Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for giving this story a read. I really appreciate it.

Before we begin, I would like to highlight a few notes.

I do not own any Tokyo Ghoul character or the story. They belong to Sui Ishida and Studio Pierrot *cough cough* the business which butchered the anime *cough cough*

This story will follow events that happen in the manga as well as some of the events that happen in the light novels Tokyo Ghoul: Days and Tokyo Ghoul: Void. This being said, the main focus of this fan fiction is on the main story line of Tokyo Ghoul and the exploration of my OC Morie's psyche and evolving character.

All artwork you may see linked in the chapters including the cover artwork was created by me. Please do not use any of it without asking me first.

Updates may be inconsistent but I will try to get at least one chapter out per month if not more.

There may be some strange descriptions detailing things in Japan. If you don't know what they are, I will have an author's note at the end of the chapter so if you are interested in knowing about them you can. Furthermore, I will be including references to novels and items with symbolic means. These will also be discussed at the appropriate time at the end of the chapter.

Lastly, if you like the story, see any errors or have any questions, please leave a review or notify me and I will happily get back to you.

Morie was spinning around in her desk chair gazing up at the dim ceiling listening to the rain pelting down and the rushing wind. Like the scurrying white mouse in her lap, her nose twitched taking in the scents around her. Although the rodent was doing the same, its mind was busy contemplating possible chair escape routes but once it got to the edge of the seat, it ran back too afraid to make the leap onto still ground.

Caught up in her own thoughts she sighed and raised her hands to her nose. Her face glowered. She hated rain. It was always a distraction and a reminder that she, unlike those she was around, was different. The scent of it always reached her before the clouds darkened and the thematic use of it in media fitted her experiences so well that depression seemed to follow it. Earlier that day, she received an email from the CCG rejecting yet another one of her requests to provide more RC cells and suppressants to study. Flashes of that hospital day passed through her mind when it rained as well. It fabricated the air with a sweet scent and the sound of muffled sobbing.

But she smiled through the lie. Her pet was a result of that. The constant squeaking for food and cage breakouts made her question her experimental actions but morbid curiosity for discovery compelled her. Practicing on frogs and rats when the opportunity presented itself and studying in the confines of a cramped room day and night led her to where she was today, a biology student of Kamii University.

A strong tap resonated throughout the flat. It jarred Morie out of her thoughts and she put her foot on the floor to slow the spinning. The mouse in her lap let out a squeak of relief before Morie extended her hand to pick the thing up. Its celebration was cut short when it glared at her hand. Its nose twitched vigorously as it raised its tail high like a dagger aimed at her palm. An almost liquid, red substance extended from its back, bubbled its way towards its tail and hardened around it. The mouse struck, impaling Morie's hand. Blood seeped out and dripped down the weapon. The air smelt even sweeter to her. Morie hissed in pain, grabbed the tail with her other hand and pulled it out. With its fur still on edge, the mouse seized another opportunity to attack. It bared its incisors, ran up to the wounded hand and tore a chunk of flesh from it. "Again. You son of a b-" Morie gasped as she let go of the tail. It deconstructed and returned to normal. The mouse, dyed crimson took the meat in its mouth, jumped onto the wooden floor and casually scampered into one of its many tunnels that were scattered around the apartment.

Another knock resounded accompanied by an older teen's voice. "Are you okay in there? If not, I'm coming in."

"Oh, I'm just peachy!" She could feel the sarcasm that dripped from her mouth. "Just wait out there for a bit. I need to sort something out."

Her gaze fell, analysing her hand, her clothes, her chair and her flooring all pooling with blood. She knew she wouldn't bleed out but the sight of it made her sweat. Although a guest was to be expected, the carnivorous mouse attacking took her by surprise but on second thought she should have seen it coming. A month of running short on RC tablets would drive that thing crazy. However, it was rummaging around on her lap a few seconds ago with no sign of hunger. If it wasn't her pet subject, Morie would have questioned skinning it alive. Yet she could feel her blood already thickening and whenever the creature bit her, no scars remained. How could she accuse instinct?

The voice behind the door replied. "Alright then. Just to let you know, if the rain starts blowing undercover, I'm coming in."

Morie rolled her eyes. Even she couldn't disagree that the weather outside was horrid but honestly, couldn't he wait? Walking in on a bloodied room would give the wrong impression right away. Society was so paranoid anyway with the so-called threat of ghouls looming over peoples' heads.

With the possibility of limited time, Morie walked into the kitchen, grabbed her first aid kit and pulled out gauze and a bandage. She placed the gauze over the hole in her hand and pressed down on it to try to stop the blood flow. The wound from the small bit of flesh that got torn still oozed red but not as profusely. Gauze was still placed over it anyway to prevent the injury drying on the bandage. When the gauze was flowering with red, Morie removed it and placed a new snippet over the wound. She then promptly wrapped her hand in the bandage before opening and closing her hand to admire her handiwork. Her face grimaced due to the sharp pain that jolted up her arm.

Once the pain receded, she retrieved a roll of paper towel and stripped off squares to cover the puddles of blood that pooled in the kitchen and around her desk. She left them there to soak up the blood before opening a cupboard containing a dryer and clothes washer. She eyed the bottles of soaps that stood on a shelf above the machines and let out a hiss when she realised that she forgot to disinfect her wounds. Opening the dryer, she took out a burgundy jumper and placed it behind her on the kitchen bench before lifting the once crisp, white shirt up to expose her bra and stomach.

Morie groaned as she heard the sharp pelting of rain hitting the windows and let out a grumbled sigh as the front door flung open, revealing the soaked guest. He gawked, and his brown eyes drifted down to her chest. "That's a nice pair you got there." A large goofy smile appeared on his face and he winked at her.

Morie glared back at him. "Knock it off. If you speak of this, I know who you are, Oh, and close the door before my rat escapes." She shifted her glance to the tube she last saw Shirozumi scamper into. The guest shook his head, flicking small droplets of water from his dirty blonde hair as he closed the door behind him. His stare darted from Morie's torso to the red paper towel on the floor and the blossom of red blooming from the bandage wrapped around her hand and he took a step back. Morie sighed and put on her burgundy jumper. "The rumours are false. Nothing but idiotic buzz from students. My mouse gave me a nasty bite and blood got everywhere." She strolled into the kitchen, opened the fridge, took out a slice of chocolate cake and raised it into the air so the guest could get a good look. "Brought it yesterday and I plan to eat it while we talk." Morie lowered the cake, opened a draw and pulled out a fork. She pointed it at her guest. "You don't get any, Nagachika. Anyway, talk to me. Nishiki said something about a favour, right?"

He placed his right hand to his temple and said, "Yeah, something like that. You know that incident that people have been taking about? Well, the person involved is my best friend and he hasn't been the same since."

"Wait, that Kaneki guy is your best friend? Damn, that's rough." Morie stuck her fork into the cake as she leaned against the kitchen bench.

Thoughts of the chit-chat centred around the incident ran rampant through her brain. From the talk, she knew the kid was a loner with a single friend because always had his head in a book. Apparently, he walked into a door because his was too engrossed into a novel. It's a wonder how that kid even got into a situation that nearly got him crushed by the steel beams. People had already crafted a likely crack theory explaining that a ghoul was involved as witnesses saw him around a long-haired woman. And if that woman was a ghoul that meant the kidney transplant Kaneki received was troublesome. Although, people in Morie's class were already questioning if a kidney really was the organ donated. Morie stayed silent on these matters whenever it reared its head, too busy fiddling with vials of samples in the lab to discuss such things. Besides, the people around her seemed fascinated seeing Kaneki as a subject rather than a living being.

Chewing on a bit of cake, Morie smirked. "You're here because you want me to have a look at your friend, right? You think something went wrong with the operation. Let me guess, you think he is a ghoul now." She saw Hide swallow. Spot on, Morie thought to herself as her eyes narrowed. "Does Nishiki know your reasoning?"

"No. I just wanted to know where you lived. All I said was that I wanted to find out more about ghouls."

A laugh tugged at her throat and she let it out quietly as a soft chuckle. Asking to know about ghouls from a ghoul, how ridiculous. "That's probably for the best. Wouldn't want anyone else suspecting him." She then smiled before placing a fork-full of icing in her mouth. "Anyway, what's your reason for this? I'll look him over for you, but I just want to know your thoughts first. After that, I'll grab his address and head over. Just know, I am no doctor. Oh, and if he is a ghoul, I will not rat him out to the CCG. Not really motivated by such things…"

"What are you motivated by then?" he asked whilst walking into the kitchen.

Morie's eyes followed him and her smile faded into a neutral expression. "Morbid curiosity. Now, answer my request, Nagachika."

Hide glanced at her with a questioning look but decided not to pry into the matter. He sighed, "You know you could just call me Hide…"

"Hide is too informal. For now, I shall say Hideyoshi as a negotiation between your last and shortened name." Morie's eyes widened as she placed the plate that once contained cake upon it and the fork on the counter. "Give me a sec. Just need to grab my notebook." She shook her head and grumbled about the idiocy of nearly forgetting to take notes.

Once she fished around for a pen and notepad, Hide shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat. "I've only seen him once since he got released from hospital. To celebrate we went to Big Girl, that American chain restaurant that sells burgers and the like. He ordered his favourite meal, but he spat it out like it was a foreign substance. He even apologised to the waitress who said that it was the result of possible food poisoning. I don't believe that. I mean the place is known for its hygiene and there is no way he could have reacted that quickly to food poisoning." Morie flicked to a clean page and quickly jotted down Kaneki's rejection of human food. "I've tried visiting him in his apartment, but he didn't answer the door and he hasn't been answering texts. I've even brought him a goodie pack containing some of his favourite foods and left it by the doorway. At the time I could hear him sobbing and muttering about wanting to eat."

Morie's glance shot up as she snapped her book shut. "Not. Good." She flicked on her coffee machine that sat behind her and grabbed out a black travel mug from one of her cupboards. "When was this?"

"About a week ago."

"Address now. Grab the white pill bottle on my desk. We need to get there as soon as possible." She pointed to the bottle and Hideyoshi went to grab it. Shirozumi had its body curled up next to it and noticed his swift attempt to grab it. The mouse leapt up in an attempt to obtain more food, but Hide's hand was too quick for the mouse to catch and he successfully retrieved the bottle.

The coffee machine let out a ding, signifying that it had heated up and was ready to use. Morie placed the cup underneath it and let the deep, brown liquid poor into it.

Hide had placed the bottle next to the coffee machine, wandered to Morie's desk and slid a book titled Dear Kafka out of the bookshelf suspended above it. "You read Takatsuki's work too?"

Morie looked up from the coffee machine and eyed the book. "I've read some of her works. I used to read a lot more when I was lot younger, but I haven't had the mind for it these last few years. I thought about starting again and bought that book. Very engaging. Took me a month to finish. Eventually, I want to buy some more."

"Kaneki will let you borrow his books," Hide smiled whilst slipping the book back. The coffee machine stopped buzzing as Morie flicked it off and placed the lid on the travel cup. "I could probably get him to let you borrow one today!"

"Yeah, no thanks. I don't want to intrude on someone I do not know." She picked up the cup, bottle and notebook before marching towards the door. Grabbing her umbrella sitting by the doorway she opened the door and looked at Hide. "I need directions and you're going to guide me."

Hide shrugs his shoulders and follows her out of the apartment as Morie opened her umbrella. "You can get under the umbrella whilst we walk."

"I'm good unless you want me to be your romantic partner. Also, already soaked, so there's not point trying to stay dry. Oh, you need to go down these stairs and make a left at the intersection." He held out an arm and pointed Morie in the correct direction.

Morie raised the umbrella. "Whatever suits you. If you catch a cold you could always go to Nishiki to beg for medicine," she mumbled as she gripped the stairway rails and carefully made her way down two flights of slippery stairs.

Five minutes went by with Morie being guided by Hide. The rain started to let up, but the wind kept blowing fiercely. Several times Morie's umbrella threated to break but the tall buildings surrounding the duo helped shield them from the wind.

"You know, I really hate this weather," Morie complained after an extended time of not talking. "It's always noisy. Disrupts my work." And it smells too sweet, Morie thought as she turned a corner into an apartment complex.

Hide fiddled with the hood of his jacket and chose not to inquire about Morie's sudden statement. Instead, he pointed to a door on the second floor. "That's Kaneki's apartment. I think it's best that I wait outside… Knowing him, he wouldn't want me knowing."

Morie sighed and started walking up the stairs with Hide following behind. "Understandable. If I were a ghoul, I wouldn't want anyone knowing. The CCG is already harsh as it is."

Once they reached the door, Morie lowered her umbrella, folded it up and shook it to remove the droplets of water that clung to it. Hide stepped forward and knocked on the door. "Kaneki, open up. I need you to do a favour for me and I gottcha some coffee~ I know you're in there, so open up!"

A few moments passed before the door cracked open revealing a sliver of a face. The skin was pale presumably from not getting enough sun and the one visible eye was weary and tiresome looking. Black hair draped down, combed to appear neat. This was Hide's best friend, this mousey, scared boy.

He glanced around and briefly caught Morie's eyes before he managed to smile weakly. Hideyoshi shoved the coffee into Kaneki's hands before pushing the door fully open and entering. She got a good look at the boy who stood there glancing with a wary eye at the coffee cup. His left eye was covered up by a white medical eyepatch and he was dressed in a deep navy jumper. Kaneki moved aside, used to his friend barging in whenever he cracked open the entrance. Morie stood at the door, not wanting to enter without permission. The energetic blonde motioned for her to enter. She looked at Kaneki for confirmation, he let out a small, yet slow nod and she entered.

Morie glanced around the room, taking in all the bookshelves packed with books that were pressed against the walls. The kitchen was a mess. Plates and bowls and cups were piled in the sink, rinsed but not fully washed. Her nose picked up the faint scents of decomposing food that she knew were coming from a bin locked underneath the sink. More disturbingly, she could smell vomit. However, it was mostly covered up by the strong scent of coffee, most likely coming from the jars of Blondie Instant Coffee and the empty cups stained with brown scattered on the bench. Morie instantly knew he was a ghoul, at least partially.

Hide seemed unfazed by his friend's living space and slung his shoulder over the boy. The cup clutched in Kaneki's hand tilted, threatening to spill the contents. "Hide, you ought to be more careful," Kaneki protested in a quiet voice as Hide lifted his arm off the boy. "You should have warned me that you were coming over, let alone bringing a guest." He gave Hideyoshi a stern glare, but his face looked so kind and tired that it fell on deaf ears. Kaneki glanced down at his coffee, unsure if he should drink it.

Morie noticed his contemplation and said, "It's just pure black coffee. There's no milk or sugar in it. Though it's not that professional so don't expect it to be café quality." He took a sip, paused, looked pleased and took another. His eyes drifted from the coffee to Morie's bandaged hand before quickly darting back to the cup.

Hide's grin widened as he pointed two finger guns at Morie. "This here is Morie Masuda and because I'm worried, she's going perform a medical examination." He winked at Kaneki who continued to look down at the cup in his hands and gripped it tighter.

"I already see a doctor though."

"Well, I don't trust him. Morie is going to examine you whether you like it or not. Just take a look at yourself." Hide gestured to Kaneki. "You haven't been taking care of your body."

"I really don't know what you are talking about…" Kaneki looked up at Hide and touched his chin.

"You're lying," Morie stated, looking the boy directly in the eyes. Kaneki's face turned a shade lighter. "Hideyoshi is doing you a favour. If you don't follow through, you will likely die."

Hide's head shot to look at Morie's stoic face. "You can't go around telling people they'll die!"

Morie shrugged, opened her notebook and clicked her pen. "You are right. However, healthy treatment of the body is vital if one wants to live." Her eyes narrowed as she directed her gaze at the floor. "I can tell, you haven't been eating well, Kaneki. Staving yourself is what will kill you." She started rapidly taking notes. Notes about his unhealthy complexion, notes about his apartment and notes about his nervousness.

Kaneki took another sip of his coffee gingerly and looked at his best friend. Hide was smiling, staring Kaneki in the eyes not unlike a pleading dog. "I-I'll do it, but you should have warned me first, Hide."

"Aww you're the best~" He waved his hand before exiting the apartment and slipping behind the door. "Anyway, I'll be out here. Waiting, in the rain. See ya soon."

Morie looked up from her notes and held out her umbrella for Hide to take. "It's wet out there. I know you didn't mind getting wet coming over here, but you should at least borrow this, so you have some shelter."

Hide grabbed the umbrella, his grin widening. Then he shut the door leaving Morie and Kaneki standing awkwardly in silence. Kaneki kept taking sips of coffee whilst Morie flicked the pages of her notebook. She let out an "ahem" before signalling to Kaneki's desk. "It would be better if we sat for the examination." With wobbly steps, Kaneki grabbed a stool and placed it near his desk. Once he did that, he took a seat on the desk's chair whilst Morie sat on the stool. "I must apologise…" Morie mumbled, "From what I heard from Hideyoshi and because of my prior knowledge, I grew concerned about your health. I do not know you and you do not know me, thus I believe that my concern for you could be considered strange. I am extremely blunt when caught in this mindset." She stood up and bowed before returning to the seat. Kaneki's face grew flustered and his eyes surveyed his living space but quickly landed back on Morie's hand.

With another "ahem", Morie unscrewed the lid off of the white bottle and tipped out two red pills. "I'll get you to take these." She held them out to Kaneki. "I made these myself by compressing Red Child Cells into tablets. Think of them like vitamins. Vitamins for ghouls."

Kaneki nearly choked on the coffee he was drinking when he heard the word "ghoul". He placed his cup on the desk and raised his hand to his chin. "You think I'm a ghoul?"

Morie nodded. "I know you are." She sighed, "You might have heard my name being bounced around the university. Morie Masuda, the ghoul researcher. For the past three years I have been studying ghouls and doing experiments in order to know more about them. I can tell from the state of your apartment, Hide's description of you and your general appearance. Don't get me wrong, if my theory is correct, you have every right to be in this state."

He looked at Morie as she forced a smile. "Does Hide know?"

"No, he doesn't. He came to me after a conversation with a friend in the pharmaceuticals department as he knew that I had some qualifications as a doctor. I won't tell him either. That is something for you to do, not me."

Kaneki let out a deep sigh as a heard this and he hesitantly grabbed the pills out of Morie's hand. "You said these were made out of Red Child Cells. I've heard the name before but what exactly are they?"

"Usually shortened to RC Cells, these cells are what ghouls feed on. Each human is born with a number of RC Cells which can fluctuate over time which is why ghouls can only eat humans. As I said, I have just compressed these cells into tablets. There is nothing else in them apart from the cells. If there was anything else, they wouldn't be digestible for ghouls." Kaneki took a gulp of coffee, slid the two tablets into his mouth and swallowed. Morie put the cap back on the bottle and placed it on Kaneki's desk. "I will leave these here. There isn't many left but it's better if you have them for now. Just know, you cannot live on these. I compared them to vitamins for a good reason. Sure, they will give you the nutrients that you need but they will not fill you up. Ghouls still need the fibre they get from eating meat." He paled at the thought of eating humans.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"No worries. A ghoul's hunger is hell but I'm sure you already knew that. It is my goal that someday with these tablets, I will be able to invent a food that ghouls can eat. This is just prototype one." Morie paused. "I noticed that you were staring at my hand." She raised her bandage hand as if reaching for the ceiling. "It doesn't really hurt right now. You see, my pet mouse gave me a nasty bite and knowing that you would be hungry, I brought these pills over. Blood smells sweet and enticing so I'm sorry about the distraction… Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes." She softly clapped her hands together. "You were not always a ghoul. In fact, I have reason to believe that it is due to a recent event."

"S-so you know about that…"

Morie nodded before closing her eyes. "Unfortunately, people have been talking about it around the university. I wouldn't say they know your face, but they know your name." She opened her eyes and stared directly into Kaneki's. "The organ transplant you received was not the specified organ you actually got. It is my belief you received a kakuhou; the organ in ghouls which stores RC Cells."

His eyes widened but he said nothing.

"You are lucky to survive if my theory is correct." Morie mused. "It's not impossible as it has been done before. Eight months ago, I conducted an experiment on mic-" She paused. Her fists clenched, and her gaze fell. "GAH, I AM SUCH AN IDIOT!" Kaneki's shoulders dropped, and he quickly took another chug of his coffee only to realised it was empty. "I forgot to put it into its cage…" Noticing Kaneki's confused face, she explained. "My mouse, Shirozumi, is a ghoul. With permission, I was allowed to experiment with a set of mice. All but one lived when I inserted a small slice of a kakuhou into them. Thus, Shirozumi exists and I know for a fact it is possible to create ghouls."

Kaneki clutched his hands over his mouth pale lips. "Excuse me," he muttered as he rose from his chair and ran into his bathroom. Minutes pasted before he returned. Morie noted the droplets of water that clung to his chin and his watery eyes.

"I swear there was nothing in the coffee other than coffee a-and the tablets are just made of RC Cells. Nothing else! I wasn't trying to poison you."

He grabbed a book off one of the bookshelves and clutched it to his chest when he once again sat on his chair. "That wasn't the problem…"

Morie titled her head to the side but shrugged off her curiosity. With a wave of her hand she began to talk again. "Welp, I now know nearly everything. Ah, how do you write your name, by the way? Also, why do you wear that eyepatch?"

"The characters for gold and tree for Kaneki and the character polish for Ken." Kaneki took off the medical eyepatch and placed it on the desk. Revealed was a flickering kakugan. Black flecked with red engulfed his eye before it quickly returned to white and grey. Morie's eyes widened and she let out a short nod as she wrote down another note. Curtly, he put the eyepatch back on. He looked away from Morie and started reading the titles of books that were stacked on the bookshelves around him.

Morie clicked her pen twice before jotting down him name at the top of the page. "I was going to offer to provide more info about ghouls, but I feel like I have over stayed my welcome a bit. Besides, Hide is waiting outside. I'll get him to give you my contact information later in case you need my help in the future."

Morie sighed as she closed her notebook and got off the chair. Kaneki brought his attention back to her. "You're not going to tell him, right?"

"As I already said, I'm not going to tell Hideyoshi." And she left the room.

She opened the door to find Hide leaning against the railing. He was stretching his arm into the bright sunshine that showed itself after the rain stopped. Headphones covered his ears and he hummed out an unfamiliar tune. Morie walked up to him and gently tapped him on the shoulder. With a startled jump, Hide took off his headphones, retracted his arm and grinned at Morie. Kaneki poked his head out of the doorway and watched Hide.

"So how did it go?" Hide questioned as he handed the umbrella back to Morie.

"Fine. Stress. Makes sense," Morie answered without any expression.

Hide jumped up and brought a fist down as if he was doing a victory dance. He turned his head and noticed Kaneki by the door who froze. In his hands was Morie's travel mug. "You should have this back," he murmured to Hide as he held out the cup.

Hide took it with a smile before ruffling Kaneki's black hair. Kaneki didn't look very impressed, but he let out a small laugh after hearing Hide exclaim, "You're the best! You know that, dontcha? We best be on our way," Hide sighed. "You better come back to Kamii now. If you don't, expect me to pester you every day until you do!"

Kaneki retreated back into his apartment after whispering a goodbye to Hide. Inside he picked up the book he had placed on his desk, opened it up and let his tears fall onto the page. The bottle of tablets still remained on the desk, but he couldn't look at them, too weary of the girl who had handed them to him. He wondered if he should have even allowed Hide to bring her here.

He never asked for this. I never should have gone on that date, he thought as he curled up tighter in his bed.