[Character Profile]
Character Name: Xanxus
Character Series: Katekyo Hitman REBORN!
Age: 34
Background: Born into squalor and poverty in an Italian slum, Xanxus' early years were shaded by what he had to do to survive and the burden of having to rely on a mentally-unsound mother. Charity is a myth to make the rich feel good about themselves; certainly it was never something Xanxus was ever able to afford. He grew up hard-eyed and cold-hearted, an angry little boy that loathed the circumstances the world had thrown him into and his own powerlessness to change this state.
It may well have been exactly this anger that broke Xanxus free from his cage, although it would be many years before he realized rather bitterly that he'd only entered a much shinier one. When he was five or six years old his increasing impotent wrath at basically everything ever manifested itself into a bizarre phenomenon known as the 'Dying Will Flame', something that was known to be associated with the mafia, although the form that his Flame took was rather unusual. When his mother discovered her son's ability, she confronted the current leader of the Vongola Famiglia with the claim that Xanxus was his son. The sullen youngster looked at the kindly-faced old geezer before him and wondered if this was really his father, but before he knew it everything was moving at a million miles an hour. He was pronounced as the son of Vongola IX, the ninth leader of one of the most prestigious mafioso famiglias in the world.
Now that was more like it.
Xanxus didn't so much adapt to his sudden incredible increase in status - he was nothing short of a prince now, after all - than he forced everything else in the world to adapt to him. It was only right, after all; he was the man who would next rule the Vongola, and therefore the world (or at least all the important bits of it, anyway). Why shouldn't he be feared and respected? Why shouldn't he have things his own way? There was certainly no reason for him to have to act like the common trash that served him. They were all so wretched, disgusting, boring. Xanxus was as intelligent as he was violent, and that was a terrible combination when he was left to his own devices. He'd pick fights with the other family members, becoming increasingly angered as they fell so easily before him. By the time he was in his mid-teens, Xanxus was already a name that instilled dread in enemies and allies alike. Nobody dared to piss him off or cross him, and he grew increasingly arrogant with power.
When he found out that he wasn't actually the legitimate blood heir of the Ninth Vongola Boss, and that he could therefore never achieve his goal of taking over the Famiglia with the current laws of inheritance, it was a massive blow to everything he'd built himself up to be. He'd been betrayed by a senile old fart with a kindly face that had never really given a flying fuck about Xanxus, and the whole of the fucking Vongola had been secretly laughing at him behind his back. His rage ignited, smouldering away ever closer to the surface as it sought to burn away all the hurt and shame he'd ever suffered over the past fifteen years. It was at about this time that Squalo Superbi had the fortune - or misfortune, depending on who's telling the story - to find his path crossing with Xanxus'. The younger boy quite rightfully recognized that Xanxus was destined to be his lord and master, despite the fact that he'd apparently just offed Tyr the Sword Emperor, leader of the Vongola Special Assassination Squad (and how fucking ridiculous was that, that one of the strongest men they had was taken down by a barely-pubescent brat with stupid hair and weird grin?). Xanxus was far enough into his plot for revenge by now that the novelty of a reasonably competent underling - especially one that would have commanded the Varia had he not defaulted the leadership to Xanxus himself - was rather welcome.
Their rebellion came roughly six months after their first meeting and would go down as one of the largest coup d'etat in mafia history. However, it all ended in a pile of shit when Vongola IX fucking froze Xanxus with a sneaking Zero Point Breakthrough that he shouldn't have even been able to wield, according to Vongola history and legend. To Xanxus it was just further proof of how deceitful the old fuck truly was, especially since he was so ready to end the life of his 'son'. His last bitter thought before the ice froze even his mind was that he refused to be a lie, even if he'd been tricked into living one for so long.
When his loyal underlings freed him eight years later, Xanxus was ready to pick up exactly where he'd left off, but even if the Cradle Affair had been hushed-up the higher-ranking family members still knew what had happened and were suspicious of his every move. His next attempt to overthrow the stupid Vongola system that denied him everything he'd longed for all these years would have to be even more cunning, and cunning Xanxus had in ample supply. Squalo helped a little, too, though he was damned if he'd ever admit that. The plan they hatched up was glorious and devious and couldn't possibly fail. Having this impostor brat kill the damned old fart would reassert Xanxus' position as only suitable heir and he'd be inducted immediately. Times were always turbulent in the mafia; the family couldn't do without a leader for very long. Finally, everything he deserved and yearned for would be his, and he'd be unstoppable.
Nobody could have predicted that Iemitsu's scum-sucking spawn and his kiddy cronies would actually beat his strongest Varia, not to mention Xanxus himself. The humiliation of defeat burned through his freeze-scarring once more, and Xanxus was powerless to stop it. No matter how high he climbed or how hard he fought, those Vongola assholes always came out with a stupid technique - the same stupid technique, just to make it that much more insulting - to tear him back down. Once again his dreams crumbled before his very eyes. Would the shame never end? He was taken away, locked up, while that spineless shithead Sawada was officially confirmed as the future Vongola X. Never mind that Xanxus was by far the better candidate, nooo. Iemitsu and the old fart had gotten their way and cast him aside like so much trash.
Seriously, why the fuck did he even bother any more?
Squalo, piece of trash that he was, was the one who really ran the Varia for the next little while; Xanxus kept to himself and brooded once he was let free for the third time, trying to figure out the fatal flaw in his careful plots and in himself that always caused these fuck-ups. Losing to a middle-school brat had severely cut into his Badass Credibility, too, and he ended up having to restore his good (bad?) name the old-fashioned way: by killing sprees against anybody who threatened the Vongola. The goddamned brat and his playtime pals all fucked off to the future after the Ring Battles, too, which was so bizarre Xanxus didn't even bother trying to rationalise it or worry. He took the time to solidify the Varia's leadership and beef up the quality of its members, including himself. If the future was going to be that bad, the Varia wouldn't be the ones letting the Vongola down. Xanxus made damn sure of that. By the time Tsuna and the rest came back and ascended to their positions as Vongola and his Guardians, the Varia was almost autonomous of its mother famiglia. Relations between them were always strained; Xanxus had never been one to let a grudge go. Still, if he'd learned nothing else from his past attempts, it was that he needed to plan even more deeply than before if he wanted to snatch the title of Vongola away.
Then Byakuran happened, and suddenly it was hard enough to just survive without opening up a nice, incestuous little war. Much though it rankled, Xanxus and the Varia were forced to interact much more closely with the Vongola - to actively cooperate, no less, as opposed to just killing people - and he even came to have a grudging respect for Tsuna. The guy was still a trashy piece of wuss-piss, but he was good at keeping his people alive. Xanxus had no problems sacrificing his pawns, but there wasn't much point in being the famiglia head if you were the only one left alive. It still pissed him off that Tsuna treated leadership like a burden rather than a right, but he was better than that poncy jackass of a mafioso florist. Xanxus was damned if he was going to let Byakuran kill Tsuna in his place and take his famiglia away from him. Nearly ten years after his crushing defeat at Tsuna's hands, he still hadn't achieved his goal (which meant that the stupid damn shark-molester's hair was as ridiculous as the rest of him) and yet Xanxus couldn't quite say that he'd been wasting his time and actually mean it. He'd forged his Varia into a force even more feared than it had been previously, and he was damned proud of that. It hadn't been easy, because his Guardians and subordinates were utter trash, but he supposed that they'd exceeded expectations considering how limited they were in comparison to himself.
Personality: Xanxus is overwhelmingly proud, cruel, short-tempered and self-righteous. If you ever manage to see him without that supercilious sneer upon his lips, it's because somebody just died (probably at his hand) and he's laughing about it. Really, death and violence seem to be the only things that amuse him at all; the rest of the time he's brooding and moody, prone to random outbursts of anger when he gets frustrated at inaction (ie: when he hasn't killed a bitch in a couple of days). Poor beleaguered Squalo cops the worst of this temper, usually in the form of a whiskey glass to the face or a kick to the ribs, but somehow nothing he throws at his second in command manages to turn the idiot away, so Xanxus seems to be stuck with him. It's not altogether bad, since it gives him a nicely broken-in punching bag at his beck and call, and that makes him happy. Well. As happy as Xanxus ever gets, anyway.
Despite his bad nature and psychopathic tendencies, Xanxus is somehow able to instil tremendous loyalty in his subordinates. He is dynamic, strong-willed and bizarrely charismatic; even when he's laughing at some flunky's brutal loss and stating cheerfully that they'll probably die, said flunky will do everything in their power to hang onto life and remain at his heels for a little longer. Xanxus doesn't really think about this much; as far as he's concerned, it's only natural that people would flock to his banner. After all, he is Xanxus, and therefore superior to everybody on the earth - who doesn't want a chance to bask in that glory? He can't really blame the poor chumps. Thankfully they make excellent cannon-fodder and seem pretty pleased to throw their lives away for the greater good of him.
However, Xanxus will give credit where credit is due; he has a great respect for well-executed strength and technique, and if you live up to his standards you may even receive actual praise. His Lightning Guardian has dedicated his life to having Xanxus praise him once again, no matter how unreasonable the Varia Commander's demands may be. All the rest of his handpicked Guardians are much the same way, for various reasons. Xanxus professes that he doesn't care about whether trash like them die for him or live, as long as they're useful, but at the same time he can be almost benevolent. He'll never throw away a weapon that might be potentially useful to his plans for world domination and dictatorship, and his extreme attitudes tend to push anyone loyal to him to their utmost. In a strange way, Xanxus' callousness serves to bring out the ultimate strength of anybody under his command.
When you get right down to the core of Xanxus' personality, though, all of this is just a front - or, really, not so much a front as it is just a facet. He's not wholly inhuman, after all, despite the many rumours to that effect. No monster in human skin is ever born straight from the ether; they all have their beginnings and reasonings. There is always that trigger. In Xanxus' case, the extremity of his pride fed into his wrath and left him a burning, festering tinderbox of poisonous emotion waiting for its fatal spark. When he discovered that the basis of this pride had been a cruel hoax, it was all he needed to push him over the edge. Whether he realises it or not, what Xanxus strives for most is acceptance and recognition, and his goal of taking over the Vongola is really just a big push to make everybody pay attention to him and make him feel important. Don't feel all too sorry for him, though. He really is a complete jerk, just a thwarted one.
Item Lost: His favourite whiskey glass His Box Weapon, Bester the Liger.
honestly what kind of crap name is 'Bester'. Really, Xanxus? Really??