Chapter 14: Procession

On the morning of the wedding, the Hyuuga's main house was full of organized chaos. The bride had just finished having her makeup applied and hair styled into an elegant ponytail framed by a delicate braid. She declined the tsunokakushi headdress, opting for a single white camellia-like flower. Her lips were stained crimson, and her eyelids had a light shimmer to them. For once, she felt truly beautiful.

A single knock was made against her door, and had it not been for the familiar presence, she never would have guessed it was her father on the other side. Their relationship was always rocky, and she had a hard time envisioning what his role in her future would be. When she was younger, she had always assumed that she would be cast away in adulthood as a perpetual failure unworthy of the Hyuuga name. While she no longer thought her father would do such a thing, his exact feelings toward her for still hard to decipher.

"May I have a moment?" he requested from outside the door, though the request came more as a softly spoken command. The women attending her were already making their way out of the room before she could provide an answer.

"O-of course," she complied, there no longer being a choice. She wouldn't have refused him, but the choice would have been appreciated.

When the last of the ladies had made their way through the door, Hiashi had entered wearing his formal Hyuuga attire. He eyed his daughter up and down as if scrutinizing the work of the women. Hinata allowed her shoulders to come to a slight drop, wondering what flaw he might find this time.

"You are your mother's daughter," he started with a vaguely pleased expression. He wasn't a man that showed much emotion, so the slightest display was abundantly noticeable to his eldest daughter who offered a smile in return.

"This match was never really your choice. I was the one who approached both you and Lord Hokage. Do you hold me any contempt?" His expression was sterner, but his eyes showed genuine concern so unlike him. "Do you regret this decision to marry him?"

Hinata let out a small breath. "I…I am fortunate—fortunate to have had your concern and Kakashi's acceptance. He's been kind to me."

Hiashi let out a relieve sigh and nodded his head, his posture relaxing. "I have not always treated you as a daughter, Hinata. The line between being your father and the head of this clan has often blurred. Many decisions that I have made have been for the sake of the clan rather than your happiness. This match, I could not tell you honestly that I did this solely for your interest, but as your father, I do wish you much happiness."

It wasn't an apology, nor was it an excuse, but it was the first time he had been so open and honest with her. She grabbed his hands in hers and looked him firmly in the eyes, something she never would have been able to do all those years ago.

"Thank you for loving me…in your own way., father."

He didn't need to say it, that he loved her beyond words—she understood.

A few rooms down the hall in the main branch residence, Kakashi was also getting ready. It had been decided that the couple and the Hyuuga clan would travel to the shrine together, rather like a procession, though Kakashi was almost certain the request was made to avoid any tardiness on his behalf. The shrine was adjacent to the estate, overlooking Hokage Rock, so there was no complaint to be made. He had even arrived early that morning with Guy in tow. Though his younger genin self would never have believed it, Guy was there as his family of sorts, having no living relatives to invite. And while he found it difficult to express much emotion over his pending nuptials, Guy was having his own difficulty containing them.

With manly tears pouring down his face, he held onto Kakashi's arms.

"I just can't believe it! You're really getting married—and to the beautiful and compassionate Hinata Hyuuga! This might not be the springtime of your youth, but it is the summer of burning love! I can't speak for my late student, but I just know Neji would be crying in pure happiness that his cousin found love!"

He shouted and bawled and Kakashi was almost certain the entire Hyuuga clan could hear him.

"Uh, Guy…maybe you should lower your voice," he offered, but to no avail. The excitement and tears only seemed to grow louder.

"I thought we would be old bachelors together! Sharing out home—"

Kakashi could have died then and there of sheer embarrassment. He cringed, and everything that followed was entirely tuned out.

'The ideas her family must have…'

Hanabi had come to collect Kakashi and Guy, interrupting an unimaginable scene.

"Don't even ask," came Kakashi's cold reply. Not really wanting to know what she was witnessing, Hanabi readily complied.

While Hanabi tended to Guy's waterworks, Kakashi was sent to collect Hinata. Much like her father, he wondered if she had any regrets. He warned her in the very beginning that she may come to regret everything about this—that they both might—yet he could find none of his own. She had proven to be more mature than most, and even more perceptive. She understood the nature of their arrangement, but still wanted to try a true marriage, going as far as allowing him to kiss her and implying her willingness for intimacy.

He once had heard that love could be a choice, much like forgiveness and wondered if this was her choice—if she was simply trying to love him. It seemed like a hard choice, to will yourself to love, but the more time he spent with her, the less he felt that way. And as she stepped out of her room, the innocent startle on her face, he couldn't help but smile softly under the masked shirt he insisted on wearing.

Somewhere, somehow, love had become his choice, too.

Side by side, they walked their way to the shrine, onlookers outside of the Hyuuga Estate offering their congratulatory remarks and well wishes. He had once questioned whether the village would support this arrangement, and his inquiry had long since been answered. It seemed that everyone who knew Hinata loved her. There was a certain unyielding kindness about her that solicited it.

As they stepped foot inside the shrine, surrounded by their loved ones—former teammates, students, colleagues, and family—he marveled at the sight before him. On a table to the far right were frames adorned with simple ribbons containing photos of those who could not join them—Neji, his former teammates and sensei, his parents, and a woman who looked so much like Hinata she could only be his mother.

'How did she…'

Always reading his face, she answered the unvoiced question. "I found a photo album in the house when I was unpacking some of my belongings. I thought it would be nice…to have everyone here."

Kakashi brushed her hand with his. "It is. It really is." He didn't know what else to say. Somehow, she was always doing things like this without him noticing.

'How did I get so lucky?'

Before he could muse of his fortune any longer, screams of panic could be heard outside the shrine prompting many of the guests, all shinobi first and foremost, to rush outside. In the bright cloudless sky was a large flaming meteor racing toward the outer forest.

"What the hell is that?!" he heard Naruto shout as the blast from the impact shook the village. There was little time to process what was happening as the second one was not far behind, coming closer to the opposite side of the village.

"Naruto!" he shouted, his former student already rushing into action. He glanced down at his bride, her face horrified as she stared at the sky.

"Go," she told him, her byakugan activated as she scanned the area of impact.

Whatever was happening, it wasn't just in Konoha.

-End Chapter 14-