🍂♥︎ Autumn Love ~ A Tojoshi (Ryoma Hoshi x Kirumi Tojo) fanfiction ♥︎ 🍂

🍁 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 11 ~ 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓼 𝓐 𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓮 🍁

Weeks. It had been weeks since that party. 

Tojo had gotten a good few phone calls from her 'partner', which she confidently ignored. Sometimes, Hoshi would snatch the phone out of her grasp and give the man on the other end of the receiver a piece of his mind. 

His first friendship in years. It was more of a one sided crush, or at least thats what he assumed. If Kirumi truly loved him deep down in her heart, she was wicked brilliant at hiding it. 

Which arose the fear of rejection inside of him. Without truly knowing how she felt about him as a person, he couldn't ever bring himself to confess. 

There were a few factors he still considered. She was unaware of the truth of his past, and for some, that can be a major turn-away. As his red soled shoes crunched against the concrete, thoughts swirled in his mind.

"Are you well, Ryoma?"

A feminine voice from above. His trance snapped, his gaze looking up at who spoke. Walking by his side, his only friend, Kirumi Tojo. 

He took in a soft breath of the fall air, the scent of street foods from the bakery down the street filling his lungs. He was adorned in his usual outfit, but Tojo had insisted she wear her sweater. It was a soft cream color, which she matched with pale blue jeans. 

Hoshi had to admit, even if she wasn't doctored up in her usual dress, and her hair was a bit frizzed from the outside, she was just as lovely in her casual wear. The two of them were taking a weekend stroll through the central park, crunching leaves under their shoe soles and speaking on miscellaneous matters. 

"Yeah, Im fine." He replied, taking out the box of candy cigarettes from his jacket pocket and replacing the existing cigarette. 

"Well, do you wish to sit down?" She questioned in return, gazing at his legs, which were shaking under his feet marginally with anxiousness. 

"Hmph.. I don't care. I know trees give good shelter, plus the leaves are comfortable seats." He responded, twirling the cigarette between his fingers as he spoke. 

"Then we shall rest." She nodded her head in responds and swerved off the pathway, her shoes meeting the freshly mowed grass. He did the same, having to jog a bit to catch up with her. 

She settled underneath a sturdy oak, patting the grasses next to her while gazing up at him, welcoming him to her side. He lowered his head, placing the candy cigarette between his lips and settling his hands in his pockets, the warmth of his body heat radiating on his cool skin. He slumped down next to her, gazing down at his lap. 

"Im quite curious Ryoma.. why do you push others away from you?" She questioned, giving him a calm look. 

He huffed out a bit of air. It was now or never. 

"Because Im a killer, I informed you of this when we first met at the coffee shop that I was unsafe." 

She shook her head, but didn't seem fully defeated. "I want to know what you did Hoshi." She responded to his usual.  

He heaved a heavy sigh, pushing his back up against the oak. "The mafia. I slaughtered a mafia organization in the name of my loved ones." He responded quietly, solemness filling the air. 

"Your loved ones you say?" Her tone suggested she didn't seem bothered, but he wasn't for sure of that fact, but she was mystified. "Are they in good condition?" She asked, oblivious. 

He snapped the candy cigarette between his jaws at her question, a bit of the dust falling to his jacket. His eyes closed, his voice despondent and empty. 

"They're dead." 

This caused Tojos breath to hitch. He let his eyes open slowly, gazing unevenly up at her. Her unruffled, generous expression had faded, and in its place settled tenseness and concern. 

"I apologize." She broke eye contact at that. "I hope they are resting peacefully." 

"Don't worry about it." He sighed, slouching slightly. "Its not like you knew, you were just curious and would ask what any other person would." 

He felt something warm wrap around him and begin to rub his back. He gazed over and noticed Tojo was rubbing his back therapeutically. 

"What.. are you doing exactly?" Was his in the moment response. He felt warmth rush up to his cheeks. 

"You.. appeared as if you needed it." She responded, he noticed her peachy cheeks were tinted pink. This made him feel a bit more comfortable, as he chuckled warmly. 

"I.. am not going to doubt that." He gazed up at her with his empty voids. "But... what makes you care so much about me?" He questioned. 

"I can't just leave you to care for me alone. I need.. to repay you for being there for me, Hoshi." She averted his gaze, noticing as her blush grew more noticeable. 

"You don't need to repay a criminal like me.. its not worth it." He heaved, feeling as Tojo tightened her grip around his small body. 

"In my opinion, it truly is worth it Ryoma." She began, keeping her grip firm and comforting. "You may think that your life has no purpose, that you are wrapped in chains, being ripped back into a void of nothing, but that is quite untrue. You need to find something worth living for."

He gazed up at her, uncertainty written on his pale face. "Hmph.. like thats ever going to find me soon." He huffed. 

"It will. I promise my life on it." She said, hovering her free hand over her heart. Her face gradually was getting more flushed as she spoke; the blush pink slowly mixing with warm tints of red. 

"How could you ever keep a promise like that?" He questioned. "If thats what you are promising your life on, you should already be buried under a headstone." Hoshi shot back, not noticing his own face was flushing from her grip. 

"It may sound illogical at the exordium, but it is not." Her voice was beginning to sound... broken. As if she was forcing out her words through walls of embarrassment. 

"Hmph.. how is it not illogical? Just face it Tojo, you can't save me." He went to move her arm, but he only felt her grip tighten. 

"I am not going to let you speak this way anymore, Ryoma. From now on, I will make myself your reason to stay on your two feet." She declared with a new surge of confidence, but the flush from the maids cheeks refused to fade. 

"How are you going to do that... Geez, why would anyone actually want to do something like that?" He questioned, gazing down at his lap yet again. 

It was blurted out  fortuitously, in the heat of the moment. As the words left the Maid's lips, his chest tightened. His heartbeat rose to the clouds, his face flushing and growing warm to the point of sweat forming on his forehead. 

He wasn't ready for it, but he was all at the same time.

"Because I love you Ryoma Hoshi, and my wish is for you to want to live again."

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Wow, I lied. Publishing drafts for comfort and because this story literally blew up? Yes,,

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Well Im back, painfully of course.
If you were not aware, I posted on my conversations about personal life affecting my mood to a great extent, so thank you all for the support and patience when it came to forcing this chapter out. For more information, one of my best friends was recently admitted to the Hospital, and we are unsure of her current status, so please bare with me as I am not in a good place at the moment.

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On the brighter side, I have a partner! Their name is Trane, and I adore them to pieces. So, I guess thats a plus! If you wish to see the fanart I drew for us, I do not mind sharing! 

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For now, thats all I have to say! Please stay safe everyone, wear your masks and wash your hands!! Most importantly, stay tuned!

~Eggo