NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Courting Death
Unamused by Nobu's persistent laughter, Yui waited for several seconds before promptly giving him a crisp slap with the back of her hand.
"You have three seconds to explain yourself."
Tasting blood in his mouth, Nobu licked his teeth before displaying a bloody smile that caused Yui to adopt a serious expression. Before she could strike him a second time, however, Nobu's turned into a vicious grin as he said, "I know exactly where the person you're looking for is. I can even tell you what happened to Old Man Natsu."
Blinking in surprise, Yui relaxed her posture, a nascent smile on her face as she said, "Go on. Tell me what you know and I'll make it more than worth-"
Though it probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, Nobu didn't wait for Yui to finish before promptly replying, "Noooooope~!'
With the pupils of her obsidian-blue eyes retracting to the size of pinholes, it was easy to see that Yui was unamused by Nobu's ill-advised playfulness. A pale glow immediately manifested around her right hand, but, rather than shy away, Nobu adopted his widest smile yet as he said, "If you hit me again, I promise you'll regret it."
Glowering in response to Nobu's 'threat', Yui formed her aura into claws as she struck the former's chest with her palm. The tips of her nails sank nearly half a centimeter into his chest, and, as a result of her aura penetrating his body, the resultant bleed was far more intense than it should have been.
Though he was reeling from the strike, Nobu was far more concerned about the injuries sustained to his right hand than the puncture wounds on his chest. It would undoubtedly hurt like hell later on, but, for the time being, it simply burned. His hand, however, had been fractured during his fight in the alleyway. His bindings had caused it to swell to more than twice its usual size, so, when he fell back on it, a truly unfathomable amount of pain shot through his body.
"AAAAAAAAH! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! YOU STUPID FUCKING CUNT! ARE YOU GETTING OFF ON THIS SHIT...!?"
Before his reincarnation, Nobu had always thought his pain tolerance was above average. Now, he was realizing that he had simply never experienced true pain before. He wanted so badly to punch something, but, thanks to bindings keeping his arms firmly held in place, the only thing he could do was writhe about before hitting his head against the floor in a vain attempt to, at the very least, dull the pain.
Seeing Nobu thrashing about, blood spattering across every surface, Yui's cold expression gradually morphed into a slightly anxious glower. The only person she had ever killed was a brigand captured by her family for the sole purpose of allowing the younger generation to experience taking a life. At the time, she had felt very little remorse. The man's fate had already been set in stone, and, had she failed, her path as a warrior would have been severed.
A stark contrast to the situation back then, the man before her, at least to her knowledge, hadn't actually done anything wrong. He had even apologized after nearly spitting blood on her, yet, for her own convenience, she was now tormenting him for information. As a result, she was beginning to feel a little nauseous, so, after several seconds of stunned silence, she harshly commanded, "Stop thrashing about! If you keep this up, you're going to die...!"
Hearing the slight panic in the woman's voice, equal parts rage and vindication erupted from the depths of Nobu's soul as he shouted, "Good! I would rather die than spend a single moment longer in this god-forsaken world! My only regret is that I won't get to see your face when you realize what you've done!"
Nobu didn't know if it was because he had already reincarnated or because he felt helpless thinking about never being able to see his mother again. Either way, he didn't fear death in the slightest. The last couple of hours had been a living hell, so, even if this was his only chance to reincarnate, he no longer cared. Dying early on was a lot better than wasting hundreds of years only to discover there was no method for him to return home...
Taken aback by the fear, anguish, rage, and indignation in Nobu's eyes, Yui found herself unable to move from her spot. His eyes lacked the resignation that others would show when it dawned upon them that they were going to die. Instead, there was an unnatural 'conviction' contained within his pale, ashen-blue, eyes. It was as if death meant nothing to him, and, due to his words from before, she felt as though she truly might regret it if she allowed him to die...
Fortunately, for the both of them, Nobu's malnourished state had made him slightly anemic. As a result, it didn't take long for him to collapse, face-first, onto the floor. This alarmed Yui quite a bit, but, after checking for a pulse, a sigh of relief parted her pale-pink lips as she detected the weak yet remarkably stable beating of his heart...
"I'm not sure if I should compare your tenaciousness to a King or a cockroach..."
---
Waking after god knows how many hours, Nobu was both relieved and annoyed to find his body wrapped in bandages and his right arm set in a splint. He had seriously intended to die, and, while it wasn't exactly her fault, a part of him was looking forward to speaking his mind the next time he encountered the Goddess. Instead, it looked like this world wasn't yet done with him.
"At least you had the good senses to untie those stupid fucking ropes..."
Frowning in response to Nobu's words, Yui, who had been sitting patiently at the side of his bed, remarked, "You have a sharp tongue. It's a wonder you've been able to survive this long, especially with that cultivation base. It's like you've never trained a day in your life."
Snorting through his nose, Nobu closed his eyes before silently muttering, "You have no idea what you're talking about..."
Maintaining her frown, Yui held up her right hand to display her golden aura as she said, "I'm a lot more knowledgeable than you, that's for sure."
Opening his eyes half-way, Nobu stared directly at Yui's golden aura before shaking his head and saying, "It's easy to say things like that when you don't know the other person's circumstances..."
Relaxing her expression somewhat, Yui tried to appear understanding as she asked, "Did something happen to your cultivation base? I didn't find anything particularly wrong with your body. If there is anything unusual, it's the fact you're healthy despite exhibiting the signs of extreme malnutrition. If you can explain to me what happened, I might be able to help."
Not expecting the woman who had tormented him to suddenly offer her assistance, Nobu stared at Yui as if she were some kind of alien creature. He wasn't sure if she was just arrogant or extremely naive. Either way, it was obvious there were some pretty drastic differences in the ways they viewed the world.
Exhaling a sigh, Nobu sank into his pillow, eyes closed as he asked, "Tell me...does my great savior have a name?"
Lowering her hand, Yui adopted a slightly hostile tone as she grumbled, "It's customary for one to give their own name before asking for someone else's..."
Taking advantage of the fact they were still closed, Nobu rolled his eyes in response to Yui's remark before saying, "My name is Nanamori Nobu. I would say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but it really isn't."
"Eh?"
Demonstrating that she did, in fact, have a cute side, Yui's expression showed a mixture of extreme confusion and disbelief as she sheepishly asked, "Can you...repeat that...?"
Opening his eyes, Nobu stared directly at Yui before saying, "You heard me the first time. And yes, I am the person you're looking for. Congratulations. You found me."
Though one of his arms was wrapped in a splint, Nobu performed jazz hands in mock celebration of Yui's 'accomplishment'. This caused the bewildered look on the young woman's face to immediately transition into an accusatory glower as she said, "You're lying. How could it be that the person I pull from the streets just so happens to be the same person I'm searching for? Don't think I'll be fooled with such a blatant lie."
Snorting for a second time, Nobu shrugged his shoulders in a dismissive manner before saying, "I honestly don't give a fuck. Given the shitty treatment so far, I'm honestly happy you don't believe me. The less I have to associate with your psycho ass, the better."
Gritting her teeth in frustration, Yui resisted the urge to reward Nobu's callous remark with a punch. It was clear such methods didn't work on him, and, despite his apparent disregard, the sweat on his brow showed that his condition was just as serious as she knew it to be. If she struck him now, there was a very real chance that he might die.
Forcibly calming her rage, Yui was about to ask for proof when Nobu interrupted her, repeating, "As I said before. I honestly don't give a fuck. Believe me or don't believe me. It's your choice. Just make sure you cough up the reward you promised when you figure things out on your own."
Recalling her previous promise, Yui found herself at a loss for words, The way Nobu spoke was as if he was absolutely certain he would receive a reward. This would mean he was telling the truth, but, if that were the case, it would also indicate she had assaulted the very person she had been tasked to both locate and escort back to the Yoshitsune Clan Estate.
Suppressing the panic she was experiencing, Yui maintained an accusatory tone as she said, "From what I was told, the grandson of Nanamori Natsu was dull-witted and unable to move around on his own. There is clearly something wrong with your head but it's not to the extent people would classify you as having a deficiency of the mind..."
Understanding that Yui was basically calling him retarded, Nobu's expression formed into a flawless deadpan as he replied, "I really don't want to hear something like that from a psycho who resorts to violence against people who are clearly weaker than her. If you're looking for someone with a screw loose, try looking in a mirror."
Confused by Nobu's words, Yui remained silent for several seconds as she wondered what a mirror had to do with her search. It was rumored that some clairvoyants were able to use them to view a target from thousands of kilometers away but that didn't really apply to the present situation.
Seeing Yui seriously considering his words, it was Nobu's turn to feel at a loss. His meaning would have been obvious to anyone back on Earth, but, here in this foreign world, that clearly wasn't the case. Fortunately, or perhaps not, it seemed like she eventually understood what he was trying to convey as her confused looked very quickly morphed into an expression of scorn.
If he had both hands available to him, Nobu would have clapped. Instead, he adopted a look of mock surprise as he said, "Wow! It only took you twenty seconds to understand something even a toddler would have-"
Before he could finish his words, Nobu's worked faded to black as Yui's fist promptly reunited with his face. It wasn't like the normal unconsciousness either. In fact, were a Doctor to be present, they would have quickly diagnosed him as being in a coma. Despite this, Nobu didn't regret his decision in the slightest. After all, moments before his brain had simply shut down, he got to see what it was like when someone blushed like an anime character in real life...