While others might have been deterred by Shizune's casual threat, Nobu, having already formed the resolve to die, simply glared at her. He had learned a long time ago never to show weakness in front of someone who thought they had the upper hand. Attempting to cooperate with them only fed this sentiment. The act of acquiescing also left you mentally vulnerable, so, even if it guaranteed him additional pain, Nobu forced himself to stay in fight mode so that the anxiety and helplessness he was feeling remained hidden beneath a veil of rage and ferocity...

Cupping her cheek with a pretend helpless expression on her face, Shizune attempted to shake Nobu's resolve by asking, "Could it be...you're actually a masochist...?"

Without losing even a minuscule amount of his edge, Nobu managed a taunting sneer as he said, "I bet you would enjoy that, wouldn't you? You sadistic cunt."

Just as it had been back in Nobu's homeworld, the word 'cunt' was particularly effective when used as an insult against females. It caused Shizune's mask to immediately fall away, replaced by a look of revulsion as she remarked, "How uncouth...I don't think I've met anyone with such a distasteful way of speaking. Do you really want me to hurt you that badly?"

Restraining a fit of dark laughter, Nobu maintained the venomous sneer on his face as he said, "I already told you what I want. If you just fucked off as I suggested, we wouldn't be in this situation. It's your psychopathic ass that's choosing to stay behind and play these stupid games."

Inhaling deeply through her nose, Shizune resisted the urge to give Nobu's face another slap and instead held up the vial of smelling salts between her thumb and index finger, saying, "I've already discovered your weakness. If you're going to keep talking like that, I'll have no choice but to shove this tiny vial up your nose. You only got a whiff of it previously. Do you want every breath you take from this moment onward to smell like ammonia?"

Though his complexion paled the moment Shizune held up the vial, Nobu only hesitated for a brief moment before repeating the words that were quickly becoming his catchphrase, "Fuck. Off."

Squinting her eyes, Shizune didn't immediately respond to Nobu's words. She didn't actually want to follow through on her threats. After all, she wasn't lying when she said she abhorred violence. If Nobu just refused to speak altogether, she might have simply ignored him. Instead, he was doing everything in his power to annoy her, almost as if he wanted to be tortured...

Adopting her characteristic pout, Shizune promptly returned the vial of smelling salts to her first aid kit before meeting Nobu's gaze and saying, "I'm not going to torture you. As I said previously, I just want to know more about you. If you promise to behave, I'm even willing to remove your bindings. Contrary to what you might think, I'm not actually the person who tied you up."

Since intimidation didn't seem to work, Shizune tried switching back to the bread and butter of her skills as a kunoichi, playful seduction. This was the method she was originally intending to use, but, due to the abrasive nature of her captive, she had been 'forced' to use methods she neither enjoyed nor had any real practice executing. She couldn't even slice the throat of a critically injured rabbit to put it out its misery, and, when it came time to execute a captive bandit, she just evaded his attacks until he bled out on his own. She genuinely abhorred violence, so, even if her actions compromised everything she had been building up to, she was willing to try and start over from scratch.

Though he had originally been planning to tell the woman to fuck off, Nobu fell silent the moment she offered to remove his bindings. His previous experience with ropes had led to him swearing to never let himself be bound again. That, very clearly, hadn't panned out the way he would have liked, but, now that he had the option, he only hesitated for a brief moment before nodding his head and saying, "Fine. I'm not going to roll over and suddenly start listening to everything you tell me to do, but, so long as you remove these shitty ropes, I don't mind having a chat."

Clapping her hands together with a radiant smile on her face, Shizune seemed genuinely enthused by Nobu's response. She suspected he might try something the moment he was released, but, with a full Realm separating them, it would be like an unarmed child trying to beat up a warrior wearing full armor. She had even managed to knock him out with two slaps, so, while there was a chance he was hiding something, Shizune was confident she could restrain him using a single Shikigami.

With this in mind, Shizune struggled for a very brief moment to cut the silvery bindings retraining Nobu's ankles before leaning her body against him, smiling as she reached around behind his back to sever the ones keeping his arms in place. Her breasts were nearly two cup sizes larger than every other girl in her generation, so, while most of her efforts went into caring for her skin and hair, she was most confident in the size of her bust.

Like any guy, Nobu couldn't help but take note of the ridiculously soft sensation pressing against him. Despite this, he maintained a relatively calm expression on his face, asking, "How old are you?" while shaking out the tension from his wrists.

Without leaning away from his body, Shizune cocked her head to the side in an effort to appear adorable before answering, "A woman's age is one of her most cherished secrets. However, if you answer two of my questions, I wouldn't mind giving you a hint..."

Seeing Shizune playfully lick her lips towards the end of her statement, the frown on Nobu's face deepened as he asked, "What do you want to know?"

Now that her target was beginning to cooperate, the smile on Shizune's face became noticeably more alluring as she began to gently move her hips in a circle. Then, before he could complain or protest, she answered, "I want to know your name and where you came from..." in a seductive purr.

With his frown deepening even further, the result of Shizune's actions and the smell of what he assumed to be her perfume, Nobu flatly answered, "My name is Nanamori Nobu. I grew up in Owari-Asai alongside my Grandfather."

After quickly recalling the specifics of the aforementioned city, Shizune nodded her head as if to approve of his response before linking her arms around his neck and whispering, "Old enough..." in the most inviting tone Nobu had ever heard.

Contrary to Shizune's expectations, Nobu quickly turned away from her approaching lips, saying, "Bullshit." while trying to remove her arms from around his neck. This ultimately ended in failure, primarily due to the fact that a silver membrane appeared wherever he touched, so, with a serious expression on his face, Nobu stated, "You might have big tits but real women don't have baby fat in their cheeks. Besides, you're even shorter than Yui. There's no way you're eighteen."

Though she was initially annoyed by Nobu's response, Shizune became legitimately confused when Nobu mentioned the age of eighteen. It was customary in Nian for girls as young as 8 to be married off, and, while the official rites between a man and woman couldn't be conducted until she reached physical maturity, humans were generally considered adults at the age of fifteen. In some provinces, specifically those with higher mortality rates, some people were considered adults the moment they slew their first Demon.

"I don't understand. As far as I know, the age of consent in Owari-Asai is thirteen. I recently turned fifteen-years-old, and, if my garb didn't make it clear, I'm also a kunoichi. Well, I'm technically still a trainee but that isn't really important right now. Tell me, what does being eighteen have to do with anything?"

Frowning in response to Shizune's words, Nobu was about to tell her off for trying to seduce grown men when she was still a brat, but, even back on Earth, the age of consent in Japan was infamously 13. As for his home state of Michigan, you could sleep with girls as young as sixteen, but, due to the recent trends of Political Correctness and several other cancerous movements, sleeping with anyone younger than the age of eighteen was equivalent to begging for a statutory **** conviction. There had even been an incident on campus where a guy ended up getting five years for having sex with a sixteen-year-old girl who snuck into a frat party. Thus, while it might be acceptable in this world, his brain was hardcoded to avoid younger women as if they carried the plague.

Realizing he didn't actually have an answer to Shizune's question, Nobu decided to give a different yet equally legitimate excuse, stating, "My beliefs don't allow me to lie with a woman younger than eighteen. Besides, you reek of a virgin whose more curious than anything. You might be a kunoichi or whatever, but I guarantee you'll regret it if your first time is with a guy you just met. If you're that desperate for a fucking, go and find a group of homeless people. If you're specifically targeting me, come back in a few years. You're pretty cute so I wouldn't mind sharing a few drinks and smashing you a few times."

With how obstinate Nobu was before, Shizune was genuinely taken aback by how straightforward he was behaving in the present. His words were still extremely abrasive but he somehow managed to string together advice, insults, and compliments as if it were completely normal. He was nothing like what the Elders and her mother had taught her to expect. Instead, he was simultaneously more genuine and less dignified than anyone she had ever met.

Though she couldn't fully wrap her head around the reasons why, Shizune found herself giggling in response to Nobu's words. At the same time, however, a sudden desire to break his inhibitions had cemented itself within her mind. There were fewer things more exciting than profaning a taboo, so, now that she had learned that Nobu's reasons were spiritual in nature, she was tempted to see how long he could hold out before surrendering to the desirous impulses that had allowed humans to become the most populous among the Eight Sovereign Species...

...

..

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After failing to locate any additional traces of Yuriko, Yui returned to find Rynka in the process of sawing through her bindings using a serrated kunai clasped between bloody teeth. She had such a look of determination on her face that, were it not for the fact they were enemies, Yui might have commended her effort. Instead, she surprised Rynka by spontaneously picking her up by the scruff and asking, "Do I need to gag you...?"

Opening her mouth, and subsequently dropping the serrated kunai, Rynka adopted a hostile yet visibly fatigued glare as she dryly answered, "Do your worst...no matter what...I won't give up..."

Noticing the girl's dry and cracked lips, a frustrated sigh escaped Yui's throat as she pulled out her waterskin and said, "Drink. You're no use to me if you're dead..."

Though Yui's words had tempted her not to drink, Rynka's thirst ultimately won out. She might be willing to sacrifice her life in order to complete her mission but that didn't mean she wanted to die. Eating food and drinking water would also help replenish her aura reserves, so, telling herself it was necessary for her escape, Rynka eagerly consumed the water proferred forth by Yui until the leather pouch was completely empty.

Watching Rynka suckle the mouth of the waterskin as if her life depended on it, Yui found herself restraining a second sigh as a feeling of helplessness suddenly washed over her. At this point, she was pretty confident that the only reason Yuriko and Rynka had shown up was to delay her arrival. Their mission was basically to prevent her success, and, while this usually went against the code of their family, there were countless loopholes when it came to conducting their rites of passage. She had delayed her own by three years, so, while it was incredibly frustrating, Yui wasn't surprised that the Elders had upped the difficulty of her mission at the last moment. The only concern she had was whether or not this was a ploy of her Grandmother or one of the other Elders...

"This is bullshit..."

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(A/N: I kind of feel bad for Yui...she really deserves better than this (T ^ T)...)