Unavoidable.
By StineyTaicho
***my fanfic works under the assumption that Temari and Shikamaru both survive the war.
The war was over. Done. The Bijuu defeated. But now came harder work. Dealing with the losses and rebuilding the village. The end of the war hit the Leaf Village harder than most. After the battle from Pein, the village was nowhere near back on its feet before the war started. And now, after suffering heavy losses, it was time to rebuild.
Shikamaru stood in front of Tsunades desk. He was absent mindedly watching the clouds float past out of the window behind her desk. He was wondering why he had been called to Lady Tusnades office so soon. The war has only been over for a few weeks, the Leaf had only managed to organise a memorial service for the losses (including his Father) for the night before. Immediately after that, an ANBU ninja had appeared in his room while he studied his father's scrolls, informing him of the early morning request from the Hokage.
"As the new Head of the Naara Clan, the council requests a meeting with you. As you are aware, you're Father dealt with the council frequently, and they have matters that they wish to discuss with you." Lady Tusnade looked at him with piercing brown eyes, as if she had expected him to react differently to normal. She studied the young man standing in front of her. Losing Inoichi had sent Ino into a depression, but it seemed as though Shikamaru barely even registered the loss. He did look older, more resilient, more like Shikaku.
"I wondered how long it would take them to see me." He said without taking his eyes off the clouds. "What a drag, but I guess it can't be avoided. When do I see them?"
"The meeting is now, you can come with me." She stood up and walked around the desk, and stood face to face with the young shinobi. "I should warn you though, you may not be overly happy with the matters up for discussion." Tsunade stopped for a second as though she was about to say something else, but without another word she continued towards the door as Shikamaru turned and followed her.
As they walked up the stairs to the councils meeting room, Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder what this was about. He knew that after his father's death he would mean becoming the head of his clan. He also knew that after suffering such heavy losses, becoming a Jonin would be unavoidable. Just as he was thinking about what a drag his life was about to become, he realised they had stopped walking. They had reached their destination. He felt the Hokages eyes on him as he reached up to knock on the door, he hesitated for a second, but then knocked. "Whatever they want, I'll just have to deal with it, no matter how troublesome" he thought to himself.
They went inside and were greeted by the two Councillors of Konoha, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. "Shikamaru, thank you for seeing us, let's get straight down to business" said Homura as he gestured to one of the lounges. Shikamaru sat with Tsunade, as the councillors took their seat adjacently. "As you are aware Shikamaru, now that Shikaku has died, you will take over his place as the leader of the Nara Clan." Koharu looked from him to Tsunade as she continued, "I'm not sure how much Lady Tsunade has told you, so I will cover it all for you now. First of all, it is simply unacceptable that you remain a Chunin. You have remarkable skill, and to be perfectly honest with you, Konoha needs all of the Jonin we can get. So we hereby promote you to the level of Jonin. We had considered allowing you to also take over your father's position as Jonin Commander, but we feel that with the other issues that need dealing with, it may be too much for you to handle." She looked from Shikamaru to Tsunade, as if willing them to dispute. However, as they both continued to just sit and listen, Homura carried on.
"Shikamaru, as you are well aware, you are now the head of your clan. And that requires a lot of different things from you. However, the first, and most important of these, is of a very personal nature. To remain as head of your clan, you need to be married. You need to be in a position to produce an heir, in case something was to happen to you." Homura paused, and allowed Tsunade to carry on.
"The councillors think it is best if we were to try and find someone for you to marry, from another village. If we are successful in this, it will greatly strengthen the bond between villages." She stopped and looked at Shikamaru, waiting for a response. He looked at her, trying to take it all in. "OK," he said as he continued to try and imagine what they could possibly say next, "I'm supposing you'll look for a village that we already have strong ties with. And you will be looking for a strong konoichi? I'll get onto it straight away" He was rudely cut off by Koharu, who held up her hand to stop him. "Shikamaru, we simply can't wait. We have taken the liberty of already choosing your bride. We trust that you will be satisfied with our choice. Send her in."