Everyday was a blessing for Hinata Uzumaki after the Fourth Shinobi World War. She had married the man of her dreams and built up a strong family that she could not be more proud of. It was emotionally draining at times—a strong family needed a strong mother and for Uzumakis that was doubly true—but she was overjoyed at being able to create the loving home she nor her husband were able to experience growing up. That was what made today such a scary occasion.

It was 6:15 AM and there was an overwhelming fatigue that demanded she stay in bed, as though that would allow her to skip over it entirely. This wasn't the type of tiredness that came from sleep deprivation, however. Oh no, this was the mind's reluctance to fulfill an obligation. Her two babies were going to start their first days as full-on ninjas and, ashamed as she was to admit it, her heart wasn't ready for it.

When Asahi, their daughter, had first graduated from the academy she at least had her two boys to cushion the blow a bit. Now? That safety blanket was entirely gone. To make matters worse, Naruto had to pull another all-nighter at the tower, so she was out of luck as far as venting was concerned.

She sighed, mustering the resolve to push herself out of bed. They were growing up whether she liked it or not, the best she could do was support them in spite of her apprehension. That brought her to her first conundrum of the day as she confronted the tall changing mirror off to the side of her bed.

Father Time.

Had she grown more wrinkly since yesterday? And a bit more chubby as well? She rubbed her face self-consciously, tracing her crow's feet with her thumb. And she couldn't help missing those long locks of hair she used to have in her younger years. She was 36 years old now and the thought of how much time had passed since they won the war hit her like a truck. It wasn't as though she felt ugly, Naruto never stopped reminding her of how beautiful he thought she still was, but the melancholy of days gone by was particularly strong on a day like this.

She lightly smacked her palms onto her face, eyes filling with determination. That was enough of that. The last thing she wanted in the world was to rain on their parade. She had to put on a strong face for today at the very least. She slipped into a lavender gown from her closet and a pair of slippers before walking through the door.

"Ahh~morning, mom." Asahi greeted her with a yawn, apparently having been walking down the hallway the very second she decided to leave the bedroom. She was 18 years old and one of the most gifted ninjas the village had. Though, looking at her now it was difficult to tell. She was hugging a pillow at her side and was wearing a black t-shirt with their family's insignia in red, which she was conspicuously scratching the side of her belly under. She had long, currently unruly blonde hair and checkered pajama pants. In many ways, she was the spitting image of her father, though the most noticeable thing connecting the mother and daughter were their eyes. Despite lacking the Byakugan itself, her eyes had taken the exact same shape only with the baby blue color of her father's.

"Good morning, you're up early today." The older woman greeted in return.

She yawned again.

"Well, I can't keep relying on you to wake me up forever, ya know?" Unbeknownst to her, that innocent little statement was like shooting a kunai straight at her mother's heart. "Plus, now that I'm a jonin—ah… are you okay?"

"H-huh?!" Hinata had only just noticed that a tear had fallen by the side of her eye. She wiped it off hurriedly and immediately went into defense mode, "S-sorry, mom woke up a little emotional today."

Before she knew it, her daughter had her wrapped up in a hug, her pillow falling to the wayside. The size difference between them was always a marvel. While she herself was 163 cm tall, her "little girl" was a comparative giant at 178 cm, again, thanks to her father. She squeezed the girl back before her sheer growth could be allowed to sink in.

"Those two are gonna be fine! Kazuya's Kazuya and Hisashi's always been smart. So don't worry, 'kay?" The girl gave her mother a peck on the side of the head, having hit close to the mark but not quite. Still, the fact that she was so quick to act was enough to tell Hinata that perhaps she had not been doing the best job hiding her emotions even before today.

"Thank you so much… Mom's okay now, no need to worry. I'll have breakfast started as soon as I wake up the twins." She stroked the tall girl's hair as she said this. Though she gave a quizzical look in response, she thought better of pushing the topic any further and simply nodded before giving her another peck and heading towards the bathroom for her morning shower.

As soon as she was outside of ear reach, Hinata let out a hefty sigh. Now her kids were comforting her instead of the other way around. Just what was the world coming to? She smiled a bit at the pillow she had left on the floor. An inarguable sign of sloppiness on any other day but just for today she would enjoy the act of cleaning up after her.

With the pillow now firmly under her left arm, she steeled herself and made her way to the two boys' room. As she twisted open their door knob, she was greeted with a sight so familiar it would have all blended together were it not for today.

Their room was fairly basic, a small night table between their two beds, posters of their favorite game and movie characters, a tiny desk for them to study with, and a bookshelf filled with all manners of novellas, textbooks, and magazines, as well as their own closets on each side. Hisashi had a koto given to him as a gift by his grandfather and Kazuya was diligently raising a bonsai tree by the window he called "Bonny."

Given the occasion, she could hardly help but watch their sleeping faces before she had to drag them back into reality. Though many thought them so different, they really were quite similar in so many ways. However, she would be dishonest to claim that they were one to one alike and the way they slept exemplified that best.

Kazuya's body was sprawled over his bed. The young boy who was otherwise so keen on keeping a good image was so crass in bed that his mother could hardly hold back a giggle. He was snoring loudly yet looked utterly content, his beautiful, long scarlet hair spread out almost as much as his body was.

Hisashi, on the other hand, was quiet, taking only small breaths through his nose. His hands were on his chest and there was a look of peace on his face that was unfortunately lost when he was awake these days. She remembered him being the most like her when he was younger, always so shy, so reserved, and soft spoken, always the first to cry for mommy despite being the older of the two.

That side of him felt so long gone but in rare moments like this she could verify that that little man was still in there, which caused her more grief that she could never figure out why the change had happened. Still, she knew he kept his kind heart and she supposed that would suffice for the time being.

That's enough. She shook her head. No more delaying the inevitable. She went to the older boy first and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hisashi." She called out to him. "It's time to wake up."

The boy let out a yawn, stretching out his arms as his mother brought him back to the world of the living. His blank eyes peered out of his half shut eyelids. For a moment, it seemed as if they would close again, but his mother would have none of that.

"Up, up, up." She gently tugged his wrist and the boy did the rest of the work on his own, finally sitting up on his bed. From here it would only be a matter of time until he stood up on his own.

"My head hurts…" He complained.

"Did you have too much soda last night?"

There was a brief pause.

"Maybe…"

"Well, there you have it." He really should have known better by now, though a part of herself couldn't help but feel happy he still needed her to scold him over such trivial matters. "I'll have breakfast ready soon, so go get ready."

The boy stood up without a word, before sluggishly making his way to the bathroom in his striped pajamas. One down, one to go.

She went over to her younger son's bedside. He was a little trickier, being such a deep sleeper whenever he had too much to eat. First, she would attempt the normal approach—a gentle shake.

"Kazuya. It's time to wake up."

No reaction.

"Kazuya?" She shook ever so slightly harder. And yet, nothing but snores in return. She sighed.

"Forgive me." She said before holding out an index finger and thumb to his nose. She gave it a light pinch. Suddenly, his snoring stopped and before she knew it, he had sprung upright from the shock, his eyes wide open… before completely closing again.

"No, no, you have to wake up now. Go get ready, dinner will be ready soon."

She didn't so much get a verbal response so much as an incoherent set of grumbling. If she were pressed to translate it, it would be something along the lines of 'alright, alright, already,' but the research was yet inconclusive on that.

He finally stood up with a grouchy look on his face, eyes almost shut. He grabbed Asahi's pillow from his mother without a word and made his way to the bathroom. She smiled. He had long since stopped wearing his pajamas because he thought they were too childish but he was practically the same as ever.

Patting herself on the back for successfully pushing past her funk, she made her way down to the kitchen to begin today's breakfast: rice and miso soup with natto and grilled fish on the side. As she gathered the ingredients together, one by one her children made their way to the table. Asahi was now dressed in her jonin uniform, her headband across her head like a bow and her long locks tied into twin tails. Next was Hisashi, who was dressed up in his favorite sweater he had gotten for him on his twelfth birthday.

"Mor—" He yawned before he could finish his sentence.

"Good morning." Hinata responded nonetheless.

"You excited for your first day, midget?" Asahi asked with a mischievous grin.

"Nah, I'm worried my sensei's gonna be some kind of gorilla like you."

"Enough." Hinata interjected sharply. She did not need to say much beyond that for the two to immediately cut off their behavior. One harsh look from her was all they needed to know that she meant business. Either of them could become Hokage and still never dare to push their luck when she got serious with them. If they respected her any less than that, their house would have been in shambles years ago.

There was a pause between the two before the boy finally said, "I got stuck with Fumiko."

"Whoa, for real?" There was undoubtedly energy in her voice, though the curiosity sounded forced for some reason—as though she knew more than she was letting on. "Shino must have been getting back at you for bothering him about getting a girlfriend."

"You think so, too?!" He exclaimed earnestly.

"Of course not, you goofball!" She let out a boisterous laugh, tilting her seat back with her foot. Hisashi could only respond with an irritated look back.

"It's been so long since you guys had any real issues, hasn't it? You should be able to patch things up." Hinata asked as she grilled sliced fish.

"No way," Kazuya interjected as he entered the dining area, his brain having finally woken up alongside the rest of him, "Fumiko was telling me and Aki about how she was gonna burn his hair off—those two aren't ever gonna make up."

Hinata sighed. She was extremely well informed on the situation between them—she had to go apologize to the Nara family with him on account of it, after all. It was all so childish that she assumed the two of them would have moved past it naturally by now, but it seemed as if she would need to give him a push in that regard.

"Hisashi," The boy tensed up as she said his name, seemingly already having an idea about where she was going with this. "Promise me you'll make an effort to make things better with her. Your fathers are so close, there's no reason for you two to be like this"

The boy looked off to the window, pretending not to have heard her. Or perhaps, hoping that she would move on if he stayed quiet long enough. Unfortunately for him, that was not happening.

"Hisashi." She repeated. No response but a bead of sweat forming on the side of his temple, an increasingly troubled expression on his face, as if he were sincerely weighing his options.

"Hisashi." Kazuya and Asahi both gasped. This was a rare, deadly tone from their mother. None of them could ever recall a moment when she had ever so much as raised her voice at them, but there was this aura of pure terror that surrounded her whenever they had finally managed to wear her patience thin. Their brother evidently wasn't handling the heat. Perhaps at this point he would act indignant to anyone else, but to his mother? Never in his right mind would he dare.

"A-ah, I-I'm actually not that hungry! Seeyalatermombyeloveyou!"

"H-huh?!"

He sprinted to the window and jumped out from the estate into the streets, running faster than any of them had ever seen him run before. Hinata could only place a palm to her face in response. This was not over. Not by a long shot.

"Kazuya," The boy gulped as she called his name. She had such a pleasant looking smile on, yet he could feel all the frustration lurking beneath it. "Would you bring your brother his bento?"

"No need!" Asahi interjected. "He's gone now so it should be alright to say it, but I'm actually—"


"—Asahi Uzumaki, your new sensei!"

"What?!" Hisashi exclaimed loudly, jumping up from his seat in the classroom that had been assigned to them. Fumiko was watching with a mix of shock and disbelief while Lee was mostly just surprised by the outburst from the boy who had been completely silent since they walked in together. "Asahi, quit playing around, where's our actual sensei?"

"That's Asahi-sensei to you from now on." She looked so delightfully pleased with herself that the cold reality hit him like a brick—she was dead serious. "Now, c'mon, let's go to the rooftop and get some fresh air!"

The three of them paused for a moment as the lady slid open the door and walked out. Hisashi got a dirty look from Fumiko, no doubt believing this was further preferential treatment for the son of the Hokage. He wasn't interested in explaining it to her but there was no doubt in his mind that that could not have been farther from the truth.

Asahi-"sensei" led them up to the roof of the building, which was surprisingly scenic. There was a small ecosystem of trees and plants that had been grown there for quite some time, with benches strewn about to make it seem more like a miniature park than an actual building. It was a beautiful, if surreal sight. Almost enough to make him forget that his ninja career was looking to be completely dead on arrival. His sister as sensei, just what was his father thinking? Conflict of interest much? At least he had Lee here to serve as a buffer between him and Fumiko on the bench.

"Now, what do you say we start off with introductions? One hobby, one like, and one dislike!" She said everything with that same bubbly tone she always spoke with, he could hardly take her seriously. "I'll start us off! My hobby is watching Kumo wrestling matches, I love making my little brother's life miserable, and dislike spicy food."

Yup, that about tracked. He turned to see Fumiko's face and as expected it was an initial surprise, then an enormous, warm, grin. The sincerity behind it was the worst part.

"Now, you." She pointed at Fumiko.

"Fumiko Nara! My hobby is making fans, I like making Hisashi's life miserable, and I dislike Hisashi!"

"Whoa, a kindred spirit!" The two girls exchanged a laugh, a bond already forming between them. Though their fathers were close, they hadn't spoken much, to his knowledge, on account of their age difference. Though he wondered how much of her lack of familiarity was feigned.

"And you?" She pointed to Lee, who nodded her head.

"My name is Steel Lee, my hobby is martial arts, I like…" She hesitated for a moment, looking to a smiling Fumiko for a second before continuing, "pumping iron! And I detest rest days!"

All three girls shared a laugh, Hisashi giving a minor grimace as he came to terms with another obscene bout of misfortune he was stricken with. He would have put his hoodie on and fastened it to hide his face had he not known how much satisfaction it would give the two of them.

"And you! Please tell me about yourself, stranger!" She pointed at him. Was she serious? …She was serious. Ugh, he would have to play along by the looks of it.

"My hobby is playing the koto," Lee looked quite surprised at the revelation, while Fumiko looked beyond skeptical, "I like karaoke and dislike annoying gorilla women."

Fumiko squinted at him while Asahi seemed completely unbothered by his jab. She clapped her hands together.

"Great! Now that we've all gotten to know each other, it's time to figure out which one of you is getting sent back!"

"...WHAT?!"


AUTHOR'S NOTE: And so we conclude the SOL portion and begin some ninja-ing. Thanks for bearing with me. As always, if you'd like to beta read, please shoot me a message.