Kakashi returns with his ANBU team very early in the morning in order to avoid people who might ask after Itachi. Unfortunately, the elders Koharu and Homura are waiting in the Hokage tower to receive the report. Kakashi was supposed to simply tell the desk people the team is back, and then deliver his report to the Hokage on the sly later.
"Let Lord Fifth know Team Hound is back," says Kakashi, glad he is in his ANBU gear so that the elders don't actually know who he is. "I'll deliver my report to him later."
"Of course, ANBU-san," says the desk worker.
"ANBU Hound," says Homura. "Itachi was on your team, wasn't she?"
"Yes," says Kakashi, meaning a long time ago, when she first joined ANBU as a cute little eleven year old.
"Where is she?" asks Koharu. "We would like to speak to her and make sure she really is fit to return to duty."
"Itachi is definitely fit to return to duty," says Kakashi. How to weedle out of this one? "She went home already." Home to Akatsuki, that is.
"We will have to go and see her then," says Homura, turning to leave.
"It's a little early in the morning for that, isn't it?" says Kakashi, bluffing as hard as he can. "You'll wake up the Hokage's family and I hear they are not people you want to wake up early."
"Well we will go later, then," says Homura.
Crap, crap, crap. Kakashi isn't sure what to say to that. "Itachi said she plans to spend all day cuddling with her boyfriend or something. Maybe you should wait a day or two?"
"I'm afraid we must see Itachi today," says Homura sternly. "We happen to know that Itachi's ANBU team is to be sent on another mission tomorrow if Itachi is up to it. We need to be sure she is. If she is not, we will make sure Fugaku does not push his daughter too far."
"I'm sure Itachi is fine," says Kakashi. "It was her choice to return to active duty."
"Where is Itachi?" asks Koharu sternly. "You went on the mission in her place, not to make sure she is ready to return to ANBU, didn't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," says Kakashi, trying to act cool.
"Don't lie to us, or we will assign you D Ranks for two months," says Homura. "Where is Itachi Uchiha?"
"I have no idea," says Kakashi, completely honestly. "You'll have to ask her father." Sorry Lord Fugaku, they got me.
"You there!" says Koharu, turning to a desk worker who is just coming in for his shift. "Go and get the Hokage. Tell him it is an emergency."
Kakashi tries to sneak away while the elders are distracted.
"Stop right there, Hound!" snaps Homura. "You are not going anywhere."
Kakashi freezes and then tries to pretend he was just going to lean on the windowsill, not climb out the window. They wait for Fugaku in silence, Kakashi trying to act innocent, and the elders glaring at him like he is an accomplice in this madness. (Kakashi is, but he'd rather they didn't know that.)
Kakashi feels a shiver run down his spine as he feels an angry presence approach the Hokage Tower. The elders exchange unsettled looks as the presence approaches. They hear steady footsteps on the stairs and then the door opens very calmly. Lord Fugaku enters, a dark expression on his face, his rinnegan spinning and his Hokage cloak floating around him in the aura of angry chakra exuding from his body.
"This better be really important," says Fugaku. "I missed breakfast for this."
"Where is Itachi?" demands Homura.
"You tell me, then we'll both know," says Fugaku, turning to leave. "If that's why you bothered me at six am, I'll be heading home for breakfast."
"Lord Fugaku, did Itachi leave the village to join Akatsuki?" asks Koharu.
"Yes," says Fugaku. "She left in the middle of the night without waking anyone and was long gone before we realized." He tries to leave again. "Now I have breakfast waiting for me."
"Lord Fugaku!" says Koharu, banging her walking stick on the floor. "We have discussed this! Itachi is not to join Akatsuki. Not only is she an important member of the ANBU Black Ops, she is also the Uchiha heir and Hokage's daughter. We cannot give her away to another village, let alone an organisation that will expose her to all kinds of danger! Why haven't you brought her back yet?"
"Because if I ordered her back that would upset the Hidden Rain," says Fugaku, crossing his arms and glaring at the elders. "This is a delicate situation. Nagato could flatten this village if he wanted to, and he defers to Yahiko, the Leader of Akatsuki. If a man strong enough to destroy our village in a single jutsu defers to Yahiko, just how strong is Yahiko? We cannot risk angering him by forcing Itachi to leave Akatsuki."
"Then ask them to send her back, as we did not authorize her joining them!" says Homura. "I know you have ways of communicating with them long distance."
Fugaku sighs. "Fine, I'll summon Yahiko here." He makes some hand signs. "Rinnesummon!"
Yahiko appears with a toothbrush in his mouth, his pyjamas on, his hair tousled and toothpaste dripping down his chin. He takes about half a second to realize what has happened. "Really Fugaku?" he sighs. "You couldn't have warned me?"
"No, I want breakfast some time in the next hour, so we need to do this now," says Fukagu. "The elders here want to know if we can have Itachi back, since we didn't officially authorize her joining your gang."
"You can't have her back," says Yahiko. "I need her to team up with Kisame. He'd be heartbroken if his new bestie left."
"I see," says Fugaku. He turns to the elders. "They aren't giving her back."
"Try to convince him!" snaps Homura.
Fugaku turns back to Yahiko, who is grinning as hard as Kakashi is. "Please can we have Itachi back?" he asks.
"No, I'm keeping her," says Yahiko. "That's all. Now send me home so I can finish brushing my teeth."
Fugaku sends Yahika back and says, quite regretfully, "Well, I tried my best, but he just wouldn't budge."
"Fugaku," says Homura through gritted teeth. "May I see you in your office?"
"Please, make it quick," sighs Fugaku, and heads to his office with the two elders following him.
When they are gone, Kakashi heads home to find out what's on the menu for his breakfast. And also to hide in case they come looking for him.
Fugaku heads home at the end of what proved to be a long day. He sat through an hour long lecture from the elders on village safety and not encouraging his kids to desert the village, then he went to Ichiraku's for breakfast because they needed him for something else and he couldn't go all the way home for breakfast. Then one thing led to another, paperwork needed doing, lunch at Ichiraku's, a team got back from a failed mission and had to be hospitalized - it just got worse and worse.
Being Hokage sucks. When he can't take it anymore, Fugaku is giving the hat to Kakashi. It's around dinner time, and all Fugaku wants is Mikoto, Mikoto's cooking and also Mikoto - and in that order.
Fugaku feels his spirits sink even further when he gets home and finds his house cold, dark and empty. Where is his family? Fugaku puts out his chakra feelers and soon locates Mikoto's chakra a few streets away in the new area. Maybe she's visiting Madara or something. Fugaku heads in the direction of Mikoto's chakra. Shisui is there too, and Fugaku can almost sense Karasu. His chakra is very faint, but the closer Fugaku gets, the clearer Karasu's chakra signature gets. That kid has some strong chakra for a baby. Fugaku feels a swell of Grandfatherly Pride.
And then immediately feels old.
Fugaku tracks his family's chakra to a new building that wasn't there before. That morning it was an empty plot. Fugaku heads inside, ignoring the plumbers milling about laying down pipes. The front door opens into a room with cubbies for shoes along one wall and coat hooks along the other. Fugaku passes through that room with barely a glance and heads into the main part of the building. Fugaku finds himself in a medium sized hall with two doors on one side labeled 'Kitchen' and 'Office', and several doors on the other side, two of which are Labeled 'Girls' and 'Boys' respectively the other four doors are open showing rooms with bunk-beds in them. The wall between the office and kitchen doors is lined with tables and chairs, and the corner opposite the kitchen door has bookshelves built into the wall. A door at the far end of the hall, between the bookshelves and kitchen door, opens to the play area outside.
Fugaku takes all this in in a few seconds, then his attention zeros in on Mikoto, who has a bucket of red paint in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. She is painting one of the tables. There are others painting the bunk beds, tables, chairs and shelves namely Shisui, Kushina, Kazama, Burifu, Kimiko, Tenzou, Aki, Tachibana, Sekitei, Sazanka and Yatsude. Ajisai and Karasu are taking a nap in a playpen next to the bookshelves. Everyone has a different coloured pot of paint and everyone seems to be slapping it on the furniture any way they feel like, resulting in crazy, multicoloured furniture.
Fugaku ignores everyone and everything else in the room and heads over to Mikoto, wraps his arms around her and lets out a sigh of relief. Mikoto twits around so that she is facing Fugaku, pats his hair and says, "You had a rough day, huh?" Fugaku doesn't reply, nor does he move for the next ten minutes.