It was a blue-skied day with white clouds, the perfect kind to watch as they floated lazily across the sky, arranging themselves into shapes and forms that were sometimes recognizable and sometimes not.
Nara Shikamaru stood next to the Ino-Shika-Cho memorial located on the outskirts of Konohagakure, looking at the sky. Carved into the stone with care and precision were the symbols of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans respectively, a testament to the three clans' bond and their bond with Konoha.
Members of all three clans would be gathering here today; in many other clans, only family members were allowed, but the families of Ino-Shika-Cho might as well be one giant clan with three branches. In fact, generations ago, that was exactly what they were: founded by three exceptionally powerful sisters who remained close even after marrying into different clans, bringing peace through their love for one another. They insisted their husbands live near each other, and raised their children to be more like siblings of the blood rather than distant cousins of different clans. That was when the tradition of Ino-Shika-Cho began, and every head of the three families since then had been part of such a trio.
So it was only natural that the three would be gathered together on this day - when Ino and Shikamaru formally became the heads of their clans.
"Hey."
Shikamaru turned as his friend and teammate, Yamanaka Ino, approached. She was dressed in a lilac-colored kimono with pale yellow edges and a yellow obi; white bush clovers were embroidered on the edges of her sleeves, and no doubt the Yamanaka clan symbol had been sewn on the back of the kimono, as the Nara clan's had been sewn onto his. Ino's long blond hair had been done up into two loops on her head, allowing a rare glimpse at both of her blue eyes, and both symbolic earrings in her ears.
Shikamaru wore a kimono of various forest greens, tied together with a black obi to symbolize the shadows his clan could so easily bend to their will. His hair was styled slightly different from his usual ponytail, instead pulled into two ponytails, in a way that made it look like there were antlers on his head. He thought it looked ridiculous, but his mother had insisted it was tradition and he was damn well going to honor it on today of all days.
"Hey," he replied, wishing his kimono had pockets so he could put his hands into them. He also wished he had Asuma's lighter with him, but he had reluctantly left that back at his house, again at his mother's behest.
"Can't believe this day's here," Ino said, a deliberately light note in her voice. Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement. Over the years, he, Ino, and Choji had only occasionally talked about when they would become clan leaders together, and when they would raise their kids as the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho; always they avoided the obvious that would lead to their ascension, and those discussions would also end quickly, usually with Shikamaru saying leadership was too much of a drag, or Ino lamenting about how'd she have to fight off too many suitors to do her duty properly, Choji agreeing with a nod of his head because his mouth was full.
Ino continued, "I know it's kind of silly, because obviously this wouldn't happen if they were here, but I wish our dads could see this." A slight pause. "Or at least, Asuma-sensei."
Shikamaru nodded, a tiny lump forming in his throat that he stubbornly pushed down. "Yeah. I know what you mean." Asuma's daughter, Mirai, was here today, being pushed around in a little coach by her mother Kurenai; she, as well as the Sandamie Hokage's grandson, Sarutobi Konohamaru, were here representing the Sarutobi clan, with whom the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimich clans had been friendly with for years and years, even before the founding of Konoha. It was they that had convinced the three clans to hear out Hashirama Senju, and, as they say, the rest is history.
"Oh, my, Ino-chan, you look lovely! You, too, Shikamaru-kun, how splendid!" Choza Akimichi's called in a strong voice as he grew closer, his son and Shikamaru and Ino's friend and final teammate, Choji, by his side. They were also dressed in fine kimonos, Choza in yellow and Choji in red, but they were not as decorated as Shikamaru's and Ino's, since - luckily, Shikamaru thought without malice but maybe a little bit of wistfulness - Choji would not be succeeding his father today.
Ino gave Choza a kiss on the cheek. "Thank-you, Choza-ji-san," she replied with a smile. Choza held out his hand and Shikamaru grasped it tightly in a handshake, accepting both the congratulations and comfort present in the gesture. Today was probably a hard day for the 15th Akimichi head as well, seeing his two best friend's children take their places as leaders in their fathers' passing.
Choza looked around, taking in the amount of people milling about, some already sitting in the chairs that had been set up in front of the memorial stone. "Ah, it looks like most everyone is here," he observed. "Probably about to start."
As the words left his mouth, a small gong sounded, directing everyone's attention to Shikamaru's and Ino's mothers, Nara Yoshino and Yamanaka Suisen, who stood directly in front of the stone.
"Attention, everybody!" Yoshino called, waiting for everyone to quieten down. "Attention, please be quiet! We are about to start." She glanced over and caught her son's eye, and motioned for them to move. Shikamaru nodded, and he and Ino moved away from the stone, heading to the back of the crowd so they could come up the aisle. Along the way they passed Hatake Kakashi, in his capacity as Hokage-elect (he had yet to have his inauguration); while usually the leader of the village would have a prime spot at any ceremony, this was a clan function, an initiation far older than Konohagakure, and so the Hokage was seated farther back, after all the clan members.
Once everyone was quiet and Shikamaru and Ino were all the way in the back, waiting, Yoshino and Suisen rang the gong again, and then a small band, armed with flutes, a little drum, and a shamisen, began to play. To the soft and steady beat, Shikamaru and Ino stepped forward, in unison.
When they reached the memorial stone, they both bowed and then sat on their knees, heads bowed as they waited for their mothers, their closest family members, to begin.
"State your names and lineages," Yoshino ordered in a clear voice. The music had stopped, so everyone could hear her words and, more importantly, the oaths the two shinobi would swear.
"Nara Shikamaru, son of Nara Shikaku and Nara Yoshino."
"Yamanaka Ino, daughter of Yamanaka Inoichi and Yamanaka Suisen."
Suisen stepped forward then; in order of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation and the clan crests, the Yamanaka oath would be taken first.
"Do you swear to uphold the laws and traditions of the Yamanaka clan, lead its members with wisdom and strength, and do what is best for your kin?" Suisen asked her daughter.
"I do," Ino responded.
"Do you swear to honor and respect the memory of the 15th generation, and defend their oaths, and to bring up the 17th generation to do the same?"
"I do."
"Do you swear to protect the Nara and Akimichi clans and the bond between the three clans? And do you swear to protect Konohagakure no Sato, and give your loyalty to it as shinobi?"
"I do."
Ino's mother nodded approvingly, then stepped back to let Yoshino ask the same questions of Shikamaru, just different names of course, plus one extra question about preserving the Nara clan forest and protecting it from outsiders.
"I do," Shikamaru said for the last time.
The gong sounded one more time, and then Ino and Shikamaru rose, fluidly as befitted shinobi. Their mothers bent into small bows before them, which they returned. Then, they turned around to face the crowd, their clans. Everyone rose from their seats and bowed just as Yoshino and Suisen had done, and Shikamaru and Ino returned these as well after a beat.
Finally everyone rose, and Suisen announced in a loud voice, "I present to you the new heads of the Yamanaka and Nara clans, Yamanaka Ino-sama and Nara Shikamaru-sama!"
Applause sounded at that, almost deafening from the amount of people there. Shikamaru smiled despite himself; it was a happy day for his clan and the others, even though a tint of sadness remained. For a moment, he thought he smelled cigarette smoke, and a hand on his shoulder that felt much like his father's.
His smile grew a little wider at the thought.
A.N - So what did you think? Please let me know!
I know that we saw a little bit of the Akimichi oath in the manga, but I thought I would expand the ascension ceremony because...I just thought it would be interesting. I was originally only going to do it with Shikamaru, but Ino was in the same position, and since all three clans are so close, I figured they would do these ceremonies together, if possible; obviously, as mentioned, Choji wasn't going to go through with it with those two.
I might add more to it, but I'm not sure yet. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas to expand this.
