Ur's Tears

"Big sister... Big sister!" Chiba hurriedly corrected himself.

Ultear walked over, lifted Chiba's chin with a beautiful, fair hand, and smiled. "What... did you just call me?"

"Uh... Sister Lei..." Chiba answered her honestly.

A Free Ball appeared behind Ultear, and she sat down on it lightly, crossing her long, pale legs like a queen. Then she said with apparent nonchalance, "Why did you call me Sister Lei?"

But what Chiba didn't see was the small hand clutching the hem of her skirt, trembling all the while.

What Chiba actually wanted to say was that everyone online had called her Sister Lei in his previous life, and he was just following along.

But she certainly wouldn't believe him if he said that.

So he said, "Your name, 'Ultear'—the 'tear' part is just 'tear,' isn't it? So... I called you Sister Lei."

Ultear gently clenched her teeth and murmured, "Ultear, Ul... tear, tear... tear..."

"Where did you learn that?" she asked through clenched teeth.

He put on a bewildered expression. "I didn't learn it anywhere. It's... easy enough to guess, isn't it..."

He couldn't very well say he'd seen it in an anime, could he?

"Then why did you deny it just now?"

"...Wasn't I just afraid you'd be unhappy if I suddenly gave you a nickname? Your expression and tone were really fierce just now."

"..."

Both of them fell silent.

"Go out. I'm tired." After a long while, Ultear stood up, the Free Ball behind her vanished, and she spoke indifferently.

"Go out? I don't have anywhere to stay..." Chiba was dumbfounded.

"Get out!" Ultear raised her voice considerably.

"Uh..." Chiba thought this might have upset her. After all, his unconscious remark just now might have made her realize the meaning of her name for the first time.

He obediently walked out of the tent.

Ultear, meanwhile, seemed to lose all her strength and sat down on the bed.

"Ul... tear, Ur's tears... Mom..."

"But why... did you abandon me and live happily... with other children? Was I really... that much of a burden?"

Outside the tent, the campfire had long since gone out. It was already late at night, and everyone had retired early to the tents they had set up.

But the unfortunate Chiba had been thrown out by his master. On top of that, he was now hungry and cold, and his stamina, mental energy, and Chakra were all nearly exhausted.

He slowly sat down beside the tent, too tired to keep his eyes open.

He fell asleep.

"Look, why is this kid lying here like a dead dog?"

"Heh! Ultear must have thrown him out!"

"Should we teach this guy a lesson?"

"Hmph. Let's drag him out and beat him up first, then kill him on the sly."

"What if we get caught?"

"So what if we do? Would Ultear really come after us for a dead man?"

"Good point..."

Half asleep, Chiba vaguely felt as though his body was moving. When he woke up, he discovered that Scarface and Squint-Eyed Wolf were carrying him into the forest!

Damn! They're up to no good!

The hell with you!

He sprang up and swept his leg across the backs of their heads. Neither of them had time to react before they were kicked flying.

Chiba also tumbled into the snow. He struggled to his feet, but his head spun.

His limbs were weak and his head was muddled. It was clear how hard he had pushed himself during training.

Scarface and Squint-Eyed Wolf climbed out of the snow. Seeing what poor condition Chiba was in, they froze for a moment, then both smiled.

"Come on, kid, act arrogant with me again!"

Scarface came up to Chiba and sent him flying with a kick, a twisted grin spreading across his face. He seemed pleased with himself to the extreme.

"Hahahaha! Never thought you'd have a day like this! Go on, show off! Where's all that swagger you had during the day?!"

"Beg for mercy! We'll let you go if you beg! Get on your knees and say you were wrong!"

The two humiliated Chiba without restraint, while he had no strength to resist.

"Damn it!"

He shouldn't have exhausted all his mental energy and stamina. He had been too naive and hadn't been on guard at all.

This was a dark guild, a gathering place for vicious criminals.

The two seemed to have grown tired of their fun. Scarface seized Chiba by the collar and lifted him up, grinning viciously. "All right, we've had enough fun. You can die now."

"If you kill me... aren't you afraid Ultear will kill you?" Chiba asked through clenched teeth.

"Kill us? Why would Ultear come after us over a dead man?" Scarface sneered.

"This is a dark guild. We're dark guild mages. We burn, kill, rob, and kidnap—there's no evil we won't commit. Naive, childish brat." Squint-Eyed Wolf gave him a pitying look.

Chiba clenched his teeth, unable to say anything.

Fortunately, after sleeping for so long, he had recovered some stamina and mental energy.

Just as Scarface grabbed his hair and tried to push him down, Chiba instantly activated his Sharingan. Then he threw him to the ground with a shoulder throw.

Immediately afterward, he clapped his hands together and unleashed Gale Palm. The force of the raging wind sent both men flying into a large tree.

"Clang!"

Chiba took a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch and walked over to the two men.

Terrified, they backed away repeatedly, their faces deathly pale. "D-don't kill us! B-big brother, we were wrong! Please spare us!"

"Begging for mercy now? You think I'll spare you?" Chiba smiled. "In your next life."

"Puchi!"

The Kunai pierced his chest. Chiba pulled it out and plunged it into the other man's chest, then turned and dragged his battered body toward the tent.

His gaze had turned cold—or rather, his mindset had changed.

He wasn't a merciful person. Since they had already set out to kill him, he wouldn't spare their lives out of kindness.

"You killed them?"

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a black robe rushed out of the forest.

He was out of breath, evidently having hurried over. But when he saw the two young men, who were clearly no longer breathing, his gaze went blank.

"Yes, they're dead." Chiba was very calm.

"How dare you kill my son!" The middle-aged man glared at Chiba, releasing the pressure of his magic power.

He raised his hand, and black magic power gathered in it, forming a vortex. Without another word, he sent it hurtling toward Chiba.

Just as Chiba thought he was really going to die, an emerald-green Free Ball flew over and canceled out the black vortex of magic power.

"Qiaote, how dare you? You even dared to kill my guard?"