Takes Place In: Syndicate
Idea Created By: Acidika, How-Not-To-Do-Something, Vizord
General Theme: Action, Fighting, Humour
Central Characters: Kaneki Ken
Rating: T

"Alright, that's enough for today. Your homework is this week is the novel study from yesterday." Kaneki spoke up as his class gave that subtle impatient shift signaling the end of the period. "Keep the talking low, you leave at the bell. If there are any further questions, come and speak to me."

With that, Kaneki sat at his desk and started organizing the assignments of the day, but two of his students approached him with their novels in hand.

"Mr. Ken, we were a bit confused by the sentence structure question, could you give us a hand?"

Kaneki nodded and opened his own copy of the novel, already aware of the sentence that had confused them. He tapped the page with his index finger with a smile. "Right here, I presume?" They nodded, so he explained what the assigned question was entailing. They both understood and joined the rest of the students as they left the classroom at the bell, leaving Kaneki for the brief four minutes until his next class began.

He raised his coffee to take a sip, but paused when he detected the sound of a commotion out in the hall. It sounded like a rapidly escalating argument.

So, lowering his coffee cup and standing up, Kaneki snatched a very special nearby object as he strode out into the hall to find two male students fighting each other.

Stepping into the crowd of bystanders, Kaneki's grip tightened as he flicked his wrist and swung the end between the two boys, causing them both to freeze in wary fear.

"Principal's office... or the nurse's office? Your choice, gentlemen." Kaneki spoke in a low but authoritative voice as the gathered students went utterly silent upon seeing the infamous cane in his hand.

Normally it was seen leaning near him or at his desk, but any fool could tell he didn't use it for walking. It was a weapon, plain and simple.

After several long, tense seconds, both boys scowled at Kaneki - otherwise known as Mr. Ken, the 12th Grade English teacher - and walked off, headed in the direction of the principal's office.

Lowering his cane, Kaneki looked around at the bystanders and called out. "Class starts in three minutes, get moving!"

"I believe that cane of yours brings more authority than I do, Kaneki." The principal of the school smiled at the black wood and sterling silver walking stick leaning beside Kaneki's desk at the end of the school day. "You didn't use it, this time?"

"No, ma'am. Just my usual question." Kaneki shuffled his stack of assignments on his desktop, then carefully placed them into his bag. "I heard the argument escalate, and had to step through the crowd of onlookers. They came to you of their own free will."

"What makes the cane so special? It isn't concealing a weapon, is it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It is, yes. I don't use it here for obvious reasons." Kaneki replied honestly as he closed his bag and hung it over his shoulder. "It has a cable in the grip, about two feet long. Makes the handle act as a grappling hook."

"Non-lethal, I presume?"

"Yes ma'am." Kaneki picked up the cane and pressed the hidden trigger, then pulled the cable to full length with one hand on the handle, the other on the shaft. "That's it. Doesn't do anything else."

"Now I can see why some students have been overheard calling you 'Mr. Cane' instead of Ken." She laughed slightly, amused by the display of the cable retracting the walking stick back into the original form.

"I've heard that one too. I've also heard some saying that I also have a stick up my ass." Kaneki tucked the cane under his arm and left the classroom with the principal joining him in the silent halls. "I can assure you, that's not the case."

"Of that, I have no doubts, Kaneki." She smiled again and bade him goodbye.

A little later that evening, Kaneki briefly stopped to buy a coffee, but on his way back to his car, he once again heard a commotion nearby, so he listened in and scowled upon hearing the voices.

Striding around the corner of the alley, Kaneki narrowed his eyes upon catching sight of the three thugs attempting to overpower a panicking woman. Without hesitation, he already had his cane in hand as he approached, only then did they realize he was there.

"Yo, fuck off, this ain't none of yo business, old man!" One of them, wearing a bandana over his face, waved the knife in his hand towards Kaneki, who ignored the atrociously butchered sentence structure and swung the cane up to hover half an inch from his covered face.

"Police... or paramedics? Your choice, gentlemen." Kaneki spoke in the same low, authoritative voice as he did back in the school, but the thug tried to swat the cane aside, only for Kaneki to flip the cane around, causing the cable to extend from the centrifugal force and smack the thug in the chin, much like an uppercut.

But, that wasn't the end of it, with a flick of his wrist, the metal handle hooked the second thug's hoodie collar and he pulled the man aside, retracting the cable and reverting it to just the cane as the third held the woman hostage with his own knife at her throat...

It was the principal from the school.

"Ma'am." Kaneki nodded once when she realized it was indeed him... Then he shoved the tip of the cane into the stomach of the first thug that was sneaking up behind him, causing him to buckle over in pain.

But, with a fluid motion, Kaneki released the cable again whilst simultaneously sliding his slackened grip down the length of the cane, extending his arm forward and gripping the cane to precisely hook the end of the thug's knife arm and pulled it away from his boss' neck.

"The fuck?!" Caught off balance now, the thug was dragged away from her into a forward stumble... straight into Kaneki's piping hot coffee. "GAAAAH!"

His face covered in scalding hot coffee, Kaneki stepped over his writhing form and smiled at his boss as the handle of his cane retracted back to normal with a sharp click. "Are you alright?"

"Now I can see why it only has that cable, thank you... I'm alright." She rubbed her neck with a sigh. "I shudder to imagine what that would've been like had you been using both hands to fight."

"They're lucky I only used my cane..." Kaneki glanced at the one that was still clutching his burning face. "Shall we be off, ma'am?"

"This reminds me of those living bioweapons, Darkwood's or something, that I've seen on the news... Amazing." She spoke quietly to herself as they left the alley and back to their cars. "And to think, you're just an English teacher..."

"I'm more than just an English teacher, ma'am... I'm a Darkwood." Kaneki replied with a smirk. "Take care, I'll see you tomorrow."