EDIT: I am very thankful that Totally Not Pyro was kind enough to BETA for me. So here is the edited version of my first chapter ^-^ I am incredibly happy!

***I don't own anything! These will be a series of one shots that interweave with each other. Please enjoy! Reviews, whether their critiques or expressing joy, are appreciated but not required ;) Thank you for your time and without further ado the first chapter. Mustsleep Z.z***

One shot: The Beginning

Dinner had been awkward to say the least. There had been complete silence throughout the meal, except for Naruto's clatter of dishes, gulping of tea, and absorption of ramen. That was where it began, with ramen. Well, if you wanted to be technical, it began with a turtle.

The day's training had been an easy D-rank mission, finding and catching a turtle. Ok, it could have been an easy mission, if Naruto hadn't tried to pet the thing. The turtle snapped; capturing the pesky finger in its mouth. The biting wasn't the problem. The fact that the creature wouldn't let go was.

It had taken an hour for the medic-nins to decide what to do. Killing the turtle wasn't an option but it did come up several times in the debate (from Naruto.) Finally they tried using sedatives, believing that if the turtle relaxed it would release its grip on the finger. It didn't. Instead it fell asleep with its jaws still clenched. It was probably tired to begin with, from running away, being threatened by the lettuce man for eyeing his cart, and from having a blond idiot scream in its ears as it was swung in the air. The turtle did not loosen its iron jaws but instead began grinding them, causing more pain to the already hysterical teenager.

Finally the head medic-nin came into the room and drained the sedative from the turtle, causing the beast to wake up. Then, he extended a piece of lettuce to the creature of evil and all was well. Except, of course, for the fact that the medic-nin decided that instead of just healing Naruto's finger; he would give him stitches, to teach him a lesson in manners. So, several hours later, six to be exact, the team of three (Kakashi had left after thirty minutes searching for the turtle) completed their mission.

All three walked through the market. One nursed his finger, the second sighed in irritation, and the third drooled over the second. Through their stretch of walking around the lively square they came across Mikoto.

"Kaa-san." Sasuke bowed at the woman holding several bags of groceries. She smiled gently at his two teammates. After introductions were made the woman immediately asked if they had eaten. As if waiting for the cue, Naruto's stomach growled which was followed by Sasuke's, then by Sakura's; all of whom looked down at their feet with tints of pink marking their cheeks with embarrassment.

Mikoto laughed, tears almost falling from her eyes. The children before her were beyond adorable. "Well, would you like me to make you something for dinner?" Mikoto asked.

"Ramen!" Naruto cried. Both Sasuke and Sakura moved to hit him. Sakura reached him first. "Ouch!" the blonde squealed as he received a glare from the raven-haired boy indicating to shut up. Mikoto watched all of their reactions, while trying not to die of laughter.

"Anything sounds good, Uchiha-san," Sakura bowed.

"Actually," Mikoto opened her bag to peer in. Three heads leaned over to do the same but the bag snapped shut. "I was thinking of ramen, myself."

"See guys, great minds think alike! Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered, causing two hands to hit his head simultaneously. This elicited a blush from the youngest woman in the group, as she shyly stole glances of the quiet Uchiha. None of these things escaped Mikoto's notice.

"Well," Mikoto started, breaking up the small bicker between the blond and raven haired boy, "ramen does sound nice-" she turned her back hiding a smile, "but these bags are so awfully heavy. I don't know if I'll have enough energy to cook by the time I get home."

This stirred an immediate reaction from the blue-eyed boy. He almost tackled the Uchiha matriarch in attempt to get a hold of the bags. In the end, all three children ended up carrying Mikoto's monthly 'stocking the shelves' list to the Uchiha compound.

Mikoto began preparing the dish as she manipulated Team Seven into doing several of her least favorite chores. Mikoto hummed as she worked, enjoying the amount of power she had. No laundry, which Sasuke was folding; no bathroom cleaning, as Naruto was scrubbing; and no delivering snacks to the elder Uchihas, with whom Sakura was having very deep and meaningful conversations about the political system of Konoha. Yes, life was good like this for Mikoto. She could learn to live with having Sasuke's teammates over more often.

Mikoto motioned with her hand for the quiet male standing at the entrance of the kitchen to come inside. She smiled up at her long, black haired son. He returned the look with a subtle pull upward of his lips. He leaned over and kissed his mother on the forehead.

"Do you need anything, Kaa-san?" Itachi asked.

"Actually," Mikoto pursed her lips while looking her son up and down. She waved her hand as if to shoo him away. "No…its ok, you wouldn't be able to do it."

The Uchiha complex kicked in. "No task is unable to be completed by me." When he saw his mother's lips quirk up, Itachi's eyes narrowed, wondering if his arrogance would be the end of him.

"Well, you see," Mikoto tapped her lip in thought, "I'm worried about Sasuke…"Immediately she had Itachi's full and undivided attention. It took all her effort not to crack a smile. Her eldest son had such complete devotion to his little brother.

"One of his teammates," Mikoto's voice dropped to a whisper and instinctively Itachi leaned in closer, "is too distracted."

The onyx eyes clouded over, trying to see beneath the outward meaning. Mikoto almost sighed; she would have to spell out the situation. "If they were to go on a deadly mission…" she let the end hang. It clicked for the genius as he began picturing his brother injured or worse. She had him playing into her hands.

"What can I do?" The almost-man practically begged.

Mikoto looked him over before covering her face with her hand. She shook her head, "No, it's ok. I don't want to involve you. I'll figure something else out." She felt a pressure on her shoulders and when she removed her hands, she was staring into level onyx eyes.

"Let me do something, Kaa-san," the ANBU captain pleaded.

Mikoto paused as if considering it. She sighed in reluctance. "Alright." Mikoto could almost scream with glee, but she held it in; the reward would be worth screaming for. "You know the pink-haired one?" Mikoto continued on in a whisper. Itachi nodded. Mikoto looked up as the ceiling as if to ask 'Why', just for effect. This caused Itachi's eyes to widen in almost disbelief. Giving a sniff, she returned her attention back to the man.

"She's obsessed with your brother."

Itachi's eyes began to swirl red.

"No, sweetie," she placed her hand on his cheek and shook her head. "I think there are only two things we can do to solve this…" She removed her hand as the red became black. "She needs to be trained. Obviously, Kakashi isn't doing enough." She hoped those lines wouldn't be tracked back to her. "And she needs something else, someoneelse, to obsess over that isn't in sight during missions."

Itachi nodded at his mother's logic. Understanding the situation he was in now, he began tinkering with a plan. "You wish for me to befriend this pink-haired one and become her fascination." She was just a young girl; it wouldn't be that difficult.

Mikoto shook her head, "It's ok, Itachi. I'll try to figure someth-"

"It's alright, Kaa-san, I will accomplish this task." The raven-haired, seventeen year-old left the room. He needed to plan.

Mikoto smiled as she began chopping onions. Her least favorite chore, the most detestable task she had, was entertaining those old geezers. According to her sister that had passed by, they had absolutely fallen in love Team Seven's cherry blossom. That was fine and dandy with Mikoto. In fact, her plan might be capable of killing three birds with one stone. She could distract the elders; create a competent teammate for Sasuke, and produce a talented future wife for her eldest.

Mikoto was still grinning impishly when her husband walked into the kitchen; this caused him to believe she had poisoned the food (because of their argument from the night before.)

That was why dinner was so awkward. Because of the ramen, Fugaku would not speak or touch the food, giving nervous glances at his smiling wife. The ramen was caused by a frustrating mission about a turtle. In truth, the whole situation could have been blamed on Naruto. Not that Mikoto was blaming the blue-eyed child that was scoffing down his eighteenth bowl of ramen. Who could blame a kid who showed such enthusiasm for their cooking? Who could blame a child for starting a chain of reactions that would enabled her to live a far more pleasant life?

But for the record, Naruto could be blamed for beginning the complicated series of events that would soon follow…