Sankou

Sankou comes across as an unremarkable young woman with straight black hair kept in a traditional Japanese style. She favors relaxed clothing, often long shirts, and tends to wear a sour look on her face.

Reserved by nature, Sankou says little but watches closely, piecing together a great deal from what she observes. Those she respects find her a valuable source, since she freely passes along gossip and the findings of her own quiet investigations.

Years before the main events, Sankou attends Seinan Gakuin High School alongside Shuu Tsukiyama, who dubs her Miss Ikaru. At Kamii she overhears talk that Chie Hori has photographed Tsukiyama while he feeds, and she remarks that despite Chie's loud reputation on campus, he had never registered the girl as anything worth his notice. She also points out that Chie funds her costly camera gear by selling pictures online.

When the Occult Research Club later fixes its attention on ghouls, Sankou and Kiyama press Hideyoshi Nagachika over whether Ken Kaneki might be one. Hide joins the club to throw them off the trail and is introduced to Cain, a prominent occultist. Cain leads the members on a nighttime tail of Kaneki, deliberately loses them in the alleys, then reveals himself as a ghoul and attacks. As he chases Hide toward patrolling investigators, Sankou ambushes and knocks Hide out, thanking him under her breath, and the group later wakes safely at the university none the wiser. Once Hide plants snacks in Kaneki's bag to clear him, she strikes Kaneki's name from the club's list of suspected ghouls. Soon after, she meets Touka Kirishima and Kaneki at the library, admitting that Cain had been blackmailing her and warning Kaneki to be wary of Hide.