He'd felt like his heart had stopped for a second when the gunarrow had been pointed at him (how many times had he been shot? about a dozen, none of them lethal; he'd taken a while to snuff it), and he was still frozen in place as the other rambled on, his fists clenched tight enough to hurt. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. ...fuck.

"...Mello." The third time he was repeating that name, but it was more quietly this time, probably low enough for Xigbar to have missed. "Don't listen to what this bastard's saying."

Ha! Easy words to say. He felt sick to the stomach, wanted to just close his eyes and take a rest right there, but forced himself to finish what he'd started saying. "If he shoots, shoot back." A long pause as he silently added, 'Keep yourself safe. Please.'

(C'mon, let's get this shit started already.)