Noriaki's hand continued to rest on the woman's thigh, even as the woman regained consciousness for a brief moment. And that moment was all it took for Noriaki to remove her hand with authority, silently cursing herself for giving into such morally dark and questionable temptations. But then the sighed phrase, the sighed word from the woman caused Noriaki to widen her eyes, to lightly shake the woman as if needing confirmation that she had heard what she thought she had heard. Noriaki placed her hands on the woman's shoulders, first slightly lifting her back, cradling it against Noriaki's knees. She shook the woman lightly. No response. 

"I must be dreaming...or this really is some kind of divine being...she called me...no...impossible. Had to have misheard...is this...can this be what is known as fate? Lamenting my loss, deeply missing the voluptuous, the short-tempered, and the demon slayer, as well as the shrine maiden and the...the others...and here before me falls one just as beautiful as the others...who, even in her weakened state shows a clear eye. This must be fate!"

Noriaki moved her hands down, cradling her arms under the woman's thighs and, with an audible grunt, lifted, getting to her feet while holding the girl in her arms. A village child came running over with a wet cloth, which was applied to the woman's forehead. The woman was made heavier by the armor she wore, and it showed in the expression on Noriaki's face, But she was determined, she would shoulder this burden and she would play nurse to this instrument of fate. 

She carried the woman to the room Noriaki had rented out for the night and set her down on the flat mattress. "I...I do not know if I should remove the armor, as much as I would love to see this angel in her natural garment, it..it wouldn't be proper...would it? Oh, such quandaries. Why do you have to be unconscious? The women I bring back to my room are all of sound mind and body and cannot wait to disrobe...but you...you cannot rightly give consent...but...you might be wounded..." 

Noriaki decided to simply let the woman rest. She would most likely come to regret it, not removing the armor, not stealing a glance...but even she had her limits, and unconscious women were one of them. So instead she sat in the corner of the room, watching the woman for any response.