"I just don't understand why you can't do both."
Squalo takes a deep breath, and reminds himself that this is the mother whom he loves dearly, and that if there is anything in this world that terrifies him, she is at the root of it.
It's just not worth it.
"That Cavallone boy is being trained by a tutor, has his duties as heir, has school, and still manages to make it home for dinner. If you applied yourself better instead of slacking off, you would be able to have it all. I told you it was a bad idea in the first place to join the Varia at such a young age. It's not as if you can test your skills against any of your targets."
Squalo is an only child, something that was likely very carefully and tactfully made so by his father. Sharks do, after all, eat their siblings in the womb, and there wasn't place for another sword prodigy in their little family.
Sometimes, he wonders, that if he had had even one other sibling, preferably a sister to take the brunt, his blood pressure would have been better.
While Squalo's father is a quiet, calculating, behind-the-scenes type of man, Squalo's mother is a bloodthirsty woman with shark teeth bared in a predatory smile, long silver hair that belies her true nature until she turns around and looks you in the eyes, and a shrieking voice that has in the past been high and loud enough to burst eardrums. His medical records prove it.
It is needless to say that Squalo takes a little too much after his mother.
As long as he doesn't do anything crazy, like not cut his hair for a year, it's okay.
"Mother-"
"Ma!" she hisses. "Call me 'Ma'!"
"Ma," he tries to pacify. "I can't help what work wants from me. It's better if I stay in the barracks. They'll kill me if I try to quit anyway."
She scoffs, and skillfully throws clean, dried plates into place inside the pantry, the screeching sound of china scratching against each other, to her ears, akin to the background sounds of children's laughter on a sunny day. "It's only the Varia. Kill them right back. You offed the boss last month easily. I'm sure you can get rid of the rest too."
Squalo wants to say 'no, you scary ass hag, who the hell are you, talking about the Vongola's most elite squad like it's nothing,' but holds back with, "unless you're offering, I don't think I can kill someone back after they've killed me."
She harrumphs. "Well, I did warn you about shady places like that. We could always stage a disowning, and you can go into hiding."
"That sounds a little dramatic, Mother, don't you thi-"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" It is instinct (or perhaps genetics) that drives her to brandish a large chef's knife and swing it around like a sword. "I TRY SO HARD AND ALL YOU DO IS COMPLAIN! WHAT DID I DO WRONG IN RAISING YOU? TELL ME! WHAT DID I DO THAT WAS SO WRONG TO HAVE A CHILD LIKE YOU?"
"WHAT? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME? I HAVEN'T COMPLAINED AT ALL!"
"ALL YOU DO IS COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW HARD YOUR LIFE IS, WHAT ABOUT ME? WHAT ABOUT YOUR FATHER? ALL I ASK FOR IS YOU TO COME HOME FOR DINNER AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THAT!"
"WHAT ABOUT ME? I'VE BEEN WORKING MY ASS OFF FOR YEARS AND YOU NEVER ACKNOWLEDGE IT!"
"HOW DARE YOU BE SO UNGRATEFUL, I AM YOUR MOTHER! I GAVE BIRTH TO YOU! I WASTED TEN HOURS OF LABOUR PAINS ON YOU WHEN I COULD HAVE BEEN TRAINING!"
Squalo's father pipes in, "Dear, I'm ready to go whenever both of you are ready."
"EXCUSE ME, WHO THE…" Squalo's mother falters, and goes red, "Oh… Oh my, sorry, dear." She turns back to her son, confused. "What were we talking about again?"
Squalo sucks in air through gritted teeth, shakes his head, and moves to carry his things to the car.
It just…it isn't worth it.
.
.
.
because behind every violent, angry male is an even worse mother to put him in his place. bakugo (bnha) is supporting evidence.