Ken Kaneki

If you read this book and think the author is padding the word count, please don't doubt the author. Question why the author's pig brain couldn't come up with a better solution!

This wasn't mindless wish fulfillment. It leaned toward battles of wits.

If it sucks, stomp me into the ground!

Tokyo.

Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Nobara Kugisaki, and Yuko Ozawa walked out of a café together.

A white-haired boy in a black shirt slowly approached them.

The boy...

Had handsome, refined features.

His black-framed glasses made him look even more scholarly.

His white hair was brushed back and tied into a small ponytail.

"Long time no see."

"Itadori."

At the sight of him...

Itadori's face visibly lit up, and he called out, "Kaneki!"

Hearing that...

Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki, who had both thought the boy looked familiar, finally remembered who he was.

Ken Kaneki.

Half Chinese, half Japanese.

A teenage manga prodigy.

Using himself as the model, he had created a manga called Tokyo Ghoul, which had quickly become an online sensation nationwide.

Kaneki smiled at the two of them.

Then he looked at Yuko Ozawa beside them and said gently, "Oh, it's you... Ozawa."

At those words...

Not only Yuko Ozawa, but Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki froze as well.

You recognized her even after she changed that much?

"Kaneki."

Yuko Ozawa smiled in greeting.

Kaneki smiled and looked at Nobara Kugisaki and Megumi Fushiguro, who wore the same kind of uniform as Itadori. "You're Itadori's classmates, right?"

They both nodded.

"Nice to meet you."

As he spoke...

He handed them two gift boxes he had prepared beforehand. Both waved their hands in refusal, but after some persuasion from Kaneki, they accepted the gifts.

"What about me?"

Itadori looked at him expectantly.

Kaneki smiled faintly. "There's something for you too, but you'll have to pick it up yourself."

?

A huge question mark appeared over Itadori's head.

"Remember where I said I'd hide things?" Kaneki asked.

Itadori paused at the question.

He nodded to show he remembered.

Kaneki smiled and said, "I left your gift at the New South Exit and on Bunkamura Street in Shibuya."

Those two places...

Were the only two locations he had found, based on the original story, that would remain undamaged. They were also close to the site of the Shibuya Incident.

"Are there two gifts?"

Itadori asked in confusion.

"One."

Kaneki corrected him. "The gifts in both places are the same. I was worried someone else might take one, so I prepared two."

"Okay!"

Itadori was full of enthusiasm.

He planned to go look for the gift in a bit.

"Not yet." Kaneki stopped him with a smile. "I want you to find it between 23:40 on October 31 and 24:30 the following day."

"Outside that window, it'll be taken away."

"If it's you..."

"I'm sure you'll find it."

The more Itadori listened, the quieter he became. A sense of foreboding welled up inside him, and worry appeared on his face.

"Kaneki, you..."

"Let me finish." For the first time, Kaneki interrupted him. "When you go get this gift, you need to bring a girl."

"I have some requirements for the girl, too."

"Preferably this short-haired beauty," Kaneki said, looking at Kugisaki.

Then...

He added, "If she isn't available, find someone who's like you, aged sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, twenty-eight, or thirty-one, or a gorgeous blonde."

"Got that?"

Itadori nodded solemnly.

Looking worried, he asked, "Kaneki, are you in some kind of trouble?"

At that...

Kaneki chuckled and asked, "Remember my dream?"

Itadori paused.

He remembered how Kaneki had loved reading novels and manga as a child and had always wanted to become someone with superpowers.

"Now..."

Kaneki's smile gradually faded, and his expression grew serious. "I have a chance to make that dream come true."

As he spoke...

Kaneki let out a breath and smiled again. "I'd better stop raising death flags."

"Itadori."

"Remember our promise when we were kids? My parents are..."

"My parents."

Itadori's expression was resolute, but his voice was unbearably heavy.

At that, the other three realized that this sounded rather like someone's last words.

"I made up an excuse and sent them to China for the New Year."

"At the earliest..."

"They won't be back until next year."

Looking at the tears already welling in Itadori's eyes, Kaneki said pleadingly, "I'm leaving them in your care."

"Yeah!"

Itadori answered firmly.

Kaneki changed the subject and invited everyone to take a photo together.

Then...

He turned to Yuko Ozawa. "Ozawa, are you taking the subway?"

"Yes."

Yuko Ozawa paused for a moment before nodding.

"Then let's go together," Kaneki offered.

Once she agreed, he said goodbye to the others and headed toward the subway with her.

"Kaneki."

Itadori suddenly called after him.

Kaneki stopped and turned to look back.

Itadori lifted his head and gave him a strained smile, his voice thick with tears. "You have to come back alive!"

"I still haven't paid you back for my grandpa's medical bills."

At that...

Kaneki smiled faintly.

He pulled off the elastic holding his ponytail and shook out his hair, then spoke a line only the two of them understood.

"Don't forget."

"I'm a protagonist too!"

At that moment...

He looked exactly like Ken Kaneki from the manga.

Itadori froze at the sight, his thoughts suddenly returning to their childhood, when Kaneki had always said he was a protagonist.

Back then...

He hadn't even known what a protagonist was.

Kaneki had explained.

Protagonists were different from everyone else from birth. No matter how much danger they faced, they always found a way through.

After saying goodbye to the three of them...

Kaneki and Yuko Ozawa remained silent for several minutes.

After hesitating for a moment, Yuko Ozawa asked, "Kaneki, are you facing some kind of danger?"

"Not just me."

Yuko Ozawa paused at his answer.

Kaneki looked at her and said, "You might be in danger too."

Then...

Kaneki asked, "Your family recently moved to Tokyo, right?"

"Huh?"

Yuko Ozawa froze. "How did you know?"

"Because I looked into you."

Kaneki continued, "When you get home today, you'll receive a travel voucher for your whole family. The destination is China."

As he spoke...

He looked her straight in the eyes and urged her sincerely, "Stay there for a while."

"It'll be very dangerous to stay in Japan during this time."

"But..."

Yuko Ozawa wanted to say more, but Kaneki interrupted her. "Don't worry. I've already made arrangements for Itadori."

After that...

He exchanged contact information with Yuko Ozawa.

He also told her he would send her Itadori's contact information on the morning or afternoon of November 1.

Finally...

He watched Yuko Ozawa board the subway, watched the doors close, and kept watching until it disappeared.

Knowing that Itadori was feeling down...

None of them spoke on the way back.

Once they reached Jujutsu High and saw that Itadori seemed a little better, they suggested opening the gifts to distract him.

When they opened them...

Megumi Fushiguro's contained a Sendai specialty: Kikufuku with mashed edamame and fresh cream filling.

"Wow-"

Satoru Gojo instantly appeared beside Megumi Fushiguro and reached out to take the Kikufuku. "Did he buy these just for me?"

Only after Gojo took them...

Did Megumi Fushiguro discover a box of very expensive-looking black coffee underneath.

At the sight...

Megumi Fushiguro paused.

Because...

He liked foods with ginger and preferred bitter flavors. Even his coffee had to be black, without sugar.

Judging by that...

The coffee was the actual gift for him.