Neji had tried to get back to his children, he really had. Fate had intervened, however, and rather cruelly at that. When he had tried to loop around part of the canyon to avoid the Shichibi, it had only led him into the demon again. That had forced him farther off track. Okay, he'd admit it; he had been lost for a day or two as well.

So now he had lost Hitomi and Seishirou, not to mention his only ally in finding the Bijuu.

Neji had hesitantly left Iwa territory, hoping he hadn't missed them by accident. But there was no way he could have, not with his Byakugan and nearly frantic searching.

He made his way south, because it was the only direction he could go. Sasori was a Suna-nin, and there were rumors about a rebuilt Sunagakure deep in Wind territory, so it was possible he'd head there next (hopefully with the children in tow).

Disaster after disaster seemed to happen, however. He had nearly run into the Rokubi. It had been heading out east for some reason, but Neji wasn't going to attack it just to find out. There were also rock slides, large wildlife, and treacherous Iwa territory to deal with. Fate seemed hell bent on delaying him. It took entirely too long to reach the edge of the desert. Even there, Neji was stuck. He was not used to desert travel, and he wasn't stupid enough to attempt it without some better supplies or a Suna guide. He trekked up and down the Suna border, hoping to find Sasori.

What he found was much different.

Neji had been starting a fire for the night, at least to cook for a bit with, when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He immediately activated his Byakugan, jumping to his feet. He saw something just a little ways away, but it had been moving too fast for him to really see who or what it was. It was at least human, then, a shinobi.

He slowly crept over to the rocky outcropping where he'd last glimpsed it. It wasn't invisible; it was just fast. Neji wasn't exactly slow himself, so he was fairly confident. Plus, with his Byakugan, he wouldn't be caught unawares, unless the thing used its speed against him. That would be impossible, however; it would have to know it was faster than his Byakugan to charge blindly at him, or be totally sure of its own power--

Neji barely ducked as he suddenly registered the person again. He bent at the waist, just as a large fist swung over where his neck had just been. He kicked up to retaliate, but his assailant just grabbed his ankle and hoisted him into the air.

"Hyuuga?"

Neji twisted in the air to get a better view. He was immensely surprised to find that it was Kakuzu, of all people. Though it would explain the speed issue, as well as the chakra anomalies he was finally seeing, now that Kakuzu wasn't moving so quickly.

After the two had set each other straight that they weren't out for each other's blood, they began the ever-stressful process of exchanging information. Neji wasn't entirely pleased at this, but he wasn't displeased, either. He barely knew Kakuzu, and didn't know how to react to his presence, that was all.

"So what are you doing out here?" Kakuzu asked, tapping his finger on his knee.

"Waiting for Sasori."

"He's out in this country, then?"

"He's supposed to be. We lost track of each other after the Shichibi attacked."

"Shichibi, huh?"

"Isn't that just what I said?" Neji asked with a frown. He had always thought that Kakuzu was the more mild-mannered of he and Hidan, but he supposed that compared to Hidan, anyone would appear mild-mannered. "What about you?"

"I haven't run into any real demons…" He sighed, rolling his eyes. "But that damned kunoichi that's running the eastern coast got to me. I think Hidan would've told you, or at least he should've, that fucker. We got separated when she attacked and I haven't seen him since."

"Must be some kunoichi, to separate two Akatsuki members from each other unwillingly," Neji noted, though he couldn't keep all of the amusement out of his voice.

"She's not particularly special. I wouldn't put her on Konan's level or anything. She just has a few fancy tricks. Listen, Hyuuga, if you ever come across a bitch with purple hair and red markings on her face, back east, plug your ears and run. Got it?"

"I'm not Hidan. You don't have to act so patronizing. Is she really so dangerous?"

"Not dangerous. She has some sort of controlling jutsu. Even I couldn't get out of it until Sasori snapped me out of it with a bomb to the face, and that probably was several weeks after she had first caught me in it. A little wimp like you wouldn't stand a chance."

Neji didn't like being called a wimp--and really, he was far from one--but he didn't feel like starting an argument. Obviously, Kakuzu was intentionally trying to piss him off, but Neji was not immortal like Hidan was. He wouldn't make himself a target for any attacks if he could help it. So instead of lashing out, he calmly responded with, "I'll keep that in mind." After a moment or two, to change the subject, he added, "Why are you out this way?"

"Looking for Hidan, Sasori, anyone. I know little of what's going on these days, and I'd like to change that," Kakuzu answered airily. "Do you know what's going on?" Ah, the inevitable question.

"To some degree. At least, after Kiri was attacked--"

"Wait, what? Who would dare attack Kirigakure?"

"The Bijuu, that's who. The Nibi and Sanbi," Neji said, narrowing his eyes at the mere memory. "A lot of lives were lost that night. I don't know the end result of the village; I left after the demons left."

"Why would a little thing like you want to pursue two demons? Didn't the Ame-Bijuu war teach you?" Kakuzu asked, raising an eyebrow. Neji shook his head stubbornly.

"I wasn't pursuing the demons for the demons. They took my wife--Hinata--as well as Deidara and Hidan."

"What?!" Kakuzu really was out of the loop, judging on his reaction. He leapt to his feet, looking livid, glaring at Neji with those odd eyes of his. If looks could kill, there was no doubt that Neji would have been dead at that point.

What ever happened to not shooting the messenger? he thought wryly, returning Kakuzu's glare with a milder one. "Yes. So you can see that the situation is very dire. It's why Sasori and I have been pursuing the Bijuu for this time, and why I'm looking to meet back up with him."

Kakuzu reluctantly sat back down, grumbling to himself. After several moments of this, he finally looked back up at the Hyuuga with a hooded expression. "…Have they sealed yet?"

Neji looked away. "I hope not."

"None of that shit. Hyuuga, have they sealed yet?"

"Sasori didn't think so, and neither do I. It seems as if the demons are waiting for all of the bodies, so they can do one mass sealing." The brunette lightly closed his eyes, sighing. "There are eight demons left, and they have three bodies."

"Me," Kakuzu grunted, "The Uchiha brat and his two, and you, if they ever find out about you. With the Hyuuga girl in their possession, however, and the Shichibi having fought you, it's likely that they'll be out for you, too."

"What about that kunoichi from the eastern coast?"

"They probably couldn't find her, or don't want to bother to travel that far." Kakuzu shrugged. "I don't know, exactly. I can't read demons' minds. It's entirely possible that they may want her in lieu of you. It might come down to whichever they catch first."

-.-.-

Neji and Kakuzu patrolled the northern edge of the desert for several days, but didn't come across any other ninja, let alone Sasori. They'd wasted that time, and eventually they were forced to give up and move on. Neither of them were particularly happy about this, and tempers were strained as they 'debated' over which way to go next.

"I say we go back north." Neji crossed his arms, standing his ground both figuratively and literally. "Iwa is the only lead we have."

"Don't you think that they would have moved after you and Sasori nearly killed one of them?! They won't just stay in the same damn place--they're strong, not stupid!" Kakuzu snarled, ducking his head behind his uniform's collar. Neji had learned over the past few days that that was how he tried to control his temper. It was a vain effort, anyway.

"Where else do you propose, then?!"

"Any of the other old Akatsuki bases! If they're hell bent on irony, then they'd choose one of them!"

"Well, which one?" Neji persisted.

"I don't know! Any of them!! It could be the one in Suna land, or it could be the one that was nearest Kumo."

"How many are there?"

"You mean how many will house demons of that size," Kakuzu corrected coldly, "There are not too many, but enough to make things fucking difficult until we narrow down the choices. How long will the Uchiha brat escape any attacks?"

"I don't know. Even if they capture Sasuke, though, eventually they will have to come for you. We could always wait it out." Neji mulled that thought over. It was possible. They could merely wait for the Bijuu to come to then, but what if their theory was wrong and they had already created Jinchuuriki by then? There was no telling when the Bijuu would show up, how many of them, or which ones. With an Akatsuki member and himself, they could take down the Shichibi and below. Maybe they could fight the Hachibi; Kakuzu was the powerhouse of the Akatsuki, unlike Sasori, but if it was the Kyuubi who came for Kakuzu, then they would lose. It was as simple like that.

It was entirely too uncertain, with too many variables, for it to be a good plan. Their best bet was to ambush the Bijuu on their own time to spring the prisoners.

"That wouldn't work," Kakuzu replied gruffly, voicing Neji's thoughts.

"So we need to search old Akatsuki bases or find Sasori and see if he has any new leads," the brunette said quietly with a frown. "Where are the bases you would think they would utilize?"

"It's not just that… There are a few requirements. It'd have to be a large enough base to house demons, and they'd have to know about it, dipshit. I can tell you the location of every Akatsuki base in the goddamn world and the Bijuu themselves would only know about a handful."

"You were the one who said it could be 'any of them'!" Neji snapped in reply.

"I said we could narrow it down! You're the one in the dark here, Hyuuga."

"Only because you're keeping me there."

They got along swimmingly.

After both men stormed off to fume for what rapidly turned into several hours, they grudgingly got back together to discuss some actual plans. Kakuzu described the basic areas where the Akatsuki bases that fit all of the requirements that the Bijuu needed. There were only a few, and they could cross two off of the list automatically: the one in Iwa the demons had just vacated, and one of two in Suna. They could safely say that no Bijuu were there because it wasn't too far from their current position, and they definitely would have noticed if any demons had been coming or going.

"There's one near Kiri?" Neji asked in surprise. He hadn't expected that.

"It's an old one. Moreover, it's probably not home to any demons, either, but you never know. The cowardly bitches might've wanted to escape us so badly they'd hide out on an island. And I'll admit, it's one of the last places any of us would look for them," Kakuzu explained impatiently, narrowing his eyes.

"They wouldn't cross the sea, though. Not unless they were really cornered, which they're not."

"Why wouldn't they?"

"The Nibi hates water. It had to ride on the Sanbi's shell in order to get to Kiri."

"So we can cross that one off for now…"

It was in this way that they continued to whittle the list down.

-.-.-

Next Chapter: Enemies inch closer to Sunagakure, until the heat and strain makes tempers snap like twigs. Who is supposed to be allied with who now? Seishirou tries to keep Hitomi safe, Sasori is trying to kill all three of them, and Tomozou figures out just what's up with Seishirou and his differences from his family.