Chapter 6

Touka drives Kaneki's head into a wall and, seeing his body left unmarked, confirms that he is a ghoul. She cuts him down for belonging to neither humans nor ghouls and tells him that if he insists on clinging to his human side he should starve himself to the brink. Hunger, she warns, is a living hell for a ghoul, one that will eventually reduce him to raw instinct.

The words leave Kaneki frightened of a lonely future until a message from Hide, once again offering his Asian History notes, reminds him that he still belongs somewhere: at Kamii University beside his friend. He returns to class wearing an eye patch to hide the kakugan he cannot yet control, feeling steadier after the human flesh Touka gave him but still gnawed by hunger.

Hide fills him in on the coming school festival and introduces him to the senior planning committee, then deflects an offer for Kaneki to join, knowing crowds unsettle him. When Hide notices how pale and underfed his friend looks, Kaneki privately fears that becoming a ghoul would cost him this friendship. Sent to fetch a festival DVD from Nishiki Nishio, the pair blunder into him alone with his girlfriend Kimi Nishino. The scent of coffee tells Kaneki this is the same ghoul from his earlier feeding ground, and though Nishiki flashes quiet hostility, Kaneki marvels at how seamlessly he passes among humans.

Touka confirms Kaneki's ghoul nature and lays out the horror of a ghoul's starvation. Hide's friendship draws Kaneki back to Kamii and a sense of belonging. Kaneki recognizes Nishiki Nishio as the ghoul from his first feeding ground and sees how convincingly a ghoul can live among people.

Under the Japanese title 帰巣 (Kiso), this sixteen-page Volume 1 chapter ran in issue 2011-46 on October 13, 2011, between Chapters 5 and 7. It deepens Kaneki's early struggle to reconcile his humanity with his new hunger.