"Kaoru...I have waited centuries for the barest possibility of the whisper of a dream that I could not prove to anyone was real," the onmyoji sighed, turning his hand over to cup Kaoru's, thumb caressing gently.
"I never claimed to be a good man. I was never precisely a hero, and I am the sum of my nature. This is absolutely the beginning, but I have no intention of there being any end to this story. I intend to have every single one of those long and dismal years paid for in full. There will be no mortal cramming of centuries into a handful of decades. You will never be gone from my life again. Not for more than the span of time it takes to travel or the days I am forced to endure while you entertain friends and family from which I may be kept secret or you pursue your education as humans do. That is my oath," the kitsune stated with a gravitas born of a life far too long in the living.
He meant every word. He had watched countless friends grow old and die over the centuries while he waited, realizing with far too much clarity that for all his waiting, he would have Kaoru for too short a time. It simply wouldn't do. Something would have to change, but they had time. Time for Kaoru to understand, to grow, to age finely like the magnificent creature he was and time for Seimei to figure out what to do.
Time made villains of all men. Seimei was always a bit selfish and the centuries alone hadn't improved that quality, but at least it was a bitterness tempered by love. Overwhelming, possibly, but honest.
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"I never claimed to be a good man. I was never precisely a hero, and I am the sum of my nature. This is absolutely the beginning, but I have no intention of there being any end to this story. I intend to have every single one of those long and dismal years paid for in full. There will be no mortal cramming of centuries into a handful of decades. You will never be gone from my life again. Not for more than the span of time it takes to travel or the days I am forced to endure while you entertain friends and family from which I may be kept secret or you pursue your education as humans do. That is my oath," the kitsune stated with a gravitas born of a life far too long in the living.
He meant every word. He had watched countless friends grow old and die over the centuries while he waited, realizing with far too much clarity that for all his waiting, he would have Kaoru for too short a time. It simply wouldn't do. Something would have to change, but they had time. Time for Kaoru to understand, to grow, to age finely like the magnificent creature he was and time for Seimei to figure out what to do.
Time made villains of all men. Seimei was always a bit selfish and the centuries alone hadn't improved that quality, but at least it was a bitterness tempered by love. Overwhelming, possibly, but honest.