Nothing else much happened, until the Disciplinary Committee members started being attacked. Xanxus took no notice, disregarding it. Hibari would deal with it; if he couldn't, that meant he was weak. Trash. And Xanxus didn't need trash.

"Juudaime," Gokudera said. "Do you think they'll come after you, since you're banchou?"

Xanxus snorted in derision. "They can try, the trash. I'll just kill 'em."

"That's good thinking, Xanxus," Reborn said, standing on a wall. Xanxus looked at him with disinterest.

"Is it? The mighty hitman approves?"

Reborn narrowed his eyes at him. "Yes. A mafia boss should be ruthless. But how about you go there and do it yourself?"

Xanxus considered this, fiddling with a feather. "Why should I?"

Reborn smirked. "To assert control." He had orders from the Ninth, but Reborn wanted to see if he could get Xanxus to beat Mukuro without those orders.

"Good point." Xanxus shrugged. "Who am I going with?"

Reborn blinked, not expecting such ready acceptance. "Take your family."

Xanxus nodded. "Tomorrow."

Tomorrow, he said, but it was that afternoon when Gokudera was attacked. He only thought of Xanxus, thinking he had to beat this glasses boy to protect him.

~o0o~

Tsunayoshi laughed when he heard Mukuro was loose. Squalo blinked, puzzled by this. "Shitty boss?"

Tsunayoshi, wiping tears from his eyes, said, "I just know my shitty old man's going to send the upstart to defeat him. Do you think he'll succeed? Reborn, my darling ex-tutor, is bound to force him. I just hope Reborn's lost his touch and Xanxus-chan winds up dead." His voice dripped with mockery.

Squalo hesitated. "Um, about that, boss. There's something you should know."

Tsunayoshi's eyes snapped to his. "What?"

Squalo swallowed. Fuck, he didn't want to tell him. "You know the Flames of Wrath?"

"The rare ones only the Vongola Secondo had?" Tsunayoshi nodded. "Yes. No one alive has them."

Squalo winced. "Yeah, well..."

"Spit it out," Tsunayoshi snapped. "What is it?"

"Xanxus has the Flames of Wrath," Squalo shouted. "And Reborn doesn't know, but there are rumours in Namimori that he had destroyed buildings."

Tsunayoshi stared blankly for a moment. "Even the wonderful me doesn't have that. Are you sure?"

"It's probable," Squalo confirmed.

Tsunayoshi gaped, then resisted the urge to smash him over the head. Through deep breaths and the constant reminder he couldn't lose control, he stood, and walked around the table. His foot caught on the table leg and he tripped, nearly toppling. Squalo pretended he didn't see anything as Tsunayoshi swore, then straightened himself.

"Probable? He's dangerous," Tsunayoshi mused, and he seemed like he was enjoying it. "That interests me."

Squalo looked at him, surprised. "But, Boss-"

Tsunayoshi raised a hand to cut him off. "No," Tsunayoshi said, steel in his voice. "I want to see how this works out." His lips curled into a smile, and then he burst into laughter again. "I can't wait until I crush him with my own hands."

~o0o~

Xanxus watched as Gokudera struggled to keep up. "Speed up," he ordered.

"Maa, maa, Xanxus-san," Yamamoto said somewhat uneasily. "We should slow down, give him some time to ctach his breath?"

"Baseball idiot, I'm fine," Gokudera snapped.

Xanxus glanced at Yamamoto. "Why do you think I should?"

Yamamoto looked nervous. "Well, it's just that, he'd need strength when we get to Kokuyo land, right?" He waited for Xanxus to respond.

Xanxus grunted. "Fine." He slowed, and Gokudera's face lit up. "Juudaime, thank you so much!"

Xanxus clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Shut up, trash."

Gokudera fell silent, but seemed ecstatic when Xanxus kept the slow pace.

"Bianchi," Xanxus said when the gate was locked. "Can you unlock it?"

Bianchi nodded. "Of course." And she threw her poison cooking at it. Xanxus watched the lock sizzle and the metal melt, thankful yet again Bianchi had failed to kill him.

"There was a zoo up ahead," Xanxus mused, eyeing the dirt. "Where did it go? A glass building..."

"You've been here before?" Yamamoto asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"...Juudaime, so this is known territory?"

"No."

~o0o~

Yamamoto fought Ken and won. When he was hauled up to the surface again, Reborn handed him a new bat, saying, "here's the spare."

"Thanks-"

"Why didn't you give it to him while he was down there?" Xanxus interjected, glaring at Reborn. "His arm is hurt because of you."

Reborn blinked back, then smirked. "A good mafia boss should worry about his subordinates."

~o0o~

The defeat of Mukuro made Xanxus impossibly happy, partly because he had new weapons – twin guns with a red 'X' slashed across them – and also because he had managed to go all out against someone. The rush of adrenaline was a pleasure he had forgotten, and the reminder only whetted his appetite.

"Xanxus. Why didn't you tell me about the Flames of Wrath?"

Xanxus looked idly at his tutor. "Is that what they're called?" He shrugged. "I didn't see a need to."

Reborn frowned. "I could've put your life in serious-"

"Like you haven't already," Xanxus sneered. He held out his palm, igniting the Flame in it. "This is my flame, Reborn, and I'll do what I like with it."

He closed his fist, extinguishing it. "Besides, it's not like you're an innocent. There's still plenty I don't know about you."

~o0o~

"Hibari," Xanxus said as he let himself into his office.

The man in question looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Herbivore."

Xanxus smirked. "Was the fight against Mukuro exciting?"

"I suppose."

"You suppose? I thought it was fun. Your body was damaged, though. Aren't you moving around too soon, trash?"

Hibari studied him. "Why are you here? Stop crowding my office."

Xanxus's smirk widened. "We should spar sometime. Tomorrow?"

"...Fine. Now leave me to work."