I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Fugaku entered the house, heaving a deep sigh of relief at being home at last. He sniffed the air expecting to smell something delicious, but there was nothing but the lingering scent of rice balls.

"Mikoto?" He called out as he walked into the kitchen. She didn't answer, so he went looking for her in the kitchen where she could usually be found at this time of day. Empty. He frowned in annoyance, and went to find her. He checked the garden next, and then finally their bedroom. He say the yukuta that she had worn that morning laying messily on the floor by the bed. When he say the note addressed to him sitting on his pillow, he felt a deep foreboding overtake him. He sat down and opened it up slowly.

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Dear Fugaku,

By now I assume that you have noticed that I am no where in the house. Did you worry about me, or were you annoyed because supper wasn't ready and waiting on the table? I think that I know the answer to that.

Did you ever wonder why I chose to stay with you all those years ago? Did you assume that you had left me no choice with that marking jutsu of yours? Well, the truth was I stayed with you because I found out that I was pregnant with Itachi. I had already figured out how to get around the mark, in fact, I was planning on leaving you when I discovered I was pregnant.

Over the years, I grew content with our marriage. I thought that if you went to such lengths to get me, that must mean that you respected and loved me. You promised me that the marking jutsu was gone forever, a relic of the past. And I trusted you. Stupid me.

All these years, what have I really been to you? A partner? Or a cook, cleaner, mistress, and breeder? Well, I have served my purpose, and I consider myself free. None of you need me anymore. Except Sakura, and my grandchild. Tell Itachi that I will protect them. Don't bother looking for us, because you know that I can't be found when I don't want to be.

Love,

Mikoto

Fugaku lowered the letter in shock. His mind was racing as he tried to understand what had happened. Mikoto was gone. She didn't think that he loved her? All these years together, and she left him? He got up and checked the closet for her things, discovering the empty compartments. He noticed a piece of paper laying conspicuously in the bottom of one of the empty spaces.

ONCE IN ANBU, ALWAYS IN ANBU

Suddenly, the shock he was feeling was starting to be replaced with anger. Who the hell did she think she was? Her place was by his side, she was the Uchiha Matriarch for god's sake! Setting feelings aside, she had a duty to this family, and she thought that she could just decide she's free? Outrage at her behavior filled him, and he eagerly focused on that, rather than face the mess that was his marriage. It didn't last for long when memories of their first meeting popped into his head.

FLASHBACK:

Her team had been dispatched to back his up when the mission parameters were upgraded. The back up team arrived just in time, and swept into battle with a vengeance. She was elegance personified as she dodged, swirled, parried, and thrust, taking down her opponents with efficiency. Fugaku had been so busy watching her that he almost took a katana thrust in the gut. He sensed the danger too late and turned just in time to see a kunai penetrate the enemy nin's forehead.

"I guess the Sharigan doesn't see everything, hmm?" She taunted faintly as she turned away to re-enter the fight. For a few seconds, he was frozen in shock before a smirk came over his face and he ran to join her. They battled side by side, and by the end of the skirmish, he was sure that he had found the woman he wanted to settle down with. This woman was strong, skilled, courageous, and she had a beautiful body. She would make a fine Matriarch for the clan.

He took it as a minor setback when she shot him down when he asked for a date. After all, an Uchiha male always got his girl. Once they got back to the village, he followed her around in between missions, persisting in asking her out. She finally agreed, and he was blown away when he saw her face for the first time. She was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. His desire to make her his became a borderline obsession. They began dating, and eventually became lovers, but she turned him down flat when he proposed. She was content with the relationship they had, and she wasn't interested in marriage. Frustrated and more than a little hurt, Fugaku had marked her with a special jutsu passed down by the Uchiha heads to ensure fidelity in their mates.

A woman marked with the jutsu was tied to the man that set the seal on her. Depending on how he touched the Sharigan seal burnt into her skin, she would experience mild desire to an immediate orgasm. That night, Fugaku had done nothing but activate her seal, over and over as he made love to her until she was exhausted. In the morning, he woke up expecting her to be ready to accept his offer, but she was gone. For two weeks, there was no sign of her anywhere in the village, and then one night she showed up on his doorstep. She informed him that she was pregnant and would accept his offer.

END FLASHBACK

Sometimes he wondered if she only accepted his proposal because she was pregnant, but he shook those feelings off when he reflected on how much care she put into everything she did for him and the boys. How could she not love them? It was obvious in everything she did. Now he was left wondering if he had ever really known his wife. Their whole life seemed like a sham now. How much did he really know about the woman he was married to? He racked his brain, trying to think of who she would have run to. She was friendly with many people in the village, but her particular friend…someone that she trusted…Tsunade!

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HOKAGE'S OFFICE:

"Where is my wife?" Fugaku asked as calmly as he could.

"On a mission that required her particular skills." Tsunade told him as she leaned back in her chair with a slight smirk on her face. Fugaku gritted his teeth as he fought back the urge to shout at his Hokage.

"Then would you care to explain this?" He asked her, throwing the note down on her desk. She picked it up and read it, obviously having difficulty keeping a straight face.

"Well, this would definitely explain why she showed up in my office demanding a mission after all this time. Of course, I knew that she still practiced with her old team and kept up with her recertification for ANBU, but she has always seemed content to stay home before today." She said airily.

"She stayed certified for ANBU?" He asked in amazement. Tsunade shook her head at his stupidity.

"Really Fugaku, how did you think that a forty-year-old mother of two kept the body of a twenty-year-old?" She asked him condescendingly.

"I just assumed….wait, stop trying to sidetrack me! I want to know where she is at! She can't just run out on her obligations like this. She is the Uchiha Matriarch." He said a tad pompously.

"Is that all you are worried about? Really, Fugaku? She's right, you don't love her, and hope she never comes back!" She barked at him. He frowned at her in sudden concentration.

"Wait! I thought you said she was on a mission! You expect me to believe that you sent her on a mission with no time parameter? And what is this about Sakura Haruno being pregnant with Itachi's child?" He shouted back at her, pushed into insubordination by his growing anger. They glared into each other's eyes, both refusing to look away first.

There was a slight breeze in the room, and the two protagonists were interrupted in their silent battle of wills.

"ANBU Captain Weasel, reporting Lady Hokage." Itachi stood to attention, his eyes going back and forth between his father and Lady Tsunade, curious as the source of contention between them this time.

"Ah Itachi, maybe you can shed some light onto this situation." Fugaku said in a menacing voice as he snatched the note off Tsunade's desk and handed to his son. Itachi scanned it quickly, and when he reached the end, he crumpled it in his hand.

"Where has my mother taken Sakura?" He demanded coldly.

"None of your business Uchiha!" She told him with equal coldness.

"She is pregnant with my child- I think that gives me some rights in this situation." He said in a strained voice.

"Maybe you should have considered Sakura's rights when you impregnated her without her knowledge or permission." Tsunade informed him frigidly.

Though he tried not to show it, Fugaku was shocked. It was one thing to know that Sakura was pregnant with Itachi's child, but a whole another matter if she hadn't consented. He turned to Itachi and noticed that his body language had shifted. The slightly hunched shoulders told him that his son felt guilty.

"Itachi? Is this true? Did you rape Sakura Haruno?" He asked.

"I had no intentions of hurting her, but the way I used my Sharigan…" Itachi trailed off in shame and uncertainty.

"I know that you have the ability to show me what happened with that Sharigan of yours. I am giving you this one time opportunity to show me exactly what happened, because if you don't prove to me that you didn't rape her, I am going to throw you in jail." Tsunade told Itachi sternly.

"Let me warn you, I have special seals on my memories, so I will know if you attempt to force her whereabouts out of me. I will consider that a personal attack against the Hokage, and I think you are aware of the punishment for that." She warned him before allowing him to approach and place a finger on her forehead. Tsunade nodded and Itachi transferred the images of what happened to her mind. It took only a few seconds, and he stepped back. Both he and his father waited in silence as she assimilated the memories. They were totally unprepared for her reaction.

Tsunade started laughing. She laughed so hard that tears ran down her face, and she grabbed her stomach. By the time she had herself back under control, both the Uchiha men where on edge.

"I almost feel sorry for the two of you. Notice, I say almost. Sakura and Mikoto are going to put you both through hell before they accept your apologies. Now go home, and contemplate all the ways that you have screwed up. Dismissed!" Both men turned to leave without bowing, but Tsunade decided to let it slide, considering the emotional blow they had received.

"Oh Itachi- Mikoto has promised to send me updates on Sakura's condition once a week. I examined her before they left and both she and the fetus were fine." She reassured him. He nodded to her, hesitating for a moment as if he wanted to ask her a question, then bowed to her and followed his father out the door.

As soon as they closed the office door, the mocking smile fell off her face. She thought about what she had discovered from Itachi's memories. Tsunade didn't think that he realized exactly how many impressions of not only his visual memories of what happened, but also the emotions he was feeling at the time were transferred when he used the technique.

She was sure that once the arrogance was pounded out of him, he would make an excellent husband for 'her little girl'. He was head over heels in love with the girl, and desperate for her. From what she could tell, Sakura's rejection had pushed him past the point of rational thought, and left only a basic instinct to claim what he perceived as his mate. Still, a shin obi should have more control than that over his emotions, especially one as deadly as Itachi.

As for Fugaku, she had a harder time reading the man. At different points in the past, she had detected a glimmer of love shining in his eyes towards his wife when he thought that no one was looking. But he was a hard and practical man, not one given to expressing his feelings. She had never appreciated the way he had trapped her friend, and she believed whole-heartedly that Mikoto should put him through the ringer before agreeing to return to his side. She only hoped that his stupid Uchiha pride wouldn't get in the way of him wooing his wife.