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Bishamon ran her fingers through long strands of golden hair with a groan of frustration and Kazuma’s breath caught in his throat at the sight. The silken strands caught the light in a way that made his heart stutter in his chest and he immediately squashed the feeling and focused on what his god was saying.
“If I have to hear that despicable piece of trash gush about how his follower is taking him to a Christmas market one more time I swear, Kazuma, his head is going to end up on a pike.”
Kazuma coughed awkwardly. It was true that Yato had been prattling on about his and Hiyori’s “date” for the last week, pretty incessantly, in fact, but in all honesty it was kind of cute. Yato’s innocent joy was infectious, and a far better sight than the cloud of misery that used to hang over him. Not that Kazuma would ever say that out loud, of course.
“And what even is a Christmas market, anyway, Kazuma?” Bishamon continued. “I don’t remember hearing about it in the past, is it a new human custom?”
“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest, Viina. Would you like me to investigate?”
“Would you, Kazuma? I’d like to rub it in his sweaty face that whatever it is I’m better at it than he is.”
Kazuma smiled. If there was one thing he could count on, it was Bishamon’s rivalry with the former god of calamity.
-
A few hours later, Kazuma had reported his findings to Bishamon and she had decided to treat everyone with a visit to a real Christmas market.
“It will be a delightful evening,” Bishamon told her shinki before they departed. “Kazuma tells me there is shopping and food and beautiful lights. It will be a cold night so make sure you are dressed warmly!”
-
When they arrived, the market was crowded, with so many people bustling about that Kazuma was forced to stick close to Bishamon lest he lose her in the crowd. The rest of Bishamon’s shinki had run off in pairs or groups. For many of them, it was their first time on Earth in quite a while, and it showed in the way their eyes darted hungrily from stall to stall, their excitement nearly palpable as their faces lit up with joy at Bishamon’s only request: “Have fun and be safe.”
It was nice to have some alone time with Bishamon. Like how it used to be, when it was him and her against the world. Not that he didn’t like the other shinki, he chastised himself, but it was different being her sole confidant. Her attention was spread so thin these days…
“Oh!” exclaimed Bishamon, pulling Kazuma out of his thoughts by the arm and leading toward a nearby stall. Beautiful, handcrafted knives lined the walls of the stall.
“Look at this craftsmanship! It’s amazing how humans can be so dedicated to produce works of art like this when they have so little time on Earth.”
Bishamon tore her gaze away from the knives. “Kazuma,” she said, a hint of excitement in her voice. “You said that a large part of Christmas tradition is the gift giving, right?”
Kazuma nodded, not sure where her train of thought was headed.
“One of these knives would be a nice gift, right? For Yugiha, perhaps?”
“I suppose you’re right,” Kazuma replied, understanding dawning on him.
Bishamon clapped her hands together in excitement. “Let’s buy a gift for everyone!”
An hour and a half later, they had purchased gifts for nearly everyone, and both Kazuma and Bishamon were weighed down with shopping bags.
“You’re the only one left to buy a gift for, Kazuma. Is there anything you want or need?”
“No, nothing.” Kazuma said with a shake of his head. And it was true. Just spending time with Bishamon was gift enough. He wanted for nothing, except her happiness. Needed nothing, except her attention. And he had already received both.
Bishamon looked like she was about to respond when Kazuma saw the familiar scarf and horrendous tracksuit of Yato out of the corner of his eye. Hiyori was by his side, eyes wide with excitement as she pointed to something on the wall at one of the stalls. He immediately steered Bishamon the other direction so she wouldn’t see them. He wanted to avoid a fight in the middle of the market if at all possible. The two gods were on better terms these days, but he didn’t want anything to sour Bishamon’s good mood.
“What about you, Viina?” Kazuma asked in an attempt to keep the goddess’s attention anywhere but Yato. “Is there anything you want?”
Bishamon’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as if she hadn’t considered that gift giving could go two ways. She looked thoughtful for a minute, then gave Kazuma a smile.
“You have a better eye than I do Kazuma. I’m sure whatever you got me would be lovely.”
Kazuma spent the next half hour distracted, peeking into every stall for something, anything that would be worthy of Bishamon. With each passing stall he grew more and more anxious. He would never find anything worthy of her, because she deserved nothing less than perfection.
Then he saw a small jewelry stall, tucked between a candy shop and a stall selling wooden carvings of animals. Bishamon wasn’t huge on accessories, but it couldn’t hurt to look, right? But how could he approach the stall without her noticing?
And then he heard someone call out his name.
“Kazuma!”
It was Hiyori, hurrying up to him and Bishamon, Yato trailing behind her. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”
Yato had a scowl on his face, and Kazuma saw Bishamon tense beside him.
“You.”
“You.”
“Oh! Bishamon is here, too! How are you?”
Bishamon’s frown vanished and she gave Hiyori a kind smile. “Well, and you?”
“Great! Yato and I are trying to find a gift for Yukine, but it’s hard because Yato here is so stingy.”
“I am not stingy!” Yato protested uselessly, eyeing the bags hanging off Bishamon’s arm with envy.
Kazuma eyed the jewelry stall out of the corner of his eye. He had failed in his attempt to keep Bishamon and Yato away from each other, but he could use the situation to his advantage. He slipped away and approached the stall. Nothing seemed like it would be a good fit for Bishamon, but then he spotted something in the corner of the display. It was perfect. He quickly paid for the item and slipped the bag into his pocket before making his way back to Bishamon, who was now arguing rather loudly with Yato about who was “better at Christmas.”
“It’s getting late, Viina,” Kazuma said once he was back at her side.
“He’s right,” Hiyori said, placing her hand on Yato’s arm. “We told Yukine we would be back by 10:30.”
Bishamon sighed, and Yato followed suit.
After bidding goodbye to Bishamon and Kazuma, Hiyori led Yato away, her hand in his. The god was staring down at their entwined fingers with something like awe on his face. Kazuma wondered what it would be like to hold Bishamon’s hand the same way. He liked to imagine that his face would have been a bit more dignified.
He knew better, though.
-
The next day, everyone gathered to exchange gifts. It was a day filled with happiness and good cheer. After all the horrible things that had happened in the last year, it was nice to see smiles on everyone’s faces. It was nice to be together.
At the center of it was Bishamon, smiling brightly, laughter echoing through the room like wind-chimes.
“Kazuma!” Bishamon called out. “I have to give you your gift now!”
Kazuma dutifully made his way through the crowd to Bishamon’s side.
“Viina, I told you that I didn’t need anything…”
“And who are you to tell a god what she can and cannot do?”
Her tone was light and joking, but Kazuma felt his face heat up.
“Apologies, Viina, I meant no disrespect.”
Bishamon’s smile softened. “I know.”
She handed over a small booklet. Kazuma took it.
“It’s a joint gift,” Bishamon said. “You’re much better at picking suitable gifts than I am, and I ended up needing everyone to pitch in. I actually got the idea from Hiyori. She mentioned it as a possibility when I expressed concern over an appropriate gift for you. Apparently Yato ended up giving his own hafuri a similar gift. Normally I would never follow his example, but it was Hiyori’s idea and she may be a young mortal, but she has a good head on her shoulders. For the most part, at least.”
Kazuma flipped through the book.
“It’s a coupon book!” Bishamon said, “Each coupon is good for one use. You can use them whenever you need them. I knew if I tried to give you a real vacation you would refuse it, but hopefully this can be a compromise? Whenever you are feeling tired or overworked, you can use one of these to take a little of the weight off.”
On each page was a different thing. One free takeout delivery. One breakfast in bed. Any chore of your choice. One dry-cleaning run. One day off. And on and on they went. One coupon for each shinki. Kazuma’s chest suddenly felt tight. Being Bishamon’s hafuri was an often thankless task. He worked tirelessly not only to keep Bishamon safe but to maintain order and keep the household organized and running smoothly. Though he never felt the need or the desire to take a break, it was nice to know that the other shinki saw his efforts and believed that he deserved a one. The gesture meant more to him than the actual coupons themselves.
“Thank you, Viina,” Kazuma said. “Thank you all,” he said to the audience of shinki standing before him. “I truly appreciate this.”
And with that, the Christmas celebration was over, and Bishamon’s shinki began to make their way out of the room until only Kazuma was left.
“Viina,” Kazuma said when the door shut and he was left alone with the goddess. “I didn’t get a chance to give you your gift earlier.”
It was a lie. There had been plenty of chances, but he hadn’t wanted an audience. It was hard enough working up the courage to give it to her in private, let alone in front of everyone.
Bishamon’s face lit up with curiosity.
“Oh? Is this what you were buying while I was trying to convince that useless god of depravity that I was better at Christmas than he could ever be?”
Kazuma reached into his pocket and pulled out the small gift bag he had tucked away in lieu of responding. He handed it to Bishamon, suddenly nervous. Bishamon took the bag, and when her fingers graced his, his breath caught in his throat.
Bishamon opened the bag and Kazuma looked up at the ceiling. What if she thought his gift was stupid? What if she thought he was stupid? What if-
“Oh! Kazuma!”
Kazuma forced himself to look at Bishamon. Her eyes were glistening.
What did that mean? Was she disappointed? Angry? Happy? Kazuma’s heart thumped uncomfortably in his chest. This was all a huge mistake, he should never have-
Then he felt arms around him as she hugged him tightly.
Oh. Happiness, then. Bishamon was warm in his arms, her hair tickling his skin, her unshed tears wet against his neck.
“Thank you Kazuma, they’re perfect,” she whispered.
She pulled back from him.
“Put them in for me, please?”
Bishamon held her hand out and Kazuma took the two cherry blossom earrings from her. Bishamon held her hair back for him as he put in the first earring. He had never touched her ear in his human form before. Never had a reason to. It was softer than he expected. He swallowed. He was very glad he had decided to give her the earrings in private. He could hear her steady breathing as he put the clasp on the first earring. It steadied his own rapidly beating heart. She turned her head and he slid the second earring in and stepped back. The earrings caught the light of the setting sun through the window, sparking like sunlight on water. They were beautiful. She was beautiful.
“Now even when you are not beside me, I will have a small piece of you,” Bishamon was saying, but Kazuma hardly heard her, so struck as he was by her beauty. The earrings were almost an exact match to Chouki. It was a miracle that he had spotted them. He wondered if it was fate. It was a silly, romantic notion, but that was what Christmas was all about, wasn’t it?
Bishamon smiled, and Kazuma basked in the glow of it.