Chap. 10
Gaga and Onua walked along the road into town, on their ay to go shopping. Onua wore a pale blue dress with puffed sleeves and a wide-brimmed, ladies' straw hat, and carried a whicker basket over one arm. Gaga wore an outfit that she had fitted for him the day before, a round-collared black jacket and pants. They looked pretty good on him, not unlike a uniform. They reached town as the last of the shops opened. They began wandering throughout the market, selecting different products as necessary and paying for them.
"Gaga-san," said Onua, "I'm going to go look for some spices my mother wants, would you mind getting some carrots?"
"Of course not, Onua-san. Shall I meet you back here when I have them?"
"That would be good. I'll be back in a bit!"
They parted ways, with Onua going towards a spice shop around the corner and Gaga looking for a vegetable stand nearby. He made the purchase and took the paper bag with carrots back to the meeting-place to wait for Onua.
Onua was still looking through the spices in the shop, trying to pick out the best ones. "Hmm. This one looks good. Let's see, oregano, chili powder, saffron, dill…" She made her purchases and put them in her basket. Leaving the shop, she heard a slight commotion coming from where she had left Gaga. She went to the corner and looked around, intending to find out what was going on before revealing herself. The sight that met her eyes was amusing, to say the least.
Gaga was backed up against a wall, the bag of carrots set at his feet. He was surrounded by young women, and looked extremely confused and nervous, almost sweating. They were talking to him, or rather, at him, as he seemed to be too frightened to reply, though he tried to, so as not to be rude. The other townspeople seemed to have noticed his plight, but weren't interfering. The young men were grouped on the other side of the plaza, looking distinctly annoyed, casting dirty looks his way. Onua smiled, she had better intervene or there would be trouble later.
Gaga was feeling distinctly harried. He had no idea why these young ladies were pestering him, and he sensed dander from the young men across the plaza. He just wished that Onua would come back so they could finish their shopping and return to the caravan.
"Darling!"
He looked to see where that came from, and saw Onua running towards him, smiling.
"Darling! There you are! I was trying to find you, but there were so many people, I couldn't see you!" The crowd of women parted, and she came up to him. Catching hold of his hand, she looked at him earnestly. "We still need to finish the shopping for Mother, what's going on?"
"Oh, ah, I was waiting here for you, but then all of these ladies came and wanted to talk to me, and I was so confused, I couldn't find you either. I kept on wondering when you'd return." He was relieved that she was here, and the crowd of girls was starting to break up, looking slightly annoyed. The men across the plaza didn't seem so hostile now either. He was so thankful that he didn't even question her calling him 'darling.' "Let's finish the shopping, shall we?"
They walked off together as the marketplace went back to normal. He realized that Onua was still holding his hand and reddened. He tried to tug his hand away gently, but she just held tighter, saying, "Don't let go, at least not until we finish the shopping and leave town." He reddened more, but didn't try to let go again.
When they had finished the shopping and were outside of town, she released him. He stopped , turning to confront her.
"What was that all about?" he asked. "Why were those girls surrounding me? Why were the young men angry? Why did you insist on holding my hand? And why did you call me 'darling'?" He blushed while asking the last two questions.
She sighed. "You probably haven't realized this, but…Gaga-san, you're gorgeous, if such a term can be used for a man."
"What?" He was shocked; the idea that he was good-looking was not one he had heard before. He had always assumed that he was about average in looks.
"You probably haven't had anyone tell you that before, simply because you were so old. You weren't at your best, and it's also possible that you're better-looking as a human than as a demon. But for now at least, you're incredibly handsome. That's why those girls were mobbing you, and why the men disliked you so much. They were jealous of how you attracted the ladies. That situation would have gotten way out of hand if I hadn't done something."
"Yes, but why did you call me 'darling'?" That was truly bothering him, and he turned even redder. The propriety…
"I had to convince the girls that you weren't available, so they would leave you alone. If they left you alone, the men would no longer see you as a threat and also leave you alone. So I gave them the impression that we're together. That's why I called you 'darling', and why I made you hold my hand. I am sorry for forcing you to do something that made you uncomfortable."
"Oh, no, ah, I mean… It's not that I didn't like holding your hand, it's just that, well…it doesn't seem…right." He said lamely, worried that he had offended her.
She chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. Let's get these supplies back to Mother, okay?"
"Y-yes, let's."
They walked back to the caravan.
