A/N: Updating it twice in one weekend…I know that's rare for me but oh well. This chapter is dedicated to GintaxAlvissForever…I hope this helps your crappy weekend. :P

Disclaimer: I do not own GX.


Chapter 9:

Chazz sat by the hospital window, trying to get his mind off the burning anger rising inside of him. It was bad enough that his brothers had raped Aster, but now that he had to wait to punish them, it was even worse. How he would love to leave the hospital and give them what they deserved! After, of course, they offered him an explanation for what they had done.

It really didn't make too much sense to him. They didn't need to hurt Aster in order to hurt him. Couldn't they have just hurt him instead? Perhaps they wanted him to feel as though it had been his fault.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, telling himself that he had to wait. It would do him no good to try to escape again. Especially not when they had him under constant surveillance now. It didn't matter why he'd escaped…it just mattered that he had escaped. It was not really an admirable thing to do.

At that moment, there was a small knock on the door. It was as though the person on the other side of the door felt hesitant to come in. Rolling his eyes, he granted them permission to enter.

The door opened then softly shut. "Chazz?" Came a quiet female voice, "Are you all right?"

Chazz turned around to see Alexis standing in the entrance of the room, looking concerned. He nodded, then gestured for her to come over and pull up a chair beside him. She did so wordlessly, as though she were even afraid to do so.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"If you mean physically, then I'm sore but I'm getting better. Otherwise, not so good. You do know what my brothers did to Aster, don't you?"
She shook her head. "I've heard nothing about it."

He bristled, every muscle in his body tensing up. What an outrage! He'd already told the doctors and the media alike what had occurred! Why was it not out in the papers? Growling low in his throat, he figured that Slade and Jagger had their lawyers talk their way out of it, saying that it wasn't true. After all, it was his word against his brothers. And his brothers had more control of the family's assets than he did at the time. They could easily pay their way out of a potential mess.

Alexis spoke, snapping Chazz out of his thoughts. "What happened?"

He turned and glared in her direction, though not at her. "My brothers beat the crap out of him, stabbed him, then raped him! Can you imagine?! How bold of them…"

She looked taken aback. "RAPED HIM?!"

He nodded, looking grim. "And I'm guessing it's not in the news?"

"Well," She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, adjusting her skirt, "They are saying that Aster was hurt but they won't tell us what happened or really how he was hurt. They keep saying they don't know whenever questioned."

"My interview wasn't on there?"

She shook her head. "I haven't seen you since you fell ill at Duel Academy. Not even on television…They haven't even so much as mentioned your name."

"Those bastards!" Chazz snapped, "I told them EVERYTHING that happened and they didn't care!"

"Not to mention Aster has been deemed 'unfit to answer questions.' They think he's too ill. And his lawyer is advising him to let him take care of it. So Aster can't even tell what happened to him! It's just crazy," She shook her head in disbelief, "And Sartorius has been desperately trying to report for Aster, but no one is listening to him because his report came from Aster."

"That's just ridiculous," Chazz muttered, gripping the armrests of the chair, "Aster should have the right to tell what happened to him. He's entitled to the right, for Pete's sake. Why are my brothers allowed to speak for themselves but he's not? It just doesn't make any sense. It shouldn't be a financial issue--both my brothers and Aster have loads of cash. So why should they get precedence? Why should they be allowed to fend for themselves? It's just not fair!" He rose suddenly to his feet, anger pulsing through every vein.

Alexis took hold of his wrist and tried to pull him back down to the chair. "Chazz, please, you're still recovering. You need to be still and rest. Otherwise, you'll only make it worse like you did before." Her amber eyes searched his charcoal ones, begging him to listen.

"And why does it matter to you?" He snorted, "Why are you so upset all of the sudden? Usually, you'd be beating me over the head ordering me to rest by now…"

She sighed and stood as well, still gripping his wrist. "Look, I feel bad, Ok? I haven't done anything, per say, but I feel like I shouldn't have treated Aster so badly. I was just trying to look out for you. I never meant for him to be upset or anything. I never wanted him to get hurt. It's just that…I wanted to protect you. You're like a brother to me and…I really don't want to lose that relationship. I don't want you to completely forget about me or to get hurt again. I know I hurt you but…you're like family, you know? I just didn't want you to get involved too quickly with the wrong person and make a mistake. Of course, by doing so, and being so careful, I made some mistakes. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

He stared at her for a moment before answering. "You don't have to feel bad," He said slowly, "It's not your fault and you had nothing to do with this incident. As for the past incidents, of course I forgive you. How could I not? I love you…well…not like that anymore but, you know."

She smiled a little. "I know, and I love you too. As a brother." She hugged him tightly.

He only hugged her back as he assured her, "You'll never lose me and I'll never stop being there for you. Don't ever worry about that again. And don't worry about me. I can take care of myself and I've learned from past mistakes too. Ok?"

She nodded, releasing him. "All right." After a moment of silence, she asked, "Are you allowed to see Aster?"

Chazz shook his head. "I'm supposed to stay in here."

"Do you want me to see him and report to you?"

"Well, I don't think that anyone's really allowed to see him except for his lawyer and Sartorius." Chazz told her, "But you could try if you really wanted to."

"Or we could ask Sartorius how he's doing." Alexis suggested.

Chazz shifted from one foot to the other. "Yeah but…it's not the same."

"You just really want to see him yourself, don't you?" Alexis asked quietly.

Chazz nodded. "More than anything. I die a little more inside each hour that passes." He paused for a moment, looking sad. Suddenly, he looked as though he'd been struck by inspiration. A devilish grin spread across his face. "Hey…do you think that by any chance you could maybe…"

"Oh no," She told him, frowning, "We are NOT going to attempt something that risky."

"Oh, come on, please?" Chazz begged, "I really want to see him. Please?" He gave her puppy dog eyes.

She bit her lip, looking exasperated. "Fine. But only because I'm really worried about him."

Chazz grinned and hugged her. "You're the best!"

"I try," She grimaced and pushed him off, "Now, wait in here until I have your guard good and distracted. Ok?"

He nodded, looking eager.

She stepped out into the hallway, making sure to shut the door. As she walked out, she gave the security guard a brief glance, then started to walk away. As irresponsible as it was, his interest was pricked. Alexis had to admit that, while she was good at it, she didn't feel very comfortable with it. Rather, she felt sort of slutty doing such a thing. However, she was willing to do it in order for Chazz to see Aster. After all, he was sure to heal Aster in some sort of way. Besides, she was anxiously awaiting news about the silver haired duelist. So far, the reports she'd been hearing had not been good.

She glanced around the hall, pretending as though she didn't really know where she was or what she was doing. She muttered to herself about her 'poor sick cousin' and 'what would mother think if I came back without any news.'

"Excuse me, miss, can I help you?" The guard asked, tapping her on the shoulder.

She turned around, putting an innocent, helpless expression on her face. "Yes, I'm sort of lost. You see, my cousin is very sick, and maybe even on the brink of death. The problem is, I can't find his room. And my mother will be extremely angry if I don't tell her about him."

"Let me help you," The guard told her, "I can show you his room, that is, if you know the room number."

Alexis quickly invented a number and told him. The guard had to stop to think about it for awhile, since it wasn't on that floor. While he stumbled over an answer, Chazz opened the door part way. Alexis jerked her head a bit to one side, indicating that he could go. Seeing that he had the opportunity, he rushed down the hall, disappearing around the corner.

"…so go down the hall and make a right." The guard finished.

"Thank you so much," Alexis told him, as sincerely as possible, "I don't know what I would've done without you."

"I'm just doing my job," He insisted, looking quite proud indeed.

Alexis only hid her smirk as she turned down the hall in the direction the guard had directed her. Hopefully, he wouldn't notice Chazz's absence until much later.


Chazz snuck down the hall, somehow managing to elude doctors and nurses. It sure took him awhile, seeing how he didn't really know where he was, but he eventually found the room. It was obvious, after all, since Sartorius was standing outside it on the phone. Ignoring the psychic, Chazz slipped through the cracked door and into the darkened room.

Once his eyes adjusted, he began to look around. The room was barely lit by a small light above the hospital bed. There was a white nightstand next to the bed, a chair next to the nightstand, and a dresser and television opposite the bed. A bathroom was the room adjoining the bedroom, he noted, with a closet opposite it. Finally, his eyes once more fell on the metal hospital bed, and the lump under the sheets. He stepped over and sat down in the chair.

"Aster," He whispered very softly.

The lump moved a bit, then the covers slipped down. Aster looked up with tired eyes, his hair disheveled. "Hi, Chazz." He sat up, though he was trembling all over. He seemed sort of irritated at being disturbed.

"You look really sick," Chazz commented, looking concerned. "Are you going to be Ok?"

Aster shook his head. "Probably not. I mean, I was only stabbed and raped! What will this do for my reputation? For my career?" He sent Chazz a sideways glare.

"Don't worry, Aster, no one knows about it--"

"But they should!" He snapped, "Because I don't feel as though I can go on with a career that upholds people like that! I mean, I can hardly even associate with your family much less you…if your parents raised them to be like that then how did they raise you?"

Chazz swallowed hard. "Please don't tell me that you're putting me in the same category as them."
"You come from the same family, how can I not?" Aster snapped, lying back down. "Look, I'm sorry, Chazz, but…I need some time to recover, Ok? The reason that no one's allowed to see me is not because I'm too sick--though I really feel like I am--it's because I told them not to let anyone see me. I don't want to be disturbed because I might end up hurting someone like I just hurt you."

Chazz's heart sank. "You're not sorry, are you?"

"Not really."

There was a long, pained silence. Finally, Chazz stood. "Ok, I understand. I'll see you later, I guess. And if you want nothing more to do with me, then I understand that too." He began to leave, tears welling up in his eyes. His heart ached more with each step; he found it difficult to breathe at all.

"Chazz, wait."

He stopped in the doorway, the tears spilling over. Hugging himself a bit, he bit his lip and waited for Aster to say what he had to say. However, he hoped that it would not be a warning or a command to stay away.

"Don't come back while I'm in the hospital. We can talk this out once I leave."

Chazz nodded, then ran out the door, in too much pain to even know where he was going. His tears blurred his vision as he hurried down the hall, trying to get back to his own room. Aster had said he didn't want to see him again. Forget the last part. That was so he wouldn't go kill himself. Like he would even try. Why would he do a thing like that anyway? Aster just didn't want to hear about him at all. He might as well just drop off the face of the earth. Dying would mean that Aster would have to deal with him. If he just dropped off the earth, then Aster would never have to bother again.

Somehow, he managed to make it back to his room. Ignoring the shouts from the security guard, he burst through the door and threw himself on his bed. Shaking and panting, he clutched his pillow, tears still streaming down his face. Maybe he'd misinterpreted it. Maybe he was overreacting. After all, Aster had been through a pretty traumatic experience.

Thinking more on the subject, he took a deep breath to calm himself and managed to stop crying. Calm slowly washed over him as he told himself it was all a misunderstanding; Aster wasn't mad at him, he was just upset, shaken, and scared. How could Chazz hold him accountable for what he said? He was sick. Deciding that he should just wait and give it some time before being overly dramatic about it, he went weak with relief and lay still, his face in the pillow.

"How'd you get out, Mr. Princeton?" The security guard growled, interrupting him from his thoughts.

Chazz looked up, scowling, his eyes a bit red from crying. "That's none of your business. Just go away; I want to be left alone." He rolled over on his side, now angry. Now he knew how Aster had felt. He hadn't necessarily been mad at him, he'd just been mad in general.

"I can't let you escape like that again," The guard snapped, "Don't make me strap you down to the bed."

"You won't have to," Chazz grumbled, "I'm staying in here from now on."

Looking skeptical, the guard backed out of the room and shut the door, leaving Chazz alone. He rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling, trying to decide what he should do. Certainly he should give Aster his space. But after that…what could he do to rebuild the trust? What should he do? As for his brothers…should he punish them or did Aster want something else to be done? Feeling frustrated, he realized that he'd have to wait to figure out the answers. Patience was not exactly his best virtue, either. There wasn't much he could do about it though. It was not really in his hands anymore.


A/N: Well, there ya go. I hope it wasn't too angsty or OOC..though it probably was…sorry. (cringe) Next chapter should be up soon enough.