"Times lines, alternative realities. Maybe I wasn't even supposed to exist in yours," Seimei observed, looking off distantly with a thoughtful expression. It had occurred to him many times over the centuries that he wouldn't find his Kaoru. It frightened him, but not as much as what he had planned to do if he didn't. If Kaoru hadn't come to him, Seimei intended to go in search of the teen himself. He would meet that world's version of the boy and commit himself to protecting and enriching Kaoru's life from a distance. To live near him, but apart from him.

It would have killed him, in time. No Kitsune soul could bear the weight of that sorrow forever, but it would have been worth it just for a little while near the boy he loved more than anything. More than his magic, more than his heritage.

"It worked, at least in part. I can honestly say in nearly one thousand years I've never seen any evidence to the contrary."