Night fell gradually upon Tokyo, the bustling, noisy city slowly settling into silence. Rush hour had long passed, and the flow of people on the streets was growing sparse.
After a day of hard work, some people chose to return to the warmth of their homes, while others opted for a drink with friends or coworkers to unwind.
On an already quiet street, a young man in a black overcoat walked alone. As he passed a dim alleyway, he suddenly turned and stepped inside.
Shortly after, a tall man with poorly dyed blond hair caught sight of this and gulped, hesitation flickering across his face.
His eyes darted around warily, as though on the lookout for something. In the end, he couldn't suppress his urge, licked his lips and quickly followed the disappearing figure.
"Meow! Meow!"
Several meows rang out. A small, snow-white cat with a stubby tail was happily licking at a stick of cat treats that gave off an enticing aroma.
Not far from the cat, on a wooden bench, sat the same young man in an overcoat from before. He leaned forward slightly, holding another stick of treats in his hand, and carefully brought it toward the cat's mouth.
"Easy there, little one. No need to rush," he said gently.
Despite the tender words, his handsome face remained expressionless.
A few minutes later, he stood up and tossed the empty cat treat wrapper into a trash bin. The bin itself was placed rather far away, sitting at the entrance of a small alley, whoever designed this layout clearly wasn't thinking.
While he was tossing the trash, that thuggish-looking man arrived on the scene as well.
The white, short-tailed cat arched its back and let out a sharp, irritated meow before nimbly leaping into the nearby bushes and vanishing.
"You like cats, little bro?" the man asked, nostrils flaring slightly as if trying to pick up a scent.
The sudden voice, along with the cat's screech, startled the young man. He turned his head to look at the newcomer, clearly uneasy.
"N-Not really... I just feed them sometimes," he replied timidly.
Upon hearing this, the man's lips curled into a chilling grin. A pair of blood-red kakugan immediately surfaced in his eyes.
"Well, little bro, I'm starving too. Mind letting me have a good meal?"
This man was no ordinary thug, he was a man-eating monster, a being known as a Ghoul.
The young man's face turned pale. He didn't even have time to scream before bolting in fear. Unfortunately however, the alley was a dead end.
He was fast, faster than expected, which made the Ghoul blink in slight surprise before he let out a few excited chuckles.
He knew this area like the back of his hand. It might not have been his personal hunting ground, but this guy had nowhere to run.
"I've been gnawing on rotten meat for months, I've had enough! Blame your bad luck, I wasn't even that hungry."
He gave chase, and the bright-red kagune burst forth from beneath his shoulder blades, shooting straight through the young man's chest.
However, the anticipated splatter of blood never came, instead, the youth's figure slowly faded like an illusion.
The Ghoul's eyes widened in shock as he watched the scene unfold.
From the shadows beside the trash bin, a crimson, sword-shaped kagune sliced through the air in a graceful arc, cutting clean across the man's neck.
Splurt-
A geyser of blood erupted as the Ghoul's head flew through the air, along with a chunk of flesh from his shoulder.
"What the hell? A Kagune? Is it another Ghoul?!"
His mind reeled as his eyes bulged open. He was certain he hadn't sensed any other humans or Ghouls.
His head had already been severed, but his body belatedly tried to react, his kagune still flailing in defense.
It was a classic case of:
Brain: I figured it out.
Body: Bullshit!
[You have slain a B+ class Ghoul]
[Talent Activated: Soul Devour. Permanently increased Mana by 7 points.]
"Tch. Still nervous, my cut was a little crooked," said a voice tinged with mild regret. It was the youth who had "fled" just moments ago.
"But it wasn't easy. It took me four tries walking through here to finally bait this one."
His name was Uesugi Ryu, a transmigrator.
Although waking up in the world of Tokyo Ghoul had been a tough pill to swallow, there was nothing he could do about it.
Scratching his head, Uesugi Ryu crouched beside the corpse and placed his hand on the kagune.
[Absorb?]
"Yes."
The crimson kagune vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.
[Energy increased by 9 points. Current Progress: 38/100]
"Still a long way to go..." Uesugi Ryu sighed softly.
No time to linger. He quickly left the alley.
The sword-shaped kagune in his hand was slowly dissipating as well, prompting him to frown.
"Looks like it's used up. It's not like I'll need it again anytime soon."
Uesugi Ryu had transmigrated with his own body. Logically speaking, he didn't have RC cells, so Ghouls shouldn't be interested in his flesh. But that didn't seem to be the case, most likely, his 'Mana' functioned similarly to RC cells in some way.
The kagune he was using had been harvested from slain Ghouls. By combining a Ghoul's kakuhou with Quinque Steel using special processing techniques, it was possible to craft powerful Quinques.
Kagune, once separated from a Ghoul's body, rapidly decomposed and only by using preservatives could this decay be halted, allowing the kagune to be stored long-term.
Kagune could be freely shaped and wielded by a Ghoul's will, almost like a manifestation of spiritual power. Quinques, however, lacked this organic connection. They needed to be stored in briefcases and operated via applied electrical signals or other stimuli.
In the end, it was all about stimulation. Uesugi Ryu, having read the manga and watched the anime countless times in his previous life, naturally drew some conclusions.
His experiments confirmed that Mana could replicate this effect. As for preservation, he simply stored the kagune in the system-provided inventory space, which existed outside the bounds of time, it was perfect for long-term storage.
This discovery was precisely what allowed Uesugi Ryu to kill Ghouls with such ease.
"Still, it's not as convenient as an actual Quinque... These things are basically consumables."
Because of the presence of the so-called "Non-Killing Owl," the manager of the Antique Café, 'Anteiku', Yoshimura Kuzen, the 20th Ward maintained a relatively peaceful order. Ghouls there typically fed on the corpses of suicide victims.
Although the taste left much to be desired, it was enough to survive on. Most Ghouls respected this unspoken rule, after all, staying alive was more important than indulgence.
Many of the Ghouls who moved into the 20th Ward were those who didn't want trouble and just wanted to live quietly. Of course, there were exceptions, like that one "purple-haired binge eater."
Even so, constantly eating rotten flesh was bound to make anyone restless. And really, the rules didn't forbid hunting altogether, they only banned mass hunting over short periods.
As long as the CCG didn't catch wind of it, occasional hunting was acceptable.
You couldn't expect every Ghoul to follow the rules perfectly. The occasional meal, a taste of fresh flesh now and then, it was within reason.
Aside from power, the only other pleasure Ghouls could pursue was the satisfaction of their taste buds. It wasn't rare to find epicurean Ghouls like Tsukiyama Shuu, who were obsessed with culinary finesse.
"If I wiped out that Gourmet Ghoul Restaurant..."
Uesugi Ryu couldn't help the flicker of excitement on his face at the thought before he glanced back slightly, admiring his handiwork.
At the alley's entrance, blood trickled out in a thin stream. The headless corpse lay sprawled on the ground and nearby, the severed head stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if it had witnessed something truly terrifying.