Bite-sized Monster Facts

Terms to Know:

Note: this is mostly for people who do not know much about Tokyo Ghoul, or just need a quick refresher. If you haven't read the manga or seen the anime, I suggest you read this.

Kakugan – A ghoul's eye with black scleras and red pupils, with red veins running from the pupil to the edges of the eye and onto the ghoul's face. Due to Kaneki being a half ghoul, he only has one (his left eye). Also unlike most ghouls, Kaneki doesn't have much control over it, hence why he wears an eye patch. The Kakugan is caused by the influence of activated RC cells, and appears when a ghoul is hungry, uses their Kagune, or excited.

Kagune – The blood-like flow of RC cells from a ghoul's kakuhou when it pierces the skin that forms a ghoul's weapon or claws for predatory purposes. A ghoul's kagune is flexible and flows like blood (hence why they're also called "liquid muscle"), yet are also firm, sturdy, described as "hard as teeth", and can be repeatedly softened or hardened by the ghoul is question. A ghoul's stamina, mobility, strength, and resilience are all increased when its kagune are released. The four types of Kagune are ukaku, koukaku, rinkaku (which is what Kaneki has), and bikaku. The shape of the kagune depends on the user's intellect and creativity, but the quality and quantity of RC cells determine the Kagune's size and shape.

Kakuhou – A sac-like organ present in only ghouls that allows them to store RC cells. When a ghoul consumes human flesh, its body absorbs the RC cells present in the human, and transports the cells into the ghoul's kakuhou.

Chapter 2:

The Academy Vampire – Part 1

"I'm a vampire."

At first, Kaneki thought he heard her wrong. It wasn't until he realized she was still sucking his blood that he snapped back into reality. He instinctively jumped back, readying himself to fight. If there was one thing he should have learned by now, it is that looks can be deceiving. He always trusted people too easily and ended up paying for it. However, he relaxed when He looked at her. Guilt and embarrassment plastered her face. Could she be harmless? After all, Kaneki needed human flesh and blood to survive as well. He thought it hypocritical to condemn her for something he has done, too.

"A vampire, huh? They really exist?" Kaneki probed, still cautious. "I guess with everything that's happened to me lately… I should've known."

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, "I'm Moka Akashiya. And even though I look like this, I really am a vampire." Kaneki pondered her words for a moment, silently studying her. After he finished weighing her words, a soft smile spread across his lip.

"It's okay, I forgive you. I would be lying if I said that was not the first time a girl took a bite out of me," he laughed. "I'm Kaneki Ken. Nice to meet you, Moka." Moka, lightened, stood up.

"Nice to meet you, too! I'm so happy to know someone going to the same school as me. I won't be alone anymore!" Kaneki's reply died in his throat. It was nice to meet someone going to the same school? What school? Why did she think he was going to a high school? Kaneki was nineteen – a college student!

"Umm, what do you mean?" He queried. Maybe if she took another look at him, she would realize his mistake. Moka took one glance at him before she beamed.

"We're both wearing the academy uniforms!" Gazing down, Kaneki deadpanned. Instead of the torn black shirt and khaki shorts that he wore when he escaped Aogiri, he wore the green jacket and plaid pants of a high school uniform! How? When? Why? Kaneki had no idea. Then, he remembered the fight. Did the person who knocked him unconscious put him in the uniform? It was his best bet and the most likely answer. Slowly, Kaneki put two and two together. He realized that if the person took the time to set Kaneki up to go to the school, then said school must be the next step – and hold some answers. Playing along with the plan was his only option.

"Kaneki, we'd better hurry or else we're gonna be late for our first day of school," urged Moka as she stood her bike upright. Leading the way, Moka strode with her bike in between her and Kaneki. "And Kaneki, you should come and talk to me some more once the entrance ceremony is over, okay?"

"Okay," he smiled. "It's a deal."

Many students wandered the school ground when the two arrived. The school itself, a large group of scattered and haunting buildings, rested on a cliff which leaned north and over a dark sea. Tall, the main building loomed over any passerby. Thunderheads roared and stirred in the sky overhead. On the peak of the cliff, an abandoned cemetery decayed like the bodies it hosted. The entire scene left Kaneki with a slight uneasiness. Just what kind of a school was this?

Once they neared the main building, Moka said her goodbyes and left Kaneki to his own devices. He only had three things on his mind: finding out what was going on, killing the person who fought him in the forest, and making sure his friends were okay. When he saw them last, they retreated while he stayed to face the entity. The person knocked Kaneki unconscious after only about a minute in battle. Did it go after his friends when it finished with him? Or did it busy itself with placing Kaneki in his current position? The whole situation sat badly with him.

No longer wishing to dwell on what may or may not have happened, Kaneki faced the school and absent mindedly shoved his hands into his pockets. An unexpected object met his fingers, causing him to quickly remove his hands. He pulled the leather object out. Dangling by one of its straps, Kaneki's black eye patch caused him to sigh in relief. He may be forced to attend this school, but at least he was not forced to give up his existence as a half ghoul.

"Kaneki!" a woman called as Kaneki finished tightening the eye patch over his left eye, making him stiffen. Kaneki did not recognize the voice, but somehow, she knew him. Locating the owner of the voice amongst the flow of students, he saw a woman that he guessed was in her twenties or thirties. She waved at him from under an overhang beside the main building. Her short, tufted hair reminded him of cat ears as he carefully approached her. He immediately placed anyone who knew of him – and thus her— under suspicion.

"Hi, Kaneki," she sang. "I'm Ms. Nekonome, your new teacher. A man representing you told me that you knew almost nothing of this school, and to tell you that all of your belongings are already in your dorm room. Let me say in honor of the school, we're so happy that you made the last second decision to attend this school. You're grades are some of the best I've ever seen!"

"Wait, what did he look like?" probed Kaneki as he shook her hand. He finally had a chance to figure out who set him up.

"I'm sorry, but I never saw him. He called the school with the instructions. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he assured. In her eyes and by the way she talked, Kaneki could tell that she was innocent. He would just have to keep searching.

"Alright-y, then!" she beamed, handing him a small stack of papers. "Here is all the information you'll need, including a map of the campus and your schedule. Your first class starts in thirty minutes. But first, I'll show you to your dorm. How does that sound?"

"Err, good, I guess."

"Okay, let's go!"

"Thirteen… thirteen… thirteen… Aha! There it is," mumbled Kaneki as he found room 13b, which was the room where he would begrudgingly relive the drama-filled, angst-ridden hell that is high school. Not long after Ms. Nekonome gave him a quick tour of the campus, she left him at the entrance ceremony and told him that this would be his homeroom. To get it over with, he took a deep breath and entered.

The other students, paying him no mind, continued their conversations as he sat down in his desk next to the windows and read The Black Goat's Egg for the umpteenth time. No matter how many times he read it, the book continued to amaze him. The words chosen by Sen Takatsuki delicately wove together, yet pounded at the reader's mind with blunt force. Truly, she wielded power with pen and paper. This fact shown through in all of her works, such as in Dear Kafka and Monochrome Rainbow. She was a master novelist.

However, he knew that this was not the time to become overly lost in her words. Someone – or something – was after him and his friends. The last thing he needed was for it to attack him with his guard down. In essence, he would have to keep one eye on his "studies", and his kakugan on the lookout for trouble. Should be simple, right? He knew that was never the case. Everywhere he went, danger seemed just around the corner. Luckily for him, the work involved in high school paled in comparison to that of his college, so he did not worry about that. The only thing causing any unnerve was the matter of figuring out just what exactly was going on.

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Yokai Academy!" a familiar voice greeted at the front of the classroom, ripping Kaneki from his thoughts. "I am your home room teacher, Shizuka Nekonome. As most of you already know, this is a school built for the sake of monsters to attend."

Kaneki almost choked. Immediately, three thoughts raced through his mind. The first was that he was not the only inhuman creature in the school. Second, when she said "monsters", she implied more than one type of monster and not just ghouls. Third, everyone here was a threat. Red lights flashed in his head, and he knew that this situation would not end well.

Another feeling came shortly after as well. Slowly, the irony of how similar the purpose of this school and that of Anteiku were sank in… He was not amused.

"Our current problem," continued Ms. Nekonome, "is that the Earth has already come under the control of humans! In order for us monsters to survive, we have no choice but to live peacefully with the humans. At this academy, you will be studying 'How to Coexist with Humans'!" More irony. Was this not also the purpose of Anteiku? Either this school was not well known, or he had to greatly expand his horizons in the world of ghouls and monsters. After all, he thought Anteiku was the only place where monsters cared enough to coexist. Then again, from the way she sounded, they probably did not care about humans all that much. Yet though the reason for them coexisting probably did not match his own, he still wanted to hear what they taught at this school. He already knew very much about living with humans (he was once a human) and Anteiku filled in the gaps of his knowledge, but extra advice always interested him. One could never be too wise.

"So for the reason of coexistence and as a school rule, you will all lives your lives at this academy in human form. It's a matter of being able to disguise yourself as a human! This is the foundation of coexistence. You are to never allow one of your fellow students to know your 'true form', understand?" Though he did not fully understand what she meant by "true form", he did not believe it to be an issue since he was already half human and appeared as a normal human with white hair. Would this all be too easy for him?

"Yo, teach," voiced a student sitting in the middle of the classroom. Turning, Kaneki assessed the boy. Tall and muscular, he looked as if he would tower over Kaneki, with piercings on his face and wearing a disheveled uniform without the jacket. Overall, his appearance screamed that of a delinquent. "Why don't we just eat those puny humans and do what we want with the pretty girls?"

Enraged, Kaneki stiffened. Those were human lives he was talking about. Even if the relationship of these monsters and humans were as bad as that of the ghouls, they had no right to kill them. What about Hide? What about Touka's friend Yoriko? Humans were just trying to survive in a world of forces far greater than them. Although their methods were not correct, either, Kaneki could not condemn them. He seethed, unable to tolerate such ambitions. And with what he said about those girls, the monster was lucky that Kaneki didn't unleash his kagune and pierce whatever so-called heart that thing had right then and there.

"Oh! Incidentally, all of the teachers and students here at Yokai Academy are monsters. There are no genuine humans here," Ms. Nekonome chimed. Half true, Kaneki guessed. "Since this academy is within a secret sacred world, humans who come to know of its existence will receive the death penalty or something…" He winced. Wasn't that a little harsh? Though, it made some sense if this world was that important to these monsters. In fact, it reminded him of the time Touka threatened to kill Hide if he found out about Anteiku. He believed that monsters had to be territorial to protect that which is closest to them, lest it be taken away.

Suddenly, the door swung open.

"S'cuse me! I kinda got lost at the entrance ceremony," a girl apologized.

"That's fine," said Ms. Nekonome. "Just come in and take a seat."

"Okay," she sang, entering the classroom. Kaneki glanced up, and was thoroughly surprised. At the front of the room, Moka looked for an empty seat. Every boy in the room besides him went crazy when they saw her. Gracefully, she strolled down the aisle between the desks.

"Mo… Moka…?" he hesitated as she passed him. Stopping, she looked at him and blinked.

"Huh, Kaneki…?" she paused. With a sudden realization, she tackled him into a hug and nearly knocked him over. "It's Kaneki! We're in the same class?!" The room fell into chaos with the boys demanding to know who Kaneki was and how he knew her. During the ruckus, Kaneki stole a glance over at the monster who wanted to eat the humans. Kaneki watched as the delinquent stared at Moka, licking his lips in predatory fashion. Biting back his rage and disgust, Kaneki noted to definitely keep an eye on him.

Dazed, Kaneki followed absently behind Moka, who kept her arm locked with his as they explored the school. She wanted to see the entire campus, though he could not get past the fact that she continuously pressed her body against his arm. Needless to say, the red dusting his face displayed just how flustered he really was.

"Hey, isn't this a cool hallway?!" she exclaimed as they continued their trek.

"Uh… Yeah, I guess so," responded Kaneki, although he did not quite understand the novelty.

"Let's go see what's over there next!"

Just like when they were in class, boys fawned over Moka everywhere that she and Kaneki went. He thought she was beautiful, yes, but was that any reason to act as they were? Then again, he was always an extreme introvert in any situation, so maybe he was the strange one. Hide would hit on her the moment he saw her, after all. Either way, he knew that since he would be with her most of the time, all of the attention she was receiving would cause them trouble.

Like now, for instance

"Hmm, such a pretty one," sneered the monster who wanted to eat the humans. Kaneki instinctively stepped in front of Moka, squaring his body to face the threat. "You're called Moka Akashiya, right? I'm you're classmate, Komiya. By the way, why is a beautiful girl like you associating with a guy like this?" Quickly, Komiya yanked Kaneki into the air by his shirt collar. However, Kaneki immediately broke free, readying himself for his next move. "C'mon, Moka. Wouldn't you rather date a guy like me? We should leave and go have some… fun."

Kaneki gritted his teeth, balling his fists. How could he talk to someone like that? Ready to rip him apart limb from limb, Kaneki took a furious step forward.

Moka quivered, grabbing Kaneki's arm. "I… I can't. I'm having fun with Kaneki right now!" With that, she fled, pulling him along with her. Seconds later, Komiya stood alone as the crowds on onlookers dispersed.

"Just watch me, Kaneki," he sneered, licking his lips, "I would never let a woman like her to slip through my grasp."