CCNote: I wish that I could update twice a week like I used to but this new semester has been so busy lol! My third-year students are also graduating soon so I've been putting extra effort into our lessons to make them as enjoyable as possible. I'll probably update more frequently once testing starts and preparations for the graduation ceremony starts but until then you'll get an update at least once a week. Anywho! Thanks so much for your continued support! Also, have you ever dealt with a child in their terrible twos? They're the effing worst lol! Don't forget to REVIEW!

T is for Crushed

Thursday May 01 2026 2:15pm

Hyuuchiha Enterprise

….

"That will be all for the day." Sasuke said, glancing to his right at Hinata who subtly nodded her head in agreement. "This meeting is adjourned."

A breath of relief flooded the room with his announcement and even he had to give into the ease. The meeting had been well over an hour and could have gone on for much longer but his brain would become fried if he did that. He glanced once more at his wife who was still shuffling through some of the reports they'd received.

'Always diligent.' He thought to himself, watching her eyes dart back and forth as she absorbed the information on the paper.

Around them, the Hyuuga and Uchiha staff quickly began gathering their things and shuffled orderly out of the room. Sasuke relished their departure and the change that was brought about to obtain it. Women no longer hung back after the meeting to ask about asinine questions or help with 'special' projects. The diminished vying for his attention kept tension low among the staff and restored the nerves that had been previously frayed by their antics.

It hadn't always been like this. After the birth of the twins, many of his female workers had practically thrown themselves at him since Hinata was technically not in the picture. Many of them had been under the assumption that Hinata becoming pregnant had been a mistake. It had been thought that he would go the way of many powerful businessmen and find satisfaction elsewhere. He and Hinata weren't even married at the time so it did give many of the women too much hope. He'd ignored them the way he always had and as time passed the advances lessened. Hinata returning to work definitely helped speed things along. The birth of his third child and daughter Hikari all but killed the remaining interest in him entirely. If he'd known having children would have gotten women off of his back perhaps he would have had them much sooner. Sasuke smirked at the thought, leaning to one side of his chair.

"What are you laughing at?" Hinata asked and Sasuke shook his head.

"Nothing." He replied, his smirk widening into a smile when her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Do I have something on my face?"

She reached up and touched her face in search of a blemish that he knew wasn't there. He didn't tell her that though. He still took too much amusement in teasing her. Lazily he got up out of his chair, swiping his file folder off of the table, and heading towards the door. He could hear his wife behind him, scrambling to gather her things as well in order to follow him out of the room. Sasuke turned back and watched as she dropped her pens on the floor and bumped her head on the table when she stood back up. White eyes blinked owlishly back at him and a bright pink blush spread across her cheeks with embarrassment at her clumsiness. How was it possible that she was still so cute? He shook his head and smirked.

"Hurry up Uchiha. We don't have all day." He said and walked out of the room.

….

Thursday May 01 2026 2:15pm

Hydrangea Park

….

"Hikari no! Don't eat that!"

She still put some random child's toy firetruck in her mouth.

"Hikari what are you doing?"

She continued to tumble downhill, giggling all the way.

"Hikari wait!"

She most definitely did not wait.

Hajime sighed as he finally almost caught up with his sister on the other side of the park. She was just a few feet away now and he'd been chasing her all around for a while. She was only two years old but she was the fastest two year old he'd ever met. It was hard to keep up with her even before she started walking but now she was unstoppable. Just as he reached out to grab the back of her lavender t-shirt, she quickly switched gears and started running in the opposite direction.

The sudden change made the Uchiha trip over his own two feet and sent him toppling face first into the grass. He groaned in pain, hoping that he'd be able to just lay there in the dirt instead of continuing his chase. She'd been running circles around him and Hiroto all day with no end in sight. Hikari certainly had a mind of her own and at times he wished she was more docile like their cousin Honoka. Honoka never caused problems when they played with her, although she did tend to always win at games which bothered Hiroto to no end.

Hikari was terrible at games. She always tried to put the pieces in her mouth or stepped on the board. She stole their balls and cried when they didn't give her a particular crayon she wanted. She followed him and Hiroto around the house constantly and if they closed the door to their bedrooms she'd sit out in the hallway until they opened the door again. They didn't do that anymore though because their father got really really angry when he found her sitting alone in the hallway for the second time. He hadn't yelled although the twins would have preferred it if he had. It was way too scary seeing their father get so quiet. Hiroto had tried to explain that they were just too busy to play with her but that had only made their father even angrier.

'There is nothing more important than family.' He'd said. 'You're supposed to take care of your sister.' His words had stuck with the twins every since which was why Hajime was now running after her. He had to take care of her. He was the oldest by a full minute, a fact that bothered Hiroto more than Honoka winning. Being the oldest meant looking out for his brother and sister. It meant talking Hiroto out of jumping off of the monkey bars or holding Hikari's hand when they crossed the street. His Papa praised his diligence.

Diligence…a word that meant doing something repeatedly and well.

However, Hiroto just did what he wanted anyway while Hikari took enjoyment in making him work for her compliance.

Compliance…a word that meant following directions. Something that his little sister wasn't able to do.

"Hikari stop running! You're going to get hurt!" Hiroto called out as she left the grassy play area to sprint through the sandbox.

Hiroto was already playing in the sandbox. He was going to dig the biggest hole that had ever been dug and he'd been at it since they'd arrived in the park. It was a noble endeavor but other children kept getting in his way and kicking sand into the hole. At the moment the large sandbox was occupied by many children and Hikari was kicking sand in all of their faces. She'd almost made it past Hiroto's hole but his brother managed to reach out and grab the edge of her shirt. She fell back into the sand onto her butt, kicking up granules into the sky.

"Again again!" she squealed as Hajime finally reached his family.

"Hikari you can't run off like that." Hajime admonished through heavy pants as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Kari wan pway!"

She rolled over onto her stomach, pushing more sand into Hiroto's hole.

"Hikari! You're ruining it!" Hiroto protested.

"Kari wan pway!"

"C'mon. Let's go wake up Papa. That will be fun right?" Hajime suggested to the two-year-old.

Waking up their grandfather whenever he passed out on the park bench was his little sister's favorite thing to do. However, judging by the way her red cheeks puffed out and the way she crossed her arms, Hikari was not willing to go along with his plan.

"Kari wan pway!" she huffed, kicking more sand into her brother's pit.

"Stop it Hikari!"

"Kari wan-" she started to insist but was distracted by a caterpillar inching along the edge of the sandbox.

"Now I gotta start all over." Hiroto grumbled, tossing his shovel into the sand in defeat.

"I'll help you." Haji suggested but Hiroto just shook his head.

"I'm over digging anyway. Those stupid girls from earlier already ruined it first. I don't want to start over again."

"Girls?"

"Yea. Those stupid girls over there."

Hajime followed where his brother's finger was pointing towards the swings. Four or five girls were gathered all around one swing which was odd at first glance but he was able to quickly see what they were so excited about. There was another girl on the swing, kicking her feet high in the air and propelling herself higher than anyone he'd seen do before.

Propel…a word that meant to go forward.

The elder Uchiha twin could only stand there in awe as the girl swung higher and higher. Each time she came back to the ground her friends would squeal with excitement and cheer her on. It was mesmerizing to watch.

"One!" the girls watching shouted, breaking Hajime from his trance. "Two!"

Hajime tapped on his brother's shoulder frantically, frightened by the sudden countdown. Hiroto wasn't even paying attention.

"Three!"

A high pitched scream cut through the air as the girl launched herself like a rocket out of the swing. Short black hair fluttered behind her as she jumped and for a moment Hajime could swear that she was flying. It was over in the blink of an eye though. When she'd landed on the ground her friends had gathered all around her, cheering at the feat she'd accomplished.

"That was…amazing." Hajime said breathlessly and Hiroto snorted as he looked back over his shoulder.

"Oh, that? That's the third time she's jumped, big whoop. Hn. I could do that. Even Hikari can do that I bet."

"Kari?" their little sister called as she finally stopped looking at the caterpillar. Big black eyes lit up with excitement. "Kari can?"

"Yea! I bet she'd be loads better than those girls." Hiroto enthused and held his hand out to her. "C'mon Hikari lets play on the swing."

"Kari pway! Kari pway!"

Hiroto moved to lead the youngest Uchiha out of the sandbox but Hajime didn't follow him. He was too focused on the girl from the swing being swamped by her friends.

"You coming, Haji?" Hiroto asked and Hajime shook his head. "Suit yourself. C'mon Hikari."

"Yay!"

….

Thursday May 01 2026 3:01pm

Hydrangea Park

….

This girl, Hajime had decided, was like no other girl he'd ever seen before. The other girls around her seemed to recognize her charm and followed her all around the park from one play area to another. Hajime followed them as well, at a distance of course. While the girls all appeared friendly they were also distinctly foreign to him. Foreign a word that meant strange and unfamiliar. The only girls he'd talked to so far were his family members. He'd be starting school soon and that meant there would be lots of girls to talk to but he was ready to bridge that gap just yet.

He was content to watch them from afar. Most of the girls were pretty boring in his opinion though. They never played on the playground equipment for long, jumping from the slide to the sandbox to the swings. It was mostly the swing girl moving from one spot to the other, the rest of the girls followed behind her closely like little shadows. They did everything she did. When she wanted to do somersaults across the basketball court, they did it too. When she wanted to hang upside down on the monkey bars, the braver girls tried to do it too but many of them just cheered her on. It was interesting watching her do whatever she wanted to freely.

Not only was she really really brave but she was also…pretty? She was nowhere near as pretty as his mother. His mother didn't have dirt on her face or messy hair or two front teeth missing. Yet, despite how rough she was, Hajime thought there was something about her face. It was unique. He didn't know much about her outside of the fact that she liked to do dangerous things on playground equipment. He didn't really want to have a long conversation with her but he did want to know her name. A girl that could fly through the air. What would you call a person like that?

Slowly, the Uchiha edged himself away from the tree that he was currently hiding behind. Any time he'd had a question before all he'd had to do was ask and he'd received an answer. If he asked her what her name was she'd tell him. He had a feeling that she wasn't a very shy girl so she'd probably answer quickly. Hajime had barely taken two steps towards the group of girls when the swinging girl jumped off of the monkey bars and was making her way towards him. He immediately froze as the horde of girls ran behind her towards the tree, utterly frightened as to what to do next. It took her less than a minute to make it to his particular tree and in that time Hajime had yet to come up with an escape plan.

"Hey!" the swing girl shouted as she marched right up to him. Now that she was closer he could clearly see the smudges of dirt on her forehead and chin. Big blue eyes blinked back at him as though waiting for a response. "Hello! Did you hear me?"

"I-I-I'm sorry what did you say?" Hajime stammered, taken aback by how loud the girl was. He could feel his entire face burning as she continued to stare at him.

She huffed, blowing a few messy black locks of hair off of her forehead.

"I said is this your tree?"

"M-m-my tree?"

"Yes, your tree. We're going to climb it and you're in the way."

"Climb?"

"I think this one is broken." Another little girl with curly red hair said. "His clone wasn't this weird. He was just mean."

Clone? What was a clone? Hajime wasn't quite sure but it didn't sound like anything good. Now the other girls had surrounded the tree as well, giggling and pointing and making jokes he couldn't quite understand. His heart rate started picking up as the girls continued to close in on him, the swing girl, in particular, was looking at him intensely.

"Hey, kid." She said, reaching out to touch him but pausing when the other girls screamed.

"No! You'll get cooties!" the redhead screamed and pulled the swing girl's hand away. "Let's go find another tree where there aren't any weird cootie clones."

Quickly the girls scramble away, not a single one looking back at the 'weird clone'. Hajime watched them go with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was he …weird? Was there really something wrong with him? Absently he bit his bottom lip to keep from crying. He didn't want anyone to see him cry then they would think he was even weirder.

Weird…a word he didn't understand…

….

Thursday May 01 2026 5:07pm

Uchiha Compound- Main House

….

"Kari home! Kari home!" Hikari shouted as she let go of their Papa's hand and ran through the foyer.

Hiroto followed behind into the house, absently kicking off his shoes behind him. He could hear his grandfather chuckle from the door but didn't pay the man too much attention. He could already smell dinner cooking in the kitchen and it smelled delicious. He could already feel his mouth water at the thought of spaghetti. Quickly he ran into the kitchen, slipping and sliding on the hardwood in his socks, to find his mother and father kissing in front of the stove. Gross.

"You're going to burn the spaghetti! Again!" Hiroto groaned and his parents broke apart.

His mother's face turned as red as a tomato when she pushed his father away. His father just wiped the lipstick off of his mouth with the back of his hand, unashamed of how gross he was. Hiroto was never going to understand why they liked kissing each other so much.

"How was the park?" he asked just as the thunderous sound of tiny feet marched into the kitchen. Hikari barely managed to not fall as she rounded the corner, her only saving grace being that her brother grabbed her arm before she could.

"Nice save." His father smirked and Hikari wiggled away.

"Kari home!" she shouted and their mother's laughter filled the kitchen.

"Yes she is!" their mother cooed and crouched down to pick up the youngest Uchiha. "I missed my Kari! Did you have fun?"

Hikari giggled as she was smothered in more kisses than either Uchiha male thought was necessary. The two-year-old tried to squirm away but she was only rewarded with more affection. Eventually, his mother did put Hikari down and donned her trademark 'tickle monster' voice. Hikari screamed as she scrambled out of the kitchen to get away from their mother's wiggling fingers. Even after a day in the park, the only way to get Hikari to take a bath was to tire her out and the tickle monster was just the thing to do it. Hiroto shook his head at the screams coming from the living room and lazily climbed up the island barstool. He laid his head down on the cold granite countertop, dark eyes watching his father's back as he resumed cooking dinner.

"Where is Haji?" his father asked and Hiroto shrugged his shoulders even though he knew his father couldn't see him.

Hajime had been all sad before they'd even left the park. Hiroto didn't know the real reason as to why his brother was down but his mood was affecting him as well. Hajime being sad made him sad too and he really didn't like feeling that way. He tried to get him to tell him what was wrong but Hajime had refused to talk. He wouldn't even talk to Papa about it and they usually told their Papa everything. The only thing Hiroto could think would be the reason for his brother's shift in mood were the stupid girls that had been running around the park. Hajime had been following them around the park, hiding quite poorly behind bushes and trees. Then all of a sudden he wasn't following them anymore and he and Hikari found him crying behind a tree. Hiroto didn't understand why he would be so interested in those girls. They were all loud and stupid and gross. If they were the ones that made his brother cry he hated them even more than he did already.

"Well?" his father asked again, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Haji's all mopey." Hiroto sighed.

His father lowered the heat on the sauce before grabbing an empty pot and bringing it over to the sink. He filled it halfway with water before returning it to the stove and lighting a fire underneath it. He threw some salt into the water as well and finally topped the pot with its lid.

"Care to explain why?"

"I don't know. He was following some girls around the park then he just got really sad."

"Hn."

"I don't even understand why though. Girls are gross so I don't see why he'd waste his time talking to one." Hiroto huffed and his father finally turned around to face him.

"Not all girls." His father said with a smirk. "Your mother and sister are girls."

"They're different."

In the living room, they could still hear his mother trying to wrangle Hikari for a proper bath time and his father shook his head.

"I suppose they are." He said, reaching up into the cabinet next to the stove for a box of pasta. He dumped the rigid spaghetti noodles into the pot of boiling water and replaced the lid back onto the pot.

"Go wash up. Dinner will be ready soon."

….

Thursday May 01 2026 8:10pm

Uchiha Compound-Main House

…

Hinata paused just outside of her eldest son's door. No sound could be heard on the inside but Hinata knew that he was awake. Call it mother's intuition but she knew that something was wrong as soon as she had gotten off from work. When he didn't immediately seek her out when he came home, that only heightened her awareness to an issue. Instead of greeting her like he usually did, he holed himself up in his room and only made an appearance when it was time for dinner. He'd taken two bites of his spaghetti and when pressed to take a third he nearly burst into tears.

After the table had been cleared and the children were sent to their rooms, Sasuke had told her of what Hiroto had relayed about the park. Of course, there weren't many details of the incident since Hiroto was not a reliable source of information but she was able to piece together why Hajime was behaving the way he was. Children today weren't that different than they were when she was growing up and she had a gut feeling that something had been said that had hurt his feelings. Hajime was the most sensitive of her three children. It was a trait she valued because she saw so much of herself in his loving nature. It hurt her deeply to see him so upset.

Worriedly biting her lower lip, she knocked on the door and entered the room without a confirmation. Inside of Hajime's all of the lights had been turned out which was very much unlike Hiroto's who was afraid of the dark. By the orange glow underneath his blankets, she knew that he was still awake, just as she had expected. Hinata shook her head and stepped further into the room. How many times had she told Hajime not to read in the dark? He was going to ruin his eyes if she kept it up.

"Haji." She called out softly and the lump in the middle of the bed jumped.

He quickly pulled the blanket off of his head and rolled over onto his side so that it would look like he was sleeping. Hinata sighed and approached the side of his bed, taking a seat on the edge.

"Haji." She said, reaching out the little boy whose back was turned to her. She placed a hand on his arm and gently rubbed back and forth with her thumb. "Haji, I know you're not sleeping."

Hajime still refused to respond, just as stubborn as his father. Perhaps even more so at times. Undeterred, Hinata pressed on.

"You must have had a tough time today looking after Hiro and Kari. They sure are a handful aren't they?"

That comment earned her a small laugh that managed to escape from her son's lips but was quickly played off as a snore. Hinata smiled and continued to rub her thumb back and forth.

"Well I was going to ask for your assistance with making some cookies but I guess you're too tired." She signed, adding a hint of false sadness in her voice. " I guess I could ask your siblings but they tend to eat all of the cookie dough. Then again, your father could always help me-"

"No!" Hajime shouted, jumping upright from his false slumber. "He always burns the bottoms!"

Hinata giggled as her eldest scrambled out of his bed and headed for the door. Sasuke did always burn the bottoms but that was for two reasons. The first reason being that he didn't like sweets and couldn't be trusted to keep an eye on the cookies his children always begged for. He hoped that one day they'd get over their love of sugar but Hinata doubted that would ever happen. The second reason was that he always managed to find better ways to occupy his time, namely distracting her until the burnt smell of cookies reached their children's nostrils and dashed their dreams. The Uchiha matriarch stood up from the bed when Hajime opened the door and followed the eager boy down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Careful Haji." She chided as the boy ran down the stairs.

Ever since they'd moved into their new home two years ago the boys had been thundering up and down the stairs. She worried of course that one day they'd miss a step and fall down but Sasuke believed it would be a well-deserved lesson learned. Their new home didn't have nearly as many staircases as the Hokage mansion but it was a lot bigger than the penthouse.

Hinata sighed as she descended from the last step and made her way into the kitchen. Her home, their home, was more than what she could have imagined. At one point she'd believed her future residence would be the Hokage mansion. At another point, it could have been a vast and arid estate in Suna. However, fate seemed to have other plans for her life and had planted her here in the newly renovated Uchiha compound. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms. She and Sasuke had spent countless nights pouring over blueprints and picking out every element of the house they now lived in. In the end, she was more than satisfied with the results and felt more at home here than she ever had anywhere else.

That was an odd thing to even admit since she'd never imagined she'd marry an Uchiha let alone be the matriarch. The Uchiha clan hadn't lived together in a compound for decades. Located on the outskirts of Konoha, they had the property with plenty of room to grow but the old buildings had fallen into disrepair. The space had become overwrought with nature. The ghosts of past residence haunted the space. It was unsettling at first to see the dilapidated compound but within a year, and with a lot of money, they were able to bring the compound back to its former glory.

It couldn't have been finished at a better time either. The twins were sprouting like weeds and now had plenty of room to run around and play. Hikari also toddled after them as best as she could, it wouldn't be long before she outpaced them. Her little family was growing and so too was the clan. For now, the only homes occupied were their own and her in-laws. However, members of the clan were making arrangements to return and the compound would become a lot busier. Perhaps even Itachi would return.

"Ready!" Hajime called from the kitchen.

Hinata turned the corner into the kitchen to find her son had already tied his apron around his waist and had pulled out his usual stepping stool. An Uchiha crest was embroidered boldly on his chest.

"Did you wash your hands?" Hinata asked and the boy blushed at his mistake.

He quickly rectified the situation by scurrying over to the sink with his stepping stool in hand. Once Hinata was satisfied that he'd washed his hands well enough, she washed her own and began the process of making cookies.

"Which kind are we making today?" she asked, pulling the materials they'd need out of the fridge.

"Hmmmm what about peanut butter and chocolate chip?"

Hinata paused. They'd never made those kinds of cookies before but it sounded good. However, her pause had caused Hajime to begin fidgeting with his apron strings and shaking his head.

"Never…nevermind. Let's just do a sugar cookie."

"Why can't we do peanut butter and chocolate chip?"

Hajime mumbled something unintelligible under his breath but didn't elaborate. With a soft sigh, Hinata closed the door to the fridge before crouching down to his level.

"Haji, I want to make peanut butter and chocolate chip."

"Don't you think it's weird?" he mumbled, looking at her with glassy black eyes. Hinata merely shook her head and folded her arms over her knees.

"I think it's an interesting idea from an even more interesting little boy. Where did you come up with it?"

"Um…" he sniffed. "I like peanut butter and I like chocolate chips. I thought they'd taste good together."

"I don't see why they wouldn't."

Hajime cracked a smile at her statement, using the heels of his hands to rid his eyes of the tears that hadn't fallen.

"Do you…do you think I'm a weird clone?"

"A weird what?" Hinata scoffed and reached out a hand to ruffle his already messy black hair. "You are Hajime Uchiha. Nothing more, nothing less and you most certainly are not a weird clone."

"But girls think I'm a weird clone."

"I'm a girl. I don't think you're a weird clone."

"You're different."

"Kari doesn't think you're a weird clone."

"She's different too."

Hinata then proceeded to go down every woman of significance that Hajime had met in his life only to be shot down each time. Everyone else was different. Their opinions didn't matter but apparently, the opinion of one girl in particular did. Suddenly realization set in and her heart skipped a beat. Hajime had a crush. A smile spread across her face as she pulled the mopey boy in for a hug, squeezing him tightly.

"There is someone out there that isn't 'different' and I know they think you're amazing. You just haven't met them yet. In the meantime, I hope it's enough that I think you are."

Hajime sniffed and buried his face into the crook of her shoulder and neck. He wasn't crying but it was clear that he just wanted to be held. Hinata rubbed comforting circles on his back, unable to fault him for needing the added affection. When she was his age she was sure that her own mother held her just like this. She couldn't remember her mother's voice nor the words to the lullabies she used to sing to her. The feeling of her mother's touch was just as fleeting but it had to feel something like this. Warm and safe and close.

When Hajime finally pulled away from her she pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before rising to her full height. Her son then pushed his stool up to the island and looked at their gathered materials with a new sense of vigor.

"Alright, Mr. Uchiha. Dictate what you think the cookies need."

"What does 'dictate' mean?"

"It means to tell someone something. Like a command."

"In that case, I say we need extra chocolate chips." He grinned and Hinata smiled back at him.

"Yes, sir."

To be Continued…

U is for Change

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."