Heavenfall

"Those who regularly go hungry have the most appreciation for food." Chisei said, nodding.

He tilted his head, regarding her. "But there is a core to every person that is unchangeable, and some things are destined. I suspect you would have found your way to Togashi regardless, Saruko-sama."

"Quite possibly," she agreed with a gentle laugh, even if she was a little worried she wouldn't have felt the same way. Or he wouldn't have.

"But it's impossible for us to know for sure what things might've been like, had our paths been different. Would Chisei had been the same Chisei if he was born with the Seppun instead of the Isawa, and married into the Isawa instead?"

"Perhaps I wouldn't be quite so attached to paper..." Chisei murmured, smiling. Then his expression turned thoughtful.

"Yes. And no. There are things that would be different. But others that would not be. If our lives were determined entirely by circumstances, what would it mean for the cycle of rebirth? A soul's journey must have some effect. Perhaps that is what we call fate."

He smiled again. "And just as you were fated, if we call it that, to marry Togashi, so do I believe I was fated to marry Takako. I really should introduce the two of you, sometime." For one reason or another, they just hadn't seemed to cross paths...