Author's Note: Hello, everyone! :)
I'm not sure when I'll be able to post the next chapter, due to bad internet where I live during the week. I'm aiming for Friday.
Hopefully that will give me time to get ahead on this story, though.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter two! You get to meet Kaeda's Genin students! :D haha.
Reviews would be lovely. :)

Two: Training

"Alright, you three, I want ten laps around the training field in no less than ten minutes. Let's go!"

The three Genin ninja who stood before me groaned in annoyance at my request before turning to fulfill it. I climbed to the top of a wooden training log and took a seat, nonchalantly crossing my ankles and laying my hands in my lap. The morning sun was peeking out over the treetops in the distance, creating in the sky a fantastic swirl of pastel pinks and oranges. The crisp air chilled my lungs when I breathed it in, causing me to shiver, and for a moment I contemplated joining the team in their warm up.

I chuckled. Not a chance.

My three Genin were rounding the corner to complete the first lap. I wasn't surprised to see Toshiro Isami at the front. He was the Sasuke Uchiha or the Neji Hyuga of Squad Thirteen. A genius, a natural talent, and a weilder of the Isami clan's kekkei genkai: the Kiseigan. I had yet to see it in action, but from what I understood, it is a blood line trait that, when activated, allows tiny receptors all throughout the user's body to absorb chakra from others around him. What I found truly incredible about the kekkei genkai was that the user can also convert the energy of his surroundings (such as a gust of wind, or the flow of water) into pure chakra that he can absorb into his body. That way, he can replenish his chakra without having to steal from his comrades. When I learned of his incredible trait, part of me really wanted to fight this kid and make him use up all of his chakra, just so I could see him replenish it.

But, sadly, another part of me knew that it would be wrong to do so.

Damned conscience.

Not too far behind Toshiro was Hana Sugimoto, and, again, I wasn't surprised. Although she hid behind a quiet exterior, I knew that this girl was tough. No matter what assignment or training exercise I threw at her, Hana never once complained. Through blood, sweat, and tears, she persevered, continuously pushing herself to become an even better shinobi than she was the previous day. Although she had hardly said a word since we first met, I could tell that she was similar to myself in many ways. Although I try not to let that influence my picking favorites, sometimes I just can't help it.

Dragging behind the others was Nikko Takeda. I wouldn't necessarily call him unmotivated, but the kid is difficult to train. Always complaining and dragging his feet, Nikko is always the last to finish any exercise that I assign. His problem is that he thinks that he doesn't need to train. He truly believes that, in his current condition, he could set out on an S-Ranked mission and come back without so much as a scratch on his freckled face. The first time I had actually seen Nikko genuinely happy was when Lady Hokage assigned Squad Thirteen its first mission, but that quickly faded when he learned that instead of ridding the streets of criminals or enemies, he would be ridding the streets of litter. I must say, though, that despite his inability to focus on anything other than disagreeing with my training methods, the kid is pretty entertaining.

When my Genin had finished their laps, I hopped down from my seat to approach them. A satisfied smile crept onto my face upon hearing their ragged breaths. "Now then," I began, flipping open my weapon's holster and pulling out a few shuriken, "it's time for some agility training."

Hana's face expressed shock as she eyed the weapons clutched in my hand.

"What's the matter?" I asked her.

Her cheeks reddened at my inquiry. Clearing her throat nervously, she replied in a soft voice, "You're… going to use real shuriken?"

I smirked. "That's right. You're ninja now. It's time we stopped messing around. In this training exercise, any failure will injure you. That way, not only will you learn quicker from your mistakes, but you'll also become acquainted with the real pain that battles can cause your body. Either you fight through the pain, or you suffer the consequences."

With a nod, Hana instantaneously replaced her terrified expression with that of confidence and eagerness. Her eyes gleamed like emeralds at the possibility of becoming a stronger kunoichi

"Alright, we'll go one at a time. I'll start by throwing the shuriken slowly and less frequently, but as you progress through the exercise, I'll pick up the speed. Got it?"

My Genin nodded, and I grinned. "Good. Hana, you're up first."

Her eyes widened at the sound of her name, but she quickly blinked her fear away and replied, "Yes, Sensei."

"Stand over there and wait for me to start the exercise." I pointed my index finger toward a spot about fifty feet away and directly in front of me. Hana sprinted to her position and took a ready stance.

"Ready," I said, watching as Hana lowered herself in her stance, anticipating my first move, "Begin!"

I wasted no time in throwing the first shuriken, and Hana immediately jumped out of the way. She's quick, I thought to myself. I threw the next shuriken, and again, she dodged it swiftly and skillfully. She continued to weave in and out of the approaching weapons' projectiles without fault, and I grew increasingly more impressed with her as I observed her. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and her eyes glared with intense concentration. When I picked up the speed even more, however, she lost her balance as she attempted to dodge too many weapons at once. One of the blades sliced her left shoulder, causing blood to trickle slowly out of the wound. She winced in pain, losing concentration for a mere moment, before performing a back flip to avoid another pair of shuriken that whizzed in her direction. Throughout the rest of the exercise, she managed to remain untouched.

"Very good," I complimented her. Reaching into the holster on my right leg, I pulled out a roll of bandages and walked toward Hana, who had fallen to her knees, panting and holding her bloody shoulder. I kneeled beside her and proceeded to wrap the bandages around her injury. "You did exactly what I wanted you to do."

"But sensei," she gasped, "I… I got hit."

"Yes," I nodded, flashing her a reassuring smile, "But you didn't give up. You stuck it out to the very end."

Hana's eyes traveled upward to meet my gaze, and she allowed the small smile to form on her lips. "Thank you, sensei."

When I finished dressing Hana's wounds, I collected the shuriken that I had thrown and returned to my post. "Nikko,"

"Hm?" The boy's golden brown eyes did not gleam with excitement as Hana's had, but rather drooped with indifference. "Oh, my turn." Shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts, he trudged to the starting point and awaited my signal.

"Begin!" The four-bladed weapon flew hurriedly from my hand, slicing the air in its path. Nikko easily dodged it, and as he did so, a smug smirk appeared on his face. Overconfident, as usual, I rolled my eyes. I continued to throw the weapons, gradually picking up the pace as time passed, and it wasn't long before Nikko's swelled pride had caused him to underestimate my training methods. Two shuriken cut him after he misread their distances, one to his left bicep and the other to his right shin. Stunned by the pain, his injured leg gave out, causing him to fall to the ground. As he did so, another shuriken grazed his right cheek. I contemplated simply ending the exercise right then and there, but he somehow managed to escape another swarm of approaching weapons by executing a dive-somersault and immediately lifting himself to his feet. His glared in annoyance as he finished the exercise halfheartedly, earning another wound to his left forearm at the very end.

When I ceased throwing the shuriken at him, Nikko plopped down into a seated position and crossed his arms over his chest angrily. Sighing exasperatedly, I relocated the bandages and proceeded to dress his many wounds. "Nikko," I started.

"I just got unlucky that time, Kaeda Sensei," Nikko interjected, "that's all. I swear!"

I managed to stifle a laugh, pulling the bandages on his left arm tight. "It has nothing to do with luck," I said seriously, causing Nikko's brow to furrow, "Your overconfidence is your worst enemy right now. It floods your mind with unreasonable expectations of yourself, causing you to become sulky and irritated when things don't go your way."

Nikko turned his head away from me with a frustrated huff.

"Just listen, for once," I commanded as I started wrapping his leg injury, "I'm your sensei, a Jonin ninja. I'm here to help you become the best shinobi that you can be. You need to start trusting that the training that I put you through is for your benefit, and I expect that you work hard and see each challenge through to the very end."

Nikko remained silent. His arms were still crossed stubbornly over his chest, though I noticed his eyes flicker in my direction, indicating that he was indeed listening.

"Don't blame any failures on being 'unlucky,' for making excuses will never make you stronger. Instead, you should learn from your mistakes and correct them the next time you're given the opportunity to."

I cleaned and dressed the small wound on his face as I finished my sentence. Knowing full well that Nikko wasn't going to outwardly accept my advice (oh no, he was way too stubborn for that), I simply stored the bandages back into my holster and made my way back to my post, collecting my shuriken along the way. I parted my lips to call on the third student, but I merely grinned when I turned around to find that Toshiro was already standing where the others had stood before him. His knees were bent slightly and his ocean eyes focused intently on the shuriken I held in my hands.

"Always one step ahead," I remarked.

"I'm ready when you are, Sensei."

"Ready," I took one shuriken in my right hand, the metal blades scraping against the ones in my left as they separated, "begin!"

Toshiro dodged the shuriken almost immediately after I threw it, and he evaded the next few just as easily. I hastened more rapidly than I had with both Hana and Nikko, simply because Toshiro's natural talents required more of a challenge to be fully stimulated. He flipped and weaved and hurdled, managing to remain unscathed by the many weapons that pursued him. His movements were so fast that he became nothing but a blur to me. Being able to see and react to all of these shuriken so quickly… and at such a young age… he really is incredible.

The exercise ended in only a few minutes, and simply because I had used up my entire supply of weapons. Toshiro hadn't a single scratch on him. "How was that, Kaeda Sensei?"

I couldn't help but grin as I shook my head in disbelief. "Remarkable, as always, Toshiro. I only wish I brought more weapons along with me."

The boy smiled graciously. "Thank you, Sensei."