(A/N: I'm listening to Concrete Angel by Martina McBride right now. I love that song. I almost cried when I saw the music video. This is a sad little oneshot. I don't own Naruto, but I do own a hitai-ate. No, wait, that's not mine! That's my bestest friend's. Darn. I own nothing.)

The Better Path

The raven haired, pale boy was walking up the path to the spot he liked to go to most after he had a nightmare. The paper fan on the back of his navy blue shirt seemed to glow in the etheral light of the moon shining down on the top of one of the steepest cliffs in the Konoha area.

Uchiha Sasuke had come here often with his parents when he was a little kid. Being there made him feel closer to them. It was also the highest point in the Konoha, closer to the sky than anywhere else. He had always thought that he was the only person who went up there.

That night, he was proved wrong.

He felt, rather than saw, another person near the edge of the cliff. There was a bench placed there, and on it was a young woman. She had long, dark raven hair, with a hint more navy color than his. He was about to question as to who she was and why she was there when he heard her speak. "Uchiha-san. I was hoping you'd be here."

"Oh, it's you Hyuuga-san."

"Hai."

"Why are you here?"

"I was just looking at the stars alone one last time."

Sasuke was curious despite himself. He hoped she would elaborate without his asking. She seemed to sense his reluctance to speak because she continued. "You know, tomorrow's my birthday. My eighteenth birthday. Therefore, I become the leader of the Hyuuga clan tomorrow. Because my father sees me to be an unfit heir, but cannot change who is next in line, I'm also to be married tomorrow. To Neji-nii-san." She said this neutrally, without any disappointment nor with excitement.

Sasuke couldn't tell how she felt about it. She was looking up at the stars so he couldn't see her usually expressive eyes, either. Before he could stop himself, he asked, "Why?"

Hinata didn't answer right way. She continued to look at the stars for a few moments. Sasuke looked up also, almost as though he were expecting to see the answer written in the sky. Then she spoke. "That is the way of my clan. If ever a weak heir is produced, she is married to another Hyuuga man on the day of her eighteenth birthday. I have known this all my life. I knew this was coming. I just didn't expect it to be someone from the branch family, my own cousin, who tried to kill me in the chuunin exams. Tomorrow is the wedding. I told my father not to send out invitations."

He didn't know why, but Hinata was making him want to continue this conversation. Never before had such a thing happened. "Why didn't you want invitations sent out?"

"Because people of Konoha wouldn't understand why I had to marry my cousin. They do not understand the traditions of our clan."

"Then why tell me?"

"I'll explain to you later."

They stood in silence for a few more moments. Then Sasuke broke it. "You can't have come up here just to look at stars. What is the other reason?"

"I was waiting for you. I have been for the past three nights. I'm glad your nightmare is occurring less frequently."

"How do you know about my nightmare?"

"At the academy you used to come in with bags under your eyes. You looked haunted and I always noticed that you stayed out as late as you could to practice and took a long time to get home." She turned to look at him for the first time that night. She took something out of her kimono. "Can I trust you?" She asked suddenly.

Sasuke was taken aback. No one had ever asked him a question of that sort before. He nodded slightly.

"Good." She sighed. Then, she walked up to him and handed him the item she had pulled from her sleeve. It was a small, sealed scroll. "Can you give this to my father tomorrow? You can read it too, if you want."

He looked at her in surprise. His eyes fell back down to the scroll that was in his hands. He reached to open it. "No wait!" Hinata exclaimed. "Not yet."

"Why?"

"You'll know soon. Tomorrow is also the day something else important happens. Something that I wish would not."

"What is that?"

"My sister will be branded into the branch family because the main house has no more use for her." Hinata had tears in her eyes now. She turned her head away from him. "I know how you hate tears. Say what you want. It won't phase me. It won't change a thing."

"I couldn't rebuke you for crying over the safety of your sister." Sasuke looked just as surprised as she did when he said that. After all, he was not one to care about the feelings of others

Hinata smiled slightly. "Arigatou, Uchiha-san." She paused to look at the sky again. Then she took a deep breath. "Can I tell you something? You have to promise not to run and tell anyone."

No one had ever offered to tell the Uchiha a deep personal secret before. They only liked him for his looks, never actually trusting him. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

She looked relieved for only a moment. Then, the stress and pain she was feeling filled her eyes. "I'm leaving, Uchiha-san." She whispered.

Sasuke looked down again sharply. He met her eyes before hissing, "What!"

"I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back. It's better for everyone that way."

"Why? Why would it be better for everyone? It certainly wouldn't be better for you."

"Neji-nii-san would not have to take a weak wife, one that he would feel guilt over almost killing earlier in his life. Hanabi-nee-chan wouldn't be branded, and she would become heiress. Father would not have to be humiliated for having such a weak daughter anymore. Hokage-sama wouldn't have to struggle to find missions that aren't complicated for me to do. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun wouldn't have to keep protecting me on group missions."

"Yes, but what about you?" Sasuke had no idea why he cared, but he did. Just the thought of the Hyuuga heiress leaving made him feel as though his heart had been pierced by an icy thorn.

"I will be much happier, Uchiha-san."

"How do you know?"

"Because I will have all my secrets off my chest."

"What?"

"I have only one more secret that I have never told anyone before."

"You're not thinking about telling me are you?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"You're the only one I would think of telling."

"Why?"

"It's about you. I've always…" She trailed off, hesitation apparent in her eyes for the first time that night.

"You've always what?"

"I've always…loved you, Sasuke-kun." She said looking up into his eyes.

Sasuke was stunned. He had always thought she loved that dobe, Naruto. "Why?" Was the only thing that would come out of his mouth. He seemed to regain his thoughts and protested, "Why, all I've ever done is offend you? I've made fun of your tears and weakness. I've been cold towards everyone, especially you. Why choose me?"

"I could see past all that. You only acted that way because you were in pain. You still are. I wanted to help you. You acted that way only because it was your way of venting your pain, and I understand that. I, on the other hand, did not find a way to do that. I used to cry myself to sleep every night, while keeping my emotions bottled up all day.

"My family taught me it was a weakness to show emotion. I didn't during my academy days. I kept quiet and stayed away from people because I knew I would show emotion around them. I hated being the center of attention. It made me blush, and that was showing emotion. My father found out about that and made me pay for it. A punch for this, a kick for that. But you didn't have family to do that to you.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't live life in the past. The past is past, and no matter what you do, it will stay the same. I wanted you to know all of this before I left. Make sure my father gets that message. But you read it first." Hinata stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek softly. She turned away from him, her face shadowed, and stepped closer to the edge of the cliff. "Good-bye, Sasuke-kun. I'm glad I let you know all this before I left." She turned back around to face him, tears falling from her eyes for the second time that night. "Ashiteru to sumimasen."

Sasuke looked perplexed for a moment. Then he saw her step backward with nothing under her to keep her on the cliff. Then, everything clicked in his mind. "NO! HINATA-CHAN DON'T!" He leapt forward to attempt to catch her. But he was too late. She had already stepped off the edge. He grasped at air as he reached to take her hand and watched helplessly as she fell to her death. She was dead. Gone. She had just admitted to loving him, and then committed suicide. To save her family, who couldn't care less about her. But she wanted to help him heal his pain first. He couldn't do a thing to help heal hers. "I'm so sorry Hinata-chan." He whispered, falling to his knees. Remembering the scroll a few minutes later, he ran home to read it.

He entered the Uchiha mansion and turned on one of the lights.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dear Father,

I have given Uchiha Sasuke permission to read this too and instructed him to read it before you. I have committed suicide. I hope you're proud. I've tried my whole life to impress you. To get stronger for you. To complete missions successfully for you. Now I have died for you. I have given you the perfect heir. Hanabi will be a wonderful leader in my place. I hope you're proud of yourself. I knew that I would end up marrying a Hyuuga, but fate has cursed me. It gave me Neji-nii-san as a husband. Iie, I love him as a brother, but I cannot forget what he did to me. I still feel the aftereffects. You never knew because you found me too weak to care about. You pushed my body harder than you should have. I was going to die soon anyway. I could feel the jutsu that Neji-nii-san used on me when I was twelve was about to take its full effect on my life. I knew you would not want me to die such a pitiful death. I made it so that you wouldn't have to feel the humiliation. I don't know whether you really care about me or not. I love you, even though you were a horrible father. I love you even though all you ever showed me was hate. It wasn't my fault mother died, though you act like it was. If I could have traded places with her, I gladly would have, rather than live my life being abused and emotionally hurt by you Father. I hope you will be proud of me, just this once. I feel as though I have done the right thing. I know this message will have no effect on your stone cold heart. My final request- no-my final demands are that you treat Hanabi just like you treated me when I was younger and Mother was alive. That you let her choose who she will marry, and let her choose her own destiny. And the final demand that I will make of you is that you let Sasuke-kun tell you all that I have told him and let him go to and leave the Hyuuga Complex freely. Goodbye.

Your Loving Daughter,

Hinata

(A/N: This story was inspired by Different Kind of Free by ZoEgirl. Actually, it was inspired by the part that's spoken, like, two minutes into the song. I was just thinking about the possibilities of the meaning of that part, and this popped into my head. I know it probably isn't the meaning intended by them, but it was an interesting idea. Anyways I am not suicidal. At all. If you talk to anyone of my friends (or anyone who knows me) they'll tell you I'm about as far as you can get from it. I hope you enjoyed it, though. I know I had fun writing it. Please review!)

Meanings:

Ashiteru to sumimasen – I love you and goodbye

Nii – brother

San – respectful term