[u][b]Kensuke Nimatsu[/b][/u]

The warm winter sun warmed his face as he stood on the moist grassfield that was named Trainingfield 13. It had been almost five years since he arrived here. Five long and painful years, but five years that were amongst the best of his short life. It was a strange feeling to the 20 years old jounin standing on the field filled with morning dew. The naive boy that had arrived here back then had grown into a fine man, if he could believe Zakito Hon, ex-Hokage and a sort of father figure for Kensuke. Despite the fact that he wasn't really much older than him, just 11 years, his character and wisdom had been inspirational for the young boy. In Konoha, initially as a hostage, he had found many things he didn't even know he missed. In that list was true friendship, companionship, but also the ability to accept things and the gift of insight. He had come to terms with his own identity and the world he lived in. That, along with some other factors, allowed him to find love. Yes, the shy boy that used to stutter at the mere sight of the other sex had grown into a charming individual. just thinking of it made him smile. Before he even noticed, the smile had grown into a grin as he thought of Kaori. 

Only after a short period of staring in the cold Februari morning sky, he realized he was grinning and quickly adopted a more serious expression. He couldn't have his new students think he was a lunatic, now could he? He had read through both of his new student's files already, and he knew that the naive Hyuga boy Maruki was quite skilled for his age, while the introvert Inuzuka girl Shisen wasn't exactly stupid either. But what united both him and his students, he had stated with a wry smile, was that none of them had any parents left alive. They were all orphans. Well, Kensuke had never really been hurt by it, considering he never really knew his mother and that he didn't quite love his father, but it still had been hard. He already knew how hard it could be to lose someone you love, and if that person would be toyr parent on top of that... He knew that that would be a touchy subject, and felt compassion for them now he thought about the test he was going to let them pass.

It wasn't really required for new genin to pass a test from their jounin teacher, but it was a tradition. And as such he had prepared a test of his own making. Compared to some other's tests it was rather cruel and harsh, but he deemed it necessary for his students to posses the skills and abilities required for that test. If they would fail that test, he would seriously doubt their chances to survive as a shinobi. Which also was his main concern. He didn't like to put them through the test he had prepared, but he had seen people die one time too many because they didn't posses the required skills.

As a result, there he stood in the middle of training field 13 at around 7:00 on a cold morning, watching the birds pass from tree to tree on the edge of the trainingfield.