Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto

This Time Around

By Crimson Skies

Chapter Fourteen – Eviction

Mikoto found herself feeling grateful for the first time that Sasuke was not yet back from his team's mission. It meant that he didn't have to witness this scene. He'd probably have lost his temper. She pulled herself from her thoughts when the man came to the ends of his speech. It was good that he was too involved in his rambling to notice the glazed look in her eyes.

"…and since this is traditionally the residence of the head of the clan, we would appreciate it if you could relocate to a more suitable location," Uchiha Yashiro finished. He had been, she decided, much more pleasant as a child. Right now she could barely contain her anger. At the moment the most important thing was to maintain her composure. It had taken ten minutes of beating around the bush to drag the entire message out of him.

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I assure you, I'll be gone before the week is out," Mikoto replied, outwardly unaffected. It was infuriating, but there nothing could be done to stop this. Sasuke was now a Konoha shinobi and therefore an adult. The Uchiha clan could now officially disown him without a great deal of disapproval from outside powers. Of course, they wouldn't actually disown him since they wanted some kind of control over him. They just didn't want him living on the clan grounds anymore. She married into the clan, so her only real link to them was through a dead husband, traitorous son, and Sasuke. Since Sasuke was legally an adult though, she wasn't considered his guardian anymore. The strongest of her ties with the clan had been cut. Their 'request' that she move from her current residence had not come with an offer of alternate housing. In other words, they assumed that she would find someplace else in to live off of the grounds. And Sasuke would definitely leave with her. The bastards were counting on it.

It had been a long time since she'd felt any sort of desire to fight. Her fingers twitched sporadically, searching empty air for weapons she no longer had concealed on her person. If Mikoto hadn't known that there was a run of insanity that manifested in the Uchiha line every few generations she would have thought her eldest son had gotten it from her. She bit the inside of her cheek until it bled. The pain brought her back to herself. A chillingly polite smile was offered to the man.

"As long as we understand each other," Yashiro finished. He didn't even offer a farewell as he rudely turned on his heel to leave, spooked by the sudden spike of bloodlust in the air. After long exposure to Mikoto as a mother and housekeeper those around her often forgot that she was formerly a shinobi of high caliber, raised in an era of warfare. Her lips whitened as they pressed together tightly.

"Oh, we understand each other perfectly," she whispered to his disappearing back.

Several hours later saw Mikoto standing in the Hokage's office. She was wearing her full jounin uniform, something she hadn't done in years. It still fit properly, as she hadn't allowed herself to fall out of shape completely. The Hokage eyed her carefully as she approached his desk. He obviously wanted to know her purpose in this hastily arranged meeting. However, he did not seem impatient or irritated as he and Mikoto had always been on friendly terms. Instead he was tired. The lines on his face were deep. So he did have a bit of a hunch as to what this was about after all. In that case it was no wonder he'd been watching her closely as she approached. When she was younger she'd had an infamous temper to those her knew her. Over the years she'd mellowed quite a bit, finding fewer things that incited her anger. Now her rage burned cold instead of hot, hidden behind a serene smile.

"Is there something you needed, Mikoto-san?" he inquired finally, deciding that she was waiting for him to begin.

"Hokage-sama, I wish to come out of retirement as a ninja of Konoha," Mikoto answered immediately, having anticipated his first question. Her posture was stiff and the tone of voice painfully formal. The Hokage privately applauded her control. He now had no doubts about the nature of the visit. Looking over to the pictures lining the walls, he focused on one in particular. Again he found himself wondering how things were be if his successor had managed to live. Perhaps the younger man would have been able to prevent the situation. He knew it must be a sign of his age that he looked more often to the past than the future these days. Resigned, he focused his gaze back on the woman standing rigidly before him.

"May I ask what has prompted this?" He tried to project calm through his voice when he asked. It was best to try and keep this formal.

"It has been brought to my attention that I am in need of new housing and with that a new source of income. As I'm now only looking after one son, and since that son is considered an adult, I have time to devote to active duty once again," she said. The Third thought her phrasing was rather political. That phrase summed it up quite nicely. He could guess exactly what the clan had told her in terms just as courteous. Sadly enough, situations like this had occurred before.

"I have no objections then. You may start taking missions immediately. I assume you would like to begin with something to ease you back into the routine. Perhaps as an examiner for the upcoming exams? Of course if your son participates you would be barred from being one, but new genin are rarely nominated."

"That would be appreciated, Hokage-sama. I'm grateful for your understanding." She even managed a small genuine smile to accompany her words. Supervising the chuunin exams was an easy, if delicate, assignment. It was easy because of the low probability of combat. The delicacy was due to the fact that many large, easily offended egos would be represented. Genin were easy to handle. They could be literally slapped down if they acted up. Nobility, more specifically foreign nobility, could not be slapped down in any form. It was a great compliment that he felt her capable of the assignment. Before her retirement she would not have been suited for such a task. Now though, she'd been mired in clan politics which produced some the biggest egos ever known to man. The Uchiha were a close second to the Hyuuga in that respect.

"You do know that if there was anything I could do…" he began, but stopped when her smile turned understanding.

"Even the Hokage is not above the law. He must pick his battles, particularly when there is a major clan involved," she stated softly. He was grateful for her easy acceptance and saddened by it too.

The light from the setting sun slanted in through the window. The shadows it cast across the old man's face caused Mikoto to realize, maybe fore the first time, exactly how old the Third was. He deserved rest, but as long as there was no suitable successor for the Hokage title he would not get it. The thought reminded her of a short blond boy. She had thought about Sasuke's reaction, but it hadn't occurred to her to wonder about Naruto's. She sometimes had a hard time predicting him. He would be, she decided, indignant on her and Sasuke's behalf. In fact, he might march down to the compound and scream profanely at the clan in general. Or he might decide to paint the walls, like he had some years ago. Both thoughts cheered her immensely. Not that she'd actually let him do it, but the realization the he would was heartwarming. Especially since he would be risking more ire from the villagers on their behalf.

"I truly am sorry. I…"

A knock on the door interrupted the Hokage. A soft sigh escaped him. "Yes? What is it?" The door cracked open and a chuunin poked his head through.

"Team Seven has returned from their mission, sir," he informed the Third.

"I see. Go ahead and send them in," he replied.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the chuunin said as he exited. A moment later Kakashi entered the room, his nose buried in the most recent of the Icha Icha series. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke filed in after him. Team Seven looked to be surprisingly rested and in good spirits. Naruto and Sasuke both displayed surprise at seeing Mikoto in the room, in uniform no less. Kakashi didn't reveal a reaction, if he had one. Seeing the status of the genin, Sarutobi made a split second decision.

"Ah, welcome back. I know you just returned, but would the four of you like a D-class mission? It starts tomorrow and it has the duration of one week," he explained, focusing on the three genin in particular. Kakashi went as far as to put away his book at the statement, observing the serious look on the Hokage's face.

"Naw! We wouldn't mind," Naruto answered after exchanging glances with Sasuke. Sakura looked as though she was about to speak, but stopped when Naruto shot her a meaningful look. Somehow Sasuke's mother was involved, and that meant this was important.

"Excellent. Then I would like you to assist Mikoto-san in moving to a new residence," he told them. The reactions were immediate, though Mikoto's was the most vocal.

"Hokage-sama! You don't have to…!" she started. He interrupted her gently.

"But I want to. Don't worry. I'll pay for this mission personally," he said with a wink. He shuffled the papers on his desk in an exaggerated fashion. She huffed softly, but still gave him a grateful smile. Moving was a monumental task to try and accomplish without help from other people. Then he turned to the genin who were awaiting an explanation with varying degrees of patience. "Why don't the three of you go with Mikoto-san so she can explain your mission? Kakashi will stay to give me your team's report," he told them. All present could tell it was an order, not a request.

Mikoto executed a swift bow in response. She would have an opportunity to thank Sarutobi later. After walking to the door, she held it open. It was an obvious request for the genin to proceed through it ahead of her. The genin responded in a reluctant manner, but did indeed exit first. She shut the door firmly behind them. Whatever the Hokage wanted to discuss with Kakashi so suddenly was obviously not meant for their ears. Besides that, she had some explaining to do. And she'd probably end up doing some pacifying as well. She hoped Sakura, who she only knew by through the boys' stories, was level-headed enough to help manage her unrulier teammates.

"Sorry about the fuss dears. A lot has happened since you've been gone," she explained to the group gently, hand still tight on the doorknob. Sasuke and Naruto marginally relaxed. They were more comfortable with her now that she wasn't acting the proper kunoichi. Still, it was impossible for them to ignore the uniform and she wouldn't be able to hide this anyway. Her teeth worried the inside of her cheek again. It was a bad habit she thought she'd done away with. It seemed that many unpleasant things were being unearthed from their resting places. "Why don't we go get something to eat? You can tell me about your mission. Then I can explain your new one," she said kindly.

Of the group, Sakura seemed the most disoriented. Mikoto offered the girl a smile she hoped was reassuring. Watching them carefully, she thought that Sasuke was perhaps the only one who saw through it. He was becoming sharper and sharper over the years. It was an Uchiha thing closely tied with sharingan. A feeling of oddness filled her, but it was dismissed. Her Sasuke had always been quick, and was just growing up. She knew for a certainty that his bloodline hadn't manifested.

Mikoto was proud of her son. He was a brilliant, bright presence. Even so, she worried for him, as a mother was entitled to do. Now she was more concerned than ever. Catching his eyes, she saw them flicker quickly to her hand on the door before settling once more on her face. Glancing down, she saw that her knuckles had whitened considerably. It was just like him to notice that. He was upset, she knew. Sasuke was the type to hold his thoughts inside though, and his face did not betray him. But she knew.

"Eh, can we get ramen? Please? I haven't had good ramen in weeks! We couldn't get in Wave Country and I ran out of the instant stuff I packed after only a few days!" Naruto ranted loudly. "Pretty please can we go to Ichiraku?" He was bouncing lightly with a grin on his face. Both hands came up to rest on the back of his head in a relaxed pose.

Mikoto wanted nothing more than to hug the blond right that moment. In a moment he'd dispelled the tense atmosphere and provided a distraction. Seeing her son's dark eyes rest briefly on the other boy informed her of what she wanted to know. Sasuke knew that Naruto's action was quite deliberate. Thus she now knew as well. Her Sasuke wasn't the only one growing up, it seemed.

"Of course we can, Naruto," she assured him. "After all, you guys just completed a big mission, right? I think you deserve a reward, don't you?"

At that moment, Mikoto would have gladly bought him all the ramen he could eat for the rest of his life.

That chapter gave me the hugest headache. I'm extremely satisfied with how it turned out, but still glad that it's done. It took thrice the effort a chapter normally does. I do hope everyone enjoyed it. If not, then my apologies. Anyway, we're inching steadily toward a finish. When I say inching it means that I don't know exactly how many chapters it will be, but I'm pretty sure it's beyond the halfway point. And then there's the sequel. There could possibly be a short story between the two as well. Or I'll just make it part of this one. I'm not sure yet. Until next time, cheers!