seated on the floor of a building he's pretty much single-handedly ruined, smoking through some cigs that he stole off a corpse.

the fact that even after all this fighting, killing, death & destruction, he's feeling hell of frustrated.

not been dreaming of running Squalo through with his sword, or running his fingers through Squalo's hair. Nah-uh. Not at all.

smokes through that last one quickly. He lights another. When he has trouble with it, he tells himself it's the lighter, not him.

moving through devastated rooms, stepping over corpses and pools of blood.

that his former boss is as excessive as ever. This thought makes him smile.

lets his instincts guide him to wear Xanxus is, slumped on the ground, beaten but refusing to admit it.

that this is the moment that one whole month of his life (maybe more) has been building up to.

You look pathetic, Xanxus.

glances up, narrows his gaze. The silver hair catches his attention first, then the look in his Angelshark's eyes.

does not wait another moment. He's up and coming at Squalo in a single movement, all rage and killing intent.

prepared for this, but the sheer force of Xanxus' onslaught shoves them both back, up against the closest wall.

can see, from the look in Xanxus' eyes, that he has as good as won this fight. Just a little more...

...What's so funny, Superbi?

chuckles, knowing it will only piss Xanxus off more & liking that fact.

Aren't you tired already, Xanxus?

You've broken every rule in the book, fucked everything that so much as moved in front of you, and killed whatever struck your fancy.

Maybe you ought to quit before you run out of reasons to run.

growls and shoves Squalo harder into the wall.

Don't fuck with me--

I've been fucking with you since you arrived in India.

smirks. "Why do you think you've been allowed to move around on your own for this long?"

partially bluffing, but he knows Xanxus well enough to know that the other man's too far gone to see through something like that.

throws Squalo away from him, and follows up with some kicks and jabs.

intrigued the first time around, when the younger man was able to block him. Now he's starting to get irritated.

nothing more than to crush Squalo beneath him, and <s>kiss him hard</s> rip that smile straight off his mouth.

Xanxus' frustration building: it oozes off of him in waves, similar to how his magnetic charm used to draw people in.

realized now, after being abandoned and re-learning how to stand on his own two feet, that Xanxus is a man who brings people together but--

doesn't know what to do with them once he has them, because his eyes are always set on destroying things.

...And when he destroys too much, he's left with nothing.

...Pathetic.

What did you say?

Squalo on the ground beneath him, poised to <s>press his nose against those silver locks</s> wring the life out of that slender neck.

unfazed by the fingers on his throat. They've crashed together like this before, in a hundred other broken beds.

squares his gaze up to meet Xanxus' own head on. "I said you're pathetic."

You need rules. You need something to break.

Once that's gone, you might as well kill yourself.

presses digs his fingers in deeper. He does not get nearly as much pleasure from the sound of Squalo choking as he thinks he ought to.

shuts his eyes.

Go ahead, you sick bastard. After I'm gone, you'll have nothing left but to put the gun to your head and shoot yourself.

Then this shit-ass world will be less two more crazy bastards.

would have snapped necks for that comment, but something about Squalo's words hit a place that he's been ignoring his whole life.

takes advantage of Xanxus' moment of distraction, and shoves the man off of him.

, in the next moment, holding his sword out, pointing it at the other man's neck.

I can give you some rules to live by. You'll have to listen to me, though, and take orders from me.

I don't take orders from anyone.

Cut the crap. You know you don't have a choice anymore.

You either fight for us and for yourself, or keep up this act and risk dying in a gutter.

...Not a very glorious way to go, for someone as supposedly strong as you are.

....

withdraws his sword. He turns his back on Xanxus, knowing that the other man's not going to strike.

I'll wait for you back in your hotel room. That way, we can kill each other in a nicer place than this, if you plan on being a stubborn git.

leaves without another word.