I'm nervous, although I don't let it show. Noriko is excited and can't restrain herself. She doesn't do that very well, I've decided. That makes me nervous as well, but it makes it obvious that she likely isn't hiding anything evil about her nature from me. It would be hard to hide that for as long as we've traveled together now. People can be one way when with only a few people and another way when with many. She's just as unrestrained, if not more so, when we're with other people.

I would have to hold her down to restrain her in this town today, so I don't. That means everyone gets to see her excited, happy face at getting to shop in the market for the first time. I'm getting a lot of "knowing" looks from the shopkeeps. They're sure I've brought my girlfriend out for a shopping trip and have told her I'll pay for anything she wants. That's how excited she is.

She's been learning very quickly, studying hard, and she's excited to get to practice speaking and listening to general conversations. I'm also listening to the conversations. We've just crossed the border into Zago, the country Gaia lives in. I need to understand the current political environment and I want to know what the current gossip is about the two of us.

Soldiers patrol the border, but most of the political unrest, like most countries right now, is internal. That's a little worrisome. Gaia lives in the town closest to the capital city, so perhaps where she is won't be so caught up in the turmoil. I'll want to be cautious the closer we get I suspect.

There isn't much more said about the Awakening coming to the Sea of Trees. People know it's happened, but no one knows what it is or where it might be. The most gossip is wondering who or what country got to it first and when the world will start seeing signs the Sky Demon is coming.

There are lots of frightened whispers about the Sky Demon. It isn't all that new, it's just picked up again now that the sign was given of the Awakening. It still depresses me, so I stop listening closely, only keeping aware of any new thing that might be said.

I purchase herbs first. There are just a few that are hard to come by in the wild. Noriko has yet to become ill other than the diseases she gave herself. On days I'm grumpy, I believe that she will never be ill and never needed to be ill to begin with. She still gets minor cuts, bruises, and burns.

After the episode of the itchy and painful welts, if she's stung by an insect that makes her itch, she welts up very badly. The best medicine for that is one I have to buy, and I'm willing to pay for it. She's very grumpy when she itches horribly. I make sure that cream is in her bag. I don't need to touch her that way again.

I purchase second some necessary food-stuffs. There's one particular spice she likes that I buy in larger quantity this time. There are fruits here that aren't in the wild that are sweet and juicy. I explain to her as best I can what they're like and how to select good ones that aren't under-ripe or rotting. She carefully chooses out one each of three of them, then asks me what fruit is my favorite.

I point to a different one. I don't have a favorite. I want to know how she'll use her new knowledge. She carefully picks through the fruits, lightly pressing on them, smelling them, until she settles on one. She takes them to the shopkeep and one more time, I haggle with her, speaking slowly enough Noriko can follow along and learn. She pays very close attention.

When the fruits are purchased, she hands me my "favorite" and puts the other three in her bag for now. I begin to reach for my bag and she interrupts me. "Show me, how cut fruit."

I shove my internal reaction to her wanting to start with "my favorite" down and pull out my knife. I show her as we walk slowly down the street, handing her the first slice. I want to see what her reaction is. Her mouth puckers just a little. "Is that right taste?" she asks me, wanting to know if she chose a ripe fruit.

I eat the next slice, considering the flavor. I nod rather practically. "Yes. It's ripe." Inside I'm laughing at her.

"You are bitter," she frowns at me.

I smile at her and she knows I'm teasing her and blows out a puff of air in slight frustration that I've teased her again. I stop at a close stand and purchase a small bag of the right seasonings. I cut another slice of the fruit and dip it in the salt-sugar mix and hand it to her. She glares at me slightly, but takes it and tastes it anyway.

She's too inquisitive, but I'm being kind this time. The mixture of flavors delights her, and then me as I eat my dipped slice of the fruit. This is why I like this fruit, for all it is bitter. With the right additional things it's intriguing and a delight to experience. We have it eaten fairly quickly, and I save the leftover seasonings. We can add them to one of our meals later.

We've reached the end of the market street and have seen all the shops there are to see. I turn us around and challenge her. "Your turn."

She's ready. She studied the coinage closely before we came. She smiles, just as excited to try her own hand at shopping. I would have thought she would be nervous to be using her still limited speaking skills. "Ah, but, negotiate, I can't. It's okay?" I nod. I've given her what coin I can allow her to spend, and I want to know what she'll do with it.

She walks us back about a third of the way down the street, then turns off onto a side street to enter a door just off the main path. I look around, then have to turn away from her and cover my mouth to not let out the laugh out loud. She's come straight for the stationary, the scholars shop. She pinches me for laughing at her, then pridefully ignores me as she inspects all of the bound blank books closely until she picks one out.

She carries it to the counter and sets it to the side to not be in the way. Then she gets the attention of the shopkeep and begins to ask questions. I watch her from a distance, and again, I see the Teacher. This time she's learning, but it's still the Teacher. She wants to know which ink is best for what and lasts how long. Sometimes I must step in and translate for her.

When she's satisfied she understands, she gets into her bag and pulls out the pen she was given in Calco. She asks questions again, and this time the lecture she absorbs is one on the nibs. The shopkeep shows her how a new good one absorbs the ink and writes neatly. Then he shows her where hers is cracked and how that makes it absorb ink improperly and leave messes behind.

The shopkeep is patient with her questions because he wants to be able to sell her the best quality of everything he owns, like all shopkeeps would. She studies all levels of qualities, though, wanting to know the full range of what's available. Finally she wavers over two inks and three nibs. I'm rather surprised when she uses even her nonverbal skills to get the shopkeep to lower his prices on the more expensive things that she would rather have.

She needs the higher quality things for how long we'll be gone from towns and she understands that. She also wants lots of ink for that same reason, so quantity becomes part of the negotiation. When she's satisfied, she counts out the coin properly and the shopkeep wraps up her purchases for her. They disappear into her bag and she smiles up at me.

When we've left the shop, I say, "You negotiated well, Noriko."

She grins at me. "I have good teacher."

It takes me a moment to realize she isn't talking about the Teacher inside of her, but about me. There's almost no comparison because it's like my strength to hers. I blush. Her eyes light up and she's skipping away. I groan and roll my eyes. She was teasing me back in return from before.

The next place she goes is for a clothing shop. I would expect a girl to go there next, but she again surprises me. This strange being, the Awakening, does not begin to sift through the flowing dresses, nor even the embroidered ones, for all her eyes couldn't leave the clothing of the merchant in Calco.

Instead, she heads for a section behind the clothing that is only unsewn cloth. She feels all of them, studying the weave, the hand, and the colors. She likes the feel of the smooth and expensive silk, but moves on until she's learned all of them and heard from the shopkeep the prices of each.

Her eyes light up with what can only be a conniving look, the first time I've seen it on her, as if she's just found her mark and will now have it in hand shortly. She looks over the fabrics again, but this time her eyes come frequently to me, as if measuring me now along with the fabrics. Then she comes over to me and takes the back of my sleeve and indicates she's done and ready to move on.

The shopkeep is disappointed, but I pretend to not notice any more than Noriko and we're off again. This time...to another shop the same as the previous one, but at the other end of the market street. I raise my eyebrow at her slightly. This time, she spends less time reviewing the fabrics and more time learning their prices. Again we leave without her making any purchases.

I'm quite curious now. I know she doesn't have enough coin for very much fabric. It would take all of the rest of it for a simple dress already made. Her head turns this way and that, listening, and then we're headed out of the market district again and for a back street. The sound of hammer on steel gets louder and my own feet are interested, although I don't know why she wants the blacksmith.

When we arrive, Noriko asks the blacksmith if his wife is available to talk to her, and if he has any daughters. He actually has two and she asks to speak with them as well. He sends in one of his sons to fetch them from his house, then looks at me quizzically. I shrug. I don't know what Noriko's doing either. However, I do have my own business with him if he has time. I pull my sword from my belt.

"We've been on the road for a while," I say. "Would you be willing to look it over and maybe sharpen it while she's doing whatever she's doing?"

"Sure," he holds out his hand. "Is she your wife, or girlfriend?"

"My employer's daughter. I'm taking her to her aunt's house."

The blacksmith looks over at Noriko as his wife and daughters arrive. He looks confused as Noriko pulls paper, ink, and pen from her bag and moves to a far table to be out of the way.

"Her mother left Zago with a sailor from one of the far islands and it's her first time here. Her father dropped her off at the port and hired me there. He had to return with the ship. I've been teaching her how to speak the language. She still prefers to draw when there are words she doesn't know," I explain.

That satisfies him enough that he focuses on my sword again. "This is a nice blade," he comments. Then he frowns at it. "It's seen some heavy blows, though. It's going to take some reheating and repair."

He isn't wrong. I fought against Keimos with this blade. All of my swords see heavy damage when I use energy through them, but I was thinking that plus Keimos' blows would have done worse things. I sigh, dicker, and still have to pay more than I want. It will be worth it, those repairs, so I try to not complain.

While the blacksmith gets to work, shoving the sword deep into the coals of the fire and using the bellows to bring the coals up to temperature, I turn to see what Noriko's doing. She has the ladies clustered around her, watching as she's doing something in her lap with what seems to be cloth. Her head comes up and she smiles at the ladies. They smile back, just as excited as she has been all day.

She asks them another question, and the wife is headed for the blacksmith. She drags him over to see what Noriko has shown them. He's suddenly also intrigued and asks to handle something very small. Small stones appear in my stomach and I move closer. The blacksmith's mutters and then questions don't help. They make the stones larger, but I'm already too late.

I can only stand to the side and watch as Noriko negotiates with great ability until there's an agreement between them. A drawing passes to the blacksmith and an expensive pair of scissors and some coins pass from him to her. The wife and each of the daughters disappear as the paper disappears into the front of the blacksmith's jacket and he returns to check on the temperature of my sword. He's too excited by what he learned to look at me again.

I've seen how the Teacher in action influences others from outside of it, now, and I'm unhappy. She's used her skills to win for herself a thing she wants without spending coin, a good thing generally. What she's traded for it worries me. It's knowledge not of this world.

The ladies return with three sewing needles each and hand them over to Noriko. She adds them to her scissors in her bag and I understand why she was looking at fabric now. She knows how to sew, and she knows that I ruin clothing. I slump against the wall of the blacksmithy. She's thinking of me, again, but not thinking of how dangerous little things like that are...because I haven't told her to be careful. She'll ask why and I don't want to tell her, even still.

The ladies continue to talk to her while the smith works on my sword. It isn't until we leave - me paying a third of the price he initially told me making me worry even more - that I can hide us in a back alley and tell her. "Noriko, you can't tell them about things of your world. There are those that will come asking questions and because they've seen you, they will tell. That's dangerous."

I don't know how to say it any other way. We still don't have enough common words, and I'm not the Teacher she is, to convince her with strength. Her own mind understands it, though. She bites her lip, thinks about it properly, then nods and apologizes and promises with clear worried eyes that she won't again. It's the best I can hope for, I suppose.

We return to the fabric shop that had less expensive fabric and Noriko again negotiates very well, from the beginning. She picks up a random fabric and holds it up to me and looks at me and the fabric, then shakes her head and puts it back. She drags me to several places and fabrics doing the same until the shopkeep finishes with the current customer and comes to talk to Noriko.

Since I'd figured out she was going to do this at the blacksmith shop, I play along, being bored rather than embarrassed, which I would have been if I hadn't known. Again, the shopkeep tries to talk Noriko into expensive fabrics. Noriko finally glares at her and points to my sword and makes it plain that she won't waste money on someone who might get his clothes ruined during battle. I raise my eyebrow slightly at the shopkeep and she has to give in that it only makes sense that cheaper materials are more practical.

Noriko finally picks two fabrics, one that is a deep blue and one that is a lighter blue. She also needs threads to match and the shopkeep points out the rack of spools of thread. Noriko looks pained, then sighs. She says she'll buy less of the two fabrics, then. They haggle until the costs of adding the thread are less and so is the amount of fabric. We leave with two bundles of fabric and two spools of thread. She's done far better than I thought she would.

"We'll need a third bag for that much more," I say to her. "Do you have enough for that, too?" Noriko's challenge glint comes to her eyes and she opens her bag and stuffs it all into her bag. She neither rises to the greed of having more (even if it is only another bag), nor does she fall for the tease.

She's looking for one more place, but she doesn't ask me. When she finally stops a woman with nicely done embroidery on her clothing, I understand why she didn't ask me. It's more hand work and no words between us to explain it. That woman understands, though, and kindly directs us to a shop off the market way.

I'm still watching Noriko, so I see her freeze as her eyes take in the whole shop. She scans slowly and I swear she's drooling. She may know how to sew, but here are the things she truly enjoys. "Touch, can I?" she asks.

I throw a glance at the shopkeep. He gives me a small nod, already having recognized her expression. "Yes," I say to her and she's off, dancing almost in her delight. I lean against the wall next to the door and watch her. The shop is small, so I can see her without moving. To see her delight in things in this way always calms me. I'm able to also find a little delight in things with her.

She explores the feel of the yarns and threads, like she did the fabrics. There are a few yarns she finds hard to put down and her fingers want to go back to holding them. She finally runs up to me. "Other villages, shops like this?" I look at the shopkeep again, not knowing really.

He looks at me like I'm the one from a different planet. "Of course."

"Can we visit again another?" she begs me.

I put my hand on her head to restrain her. She's going too far in front of the shopkeep. "Later." Perhaps Gaya can take her.

She calms down immediately and gives me an odd sober look. It's like she's sensed something of what I was thinking, what I'm still hiding from her. "Thank you, Izark. Then I buy some today, some later." I nod.

She returns to the embroidery threads and hunts through them and pulls out a handful of mixed colors, including the basics. This time I watch as she haggles, using the extra colors as her push on the shopkeep, until she "sadly" leaves with only a few sets of threads, and having finished the deal by saying she only has "this much, take it or leave it". The shopkeep took it, his gift to someone who loves his wares and can't afford them today - a mark of a good salesman who knows how to have a repeat customer. Noriko won't be back, however, but I don't tell him.

Noriko looks up at me as we leave the shop, headed back for the market. "All done!" she says cheerfully.

I stop and look at her in confusion. "Why not a brush?"

Noriko freezes, her eyes wide. "Oh. I forgot. I was thinking of hands busy." She blushes.

I can get "hands busy". If it keeps her from falling asleep while we ride on the horse that will be a good distraction. I've got enough for the brush, not having to pay for the sword repair as much as I should have. I'd been thinking we needed that purchase, particularly before we get to Gaya's, so I was looking at the prices on our first way through.

We arrive at the beauty booth and she looks through the brushes. I can tell she'll be happy with the least expensive one. I'm just thinking that this should be simple, when the shopkeep's assistant steps up and starts trying to talk me into getting something additional for my "cute girlfriend". I try to disabuse her, but she's so used to the tactic to sell more wares, her ears are turned off.

When Noriko picks up on the bent of the sales pitch, if not the words since I've purposely not included "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" in the lessons on relationship words, she slips into the role of "girlfriend shopping with boyfriend" quite well. It makes me wonder just how many boyfriends she's had before coming here.

That makes me irritated in a way I don't like and try to ignore. Not only am I not her boyfriend, nor she my girlfriend, I really don't need to be feeling irrational jealousy for people who may just not exist in a place she can't even go back to.

It ends up badly for me, having to buy her not just a brush but also a comb and another unnecessary piece to solidify in the minds of the two shopkeeps that we really are boyfriend and girlfriend. As we turn to leave, Noriko grabs hold of my arm, thanking me with sparkling smiles, continuing the roleplay. I'm hard pressed to not growl at her.

When we're far enough away, I impatiently take my arm back. She holds on to my sleeve instead, then moves to take the back of my jacket. That's better. We leave the town immediately.

At the place we left the horse, I turn on Noriko. "Noriko, why did you tease me?" I'd carefully set up a completely different story for us and in that one moment it was changed. I hope not ruined.

Her first try to explain doesn't work. She paces in a little circle, trying to find the right way to give me an answer. She looks up at me. "What is Noriko and Izark?"

I freeze. Her eyes go wide, then an eyebrow raises. "Izark, you say not to say where you find me. You say not to show new small metal [technology]. Is it not good to say I am girlfriend to hide? Is a better way to hide?" I would tell her what I was saying, but I haven't thawed yet. She's treading on the ground I'm not willing to talk about, so don't have any words for her to begin with.

She frowns, then muses, "No. Is better way. Have you stolen me?" My heart stops beating. Is it the Teacher who's suddenly walked the path of reading my intentions? Or is it her intelligence following her own thoughts that have knocked at the door to my fear? Her eyes go wide again because I've given her the small sign she's still thinking right.

Noriko nods and crouches down to draw. In the back of my mind, behind my fear, I wonder that she can accept it so calmly. "Family - husband, wife - join with other family say yes." She draws a couple, hand in hand, and other people around them. "What word?" My dry mouth manages to say the word.

"Man-woman marriage join when other family say no?" She hides the couple in the center of her drawing and looks up at me, the Teacher trapping me. She will have her answer regardless of what I desire. I do manage to pause, but the word still falls reluctantly from my lips. She nods. It also happens in her world for her to have even asked.

"Izark and Noriko elope. Run from family. Then okay we are together, and we are hiding our meeting." She's blushing now, realizing the difficulty of this lie, why I've not used it. I can't look at her any longer and turn my face away and fold my arms.

I'm not even going to be able to explain my preferred excuse now. Not because it isn't reasonable or good, but because my mouth has been shut by the Teacher. It isn't Noriko's fault. I think she would consider it and agree with it, actually. The Teacher has confronted me and my fear has won. I can't speak at all.

Noriko pauses, then erases her picture and stands. It isn't until she moves that I can move and it's a reaction of panic. I take hold of her arm to prevent her from walking away. I wait until she's turned to see me. "I'm sorry, Noriko." It's a secret that's so painful that to tell you is far worse than the burning curiosity you'll have from now on. I don't want you to leave, you can't leave, and death and imprisonment are the outcome of that secret being told to anyone - even you.

I can't say that part though. I can only be sorry that she's learned even the little she has from watching my reactions to her questions. I hate myself right at the moment, for giving it away, for changing how she sees me, for making her even more curious than ever before.

She finally says back, "Someday I wish to hear truth, Izark." Because I can't say it, I can't look her in the eye. She sighs, still reading my body language. "Not today okay, Izark." She gently removes my hand from her arm, willing at the moment to allow me to calm down from my panic, but it's only a postponement. I'll need to decide soon to fight my inner demon and tell her before this becomes even worse.

She has hold of my sleeve and she's walking us to the horse's side. I'm grateful she's willing to let me calm down. I wish I could kill her here and now. I wish I could walk away and not look back. ...We are almost to Gaya's.

I take a slow breath, then boost Noriko up on the horse. She doesn't look at me again, nor does she have to once we're on the move again. Her stiffness speaks her confusion, hurt, and uncertainty. I cannot answer it.