A/N: Wouldn't leave my brain alone. Now it can infect you too! Love, Py.

Episode One: Dodge Shuriken

Itachi's Age: 4

"Uzumaki Kushina! Just what do you think you're doing?!"

Kushina froze mid-motion as she turned to blink owlishly at her usually quiet and reserved friend turned enraged-bear and was currently glaring fiercely in her direction. The redhead looked up at the shuriken in her raise hand, poised to throw, then down at the expressionless four year old in front of her crouched and ready to evade. "Oh, hi, Mikoto. It's... not what it looks like?"

"Are you using my son for target practice?!"

Kushina opened her mouth to deny it, but then stopped, realizing she couldn't. She hesitantly answered instead, "Uh... yeeeees?"

She immediately quelled under the flood of killing intent coming off of her friend and soon-to-be murderer. "He told me to do it!" she defended, pointing at the small brunette that was standing up out of his crouch, his face as blank as always.

His mother turned her scowl on him and he blinked. The only sign of uncertainty he showed, but that he showed any meant a lot. "Uchiha Itachi, is this true?!"

"Yes, Mother. Father said I should work on my dodging. I asked Uzumaki-san to assist."

"Hey! Stop calling me Uzumaki-san! I keep telling you to call me Kushina-nee!"

Itachi turned back toward the redhead and tilted his head slightly. "Uzumaki-san, please continue, we are losing optimum lighting hours. Though I would not mind if you wished to continue into non-optimum lighting conditions."

Kushina's eye twitched. "Oh, you are so going to pay for that, you little bas- er, brat, dattebane!" Another two shuriken appeared in her hand as she decided it was a good time to up the difficulty of the exercise, but her wrist was grabbed before she could throw them.

"Kushina-san, thank you for watching my son today. Don't you think you should be getting home to your husband?" Mikoto asked, the death grip she had on her friend's arm belied the slightly-strained smile on her face and the polite clipped tone she used.

Kushina shrugged. "Nah, Minato doesn't get home for another hour or so. I can keep training Ita-chan until then."

Mikoto's smiling facade did not slip, but there was a brief pause and she didn't release her hold on the other woman either. "... Then perhaps you could get dinner started so it's ready for him when he gets home?"

"No way! It's his turn to cook tonight, and if he thinks he can work late and make me do it again, he's got another thing coming, dattebane!"

"Kushina."

"Hm?"

"Go home. Please."

"Oh, okay. See you next week, Ita-chan!"

With that, the redhead was off, waving farewell. Leaving Mikoto to sigh and take her son aside and explain to him that allowing Uzumaki Kushina to throw sharp objects at one's self was not generally good for one's health.