Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 64: Yuka Passed Out (2)

Outside the hospital room, Kenji inquired about Yuka’s condition with the doctor who had just showed up. "How is she doing?" he asked.

"Her vitals are normal, there’s nothing to worry about," the doctor replied.

"But why did she faint?" Kenji frowned in concern.

"It’s due to stress. Remember to keep her from getting too startled in the future," the doctor advised, handing Kenji a bill. "She just needs a good rest. If you’re really worried, you can stay by her bedside. Her condition is stable now."

After quickly settling the bill, Kenji hesitated at the door of Yuka’s hospital room. He questioned himself, wondering if his attention and concern for Yuka were excessive. ’Would that be a bit inappropriate?’

"No, don’t!"

Startled by the sudden outcry, Kenji quickly entered the room and approached Yuka’s bed, gently brushing away the hair sticking to her face.

"Don’t... touch me!" Yuka mumbled in her half-asleep state.

Kenji’s outstretched hand froze.

"Mr. Kuba!" Ayoi and Alex burst into the room, out of breath. Seeing Kenji by Yuka’s bed, they asked anxiously, "Sir, is Yuka alright?"

Without showing his internal turmoil, Kenji withdrew his hand and calmly assured them, "She’s fine."

Relieved by Kenji’s response, Ayoi and Alex approached Yuka’s bedside, leaning over her, ready to stay by her side.

Kenji realized there was no need for him to stay any longer. Yuka’s friends were there to wait for her to wake up, to comfort her, and to walk out of the hospital with her. His presence would only make the two young friends feel uncomfortable.

Silently, he turned and left the room.

...

Meanwhile, Yuka was aware that she had fainted and that she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. She was stuck in a loop, repeatedly witnessing the scene of her past life’s final moments: herself covered in blood, the swollen, massive form of the Insectoid Queen, her weapon piercing into the Queen’s brain...

And then there was the enormous black hole she hadn’t been able to see clearly in her past life. It wasn’t a hallucination before her death but a real entity. Yuka stood at the spot where she had died, her physical pain echoing the past, though still bearable.

Lifting her head, she could see thousands of stars swirling within the black hole, watching the black light engulf her and the Insectoid Queen, then vanish. Having seen this scene repeat countless times, Yuka was beginning to feel bored.

Attempting to break free from her fixed position, Yuka drifted into the closing black hole.

Suddenly, her surroundings brightened, and she felt dizzy.

When Yuka opened her eyes again, she found herself surrounded by people who looked extremely disappointed upon seeing her.

"This is what came out of the Gate?" she heard one man say.

"Let’s not complain. Last time the Insectoid Queen came out, we’re lucky we don’t have one more of that this time," another person responded. "Let’s lock it up for now. After all, it came from the Gate. It might be of some use."

"The Gate?" Yuka murmured to herself in confusion. "Where am I? They mentioned the Queen also came from the Gate, but why ’last time’?"

As she pondered, a group of people in protective suits, carrying toolboxes and a heavy silver box, approached her. They grabbed her with one hand and placed her inside the box, locking it securely.

’—Wait, grab me up by hand?’

Yuka tried to move and saw her reflection on the shiny inner wall of the silver box. She had become a warm, glowing orb of light.

Her shock continued until she was taken to a laboratory. "Sir, this is what we captured," a man said. "It doesn’t seem to be conscious. Probably not what we were looking for..."

Yuka felt her box being lifted. The door opened, and she cautiously floated out.

’Nori!’ Her eyes would have widened in surprise if she had them. Instead, the laboratory personnel saw the light orb tremble. She couldn’t mistake him – the person in front of her was a younger version of the Nori she knew!

Angrily, Yuka floated beside Nori, ready to closely observe this younger version of the man she ’resented.’

Nori looked surprised, pushing up his goggles to observe the approaching light orb.

"Don’t touch me!" Yuka shouted indignantly. "Wait till I get a body, I’ll beat you up for not getting a teaching certificate and making me illiterate! Forced to study at UUA... Do you know how hard it is to pretend to be a...um... a ’vase’ every day?"

Just as she finished her accusation, everything went dark again.

Yuka found herself once again in darkness, with distant voices conversing.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I’m just giving it a choice. If it has the capacity to think, then what it becomes is its own decision."

"Whose genes will be used?"

"Use them all. Let’s see what it chooses."

"Does the Alliance Army agree?"

"They have no objections."

"And if it fails?"

"I’ll take full responsibility."

"Then let’s begin."

Yuka didn’t understand their conversation but found their voices strangely familiar. When one of them said "begin," she felt as if her body was being torn apart, but without pain. Instead, it fragmented into countless pieces, rapidly scrambled, then swiftly reassembled into a new form.

Before her consciousness returned to the light, Yuka woke up.

"Master, you’re awake!" The butler, teary-eyed, came over to her. "I was so scared. I thought you’d never wake up."

Yuka gently touched the butler’s body in her pocket as a sign of reassurance, calming it down.

The air smelled of disinfectant. As she blinked, she saw two concerned faces.

Ayoi and Alex asked simultaneously, "Yuka, are you okay?"

"I... should be fine?" Yuka rubbed her head. "Just had a really long dream."

A rather bizarre one.

Ayoi and Alex, seeing Yuka appeared to be alright, relaxed a bit.

"By the way," Yuka sat up and asked, "who brought me here?"

She had been eliminated from the test when Ayoi and Alex were still in the exam.

"Mr. Kuba," Ayoi answered. "He just left."

Yuka nodded, took out her opticomputer, and sent a message to Kenji, "Mr. Kuba, thank you for bringing me to the medical center. You saved my life. I’d like to buy you something as a thank you."

"You’re welcome," Kenji replied quickly. "Yuka, we need to talk."

Yuka paused for a moment, then responded, "Okay, when?"

"Whenever you’re ready," Kenji wrote back. "Let’s wait until you feel better."

"Let’s meet this afternoon, then. I’m fine now," Yuka said.

Ayoi and Alex watched Yuka and Kenji exchange messages.

The two exchanged glances themselves, more convinced that there was something unusual between them.

Professional ethic didn’t matter here. After all, Mr. Kenji was only a temporary instructor hired by UUA and his real job was an admiral in the Alliance Army, which Yuka had nothing to do with for now. If he and Yuka were together, that should be fine.