As the cherry blossoms were starting to bathe in the early sun's light, two men were seemingly enjoying the early morning with a delightful cup of tea and a friendly match of Shogi. Both of them were silent and concentrating on their game with an intensity seldom seen among the youngsters of those days.

Well within the prime of his life, Kegare; one of the two men sitting at the small shogi table, was calmly contemplating the move his longtime friend and cousin Iwatobi had made.

"Quite the daring move, sacrificing your general so early in the game," The masked man let out a chuckle before enjoying a sip from his cup of tea. "I wonder if your troops would survive this match without his leadership."

The man on the opposite side of the table smirked a bit, letting his fingers curl the long, thin strands of white hair that made up his perfectly maintained beard.

"Sometimes the leader must sacrifice himself to ensure a victory in the end," Iwatobi smiled and motioned Kegare that it was his turn to make a move in their little game. "If all you have left at the end of a battle, is your leader, can you truly call yourself the victor?"

Kegare laughed, not something he did frequently, but he did enjoy the company of the man in front of him. He did like people that were calm and collected in their demeanor, given that he himself did not like taking too much action either anyway.

"Ah well, I'll bite for now," The masked man silently moved one of the pieces and took Iwatobi's Iron general piece. "Perhaps you may be right though, though I wonder what defines a victor. Is it the fact that he has beaten the enemy or the fact that he has managed a minimal amount of loss among his own. I reckon there will always be people squabbling about that very question."

However, despite the amusement and fun the two had with their game, it didn't take long for a Iwa-nin to come and disturb them, telling them that it was time for the clan's morning gathering.

"Oh what fun, listening for an hour to those old geezers," The masked man let out a sigh of disappointment. Kegare had always done his best to respect the clan's customs and rules, but some of the old clan elders could never rely on his aid or advice, given their attitude when he was young and their lack of action towards the Feudal Lord's family when they transgressed their authority. "Maybe I could get me some time in the clan's vaults, it's always nice to look at the old sculptures and creations of our ancestors."

As such, the two men calmly finished their tea and set aside the shogi table, deciding to go to the clan compound's main hall together.

At the arrival at the relatively large, round wooden building, kegare was greeted by a few old comrades and closer relatives before the doors to the hall opened and the elders called upon the clansmen to enter the hall for their daily moment of debate and contemplation, which the masked man actually dreaded. Not because he did not like to debate critical matters and subjects, but just because he felt as if he did not truly belong there, while he could've easily spend his time with other, more recreational matters that did not need him to listen to the dribble of ancient relics of the past.

Alas, he was a Yamada clansmember wether he wanted it or not and as one of those who carried the Kekkei genkai, no matter his own decisions and choices, things were still expected of him, even now when he was no longer a young and spry youngster.

WC:644

It didn't take long for Kegare to hear the murmers when he passed a few of the older men of the clan, he knew very well that he was not seen as much of an asset to the clan anymore, not since what had happened in his youth and certainly not as a shinobi.

He was but a lowly genin compared to most, even Iwatobi had held the rank of special jonin before his official retirement as a shinobi. Unlike most of his clansmen though, kegare had never aspired to be a shinobi when he was young, though as he grew older he did regret many of the missed opportunities and despite the distinct possibility that he had been too late in getting a bit more ambitious in life, he was certain that with lots of practice, study and trials, he might actually turn out to be a worthy member of the clan nonetheless, after all if there was one thing none would ever deny, it was the fact that Yamada Kegare despite his lack of fame or infamy was still known as a brilliant strategist and diplomat of the highest possible grade.

"Well Iwatobi, what did I tell you, those geezers still hate me as much as I hate them," the masked man laughed as he took his seat at the large round table at which all of the clan elders were seated. "I wonder if their going to elect a new head of the family soon, with Ginzo having passed away last month and his son not yet back from his mission I'd wonder if they have any alternative options."

Iwatobi sighed and gave kegare a pat on the back. "Don't fret so much old friend. Even if they act like you've never amounted to anything, in my eyes you're still the only person I'd rely upon when the times would be bleak and we'd be in the need of guidance."

For a moment, kegare's back stiffened, his head turning towards the old men at the other end of the table. "Well, I reckon it's about time they're starting this meeting in earnest. They still have to tell us who's going to handle those brats for the rest of this week. I surely hope they don't appoint me as teacher for this week, I'd hardly know what to do with the clan's kids, let alone know what to teach them that they don't already know."

"Again old friend, quit worrying," The older man next to kegare let out a sigh and let his fingers run through his long beard again. "Be patient and just accept whatever duty they decide to give you. There's no point in arguing, you know just as much as I that it is pointless to try and resist their decisions once the rest of the clan has taken their side."

wc: 492
twc: 1136

When it seemed that his dreaded thoughts would come to fruition, Kegare sighed deeply, placing a hand against his mask while closing his eyes to calm himself down. After hearing so much dribble about the clan's affairs and stuff about Ginzo's son not being back yet, the masked member of the Yamada clan just wanted to go back home and continue his game with Iwatobi, but was quite shocked out of his silent moment of selfcontemplation when the elders suddenly appointed him as the teacher for a new class of youngsters from the clan.

"Honored elders, why me?" The older gentleman asked with a shocked tone of voice, clearly finding the elders' decision a rather strange one. "Are there not more honorable and more skilled men or women in the clan who have proven their worth at more than one occassion compared to me?"

The elders grumbled a bit, until the eldest chuckled a bit and nodded. "Kegare, you misunderstand. It has come to our attention that you regret never having gone further than a genin in our nation's shinobi system. Because we value your opinion and your wishes, we thought teaching some of the clan's youngsters in our values and rules could aid you in achieving that which you want."

Kegare simply sighed again and stood up, bowing graciously towards the elders, while taking off his hat. "Though I do not doubt your decision and thank you for this opportunity, honored elders. I doubt I'd be of much value to these youngsters in subjects that are not my strongest point."

The elders simply seemed to wave away the older Yamada Clanmember's words and simply ended the discussion by writing a few things in the ledger they always used during those morning meetings with the clan. "The matters of the day have concluded, no refusals will be allowed."

wc: 314
twc: 1450

Annoyed by the orders from the elders, Kegare made his way to the community hall of the Yamada Clan's compound, standing still in front of the door that would lead him to the task at hand: teaching the clan's youngsters a bit about their heritage and the values they had to strive for.

In a sense this was quite a contradiction when it was Kegare who was teaching them, after all what had he accomplished for the sake of the clan? Well, besides almost being the cause for a seperation between the clan and Iwagakure, all because of some haughty, snotnosed cousin from the Feudal Lord thinking nobles need not care about commoners.

"Allright, let's just get this over with," The Masked man breathed in deeply, straightening his back and closing his eyes for just a brief moment to ready himself for the duty he had been given. "They're just kids, what can I expect from boys and girls that have just recently learned to wipe their own but and walk on their own two legs?"

As he opened the door to the classroom, the older gentleman was suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of noise and the loud screams that came from inside. The sound of screeching children's voices grated at his ears when he walked towards the counter at the end of the class, forcing him to reconsider the nature of his duty. These were no children, they were mindless, ridiculously loud animals that had no consideration for others whatsoever.

"Settle down kids, mouths shut and ears open," Kegare's voice boomed through the room in an attempt to silence the kids, which to the man's own surprise seemed to turn out to go well, as the boys and girls sat down on their seats and watched their new teacher with an intrigued look in their eyes. "I'm your new teacher, Yamada Kegare."

The kids remained silent, yet only for a mere moment, as in an instant they shouted and jeered, screaming and throwing questions towards Kegare:

"Why do you wear a mask, teach"

"How old are you, teach"

Those and many more were thrown into kegare's direction, forcing him to sit down and just give up for that day, he'll have to do a better job next time. or at least so he thought.

wc: 399
twc: 1849

training:

It took him some time to regain his bearings, stand up again and slam his hand upon the desk behind which he had been sitting for that entire moment.

It was obvious from that moment to the children, that Yamada Kegare, their new, strangely masked teacher had just lost his patience and was absolutely livid after their initial show of rotten and ill-mannered behavior.

"Allright, all of you, shut up and sit down in your seats!!" If he had shouted any louder, he'd have shattered his own mask with his voice alone. It was such a booming voice which resonated through the classroom that it even made some of the kids nearly cry and burst into tears. "Very well, that is much, much better."

Again, he decided to retry his introduction, turning himself around to take a piece of chalk and write his name on the blackboard behind him. "My name is Yamade Kegare, I will be your teacher and that means you kids will show me the proper respect and in return I will make these next few weeks as agreeable and entertaining as possible. You need to work for something you want after all, no respect means no play, got it?"

The children, seemingly fascinated, yet still slightly cautious due to his earlier outburst, could only nod and remain as silent as possible.

"Very good," Kegare was relieved that it only took this much to force the kids to be silent, for he had already feared that it would've taken much more force to do so. Glad that he did not need to go as far as he initially thought, the masked clanmember started to read the names on the class register out loud to see if there were any abscentees before actually starting with lessons for these kids ranging from six to eight years old. "Let's start with some basic shinobi strategies, just to see what kind of wood you all are made out of, ok?"

Finally, the lessons could start. Perhaps if he was lucky, he could actually be enjoying this as well...

wc: 351
twc: 2200

training:

"You all are expected to one day be old enough to contribute to our village and our society," The masked man pointed towards the kids to emphasize his words and to make it clear that he indeed was talking about them and what their future would hold for them. "Though the world has known relative peace for the past few years, the job of the shinobi never ends."

With a piece of chalk, he wrote down the word 'Shinobi' on the blackboard and tapped his hand next to it.

"You will be expected to become shinobi," Kegare pointed towards the word he had written on the blackboard and let out a soft sigh. "Alas, not all of you will become shinobi when the time comes. You will need to train, learn and gain experience and even then your future as shinobi isn't set in stone. However, there are ways to ensure a higher rate of success and one of those ways is by learning the rules of being a shinobi, learning the values of our society and live by both those rules and those values."

It was true that both the rules and values were of great importance, but the irony didn't escape Kegare, as he was one of those who had neglected both those rules and those values and now there he stood, teaching children to follow exactly the two things he had not abided by in the past. The elders really liked to toy with him, but in a way he understood their intentions, as he had voiced his desire to finally move back on the path of a shinobi as they had desired long ago, now he had to not only teach, but learn again as well.

"First rule of being a shinobi, is to care for your village, your comrades and your clan," Kegare wrote everything down on the blackboard, intending to perhaps copy each word in pen, ink and paper for himself later on. "A shinobi must do what is best for his fellow men and women, but must never work alone. Trust in those fellow men and women is equally important."

It was almost a joke that someone who was viewed as an arrogant man, was now talking to kids about relying on others even when it seemed unimportant or useless.

"Both as a leader and as a subordonate, a shinobi must think about his or her comrades," The masked man continued talking about the first rule which he had mentioned, even though it all seemed like a joke to him, given his own background. "A leader can't stand on his own and a subordonate will always need guidance and strong leadership."

It reminded him of his discussion with Iwatobi during their Shogi match, though behind his mask his lips curled into a smile, Kegare had started to understand the old man's words of wisdom. A leader needed his people as much as his people needed their leader, but when the time came and the leader died, the people had to continue. A leader without his people though, would never be able to continue through the same path.

wc: 528
twc: 2728

training:

"Sir, what about if as a shinobi you have to choose between your leader and your comrades during a mission?" One of the kids seemed to have grasped the idea quite nicely, posing a question that in a way was a perfect follow up to the discussion Kegare and Iwatobi had before. "What are you supposed to do in such a situation?"

The masked man was quite content with this line of thought coming from one of the kids, showing that after he had started lecturing them a bit, they seemed to start taking it all seriously, posing quite good questions.

"In such a situation, the first point would be which choice would benefit the village the most and which loss would turn out to be the least worse," Kegare knew this answer would sound rather cruel, but these children needed to know that the world wasn't as rosy and fun as they had thought it to be in their short sheltered lives. "Sometimes you'll need to sacrifice a comrade for the good of the village. I know it's harsh, but that is life after all. The life of the one never weighs up to the lives of a thousand."

Deciding that was actually a very good life lesson for these kids, Kegare wrote down that very phrase upon the blackboard and felt quite pleased with the progress he had made, while he first didn't want to teach this kids, it had turned out to be quite the fun thing to do.

"On to the second rule to be a shinobi then," Again, the yamada clanmember started writing on the blackboard, making it obvious that this was the second most important thing on the board so far, after rule number one at least. "Second rule of the shinobi, keep any secret information closely guarded."

One of this kids was quick to point out that that actually contradicted the first rule in which Kegare had mentioned to trust your comrades. However, the older shinobi was actually expecting this reaction and was quick to answer this remark properly. "Yes, you need to trust your comrades and your village, but outside those boundaries, you must be careful with any and all information and secrets that you hold. Lest our enemies use them to their benefit. Even in rare cases you'll be expected to even keep secrets from your fellow Iwa-nin, but those are like I said rare cases and remember that such things are always done for the betterment of the village."

With that being said, the masked man sat down behind the desk and decided to pose a question to the children, eager to see what kind of answer they'd come up with.

"Just imagine that you're all on a mission and I am the leader," The idea was pretty simple and to give the children a better demonstration, the shinobi revealed two shogi pieces which he had carried all the way from Iwatobi to the classroom. "This piece; the soldier will be you and this piece; the Iron general will be me. Can you still follow?"

The kids nodded and seemed to be glued to the two small wooden pieces that had been placed on the desk.

"Now if there would be a battle and you needed to make a choice, who would you sacrifice, the leader who was indespensible or the army?"

wc: 570
twc: 3298

training:

It remained silent in the classroom for a few minutes, until finally someone started to raise their hand, trying to get Kegare's attention by doing so. All in all, the fact a few kids tried to answer the question or at least tried to understand the meaning behind it, made the older Yamada clansmember smile behind his mask. The youth wasn't as bad as h had initially thought.

"Sir, would that choice not depend on the where and the when in that question?" One of the kids asked, hitting straight home with asking a question to Kegare's own. "Because is it not so that sometimes a great leader is more valuable than a whole army, but that in other cases the leader normally sacrifices himself for the army?"

Kegare let out a chuckle and gave the kid a nod of approval, it seemed that some of the kids were actually capable of more complex thought than he had ever dared to think kids their age were capable of, yet then again, these weren't just some brats from Feudal Houses, but children of shinobi and villagers of the Stone, they were smarter than their pampered and sheltered counterparts.

"Very good, very good," The masked man clapped his hands and pointed at the two rules he had mentioned earlier and which he had written on the blackboard. "The choice, the RIGHT choice is indeed dependant upon the timing of said choice, the occassion and the circumstances. Yet if the time or place was irrelevant and we purely took our answer from the rules as they are written on the blackboard right now, what would the answer be?"

A few moments passed again, until yet a few other children raised their hands and waited with speaking up until kegare had pointed towards one of them.

"There is no right or wrong answer without the precise circumstances," One of the kids suddenly remarked. "The only way to have a right answer is when you know the circumstances in which the soldiers and the iron general have to make their choice and upon which they base it."

"That...is actually a perfectly suitable and correct answer," Kegare laughed, clapped his hands loudly and let out a sigh of relief and slight bewilderment. "Allright children, all that's left is for you guys to write down everything on the blackboard and next week we'll continue with this matter."

While leaving the classroom and greeting the regular homeroom teacher, Kegare stopped in his tracks, looked at the two shogi pieces he was holding and chuckled softly. "Change is made by choice and choices made by leaders. Question is, am I making choices as a soldier or as an Iron General?"

wc: 458
twc: 3756

training:

Thread is finished