It's been a while, be sure to reread the first chapter so you aren't confused.

Chapter Two: A Long Time

Lilian went into shock as she stared at the spot where Kevin once was. She was hyperventilating as tears streamed down her face. Guilt, shame, and horror ravaged her mind.

"I killed him! I killed him! I killed him! I killed him! I killed him!"

So lost was she in her despair that she didn't notice the small, human-shaped eruption of black flames right next to her. The flames dissipated, revealing Kevin safe and sound, he was about to say something but stopped the moment he saw the sheer distress on Lilian's face. He acted immediately and got in front of her putting his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at him. A scream nearly tore from her throat on contact, but she stopped the moment she saw his face.

Her eyes widened as she realized who she was looking at. "K-Kevin…?"

She gasped as he hugged her. "Yeah, I'm here sweetheart. I'm fine, see? Just a bit of a hiccup, nothing serious." He brought her up to her feet. "Come on. Let's go to bed, you need some rest."

She didn't know what was going on. She didn't even know if this was real or not. Nothing, nothing comes back from the Void once it's consumed. But she didn't care, he was here again and the thought of losing him… as if he'd disappear the moment he left her sight…

"B-But..."

"I'm not going anywhere, Lilian." He said soothingly. "I'm going to be right here, right with you."

The thunderous beating of her heart began to calm down. "Okay… okay..."

Kevin guided her to the bedroom before tucking both of them in. As the two laid their heads against the pillows, Kevin began wiping away her tears with his hand.

"You're alive..." she whispered in disbelief.

Kevin smiled softly as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "Of course I'm alive. I'm your mate, aren't I?"

Lilian was struck by a sudden and deep wave of drowsiness. "Yes… you… are..."

Her eyes closed as she fell asleep in the arms of her beloved.

[-]

I sighed. It completely flew over my head about how emotional Lilian was, specifically how dependent she was on me. To humanity it would've been seen as unhealthy, but this is par for the course when it comes to yōkai, even across the multiverse.

I was so lost in my own curiosity that I forgot about that. Old habits die hard, as usual. Luckily I still had enough youki in my body to pull one last trick with a water art and put her to sleep.

...Poor girl. I got too caught up in a somewhat familiar magic system and ended up hurting her.

But with what happened in that other dimension…

[-]

I raised an eyebrow at the colossal creature of darkness before me. "Home? Sorry, pal. I've been to so many stupidly edgy places like this. It sort of blends together, but I'm pretty sure I'd remember someone like you… well probably remember you."

Its massive maw moved. "This is… our first meeting, my son."

"Son?" I looked myself over and then back to the eldritch being. "Sorry, 'pops,' I don't see the resemblance."

"It is the nature of your soul that spawns from me..." The darkness around them somehow grew darker. "I am what beings across realities call Void."

I burst out in laughter. "You think you're the source of the Void? Really!? Oh good lord, do you have any idea how many idiots across over five-thousand lives have told me that same spiel? Dumbasses claiming to be the true Void and all of them have fallen before my blades… what makes you any different 'pops?'"

The being paused for a few seconds. "...Zachary."

My eyes widened as a piece of my mind suddenly clicked together… Even if I forgot it, there's no way it would've ever left me completely. That was my name. My original name! Only a handful of people in the multiverse knew that name!

I dialed back the mocking. "Okay, you have my attention, 'pops.'"

"I have been there since the beginning, ever since I spawned your existence into the vast reaches of reality." The creature began. "You are my one and only soldier against the Light. For 569,276 years, I have sent you from world to world to secure world's besieged by the Light's corruption."

I paused processing what in the everloving fuck I just heard. "You're not exactly endearing yourself to me..."

Its head tilted down, almost like it was sad. "I understand, my child..."

"So, if I kill you I will no longer reincarnate?" I laughed loudly. "I don't believe a single word out of your mouth. One soldier? Really? One against the endless army of the Light... What a load of shit."

"It is… my nature." The being explained. "The Void, it takes. I take. You take. All who pull on my power take. We are… greedy and selfish at heart. To create an army is to give. Putting aside my nature to create you was an… arduous decision. One born out of necessity."

"And the reason my abilities don't carry over from reincarnation to reincarnation?"

"...I consume them every time you visit this place."

I stared a the eldritch thing that had now made the top of my Shit-List. "You have some fucking balls to say that to my face. Especially considering how many worlds would have benefited from a good portion of those powers."

"Even if you were to kill me… there's nowhere left to go. The Light… she grants her countless children great power, and her children spread like locusts. All the worlds you have lived in have been consumed by her… all except one."

I stayed silent as he continued.

"The world where your journey truly began..."

"Bullshit," I said simply, there wasn't even any edge to my voice. "I tried relentlessly for fifty lives to get back..." I glared at the monster. "Unless you're also responsible for that bit too…'pops?'"

It almost seemed hesitant. "...I am."

Top. Of. My. Shit-List.

"I'm leaving now, and quite frankly, I don't need any further explanation on the situation. I don't care who you are. I don't care what you are. But since this is our first meeting, I'll let you off with a warning just this once." My eyes blazed with all the rage my ancient soul could produce and more. "Take from me again… and I will kill you."

And with that, I felt a push and was back in my kitchen with a flourish of black flames.

[-]

I woke up with a hiss as I felt something very cold pressing against my neck. "A-A-A-A-A-Ah! I'm up! I'm up!"

I put a hand on my neck. Cold and wet… an ice cube? I turned to see a small feminine hand holding… yep that's an ice cube. And the hand holding that ice cube belonged to a sexy, petite tomboy with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore an orange one-off shoulder top that exposed her midriff with a big white eleven on the front, and red skinny jeans. She was absolutely soaked, must've been raining.

"Hey, Lindsay. Is school over already?" I asked as I saw her unamused expression, she held a rather dangerously full cup of Coke in her other hand.

"Mmhmm." Her lips were set in a thin line as she looked at the sexy redhead fast asleep in bed with me. "I know I was a little flirty on the phone, but I didn't expect for you to actually sleep with her."

Ah, she thinks I cheated on her… Yeah let's clear that up.

"We didn't have sex, didn't even kiss." I stated. "Things got pretty heavy and emotional and she was in desperate need of some wholesome TLC and we fell asleep."

Her eyes softened as she realized I was telling the truth. She smirked. "So, everything was kept PG?"

"Eh, PG-13, she barged in on me while I was in the shower and I was too tired to kick her out, and she's been trying to jump my bones since yesterday."

She blinked. "Oh god, you were serious about the thirst, weren't you."

"Always am. Been doing my best to keep it at hand holding and cuddles."

Lindsay's face scrunched up in mock disgust. "Ugh, you absolute degenerate."

I smirked. "Always am."

She smiled and held out the cup. "Coke?"

"I'd love some." I took the cup from her hand and took three big gulps. "God, that's like ambrosia to me."

"Mmmmm..." Lilian grumbled a little and then nuzzled into my side.

"Awww," Lindsay cooed. "That's cute, and she's already stealing your hoodies." Her eyes zeroed in on Lilian's fox ears. "Oh my god, are those real?"

I began gently scratching Lilian's ears with my free hand, the kitsune giving a blissful sigh. "Yeah, I forgot to mention she's a kitsune."

Lindsay gave me a bland look. "What?" Lilian rolled on top of me, wrapping her arms around me, shifting the blankets and exposing her two tails. Lindsay's eyes widened. "What!?"

"Turns out that the world is Rosario + Vampire but somehow more cringe." I explained.

She raised an eyebrow. "Anime or manga?"

"Anime."

She shrugged. "At least we won't have to deal with a giant kaiju xenomorph super vampire."

"But I was looking forward to that." I whined.

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go take a shower, practice was rough today."

"Alright, I'm..." I looked down at Lilian still hugging me like a giant plushie. "I'll make dinner once I get out of this situation."

She waved him goodbye as she left the room. "Have fun."

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

"Ha ha."

I waited until I heard the sound of water running before I turned back to Lilian. "I know you're awake."

"No I'm not..." she spoke into my chest.

"Lilian, I need to make dinner."

Her tails wrapped around me. "Nooooo staaaaay..."

"And you have to meet Lindsay."

"I don't waaannnaaaa." she whined.

"Lilian..."

She didn't say anything for a few seconds before looking me in the eyes, her expression an odd paradox of worry and relief. "I'm glad… I'm so glad you're alright… but I have to know… how are you alive?"

"Turns out my first father is the source of the Void across the multiverse and pulled me into his domain to have a heart to heart." I said seriously with an unamused face. "He's the reason I've been ping-ponged across creation and is a cunt."

She stared at me with a bland expression for a few seconds before her eyes widened, finally realizing I was being completely straight with her. "What?"

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about it." I sighed and stared at the ceiling. "Shit's pissing me off just thinking about it since he's the reason my powers don't transfer from life to life… cause he eats them."

"...Your father?"

"Who is an eldritch undead-looking abomination made of cosmic darkness, yes."

"Beloved?"

"Yes?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Yes." I answered. "Can I go make dinner now?"

"How about I make dinner?" Lilian asked, but I knew it wasn't a request. "I want you to sit down and relax."

I raised an eyebrow. "I think I should be telling you that..."

Her lips were set in a thin line. "Beloved..."

"Lilian, no." I said sternly. "I'm fine, I'm good at dealing with stress. I've had a lot of experience doing it." I booped her on the nose. "You, however, went into a panic attack. I want you to lay down cause you're still super stressed out right now."

"Fiiiiiiiiine." She pouted.

I scratched her behind her ears again. "Atta girl."

"Mmmmmm," she moaned. "How are you so good at this?"

"I have a lot of experience when it comes to kitsunes." I said simply.

"Mmmhmmmm..."

"...Lilian, I need to go make dinner."

"No!" She refused childishly.

I sighed. "For fuck's sake."

[-]

I had to fucking carry her to the couch before would she let me go so I could start cooking. I set up the rice cooker and started dicing the meat and vegetables - on separate boards of course. I had the sauce prepared in advance… It was time for the Rainy Day Mega Beef Bowl!

I paused in my motions…

"Even if you were to kill me… there's nowhere left to go. The Light… she grants her countless children great power, and her children spread like locusts. All the worlds you have lived in have been consumed by her… all except one."

Alright, assuming that fucker was telling me the truth… Holy shit that was bad! This was the last world in the multiverse that hadn't been consumed by the Light… Radiance… whatever…It also meant that this world was the closest to the Void, which was concerning on several levels.

Considering Lilian's powers as a Celestial kitsune... the Radiance already had a foothold in this world. I'd met some of her soldiers before… all of them were creatively bankrupt stereotypical isekai protagonists…though I think the same could be said for me in some regard. I'd never met the Radiance face to face, but she had made her displeasure at my very existence known.

I winced as phantom pains of being blasted with the cosmic light of a primordial force of creation wracked my body.

...Do not want to die like that again.

And if I was going to be dealing with those assholes as my main enemies this time around, then I was gonna need to pull out all the stops. Especially considering that half these idiots had RPG isekai logic attached to them!

Though I might have a chance with using the Void element to my advantage. The nature of the Void was to take, not destroy… if that works on a conceptual level then…

Fuck, I might be more OP than I thought in this world!

"The world where your journey truly began..."

My first world… that odd mix of fusion crossover of Sekiro, Nioh, and Rosario + Vampire.

I didn't remember every world I'd been to. Very rarely had I ever been granted the mental capabilities necessary to comprehend how long I'd lived. But when I was able to comprehend it… I always looked back on that life. Despite how hard it was to live there… to live… here… I was happy.

...Then the happy memories were ruined by the subsequent multi-universal murder spree with absolutely no morals that I went on in a vain attempt to get back to my loved ones before I gave up, got super depressed for a few lives, then bucked the fuck up and became fanon-Zelretch for a while.

Shit was fucked.

The only reason I remembered that the world was a fusion of games and anime I used to play was because they popped up whenever I was in a modern world. I'm not sure that the games would be made in this world considering they did actually happen here, but considering that Team Ninja and Fromsoft exist here… I'd put my money on it. I wonder if the Shinobi Prosthetic and both Mortal Blades are still around? William Adams should've died around 1620 after the insanity that was Osaka if history went as usual.

My memories of my first world had basically been reduced to footnotes at best. I was born in the late Sengoku era, took the place of Wolf, became the little shinobi that could, got my left arm cut off, got a better one, then went one a near non-stop slaughterfest across Ashina to throw the Divine Dragon back to Korea where it belonged. Then I came back to Japan, which was still tearing itself a new one with Amrita… and I basically trivialized William Adams's weeabo samurai journey, cause when you're strong enough to taking on a fucking a godly dragon thing and win, and skilled enough to best Isshin the Glock Sword Saint in a duel to the death and people still want to throw hands? Well then, cheeks all over Japan are going to get clapped.

...and considering my trackrecord when it came to giant fuck-off snakes, it wasn't surprising with how fast I killed Yamata-no-Orochi.

The world had three brands of yōkai:

The first type were known as Apparitions, a byproduct of the Divine Dragon's blood. The experiments performed with it warped and corrupted Ashina from the inside out. Immortal creatures, horrible parasites, people twisted into abominations beyond recognition, and the afterlife itself being fucked with irreparably… it twisted the land from beyond salvation.

The second was Aratama, yōkai born from negative human emotions reacting with Amrita, a kind that infected normal humans and animals, turning most into oni, and those of strong will into more powerful, vicious, cunning, and depraved yōkai. Doubly so if they have a Guardian Spirit and lose themselves to the Amrita's influence. Few of them even had a mind capable of conceiving words after their transformation.

And finally there was the third type. They were natural born beings of the world rather than perversions of nature and humanity. They were granted full sentience for better or worse. They looked down on humanity for our weakness, and nearly all of them were complete dicks until they got their shit checked when humanity invented guns. And from what I've seen, they've become even less active since the advent of the atomic bomb.

God I would've killed to be here to see their reactions to the atomic bomb.

After clearing up the bullshit with the Amrita and Edward Kelley, I roamed Japan as a rōnin, protecting humanity against uppity yōkai that wanted to start shit with innocent people to pass the time waiting for America to be founded. People mistook me for a yōkai myself, calling me the Shura. Though I supposed the prosthetic arm and the Shura's corruption on my face didn't help matters much. The bounty on my head kept rising and rising as the years went by… even though I was helping people. Eh, people are retarded like that, I was no expection.

Ironically, the bounty attracted more yōkai than humans.

Shortly after I met a pair of kitsune sisters that put up a decent fight so I let them live. I met up again with them about twenty years later when I was trying my hand at being a chef. Shortly after the three of us became lovers and… I died… in Los Angeles during the late 1800s…I got the red Mortal Blade thrown right through my heart… and…

I gave a quiet gasp as static filled my ears and my surroundings changed for a few seconds.

It was sunset, an old American town… A woman was in front of me - a kitsune to be exact, the same one I saw in my hallucination earlier this morning. She was wearing a purple kimono, a katana by her waist. Her face was etched in shock and horror as a familiar red blade was impaled through my chest…

A blood curdling scream of anguish tore from her mouth. "Rokurou!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I let out a quiet gasp as I suddenly returned to the kitchen, the rice cooker beeping loudly. I pulled out a rather oversized bowl from the dishwasher.

Yes, yes, random hallucinations, I understand that my name used to be Rokurou. Can you tell me why my mind is glitching out like I'm in the fuckin Matrix? No? Then fuck off!

My mind flashed back to the despair-ridden face of the woman who was no doubt my lover at one point. Was she… was she one from this world? Maybe? Probably? God, I hope so…

The sight of her… that expression… my face slipped, replacing my usual smile with a deep frown nearing a scowl. I gripped my heart. It hurt… it hurt a lot…

[-]

Lindsay Diane knew something was wrong with her boyfriend the moment she saw him. To be fair, you had to be denser than a blackhole if you looked at someone with a mournful, anguished expression, grabbing at their chest as if in pain and thought they were sunshine and rainbows.

She didn't even have to think about it, she walked right up and hugged him from behind. He stiffened in her embrace before the tension left his body, she could feel how his heartbeat skyrocketed.

"Did I startle you, Kevin?" She smiled softly.

He took a deep breath. "A little. You just got out of the shower?" Her blonde hair was still a bit damp after getting out. She wore one of his hoodies and a pair of shorts.

"Yeah..." She pressed herself into his back more as she held him tighter. "Are you okay?"

"I will be... let's eat for now," he turned around and hugged her, giving a small smile. "I want you to meet Lilian."

Lindsay was unconvinced, but let it slide for now, but one way or another she was going to get an answer. "Alright, what are you making..." she trailed off as she saw the monstrosity he constructed, then stared blankly at him. "Really, the Rainy Day Mega Beef Bowl?"

Kevin gave her a coy look. "It is raining… and the yōkai in the room probably has the biggest appetite out of both of us. Worst case scenario, I have leftovers for tomorrow."

Lindsay shrugged. "Fair, I guess."

She gave him a quick kiss before heading to the couch and sat next to Lilian. Now that she had a better look, Lindsay had to admit it: Lilian was hot as sin, and the tomboy had a very hard time keeping her eyes to herself.

"Hmph!" The redhead kitsune pouted and refused to look at her.

Lindsay was confused at first until she remembered the text Kevin gave her earlier that morning. He did say that she had it pretty bad for him so… oh my god, is she jealous? That's adorable!

"So..." the tomboy began. "Kevin said that you two were old friends. Met in Greece, right?"

Lilian smiled smugly and had an air of superiority around her. "My mate and I met nearly ten years ago. He was such a sweet boy..." her eyes glazed over briefly. "He… helped me through some tough times."

Lindsay smiled. "Ah, then you must've really been something else for him to get involved. Kevin's not the type to go out of his way to help random people."

The smugness returned. "But of course, he's my mate after all. You must be quite disappointed I got to him so much earlier than you did, but it's-"

Lindsay blinked. "Eh, but we've known each other our whole lives, practically since we were born."

Lilian's expression froze. "Eh?"

Sorry, babe, I've got the childhood friend trope on lockdown. Lindsay pulled the collar of her hoodie over her mouth, hiding her wicked smile. "We've been pretty much joined at the hip since we were born."

"Ugh!" Lilian doubled over as an arrow seemingly appeared out of nowhere and shot her in the back.

Lindsay did find it extremely odd that a fucking arrow materialized out of nowhere, but brushed it off since there was no blood and it didn't seem like the kitsune was actually hurt… frankly, it seemed to cause more emotional pain that anything.

She decided to test out her theory with sadistic and slightly malicious intent. "We had our first awkward steps into the world together..."

"Urk!" Another arrow pierced Lilian's spine.

Lindsay's smile grew wider. "We grew up learning life's hard lessons, and generally spent our early years in each other's company..."

"Gurk!" And one more arrow for good measure

"You know… nothing major." Lindsay didn't even try hiding her wicked smile filled with chaotic evil intent.

Lilian slumped over the table groaning, she looked like her soul had left her body. "My only advantage… gone..."

Lindsay rubbed the kitsune's back and gently pulled out the arrows. "There, there, Lilian. You still have the foreign beauty trope going on."

"Uhhhhhh!" Lilian groaned again.

Lindsay giggled. Oh, I like this one. I approve, we're keeping her!

"Sup," Kevin finally made his entrance and laid the Rainy Day Mega Beef Bowl, and sat down between the two. "I heard people talking about tropes and I wasn't involved."

Lindsay smiled innocently. "Oh, it's nothing much, just Lilian realizing that this was an uphill battle from the start."

"Uhhhhh… Kevin, make the mean lady go away..." Lilian's groaning almost seemed to change into sobbing. "This is nowhere close to how the character dynamic was supposed to go. Where's that damned script!?"

Kevin snorted. "It has been banished to the Shadow Realm. Now here, I bring food."

Lilian perked up at the mention of food. "Eh?" her eyes landed on the bowl. "Inari-blessed, that is a big beef bowl!"

Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "So, she's a Greek kitsune that worships Inari?"

Kevin shrugged. "Yeah, I thought that was odd too."

"No, we just didn't have any internet. Kotohime has been working on that, but it's a little risky since we don't want humanity finding out the hidden resort we're living in while we were in Florida." The kitsune explained. "Ah, Kotohime is our family's maid and bodyguard by the way."

Lindsay blinked. "Hidden? How big of a secret is this whole yōkai thing?"

"Very," Lilian said seriously. "While it isn't uncommon for some yōkai to have mates, we just don't want the greater human population to know we exist." The kitsune had a sudden realization and began panicking. "Y-You two aren't going to tell anyone, are you!?"

"Lilian, we'd be thrown into an insane asylum after the first sentence. No one here wants you to get in trouble." Lindsay assured the kitsune. "Besides..." Lindsay smiled in a way that sent shivers down the redhead's spine. "You're too fun to mess with to let anyone else get their hands on you."

Lilian quivered in fear and hid behind Kevin. "S-Scary!"

Kevin gave an almost proud look. "See, Lilian, this is what fifteen years of me being a bad influence looks like."

The kitsune gulped. "Inari-blessed, how horrifying..."

"Now, tell me, Lilian..." Kevin leaned in close. "Do you like Dragon Ball?"

The vexin gave a gasp of pure joy as her face split into a beaming smile of excitement. "Yesyesyesyesyes! I love Dragon Ball! Kamehameha! Kaio-ken! Super Saiyan! I love it all!"

Lindsay snorted. "That answered that question."

"Battle of Gods, and Resurrection F?" He inquired.

"Yes!" She was practically bouncing in her seat right now.

"What about… the abridged?"

Lilian froze. "The what?"

Kevin turned to Lindsay. "You know what we must do."

Lindsay grinned, grabbing the remote for the Smart TV and setting up YouTube. "On it!"

"What's the abridged?" Lilian asked, concerned.

Lindsay turned to her boyfriend. "She's concerned. Why is she concerned?"

He actually looked a little sheepish. "I may have introduced her to my favorite genre."

"Depression is not a genre!"

"Not with that attitude!"

Lindsay sighed. "Don't worry Lilian, it's funny, not fucking Angel Beats… you didn't start with-"

"I did."

"Oh my god, that poor girl..." She shook her head. "Whatever, grab the drinks, we're starting."

Kevin rolled his eyes as he got up. "Yeah, yeah."

Lindsay hit play and…

"The following is a fan-based parody..."

The next few hours were filled with uproarious laughter from the kitsune as they watched all the way to the end of the Frieza Saga. And it took a few hours to get through all that beef and rice Kevin made. Throughout the whole viewing Lindsay kept eyeing her fellow blonde. He was distant, barely even there most of the time. It almost seemed like a trick of the light, but Lindsay could swear she could see that pained expression on his face a few times.

Once they were finished with the show, Kevin went to wash the dishes. Lindsay eyed Lilian for a bit before standing up and walked into the kitchen after him.

She rubbed his shoulder for a bit. "Hey Kev, I want you to be honest with me, are you doing alright?"

He didn't say anything for a good minute, idly scrubbing the oversized bowl. "...I don't know. It's been a long time since I've felt… anything like this… I'm not sure how to react."

She could feel Lilian glaring daggers at her from over the couch. It was adorable how jealous she was.

"Did something happen? Do you want to talk about it?" This wasn't like Kevin…

He was always the adult in the room, or at least it usually felt like he was. He always knew what to do, knew what to say, had an answer for everything, could fix damn near anything. It was like he had life figured out right out of the womb. He was a go with the flow sort of guy through and through. Hell, their relationship only started because she was the one to make the first move and he sort of just… went with it. It was odd at first, but she quickly got over it after getting dicked down until her brain was mush the first time.

Him being this lost and confused was honestly more alarming to her than the time they had to hide a bunch of dead bodies when they were nine with help of a talking assassin cat on Christmas Eve. And considering the whole yōkai thing, that was probably a nekomata.

What the hell has my life turned into? She mentally complained before hearing her boyfriend sigh.

"Alright, might as well rip the bandaid off." He turned around and looked her dead in the eyes. "I'm a constantly reincarnating soul currently going through a bit of mid-infinite life crisis induced PTSD."

Lindsay mind blue-screened as she processed what absurdity came out of his mouth. "Wat?"

He smiled and laughed. "I'm just messing with you, Lindsay."

She almost believed that. Kevin was a good actor, she had first hand experience with that, she saw his performances in plays back when he was in the drama class in middle school. And she knew damn well he used those skills day to day, especially when he didn't want to talk to people. He could lie through his teeth as easily as he breathed. But if there was someone in this world that Lindsay knew it was Kevin… and that look in his eyes… the expression of his face when he didn't know she was looking…

Kevin tried to turn around, back to the dishes, but Lindsay grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

"You're not playing this off, Kevin. I know you." He wouldn't look her in the eye and froze as stiff as a statue. "Kevin, look me in the eyes."

He silently refused. "Everything's fine Lindsay..."

"No. It's not." She called out his bullshit. "Kevin, look at me."

He still wouldn't look at her. "I just don't want to talk about depressing stuff, alright?"

"We're going to talk about depressing stuff," she said, leaving no room for argument in her voice. Kevin had helped her through many tough times, she couldn't remember a time when he wasn't there for her, now it was her turn to help him. "Kevin, look at me!"

"Beloved?" Lilian called out in a sickly sweet tone now standing only a few feet behind the couple. "Is she bothering you?"

He sighed. "No, Lilian, everything's fine-"

"I can knock her out and kick her out if you'd like…?" She offered in the same overly sweet voice.

Lindsay felt his hand twitch, she turned her head to face the kitsune. "Lilian, while I do find your overly jealous shtick kind of cute, probably because I'm a little messed up in the head, now is not the time."

Lilian looked affronted. "Shtick!?"

She turned back to her boyfriend. "Kevin..."

"I'm fine, Lindsay, just drop it." Kevin said despondently.

Lindsay took a deep breath, mentally punching herself for what she was about to say. "Kevin, if you have ever truly loved me, you will turn around and look me in the eyes."

The apartment turned dead silent at her words. Nothing happened for nearly a minute. Lindsay felt her heart start to break… but then his head began to turn towards her, slowly but surely. Lindsay's eyes widened as he finally faced her. She idly noted that Lilian had let out a gasp.

The weight…

The sheer weight behind his eyes. They weren't broke per se, but it was how tired he looked. Like as if the universe had been dropped on his back since day one and he alone was forced to carry it.

"You just had to bring out the big guns, didn't you?" He turned the sink off. "I am serious. I'm a constantly reincarnating soul. Some poor bastard eternally stuck in Truck-kun's headlights. Just this morning I made more fucking sense out of the yōkai magic system than they probably have in thousands of years, did the fucking impossible, and..." he raised his hand and a small ball of light appeared. "Figured out how to do arts despite it supposedly being impossible for humans."

Lindsay didn't say anything, she just stared at the ball of light, his words leaving her dumbfounded.

"569,276 years, Lindsay." Kevin waved his hand dismissing the ball of light. "That's how long this bullshit's been going. My soul is older than most pantheons I've encountered. A-And, uh, that shit with the arts?" Kevein stuttered, he never stuttered. "The fact that I legit can do something the general population believe is impossible, and the fucked up part is that, to me, doing that is as simple as waking up and making a cup of hot cocoa - yes, I've hated coffee for that fucking long."

Static filled Lindsay's ears as her mind flashed through the image of an elderly man of Asian descent drinking from a coffee mug, a few packets of hot cocoa on the kitchen counter before a dozen people, dressed like ninjas, one with a very large hammer, crashed through his windows.

The blonde's eyes widened as she just realized what she saw. What the hell was that…?

"B-Beloved…?" Lilian's voice seemed distracted, almost unsure..

"Like… that's fucked up… right? That I've done this for so long… so many times… t-that literally doing the impossible doesn't excite me anymore." He continued his rant, Lilian surprisingly silent as he did. "A-A-And-And, I've been searching… searching, searching, searching, and searching for a reason why this keeps happening to me. I found out this morning too. Tried out a particularly dangerous element and, I shit you the fuck not… my father - the very origin of my soul - is responsible. I've been bounced around the multiverse by my dibshit idiot of a dad who's a fucking primordial entity to fight in an multiuniversal war that was never my own."

Static again, Lindsay saw a gruesome scene. War, bullets flying everywhere, helicopters and planes being shot down, and the wreckage of one of them was a man in an army uniform bleeding out. As the skies lit up in flames, he hallucinated a woman in a wedding gown smiling with utter joy, as if he'd just said 'I do,' before the life left his eyes.

Oh god… Lindsay thought in horror at what she'd just seen.

Lilian herself looked a little pale. Was she also seeing what Lindsay was seeing? Were these the past lives Kevin was talking about?

"But that's not why I'm.. freaking out I guess..." Kevin shook his head. "A war? One with magic, interdimensional stakes and what not? Easy! Fucking Monday for me, I can get that shit done in an afternoon if I have to."

Static. A bloodcorved man in batter and beaten power armor stood atop a mountain of corpses. Grotesque eldritch beings clawing their way up only to meet the same fate as their brethren as the man punched, kicked, ripped and teared with a manic, bloodlust filled smile on his face.

Over… five-hundred thousand years… he's been fighting, and fighting, and fighting for that long. The sheer amount of violence in previous Kevin's lives hit her like a truck.

"The fucked up bit… is that this world… this one right here? This is where the constant reincarnation started. My first isekai!" Kevin paused, looking up to the ceiling with a nostalgic look on his face. "I'll be the first to admit it, it wasn't an easy life. Being picked up on a battlefield near the end of Sengoku Japan to become a shinobi… it was a simple life. Easy? No. But it was simple."

Static…

A sunset over the aftermath of a long battle. Human corpses in ruined armor reminiscent of feudal Japan were everywhere, crows pecking at deceased flesh. And amidst all of the carnage was a small boy with black hair, his left eye milky white, showing it was blind, the left side of his body covered in burn scars from years gone by. He picked up the swords of dead samurai to clean and sell to get something to eat. A large, burly man with gray hair approached the young boy, and used his large sword to make a small cut on the left side of the boy's face, blood spilling from the wound.

"What's the matter, stray? Nothing left to lose?" The man said.

The boy slowly and deliberately grabbed the sword.

The man looked almost astonished. "Well, would you look at that… Fascinating. Will you join me, starving wolf?"

The boy nodded.

"Well, simple bearing the whole dragon blood immortality curse I had to deal with for a while. Now, I'm back, and only around a century and a half has passed since I died here." Kevin's words shook Lindsay out of her stupor. "And it's possible some people I used to know might still be alive. Yōkai to be specific..."

Lindsay took a deep breath, still reeling from the vision. "Enemies…?"

Kevin let out a deep sigh. "...Mates."

Lilian's breath hitched.

Lindsay still wasn't completely up to date on the whole yōkai thing, but even she could put the dots together on what he meant by 'mate' from how Lilian kept referring to Kevin as either that or 'beloved'.

"Two river kitsune, sisters in fact." He smiled fondly. "I'm still vague on the details, but I remember that we tried to kill each other when we all first met..." His shoulders slumped. "I can barely remember their faces…. much less their names..." He shook his head. "They're still alive, I know damn well they are considering what I taught them."

"Were… were you their first mate?" Lilian asked hesitantly.

"Yes..." He answered.

"...Then they still love you dearly." Lilian said with a somber smile.

Kevin bit his lip, hard. "...I know. It's just… this is the first time I've ever been back to a world. The first time I might… reunite with people I used to know. It… It scares me. I've always had the that blank slate, and I get that I was reborn with a completely different body and nationality, but it sure as fuck dosn't feel like a blank slate anymore." He took a deep breath. "L-Like… what do I say… what should I do? I've changed so much, after how long I've been.. existing I'd have to be a machine not to change even a bit." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm scared because I did so many horrible things to get back to this world… to get back to them. Fifty lives of nothing but slaughter and violence… before I just… gave up. How the fuck do I look them in the eyes after all that?"

Lindsay's body moved before she did the moment she saw tears fall from his eyes and embraced her distraught boyfriend. She didn't say anything. What could she have said? She understood fully well that she didn't understand the full depths of what he was going through.

The tomboy held him tighter as she realized a very important thing. How many times have you had this talk, Kevin?

Lilian followed suit and silently hugged her chosen mate from behind.

"I don't know..." Kevin said softly. "I just don't know..."

After a few minutes of silence, Lindsay led Kevin to his room. As he sat down, she kissed him softly before embracing him again, his head pressed against her chest.

"I'm fine Lindsay..." He said.

"You're not, Kevin." She didn't buy that for a second. I don't think you've been 'fine' for a long time. He didn't respond. She ran her hand through his head, her nails gently scraping against his scalp is the way she knew he liked. "I'll be back in a little bit, I need to have a talk with Lilian."

"Okay..." He said almost despondently.

Lindsay felt her heart ache as she let him go, leaving the room. Lilian was standing in the hallway, a worried and conflicted expression on her pretty face. She walked into the living room, out of earshot of Kevin, the kitsune following suit.

The tomboy faced the kitsune, her expression completely serious. "Lilian, did you see those… visions?"

The kitsune looked surprised. "You saw them too!?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Good, so it wasn't just me. Any idea why it happened? Was Kevin doing anything?"

Lilian shook her head. "No, that small ball of light dried all the leftover youki I gave him."

I'm going to have to look into that. And tell Kevin when we get him feeling better. She brought her attention back to Lilian. Speaking of 'we'...

"Lilian, do you like Kevin?"

Lilian blinked at the question. "Of course I do."

"Do you love him?"

The redhead looked her right in the eyes. "More than anyone else."

She nodded. "Good. Now, I'm willing to make this work..."

"Make what work?"

"A three-way relationship." Lindsay said bluntly.

Silence overtook the living room.

Lilian's eyes slowly went wide as she finally processed those words. "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

"I think you might be good for him, and right now he needs us most." Lindsy frowned. "I just smashed through all of his emotional walls and then some. He is not in a good mental headspace right now. So, I'm going to be blunt. Are you in or out?"

Lilian looked extremely conflicted. "B-But I-"

"Cause if you're out, you can walk right out that door," Lindsay pointed at the front door of the apartment. "Cause the last thing he needs right now is more stress piled up atop this whole existential bullshit."

"I-I-I-I… b-b-but… uh… uuuugggggghhhhhh!" Lilian's shoulders slumped. "I wanted a normal human relationship with my Beloved."

Lindsay snorted. "You picked the wrong man for that. So…?"

"Yes! Fine!" Lilian pouted. "I'll share Kevin?"

Lindsay gave the vexin a bland look. "You'll share Kevin?"

"You know what I meant!"

"Yes. Yes, I did." She bagan walking towards Kevin's room. "Now, come on, we both have a boyfriend that is in some desperate need for a metric fuck ton of TLC."

"H-Hey, wait up!"

Chapter End