Warnings: Spoilers. The Last AU.

.

.

.

The worst feeling is not being alone, it's being forgotten by someone you could not forget.

—Nishan Panwar—

.

.

.

It was the middle of July and Hinata Hyuga was wearing her jacket.

That was nothing out of the usual to the average Konohaian citizen. Everyone in the Leaf Village and their grandmother knew how modest the Hyuga heiress could be. However, if one paid close attention they would have realized the coat, in general, was a heavier, denser coat only meant to be worn for the winter months.

Hinata wiped the sweat off her brow as she trudged along. Self-consciously she puffed out the front of her thick jacket several times. She froze when she saw orange. Only one person in the whole village had the nerve to wear such a bright and suicidal color and his name was Naruto Uzumaki.

'Naruto… he's…he's coming this way! I don't know if I can face him at the moment b-but this may be my only chance!' Hinata thought desperately.

Naruto's face lit up. "Hiya Hinata!" He greeted his long-time friend cheerfully. "I haven't seen you around lately!" He bounced right up to her. "I've heard from Granny Tsunade that you've been turning down missions lately, so what's up with that?"

Indeed, Hinata had been avoiding missions. It's not like she had the chakra to do the assignments anyway. Most of her chakra was now being focused to the… she hesitated.

Naruto frowned with concern. "Hey, what's wrong? You seem a little distracted…"

"Um… N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata pressed her fingers together nervously. "I've been meaning to talk to you…"

"About what?" Naruto asked.

Hinata blinked, slightly surprised. "Y…you know…w-what happened t-three months ago…" she stuttered horribly before trailing off.

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What about three months ago?" He asked.

Hinata gaped in disbelief. Her pale pupilless eyes looked absolutely devastated. Naruto was alarmed. He desperately racked his brain for an answer only to come up short. Hinata meanwhile went from looking distraught to being angry: VERY angry.

Naruto gulped as he took a step back. "Say, Hinata…wh…what's—"

SMACK

A fiery lick of pain and a throbbing cheek later, it took Naruto a few seconds to realize that he had been slapped. "H-Hey! What was that for?" he cried out but Hinata was already gone.

Hinata ran as far away as she could, her sweat flowing behind her like tears. It was an amazing feat for being so hungry, low on chakra and most likely on the verge of a heat stroke. Hinata barely made it to the edge of the training grounds before she collapsed against a tree.

'Water…' she thought weakly. Hinata pulled out a water bottle and drank greedily from it.

"HEY! HINATA!"

Hinata's breath hitched as Naruto appeared before her. The red trim around his golden eyes faded away and his eyes returned to the color of sky blue. "…He used sage chakra sensory." She sighed irritably. "Damn it..." She let out a rarely used curse to shun herself for her stupidity. There was no use trying to outrun him.

"What gives!?" Naruto rubbed his swollen flushed check. "Why did you slap me?"

Hinata turned away from him. Her throat clenched. "My h-hand slipped…" she muttered.

Naruto stared at her disbelievingly. "…seriously?"

Hinata wanted to roll her eyes. Yes, seriously Naruto. "Y-Yeah… I…I'm sorry"

Naruto gave her skeptic look before shrugging it off. "Okay, well, your apology is accepted!" He chirped before saying concernedly, "You look like you're having a rough day… normally you're not like this, so do you wanna tell me what's going on?"

Hinata shook her head. "Y-you can't help, Naruto-kun."

Naruto stood there dumbstruck by Hinata's strange behavior. "What do you mean I can't? I'm sure I can h—"

"You can leave now," Hinata said quietly but firmly.

Naruto knelt before her. "Ah come on Hinata don't be like that!" He whined. "I have something to give you after all!"

Curiosity peeked, Hinata turned her wearied eyes to him. "…What is it?"

Naruto grinned brightly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a fancy pink and white envelope. "You ran away so quickly that I didn't get the chance to invite you!" He handed it to her.

Hinata's hands shook as she read the card. "A w-wedding invitation…?"

"Yeah, I proposed to Sakura-chan last week, we're going to get married!" Naruto announced happily.

Hinata's mouth fell open in shock.

"Sakura said she wanted you to be in the wedding, but since she had an emergency trip to the Land of Honey, she wanted me to give you this and she'll contact you as soon as possible. The wedding is this coming spring, tee-hee!"

Hinata lost her grip on the letter. It fluttered to the ground. "You…you don't remember what happened three months ago at the forest retreat we stayed at?" She asked frantically once more.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "You keep mentioning that..." He muttered. He swooped down to pick up her invitation. "Is that why you slapped me, Hinata?" His eyes turned apologetic. "Did I do something wrong?"

Hinata couldn't bring herself to tell Naruto. "I-I was mistaken…it's nothing, Naruto."

"Hiiiiiiinaaaaata-chan!" Naruto wailed. "What's the matter?! I'm just getting married it's not the end of the world—Oh…wait! Is it because you still…" he trailed.

Hinata squeaked as he pulled her into a hug.

"Hinata-chan, I'm sorry I couldn't feel the same," he apologized sincerely.

Hinata squeezed her eyes shut in agony. Just what she needed MORE pity and apologizes due to guilt. Having enough degradation for one day, Hinata shook out of Naruto's hold. "Good-bye, Naruto… congratulations…" Hinata skedaddled.

As Naruto stared wordlessly after her, he felt the same feeling he hated the most: helplessness. It really sucked to have a dear friend who wanted more than you were able to give, but a tingle of hope ignited within Naruto's heart. Hinata-chan was strong-willed. 'She will be okay' he thought to himself.

Still… he had to do something for her or his conscious will forbid him from walking down the aisle happily. Maybe he could try and set her up with someone else... That's it! She could date and marry so she wouldn't feel lonely anymore!

Naruto had other things to do that included meeting with Kakashi in the Hokage's office, but a friend was in need.

And of all the times his old sensei had been tardy, he could afford to take a rain check today.

Hinata hesitated before entering the Hyuga compound.

Activating her chakra, she cloaked the new chakra within her own before walking through the threshold. The technique was tiring but she had to do it or else the all-seeing eyes of the byakugan would see her secret.

Once in the privacy of her rooms, Hinata tore the suffocating jacket off and fell back on her. After lying there under the spinning ceiling fan, Hinata began to cool down and her muddled thoughts became clearer. She began to reminisce today's events.

Naruto had forgotten about her, again, how typical… but Hinata expected him to at least remember that. Then again, he thought he was with "Sakura-chan." For the first time in her life, a sense of bitter resentment clutched at her chest.

Hinata choked back a sob as she hastily reached into the nightstand beside her bed and pulled out a sinister little herb known as was the shippai herb. Hinata had been staring at it for many weeks. It was the last week she could use the herb or else she could have complications.

Tears came to Hinata's eyes as she flung it away into the wastebasket. Her selfless act turned into a selfish cry as tears finally fell from her eyes. She wept bitterly with the dread of what was to come now. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Hinata-sama" called a servant.

Hinata quickly lowered her shirt. Hastily she wiped the tears from her face and cleared her throat before answering, "Y-Yes?"

"Your father wishes to see you. Please go to his study."

Hinata's eyes widen in fear. "I'll… be right there…t-thank you."

Her hand trembled as she zipped her jacket back up. Taking deep breaths, Hinata tried to stay calm as she walked toward her father's study like a lamb being lead to the slaughter. She could only hope it was something unrelated to her circumstance.

To her relief it was not but to Hinata's ever-growing misfortune, it was something worse. Hinata paled horribly. "Y-You have found me a match?" Her intuition was right. When her father called her to his office it was never a good thing.

"Yes," Hiashi nodded. "He is Etsuya, the young Daimyo of the Land of Steam. You shall be a fitting bride for him."

Hinata sunk her fingers into her knees. If it wasn't for the protective fabric of her pants, she would have drawn blood. Becoming devious Hinata thought, 'Maybe I can pass the baby off as his but I'm over three months in and marrying him in two months…I cannot pass it off.'

Hinata bowed her head apologetically to her father. "F-father forgive me but I must decline this marriage to Etsuya-sama."

Hiashi's eye narrowed a small fraction. "Why? He is a good match," he insisted.

Hinata gulped. "And I am sure he is…h-however I cannot marry him…Father…I…I'm…pregnant!" she blurted out tactlessly.

"What!?" The Hyuga leader barked in disbelief. Hiashi activated his byakugan and there he saw it, a new chakra pattern forming within his daughter. Hinata watched in horror as the veins on the side of her father's forehead bulged gruesomely and began to turn purple. In a low biting tone, he demanded, "Who sired it?"

Hinata fidgeted nervously. "Um…"

At her hesitation, her father looked even more furious. "Answer me!" He yelled.

"I…" Hinata paused before lying. "I d-don't know!"

Hiashi stared at her. Hinata shook on the spot under his burning glare like a delicate flower withering under the scorching sun. Finally, Hiashi said two words, "…Get out."

Hinata reeled back in fear. "F-Father?"

Hiashi was losing what little self-control he had left. "I SAID GET OUT!" He roared this time.

Hinata didn't hesitate to obey. She scurried out the room like a frightened mouse, nearly falling as she went. A part of Hiashi wished she had tripped. Perhaps she would have lost the child.

Hiashi sighed as he grievously dropped his head into his hands. If it was not one disgrace from his eldest daughter it's another. Hiashi tore up the marriage contract on his desk and threw it into the waste bin.