Tsunade gave a reluctant nod. "As soon as you can."
"Really. They're going to let me pick for myself."
"It's what we could manage. No one could come up with a viable reason why we should make you be with someone you won't like."
"That's great and all...." he began.
"I sense a 'but' somewhere in there."
"But this is so... stupid! How am I supposed to marry someone on a moment's notice?!"
"Of course not."
The blond boy heaved a big sigh. "Well, at least that's good."
"We wouldn't make you grab someone off the street," the Fifth Hokage turned to the side and leaned her chair back. "We want to give you a chance to be sure."
"Oh, that's got to be... Ah, man...."
"Sorry, but plenty of people want to see you married."
"You know, that should have been nice to hear," Naruto grumbled.
"That's something that I've been thinking for some time now."
Sitting with his friends was something that Choza Akimichi rather enjoyed doing. Not only had they been teammates that had faced off with some of the most dangerous things that the world could throw at them, but they had found that they had truly liked being together. Getting to go to lunch with them was an opportunity that he looked forward to. So, even as he ran his finger over the menu of the restaurant that they were in, he was already thinking of their chat... and realized that they were being oddly quiet.
"Is something wrong with the two of you?" the large man asked over the menu.
"Hmm?" Shikaku Nara murmured. "Why would you say that?"
"You guys aren't saying much of anything."
"Ah, right. It's just that things are getting a bit... interesting."
"What are you... Oh, that last meeting of the clans."
"Right. Everyone's worried about how dangerous things are getting these days," the dark haired man commented.
"But at least they're thinking of what will come afterward."
"Yeah, continuing the lines. Which comes with the marriages."
Choza gave a small smile. "You ready to talk to your son about how you expect him to marry."
"Of course not. It's just going to be so troublesome."
"Don't you want him to get married?"
"We even lucked out on that score. There is a girl over in the code breaking department who seems to like him," Shikaku commented, who then gave a shrug. "But for some reason there's something about that girl from the Sand Village."
"You think that she's a better candidate? It'd help bring the villages even closer together."
"She reminds me of my wife."
Although it was clear that he didn't mean anything nasty about it, the bigger man still chuckled a bit. "I can see your... concern. Still, at least he has some choices. And fortunately it seems that Naruto does as well."
"You're worried about him too," Inochi Yamanaka put in.
"Certainly. Fortunately it hasn't done anything bad to him, but it's now clear that the way we all treated him as he grew up was wrong."
"It doesn't change the fact that he lives all on his own."
"The problem is that he has no close relatives left," Shikaku sighed. "Even if someone had fostered him, he still wouldn't have blood connections."
"But now this will let him have a family, and a place to come home to. As much as I don't want to push him, everyone needs a home."
"To be able to share things with, and have love and affection for.... It's what he needs and deserves."
"At least we can give him a chance to join a family too," the blond man stated.
"What? Are you volunteering?"
"How's that?"
"You have a daughter, don't you? Are you suggesting that she marry him?"
Inochi seemed to consider his daughter for a long moment before nodding slightly. "If that is what they want, it might not be that bad of an idea."
"That simple?"
"Naruto Uzumaki has not only proven himself to be a skilled ninja who is truly loyal to his Village, but is also someone who has put himself on the line to protect everyone."
Both of the other men looked at each other... before joining in on the nod, while:
(Posted Mon, 15 Nov 2010 02:58)
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