11 reflection

Badou stared at himself in the mirror for a moment before drifting out of the bathroom to get dressed.

Too many scars, too many memories.

12 addicted

Badou was more than addicted to his cigarettes and that was one of the most obvious facts of life. The few times he tried to quit, each time it was painfully obvious that it wasn't going to work.

He'd probably always smell and taste like an ashtray, but Haine was okay with that.

13 haunted

Sometimes Haine looked like a ghost when the light of battle, that crazed look, just didn't leave his eyes. He moved with such precision and efficient deadliness that when he started attempting to calm down, he just looked like a pale ghost, that lethal energy still rolling off of him.

14 mask

He didn't know why, but sometimes he liked to pretend he was someone else. As though Badou Nails wasn't his name and he was king of the fuckin' world. But other times, being Badou Nails was just enough for him, and he didn't need that mask.

15 stalk

Silence. You never heard either of them. You could try to move through the shadows all you wanted, but if you saw a sickle smile widen then-

Bang!

16 web

They were caught in a web. The deadly web of the underworld. If you moved, the strands would cut you, but if you stood still, something else would crawl out of the dark.

So what did they do?

They struggled.

No matter how deeply they were cut, they would fight, daring things to crawl out to find them.

17 Storm

Haine had a surprising disliking of storms. Badou didn't know why, but he never asked. There were a lot of unasked questions between them, and this was just one. Haine spent storms staring out windows watching traffic, usually with a beer or just staring. Badou usually spent storms sitting next to him to keep him company. He knew Haine wasn't scared (he was definitely not a pussy like that), but there was that particular scowl that crossed his face when he didn't like something. But Badou knew better than to ask.

18 i. can't.

Haine ran through the wall of men, red eyes wild.

"Haine- Haine! You goddamned bastard you're fucking gonna-"

"Shut up!" he snapped at Badou as his bullets ripped through two men he passed.

"Haine, there's fuckin way too-"

"I said shut up!" Haine snarled, and Badou started fuming.

"Look man, we're gonna have to come back-"

"No! I'm fucking getting in there tonight, and if you want to save your own ass, then go back to Bon Viaggo. But I. Can't. "

"Fine, go the fuck ahead, Mr. Unkillable, Mr. Waste-of-Space is getting out of-"

Haine hadn't even paused, just going through, leaving nothing short of a massacre behind him. Badou followed, his hands shaking with rage. Haine knew he wasn't going to leave. He looked up again just in time to see a bullet rip through the albino's throat and his good eye widened as Haine fell to his knees, choking, a hand flying to his neck. But then he heard a huge gasp of breath come from him, and five men fell dead around them. The dog got up and kept moving.

Badou shook his head and followed, taking a deep breath. Fuck, he wanted a cigarette. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck he wanted a cigarette.

"Monsters!" someone screamed.

"No, you're just unlucky," Haine snickered and shot the man with that crazed, wild (not human) look in his eyes that foretold the true Dog in him getting loose.

"Fine then, bastard," Badou muttered, "Let's get those kids out."

19 mislead

"You did what?" Badou asked, clearly shocked.

"Yeah, I did," Haine smirked dangerously and held up a spiked leather collar. "Now, c'mere, kitty-kitty."

20 memory

There were times when Haine was kept awake by the echoes of that woman's screams.

Like she was still behind him.

Whispering with her arms around him, her voice clawing into his eardrums.

"Kill it. Break its arms, tear up its legs, rip apart its guts. You are able to do that now. And if you do that, I'll love you from the bottom of my heart."

Badou knew. He could always tell in the morning by that distant look in his eyes, abstract conversations, like Haine wasn't really there. He was lost in his memories, and all Badou could do was watch, wishing he could make them go away to wipe away the pain from those crimson eyes.

A/N: Gaaah these are so much fun to write. Refreshing too. ;D I love these guys so damn much. I need to get working on typing these up- I have 50-something done. XD So, this should update pretty quickly. So, thank you soooo much again for reading! I LOVE YOU!