Hinata, my hair is fine the way it

Hinata, my hair is fine the way it is. I would much rather wear it without adornment anyway," Neji said as he lightly batted his cousin's hands away from his loose dark brown hair.



"Oh, Neji-nii-"



"It's fine," Neji asserted with an amused laugh.



"He's right daughter. Leave Neji's hair alone," Hiashi commanded gently. "If anyone says anything against his hair being down they will promptly learn that a Hyūga man's hair is a point of pride. We have no need for elaborate hairstyles."



"Hai, otou-sama. It's just so long now," Hinata murmured as she eyed Neji's hair, which was now past the man's hips.



"Of course it is. Neji is one if the best warriors of our Clan. He has more than earned his right to have his hair as long as it is now. Come now, Hinata. Let us leave Neji be until it is time for us to leave. There is no need in fussing over him when it will only make him nervous."



"Hai!"



Neji sighed the moment his uncle and cousin left. He smoothed his haori with one hand in a attempt to calm down. He was much more nervous than he appeared and couldn't help but wonder if Shikamaru was as nervous as he was. Then he shook his head in a mild self reprimand. Of course Shikamaru was. The Nara was probably pacing his dressing room as a nervous wreck.



Shikamaru's and Ino's twenty-third birthdays had just passed three weeks ago and Naruto's only three days ago. The Nara was very likely overwhelmed by the fact that such important dates were so close together. His uncle and his soon to be mother in-law had both agreed that an early fall wedding would be best and had just gone from there. At the very least he and Shikamaru had been able to veto the wedding date that was just after the Nara's and Ino's birthday in late September. That had been the families' original plan and the young Nara Clan Head had nearly had a breakdown from all the stress that came with helping in the planning of the wedding, the thought of dealing with his and Ino's shared birthday party and then his own wedding being almost directly after that. Because of that Neji had been firm in their refusal of the sooner date. Shikamaru's physical and mental health was much more important than their wedding.

A knock at the door broke him from his thoughts. "Yes?"



"Neji," Naruto poked his head into the room. "You'd better get going to meet Shikamaru. I don't think you want to be late to walk with Shikamaru up to the shrine. Ino said that he's in a right state from all the nerves and he might just snap if he has to deal with anything else today."



"I will not be late. Thank you for informing me of Shikamaru's mental state."



"No problem," the Uzumaki said.



**************************************************************



The walk to the shrine was conducted in silence. Though Neji did smile softly when Shikamaru linked their fingers in a tight grasp. Once they reached the shrine, the ritual musicians and the shrine maiden lead the couple and the wedding participants to the Lower Worship Hall within the shrine. There, the two men bowed to the priest and the priest purified them and the assembled congregation. When he was done, the priest picked up an old scroll and opened it carefully. He read from it to announce the marriage to the Hachiman Okami and to seek the blessing and protection of the kami for the couple. At the end of this the shrine maiden dedicated several sacred dances to the kami.



The two shinobi were than bade to exchange the three nuptial cups of sake, taking three sips from each cup, that had been place before the kami. Afterwards, Neji and Shikamaru read out the marriage vow together.



"We make this marriage vow respectfully before the Hachiman deity.



We, Neji and Shikamara are delighted to be able to make our vows on this great day and to become husbands through the blessings of the Hachiman deity.



We swear before the Hachiman deity to love and respect each other forever and strive to bring our family prosperity.



Moreover, we swear never to veer from the true path of matrimony and to work to share the divine grace of Hachiman deity by helping people and society."



The priest then handed them the tamagushi so that the couple could pray silently for several long moments before they rotated the tamagushi clockwise so that the stems of the branches faced the alter. The men placed the tamagushi on the table and then bowed deeply twice. They clapped their hands twice and bowed once more. Once this was completed, the priest bade them to exchange the simple silver rings that had been bought for this occasion. Finally, cups of sake dedicated to the kami were presented to all of the members of the Hyūga and Nara Clans to symbolize a strong bond between both families.