Notes: This is a Tokyo Ghoul AU, meaning it's darker than my other Komamiki stories. It does contain mention of cannibalism. There is also mention of past Junkomikan.

Strawberry Jam

"Y-you can eat me…If you'd like… N-not that I taste any good…", she had offered him, that night one month ago.

Tsumiki Mikan, age twenty-two, was a nurse at Hope's Peak Hospital. She was also a Ghoul.

Ever since landing the job, she had been feeding off the corpses of deceased patients, labeling the files as 'amputee' in order to avoid suspicion. It had been working so far, but the fear being caught was becoming increasingly real.

This, and a 4am craving, had led her to leave her warm bed and attempt to go out hunting that night.

No matter how warm the bed was, it still somehow always felt colder these days anyway. Before she landed the hospital job, her ex had done all the hunting. That was partly what had led to break up- Junko had continually attempted to teach the meeker girl how to hunt, but Tsumiki had had too much difficultly with her methods. The easiest way for female ghouls to catch prey was through seduction, something that Tsumiki was abysmal at. Around the same time, Junko's killings had become increasingly violent, often eating parts of the men while they were still alive. It troubled the other ghoul, and at the same time Junko grew more and more frustrated with her.

The break up had been mutual and now Tsumiki found herself wandering around back of the hospital, hoping to successfully hunt on her own for the first time. She hadn't meant to head this way but, mind occupied, her feet had taken her to the place they knew best.

She sniffed the air around the dumpster- It didn't smell like any human remains had accidentally thrown away tonight. She was losing her nerve and would have loved to just grab an errant toe and call it a night.

Suddenly, the back door swung open, and a white haired man in a lab coat shuffled out, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

She recognised him as the doctor who worked in the children's ward during the night shift. She had only met him once or twice before.

"Tsumiki…san? I thought you were day shift?" Komaeda rubbed his eyes once more.

"K-Komaeda-san? Um..uh…"

Junko's hunting lessons flashed through her head, but no… it was time to do things her way.

The back of her blouse shredded with an audible rip, as she unleashed her kagune. An ukaku type, it shone and glistened in the dark, like the wing of a firefly.

She lunged toward him, striking the man down before he could react.

Tsumiki gingerly approached the body. A stream of crimson trickled from the corner of his lips. His arm had been sliced clear off.

"Nnn…"

The female ghoul jumped backward with a yelp as the 'dead' man's eyes fluttered open.

"You're very fast…Tsumiki-san… I guess something like this was bound to happen to a half rate ghoul like me..."

She hissed as teeth sank into her shoulder.

"You…taste amazing, Tsumiki-san…" The ghoul swallowed the chunk of flesh, then looked up at her, blood-drenched mouth and chin in stark contrast to his white hair. "I hope you never have to taste me. I'm probably all bitter stringy…haha…" he chuckled weakly, before nipping off another bite.

Satisfied, Komaeda slid off the bed, and hurried into the bathroom. He returned with a cool, damp towel, before settling back down, and wiping the blood from the girl. Her wounds were beginning to heal already, but still not as quickly as when the two had first began this arrangement one month ago. She really would have to get better at hunting very soon…

His scent had been so weak that time that Tsumiki had mistook him for a human. It turned out that he hadn't been eating, attempting to commit suicide through starvation. As a doctor, he had seen so much hope in the children that he helped to save. They all deserved to live more than he did. His parents had been killed by the Doves years ago, and he had failed to make any connections with other ghouls; his particular interest in the hope exhibited by humans had always made them uncomfortable at best.

Komaeda continued to clean the blood off the other ghoul, moving her pink bra strap over slightly, in order to sop up the red that had run under.

"Um, don't you think, that maybe, it just might be a waste of blood to just wipe it up like that?"

"Someone like me shouldn't take more than he needs," the white-haired ghoul smiled pleasantly, face still covered in blood. The effect was almost comical, like the red smile of clown makeup.

"I really can't thank you enough, Tsumiki-san for taking me in like this, and allowing me to have such delicious meals." He finally began to wipe his own face with the towel.

After Komaeda had explained his situation, lying in the dirt, unfocused eyes looking up at her, Tsumiki realised that this was someone who needed her. Junko had seemed to glean some enjoyment from the other girl's presence, but she had never truly needed her for anything. Tsumiki had felt so useless when they were together.

She watched as Komaeda struggled into an upright position, reaching for the severed arm, which he managed to grab after some struggle. He sniffed it, then ran his tongue over it curiously.

Noticing the girl watching him so intently, he held the appendage out to her instead, "Did you want it?" he asked.

This was without a doubt, someone who needed her. There was no way he'd regenerate that arm on his own, even if did eat the severed one for fuel. He had gone far too long without eating before now.

"You, uh, missed a spot…" Tsumiki pointed a shaky finger toward his bare chest.

"Hm? Where?"

He was an extremely neat person, which was also somewhat odd for a ghoul. He never liked getting blood on his clothing, and was always sure to clean up their bodies straight away after a feeding session.

"Um…r-right here…" the female ghoul leaned forward hesitantly, hands on the bed on either side of his thighs, and swiped her tongue quickly along the dots of blood. He was right- she did taste pretty good. Who would have thought?

Turning away in embarrassment, she tried to remember one of the topics she had prepared to talk about. Silence was so uncomfortable, especially after such intimate times.

"Komaeda-san?"

"Yes?" he replied, beginning to pull his shirt back on.

"H-have you ever thought about human food? The taste, I mean…"

"Of course. Sometimes I'd watch the kids at the hospital each their meals. They never looked very happy at dinner, but at breakfast, sometimes they'd smile."

"Oh? Is that so… have you ever um, thought, about what human food I might taste like?" she asked, still seated on the bed, legs folded underneath her, not meeting his gaze.

Komaeda laughed. "Well, at breakfast, the kids would get toast, with strawberry jam. They told me it was very sweet and they seemed to like it best. I think that you would taste like strawberry jam, Tsumiki-san," he declared before pulling her in for a kiss.

The end