Uchiha Chiba, a Household Essential

It was actually the Ninjutsu Chamber!

"Who are you?!"

Chiba spoke up instinctively.

But the woman didn't answer him. Instead, Ultear was startled by his words.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Chiba quietly came back to his senses and shook his head. "Nothing. I was hearing things."

Ultear's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She sensed that Chiba was hiding something from her, but since he wasn't willing to say, she couldn't very well press him.

Then Chiba somewhat awkwardly began skinning and cleaning the snow deer. He had been on a few cookouts before and had done plenty of skinning and cleaning. Though he was a little rusty, he managed to finish the job.

He made four Shadow Clones, then used Wood Release to create several wooden branches and threaded them through the snow deer. He had one Shadow Clone hold the cleaned deer while the other three stood by.

He brought his hands together and breathed out a Great Fireball, but he greatly restrained its power. Otherwise, with his current strength, a Great Fireball used at full power would have burned the snow deer to a crisp.

He activated his Sharingan and carefully examined every inch of the snow deer's tender meat. He had to make sure every part was cooked through.

He was a bit like Uchiha Itachi activating his Sharingan and using Amaterasu to fry an egg.

He and his Shadow Clones took turns using Great Fireball. Otherwise, if he kept breathing fire himself, he would suffocate.

As the tempting aroma of roasting meat drifted out, it soon filled the entire house.

"Here!" Chiba tore off a deer leg, stuck a branch through it, and handed it to Ultear with a smile.

"It's just finished cooking, so watch out. It's hot."

Ultear carefully accepted the deer leg and blinked her bright eyes. "Did you roast these often before?"

Chiba tore off a piece of deer leg for himself. "I've only been on a few cookouts. I wouldn't call that often."

"Oh..."

Ultear parted her lips slightly and took a small, ladylike bite of the deer leg. No one would have guessed that this serene young girl was a female fiend who had killed countless people.

"Are we going to stay here all the time?" she asked.

Chiba shook his head. "I'm going to look for someone."

"A friend?"

"Yeah." Chiba smiled. "Even though we've only been apart for a little over a week, I'm a little worried about them. After all, they've lost my protection. They're... in a lot of danger."

He didn't know whether his arrival would change this world, but even if it hadn't changed most things, it had at least changed some. Mira and the others had joined the guild in year 778, but because of his arrival, they might join a year early.

After all, it wasn't even year 777 yet.

Ultear fell somewhat silent. After a long, long while, she finally said, "I want to... stay here..."

Chiba was slightly taken aback. Why stay in the middle of nowhere? He had surveyed the surroundings when he went hunting, and apart from the forest here, there had been nothing but endless mountains. It seemed Ultear had traveled quite a long way with him.

But wasn't she at all anxious about having her magic sealed?

"I don't want to go out, at least not right now," the girl said quietly.

Chiba pondered for a moment. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Ultear rolled her eyes. She had made herself that clear, hadn't she been asking him to stay? Otherwise, how many days could an ordinary girl like her survive out here in the wilderness?

"Don't forget, you're still my bodyguard," she huffed.

Chiba couldn't help laughing. "All right, all right, my lady. We'll leave whenever you say."

It looked like he would have to coax and trick her into coming with him when the time came.

"Didn't you say you were going to look for your friends?" she asked.

Chiba thought about it. If the chain of cause and effect hadn't changed, Mira and the others should be able to reach Fairy Tail safely. He was just afraid that if it had changed, something would happen to them.

But even if he went out now, he wouldn't know how to find them. The world was so big that the chances of meeting them again were too slim. No matter how anxious he was, there was nothing he could do.

He could only go to Fairy Tail to look for them when the time came.

"I can't find them," he said softly.

Ultear stared at his face, then suddenly asked, "A girl?"

Chiba froze and instinctively said, "How did you know?"

"I could tell from your expression and the look in your eyes," she huffed.

"Your girlfriend?" she continued.

Chiba's face flushed, and he coughed twice. "Nonsense. Just a friend."

Ultear smiled and said no more, instead eating the deer leg in small bites.

Chiba noticed that she seemed a little different from before, but he didn't know what had changed.

Forget it. Time to eat.

Ultear said she was full after eating just one deer leg, and Chiba polished off all the rest by himself. Chiba used earth-attribute Chakra to create a water tank, then put a pile of lava in the empty space beneath it. Finally, he filled the stone tank with water.

"Perfect!"

He clicked his tongue in admiration, noticing that his control over Chakra was becoming increasingly proficient.

Afterward, he used Wood Release and Earth Release to make all sorts of furniture and the like, prompting Ultear to remark that he really was an essential item for home and travel.

"The house is a little small..."

He looked around the now crowded room and sighed.

"Wood Release, Four-Pillar House Jutsu!"

As he brought his hands together, the earth suddenly trembled, though the shaking stopped after only a short while.

"What did you do?" Ultear asked curiously.

Chiba grinned. "The house was a little small, so I made another one."

"..."

He pushed open the door. Where there should have been a thick stand of trees was a stretch of darkness. He conjured a small flame on his arm, illuminating the interior.

It was another simple, square space. He brought his hands together once more, and winding trees with lush, verdant leaves emerged from the soil.

"Lava Release, Earth Lava!"

Still holding his hands together, he let out a low shout. Four piles of lava appeared in the ground along the four sides of the house. Their light illuminated much more of the house and brought warmth to the once-cold interior.

Then came the process of making furniture again.

"Too bad I can't make clothes. I don't have anything to change into," Chiba said, smacking his lips as if in regret.

Beside him, Ultear blinked. "Actually, I have an independent spatial item. There are a few dresses inside."

"That doesn't have much to do with me. You don't expect me to wear a dress, do you?" Chiba said, his eyes wide.

"If you want to wear one, I don't mind lending it to you~"

"Fine, lady, keep them for yourself." Chiba finally backed down.

If he could find some monsters, Chiba wouldn't mind skinning them to make clothes.

Was that a little cruel?

But it was better than not changing clothes.