Chapter 1: My Name is Kaneki Ken
"Kaneki Ken, wake up..."
"Ugh... who's calling me? So loud... and where even is this...?"
Kaneki Ken stirred like someone who'd been asleep for an eternity. His mind was foggy and scrambled—like half his memories had been spun in a blender. As he forced his eyes open, a harsh fluorescent light stabbed at him from overhead.
"Agh—seriously?!" he winced, shielding his eyes with a groan. It took him a good minute just to sit up and blink away the daze.
Yeah... that's right. Kaneki Ken. But not that Kaneki Ken. Not the tragic, tortured half-ghoul you're probably thinking of. No, this was a different Kaneki—one who had been living a totally ordinary life as a middle schooler. Normal classes. Normal days. A normal love for fluffy slice-of-life anime.
Then Tokyo Gourmet aired... and his world crumbled.
Years passed. The hype died down. And by then, Kaneki had blossomed into a full-fledged college student—complete with a love for singing, dancing, and the occasional impromptu rap.
Then came the day he decided to skip class and hang out with his dream girl. That was the day fate said, "You know what? Let's roll the dice." And just like that, Kaneki Ken became a time traveler.
Now here he was—waking up in an unfamiliar hospital room with zero clue what year or dimension it was.
"Hello? Anyone there?" He called out—then paused.
Wait. That was Japanese.
His eyes widened. His hand shot to his mouth. "Hold up. I'm still speaking Japanese?! What the hell's going on?"
Everything hit him at once.
He was in a hospital. Speaking Japanese. In a world that definitely wasn't his.
"This... This isn't right!" Kaneki panicked, pupils trembling. "I was just a good, wholesome kid from a peaceful anime-watching household! How did I end up in a parallel world? And why do I feel like any second now, some math teacher is going to walk in and ask me what 1000 minus 7 is...?!"
And just like that, the haunting kelp-washing song started playing in his brain.
"Ah, you're awake!"
A voice snapped him out of his spiral. A cheerful pink-haired girl entered the room like she owned it, followed by a dark-skinned boy trailing behind her with a scowl that could crack cement.
"Uh... hi? Do I know you two?" Kaneki asked, squinting suspiciously.
"I'm Momoi Satsuki, a first-year at Teikō Junior High," the girl said brightly. "And this guy here is Aomine Daiki—he's kind of a big deal."
"Momoi... Aomine... Teikō...?"
Something about those names sent static through Kaneki's brain. Familiar, but not quite clicking.
"You recognize us?" Momoi tilted her head.
"Not really... the names just feel oddly familiar, but I can't place them," Kaneki admitted.
"Eh?! Don't tell me you lost your memory!" Momoi gasped, then shot a glare at Aomine. "Aomine! This is your fault!"
"Whoa, whoa—don't pin this on me!" Aomine protested, throwing up his hands. "All I did was bump into him on my bike while giving you a ride home! It wasn't that hard of a hit!"
"It's okay, really," Kaneki said quickly, seeing Aomine visibly sweat. "I just... woke up groggy. Nothing serious."
Momoi sighed like she'd aged ten years. "Well, alright. If you need anything, my number's in the bedside drawer. Don't be shy!" She turned to leave, tugging a grumbling Aomine behind her.
As soon as the door shut, the puzzle pieces in Kaneki's head snapped into place.
"Aomine Daiki. Momoi Satsuki. Teikō Junior High…"
His eyes widened in pure, stunned realization.
"Oh my god. I'm in... Kuroko's Basketball?!"
He nearly jumped out of bed.
"Oh thank god—I don't have to do math anymore!" Kaneki sobbed with relief, as if he'd been given a second life. "This is the happiest day of my—wait. Actually, the last time I was this excited... was the last time. Still counts!"
He flopped back onto the bed, eyes shimmering with hope. "Alright. I'm not a superpowered athlete. I'm not a genius. But I'm alive. And right now? That's enough."
Sure, he wasn't built like those basketball monsters. His old body could barely survive a bicycle accident, let alone a full-body screen from Murasakibara. He was no sports prodigy. No chosen one. Just a regular guy who'd somehow gotten a second chance.
And he'd take it.
"Forget systems and golden fingers and cheat codes," he told himself. "This isn't some overpowered time-travel adventure. I'll study. Work hard. Keep my head down. Life's about survival."
...
Pause.
"Wait a second," he muttered. "Why am I still thinking scientifically? I literally time-traveled. Shouldn't I have some kind of OP power by now? A golden finger? Anything?!"
As if summoned by his frustration, a sudden electric hiss rang out in the room.
"Hiss... hiss..."
Kaneki's head whipped around. He scanned the room. No short circuits. No bad wiring.
Then the noise got louder. Sharper.
"Hiss... System loading complete. World line scan complete. Body digitization complete."
Kaneki's jaw dropped. "I—I just said that as a joke! Did I actually awaken a system just by asking?!"
He clutched his chest, overwhelmed. "If I can manifest stuff like that... then I wish for a million dollars!!"
...
Silence.
"…Guess not."
Still—he had a system! That counted for something, right?
"Uh... Hello? System? You there?" He called into the void of his own mind, half-expecting it all to vanish like a dream.
"I am here." A clear, calm voice replied in his head.
"YES!" Kaneki fist-pumped. "System, buddy, pal—where's my newbie gift pack? Let's gooo! Load me up!"
…
Silence again.
The system said nothing—just quietly judged him from deep within his own brain.
Kaneki Ken, age unknown, status: newly reborn time traveler with no basketball talent, no cheat codes, and no shame.
(End of Chapter 1)
POWER STONE!!!?
Support me at patreon.com/Qsamabin