1 Ghoul's awakening

"You're wrong; you are both ghoul and human. You are the only one and only person who holds a place in both of these worlds. Come over to Anteiku. I'm certain that it'll lead you to a path where you can hold your own. I also want you to understand us better, to see whether or not we're just ravenous monsters."

Akira looked at the old man in front of him, who pulled the curtains and proceeded to speak. Amusement flickered within him as he thought, "Ghouls? Monsters? Ah... I see, I'm dreaming. Not dead yet, I guess, but why does this feel so real, and how am I so awa-"

The old man at the window suddenly interrupted and moved towards him.

"How about it? Why don't we start off by learning how to brew a delicious cup of coffee?" He opened the door and gestured for him with an amiable smile.

Akira, confused, glanced at him and then at the unknown orange-haired stranger lying on the bed before exiting the room. As he walked, his suspicion only grew stronger.

"I can smell the rich aroma of coffee, the cold air coming in and out of my lungs, even my heartbeats... THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A DREAM!!"

He screamed internally, the unease in his heart growing as the faces around him seemed terribly familiar. 'Could it be? No... no, no, no. I hope I'm wrong, please."

Akira clenched his hands, his eyes furrowed, and he carefully examined the surroundings.

"Is this blood?" he touched his shirt before he smelled it, his other hand went to his eyes. "This is definitely blood, but why was I crying or rather why was this body crying?"

Suppressing his doubts, he descended the stairs and opened another door. The moment his gaze landed on what appeared to be a coffee shop interior, his eyes shook, and his body stiffened. He looked around only to lock eyes into a blue-haired waitress.

He gasped, "No way... I'm screwed."

Touka Kirishima was wearing a black and white uniform; her figure moved as she w cleaned the tables with an absent look.

"Short dress, white collar, white apron, fucking elegant, I see." He cursed; his face contorted into a bitter smile, knowing fully what the future holds. Akira felt as if a rock was pressing his back.

Touka, as if she sensed his insult, looked at him in disdain and muttered.

"Bagaa!"

Ignoring her, Akira looked at his phone, only for his forced smile to turn uglier and uglier.

"I'm Kaneki..."

He was completely speechless by the turn of events. According to his memories, the timeline at this moment is probably at the start of the anime, just after Kaneki got attacked by Nishiki.

"Then that man lying on the bed is most likely Nagachica, this body's friend. "

Akira felt overwhelmed by this; he wanted to leave this place for a moment and gather his thoughts. Feeling this, he addressed the old man.

"Sir, I'll be taking my leave right now, I don't feel well, I think I need more rest" 

Yoshimaru stopped preparing the coffee.

"You probably need more rest; you can leave and come back tomorrow morning at nine."

"Thank you very much, sir. Then I'll be taking my leave" Kira said as he wore a jacket that covered the blood splattered all over his cloth and hurriedly left.

"Take care and be careful on the way, Kaneki-kun."

In Tokyo, skyscrapers cast their shadows on the earth, and the crowded streets fraught with pedestrians created a rather busy atmosphere.

Akira could be seen on the sidewalk, his legs heavy and his mind somewhat lost; his thoughts drifted to his past, this man used to have a family, a life too.

"I lost everything…what am I gonna do.."

Akira's heart ached every time he remembered his last moments; his daughter's grief-filled eyes and his wife's despair.

His pain felt like thousands of knives were piercing his chest; he clenched his jacket and found it hard to breathe. His knees touched the ground with a low thud, sweat tickled down his face as he trembled uncontrollably.

"No...no, no, no, no" The shock of losing his family faded, and his sorrow finally consumed him; his face contorted and twisted as he wailed and wailed, his voice or rather screech brought a chill to people's spines.

"Bam! Bam!.."

His head hit the ground again and again.

 "WHY? WHY? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? OHH, HANAA! AKIKO! AIMI, WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? Why?"

Akira cried for a long time; people looked at him in disgust, annoyance, and pity. Slowly his tears turned dry as he muttered.

"All that we deeply love becomes part of us; I'm sure you are still with me, right my love, right Hana? I still love you, and I will live for you just like I always

did."

After a long pause, he muttered again, "Mourning will not help me, will it?" he said and stood up. His eyes held a lifeless gaze.

"I'm a ghoul, and I have to survive even if it costs me my humanity."

Even though he despised eating humans and found it absolutely disgusting, he was not so stupid as to avoid it. If he wanted to survive in this world, he had to become stronger, much stronger than the previous Kaneki.

With this realization, his face regained its calmness and alertness as he thought.

"I have to familiarize myself with this body first." He clenched his fist and resisted the intense hunger.

"I must say he truly is tough for resisting this urge for a long time." He thought as he cursed and opened his wallet looking for his ID.

The once vibrant hues of sunlight began to wane, and darkness took over the sky. Only then did Akira find his house – a single bed with a plain, dark comforter dominated one side, flanked by a small bedside table. The walls were bare, except for a solitary shelf holding a few books. As for the windows, they were closed and covered, adding depth to the eerie darkness; all of this didn't escape his eyes, and he muttered.

"I should take a bath..." And so he entered the shower, wore comfortable clothes, and sat on his bed contemplating his current situation.

"I died from brain cancer, and now I'm stuck in an anime I watched a few days before my death. Somehow, I've become Kaneki, and I found myself in Anteiku Coffee at the beginning of the story's timeline. It's crazy, but these aren't animated characters anymore; they're real people.

I guess their is no point in whining about it. Instead, I need to get a grip on this messed-up reality. First things first, I gotta refresh my memory about what goes down in this messed-up place."

He shifted to his desk and began jotting down everything that came to mind—the deaths of Hinami's parents, the CCG, Mado's demise, and the rest.

For a couple of hours, he poured out his thoughts onto the papers; his expression fluctuating between furrowed brows and trembling hands. There were moments where the memories were so intense that he found it hard to continue writing.

Time passed quickly as Akira wrote with the fervor of a passionate lunatic. He clenched his head in frustration.

"So many events, so many factors, so many possible scenarios. Since they are sentient beings in this world, wouldn't they act differently than the story?" He questioned.

Akira massaged his throbbing temples, he found it extremely difficult to predict the consequences of his future actions on the story. but again he also disliked how the original story went, it was way too tragic and harsh for him. so he didn't mind if it was altered as long as it benefited him.

Whenever he thought about the torture Kaneki went through, a chill would creep down his spin as he shrugged his shoulders in dicomfort muttered.

"It doesn't matter for now. I mainly have to follow the plot until I form my plan...But I don't have much time."

He wasn't lying when he acknowledged the difficulty of predicting the future. There were so many people, and they could react in countless ways.

"Anyways i'm finally finished...Now let's test this new body." He moved his mouth slightly as he cracked his fingers in exhaustion. He got up and punched the air dozens of times.

"What... This power, this speed... It's incredible!" Akira exclaimed in delight. The strength he now possessed surpassed anything he could have imagined in his previous life as a professional fighter. To say he hadn't tasted true power before would be an understatement, but this was just too much for him to accept.

Jumping, kicking, jabbing—he used his previous combat experience, and he swiftly adapted to the capabilities of his newfound body.

"I'm liking this more and more." A devilish grin spread across his face. "Ahhh, this power, This is mad!"

Even his senses were amplified, particularly his sense of smell, hearing, and vision. They became sharper, making him more aware of his surroundings.

He spent an hour or so thoroughly testing his strength, agility, and other aspects of his newly acquired power.

An indulgent expression adorned his face, as if he had stumbled upon a treasure trove of insights.

Kaneki's innocent and cowardly face was gone; all that remained was a power-hungry man who would do anything to become stronger.

After Akira's outburst, he slowly calmed his excitement.

"I need to see if I can control my kagune."

Akira calmly observed his reflection in the mirror, his expression unwavering as his gaze fell upon the peculiar transformation that had taken place. Four slender tentacles emerged from his lower back, adorned with irregular, blade-like protrusions along their length. The pinkish hue of his kagune added an otherworldly touch to the scene.

Akira maintained composure, though one of his eyes revealed a transformation; his sclera turned black, casting a dark and ominous shadow over his face.

"Disgusting" he uttered, though his tone remained steady.

In an attempt to control his kagune, Akira discovered that it was very easy for him, as if the manipulation of his kagune was an instinct embedded within him.

"How did Kaneki even find problems with this?" he pondered aloud, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Once more, he examined his altered reflection, the four tentacles moving gracefully through the air.

"I look terrifying, much more horrific than in the story," he remarked, acknowledging the horrific change that he went through.

His observation was interrupted as the hunger resurfaced again and this time at a much higher intensity.

"I can't keep it up like this; I have to consume meat, human flesh, I can barely resist anymore."

With this in his mind, he retracted his kagune and changed into a black hoodie and pants which partially hid his face as he checked the time.

"3 am, it's the perfect time..."

His figure drifted into darkness, marking the start of his unfortunate path.