is hungry or activates it's kagune. You can also activate it whenever you please," he replies.
"Right... I think I get it now," she nodded as she took a look at the slab of meat. In fact, she has mixed feelings on what she is going to do with it. "Well, I guess it's time to eat this, then although it won't be an enjoyable experience for me."
"Kaneki, let's not look," Touka says, grabbing his hand before slowly pulling him away.
As they stand a few meters away, Yoriko starts chomping down the meat while making a faint sound of sobbing. All she knows is that her days of eating regular food are now over, and it's all thanks to her encounter with a certain psychopath.
"I wish I could have stopped it," Kaneki said with guilt on his face which is loud enough for Touka to hear.
"Don't take this burden all by yourself, Kaneki. Rely on your friends," she said before adding up this detail with guilt as well. "This is my fault as well. I wasn't there when that maniac shot her and left her for dead."
"Either way, she's going to find out you're a ghoul and accept you despite your nature."
"Right..."
"I'm... done," Yoriko says, sniffling.
"Right, take off your eyepatch," Kaneki instructed.
She nods and does what he said. Upon removing her eyepatch, her right eye is back to its normal color.
"My eye is back to normal, right?" Yoriko asked.
"Yeah..." was his reply.
Hearing this, she quickly took out a compact powder from her pocket to see her own reflection. It is as exactly as he said when she saw her right eye is back to being normal, and she is relief to see this.
"When you satisfied your hunger, your eye should be back to normal. It can also go away when you calmed down," Kaneki explained. "Until your master it, I recommend you keep the eyepatch on."
"I think I get it," Yoriko nodded.
"Right, we'll just go through the basics tonight, and when you accept your ghoul side, we will go through more."
"Okay..."
"For your first lesson, how to control your kagune," Kaneki says as he activates his kagune where three red tentacles surround his body. He said the next line in a harsh tone. "To tell you the truth, I don't know how to activate it, so just figure it out."
"Kaneki!" Touka shouts.
"Touka, he's right. He wants me to learn so that I can do it without thinking," Yoriko says calmly.
"You got that right. Now think fast!" Kaneki says as he lunges a tentacle at her.
Lucky for her, it only smashes the ground next to her. Yoriko is shaken, but Kaneki doesn't give her time to think before doing another attack. He then jumps into the air as he lunges another tentacle at her, but nothing happens as he slams it down in front of her.
This means he has come up with a plan to get her to activate her kagune.
Next, he is about to move his third tentacle to her head. Of course, this is a bluff. Just as the tentacle is about to go for her head, it was abruptly stopped by the same tentacle, but this one came out of her back.
"Her kagune... it's like Kaneki's," Touka said in amazement.
Yoriko is also amazed at the sight of her kagune. A single red tentacle came out of her back, and it's the same one Kaneki wielded on his back. Anyway, Kaneki manages to jump out of the way when it's about to attack him, but she manages to control it before it hits him.
"This is your kagune, Yoriko. It's a rinkaku, just like mine," Kaneki explained. "Wanna hear about its abilities?"
Yoriko nodded.
"Well, first of all, we have extremely good regenerative abilities. If you're like me and go through the hell of torture, nothing will really hurt you anymore. Second, we can manipulate our kagune into multiple shapes, but this is extremely tricky to do. I can only really do basic thing. Third, we excel in brute strength so if you have to fight, make sure you give it your all, but be careful because a rinkaku is extremely brittle, meaning it will shatter if it is hit too hard. That's all I can say for now about the rinkaku. Any questions?" Kaneki explained.
"I have one. How come you have three tentacles, while I only have one?" Yoriko asked.
"The more you consume, the more you can produce. The maximum that is known is eight, but I'm sure you might be able to create more of less. When I first used my kagune, I could only use three as you've seen before you."
"Oh, right..."
"Now, try to fight me, Yoriko. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," Kaneki cracked his knuckles.
"Okay..." Yoriko nodded.
She runs up to him with her tentacle thrusting towards him, but he is able to dodge it. He sends all three of his tentacles on her, and she is able to dodge them by pushing herself into the air with the help of her tentacle. In no time, she attempts to slam him with her kagune, but he pushes himself forward to avoid the blow.
This is just an attempt for her to get him his guard down. Once he leaves himself open, she is able to slam him with her tentacle.
"Good, Yoriko. Very good," Kaneki complimented. "Let me tell you this one thing. Your enemy might be relentless, so don't give up until they are down."
"Like that Anton Chigurh person, right?" Yoriko asked.
"Yeah, like that guy. Ever since the night you got shot, I've been following him around Tokyo, and I saw what he is capable of. He is capable of killing ghouls with a silenced shotgun and a captive bolt pistol, not just humans. As I wonder how he can commit such murders on ghouls if he's not going to use a quinque, I learned that the captive bolt pistol, or cattle gun is made of quinque steel, and he's been using Q bullets for his shotgun. This goes to show you that he is crazy, but not stupid. He knows his limitations, so I'm sure he intends to fight dirty if he ever encounters someone more powerful than him. Maybe even use the element of surprise to his advantage. In other words, he's like a Terminator, but a human being nevertheless," he explained.
"Ah, I get it now. Thank you for explaining that to me," she said gratefully.
"Now let's continue our fight. Use everything you got to stab me," Kaneki instructed.
Yoriko doesn't reply. Instead, she gives out a manic grin and charges at him with her kagune. He manages to jump out of the way before her tentacle is about to hit him. Two of his tentacles are about to hit her, but she manages to have her tentacle block their attack for defense, and this pushed her a few inches away from him. Noticing he's about to charge at her with his kagune, she quickly dodges his blows before slamming him down to the ground with her tentacle and landing a stab to his chest.
Touka is amazed on how did the fight go. Yoriko deactivates her kagune and went to approach Kaneki to make sure if he's alright. By the time she got to him, the wound from his chest has now healed.
"See, Yoriko? Having a rinkaku gives you extremely good regenerative abilities," Kaneki said while Yoriko helps him stand up. He then pats her on the head for a job well done.
"Yoriko, that is amazing!" Touka exclaimed happily as she runs up to Yoriko and hugs her. Of course, Yoriko returns the hug.
She's not the only one who has seen the result of her training. In fact, they heard a clapping noise.
"Good job, Miss Kosaka. I see Kaneki really did a good job in training you," Yoshimura reveals himself from the shadows.
"Oh yes, thank you, sir," Yoriko bowed her head gratefully, and Yoshimura smiled at her in return.
"I'm glad you're liking this now. In fact, I would like you to start working at Anteiku."
"Me?"
"Yes, and we give you a payment of fifteen thousand yen every two weeks along with food to eat."
Yoriko thinks about this for a few seconds before making her decision.
"Okay, I'll accept. Thank you," she said.
After this, Touka takes her back home. Maybe being a ghoul isn't so bad after all.
Author's Note: What do you think of Yoriko's training being shown in this chapter?