AN: I do not own Naruto. Due to confusion and realizing that I had even confused myself, this story is being edited one chapter at a time, enjoy as I attempt to clarify time line changes…yay…sadness.

Children Games

Sinnerman where you gunna run to
Sinnerman where you gunna run to
Where you gunna run to
All on that day

--- Nina Simone – Sinnerman

Act I: Ring around the Rosie

Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata were different; then again the world was different.

Uchiha Itachi was a member of the Akatsuki, he hadn't killed his clan.

He might not have killed his clan but he left it in ruins, he left two clans in ruins. He used two children to leave the clans in ruins.

He had been assigned a team, two heirs and a blood limit, he taught them and studied them, focusing in on one, the disgraced heir of the Hyuuga clan. Hyuuga Hinata. She was his pet, every teacher had one. Gai had Lee, Asume had Shikamaru and Kakashi had Sasuke. Itachi's relationship with the Hyuuga was different than the regular student teacher relationship; she was being groomed to follow in his footsteps, to be his legacy when he was gone. To the outside world, she was his little puppet; to his other students he was in love with her.

Only Itachi had noticed something, it was brief and at first he had doubted that he had even witnessed it. But being her teacher and guardian he was able to see it, to study it and then encourage it. His little brother was in love with the Hyuuga. Sasuke was curious and determined to prove his own worth, to finally free himself of his brother's shadow. Hinata was struggling, clinging to her own beliefs and the promise she made to her mother, she fought in her own way. To Itachi she was a reminder, in her eyes he saw himself reflected back, in Sasuke he saw his family's hope. Itachi wanted to ruin them, to break them and mold them into something. Something even he didn't know. Only it wasn't him that ruined her. To his displeasure it was Sasuke that left her exposed to the world, as vulnerable and naked as that cursed day she had been born.

Sasuke's relationship with the Hyuuga had taken awhile, with some amused and almost reluctant encouragement from Itachi, their relationship had begun. It was a friendship that slowly developed into something darker; something twisted that bordered on obsession and love. He had watched in amusement, seeing how far he could push them before they fell. They would fall he had studied them well.

Under her silence she was him, she hated the world for what it done to her. She hated the people that stood and watched as she fell, she hated her clan for their abandonment and resentment, for forcing her to realize and accept her own death. She wanted to be loved, to have the love she had been denied at the tender age of three.

Sasuke hated Itachi, for reasons that one could guess where solely his own. Like Hinata he resented being forgotten, he wanted love, he needed it. To be loved as solely Sasuke and not as Itachi's little brother. Sasuke was his fathers and clans hope, the small little prayer that burned brightly and flickered in the darkness. Sasuke was never to be like Itachi, power hungry and cold, an emotionless killer. It was Sasuke that was to take Itachi's place as heir just as Hanabi was to take Hinata's.

When the disgraced heir reluctantly offered her love to Sasuke, a love that was free of reason, he accepted it and everything that came with it. Sasuke clung to Hinata as she clung to Itachi understanding that this was it. The world around them was changed by people, leaving them alone, changing them from what they once where. Happy children that smiled and laughed like the majority of children do, but children grow up when the world forces them too, becoming adults that struggled to fit into the places set for them, the placed Itachi set for them.

One would murder two clans and the other would be murdered by their own.

As stated before Itachi was placed with a team, in that team where many flaws. Then again no one is perfect not even the ones that assigned them. There where to many flaws, selfishness, distrust, self doubt, hate and jealously. Occasionally Itachi would ponder simply killing his two students, doubting they would be missed, Itachi resented being placed with them, they where the proof of something he had realized when he was ten, he was under the watchful and fearful eyes of the leaf.

The Aburame was a silent child that worshiped Itachi for the sole purpose of being Anbu. He was distrustful with even his teammates, to him there was no such thing as a good deed people didn't do things for the sake of simply doing them, there was always a motive. When Itachi placed him as leader, while Itachi was off on some Anbu mission or simply misplaced, the Aburame became especially suspicious.

The Inuzuka was selfish and jealous. He was always striving to prove himself as the alpha dog, the leader. He was always challenging Itachi and the Aburame every step of the way, failing to listen and in doing so changing some of the careful strategic plans the Aburame and Itachi created. Occasionally the Hyuuga had to step in to save him from death at the hands of Itachi or the Aburame; the Inuzuka didn't take to kindly to that.

That was the Aburame's and Inuzuka's common ground the Hyuuga, sometimes they hated her, resented her and on the rare blue moon when she wasn't under the watchful and scrutinizing gaze of Itachi they attempted to intimate her. There was something about her that made them lash out; she was selfless, trusting and forgiving. She was also, breakable and so consumed by her own short comings she couldn't see past her own flaws and witness the others around her. Though on more than one occasion both had come to be infatuated with her, than the reminder of Itachi snapped them back into disliking her.

Itachi was flawed too, even if he didn't want to admit it. People watched him too closely for his comfort. He was a cold and emotionless nin, but there was a feeling of wanting, to prove himself to he wanted something he wasn't sure of.

…………..

Itachi's hand tightened on her shoulder keeping her from running, she wouldn't, couldn't even if she wanted to. Today was a very important day for her; she was selling her soul to gain the knowledge of the seals, so she could break them and retrieve the tails sealed in nine people. With these seals, the Akatsuki would have power and control. Curious, suspicious and fearful eyes looked up at Itachi.

"Today is a special day for you Hinata-chan." She nods, unable to bring herself to string one stutter free response together; she already knows what will happen if she does stutter in Itachi's presence, he'll cut out her tongue. One of the Akatsuki unrolls a large scroll, she tenses moving closer to him. The Akatsuki member nods at Itachi. "Hold out your hand Hinata-chan." She does Itachi smiles as she does so with out trembling, determination shines in her eyes now. Itachi nods and the ceremony began.

The kunai sliced deeply into her palm, Itachi's hand tightened on her shoulder allowing the press her back against him. Placing her bleeding palm on the scroll, the Akatsuki watched as she preformed the hand seals with her free hand, slowly the characters on the scroll moved, bleeding into her cut palm, merging with her own charka. Whispers floated around her, heat coursed painfully through her veins, as a seal was formed in her eyes, with the last seal; pain exploded behind her eyes, blinding her, collapsing into her teachers waiting arms, the ceremony was complete.

………

Flash back

"Hinata." her mother said softly sweetly, as she kneeled before the three year old who was sobbing as she covered her eyes, "let me see your eyes." the three year old shook her head as her sobs increased in volume, her eyes hurt and she didn't know why. Her mother placed her hands on her daughter's wrists slowly and carefully moving the child's pudgy hands away from her face, to give her a better view of the child's eyes, her own eyes widened as veins around her child's eyes pulsed rapidly, flickering from clear pupil-less eyes to her soft violet pupil ones. At the scared and shocked face her mother wore the three year old sobbed harder. Her mother pulled her into a crushing embrace.

"Hinata, don't cry it'll be alright." Lifting the child the nameless mother left the small apartment, taking her child to the hospital in hopes of some relief for her child, if there was none, the nameless mother flinched, she would have to contact her child's father. That was the last resort, and hopefully one that was not called for.

……..

The Hokeage looked up from his ink painting, the news was a surprise to him, the nin stared at him, with those cold eyes. "A half Hyuuga developing the Byakugan." The Hokeage repeated, the Uchiha nodding waiting for further instructions. "Ask the head of the main and branch house if he knows of any children born outside the compound." The Uchiha nodded and turned to leave. "Itachi, I want to see the child. Before Hyuuga Hiashi does."

Once Itachi was gone, the Hokeage stared at his ink painting, he had been informed of every birth, been invited as a guest of honor at the first birthday of every child. This one Hyuuga child, it was very curious indeed.

……

Hinata let out another whimper as the nurse checked her eyes, the three year old struggled to move away from the nurse, her pudgy hands swatted at the nurse, blue charka emitted from the child's pale hands, the nurse let out a scream and her hand fell limp to her side, more nurses arrived Hinata's mother watched in horror, as she looked at her daughters pale eyes, knowing that in order to help her child she would need to contact the Hinata's father.

She was about to lift Hinata off from the exam table when one member of Anbu entered the room. "The Hokeage wants to see the child." Hinata's mother held her crying child tighter to her, slightly glad that Hinata's hand where occupied with covering her eyes from the light. "Why?" the Anbu seemed annoyed that he was being questioned, by a civilian no less. After some hesitation the mother followed the Anbu member, Itachi felt his annoyance rise as the child continued to cry and scream. He turned once he could no longer handle the noise from the child. The child stopped crying sensing the danger he was capable of, she let out a whimper her hands still covering her eyes. Itachi smiled the child was smart, the mother held her child a little closer to her scared of the Anbu member that lead her and her child to the Hokeage, even with his mask on the nameless mother could sense his eyes boring into her and her whimpering child.

…………..

The Hokeage looked at the child, the little girl sniffled. He placed a hand under her chin, examining her eyes. "Who is her father?" the nameless mother shifted, thankful that the Anbu member was gone, but now fearful of her daughter's fate. The Hokeage looked at her, as if his eyes where already reading her answer. "Hyuuga Hiashi is her father." If the Hokeage was surprised he hid it well, the child turned to look at her mother. "Mum." The mother smiled at the calming child who was now curious to her surroundings, the veins no longer pulsing, leaving her once violet eyes pupil less. "She has the Byakugan; she belongs in the Hyuuga compound." The nameless mother's eyes snapped back to the Hokeage, fear for her child and anger at this decision burned in those dark violet eyes. "No my child belongs with me, her mother!" the Hokeage smiled at the child who was looking at her mother surprised, the child let out a small cry as the veins pulsed again. "Hinata." the mother cried as she moved to take her child from the Hokeage.

The door opened, Itachi closed the door once Hiashi had entered. The Hyuuga clan leaders eyes narrowed, "Hina." The mother raised her chin attempting to show some rather shaky defiance. Hiashi looked at the child, then back at Hina. The Hokeage had overheard some time ago that the Hyuuga clan leader had taken a mistress once his wife had failed to get pregnant.

The Hokeage stood. "Is this your child Hyuuga Hiashi?" The man in questioned stared at the child and her eyes, Byakugan eyes; it was unheard of that a half Hyuuga would be born with the Byakugan.

"Yes that is my child." Itachi watched interested as the Hokeage nodded.

End Flash back

…………….