Nishiki Nishio

Nishiki Nishio (西尾 錦, Nishio Nishiki) is a ghoul whose original feeding ground was taken by Rize.

He is a sophomore in the Pharmaceutical Department of Kamii University and Kimi Nishino's boyfriend. He was heavily wounded in a fight with Ken Kaneki, but he eventually became a waiter at Anteiku and ally to Kaneki. Recently the CCG gave him the nickname Serpent (オロチ, Orochi)  and he is known for killing other ghouls after gaining information out of them. He was investigated by the CCG's Hirako Squad, while he was targeting Torso for unknown reasons.

Appearance
A slim young man whose distinctive traits are his glasses and messy hazelnut hair. Like other disguised ghouls, Nishiki dresses in normal casual clothes to blend in. He also wears two bangles that Kimi brought for them to match together. After the Aogiri Arc and into the Owl Suppression Operation. Nishiki cut his hair into a bowlcut hairstyle similar to the one he had during his first year at Kamii University. After the timeskip, Nishiki appears as a ghoul named "Serpent", donning a snake-like mask and wearing a hooded cloak. With his mask off, he appears to have gained a scar over his left eye during the timeskip and his hair has grown back. His expression has become much more melancholic after the timeskip.

Personality
Nishiki is a diligent student and prodigy. He has a rude, insensitive attitude with a knack for insults. He also demands that people younger than him show respect for their elders. Touka once insulted Nishiki and called him "sex-obsessed," in reference to his relationship with Kimi. Above his sharp tongue, he is a cautious individual who isn't keen on trusting others.

As a child, Nishiki had the same attitude as Kaneki. He questioned eating humans and questioned his sister's mindset. Nishiki deeply loved his sister and had a very close relationship with her.

After his sister was betrayed by her boss and killed by members of CCG, Nishiki became unable to trust people, especially humans but also ghouls, and hardly socializes with others. He acts like a lone wolf and attacks ghouls that seem to trespass in his feeding ground. He originally approaches his girlfriend Kimi to use her for his own ends.

After fighting Kaneki, Nishiki is weakened to the point where he resorts to eating Kimi in order to recover. However, after she accepts him as a ghoul, he cherishes Kimi more than anything else and has regained some trust in others. He joins Anteiku so that he is provided with food and doesn't have to kill humans to eat.

After the timeskip, Nishiki is primarily noted as a ghoul hunting other ghouls, showing little regard for the lives of both humans and ghouls alike. He is ruthless in dispatching those he considers troublesome or useless, killing those unfortunate enough to encounter him. When he encounters the Quinx Squad, his personality is further revealed to be surprisingly casual and laid-back, with a sarcastic edge. He makes mocking observations of his opponents, calling them names and littering his speech with foul language. Overall, he comes across as arrogant due to his great ability and doesn't seem to take others very seriously. However despite this arrogant attitude, he appears to be quite saddened seeing Kaneki in his current identity as Haise Sasaki.

Past
Nishiki and his sister grew up without their parents and lived in a shabby hut. When he was young, he was opposed to eating human meat. His sister obtained their food, and she started working to improve their living conditions.

Nishiki's sister admired the owner of one of the shops she worked at, but the shop owner betrayed her by selling her out to the CCG. Nishiki's sister was killed, and in revenge, Nishiki killed the shop owner. His sister left her savings to him from the family register; therefore asking him to live by the name Nishiki Nishio. Nishiki started studying at Kamii University. There, he approached Kimi Nishino. Originally intending to use her, he started going out with Kimi.

Prologue


Nishiki first appeared when he advised Kaneki to buy the instant coffee Blondy. Shortly afterwards, he killed Kazuo Yoshida because he was eating a corpse in his feeding ground. For the same reason, Nishiki also attacked Ken Kaneki. At that moment, Touka Kirishima appeared and declared that this place wasn't Nishiki's feeding ground, but Rize Kamishiro's. Nishiki retorted that this was originally his feeding ground until Rize came, but Touka, unfazed, responded that the feeding grounds would be re-alloted among the weaker ghouls and that it was his own fault for being too weak. Angered, Nishiki attacked Touka, but was immediately defeated.

When Kaneki and Hideyoshi Nagachika visited Nishiki to get the DVD of last-year's college festival, they disturbed Nishiki and Kimi Nishino when they were making out. Kaneki discovered that the Nishiki was the ghoul that attacked him shortly before. Nishiki told them to help him look for the material, but then claimed that he took the disk home.

He proposed that they should go to his home. In reality, he deceived Kaneki and Hide, took Hide out and started fighting Kaneki. He provoked Kaneki by standing on Hide's face with his foot, but Kaneki was no match for Nishiki with kagune. However, when Nishiki tried to kill Hide, Kaneki made his kagune emerge. With his kagune, Kaneki heavily injured Nishiki.

Gourmet Arc
Due to the wounds that Kaneki inflicted on him, Nishiki lost most of his strengths. When he went out to hunt, he was attacked by ghouls of the 14th ward who decided to eat him. Kaneki saved him from the ghouls and brought him to his apartment, while Nishiki was cursing Kaneki. When Kaneki wanted to leave, Kimi attacked Kaneki to protect Nishiki, thinking that Kaneki was the "narcissistic man"; however, Nishiki asked her to stop. Later, he came to Anteiku looking for Kimi. Kaneki told him that Tsukiyama had kidnapped her. They decided to face Tsukiyama together to save Kimi. Kaneki and Nishiki were no match for Tsukiyama, and even after Touka joined them, they were losing because Tsukiyama was the only one who could use his kagune. However, Nishiki's tenacity and Kaneki's idea to allow himself to be partly eaten by Touka led to victory against Tsukiyama.

After the fight, Nishiki has started working at Anteiku.

Aogiri Arc
Nishiki still had suspicions about Yoshimura and questions his motives but intends to take advantage of his offer to live without hunting humans. When Kaneki is captured, he patiently awaits Yoshimura's answer to the situation. When the manager explains that Kaneki is possibly dead, he is outraged by Yoshimura's cold response and volunteers to rescue him from Aogiri. During the raid in the 11th ward, Nishiki and Anteiku fights their way into the Aogiri base and learns of a new prisoner who is undergoing torture by one of Aogiri's superiors in a outer building. As Nishiki and Touka makes their way to investigate, Ayato ambushes Nishiki, injuring him and leaving him incapacitated with Ayato's subordinates. Shortly after, he is saved by Kaneki, who kills the Aogiri Tree members attacking him, and asked to protect Touka for him. Nishiki returns to Anteiku after the raid.

Owl Suppression Operation
In the months following the battle, Nishiki continues to work at Anteiku and offers Touka help in preparing for her college entrance exams. He has little patience with Roma Hoito, often berating and arguing with her.

While on errands with Touka, he runs into Tsukiyama and Hinami. He is immediately suspicious, and warns Hinami about how dangerous her companion actually is. Tsukiyama responses with mocking comments, berating the members of Anteiku for not being there for Kaneki and quickly departs with Hinami.

When Touka expresses interest in attending Kamii University, Nishiki offers to show her around since he has work to do. However, once they arrive on campus, he quickly abandons her to look around on her own. In preparation for the dinner on Anteiku, Yoshimura ordered Yomo to contact Nishiki and help him escape from the 20th Ward.

While the raid on Anteiku happened, Nishiki sat on the roof of a nearby building gazing over the 20th ward. Before Kaneki joined in the fray, Nishiki mentions that he'll be leaving the 20th ward so that he can survive, but not without saying goodbye to his girlfriend first. He witnesses Tsukiyama's breakdown and desperate attempt to prevent Kaneki from going into battle, and is left to watch over him. In the aftermath of the battle, Nishiki brings Tsukiyama canned coffee and worries over the future.

Torso Investigation
While the Quinx were investigating Torso, Nishiki as Serpent interrogates another ghoul and asks him about Torso. The cornered ghoul is then killed by Serpent after having revealed that he knew nothing.

When Torso was finally cornered by the CCG, Serpent appears and tells the investigators that the capture of Torso is called off. He observes that his opponents are from the Quinx Squad, and expresses his disgust with the experiments CCG has been performing -- noting they're no different from Aogiri. With this, he declares he will "play" with them and launches an attack, wounding Kuki Urie with a kick. He suggests that they could become a problem in the future, and decides to kill them just in case. Ginshi Shirazu and Kuki Urie both attack with their respective kagune, but are unable to land a single blow and quickly defeated. Serpent notes their weakness and mocks them, calling them "imitations" of a real ghoul. He then notices Tooru Mutsuki nearby and prepares to attack him, but Shirazu ambushes Serpent with a close-range attack. Unaffected, he prepares to finish the three investigators off with his kagune when Haise Sasaki arrives and blocks his attack.

Serpent mocks Sasaki as another fake, but is brought up short by something about him. They fight briefly, with Serpent using his kagune and Sasaki using both his kagune and quinque. The two fight evenly for a time, but Serpent eventually gains the upper-hand and kicks his foot through Sasaki's stomach. When Sasaki recovers, Serpent notes that he is far more interesting than his subordinates, but is surprised when Sasaki cuts his kagune with his own. As Sasaki relentlessly attacks, he goes on the defensive, noting that Sasaki's strikes have become stronger. Distracted by Sasaki's attacks, Serpent is caught unaware as he is impaled in the stomach by Sasaki's kagune, which he had hidden underground to trap him. Serpent is then repeatedly stabbed in the stomach by Sasaki's tentacles before being thrown. Realizing who he's fighting, Serpent says "I'll die", quoting the words he'd said the last time he fought Kaneki. As Sasaki is about to kill him, he remarks that Kaneki just can't seem to be saved, revealing his face to Sasaki. Sasaki subconsciously recognizes him, which causes him to lose control of his kagune. Nishiki uses the distraction to retrieve his mask and flee, apologizing to Kaneki as he does.

Post-Auction
Nishiki is at :re with Touka, Yomo, and Uta discussing what to do about Kaneki.

Rose Extermination
Nishiki is present when Tsukiyama visits :Re to discuss Kaneki, and expresses opposition to his plans. He sides with Touka, pointing out that if Sasaki were to regain his memories, he would lose his current life and be hunted down by the CCG.

His Sister
Nishiki loved his sister very much. Growing up poor, she was the only family he ever had. Her death greatly shook him, and he would grow up resenting humans because of his sister's death. It wasn't until meeting Kimi that he would regain his trust in others.

Ken Kaneki
At the beginning, Nishiki shows enmity toward Kaneki as he thought Kaneki was invading his feeding ground, thus showing his strength to intimidate the weaker ghoul. He maintained his hate towards Kaneki after the latter mortally wounded him. However, after Kaneki helped him save his girlfriend from Tsukiyama, he joined Anteiku and became more like a close friend to Kaneki. He becomes more concerned for Kaneki and participated in rescuing him from Aogiri, telling him to be careful when Kaneki decides to leave Anteiku. When he recognizes Kaneki now living as Haise during their battle, he appears to be saddened at his friend's current state and apologizes to him. However despite being saddened by Kaneki's change, he still considers him a friend and did not wish to force him back into the violent ghoul world he was in before.

Touka Kirishima
Nishiki initially saw Touka as a rival in ghoul strength, and was hostile towards her. After joining Anteiku, they become friendlier to each other, though they frequently argue and use foul language on each other. Despite this, they share common ground in their concern for Kaneki, and were the most vocal proponents for his rescue from Aogiri. They are also similar in that both become more reluctant to kill humans over the course of the series because of their respective relationships with humans. After the timeskip, Nishiki is seen as a frequent customer in :re, where he continues to trade insults with Touka. Both show concern for Haise, and believe it is best if he does not remember his past as Kaneki.

Hideyoshi Nagachika
He has a very casual senior-junior type relationship with Hide but hardly has any emotional attachment to him, even attempting to kill him out of fear of Hide's observant and investigative nature. After joining Anteiku, he continues to treat him casually, but no longer sees him as a threat to eliminate.

Kimi Nishino
When Nishiki first met Kimi, he wanted to use her. He continued seeing her and after a while both eventually dated, although he did not trust her because of his distrust in humans. It was only after she lets Nishiki bite her shoulder and declares her love that he decides to trust her and admit that he loves her back. Both care deeply for each other, with Kimi working to nurse him back to health and Nishiki risking his life in order to save her from Tsukiyama.

Shuu Tsukiyama
Nishiki began hating Tsukiyama ever since he kidnapped Kimi to have Kaneki feed on her while Tsukiyama eats Kaneki. Over the course of the series, Nishiki remains distrustful of him, but never as hateful as he was during the Gourmet Arc. After the Owl Suppression Operation, Nishiki offers Tsukiyama, in a depressive state, coffee so that he doesn't die from starvation. When Tsukiyama visits :re, Nishiki disagrees with his plan to bring back Kaneki's memories.

Torso
Nishiki targeted Torso for unknown reasons.

Powers and Abilities
Ghoul Physiology: Nishiki is a Bikaku Ghoul, which grants him increased regeneration and durability, as well as agility and strength apart from his Bikaku Kagune.


 * Bikaku Kagune: While adept at combat, Nishiki uses his wits rather than brawn when in battle. His kagune pushes his foot to increase the power of his kicks even further. However, his kagune seems to only enhance his leg strength and isn't viable for any other task. As a typical Bikaku user, Nishki makes certain care that his trump card kagune isn't exposed. After the timeskip, Nishiki has completely mastered his kagune's abilties. It can vary in length and size, ending in a double-pronged tip. Rather than wrapping his kagune on his leg to strengthen his kicks, Nishiki now uses the kagune as a weapon by itself.
 * Superhuman Durability: He was able to sustain numerous wounds from Tsukiyama and still maintain consciousness.
 * Superhuman Strength: In :re, his strength was vastly increased, being able to break Urie's kagune with a single leg kick.
 * Superhuman Agility: Nishiki was agile enough to shrug off multiple attacks from members of Quinx.

Trivia

 * Nishiki likes pretending to be human, chemistry lectures and experiments, and Kimi.
 * Nishiki enjoys drinking the coffee Blondy.
 * Nishiki claims that "If I really went all out with it, even Touka or Yomo wouldn't be able to beat me."
 * He is never seen wearing a personal mask in the manga, but in the anime, he is seen briefly wearing one. The artbook Zakki includes designs for it, revealing it to be snake-themed. In the manga he started to wear his Serpent mask after he learned that the other ghouls gave him the nickname "Serpent" which seems he was not aware of judging from his reaction when he asked if this was what he is being called now.
 * His nickname, Orochi, is short for Yamata no Orochi (八岐の大蛇, literally "8-branched giant snake"), who is a dragon in Japanese mythology and folklore.
 * While the reason for Nishiki targeting Torso is yet to be explained it can be assumed it have something to do with Kimi as she had a scar on her shoulder and Torso is targeting women with scars.
 * Nishiki's name most likely comes from Nishikihebi (錦蛇), which means Python, furthering his snake motif.
 * Nishiki seems to have a habit of saying the word kuso (クソ, crap)
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, he's referenced as the "Six of Spades".

Quotes

 * To Kimi (indirectly - after she accepts him as a ghoul): “Trusting a human is difficult...but...maybe being betrayed by you wouldn't be so bad.”
 * To Kaneki (while being stabbed by his kagune): "Stop it! Stop it you fucking idiot! I'm dying, dying, dying, dying, dying, dying, dying, dying dying"
 * To Kaneki: "Like this everything is abruptly coming to a stop, huh? The normal days which seemed natural will crumble in an instant. The end... always comes in the blink of an eye"
 * To Kaneki (after his mask was taken off) "No matter where you go, you're hopeless, Kaneki."
 * To Tsukiyama (upon hearing his decision to bring Kaneki's memories back): "You're still full of crazy talk… You have gotten skinnier, but you're still the same on the inside."

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