To Lose

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Gx. I do not own the basis for this fanfiction, the concept is taken with permission from “Yami’s Chan” fanfiction ‘Slut’. I make no money from this.


To Lose
By 11


Chapter 11
Slut

This was new.

Jaden had never woken to someone else in his bed.

Not like this.

Chazz slept slightly curled in on himself. It was early in the morning still, and it was no wonder that Chazz was still sleeping; with what he’d been through… and had been going through, it was a wonder that he could still get out of bed at all.

Jaden felt sick. He had to turn away. He sat up on the egde of the bed and his hands held his head up because it was spinning and his stomach clenched unpleasantly. He’d been blind.

He knew he was dense sometimes but it wasn’t something he could help – and he kind of counted on people to explain things to him. Cyrus had been great for that but he’d gone on that exchange program for the semester and that had left Jaden with a relative inability to tell what was going on around him.

Alexis hadn’t exactly been a fountain of information either, and Chazz… Chazz never said anything. He hardly even looked like anything was wrong, most of the time. It was easy to see now though; without the uniform covering the bruises on his hips, his knees, the bruises on his arms and wrists.

His clothes covered them all, and he always carried himself like nothing was wrong. Jaden hadn’t suspected at all. The pictures had been unnerving. But he knew Chazz would never let himself be subjected to that. So he knew they had to be fake.

But they were real, and he already knew Chazz would never allow anything like that to happen. Not under normal circumstances. That meant something else had to be going on.

Sartorius… had been odd yesterday, to say the least. Yesterday… memories that he’d never be able to erase now.

Jaden grit his teeth and the heels of his hands pressed harder to his forehead as if that would help somehow. It didn’t. He’d been stupid. Chazz had been totally defenseless and Jaden was completely ashamed of himself.

Chazz had been vulnerable yesterday. Chazz was still vulnerable – and Jaden did… ‘that’… without hardly a second thought. This was terrible! Chazz was his best friend, and he loved him, and still he just-!!

He heard Chazz stir. But he didn’t wake. Jaden drew a breath and struggled to release it calmly before lifting his head to face the wall. Even now it was odd to think of Chazz as vulnerable in any way. But then he’d probably always known of some level that the other boy was more fragile than he let on.

But he loved him, and if there was anything in his power to stop this mess he knew he’d have to do it. It had taken long enough to finally figure out what the whispers were, the pictures, and that it wasn’t all just hot-air and slander – it was worse. Worse even than he’d first thought.

Jaden knew exactly what he had to do.

He dressed quickly and this time remembered to take his keys with him so he could lock the door behind him. It may have been fairly early for a weekend morning but there were plenty of duelists littering the yard already, some dueling, standing in groups discussing battle tactics or other topics.

Jaden went straight to one group in particular. He didn’t know the boys in the group but he remembered their faces when they were twisted in sick pleasure. It made his blood burn in unfamiliar rage.

“It’s you, the guy from yesterday,” one of the boy’s noted when Jaden stood at odds with their group, and the five of them moved to circle nearest him. “What do you want?”

“You’re the ones that hurt Chazz.”

The boy laughed, “Really now, did he bother to tell you how that happened in the first place? It wasn’t like he didn’t want it.”

“He didn’t want it.”

“Really?” the boy sneered and the other laughed darkly, incredulous. “You know we used to duel him for it. He always lost, before long we pretty much just skipped formality and-” Jaden cut him off before he could say anything further.

“I’ll challenge each and every one of you to duel and when I win, you all will leave Chazz alone.”

That got their attention. The one’s eyes glanced Jaden over. “’When’ you win? You mean ‘if’ you win. And if we win… well, I’m sure we’ll think of something.” They laughed again.

The six of them wound up in the empty tournament hall and selected one of the arena’s for the match. Jaden knew he would win – it wasn’t even a question of it. They weren’t even a challenge. It seemed impossible that Chazz could ever have lost in the first place; but then pride and lack of pride did funny things to people’s ability.

He dueled all of them, and the others that were the same and came along. There were too many. Jaden refused to think about what that meant for Chazz. It was strange though, after every duel though there was a distinctive snap somewhere in his opponent’s eyes, like they were waking up from a sleep walk. It took less than three hours to defeat them all.

“Now you all will leave Chazz alone.”

“Yeah. Definitely.” The last one’s voice seemed to imply that he was still a little out of it, and it wasn’t a daze from losing the duel. “I don’t even… no, definitely not.”

Most of them became quiet, and looked embarrassed, horrified even. One had vomited after he lost the duel, another had nearly collapsed in what had looked like shock. Something was seriously wrong with these boys. It was like they had been under a spell.

He knew something had to have been very wrong from the start for people to turn against Chazz Princeton in the first place. Chazz had been next in line for the top duelist spot after Zane Truesdale graduated.

“What’s all this so early in the morning?” a cool voice spoke. Jaden turned to see Sartorius; his eyes were unnaturally cold today. He took one look at the dazed boys and then he was glaring at Jaden.

Usually it took Jaden a while to figure these things out. But Sartorius had been the one to bring Jaden to where Chazz was yesterday. Jaden was distracted at the time sure, but Sartorius hadn’t seemed shocked in the least to discover what was happening to Chazz.

Something clicked into place then, and Jaden glared back at Sartorius. “It was you?” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement. Sartorius didn’t even seem to want to hide it at this point either.

“So you know that much.” His voice was low, soft, but it was definitely a snarl. Besides the boys Jaden had been dueling a larger crowd of students had been filtering in to watch the duels and now the growing confrontation.

Jaden met violent violet eyes evenly and made the same challenge to Sartorius as he had made to his pawns. “Duel me, and when I win you will stop this, and you will stop tormenting Chazz.”

Sartorius’s mouth curled up in a cruel smile. “Charles?” he asked amused, “But he came to me, you know. I gave him a taste of attention and he wanted more. I was his first.”

He was trying to unsettle him, but Jaden remained obstinate, he didn’t even flinch. “Very well, I will duel you.” Sartorius consented as he rose to the opposite platform and Jaden mounted the other. “But there will be more at stake here than just Charles’s well being. This will be a shadow game. If you lose, it means your life.”

`

Chazz hadn’t slept well in what felt like a long time. He recognized the wall and ceiling as Jaden’s room, but Jaden wasn’t in the bed. He remembered last night in a rush, and his body flushed and hardened. He curled in on himself half in shame.

He was almost glad Jaden wasn’t there to witness this moment of self-pitying indulgence. But he also wished he was there so that he’d know how the other felt. Maybe he didn’t want to know. It had felt good last night, Jaden made him feel good, but had Jaden felt good?

Did he hate Chazz now? He had to know. He sat up and winced slightly at the pain in his backside, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, and had been on other mornings. Obviously he was missing his own clothes but he knew where Jaden kept his.

He didn’t think the brunette would mind him borrowing his clothes – Jaden wasn’t here and he needed to go find him. It seemed reasonable enough, so after he’d managed to dress in clothes that were not red he left Jaden’s room heading toward the school.

As he searched he couldn’t help a growing feeling of panic. He had no idea what he’d even say when he found Jaden. Why had he left that morning anyway? It obviously hadn’t been to visit the restroom!

So why? What was he thinking? What would happen now? Chazz wasn’t really thinking straight at that moment so he barely stopped himself from barreling into the first student he hadn’t managed to avoid from a distance since leaving Jaden’s room.

“Chazz!”

“Alexis!”

Chazz felt slightly sick. He hadn’t seen Alexis in a long time. Last time he had glimpsed her, she had seemed to have thrown her lot in with the circulating information. He would have looked away except that she looked sheepish and awkward where he was sure he’d see censure and disgust.

“Hi… Chazz, it’s been a while, huh?” she said sounding slightly uncomfortable, but not due to dislike somehow. “I um… I think I should apologize to you.”

What?

“No, I know I should… I- and everyone really, has been really horrible to you.” Alexis corrected herself. “The others have been sort of explaining… it’s kind of awkward but I was on my way to the arena, since the whole story should come out there… if Jaden wins. That’s what everyone’s saying anyway. I was going to sleep in today even, but this is obviously important for everyone, mostly you I guess…”

“What?” Chazz asked confused, he hadn’t heard anything that made sense just yet. Jaden? The arena? ‘The whole story should come out’? Was Jaden going to… no way… he felt suddenly weak, and very sick.

He refused to let himself crumple to the ground so he wound up falling against the wall instead causing Alexis to jump in alarm. “Chazz?!” He felt like vomiting but nothing came out, he hadn’t eaten in hours. He should have been hungry but instead he was just sick.

What was Jaden…? Why would he do something like…?

“Are you okay Chazz?” Alexis asked, it felt odd to hear her, like she was addressing someone else, no one had been remotely concerned with or concerned for him in a long time. “Do you want to go to the hospital wing?”

He shook his head but couldn’t manage more than a few shakes because his head spun and he would not lose his position against the wall. He would never faint or collapse! That would be inexcusable.

“Listen, let’s go to the arena together,” Alexis suggested taking his arm, “Something weird has been going on for a while, and I think you should be there too.”

Chazz tried to protest as Alexis pulled him away from the wall and started walking. Unfortunately he seemed incapable of forming any coherent negation and instead fought to walk and support his own weight so he could move away from Alexis and potentially bolt off somewhere isolated and forget the world existed.

No such luck. At first Chazz hadn’t really registered that the arena meant a duel and not an announcement. He didn’t even know there was a duel for the first few minutes until his head cleared. The arena was packed – apparently those in attendance had been calling everyone they knew once the duel had started. It looked like the entire school was trying to fit itself into the stands.

Chazz ran into a few people he recognized as those who had stopped talking to him, or done other less benign things to him, but there was a common theme in all of them; extreme shock and appall at themselves and hasty retreats and in some cases profuse apologies. They didn’t even seem like the same people. Alexis too, when had she decided to be nice again?

What had happened here? Alexis managed to find them seats nearest the front after someone from before had beat a hasty retreat from Chazz’s vicinity and left the spots open. It was then he realized the full scope of the duel: Jaden was dueling Sartorius.

Sartorius looked crueler than Chazz had ever seen him, and Jaden… well Jaden always determined in some facet or another. In an instant the sick weak feeling had vanished and morphed into something more piercing.

Chazz was frozen watching as the duel progressed. Sartorius currently had the upper hand. It was 2500 points to 1500; two face down cards, one merged monster, against Jaden’s two duel beasts, one face down card.

“You keep talking about ‘The Light’,” Jaden said as he drew his next card and flipped one monster to defense mode, “Want to explain what that’s supposed to mean, or get a new set of puns.”

“You ignorant child,” Sartorius sneered, “The Light will come and those who have stood against it will be disposed by me. This has been too long in the planning to go wrong because of you.”

“Sorry to be the monkey wrench in your plan but whatever it is, won’t work.” Jaden told him pointedly as he summoned a third monster and used a card reveal to expose Sartorius’s two face down cards.

Jaden’s new monster attacked Sartorius’s and managed to destroy it by as little as a 100 point difference. Sartorius’s points dropped to 1000, Sartorius was unconcerned.

“Zane Truesdale would have been more of a ‘monkey wrench’ than you,” Sartorius said his voice dangerously close to a snarl, “But he graduated early, and then the only obstacle was Charles Princeton. Broken easily,” he drew his card and turned his eyes back to Jaden glaring, “or would have been, rather will be. Once I’m through with you.”

Sartorius discarded his two previous face down cards to make use of a second merging to his monsters attack power. “I only overlooked you, Jaden, but you’ll be dealt with soon enough, as soon as this game ends.”

Sartorius’s now further powered monster attacked, and it managed to destroy all three field monsters. Jaden’s life points dropped to 500; but Jaden’s face down card, a trap, was activated. Sartorius lost his powered monster and all trap cards from his hand.

The arena stands were alive with conversation as people alternatively strained to hear the duelists conversation and also discussed new information among themselves. He could hear snippets of conversation. Sartorius had been controlling people?!

Sartorius had planned a hostile takeover of the school?! He used Chazz, and eliminated him as a possible threat?!

Chazz felt empty and confused and oddly detached from entire spectacle, despite the fact it involved him the most. Because Jaden’s life points were already as low as 500 points. One more direct attack and Jaden would lose. Chazz couldn’t stand it.

Even if everything was a trick, a lie, he knew now. But if Jaden lost, if he died, or Sartorius controlled Jaden and made him… even if Chazz knew it was a spell, there was no way he could stand up to that…

“You’re the worst kind, you know that?” Jaden asked angrily drawing his card, oddly enough he didn’t seem disturbed by their difference in life points: 1000 to 500 now. “You used Chazz, and the entire student body, those you couldn’t use you put under mind control, or used those you controlled to destroy them – pitting friends against each other. You’re despicable.”

“And I will be victorious.” Sartorius jeered at him. But Jaden just grinned.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Jaden placed on card face down and ended his turn. Sartorius sneered; and drew his card.

“You have just agreed to lay down and die with that move.” Sartorius summoned a monster, its attack was only 1000 but it would be enough to eliminate Jaden in a single attack. He didn’t bother placing any other cards down.

Sartorius’s monster attacked. The arena stands were totally silent in that moment. Jaden’s facedown card activated. Ultimate Reflection. Sartorius’s monster’s attack was redirected toward him. 1000 points were deducted from Sartorius’s life points. The counter hit zero.

Screams of jubilation and exhileration erupted around the arena. The final point count was 500 to 0, Jaden had won. Chazz hadn’t realized he hadn’t been breathing.

Sartorius’s eyes blanked out – those in the crowd that had still borne any semblance of Sartorius’s spell snapped – waking from a daze. Whatever power Sartorius had was now dissolved.

The duel lifts returned the duelists to the ground. Sartorius crumpled off the egde of his, his mind and body both strangely bereft. Jaden approached him, and his words could only be heard by those who were within the central circle.

“You neglected to mention there was another who was controlled, by The Light itself.” Jaden noted extending his hand to a smaller weaker looking Sartorius who raised his head with a confused look glancing around the arena as if he had no idea where he was.

He took Jaden’s hand and pulled himself to his feet, he was slighter than before, something about his eyes and features less harsh. “Thank you for…”

“Not a problem.” Jaden grinned. “Just glad it’s over.”

“Yes,” Sartorius nodded and looked around again, “Oh dear…” he knew he needed to find a phone in all this commotion, he needed to call his sister, and probably Edward too – if he’d had no idea where he was they must have been worried sick about the same thing.

“What was that?” Alexis asked moving forward, quicker than Chazz could, toward Jaden as she looked after Sartorius, “He looked…?”

“Shadow game, remember?” Jaden grinned and looked back too, “I think it’s the equivalent of a mind break. He’s a little out of it now, but Sartorius will recover.” At Alexis’s dubious look he added, “The reall Sartorius.”

Duel Academy had never know the real Sartorius, the one they knew was the one controlled by ‘The Light’. Now their avatar was gone. They had no way through, and Duel Academy had more than adequate defenses.

Chazz stood now, and he meant to move toward Jaden too but his leg’s didn’t seem to want to obey him. There was a crowd forming around Jaden, and in moments there was one around him too.

“Welcome back Chazz.”

His old friends…

“Man, I am so sorry we got sucked into all that!”

It had been so long.

“Are you okay? Is there anything we can do?”

Too long, but this was very familiar. More so than anything else, yet.

“Of course there’s no way we-!”

“Don’t be imbeciles.” Chazz barked waving the worriers away with an irritated gesture. “Of course if you were under a blasted spell it wasn’t ‘you’ was it? So get over it and I’m sure we’ll all be quite happy to forget this sordid mess!”

“Boss!”

It was pathetic how easily the old hierarchy slid into place. His pride suddenly as unbroken, or shattered, as it had been months ago was a mantle wrapped solidly around him again. In some ways it was odd.

He knew how to act around almost everyone. They no longer assumed liberty or whispers behind his back – he had his followers, supporters back behind him again. He barely glimpsed Jaden again through the crowds. But Jaden was grinning and when he caught Chazz’s eyes he spoke.

Chazz couldn’t hear him but he knew what he’d said instantly. “It’ll all be okay now.” And if Jaden said it, it would be true. The only thing about things returning to the way they were was that, Jaden and he hadn’t been…

He wanted to keep Jaden, and Jaden didn’t seem to hate him, at all. So he still had Jaden, right?

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