Of all the surprising things that had happened since Reiko had returned from Kumogakure, the fact that she was being asked to train children came as one of the most surprising. In fact, the only thing that topped it was the fact that her mother was pregnant again. For years, she'd wanted a little sister, but she hadn't realized that it would take until she was practically independent to get one. She understood why they'd held off; a sickly child didn't need another source of germs wandering around the house. It was the same reason she hadn't been allowed to have a pet. Now that one was coming, Reiko couldn't wait to see him or her. With luck, they'd be perfectly healthy, and then she could take them to parks, and on walks and such. And she could bring them back souvenirs from her missions... all in all, Reiko was over the moon about the fact.

Today, however, she needed to focus on training. She had to wake up a bit earlier than usual, to get in her morning run before the kids got to the Academy for their session with her. By the time she got there, however, she found herself wishing she'd slept in a bit. Reiko was sure to arrive on time. If there was one thing that would make kids think she didn't care, it would be if she arrived late to the lesson. Instead, though she was there on time, not one of the kids were. It was a bit of a disappointment. She'd hoped that at least one of them would be interested in catching up to their peers, at least as much as she had been when she was young. It seemed to her, though, that she was wrong.

Not one student showed up until three minutes after they were supposed to meet. It was a little girl, she seemed embarrassed at being late, at the very least. Reiko made no attempt to reprimand her, simply letting her sit. After all, she was the first one to show up. The last one didn't show up until a good fifteen minutes after they were supposed to meet, eating a sandwich while he walked, nonetheless. Still, she said nothing. In fact, part of her was happy he decided to eat. If he puked, it was on his conscience.

"Okay!" she said, hopping off of the log she'd settled on, her hands coming together in a clap. Conversation petered off, and eyes came to meet her own. "I'm Reiko, and I'll be your-" A hand shot in the air, belonging to a boy sitting near the middle of the group. She paused, reluctantly pointing to him, allowing him to speak. "Yes, um..?"

"Muto!" The boy replied in a nasal voice. "You're a Hyuga, right?"

Oh, great. Three seconds in and they'd already hit that point. She didn't understand children's fascination with her eyes, but it seemed every time she spoke to one she got at least a question about it. "Yes," she replied, hooking one of her thumbs in her belt and shifting her weight to her left foot. "I'm a Hyuga. And before you ask, yes, I have Byakugan. Yes, I can see nearly everywhere around me, and no, I will not demonstrate anything about them to you today. Find me on a day when you're not supposed to be learning other things, and I'll be glad to."

A collective sigh went through the group, affirming her suspicions about where their attention really was. She smiled amiably, lifting her hands and clapping. She needed to get their attention back, so maybe her eyes might be just the way to do it. "Okay, so once again! I'm Hyuga Reiko, and I'll be your instructor today. And how about, as a little treat, whoever does the best work today gets to try out a little spar against me and my Byakugan?"

That seemed to catch their attention once more, a few of the students visibly straightening up. This class might not be as difficult to deal with as she'd previously thought.

What she'd been told to teach them was a few generally simple things: how to properly hit with your arms, solidifying their knowledge of the types of grapples, and seeing how they did in spars. When it came down to it, in each one, all seemed adept but a few, who she took some time to correct personally while the others got a small break. For all her fears, the prospect of a spar seemed to make them excited, as well as motivating them into actually listening to her when she spoke. They still behaved like children, ad were grumpy about what they were being forced to do, but it was far more manageable than what she'd thought it would be. Kanata, Muto, and Kitsu were three that she wished she could have spent more time with. They seemed almost to not care what happened to their future, but she hoped with more time that they'd take to training as she did when she was their age, even if she couldn't actually do it.

The most interesting incident came with the sparring, in which the students actually became somewhat interested again. It seemed the prospect of beating each other up appealed to them. There were only ten children, so she paired them up into five groups, figuring single battles would be easier. She'd have preferred to do triple battles, but she didn't have the right amount of children and didn't want to have one sitting out or being an extra group member and putting people at a disadvantage.

The battles were surprisingly close, considering the age of the children. One kid was even knocked unconscious, though he woke back up within a few seconds. At his urging, Reiko allowed him to stay so long as he agreed to sit by the tree in the shade, where he was less likely to stress himself further. By the end, the small, shy girl who'd arrived first was actually the one that ended up on top. She seemed nervous about it, sitting and twidling her thumbs the moment her sparring partner went down. Yue, the little girl, didn't even want to spar with Reiko, instead only asking if she could see them activated. She wanted to touch her face as well, probably curious at the veins that bulged with their activation, as far as Reiko could tell. That specific want, she could understand. When she was younger, she used to activate them and feel the difference in her face all the time. It was fascinating in a way, how one's face changed.

By the time all the children went home, Reiko felt some accomplishment with how the day went. Sure, one had been injured, and she hadn't really managed to teach three of them much, but the others showed improvement, and that was what she'd been told to do; improve in some way, shape, or form.