The Boy // Tokyo Ghoul // K. Kaneki {They/Them Reader}

Shift. // Chapter One.

I remember my parents always telling me that I was the best thing that could've ever happens to them. At first, I wasn't sure why. That was, until I found out what exactly I was.

I was the product of a love between a human man and a Ghoulish woman.

My father wanted me to live a semi-human life, but being a half-breed it didn't come as easy as he'd thought.

My tongue and body was wired differently than a humans; it was a Ghouls. Human food was detrimental to me, and the only thing that really satiated my hunger was that of human flesh.

It pained me to know that, and I hated that I'd been brought into this world as a 'monster.' I thought I'd never be able to live the normal life my father wanted for me, and I was right. Partially, at least.

I was taught from a young age how to blend in more with the humans around us, and I never had to go out and kill for my food. Not that I would have even if I were forced.

I was taught to swallow human food whole on the first bite instead of chewing, or else I'd be forced to spit it out due to my tastebuds despising the taste. The slight downside of that is I'd have to throw it up before my body digested it, or it would make me weak.

I was also taught how to better control my hunger, and my Ghoulish eye. I was told about the CCG; what they did, how they stood out from other people, and what to do if I'd ever come into contact with one.

It was difficult, but I managed.

Mother and Father were friends with the Ryusaki family, a family of Ghouls that lived not far away from us.

I was best friends with their daughter, Li. We'd be close since we were young, and it was as if nothing would ever break us apart.

My father convinced my mother to allow me to go to human school, and that's what I did.

I went to a human elementary school, and then a human middle school.

My parents were close friends with Yoshimura, the manager of a Ghoul-centered Cafe named Anteiku. They were also quite close with Yomo, a Ghoul who was close with Yoshimura. He had a niece and nephew; Touka and Ayato Kirishima.

Due to being relatively close in age, Touka and I grew to be quite close over the years we'd known each other due to Yomo, Yoshimura, and Anteiku.

I spent the majority of my time at the Cafe because of the atmosphere there. I'd always loved to read manga and things of the sort, so being able to have a good drink while reading my favorite stories in the comfort of Anteiku was always a need for me.

In the start of my second term in middle school, a man that I knew well, a friend of my fathers who was also human, had apparently figured out that my mother was a Ghoul.

My father picked me up from school, same as he always did. We took the shortest route home, just as we always did. When we got there, two men with briefcases walked out of our house with blood splattered on their cheeks.

My father sent me off, made me run to Anteiku at the sight of the men. I knew who they were, so I didn't argue much. I'd begged him to come with me, but after a solid fifteen seconds of trying, he shoved me away gently and told me to run; run as fast as I could until I reached the Cafe and was safe.