AN: Hello again.

Arc 2 part 2
Chapter Title: Woe is I

How in the world was it that I spent six years learning how to use different swords and a few basic Kata for them, and yet still I had piss-all strength? Like seriously? How?

What have I done to earn myself a position wherein I haven't gained much of any actual muscle, you know that thing that is pretty important for this sort of thing? well I mean to be fair the only people I actually have to compare my strength to being Dad, Ume, Sasuke, and Hinata. The problem with that being that Sasuke and Hinata have the skill to make any attacks I do leave the impression of being weak, and with Dad and my Aunt they were like ten or twenty times stronger than me anyway.

I had tried to start building up my muscle a few times already, or like more than whatever I currently have from the training I've done, but I had this problem where if I set myself on something and get really into it and then have to take time away from it, if that happens then it becomes easier and easier to justify to myself ways and reasons to not go and do things. It was a rather troublesome part of my personality that transferred over and withstood the test of different lives. Suppose it's just innate laziness really.

That's not to say I'm bad at setting habits but rather I have to be aware of them at all times and be on my ass about them, same thing with my strength, this isn't to say that I'm weak but rather that it's hard to truly gauge my strength when I have so many people around me that are either stronger or make mine seem void.

It's a problem that I can't really solve until we start getting missions outside of the village or ones that involve fighting people, so there's a proper gage for it.

Anyhow there are more things for me to do today other than dwell on the state of my personal muscle growth, we were doing D-ranks again today so there was some fun to be had, not much else on for a while. I was ready for another day of boring chores if it meant keeping from anything insanely messed up like ending up on that mission to wave that Team 7 is bound to end up on, though I'm sure just thinking that will twist fate in some way to put us on the track towards it somehow.

Fate, causality, and whatnot all seemed to work in weird ways like that, as though they were always listening, always watching, as though your existence wasn't privy to the secrecy you know it to have. That or it's just coincidence which I find hard to believe, I was never really the type to accept that we were all bound to a single fate, but rather open to many in our choices, maybe there are defining moments in our lives that are there from the beginning, but how they turn out is to be decided by your volition.

I suppose that all comes down to how you perceive it, be it as deterministic as the world we live or notions of free will and Causality. That's what I meant when I said I hated those who resigned themselves to thinking we're all bound by Fate, I had meant Neji at the time, but I suppose it applies to everyone in general. Prophecies are a load of shit after all.

The philosophical aspect of life aside, I need to head to the tower to meet up with my team for the day. I didn't let myself get caught up in anything on the way to the tower like I normally would have, though when that happened, I usually left early in the morning so that I could. Not that getting caught in conversation with people is bad I suppose, I just lose track of time when it happens.

As I strolled up to the Hokage tower from the main road I saw Teams 7 and 8 there as well, 7 looked like they would rather be doing anything else while 8 except for Ino looked contempt, the aforementioned blonde having a glare off with Sakura while they made snide remarks at one another. I was just glad that they hadn't noticed Sasuke was waiting with Hinata and Sensei against a wall. I purposefully walked right between them to go to my team.

"Could you brain deficient anorexic cancerous growths shut the fuck up and stop actively making everyone else's lives more difficult because you want on some guys dick that doesn't even care that you exist and won't ever acknowledge you," I stated loud enough for everyone to hear as I walked by, usually I wasn't one for insulting people let alone publicly in a space where everyone and anyone could see and hear me, but this was just one of those situations where I felt it necessary to do such a thing.

"I- You!-" one of them started to make a comeback but I just blocked it out, I really couldn't give a shit for those gargoyles, if they wanted people to take them seriously let alone want Sasuke to see them, then why the hell didn't they just stop being pests and start training, because who'd have thought it but most people like strong partners be that physically or mentally. So this spat of theirs to be the daintiest flower on the battlefield with no strength to speak of and constant whining over some only makes them look bad.

Sensei sighed and shook his head. "You don't have to antagonize those girls every time you see them you realize that right Takezou?" he said as we walked into the tower itself and headed for the mission desk.

"Well yeah, of course. It's just a lot of fun to say stuff like that from time to time, that and nothing I said wasn't true- was it Sasuke?" I asked looking to the black-haired boy walking a few steps behind us with Hinata just in front of him, he just grunted out a 'Hn' turning to look away. "See he agrees."

"I'm sure he does," Asuma replied rolling his eyes as we stepped into the room where mission scrolls were handed out.

The room was just as dull and boring as ever, the Hokage the was there with a few Chuunin and one of his goons were loitering around, an old dude with bandages all over him. He looked familiar but I couldn't pin why that was the case, I wasn't actually paying attention as to what mission we got and just figured I'd get the others to tell me once we got where ever it was we were headed.

About twenty minutes later as we were well on our way to the mission I asked what we were supposed be doing for this because I had zoned out at the time and needed a reminder, and so Asuma-Sensei ever so graciously told me.

"So we're playing protection racket for a bunch of prostitutes then?" I asked after hearing what our mission was.

"Basically yeah," Asuma said coolly watching all three of us. "I'll be keeping an eye on all of you so don't worry if things get out of hand" he continued while we walked towards the building in which we were to meet our clients.

"So is it all of us protecting one- 'worker' at a time or are we each going and guarding one 'worker' each?" I asked curiously as to how this would play out.

"Well, I'll probably go and guard one on my own while you three guard one person together, surely you wouldn't manage to mess it up if you were all together." He explained as he opened the door into the brothel and the odors hit us like a brick wall.

"What's that smell!" Sasuke hissed grimacing as Hinata next to us cringed and pinched her nostrils blocking the smell out.

"Ah! There you are! You must be the Shinobi I acquired to protect the girls?" A taller man- around six foot all if I had to guess- with clean well-kempt black hair, hazel eyes and a complexion on the lighter side, he was wearing a simple black three-piece suit with a white shirt and red tie, he spoke with an air of business about him. He held a gentle but firm smile and adjusted a tinted pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose, he held his arms open welcoming us over to him.

"You're Kurosawa then?" Asuma asked coming to stop a few feet from the man and shaking his hand. "It's good to meet you."

"My, you are a handsome gentleman, aren't you?" Kurosawa said lightly with a laugh. "These must be your- ah Genin was it?" he seemed rather happy with himself for remembering the details of Ninja ranks.

"Yeah, that's us," Asuma replied. "This is Hinata, Sasuke, and Takezou." He gestured to each of us. "They'll be the ones looking after your workers and making sure they're safe while going about their duties."

"That's lovely, now all I'll need you to do is travel with the Girls to the clients' house and make yourself scarce with Ninja magic while keeping an eye on the house, preferably from outside the room," Kurosawa explained to us as we walked towards a side room where an office was, in that office were two women dressed in Kimono's that had flowery bright patterns.

"There you are Mr. Kurosawa sir, are these our guards?" one of the women asked. She had tan skin, dark hair and emerald eyes, she was also in flat heels and a rather petite form.

"They are indeed Masumi." He replied walking past the women to the desk in the office and quickly pulling out something that I couldn't see what was. "Ah well this is where we depart and go our separate ways, but before I leave, I'll introduce yo-" He moved around the desk standing next to Masumi as the other woman cut him off.

"Don't worry, you go and work while we continue from here." The woman dismissed her boss and we watched as he took it in kind and left us. "Right well I'm Sunohara and like our boss said that's Masumi, we'll be in your care." Sunohara had somewhat pale skin with golden blonde hair and light brown eyes with a near gold look to them, she also had a rather impressive figure and bust all things considered.

Asuma quickly ran through our names and we introduced ourselves to the women before they started asking about who was headed where, it came to us heading out with Sunohara and Sensei going off with Masumi, at which point I had asked Sensei whether or not his girlfriend would approve of him going off with some brothel worker which made him deny the fact that he had one and made the workers laugh quite a fair amount before we set off with Sunohara to her clients house.

888888888

Gods I was beyond happy nothing happened while we were protecting or guarding? Sunohara. After the job with her we moved on to do the same for four other women before the day was up and we got paid, it was pretty uncomfortable to just be hanging out around someone's house like that while we waited for them to finish, let alone the part where we were all aware of what was happening.

Anyway with that all over and done with our Employer Kurosawa paid us extra because he felt bad for having kids- even if we were ninja- doing what we did, there was kind of an upside to that I guess.

Sasuke went straight home once we were free to disband for the rest of the day, Hinata went off somewhere to do something that I didn't catch what was about when she mumbled and stuttered it out and lastly I went to a Shinobi supply store that I often went to after our D-ranks to mournfully window shop, wishing that we could get a B or A-rank missions pay so that I might be able to actually afford the bits of armour and tools that I wanted.

that was definitely one of the weirdest and uncomfortable D-ranks I think we'll ever do.

On my way home from the shop I caught sight of my mother wandering through the street with my sister in tow, she was holding grocery bags in hand and seemingly trying her best to distract Akatsuki at the same time. Seeing as I often felt obligated to go above and beyond for my Mother, I immediately ran over to her and took a bag from her and used my other arm to pick my sister up before she could even turn to see what had happened- when she faced the direction of her assailant she found me standing next to her with my sister in my arm with her hands wrapped around my neck as she babbled on about me.

"Ah- Takezou. You're off missions for the day then?" She asked having recovered from the surprise of me robbing her.

"Yeah, it would seem that way," I said following in just behind her as she started walking back towards the house.

"So did you do anything interesting? Like save a princess or was it gardening for the elderly again?" there was a hint of smugness in her voice as she asked me about my day.

"Nothing so interesting as that, I just insulted those girls from my class that I mentioned fawning over Sasuke and then we went and guarded strippers or whatever when they went out from the brothel on house visits," I answered her as I did so I moved my arm around that held my sister to help her find better purchase on it.

"A brothel huh?" Her eyes seemed to lose light and her face took on a sweet smile and her words came out in a very threateningly sweet tone.

"a-ah y-yes… we uh didn't do anything beyond go out and help some of the workers thereby being their protection and whatnot." I answered uneasily only to become confused at Kaede's disappointed look.

"Oh come on Take! You're meant to be a boy yet you didn't even try something while you were there? I almost feel disappointed that I don't get to reem you for doing something like that." She dramatically threw her face into her hands. "Woe is I for having birthed such a dull son! One so boring as to not even try illicit acts when given the chance! For this I have naught but to be glad for him preserving his self." She faked a wail with a bright mirth in her tone as she went on.

"Woe is I for such a woman like my mother who wants only for me to do things I shouldn't so that she might experience what it's like to be a normal parent! For having such a woman mad at I for not doing something unbecoming of me!" I countered back with a smile I couldn't get rid of.

I loved her for this sort of thing, she used to do it when I was younger when she got confused at my behaviour wherein a normal kid might have gone around writing on walls or whatever, I being a reincarnate or what have you I just drew in the colouring books I was given. Eventually, she got over it and when she realized how smart I seemed to be, she would do this 'Woe is I' things that I always found funny and I joined in on them because she looked beyond happy whenever I did.

Suppose that just comes from the fact that I love to please Kaede and Nobuyuki, they were my new parents and having lived with them for twelve years has put them in a perspective of mine in which I would literally do anything for them. People can say 'oh if the situation was right, I'd kill for them.' But with this family I was apart of here I felt far stronger than that about them, maybe it was on a similar level to what I remember Itachi's being like towards Sasuke. Because I would murder hundreds despite my own disdain for conflict and hate of killing people for them, they mean that much. That I would drop all pretenses of my sanity and person to save for them, they are my biggest weakness, but I suppose my team is moving into that territory as well.

That's something that I'm fine with, but the problem comes from the idea of the Chuunin Exams that are going to show face eventually, they are something that I won't be able to slip up in, my life and theirs will be on the line. Death doesn't mean much to someone like myself who is aimless and has no ambitions but the moment I realized my connection to these people in my life, it became something that I didn't want to have happen when it could make these people sad or angry.

I just hope nothing happens or that at the very least Orochi doesn't pop up and that I don't have to watch Neji fight Hinata, because if I see that bastard lay a hand on her I might really snap. She's like a sister to me, even if we've only been on a team for such a short amount of time, seeing Sasuke get stabbed or crushed would likely have a similar outcome from me.

Who knows though? I'd say it's all up to fate, but I just dissuaded my belief in the magnanimous entity of fate herself controlling us like that didn't I? Still, even if she does exist, I hope that we get dealt a fair card and not one of constant ruin.

AN: Farewell.