Chapter 89

Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

A week has passed since our victory party, and our daily routine has returned to normal. Night has fallen, and I'm in my room, sitting at my desk catching up on ten days' work.

Just as I'm racking my brains, stalling on my math exercises, the sliding door to my bedroom opens, letting Chiyo in, hot from the bathroom. She's dressed in pink drawstring dophin shorts and a light white sleeveless top, almost transparent, with her black bra showing through slightly.

"Whaa, that feels good! It's like my tiredness from earlier was just a dream!" She said, closing behind her.

"I hope for your sake it was ironic, we're going to bed in a little hour." I warn her, unable to pull my gaze away from her.

Since Chiyo and now Rias have become my girlfriends, my view of the opposite sex has become increasingly important. Where before I'd only cast a quick, curious glance, now I sometimes fix my gaze on Chiyo or Rias, appreciating their beauty and grace. At first I found this strange, but I've also realized that Chiyo has become more tactile, especially since she's been talking to Rias. Or maybe I'm worrying too much and it's just my age that's doing it.

"Here, I made your tea." I hand her the glass.

"Thank you!"

She pulls up a chair and settles herself right next to me, but before she sits down she picks up the glass, lowering her upper body to take it, so that I can see her open cleavage close to my face. I turn my head, blushing at the sight.

(Chiyo may be harmless, but she's still attractive... boy, is that puberty? I hope it passes quickly...)

"When Senji-kun does it, it's always sweet and tasty to the last drop, hmmm?" Chiyo sits up, allowing me to refocus. "What a mystery!"

"Really?" I ask.

(That's only because Chiyo is wooding it bit by bit, so the bottom becomes thicker.)

I turn my attention back to my homework, which I'm slowly but surely solving. As for Chiyo, she's found a new book, a detective story. She's been fascinated by it ever since she started watching a detective series with the girls. Time passes quietly, without a sound other than the turning of pages and my frustration with mathematics, surely my worst enemy. Chiyo puts her free hand on my forearm, caressing me gently, which has the effect of calming me down. After several minutes, I'm finally finished. I put down my pen, lean against the backrest and sigh.

"By the way, aren't you curious?" She asks, her gaze on the novel.

"About?"

"Our discussion with Rias-chan." A smile spreads across her face.

"Well, seeing as you didn't tell me about it, I daren't insist..."

"You think I'm mad at you?" She turns her face toward me, clearly amused.

"No, I would have seen that a while ago."

"Fufu, is it true? So maybe I turned down that you will have a harem?"

"I don't think so either, otherwise it would have been Rias who would have been in a bad mood, and she would have told me."

"So you conclude that everything went well between Rias and me?"

"...I think so, yes."

"Indeed, good answer!"

"...What was that interrogation for?" I ask, bored.

"Just for fun." She replies, satisfied. "Rias-chan explained it all to me, and I'm so happy for you Senji-kun, you're gradually managing to open up to others! Especially on a subject as delicate as love, I'm proud of you!"

"Thank you... but you really don't mind? Plus she said she'd be the one taking care of my harem or something... I feel like this means I'll have more girlfriends in the future or something?" I wonder, somewhat terified at the idea.

"No, I don't mind. To tell the truth, I was prepared for it even before it became official between us. You're a Devil, Senji-kun, and it's common for powerful Devils to have a Harem, and I have no doubt that you'll become powerful." She said with a smile, tapping my nose with her index finger. "And yes, there's no doubt that other women will be interested in you in the future, you're a handsome, intelligent boy, and then you have the power of one of the most powerful dragons this earth has ever borne. Their aura has always attracted the opposite sex to its host. And as you said, it's Rias-chan who'll be the head of your harem, so as long as she gives us fair time with you, I've got no problem!"

"Well... okay, glad to see everything's okay." I nod.

"But, for now, it's still just the two of us at your place, so I'm going to make the most of it!" She exclaims, rising to her feet.

"What do you mean? Did she tell you she wants to move here? But there are no more rooms available... Ah!"

Suddenly, Chiyo comes up behind me and places her lips on the side of my neck. She leans against me to prevent me from moving.

"Chiyo-san... stop, you'll leave a mark if you keep this up!" I struggle but she stops me, embracing my body with her arms.

"That's the point, I don't mind being both your girlfriends, but on the other hand it wakes up my competitive side, and I wouldn't lose to a little Devil girl."

She suddenly lifts my top, caressing my belly and torso, running her fingers between the lines of my abs.

"Chiyo! Please...!" My breathing becomes heavy.

"Don't hold it against me, but it seems I'm a little jealous anyway, so let it be, this is your punishment!"

"I knew it!"

Friday, April 14, 2023.

"Right, first mission of the day: find the wandering kitty, it's simple, you have to find the cat of Mrs. Shijimi, the wife of the lord of the state of Konoha. A brown cat with a pink ribbon on its right ear. Any questions?" Kakashi explained.

"It looks pretty simple to me, it's good!" Sakura answers for the whole team.

"Just one question, do we have a specific search area or is he already long gone from home?" Sasuke asks.

"No details on that, sorry." Kakashi replied, annoyed himself.

"We'll have to comb all of Fuyuki so, okay." I activate the earpiece.

"Let's split up, and as soon as anyone has any information, tell everyone." Kakashi commands.

"Roger!" We all exclaim, before going our separate ways.

The cat hunt begins, I run through the streets of Fuyuki, heading in a specific direction. This isn't the first time this cat has run away, and each time it's been found in the forest at the foot of the mountains. So it's obvious where to look.

"Everyone!" Suddenly, Sakura's voice is heard through the earpiece. "I asked Miss Shijimi's guard, and they said they lost it on their way south!"

"Great info, Sakura, as I suspected, he's looking to go back into the forest, let's go!" Kakashi exclaims.

"Understood." Sasuke, Sakura and I reply in unison.

My initiative allows me to arrive much faster than the others. I enter the forest and strengthen my eyes, enabling me to see my surroundings much better. If there's one thing I've learned on the hunt, it's to always look for a watering place, and that's just as well, since Fuyuki has a river running through it, right into the forest. I quickly head for it and bingo, no sooner do I get there than I see the pink ribbon leaving in the distance.

"I just saw him in the distance." I warn them through the earpiece. "He was at the river and just went into the forest."

"Okay, don't waste time and grab it. Finding him in there is going to be complicated otherwise." Kakashi says to me.

"I'm going."

I strengthen my legs and set off after him. A cat is fast, so I have to give it my all to try and catch it. I run at full speed through the forest, following his fresh footprints. I can thank yesterday's rain for that. I finally see him, running as fast as he can with his extra grams, he must know I'm there. Indeed, he turns his head and, seeing me, accelarates. I take a deep breath and dash forward, catching him in mid-air. I fall on my back but I've finally got him. The big guy doesn't let go, he struggles and tries to scratch me. I stop him by grabbing him by the scruff of the neck to calm him down.

"I've got the cat." I announce to everyone.

"Are you sure it's Tora? He does have a ribbon on his right ear?" Kakashi asks.

"Yes, no mistake."

"Okay, good job. Mission accomplished." Kakashi announced.

"Well done Senji-kun!" Sakura congratulated me.

"Where are you Senji?" Sasuke asks me.

(Oh yes, he does have the box.)

I raise my free hand in the air, storing up energy before releasing it, creating a great white flash.

"There."

"Okay, I see you, I'm coming."

"Miiiaaaaaa!" The cat seems to be screaming for help.

We gave the cat back to the lady, who hugged it tightly, almost suffocating it.

"Ahh! My beloved little Tora! Why did you run away like that? I was worried sick!" She exclaims.

"Poor cat..." I whisper.

"Yeah, I can see why he keeps running away..." Sakura adds.

"Good! Then team 7 under Kakashi's jurisdiction!" The third Hokage at his desk, raises a document and inspects it, it's our to-do list. "Let's see what your next missions are... Hmm, there's babysitting the village dean's grandson, an errand to run in the neighboring village and helping out with the leeks harvest."

We all let out an annoyed sigh. We've been doing these little missions ever since we started our team, but most of the other teams have already started bigger missions. We're behind schedule and it's partly my fault. I keep slowing down Team 7's progress with my own problems...

"Good, then go and collect the errand, a truck is on loan to you, it should be short enough for you to get on with the babysitting." orders the third Hokage.

We leave the office nonchalantly, clearly disinterested in our missions. But we have no choice but to get into the truck, and Kakashi takes us to this little village lost in the countryside. We park in front of a rather large shed, stocked with tools and building materials. Kakashi gives the order to the employee, who checks the request, and then takes out everything we need to put in the truck. The four of us load up quickly, and after a short break, we head back to Fuyuki to continue with the babysitting.
The baby-sitting doesn't take very long, and the kid is very friendly and attentive, which makes the activity much easier. If he's not playing in the garden with Sasuke and I, Sakura takes care of him and Kakashi takes a nap who knows where.
The two hours are up, and the last thing we have left to do is harvest the leeks in the field. The old farmer greets us, somewhat embarrassed.

"Hello kids, excuse me for asking, but my farm tractor has broken down, so I need some extra hands for the harvests, otherwise they'll be ruined if we wait too long." Explains the farmer.

"No problem, Mr. Sozen, that's what we're here for." Kakashi reassured. "Come on kids, we've got a few more hours before night falls. Go and get ready."

We put on high boots and take a spading fork each, starting the harvest. Yesterday's rain helps us again, as thanks to it, the soil is more pliable, allowing us to easily extract the vegetable without damaging it.

"Kakashi-sensei, can I use multi-cloning? It would help us go faster." I ask, seeing that Sakura is starting to get tired.

"Sorry Senji, but it's forbidden to use any power without a permit." Kakashi explains, having already recovered as many leeks as the three of us, if not more.

"That's cheating sensei! I saw you clone yourself!" Sakura exclaims.

"It's not cheating because I've got my license, come on, get back to work lazybones, I've got a lot more than you."

"Tss..." I hear Sasuke get annoyed off to the side.

Harvesting ends at sunset. Sakura sits limply on the ground, exhausted. But there's still one last thing to do: store everything we've collected. But luckily the farmer has a van. We put all the harvest inside, then he takes it to a cool, dark garage, telling us to put it all inside. Once done, we cover all the vegetables with damp sand.

"There you go, good work everyone, even if I got most of it anyway." Kakashi boasts.

"A cheater has no right to boast." Sasuke retorted.

"A cheat? Where?" Kakashi looked around, feigning ignorance.

"*Sigh* Well, I'll go get Sakura." I say as I put down my gloves and tool.

After helping Sakura to her feet, the farmer thanked us warmly, offering us some sweets to take the sugar back. We return to the third Hokage's office, all tired, to make our final report.

"Good work, you're done for today." He congratulates us. "See you next week..." He pauses, seeing me raise my hand. "Yes Senji?"

"Hokage-sama, would it be possible to have more important missions? To catch up with the other teams." I ask.

"That's not a bad idea..." Sasuke murmurs, going along with me.

"Senji..." Sakura looks at me, surprised.

"Senji, you're still rookies. Everyone starts by doing simple missions. Progression is by stages, and jumping the ranks is out of the question." Explains Iruka, sitting next to the Hokage.

"I know that, but I feel guilty about slowing down Team 7. Because of me, we're all behind, so if a tougher mission can earn us more points to catch them up, then I'll make twice the effort if I have to." I stand my ground.

"I thought so." Kakashi puts his hand on my head. "But you don't have to feel bad Senji, nobody blames you here."

"But..." I turn to him but the Hokage speaks up.

"Senji! I completely understand your position, but unfortunately, I can't do any special treatment. Especially with these missions, let me explain: We receive numerous requests every day, the range is very wide, it goes from childcare, to attacks. We list these various missions, then divide them into four categories A, B, C and D, according to their level of difficulty. The forces of order in the state of Konoha are also classified in a hierarchy, established according to their abilities. I'm at the top, then we move on to the higher-level forces, like Kakashi or All Might, to the medium-level ones, like most of our heroes and shinobis, and at the very bottom the aspirants, i.e. You."

The Hokage then shows us a diagram he's made, clearly and simply showing the distribution of missions. A missions are entrusted to higher-level forces, B missions are entrusted to middle-level forces, C missions can be given to middle-level forces as well as to us aspirants, and D missions are for us, of course.

"It's up to the people in the higher categories to distribute the assignments to the others according to their respective abilities." The Hokage continues his explanation. "Finally, when the mission has been well accomplished, the applicant pays us a fee. That's the whole process. So you understand that, for you who have only just become aspirants, there is no question of doing anything other than class D missions."

"..." I clench my fists, finding something else. "I understand, but our team is made up of the best students in our class, maybe even of the first years. So give us a C assignment to test our level, I'm sure we're capable of passing one with flying colors." I use all my confidence in these words, hoping it's enough.

To say that the rest of Team 7 are surprised is an understatement; Sakura is speechless and Sasuke can't believe it. The only one not really surprised is Kakashi, who crossed his arms as if he'd been expecting it. The same goes for Iruka and the Hokage, who seem to understand my determination.

"Okay." Announced the Hokage. "Since you insist so much, I'm going to give you a class C mission. It's an escort mission."

We're all surprised that he's agreed, especially Kakashi, whose arms are falling off.

"Thank you very much." I bow my head in thanks.

"What does it involve?" Sakura asked, somewhat excited.

"I'll tell you everything tomorrow, meet me at my office at 9am." Replied the Hokage. "Rest well. Thanks again and have a good evening, young people."

We leave the room, still shocked by the announcement of a new mission. I can see the excitement and apprehension on Sakura and Sasuke's faces, which makes me feel a little bad for having taken this initiative.

"Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, I'm sorry I insisted so much, I should have told you before but everything went so fast and..." I bow to apologize, but Sakura stops me.

"Stop apologizing Senji! What's done is done!" Sakura exclaims.

"But..."

"No buts about it!"

"Sakura is right Senji, and once again you have no reason to blame yourself for anything, otherwise they would have refused." Kakashi explained.

I turn to my two comrades, who nod and smile.

"I have to admit I was getting tired of these little missions, and as you said yourself, this mission is a test to see if we can do it." Sasuke said.

"Yes, it's certainly a C-level mission, but it's escorting, so it shouldn't be too hard, right Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Escort missions are indeed the easiest, there's nothing to fear but it will be up to me to judge whether your words agree with your actions Senji. So I hope you're really motivated." Kakashi says to me.

"I am." I nod.

"Hey! Me too!" Sakura exclaims.

"Don't forget us, we're going to show everyone that we're the best." Sasuke said proudly.

"..." Kakashi looked at us, and sighed, as if satisfied. "Well go children, go and get some rest, because your next few days will require you to be attentive. See you tomorrow in front of the Hokage's office."

Saturday, April 15, 2023.

After warning everyone, I find myself in front of the Hokage's office first, closely followed by the rest of the team. Once everyone's there. Kakashi knocks on the door and the Hokage's voice invites us in. In the middle of the room stands a gentleman I don't recognize, wearing glasses, gray hair with a big beard and dark eyes. He's wearing a sleeveless V-neck shirt with a belt, pants and a pair of sandals. He also has a towel around his neck, a pointed hat and a bottle of booze in one hand.

"What's that?" That's the first thing he says when he sees us, before drinking his bottle. "A bunch of runts, are these kids really going to protect me?"

(Already drunk this early in the morning?)

"I'm Tazuna, the carpenter. My specialty is bridges." He introduces himself. "I've just got one to finish in my state. Your job is to accompany me and protect me until the work is completed!"

"Kakashi, here, you'll use this vehicle." The Hokage hands Kakashi car keys. "Good luck."

We put our bags in the boot before settling into the car, Kakashi is driving, Tazuna is on the passenger side and we're behind, Sasuke and I take the windows and Sakura is in the middle, and it looks like she's in heaven.

"What's the matter with you Sakura?" Sasuke asks.

"It just so happens that I'm between two handsome boys, and strong ones at that, I couldn't dream of anything better!" She said with stars in her eyes.

"Come on, is everyone strapped in? Here we go." Kakashi announced.

Kakashi starts the vehicle and off we go. We haven't even left Fuyuki and I'm already getting motion sickness. I concentrate on the outside, avoiding looking too closely at the inside of the vehicle.

"Are you all right, Senji? You're looking pale." Sakura worries.

"Motion sickness..." I answer weakly, trying not to concentrate on anything but the outside world.

"Ah... I see... I hope the trip won't be long." She said, patting my back to comfort me.

"Hey, do you really think I'm safe with these kids? They don't look qualified to me at all." Tazuna insists.

"Ha ha... Don't worry, you have nothing to fear with me. But you might be surprised by what they're capable of..." Said Kakashi, his gaze focused on the road.

We've been on the road for nearly an hour, my head is starting to spin and nausea has set in, rendering me completely unresponsive.

"Say, Tazuna..." Sakura starts a discussion.

"Yeah?"

"You do come from the state of Waves, don't you?" She asks.

"Yeah, that's right." He replies.

"Kakashi-sensei, aren't there any Shinobis over there?" Sakura asks.

"No, there are no shinobi in the state of the Waves, only some heroes. But on the other hand there are in most of the other states. And there are capitals too, even if the culture and customs there are different from ours." Kakashi explains, half-focusing on the road, as there's no one there but us. "Our country is fragmented into five major states. For the many states in our country, the existence of a capital is equivalent to the presence of a military power that helps maintain the balance between the bordering states."

"Does this mean that capitals are placed under the authority of governments?" Sakura asks.

"No, they're on the same plane and therefore not dependent. That's why Shinobis don't function in the same way as Heroes, even though they've been trained in the same way. Some small states have little to fear from the big powers, and therefore don't need a capital. Such is the case of the state of the Waves, a tiny archipelago. Of all the capitals in existence, the cities of Konoha, Kiri, Kumo, Suna and Iwa are the most powerful. They are led by the five greatest Shinobis, namely the Master Hokage, Master Mizukage, Master Raikage, Master Kazekage and Master Tsuchikage. Between them, the five of them rule over all the shinobi in our country."

"That old man? I can hardly believe it..." Sasuke mutters.

"Sasuke! Whaoow! I didn't know the master Hokage was so strong!" Sakura exclaimed, after scolding Sasuke.

"You don't believe it, do you?" Kakashi said, surprising my two comrades. "Well, don't worry. It's only a Class C mission, there won't be any shinobis to face this time."

"So we won't meet any shinobi from other states?" Sakura asks.

"Of course not, we might come across a few heroes, but that's it." Kakashi reassured.

Although Kakashi makes an effort to reassure us about our mission, I can clearly see that our client is not at all composed. My gaze meets Sasuke's, nodding, as if he's thinking the same thing I am.

We continue on our way, it's been 2 hours since we left Fuyuki and we should be getting close to the State of the Waves when suddenly, the car rolls over something, puncturing the tires and causing us to lose control. Kakashi controls the vehicle and avoids causing a rollover. The car comes to a halt with a screech of tires.

"Everybody out! All 3 of you, protecting Tazuna is the priority!" Kakashi exclaims, before stepping outside.

We follow close behind, moving away from the car and surrounding Tazuna. Kakasi comes forward to see what's happened, but finds nothing. But suddenly, two people jumped around him, wrapping him in a chain linking the two masked people.

"What the?!" He exclaims.

"Ah?!" Sakura yells.

"What's going on?!" Tazuna asks.

"One down." Says one of the assailants.

The two pull on the chain, cutting Kakashi to pieces and spurting blood.

"KYAAA!" Sakura shouts, covering her eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke couldn't believe it.

"Next." One of them looks at me, having chosen me as his next target.

I put down my bag and strengthen my body, preparing for battle.