.
.
There was a single red string tied to Bishamon's plaque. It had been there since before the time Kazuma was even named, and when Bishamon first saw it, she yelled at the gods who had matched her. "Who did this?" Bishamon said. She waved her plaque in the air, while the other gods looked at her, nonplussed. "I'm one of the seven lucky gods, romance is forbidden! This better not be some kind of joke!"
Ookuninushi shrugged and plucked the plaque from Bishamon's hand. "Don't worry about it," Ookuninushi said, and he handed it back to her. "I got lots of strings tied to mine. They're all just humans - you probably have someone who's really devout."
"I guess," Bishamon said. She stuck the plaque back in the wall.
Centuries later, after Kazuma became her exemplar, her thoughts returned to the plaque again. It was Kazuma's first time being at the matchmaking, and when he figured out that gods could be matched to humans too, the first thing he did was check her plaque. Bishamon remembered how he picked at the string, frowning.
"It's just a sign that one of the humans really worshiped me," Bishamon had said.
"If that's the case, why aren't there more red strings?"
"Eh?"
Kazuma's glasses gleamed. "Ookuninushi and Ebisu have more strings than you do. My goal will be for you to have more strings than all of them!"
Bishamon sighed and shook her head.
It was the Month of No Gods again, but now they were in a relationship. The other gods were busy matchmaking and Kazuma had disappeared somewhere to get her a drink. Bishamon stood over her plaque, frowning.
She had never bothered to check the name. The whole idea of a goddess being matched to a human was so preposterous to her, she didn't see the point. But now it nagged on her, and she couldn't help but be a little bit curious. She tugged the string until the plaque at the human end loosened, falling from its perch and clattering on the floor.
Bishamon picked the plaque up. Her eyes widened.
It was Kazuma's real name, etched delicately into the wood.
"Oh? You're looking at that plaque again?" Kazuma peered over her shoulder, carrying their drinks. An icy terror gripped her. Kazuma had the ability to grasp things, and surely he would put two and two together. The thought that she, his idiot master, exposed him to a god's greatest secret unknowingly - at the matchmaking festival, of all places! - made her suddenly afraid.
"Don't worry," Kazuma said, gently. Bishamon looked back at him, startled. Kazuma smiled. "I'm not jealous, Veena. This thing's been tied to your name for centuries. That human's long since died."
"Oh." Bishamon exhaled, slowly. Kazuma plucked the plaque from her hands and frowned.
"He died young," Kazuma said, looking at the plaque. "A shame. The other humans who are tied to gods at least carried on human relationships. It seems whoever this was never did."
"That's what happens when you worship too zealously," Bishamon said. She took the plaque from him and hung it back on the wall.
At some point, Ookuninushi had grabbed Bishamon's arm so that he could talk to her excitedly about his new branch shrine in Hawaii. The other gods listened politely while Bishamon cast a quick glance at Kazuma, who was waiting patiently on the other side of the room. His red string of fate had been tied to hers for centuries. How was it that she never knew?
"Oh. Veena. Are you done?" Kazuma stood up as she approached. Bishamon smiled, kissing his cheek.
"This meeting's boring me," Bishamon said, sitting next to him. She rubbed his back and absently leaned against his arm.