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It became a thing of a tradition, but it's solely because he was in love with him.
Everyday, the tall Oni would go visit the Housekeeper Extraordinaire- a title he gave his lover- of the Kamisato Clan. He didn't mind making his way through Chinju Forest and up the steps to the Kamisato Estate. After all, for someone like him, all that walking was nothing. He'd beat up a few hilichurls, bing bang boom, and arrive to the entrance to wait for Thoma.
Thoma would usually be waiting at the entrance and they'd both go off to spend time together in Inazuma City. They would spend time walking through the streets, talking to the various residents, occasionally bumping into Kujou Sara- which Thoma would usually have to pull Itto aside and tell him he shouldn't be threatening her with onikabuto duels-, meeting up with the other Arataki Gang members who considered Thoma a fellow member as well, dine at Kiminami Restaurant, or maybe go to Komore Teahouse and spend the evening together. Of course, Thoma would typically end up dragging Itto home after several drinks, but he loved the big man anyway.
The two had met at Inazuma's Irodori Festival, but it wasn't the most pleasant meeting. Itto being competitive decided to accept a duel with the local traveler and Thoma told them to go around helping others around the festival; the person with the most chores done would win a special drink- one that the Arataki Gang was dying to try. Itto was ultimately the winner- he's quite the hard worker- and took the drink in one go. Unfortunately, the drink had soybeans in it, and Itto was allergic to beans. After falling to the ground, Thoma took it to himself to take care of Itto until he was feeling better. He brought the Oni back to the Kamisato Estate, having explained to Kamisato Ayato and Ayaka what had happened.
Thoma tended to Itto in the state he was in until Itto was fully conscious to understand what happened. The big man remembers opening his eyes and seeing sparkling, green eyes looking back at him. Itto would be lying if he said he didn't feel a spark in him when he saw Thoma's eyes, but something then and there was felt. Thoma too would be lying if he hadn't taken interest to the man he was taking care of. There was something about Itto that made Thoma feel different, and he liked this different feeling.
What started out as a bromance would eventually lead to a romance. It was Thoma who made the first move and kissed the taller man when they were alone by the shore, taking in the nightly atmosphere and waves.
"You- woah! You kissed me!" the tall man exclaimed in surprise. Thoma just smiled and scratched the back of his head. "You talk too much, Itto. I like that. I like you. I just hope you like me too."
The ruby eyed man chuckled and winked. "Are ya kidding? I've liked ya since day one- day uno!"
"Yes, I have too. Now that we've been this way for so long, would you..." Thoma's voice trailed off. He was too shy to say the words, but Itto had other words in mind.
"Would I kiss you back? Ohoho, Thoma, you know I would in a heartbeat! I'd take this challenge any day~"
He kissed Thoma and the other put his arms around him. They let go and both chuckled.
"I was going to say if you would be my boyfriend, but I don't mind the extra kiss," the blond man told him.
And so that was that.
The two would normally only show affection in private, as Inazuma would not be too fond of them, but they would eventually tell some of their closest people about the news.
"Boss! That's great!" Mamoru exclaimed, hearing the news, "I knew you liked him!"
"You did? Haha, was it obvious?" Itto asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah boss! You've been eyeing him since day one! The rest of us simply betted on who would've made the first move!" Akira told him.
"Yeah, you made the first move, right boss?" Genta asked. Itto simply gave a nervous chuckled and cleared his throat. "My boys, you know I, Arataki 'Numero Uno' Itto, would indeed be the first one to make a move on another man like Thoma!"
"Wow! Really?!" the three members asked in unison.
Itto sulked in his seat. "Ha...no...it was Thoma who did it..."
For Thoma, he ended up telling Ayaka about it. She was quite understanding and very supportive of Thoma's decision to date Itto. She told him that she thought Itto would be the type of person to look out a lot for Thoma, and would do anything for him. Thoma just nodded because he knew Itto would never have bad intentions with him. Ayaka also brought up how Thoma did save Itto's life from those beans, so perhaps Itto made a personal oath to protect Thoma's own life because of this. The housekeeper did acknowledge this possibility and perhaps it was true. Itto was many things, but he would definitely make sure Thoma was okay, especially now that they were dating.
Today was a rainy day when Itto would be visiting Thoma. He did this everyday because he promised himself he would and everyday, Itto would bring something new to give to Thoma. Sometimes it was flowers, sometimes it was food, and sometimes he would bring along an onikabuto, because Itto wanted to show off a new one he had found that he really liked.
On this day, he brought along flowers with him. It was a special day after all- their 6 year anniversary. Itto had loved Thoma for this long, and he was still doing everything to prove this.
When he got to the steps, he saw Thoma there waiting for him.
"There you are. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up," the housekeeper joked.
Itto chuckled. "You know I wouldn't miss this day! Arataki Itto never and I mean- never- forgets!"
Thoma looked up and took a deep breath. "Looks like it's raining today. I'm sure that won't be a problem?"
"Nuh uh! Not a problem for me! In fact, I like the rain!" Itto boasted.
The blond man chuckled. "Does it not ruin your hair?"
The taller man scoffed and pulled out a comb. "These good looks can be solved with a quick fix, see? Good as new!"
Thoma just chuckled and gestured for Itto to sit under the nearby tree.
"So, what have you got to tell me about today?" Thoma asked him. The Oni pressed his lips and went into thought.
"Let's see...oh! The Gang and I helped finding a lost kitten today! Poor little guy was stuck in a tree! Of course, I managed to bring him down with no problem. Hmm...oh yeah! I battled with some kids using my latest onikabuto additions! Let's just say that this guy here won against those guys. Speaking of onikabutos, I saw Kujou Sara and demanded her for a rematch! She still won't agree to it! I guess she's too scared to lose against me!" Itto exclaimed.
"Itto...I told you to stop pestering her and to stay out of trouble!" Thoma told him. Itto just chuckled awkwardly. "At least...no jail time?"
The housekeeper sighed and chuckled. "Remember when she found out about us?"
Itto blushed. "Don't remind me..."
"She looked directly at you and then me and said, 'Just keep him out of trouble, will you?'" Thoma said.
"Yeah........I thought it would've been worse to be honest..." the Oni replied.
The two looked at each other and gave a soft smile. Itto was still in love with this man.
"Remember when Ayato found out?!" he asked Thoma. The blond man looked down. "Yes...he took it well, although, it's been said he did have a thing for me. I sure hope I did not end up breaking his heart."
The taller man just shuffled in his place and cleared his throat. "Well, he seemed to be fine afterwards. Not everyday that a big strong man like me comes in and swoops you up just like that!"
"I'm not your princess," Thoma said, but Itto chuckled. "On the contraire, I would be a dashing and good looking prince, wouldn't I~?"
"You would be, no doubt. Though, I'd say you're the princess," the blond man told him.
"W-what?! Why me?!" the Oni exclaimed. Thoma just laughed. "Itto, I did happen to save your life. We all know that princes come to rescue their princesses from danger. I just happened to be the prince in this scenario."
"Tch," Itto pouted, crossing his arms, "Well, I'd be a pretty, good looking princess too."
He looked down for a bit and then up at Thoma. "I know I've said it a lot before, but you really did save my life back then."
"It was the right thing to do, Itto. However, I was trying for a while to get to meet you. I had heard you were down at the Irodori Festival and decided to take that opportunity to see you in person. Haha, I guess it was love at first sight for me..." Thoma's voice trailed off.
"See, I know that my charm and personality can make any heart swoon~ I'm just glad it made yours swoon too~" Itto cooed.
The blond man blushed. He really did fall in love with the Oni at first sight, but he felt embarrassed to admit it. Still, if he hadn't visited the Irodori Festival, he wouldn't have met Itto, saved his life, and ended up being in a relationship with such a man.
"I'm glad I saved your life then. You were worth it."
Itto grinned, but the grin slowly faded as he looked down again. He would stay silent and listen to the rain around pitter patter around him. It was days like this he wished it rained, because it would hide something in particular.
Being here with Thoma and remembering a lot of things from the past was bittersweet. Truth be told, he wished this day wouldn't end. He wished he didn't have to leave soon. He wished he could stop time and just have it be so still. He wished he had done things differently. He wished...
"Do you remember the last day?"
Thoma looked at him and sighed. "Yeah. It was...it was tough."
"You saved my life back then. I made an oath to myself to protect yours. But-" Itto stopped himself. He couldn't take it anymore. He just felt his whole self collapse. He finally let it go.
He let all of those tears he had been holding back out. He was so glad the rain masked most of them, but he couldn't hold them in any longer.
"I failed you, Thoma. I couldn't even protect you when I had the chance. I couldn't even save your own life back then. I was too late when it happened. I wasn't expecting all those monsters to surround you. I thought you would have been okay. I regret not being there to save you. I'm sorry Thoma, I'm so sorry. I'm still madly in love with you. I miss you so much. I'm sorry, I'm sorry...please forgive me...I wish things could have been different."
Thoma interrupted him by pulling him into a kiss. Itto kissed back, and when they let go, he saw those same sparkling, green eyes look at him- the way same they did when he regained consciousness from the beans incident. He took Thoma's hand and got up, fixing himself.
"Don't apologize, Itto. I know it wasn't your fault. Bad things just happen. You couldn't possibly protect me all the time, it would've been hard, you know?"
He took Itto in an embrace. "But to know that you've still made it all this way, every day since then, to visit me and talk to me makes me so happy to know that you'll always love me no matter what. I still love you, Itto. I miss you every day too."
They looked at one another, still embraced, and Thoma let out that same smile Itto was in love with. "You are the most charismatic man I've met in my life. You're strong, you're witty, you're funny, and you always mean what you say. Even now, you still love me and visit me every day like you said you would. You're everything I could have ever asked for. Thank you, Itto."
The Oni just gave a quivering smile and hugged Thoma tightly. "I promise I'll keep doing this everyday. You can count on me. Arataki Itto will always keep his word!"
Thoma kissed him once more. This kiss was more firm and longer. It was the kiss that made it clear that the both of them didn't want to ever let go, but they did eventually.
The blond man took Itto's hand and walked to where they had met up today. The rain was slowly coming to an end, and there were breaks in the clouds now. Their visit was well spent, and Itto was sure as hell coming back tomorrow.
"I'll wait for you again tomorrow, same spot. Just don't get into trouble, okay?" Thoma told him. The taller man just grinned.
"Gotcha, you can count on me! Arataki Itto will stay squeaky clean and not get into trouble! That's a promise!" he exclaimed.
"That's my man. I will see you tomorrow and..." Thoma's voice trailed off for a bit before giving a gentle smile. "I'll see you soon."
A ray of sunshine was now peaking through one of the breaks in the clouds and a few birds could be heard chirping. Itto got the flowers he had brought along with him and knelt down to place them on the stone in front of him. He closed his eyes for a moment or two and opened them again.
"I'll see you soon, Thoma. Happy anniversary, my eternal love."