The trouble with creatures like Seimei and his kind was that if they loved once, they loved forever. they could love more than once, certainly, but the feelings never faded, they never changed. It was at the root of so many spurned lover tales when it came to angry fox spirits. Abe no Seimei was no less a victim to his heritage than any of those poor souls. the difference was that there was a light at the end of his tunnel, and no matter how far away everything seemed, it was closer with every minute.

"I waited. So what, I waited. So what. I don't want to think about it. A thousand years, a thousand seconds. It doesn't matter. It's over. My imprisonment has ended. I'm free," he whispered, laughing weakly against Kaoru's mouth before pulling back a fraction and shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. I'm being so terribly rude but I...It is...it's all so much. So much," the man gasped, clutching at his own chest and marveling at the pain there, so sharp that it crept into his throat. He felt like weeping again and couldn't quite understand why. Never had he felt such relief, even when Hiromasa survived so many battles. Nothing had ever afflicted him with so much conflict.