Eek! What happened to Neji? 'bites nails' Sadly, you'll have to sit and wonder with Sasuke in this chapter because its in his P.O.V.

kawaii kitsune-kun – Neji hadn't decided who he wanted. Yeah, it does look kinda bad to make out with two different people in one night, I don't disagree with you there. But Neji did like Gaara a little and wanted to get a chance to try and know him. He likes Sasuke, but he's also wary because of the way Sasuke treated Naruto. So he's stuck in between two potential boyfriends and trying to figure out which to turn to. Well, I'm sure tranquillizing Neji isn't going to rank Gaara high on Neji's list now. There's more to Gaara's presence than first appears…

Yaoilover S – Thanks so much. I'm honoured.

sinn – Hehehe, I like how it leaves you hanging. Thanks.

aura-chan the neko-jin – You will probably find out more what is going on with Gaara and Neji in chapter 20, and why Neji was drugged. It does seem rather sudden, but there is a reason for everything.

Chapter 19: Something Not Quite Right

The rain continued on for another day. Sasuke stared out his window as the water beaded and ran down in little rivulets. He had half a mind to go out into the storm and intrude into Gaara's house like the redhead had done to him. After all, it was only fair.

The dark-haired boy had hardly slept the night before, and when he found himself dozing off, the pounding of rain only brought him back to consciousness. Now the storm was beginning to lessen, and Sasuke expected it to clear up sometime during the evening. He'd be able to see Neji in school tomorrow and give him a serious talk about how he felt. If he didn't get serious, Gaara would most likely snatch the Hyuuga's heart away from Sasuke. That was one thing Sasuke would not be able to stand.

He admitted that he liked Neji and that he didn't want to loose him to anyone else. Still, it felt wrong to jump into another relationship so soon after the one with Naruto had ended. Sasuke had hoped he'd have the liberty to ease himself into this, but if it appeared that it was a now-or-never situation, he'd have to leap in headfirst and hope for the best.

Sasuke groaned and rubbed his temples. He had dismantled the clock from the wall to stop its annoying ticking, but even without it echoing throughout the empty house, Sasuke still felt so alone. He shouldn't have let Neji go. Something just didn't feel right. Maybe it was jealousy, but Sasuke didn't care. He wanted Neji in his arms right now. Sasuke resolved to never answer the door again when the Hyuuga was over.

With a sigh, Sasuke turned his head to check the time before remembering that the clock wasn't there anymore. No matter, it was probably sometime mid-afternoon. He could try and go to sleep now so that he could at least make up for some of the lost hours and ease the pounding in his head. Tomorrow would be a better day. Tomorrow he wouldn't hold back, and he'd make Neji his.

- - -

Sasuke splashed through the mud, cursing himself for sleeping in. Who knew it was possible to sleep for over sixteen hours? Now he was late for class, or he would be late if he didn't get moving. It was much more difficult to get there due to the massive mud puddles that had been left behind from the rain. A few trees had also fallen over where the soil had loosened and had gotten washed away. Running up the hill and looking down from it, Sasuke was relieved to still see people filing into the school. Good, he had made it in time.

He was also glad to see practically everyone was covered in mud splatters as well. A few were literally covered head to toe, most likely a result of a mud-war. Sasuke wiped his feet before entering the school but soon realized that there was no point. The floors were already filthy anyway. Sasuke made his way into class to find the usual chatter of the present students.

Still no Neji or Gaara, Sasuke noted by the empty seats. Checking the school clock, he saw that they had a couple of minutes left anyway. It was rare for Neji to cut it this close, but then again, Sasuke had hardly made it himself. And he had no clue about Gaara's punctuality. He had never paid much attention to the redhead on purpose. He saw, though, that the other two from the sand village were already in their seats and talking to each other in low voices.

Naruto was not there either, but that was pretty typical. He liked to make a mad dash in a few seconds within the interval of the bell and the start of class. Sure enough, Naruto came bolting in, throwing a blob of mud at Chouji, who he was chasing.

"That's enough Naruto! No bringing mud into class. Get into your seats everyone." The sensei started to tick off attendance.

Sasuke looked worriedly at Neji's seat. The nin had still not shown up, and Gaara was nowhere to be seen as well. Had they skipped class? No, Neji wasn't the type to do that. Perhaps they were late, and got caught up with something. Sasuke prayed that it was just physical obstacles like mud and trees. He didn't want to think of Gaara distracting Neji in other ways.

The sensei furrowed his brow when he reached Neji's name on the list, and furrowed it more later when he found Gaara missing as well.

"Temari, you wouldn't know the meaning of your brother's absence, would you?" he asked the blonde exchange student.

Temari shook her head. "No sir. I haven't seen Gaara since the party. Perhaps he caught a cold from the rain and is resting at home. I'll be sure to check on him after class." She exchanged looks with her other brother, Kankuro.

Sensei nodded. "Please do. If he is sick, I can set aside work for him so that he may keep up with his studies while at home. And if you see Hyuuga Neji, please let him know the same."

The blonde girl nodded.

Sasuke found himself getting more and more edgy as the class wore on. Half way through the lesson and there was still no sign of Neji and Gaara. The fact that the both of them were missing bothered the Uchiha. He wanted to run out of class and find them, and take Neji away from Gaara and whatever the redhead was doing to him. He couldn't explain it, but he didn't like to think of the two alone. And it wasn't just because of the fear of Gaara pulling a move on Neji. There was something off about the nin, something Sasuke couldn't quite place. His paranoia only continued, right up until the bell.

When it rang, Sasuke bolted out of his seat and was the first one out the door. He hurried to Gaara's house and knocked on the door. He stood there for a few seconds and then knocked again. Still no answer. The nin paced around and then pounded hard on the door. "Neji? Gaara? Open up!" Nothing. Again he pounded his fist on the door. They had to be in there, where else would they go? Sasuke went into the muddy yard and stood on his tiptoes in order to try and peek through the window.

"What are you doing?"

Sasuke nearly slipped into the mud as he quickly whirled around to come face to face with Temari. Kankuro was right behind her.

Gaara's sister placed her hands on her hips. "I asked you what you were doing?"

Sasuke regained composure and stared the girl down with the same hard look she was giving him. "I was checking to see if anyone was home."

"Did you knock?" Temari's voice sounded annoyed.

"Yes."

"And?"

"There was no answer."

"Then what's your problem?"

"You had said in class that Gaara was probably at home sick, so someone must be there."

"I said perhaps," Temari said, folding her arms, "And if he is, he doesn't need you disturbing his rest by pounding like a madman on the door. He wouldn't answer it anyway. He knows that Kankuro and I don't do such things, and he has little use of random visitors."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He was starting to get annoyed himself. "Listen, my friend, Hyuuga Neji, headed back with Gaara a couple of nights ago to stay with him during the storm." Even saying it left a sick taste in the nin's mouth. "They were both absent from school today and this is the only place I can think of to find them."

Temari turned and looked at her brother, raising an eyebrow. Some sort of silent exchange seemed to be going on between them, but it was soon broken as she turned back to regard the trespasser on her doorstep. "Well, I will check inside and let you know if your friend is there."

"No, I want to come in," Sasuke said boldly. He didn't trust her, not with the look she was giving him.

Temari narrowed her eyes. "It is rude to invite yourself into another's home."

"I'm coming in," Sasuke stated with determination.

The girl turned to look at Kankuro again and the boy simply shrugged.

"Fine. Come in, but get your muddy shoes off outside the door so you don't tramp mud everywhere." Temari unlocked the door and allowed Sasuke to enter.

Sasuke looked around the room. It looked like the arrangement of an average everyday house, and neither of the two missing nins were present. Sasuke walked from room to room, getting more desperate. When he finally reached what he guessed was Gaara's bedroom, he took a deep breath and shut his eyes, expecting the worst. He turned the knob on the door and flung it open, looking into the room. The bed was empty as well as the room. The whole place was impeccably neat and almost looked untouched.

Sasuke sighed and closed the door. Temari was standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall with her arms still crossed. "Are you finished snooping around our home yet?"

"Yes," grumbled Sasuke, trying to piece together where Neji and Gaara would go. He supposed he could go try Neji's house. Maybe Neji had left for home, and Gaara was off parading elsewhere. At least that was what Sasuke hoped. "Thank you," he said as he walked out.

Temari just rolled her eyes and shut the door the instant he was out.

"She's as sociable as her brother," Sasuke muttered to himself, heading quickly towards the Hyuuga manor. Please let Neji be there… He knocked on the door, hoping he didn't have to resort to spying into windows. Hinata answered the door and smiled at Sasuke.

"Hello, Sasuke. What brings you here?"

"Is Neji in?" Sasuke was surprised at how desperate his voice sounded.

The girl shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. He must be off somewhere, because I haven't seen him around recently. I can check his room once more if you'd like."

"Please do," Sasuke said, the worried pit in his stomach growing.

Hinata nodded. "Would you like to wait inside?"

"I'll be fine," Sasuke assured her.

The girl nodded again and shut the door. Sasuke fidgeted and paced on the doorstep. Hinata returned a minute later.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I checked, but he doesn't seem to be here. I don't know where he would be, perhaps off in his training spot?" Hinata gave a shrug. "I'm sorry I cannot be of more help."

Sasuke forced a smile. "Thanks anyway." He turned and walked away from Neji's house. Where else would he be? Sasuke could check the training grounds, but anyone training in such a mess of mud after the storm would have to be nuts.

Sasuke spent a few hours combing through the woods, but still not turning up any trace of Neji. Now his worry was really starting to grow. This just was not like Neji, to miss class and then disappear completely. Why the heck did Sasuke let him go alone with Gaara? The redhead must've done something. Shit! Why did Sasuke let him go?

He found himself breaking into a run, unsure of exactly where he was headed. He was surprised to find himself on Naruto's doorstep. It just felt like the natural place to go. But that was over now… Still, Sasuke found himself knocking on the door.

Naruto opened it, and his look instantly shadowed over. "May I help you?"

"I see you replaced your door." What a stupid thing to say.

The blonde folded his arms. "With all the rain I had to. Now why are you here?"

"Neji is missing."

"So?"

"So, something's not right Naruto! I can't find him anywhere."

"What a pity." Naruto's words were cold and unfeeling.

"You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke before shutting the door in his face. Sasuke knocked on the door, and it reopened.

"What sort of stupid-ass question is that?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't mean to blame you. I'm just stressed." Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry to bother you, but please if you see Neji, let me know."

Naruto rolled his eye. "I'll get right on it Uchiha. You'll be the first to know." He began to close the door again.

Sasuke shoved his foot in the door to stop it. "Naruto, I'm sorry, but please, please keep your eye out for me," he pleaded.

Naruto's eyes softened slightly and he nodded. "Alright, Sasuke. I'll keep an eye out."

Sasuke sighed, grateful. "Thank you so much Naru-ch—Naruto. This means a lot to me."

"Yeah yeah. See you later." Naruto turned and shut the door again.

Sasuke headed back to his home, his head in a spin. Maybe he was overreacting. Neji was probably fine, and would show up in class tomorrow. That would be such a relief, Sasuke didn't care if he would feel like an idiot later. It would be worth it to see Neji again. Sasuke headed back to his home. He'd go and make some dinner and perhaps go out to look one more time before bed. Better to be safe than sorry

For those wondering, next chapter should hopefully get into where Neji is and all. I'll try and write and post as soon as I can, but I have work tomorrow 'groan' so the next chapter may not come as soon as I'd like. I'll try to update ASAP and once again, thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. You guys are great. :)