Xavyn had created a Jutsu that would allow him to manipulate blood, he had to get a small amount of Chakra in his hand, and touch the person to be able to control their blood from a distance; a string of chakra would connect them so he could do it more easily, and he hoped to eventually be able to do it without having to touch anyone. He was making decent progress, but was pushing himself too hard to perfect it, and he passed out, only waking up to puke through the night. Gaara had stayed with him, and did what he could to ease Xavyn's suffering, as well as make fun of him a little bit, for not taking it slower. He woke up sick, on his birthday of all days, and couldn't move without bile rising to the back of his throat. Tears sprang to his eyes, and he clawed at the ground, wanting to call out for someone, anyone, who could make the horrible feeling go away. "You look terrible." Kankuro's voice came from above him, and he opened his eyes to see the oldest son standing with his hands on his hips. "K-Kan-" Xavyn cut himself off, biting his lip, and curling up more. "You ok? Well you're clearly not." "He woke up multiple times to vomit." Gaara's voice came up to them, and Xavyn squeezed his eyes shut, when a cold, and wet something, a rag he assumed, was placed on his forehead. "Aw that sucks. Is it like...a bug?" He could hear Kankuro start to step away, not wanting to catch whatever Xavyn had.

"No, he's been pushing his body too hard to work on his new Jutsu." Gaara leaned down, and ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. "I told you to stop, do you see why?" He nodded weakly, and heard Gaara move to sit behind him. "That totally sucks, on your birthday too!" Xavyn's eyes flew open as he felt the bile start to push onto his tongue. He shot to his feet, attempting to run away from watchful eyes. He didn't get far before he had to stop, he put his hand on the wall of whatever building he'd stopped by, and threw up on the ground beneath him. It was sickening, things came out that he never remembered eating, painted with blood, and it landed on the ground with a loud splatter. Tears streamed down his face, his throat tried to close to prevent another attack which caused Xavyn to choke for a second before another wave hit. Kankuro had gone to Temari to get cold water for his friend, and Gaara was waiting for Xavyn to stop. He sobbed, and wiped at his mouth, wanting nothing more than to hide in a hole, away from everyone. Despite the embarassment, he had to admit he felt better. He fell back, on his butt, and kept his mouth covered with his shirt.

"Gaara help. Pretty please make it stop!" Gaara hovered over him, and gently kissed his forehead. "Are you going to listen to me, and stop when I tell you to?" Xavyn nodded, and his free hand grabbed at Gaara's shirt. "You should rest more, you're still weak." Xavyn groaned. "I'm sorry." Kankuro came back out with an ice cold bottle of water, and he sat down beside Xavyn. "How hard were you training if it's this bad?" "He was making a new Jutsu, and it'svery dangerous." Gaara carefully pulled Xavyn up so he could lean against his chest, and he helped get the water in him. Xavyn swished the water a few times, and spit it out until the harsh, acidic taste dulled to almost nothing before he tried to drink any. "A new Jutsu, huh? What does it do?" "M-manipulate blood." Kankuro visibly paled at the answer. "Excuse me? Manipulate what?" Xavyn coughed a bit, setting the bottle down beside him as he relaxed against Gaara's body. "Blood, I use chakra to draw the blood out, and shape it, or solidify it into a weapon, or make it thicken to the point that it clots."

"And you're ok with this?" Kankuro asked Gaara. "Of course not, but it's not my decision." Gaara was massaging Xavyn's scalp, and goosebumps popped up all over his boyfriend's skin at the relaxing feeling. "No wonder you got sick. How is it even possible?" "I'll show you when it won't make me throw up." It took almost an hour, and a half for his stomach to completely settle, then they went inside, and Xavyn brushed his teeth to make sure the taste was out. When it was all gone, the first thing he did was kiss Gaara on the lips. "He did What?!" Temari's voice rang through the house, and Xavyn sighed in annoyance, going to pull back from the kiss, but Gaara wanted more. He pulled him in for another kiss, more needy, and passionate than the pecks from before. Arms wrapped around bodies, and eyes slid close in bliss, ignoring all that was around them. "Happy birthday, Xavyn." Gaara mumbled against his lips, Xavyn couldn't stop the happy giggle that left his lips. "Thank you." He happened to glance behind Gaara at the wall, something odd catching his eye, and he screamed at the sight. "Wah! Spider! Gaara get it!" Gaara turned, and saw a Huntsman spider on the wall.

Xavyn scrambled back away from the arachnid, Gaara looked at him with a somewhat confused look on his face. "It's...a spider. Why are you afraid of it?" Gaara reached toward the creature but Xavyn grabbed his other arm, and pulled him back. "No, no, no, don't touch it!" The younger clung onto him, his arms trembling, and his heart racing. "I can't take it out if you don't let me." Gaara rolled his eyes, but didn't try to pull away. The spider began crawling again, and Xavyn let out an ear piercing scream, jumping on his boyfriend, and wrapping his limbs around him like a rubber band. Kankuro, and Temari ran in, and saw the eight legged creature scurrying up to the ceiling. "Oh my god kill it, kill it, kill it!" Gaara waved his arms, trying to catch his balance, but he fell on his back. Xavyn apologized, but refused to move, Temari and Kankuro's gaze followed the spider as it chose to start making a web, then slide down, towards Xavyn. "Xavyn, don't move a muscle." That made the youngest tense up, Gaara moved Xavyn's shirt away from his face, and saw the spider an inch above his boyfriend's back. Xavyn started to whimper out of fear, not knowing the creature's whereabouts.

"Don't move, Xav." Sand created a platform for the large creature to land on, and it was moved away from the jittery boy. Temari walked over, being the bravest, and only one available to grab it, and let the thing crawl on her so she could take it outside. Gaara rubbed his boyfriend's back, and started prying him off of him. "It's gone, Xavyn. You can let go of me now." Kankuro chuckled as Xavyn kissed Gaara's nose, and rolled off him. He had changed out of his shirt so it could be washed, and ended up not wearing one at all, not missing the glances Gaara stole at his bare torso. Kankuro had gone to the kitchen, and he came back with a giant cupcake, vanilla flavored, with a single, lit candle in the middle. Xavyn felt his face heat up, he watched Temari step in the room with a shoe box shaped present in her right hand. Gaara chuckled when Xavyn buried his face in his shoulder to hide his growing blush. "Happy birthday, Xav." Kankuro set the cupcake on the table, and Temari put the present next to it. Xavyn looked at the table, and swiped some icing off the cupcake with his finger, licking it off with happy noises.

"Holy crap, that's the best icing I have ever had!" "Yeah, yeah, you can fuck it later. Open your present." Xavyn playfully glared at the oldest two, and took the box, noting how much it weighed. Once the wrapping paper was off, he opened the box, and squealed in happiness. The box was nearly overflowing with assorted candies; Xavyn had a nearly insatiable sweet tooth, and the whole village knew it. He got up, and threw his arms around Temari, then Kankuro. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" "You're welcome, you little goober." Gaara was swiping some of the icing, and licking at it while he waited for Xavyn to sit back down. "I have something for you, too." That got the younger's attention, and he sat back down. "You do?" Gaara nodded, and left to the bedroom he kept the present in; he didn't bother wrapping it, since he had the other half already. When he came back out, Xavyn was swiping more icing, and Gaara noticed he was a little shaky. "Turn your back to me, and close your eyes." Confused but trusting, Xavyn did as he was told, feeling a bit of weight against his chest, and along his neck, he assumed it was a necklace.

Once it was clasped, Gaara told him to open his eyes, and Xavyn gasped, tears immediately welling in his eyes as he gently lifted the charm to look at it. It was a heart shape with a key hole in the center. "G-Gaara.." He turned, and covered his mouth with his hand, tears rolling down his cheeks, and he threw his free arm around Gaara. "It's not too...I don't know, common?" Xavyn laughed through the tears. "I-it is but it's still special. Wh-where's the key?" He got pushed back, and Gaara pulled something out of his own shirt. It was a key on a chain around his own neck, Xavyn hadn't even seen him put it on. He sniffled, and watched Gaara take the key, and insert it into the lock, giving it a slight twist. The heart then opened to reveal two pictures on either side; one of Gaara with Xavyn, one of the few days Gaara was genuinely smiling, and one of Temari, and Kankuro that was taken on the same day. "See? You have...your whole family with you." Gaara blinked as a tear landed on his hand, and he glanced up to see Xavyn trembling, and struggling not to sob.

He shut, and locked the heart, before removing the key, and pulling Xavyn into a tight hug. "I wasn't expecting such an emotional response." "I-I'm sorry." "No, don't apologize. It isn't a bad thing." Temari, and Kankuro confirmed what they already believed; Xavyn didn't feel worthy of the things he was given. When he stopped crying, Xavyn nibbled on his cupcake until he remembered his promise to show Kankuro his Jutsu. "I don't wanna use my own blood to do this, is there a way we can use an animal?" "Use your own blood? Oh your new Jutsu." A part of Temari didn't want to watch, but her curiosity got the best of her. They all went outside to look for an animal that Xavyn could use his Jutsu on. A stray cat crossed Temari's path, and she felt bad for the furry creature, but she picked it up, and carried it back. She set it down at Xavyn's feet, and once his hand replaced hers, she stepped back. Xavyn used his knee to keep the cat still, only putting enough pressure on it to do so, and made a hand sign the oldest didn't recognize, placing one hand on the cat's ribs. It meowed, howled, and hissed in agony, and spasmed seconds before red shards punctured it from the inside like a reverse Iron Maiden; giving Kankuro an idea for his puppet.

"Holy crap...what did you do?" Kankuro asked, Xavyn moved aside so the siblings could get a better look. "The Jutsu allows me to manipulate someone's blood. I can turn it into a weapon or make it thicker, for example." Xavyn spent the rest of the day altering the blood of smaller animals, rather than making weapons out of it, as it was too dangerous for him to push his body that far. He exhausted himself to the point of passing out, and he got woke up by someone shaking him. It was Temari, and she told him to get dressed, and ready to leave the village. The siblings' Sensei, Baki, had given them a new mission, and said that it wasn't a good idea to bring Xavyn, but he didn't outright tell them he couldn't go. Xavyn learned years prior that Baki was the one who'd trained Gaara, and his siblings. Xavyn hadn't met the man, but heard enough about him to both fear, and appreciate him; it was obvious he was a good teacher, given how impressive the siblings were in battle. He got dressed as fast as he could, and strapped his kunai to his leg, Temari took him outside where Kankuro, Gaara, and Baki were waiting.

"Is this Xavyn, then?" The teacher asked. Gaara reached a hand out for his partner, and answered with a nod. "Great, let's go. I'll explain the mission on the way." Xavyn feared his stutter would take over if he tried to talk, so he held Gaara's hand while they walked, and tried to focus on the scenery around him. "That's Baki. He won't hurt you, but he's strict." It wasn't that he thought Gaara was lying, but Xavyn couldn't help feeling nervous around the man. "Xavyn, you won't be able to participate in the Chunin Exams because only teams of three are allowed. During the exams, you'll wait with me." It felt like he'd been forced to swallow ice water with the cold kind of shock that zapped his chest. Gaara noticed, as he always did, and ran his thumb along Xavyn's hand. They were told that Gaara was to fight in the end of the exams, and transform with Shukaku in the middle of Konoha, the Hidden Leaf village, so it would be destroyed, and that filled Xavyn with an anger he didn't know he had, but he swallowed it down, and stayed silent.