How past grief, makes present music
Anybody who saw him walking by would just ignore him as he went by, trying to avoid the stares of those who remembered, and those who didn't want to forget. It had been two weeks since the Society of Light incident, and nobody seemed to recall who won the GX tournament, who had saved everyone from the Society, all they remembered was the person who put most of the school into it in the first place. The person who had called himself Sartorious' right hand man, and the person who had almost single handedly caused the school to plunge into chaos, had it not been for Jaden.
So Chazz just kept walking, he had nowhere else to be, and he certainly didn't want to be around for anyone to see what was about to happen, tears forming in his eyes as he picked up the pace. He hated himself for what he did to everyone, for being so….damn blind to just follow someone, even if he was under mind control, that was no excuse.
"….I just can't believe I hurt everyone so much…" he whispered to himself as he kept walking, soon turning into a run as he made his way to the one place no one ever went to, because no one else saw it the way he did. The Reject Well.
As he stared into the well, looking down into the dark cave that once housed the three most annoying monster he'd ever met, he was filled with a mixture of emotions, pain, guilt, comfort. The turmoil causing fresh tears to start forming as he crawled down the ladder to the bottom.
"I really need to tidy this place up" Chazz murmured to himself mostly, but also the gathering duel spirits who always grew excited when he showed up, eager to listen to his sorrows, but also eager to listen to his coping, his great talent.
"Um… Boss, you don't even keep your dorm room clean, how could you clean up a cave?" Ojama Yellow asked as he plopped down on Chazz's shoulder, an innocent question, but it was met with a response he was not expecting.
"I don't know, my room at the Slifer dorm doesn't have so many….friends, as this cave…" the tears finally falling to the ground, just a droplet, but it echoed loudly throughout the cave. Soft sobs began to emerge as he slowly started picking up the cards, sorting them, careful to avoid getting them covered in the tears falling as he sorted through them all. Hundreds, thousands of cards were on the ground, but he sorted through them all, finding some additions to his deck during the process. A few Ojama cards, but he found a fusion of his Armed Dragon, and the VWXYZ Dragon Catapult Cannon, which he carefully placed in his deck as he continued his mission.
Hours after he arrived there, he finished sorting them all, placing them in boxed he had moved down there ages ago for cards he thought he could use, he sat down, leaning against a wall, thumbing the pocket on his jacket, a single card fell out, Ojama Yellow.
"Hey, boss, what's wrong? You seem…..really out of it today" Chazz struggled to keep his emotions in check as a new wave of grief rolled over him. "No! No, I'm not okay, it's my fault, it's all my fault. Those Sacred Beast cards getting released, and almost destroying duel monsters, The Society of Light, it's all…..my….fucking fault!" he yelled as he picked up a rock and threw it down the cave, hearing it clack against the ground as it bounced further and further away.
"I hurt everyone, I endangered everybody….Twice! How… how can I even still be here?".
"Because you righted your wrongs Chazz, you defeated the Society, reclaiming everyone from Sartorious' control, and you stood by, ready to jump in if Jaden needed help against Kagemaru" .
Chazz audibly snorted as the twin coated behemoth stood in front of him, half white, an angelic presence, and half black, a demonic look, was by his side, gazing into Chazz's soul, as Chazz equally glared back.
"I also recall being the reason everybody needed saving in the first place, because…. I was petty, and jealous…. And just looking to hurt as many people as I could" "True, you did cause that, but you also fixed your mistake, and worked your hardest to ensure everyone was back to normal, and safe after you returned to yourself" Chazz opened his mouth the reply the dual coated dragon in front of him, but decided against it, knowing he'd be proven wrong by the gentle spirit looming nearby, he sighed, and began to stand, and reached for a chest he'd smuggled down there the first time he'd needed a refuge from everyone's feelings.
Chazz popped it open to reveal a beautiful golden saxophone, gleaming in the dim light of the cave. He gave a small smile as he picked up the instrument, and softly, began to play. The Ojamas appeared, hearing the sounds of the saxophone growing louder, more and more spirits appeared as the music grew. Sorrow evident in the song he played as he poured his soul into the tune. Light and Darkness Dragon aiding him as he hummed along, adding more to the song than if he was just by himself, a symphony slowly forming in the well as he pumped more and more into the song, tears starting to stain his face as he let everything loose in the song.
Hours passed, shaking himself from his sadness, his mood improved as he played, eventually going to his favorite, jazz. Getting the spirits in a better mood as he started dancing along to his playing, the Ojamas overjoyed to see him happy again as he started smiling, the spirits eventually began pestering him for songs they'd heard over the years, and Chazz didn't disappoint. Showing them all a good time as he played his heart out for them.
"Alright, alright, the Chazz will play just one more song for you guys, so you better make a good choice!" he shouted across the room as he smiled as all the duel spirits began thinking, talking amongst themselves to find a song they wanted to end the night with.
Suddenly, across the crowd, a unanimous call is echoed: "DANCE WITH YOU TONIGHT!" Chazz's eyes widened at the mention of one of his favorite songs to perform, but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, if that's what you want, that's what you'll get"
He raised his hand in the air, a huge grin on his face, "Let's Chazz it up!" He began blowing into the sax, an upbeat tune starting to belt out as he let himself go into the music.
It was well after dark when Chazz was finally out of breath, albeit in a better mood.
"Okay, I need someone to check outside for me, I don't want anyone knowing about this, I…I can't have people knowing that the Chazz, isn't as strong as he puts out" "No problemo boss! We're on it!" "Good, now get to it you three runts!"
After having the Ojama brothers report back that everything was clear, he began the long climb out of the well, and the even longer walk back to the Slifer dorm.
"I have got to put a bed, or a couch down there or something, just to sit down on, my feet are killing me" he tiredly mumbled as he approached the dorm. Opening the door to the cafeteria, he wearily stumbled to the kitchen to get a late dinner, as everyone else was asleep.
Almost everyone.
"Chazz? Hey, you left in a bit of a hurry after class today, you alright man?" A very tired looking Jaden was standing at the cafeteria door, looking at his rival, curious about the condition of his friend, he walked over to where he was standing, a bowl full of leftover rice being put into the microwave, and a bottle of soy sauce being pulled from the fridge.
"Oh, uh….yeah, I guess I'm fine now, just, needed time to think that's all" He hastily began pouring soy sauce onto the rice, spilling some in the process. Chazz audibly growled and cleaned it before Jaden could wipe it up with the napkin in his hand.
"So, Chazz, there's been some rumors going around, something about a ghost haunting the old forest" he began a little slowly, careful not to aggravate his rival into an emotional state. "people are saying it's some kind of dual spirit, or something like it" Chazz rolled his eyes, "it's probably just some dumb first year missing his mother, and still being afraid of the boogey man, or, whatever else the hell is out there" Chazz began to snicker at the thought of a young child being spooked by a man in a bed sheet.
"Well, apparently it's haunting the island, some of the students, and even the teachers are complaining that there's an eerie sound coming from the forest, some kind of….music, I think they said it was, in a clearing next to the old well".
Chazz dropped the bowl of rice he was holding, his face going pale as he began shaking in his seat.
Someone knew, someone had heard him in the forest.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, someone heard me! What am I gonna do? People can't know about this! I can't believe this! Did someone follow me? No, I would have noticed, right?' he felt a hand on his shoulder as he looked up to see Jaden trying to shake him out of his thoughts.
"Chazz, you okay?! You went white as a sheet, and just start mumbling about that damn well". "It..It's nothing! It's absolutely nothing! Just, go back to bed you…you…Slacker!" Shouting that last part, he stormed off to his room, and locked it.
'Oh, this is just fucking terrible, I gotta do something about this, and fast" he grumbled, rubbing his temples as Ojama Yellow poked his head through the wall. "Uh, hey boss? We got a problem".