Akemi waited in front of the dumpling shop after school. Tamotsu had run off as soon as they had been dismissed so that he could warn his mother and father of their guest.

'whew…there you are,' a voice panted from behind, and Akemi beamed at her friend as she turned. 'sorry it took so long- my house is a little far from here.' The silver-eyed boy had clearly been running all the way there and back.

'that's okay- I didn't wait too long.' Akemi was still smiling, eager to see what her friend's house was like, and to meet his father. He grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd until they were away from the market road, then just led her, letting her hand go. After a good distance, they reached a house not much different than Akemi's own, just in a different part of town. The black-haired woman she'd seen earlier that week was standing outside waiting for them.

'that's my mom,' he said as they reached the blue-eyed woman, who smiled down at the children. 'mom, this is my friend, Akemi.' The woman smiled a little more, noting the yin and yang differences between silver and black Akemi and black and silver Tamotsu. While their colors were backwards from a proper yin and yang, their personalities meshed a little better.

'pleased to meet you, Akemi. Hideaki, our guest has arrived,' the woman called, turning a little toward the house. A few seconds later, the door was opened and a man with deep brown hair cut at chin length and white eyes came out, tying the obi on a casual kimono.

'ah, so this is the little girl I've heard so much about today,' he said with a friendly smile and a little bow. 'I am Hideaki, and this is my wife, Hitomi. You already know Tamotsu, of course.' Akemi couldn't help but grin back at the silver-eyed adult. His smile was infectious, just like his son's.

'pleased to meet you, sir, ma'am. I am Tamotsu's friend Akemi. I wish I could introduce my own parents to you, but that's not really possible.'

The man nodded. 'yes, I understand. Tamotsu already told me your father was Daisuke. I'm actually surprised we've never met- he was on my team. His sacrifice saved, not only my life, but every other shinobi on that mission. You should be very proud of him.'

Akemi's eyes started to water and she fought the urge to cry, sniffling a little. 'I am proud of him. But it isn't fair he didn't come back.' She sniffled again and rubbed at her eyes with one fist. 'as for my mother, she's just silly. She saw his eyes-' she pointed to her friend- 'and said they were dangerous and that I had to stop being friends with him. But I didn't listen.'

This took Hideaki a bit aback. There was surprise on his face for a moment, but he concealed it quickly. 'well, your mother knows more than she tells you, it would seem. In a way, she's not wrong.'

'what? So your eyes are dangerous somehow? I just thought they looked funny- because they're all white and scary looking.' She glanced to Tamotsu, who looked back at her, equally bewildered. The man let out a snort of laughter.

'why don't we go inside and talk about this? Tamotsu will learn the particulars in a few more weeks anyway, and it would help to have someone his own age willing to train with him who knew also.'

The four people headed inside, with Hitomi heading into the kitchen to make tea and listen in while the two children and Hideaki settled themselves around a table in the front room, he on one side and they on the other. Both children were eagerly sitting up straight, waiting for the Jonin to explain the secrets in his silver-white eyes.

'in my family, those born with pupilless white eyes, like me and Tamotsu, are also born with a special ability. Well…two, I suppose, but they work together as one.' He was enjoying the awestruck looks of wonder on the others' faces. 'this genetically linked special power is commonly referred to as a "kekkei genkai" and eventually you may learn about it in the academy, or perhaps as a genin.' He gave a non-committal grunt and continued. 'the first and most important ability has to do with our eyes. Aptly enough, it's called the Byakugan (AN: 'white eye') and it grants us formidable vision indeed.'

'really? So you can see through walls and things like that?' Akemi asked, grinning. 'or see hidden traps or hiding enemies?' Tamotsu asked, nearly talking over his friend.

Hideaki beamed and gave a small, slow nod. 'that and more. When active, the Byakugan can see a minimum of fifty meters in a full circle around the user. You can see through walls and anything else within that sphere of vision. Most importantly, you can see inside your enemies to the chakra pathway system- though I don't know if you've really learned about that yet.' Noting the confused looks, he gave a small laugh. 'well, never mind, then, you'll learn soon enough. That's probably what your mother meant by "dangerous eyes", Akemi. With vision like that, we-' he paused as if stopping himself from saying a name. 'we in this family become very formidable opponents.'

'What about the other ability we have, father? You said there were two.' Tamotsu bounced eagerly and Akemi snapped out of her thoughts as she was wondering why her mother knew about something her friend did not.

'the easiest way to put it is that we have excellent chakra control, and we can use it to fight with. There's a special family style of taijutsu called Juuken, where we hit the enemy's chakra system instead of just hitting the outside. It causes injury with very little effort on our part- a graze can cause far more damage than a punch or kick.' Both children's eyes lit with excited wonder again.

'wow!' Tamotsu exclaimed. 'you're going to teach me how to do that on my birthday?' Hideaki grinned. 'well, first, I have to help you activate your byakugan- it's no use trying to hit your enemy's chakra points if you can't see them.' Akemi gave a glum sigh and both boys looked at her in confusion.

'I wish I could do something cool like that- you're really lucky, Tamotsu, you know that?' they were momentarily saved from replying by the arrival of tea and a few small snacks courtesy of Hitomi, who settled next to her husband afterward. 'I think everyone's got something special they can do,' the woman said, making Akemi look up in a little surprise. 'I'll bet that one day you'll beat him at something, or else be able to do something he can't. don't sell yourself short because you think you were born in the wrong family.'

'speaking of family, what did you say your mother's name was? I haven't been able to meet her.' Hideaki had been thinking about that since Akemi had mentioned that her mother had commented about dangerous eyes. To his knowledge, that would mean the woman had met someone with his eyes before, though she should have had no reason to.

'oh, right. My mother's name is Azumi. I hope you do get to meet- you're very nice, and perhaps you can change her mind about letting me be friends. I had to sneak here from the market street today.' The man gave a hum of thoughtfulness. He didn't know the name offhand. It was possible they had never met before, and the woman had just picked up some stray information about them. From Daisuke, maybe? That was the only logical source. 'ah, excuse me, but I have to go. Mom told me to be home before sundown.' She had glanced out the window to notice the sun nearing the horizon. If her mother had to go searching for her, the game would be up. 'see you soon!' she said, hopping up and heading for the door. 'thank you for inviting me, Tamotsu. Your family is very nice.' With that, she hurried home.