"Orihime... there's a secret I want to tell you."
"What secret?" Mido Orihime was interested. She had always felt that Natsume Chikage was hiding quite a few things. Why else was she the only one who could see all of him?
After all, nothing like that had ever happened with any of the previous Mido family heads.
It would be harder to believe he had no secrets.
Natsume Chikage thought for a moment, then decided to tell her. "After I met you again, I discovered that I can sometimes see the future."
"See... the future?" Mido Orihime raised an eyebrow. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Natsume Chikage explained. "Just now, I suddenly saw that you and I really do end up together. You were wearing loungewear I've never seen before. The color and design looked something like this."
As he spoke, Natsume Chikage drew it and handed the sketch to Mido Orihime.
"This design? I'm sure this is the kimono Hitomi is having made for me to wear at the next Mido family meeting. She only showed me the design this morning and asked what I thought so she could revise it..." Mido Orihime froze. Then she realized the design suited her tastes perfectly. It had to be the final version her future self would choose.
The corners of her mouth lifted. "Interesting. It seems you really can glimpse the future. In that case, we truly are alike. Perhaps you've been blessed by heaven, just as I have."
As she spoke, she lightly covered her lips with the Crimson Jade Folding Fan, leaving only her gently curved eyes visible.
"Heh. So this also means we're destined to be together... But if you've kept it secret for so long, why tell me now?"
Natsume Chikage answered vaguely, "Because... I saw other things