The three day trek to Suna was going smoothly. Neji stayed in the back of the group, not only to keep an eye on the possible enemies that could come up from any direction, but to keep one on Sasuke and Naruto. If they got too close the Hyuuga would get a sudden burst of speed and end up separating them to a comfortable distance. It didn't take long for Sasuke to realize what he was doing but there wasn't much he could do about it while they were moving. When the time came for rest, however, it was a very different story.

Sasuke wasn't allowed to be left alone for any period of time and he was always on his best behavior around Naruto so when the Uchiha insisted he be the one to gather food, of course, Naruto would have to go with him. Neji watched as his beloved blonde angel left with the traitor. He didn't bother to hide the hatred behind his pay eyes (although his facial expression didn't change that much considering he always had a scowl on his face).

The two shinobi were gone for quite some time but returned with plenty of fish to feed the small group. With their bellies full, everyone made a place to sleep and went to bed for the night. Everyone was asleep relatively quickly except for Neji. He couldn't help but notice how Sasuke and Naruto were snuggled up against each other. A deep sense of hate was beginning to for in the pit of his stomach. Neji would have liked nothing more than to have killed the raven in his sleep. In fact, the only thing keeping him from doing just that was the fact that Naruto seemed to truly care for the other man, quite deeply. This only made Neji feel worse, though.

To him, Naruto's happiness was his number one priority, but he would often give in to the selfish desire for more. He wanted Naruto to himself and he would do anything to get him…

. . .

The next day, was routine. They moved hastily but not at full speed. At the end of the day, Naruto and Sasuke went off to gather food and fire wood as they had done the previous day and the third day was the same as that. All the while, Neji was brooding in self pity, hidden behind a mask of indifference.

By the end of the third day, however, they had finally made it to the hidden sand village, where they were met by Temari and Kankuro.

"Hey, long time no see, eh, Naruto." Kankuro greeted the smaller blonde with a friendly face and a firm handshake.

"Gaara's been pretty eager to see you again. It's been far too long." stated Temari.

"Then let's not keep him waiting!" Naruto was more excited than he had ever been.

The two siblings escorted the leaf ninja to the Kazekage's office. Along the way, they certainly attracted the attention of young shinobi and common villagers who had never seen a foreign ninja before. At one point a mob of children rushed them and it took all of Naruto and Sakura's child-handling skills to get them to let them pass. Naruto ended up promising to teach them a new jutsu as long as they were in the village. It worked. It would probably come back to haunt them but it worked nonetheless and they finally made it to where Gaara had been waiting for them.

"What took you so long, Naruto?" the young kazekage asked jokingly as the two friends exchanged greetings.

"Hey, between your local kids and the ridiculously huge distance between the village gate and this place, you're lucky we got here at all!" Naruto shot back.

Gaara looked amused but, naturally, he didn't laugh, "That's true. Alright then, down to business. I'm sure you've heard of the string of kidnappings."

They all nodded and Neji stepped forward, "We don't have any of the details. You'll have to fill us in on any patters this guy might have."

"That's just it; they don't seem to have a pattern. They take any person they can. There's no specific time, place, or even an age they favor. They've even taken shinobi…" the redhead trailed off.

Neji waited for him to continue but when he didn't, Temari stepped in, "One of the people who were kidnapped…was a former student of Gaara's, Matsuri."

Now it made sense. Neji remembered the girl from many years ago when they had aided in her rescue. Gaara and the girl had seemed close then. It's only natural they would have grown even closer over the years.

"I see…" Neji couldn't help but feel sorry for the younger man. He knew all too well how it felt to have someone you were close to taken away. This mission was quickly becoming personal. When the briefing was finished and the group had all the information they could get, Temari and Kankuro led them to their rooms.

Unfortunately, spare rooms were limited and everyone but Neji had to share a room with each other. Sakura and Sai seemed oddly eager about sharing a room and Naruto and Sasuke had no complaints. However, Neji felt left out. He was alone, in more ways than one. Lying in bed, the Hyuuga quickly found he couldn't sleep at all. He found himself wondering the halls of the large mansion that was the Kazekage's home. He didn't know why or even how he ended up in front of Gaara's office, but just as he was about to pass the heavy double doors, the kazekage himself walked out and looked straight at Neji.

"You're still awake?" Gaara seemed slightly confused.

"I couldn't sleep. Why are you still up?"

"I'm the kazekage. My responsibilities come first. Did you simply come to make small talk or is there something important you'd like to discuss."

Neji, immediately, felt himself blush and fought to keep it down. Why the hell was he here?

"Uh…no, sorry." He turned away, his cheeks growing even hotter.

"Alright then, excuse me." Gaara began to walk away when Neji felt the familiar ache of loneliness. Not knowing what else to do, the Hyuuga spoke up, "What is she to you…?" he instantly regretted saying anything. Gaara stopped in his tracks.

"…She…is a dear friend. If worst comes to worst…" the kazekage found himself unable to finish.

Neji's heart went out to the other man. He felt an obligation…no…a desire to end the younger man's suffering as soon as possible. Even if his emptiness would never go away, he could at least keep another from feeling that same emptiness.

"Gaara…don't worry. We'll get her back, no matter what." Pale eyes met sea green and, at that moment, they both felt a deep sense of trust between each other. It was an unexplainable feeling; neither had ever experienced something like this.

"…Thank you, Neji Hyuuga."

. . .

A not so well rested Neji Hyuuga was standing guard, the east side of the village. Despite feeling slightly better after the light talk he and Gaara had shared, he was still unable to get to sleep and only got about an hour or two of real rest. The desert sun wasn't helping either. He found himself dosing off from time to time and often had to run around a bit to stay awake.

The group had no idea when or where the kidnapper was going to strike next. They had split up into the north, south, east, and west sections of the village and were taking day shifts while a squad of sand ninja took the night. Nothing special had happened so far. How long would this go on?

Neji began pacing around his assigned area. The streets weren't very crowded in this part of the village. If someone did decide to kidnap someone here, surly it wouldn't go unnoticed. No one would be foolish enough to-

"HELP!!"

"Damn it!" Neji cursed as he rushed to the source of the cry.

He cursed himself for letting his guard down and moved faster than he ever had before. He made it to the scene, just in time to catch a glimpse of the criminal carrying away an unconscious girl. The brunette made an attempt to see any features of the criminal and fallowed after him as fast as he could, but the kidnaper was one step ahead of the genius.

With a flick of the wrist, a kunai flew through the air and seemed to miss its target. That is, until it exploded a few feet behind Neji. Debris from the explosion went flying everywhere and the blast its self was enough to knock the Hyuuga to the ground. He scrambled to his feet but when he looked up, the man and the girl were gone.

A sharp pain in his back and right leg told him he shouldn't move and call for back up through the wireless radio (which he had so intelligently turned off an hour ago), but his pride only got in the way. He forced himself to his feet and took a few steps forward before fall flat on his face. There was a fine line between pride and stupidity and Neji was beginning to teeter on it. He gave in and flipped on the wireless radio.

"S-Sakura…I've been injured… The bastard got away…" he said in defeat.

"I'm on my way! Hold on!" Sakura answered, hurriedly.

"…Damn it…" Neji lost consciousness.

AN: Hmm…I feel rather inadequate. I can't seem to get the words out anymore. :P I'm terribly sorry for the short chapters but I promise I'll warm up to it soon enough. In the mean time, please review! It definitely inspires me to right more sooner! :D

~Yuki-chan