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. Aftter the Aogiri Arc and into the Anteiku Raid. 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 persons 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 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 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.

Anteiku Raid
In the months following the battle, Nishiki continues to work at Anteiku and offers Touka help in preparing for her college entrance exams. He is shown to have 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
Serpent is first shown cornering another ghoul and asking him if he knows anything 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 him 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.

He begins to mock Sasaki as another fake, but is brought up short by something about him. They begin to fight, with Serpent dodging his attacks and landing a powerful kick that throws Sasaki back. Realizing how powerful his opponent is, Sasaki brings out his kagune in preparation to fight. The two are evenly matched, though Serpent is able to gain the upper-hand and kicks his foot through Sasaki's stomach. This causes the Investigator's demeanor to change, behaving more like his old self and suddenly attacking with greater strength. He destroys Serpent's kagune twice and then impales him through the stomach with several tentacles, before throwing him to the ground. Wounded and unmasked, Serpent laughs and states that "I'll die", quoting the words he'd said the last time they fought. Sasaki is shocked upon seeing his face, briefly recognizing Serpent as Nishiki Nishio -- who sadly remarks that Kaneki can't seem to be saved. This causes Sasaki to begin losing control, allowing Nishiki to retrieve his mask and flee.

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

Rosewald Investigation
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. It is her death that resulted from a betrayal from a human friend that sparked his great distrust in humans.

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 weaker ghouls.

However, after joining Anteiku, he became more like a close friend to Kaneki.

Touka Kirishima
Though he initially saw her as a rival in ghoul strength, and frequently argues with her in foul language, they eventually came to terms and close friends in supporting 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.

Kimi Nishino
After meeting Kimi, when she left her change in the vending machine, he tells himself that he can use her to his advantage. They're not often shown in romantic situations, other than in chapter 6, when Nagachika and Kaneki walk in on them kissing. (In chapter 43, however, during Nishiki's flashbacks, they are shown sitting in his room together. Nishiki is drinking coffee, shirtless, and Kimi is laying under a blanket, and also appears to be shirtless.) Before, he wanted to use her, but after she lets Nishiki bite her shoulder and declares her love, he stops denying that he does, in fact, love her back.

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 Anteiku raid, Nishiki offers Tsukiyama, in a depressive state, coffee so that he doesn't die from starvation.

Karao Saeki
Nishiki is currently targeting Karao for unknown reasons.

Powers and Abilities
Nishiki is able to use a bikaku kagune. He is strong enough that most ghouls avoid fighting him, but isn't a match for Touka or Rize. After the timeskip, he is shown as a powerful Ghoul estimated to be at least S-rated, making him a deadly threat to Ghouls and Investigators alike. Not only does he have considerable strength, he is exceptionally agile and shrugs off attacks from the members of Quinx. He is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, with a strong preference towards kicks or striking with his kagune. His leg strength is such that he was able to break Urie's kagune with a single kick. After the timeskip, he is powerful enough to handle multiple investigators at the same time.


 * Bikaku Kagune: While adept at combat, Nishiki uses his wits rather than than brawn when in battle. He leads his opponents to a false sense of security and initiates an ambush. His fighting style is leg-oriented as his proud kicks does a impressive damage that he claims "Even Touka or Yomo wouldn't be able to beat me (Nishiki)." His Kagune is a Bikaku that is shaped like a C-shaped tentacle that 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. His kagune now closely resembles the body of a snake. 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.

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.” (In Japanese: 人を信じるのは難しい… けど…お前えになら裏切られてもいいかも. Hito o shinjiru no wa muzukashii...kedo...omae e ninara uragira rete mo ii kamo.)
 * 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 (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.