I Want to Protect You

It didn't take long for Chiba to adjust to his new way of life.

In a world like this, stealing was the only way for orphans like them, who had no way to earn a living, to survive.

Life was much harder than he had imagined.

With Chiba joining them and helping divide up their tasks, they had become more capable. But with another mouth to feed, life had grown even more difficult.

Every day, Yahiko racked his brain for ways to stockpile more food. From morning till night, they wandered the streets where food was sold, never passing up a chance to get something to eat.

Even so, most of the time they could barely scrape by.

Often, they would spend the whole day working without getting anything, and sometimes they would even have to face punishment for failing.

"Stop! Don't let them get away! Catch them!"

"You brats! I'll teach you a lesson!"

Yahiko glanced anxiously over his shoulder and shouted, "Quick, this way!"

Konan and Chiba hurried after him.

Suddenly, as Chiba sprinted along, he stumbled over something and crashed to the ground.

The people who had been chasing them quickly surrounded him.

He had no time to react before countless fists and clubs rained down on him.

"Run now, will you? That'll teach you to steal from us!"

"Beat him senseless! Make sure he remembers this!"

"Thud!" "Pfft!"

With so many people attacking him, all Chiba could do was curl into a ball and protect his head.

Just then, while Chiba silently endured the beating, a small figure rushed over from a distance.

"Don't hit him!"

Konan fought her way through the crowd and threw herself on top of Chiba.

"Don't hit him!"

"Konan..."

Chiba stared in shock at Konan, who had suddenly shielded him. His mind went blank.

At that moment, all the pain seemed to vanish from Chiba's world. All he could see was Konan's young profile.

"Thud!" "Thud, thud!"

The adults didn't stop attacking just because another child had joined them.

In an instant, Konan's little face crumpled with pain.

"Ugh!"

When a club came crashing down especially hard, Konan finally couldn't hold back. A tear of hurt welled in the corner of her eye.

The tear trickled down Konan's cheek and onto Chiba's face, then ran along his cheek and into the corner of his mouth.

A salty bitterness welled up in Chiba's heart.

At last, Chiba couldn't stop himself from silently shedding tears.

He hadn't cried even when he'd suffered worse before.

Even when Xia Mu and the others had died, Chiba had gritted his teeth and held back his tears. But now, they poured out like beads from a broken string.

Yahiko, who had been running ahead with Konan, finally reacted too. He charged madly into the crowd and threw himself over Chiba and Konan.

Chiba's tears flowed even harder.

In that moment, Chiba clearly felt their fates become irrevocably bound together.

All the selfish thoughts Chiba had once harbored vanished from his heart.

Chiba was certain he had found something more important than his own life.

After a long while, once the attackers had grown tired and left, the three of them struggled to help one another back to the cave where they lived.

"Why are you still crying? Konan's stopped, and I'll tell you, I hate it when people cry. Tears are useless."

Yahiko spoke casually, as if he hadn't given what happened any thought.

"If you want to survive here, you have to get used to being beaten. Before you came, Konan and I got beaten up all the time, too."

Back in the cave, Chiba was still feeling down.

After a long silence, Chiba suddenly raised his head.

"We can't let this go. I'm going to get revenge!"

Yahiko paused, then nodded with a smile. "We should get revenge. From now on, we'll steal more from them and take back everything they stole from us."

But Chiba's eyes suddenly took on a hint of menace. "That's not the kind of revenge I mean."

Yahiko's expression stiffened.

Silence fell for a moment.

Sensing that something was wrong, Konan quickly stood up to smooth things over.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're so small, you couldn't beat an adult even if there were several of you."

"No, I got some little ninja tools before. If I use them right..."

"That's enough!"

Before Chiba could finish, Yahiko suddenly sprang up and shoved him to the ground.

"Yahiko!"

Konan hurriedly grabbed him.

Yahiko's eyes were already cold.

"Are you thinking of killing them?"

After Yahiko shoved him, Chiba finally began to come to his senses.

Perhaps all the things that had happened to him recently, especially the upheavals between life and death, really had made him more vicious.

The person he'd been before would never have had such a terrible thought.

"Chiba, you have to understand that we're the ones in the wrong," Yahiko said seriously, looking him straight in the eyes.

"In a world like this, food is precious to everyone. We stole from others in the wrong way. We're the ones at fault. If we get beaten for it, then we deserve it."

"It's because of them that we've had a chance to survive. We should be grateful. If we get the chance, we should repay them."

At that, Chiba suddenly remembered how, in the anime, Yahiko and the others had gone from house to house before leaving, thanking the families they'd stolen food from over the years and giving them gifts.

That really was the kind of person Yahiko was: kind, upright, and clear about right and wrong.

By the end, Yahiko's voice had turned cold. "If you really are the kind of person who doesn't know how to be grateful, then you should leave. Someone like that isn't welcome here."

"Yahiko!"

Konan anxiously grabbed hold of him.

But Yahiko didn't budge. He only stared coldly at Chiba.

After Yahiko's tirade, Chiba finally came to his senses and left his earlier rage behind.

The truth was, Chiba didn't know why he'd had such a terrible thought. It had almost felt like he'd become someone else.

He looked up at Yahiko's body, covered in dense clusters of wounds, then silently lowered his head.

"I'm sorry. I just... I don't want anyone to hurt you. That's why I got angry. If it were only me, I wouldn't have done this. Yahiko, do you understand what I mean?"

The coldness on Yahiko's face softened at once, and he let out a quiet sigh.

He walked over to Chiba and held out a hand to pull him up.

"I'm sorry. I may have overreacted."

Before long, the three of them had made up, and Konan finally smiled again.

"You two scared me half to death just now."

Chiba smiled faintly. After glancing over the wounds on Konan and Yahiko, he said firmly, as if making a promise, "No matter what, I'll protect you both from now on. I won't let anyone hurt you. I don't care who they are—I won't allow it."

Yahiko paused for a moment, then smiled brightly.

"Me too. I'll use everything I have to protect you."