They were going to Konoha again, the new Hokage had asked them to help with a situation they were dealing with. "Xavyn, I'm going to tell you to tag along, and to put your issues aside. If you can do this for me, I'll give you a present when you get back. Ok?" "A present? Why?" Baki just gave him a smile. Sasuke had been taken by, or walked into the arms of, Orochimaru. It was a danger because of the Sharingan, it couldn't be allowed to be used by a person like Orochimaru. They left, and traveled to Konoha as fast as they could, not knowing how far Sasuke was from the village or if he was already in the snake's grasp. They arrived in a forest, and split up when they found Leaf Shinobi being attacked, and on the losing side of their respective fights. Temari blew a girl away from Shikamaru with her fan, Kankuro's puppet blocked a kunai attack to Kiba, whose dog was unconscious, and sand wrapped around a bone that was going to penetrate through Rock Lee's clothes, and separated them. Xavyn went with Kankuro, having faith in the others to protect the Leaf Ninja. Sand gently carried Lee to Gaara, and set him down, unharmed.

"He is Gaara, of the desert." Lee said, wondering if he was still drunk. Kimimaro launched bones from his fingertips at Gaara, and sand blocked it. Gaara looked at Lee, and noted that the Leaf Shinobi wasn't as quick on his feet as he was during the Chunin Exams, Lee got to his feet, and said he wasn't one to hold a grudge, but the damage Gaara caused was putting a damper on his training, and he asked what the Sand Shinobi were doing in Konoha. Gaara replied by saying he owed the Leaf a great debt. Shikamaru wasn't as happy to have the Sand Shinobi on their side so soon after being attacked by them, but he was grateful for the help. The girl they were fighting against used a flute to use Genjutsu, Temari used her fan to blast the trees towards the girl, and make her dodge rather than attack. Kiba asked Kankuro what happened to the others he arrived with, Kankuro told him the others were up ahead, Sakon grabbed Kankuro's face, and Kiba warned the Puppeteer that the enemey was going to merge with his body. Sakon crushed Kankuro's face, breaking away the sand armor, and revealing his newest puppet, the Black Ant.

He unwound himself, and stood behind the puppet. "Fair warning, we Sand Ninja aren't pushovers like our friends from the Leaf. Oh, and standing as close as you are to my friend the Black Ant? Big mistake." Slots on wooden arms opened to reveal a row of razors on each section of the limbs. He cut Sakon, and grinned, with a somewhat sadistic twinge, at the sound of the other's pain. Sakon was released, and he fell to his knees, Sakon, and Ukon merging together. "Its puny power, and speed are no match for me, it'll take more than a toy to hurt me." Kankuro sneered at the insult. "It's like they're standing over there mocking us!" "So give them what they deserve." Xavyn said, putting a hand on Kankuro's shoulder, and gently rubbing at it, knowing what would come next. "This isn't the kind of opponent you can defeat head to head! Back down, and we'll regroup!" Kiba tried to reason with the puppeteer, who replied with, "I can't back down when they show me no respect." and launched Crow at Ukon, spitting Shuriken at him before holding the puppet in the air, and shooting from its palm to make Ukon back up, into the open Ant.

Ukon was backed into the puppet, and it sealed around him, closing him inside. He screamed to be let out, and threatened to kill Kankuro, the puppeteer used Secret Black Move, Iron Maiden, and joined Crow with Ant, stabbing Ukon to death, and blood seeped out through the slats. Xavyn high fived him, and got on his knees beside Kiba. "Let me see your wound." Kiba was reluctant, but moved Akamaru so the youngest could examine him. "Will you let me stop the bleeding?" Kiba gave him a confused look so Xavyn explained he could stop the bleeding, but not heal the wound. He got a nod as an answer, and Xavyn used Frozen Blood Jutsu, Kiba fought not to squirm at the new feeling, and Xavyn backed off when the blood stopped flowing from the injury. "That is...that's so disturbing." Kiba looked like he was about to throw up, and Xavyn had a hurt look on his face before he wiped it off with a scowl. "I coulda made it worse you know. Let your dumbass bleed to death..."

He mumbled insults at the Shinobi even as he was pulled against Kankuro's chest in a hug. "I told you people wouldn't like it. Go find the others alright? I can take it from here." Xavyn saluted, and leaned up to kiss his brother's cheek. "Bye, Kitty." He ran through the trees in search of his sister, who he found easily; he followed the new path of sliced trees, and found her standing by Shikamaru, so he dropped down beside them. "What are you doing here?" Temari asked, Shikamaru wondered who Xavyn was, and what he wanted. "Kankuro took care of a pair of freaks, and sent me after you. You uh...look like you got it under control, though." Xavyn hugged his sister, and motioned to the devastation. "Yep, all good here. Go find Gaara, this won't take much longer." A kiss to his sister's cheek, and Xavyn hopped away before Shikamaru could ask the question he opened his mouth for. "So he's with you then?" He asked. "Yeah, he's dating my brother. His jutsus are scary, I'll be the first to admit. But let's focus on the task ast hand. Explain the situation to me, give me an anaylsis of her battle style, and abilities."

"Typical long range Genjutsu user." Temari noted that the girl's attacks, and abilities were sound based. Shikamaru told her that they should leave, and they were at a disadvantage. Temari bit her thumb, and swiped the blood along her fan, using her summoning Jutsu, Summoning Blade Dance to slice all the trees in front of her, eliminating all hiding spots, and the girl with them. She lay dead, crushed beneath a tree. By the time Xavyn found Gaara, he slid to a stop behind him, and Rock Lee, taking immediate notice of the man who had bones protruding from his skin in his torso, and arms, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. "Who are you?" Lee asked, turning to the side. "Sand Shinobi, my siblings took care of the other opponents. Are you injured?" Xavyn asked, scanning Lee's body with his eyes, and found no wounds. "I am alright, thank you, but I still do not understand why you are here." Xavyn sighed. "Look, the others didn't need me anymore so they sent me here." Gaara grunted, and Xavyn moved to his side, slipping his hand into Gaara's, and he stood, waiting for further instructions. "You don't need to be here, but at least I don't have to worry about you."

Xavyn smiled at his boyfriend's words, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, Lee watching the interaction out of curiosity. For a while, nothing happened, just wind blowing through the giant field of grass around them. "Excuse me, are you a medical nin? Is that why you asked if I was injured?" Lee asked. "I'm not a healer, but there's something I can do for physical wounds." Rock Lee held his arm up, and blood dripped from a tiny wound. Gaara looked at it with pity in his eyes, and said he would handle the situation, prompting Lee to say he just needed to be backed up, and start running to Kimimaro. Sand wrapped around his foot, and made him trip, face-planting into more sand, Xavyn stifled a giggle at the picture Lee made. He asked Gaara to let go of him, the Jinchuriki walked forward, and Xavyn went with, kneeling down to help Lee to his feet. "You're not doing anything in your present state. I've got this." "Do not let your guard down, he uses bones to attack." Gaara stepped even further forward, Kimimaro retracted the bones back into his body.

"Xavyn don't let him interfere." Gaara spoke while sand blocked more attacks, and chased Kimimaro at the same time. Xavyn snuck a peek down, and watched as sand was fed into the ground little by little, anger caught in his throat as the enemy said Gaara was nothing without his sand. He had much more control over his emotions, however, and focused on keeping Lee back from the fight, and off his injuries. Sand swirled, and wrapped around Kimimaro, Gaara used Sand Burial to crush the enemy, and blood spots seeped through the sand. "When I look at this guy, it reminds me of him. Uchiha, this guys has the same eyes as Sasuke. Seeking to find a purpose." Kimimaro pulled himself from the sand, black lines all along his body, and said he would have been crushed beyond recognition from the pressure of the sand if he hadn't grown a membrane of bone under his skin. "More bones, he's a freak. A monster." Gaara said, making Xavyn nudge him unhappily. "You don't get to pass judgement like that, Gaara." "Well he certainly is a nuisance." Gaara spread his feet a little wider apart, and made a hand sign before a giant wave of sand rushed to the enemy.

Xavyn smirked, and watched in amusement as the Sand Tsunami washed Kimimaro away, and swirled around the trees, creating a giant river of the earthly material. Gaara pressed his hands to the sand, and used Giant Sand Burial to once again engulf Kimimaro. "Why won't he give up?" He muttered, Xavyn dropping a hand on his shoulder to rub, and squeeze. "His purpose, Baby. He still has a use to fulfill. These things will keep anyone alive a lot longer than they should." Something popped up out of the sand, Kimimaro stood before them. Gaara swirled the sand around their opponent, and tried to crush him once more but it had no effect on him at all. Kimimaro didn't look human anymore as he rushed towards the kids. Gaara repeatedly tried to attack with sand before creating a wall of sand that Kimimaro easily penetrated, and sent Gaara flying, his sand armor cracking at the jaw. Xavyn lurched after him, and put a hand on his back, Kimimaro attacked Lee, but it was blocked by sand at the last second, preventing a fatal attack. Kimimaro pulled his spine from his body, causing Xavyn to shudder.

The bones wrapped around Gaara, over the sand that protected him, Xavyn had to jump back, and Kimimaro created a large spear from bone. He said it would bore through Gaara, and the Jinchuriki used Ultimate Defense, Shukaku Shield. Xavyn felt anxiety gnaw at his insides, and he forced himself to watch. Kimimaro started to push the bone through the sand in a futile attempt to end the boy's life, the defense held strong; it was a more advanced form of the one he used during the Chunin Exams. The bone chipped, and cracked away, its owner backing up in shock. Gaara explained that he used his chakra to fuse the hardest minerals from the ground with his sand, then he asked about the Kekkei Genkai, and said the clan line finished that day, after Kimimaro said he was the last remaining member of his clan. Xavyn wanted to feel bad for him, but he shoved that down. Gaara created a kind of sinkhole beneath Kimimaro's feet that would suck him deep below the surface of the Earth where the pressure was too great to even move a finger. Xavyn sighed with relief, and leaned against his partner when bone shards poked up from the earth, and headed right for the three of them; Kimimaro used Braken Dance.

Xavyn tried not to panic but couldn't help clinging onto Gaara who created a sand platform to carry himself, Xavyn, and Lee into the air, and away from the danger. "You saved me again, these powers of yours are spectacular." Lee beamed at Gaara who explained the sand merely did his bidding, and was second nature to him. Xavyn nuzzled at his cheek before pecking it. "Gaara allow yourself a compliment from someone other than your boyfriend for once." Gaara blushed, and reached up to pet his partner's hair. "If I may say so, you are an adorable couple." Xavyn bit his tongue, and continued nuzzling at the pale flesh before him. Kimimaro screamed from beneath the earth that was now covered in every inch with bone. "A tenacious opponent, but this time it's over. We won't be seeing him again in this life." "Yes, good." Gaara groaned quietly, and put a hand on the platform he knelt on, saying his chakra was nearly depleted, and strength was gone so they had to return to the ground. Xavyn threw his arms around Gaara protectively when Kimimaro appeared behind them and had yet another bone spear he went to shove through Gaara's head; he quickly froze all of Kimimaro's blood with a quiet growl as Gaara sat there, wide-eyed, and afraid.

Gaara had the presence of mind to wrap his own arms around his partner, and bury his face in his shoulder. Xavyn murmered quietly to him in an effort to ease the fear that paralyzed his boyfriend. "I've got you, it's alright." "What...what happened? He is dead." Lee looked between Kimimaro, and Xavyn, something close to fear in his eyes. "I promised to protect Gaara no matter what, that I wouldn't let anyone else hurt him." They descended, and sat against a tree, Gaara still fretting over the close call. "I was careless, I should have been killed." Xavyn had to hold his wrist to prevent himself from slapping the red head. "Don't talk like that. I made a promise didn't I? Well I intend to keep it until it kills me. That's my Nindo." Lee looked up at Xavyn who was standing above them, eyes full of curiosity. Gaara said something about a meddling mother hen, Lee warned Gaara not to speak ill of his teacher, and Gaara pointed out that when hurt was inflicted on those they cared about, it affected them as well. Xavyn crawled onto his lap, and draped himself over Gaara as his way of making the other stop talking. "I love you, Gaara. You're stuck with me until we're dead. Stop talking like I'm not here."

"I'm sorry, Xavyn. I know you are here with me." Gaara found, and held the other's hands, interlocking their fingers, and wondering of the company of an evil person was better than loneliness. Xavyn couldn't take it anymore, he slammed his lips onto Gaara's, and reached up to tangle his fingers in the elder's hair, gripping tight and digging his nails into the scalp. "For the last...time, you are not...evil." Xavyn talked between smushing his lips on his partner's before pulling back to grip his face by the cheeks, squeezing til it hurt. "I will tell you as many times as I have to, I've always loved you from day one. I've loved you during your darkest moments, times you almost killed me, your brightest moments like when you gave me this." He pulled out the locket, and Gaara's lips wobbled as he fought a smile. "What is that?" Lee asked, catching a glimpse of the locket's reflection. "It's something I can only wear with Gaara." The Jinchuriki chuckled, and brought Xavyn in for another, albeit gentle, kiss. "I love you, Cupake." "I love you too...brat."

"Xavyn...what did you do to that man?" Lee asked, unable to remain silent about his curiosity. "I froze his blood in place." "Froze his...blood? How is that possible?" "It's a Jutsu I created years ago, all of my jutsus are blood controlling." Xavyn wasn't surprised when the Leaf Shinobi backed away, but it still stung. "Seriously? There are worse things I can do with my jutsus than save someone's life." Xavyn huffed, and Gaara pulled him down to hug him, cradling Xavyn's head to his shoulder. "Do you use them on humans?" Lee asked. "Only if I have to, I mostly use Taijutsu. Consider it a last resort." That seemed to satisfy the other, and he continued to ask about the jutsus, but there was no longer fear in his voice. "How many do you have?" "Let's see...Bloody Rose, Frozen Blood, Blood Solidify, Blood Puppet, and one I don't have a name for."

"What is the one you do not have a name for?" "Um that one...just lets me control the blood cells themself, I can make your blood move faster or slow down, direct it to a different part of the body which is what Bloody rose is...basically all the jutsus I have are branches of what I started out with." Lee was almost afraid to ask what the jutsus did. "Bloody Rose allows me to direct all the blood of a living creature to the heart until it overfills, and explodes, you saw the blood freezing one, it just makes the blood stop moving, but I can make a person's blood freeze however, and wherever I want. It comes in handy with wounds. Blood Solidify...how do I explain that one? I can turn it from a liquid to a solid basically, and it's not a pretty picture. Blood Puppet is my favorite, it works the same way Kankuro's puppets do, I actually got the idea from being around him for so long, but instead of chakra strings, I need to attatch my own blood to them. Like if I cut my hand, and grabbed you, I would make my blood join with yours, and control your movements from a safe distance away from you." Gaara shivered, and rubbed his partner's back.

"Does your family know about them?" "Yeah they weren't too happy to be honest. Our teacher...gets mad at me whenever I make a new jutsu, but he doesn't stop me from doing it. The catch is it takes a lot of energy, and the more people I use it on at a time, the more energy it sucks. Also it makes me sick if I do it for too long." "You can do it to multiple people at once?" Xavyn nodded, and explained that he spent most of his time doing that rather than making new jutsus. "You both have very impressive skills, and if you had been my enemy...I may not make it out alive." Xavyn hummed, and ran his hands through his partner's hair. "Just don't hurt my family, and I won't have to show you how my jutsus work." "Xavyn, be nice. Lee wouldn't hurt us."