Chapter 28
Zidane cursed silently as he jogged back down the hallway. He had checked the whole wing, and Kuja was nowhere to be found. He'd have to check in on Blank and then see if anyone else had found him.
It was in this mindset that he opened the door to Blank's room only to find his friend's bed empty.
Zidane gaped for a few moments. Gone? He was gone? In a flash it all made sense. Of course Blank would want them out of the way so that he could go look for Kuja himself. If it were him and Garnet in the same situation, Zidane might well do the same thing himself.
He cursed again, this time out loud. Now, in addition to having to find Kuja, he had to look out for Blank as well. He turned from the doorway and began making his way towards the central staircase in this wing.
But as he approached it, he heard voices and stopped. As he watched, Kuja walked down the hallway towards him, supporting Blank, who had one arm draped over Kuja's shoulders. Kuja was worrying at him like a mother hen.
"-idiot," he was saying. "You should know better than to leave your bed to go wandering around when you're still sick! You could push yourself into a relapse of the fever, or even something worse! You're so irresponsible. You really need someone to take care of you."
Zidane hid a grin behind his hand and started towards them. "Hey guys," he hailed them. "I see you found him, Blank? What was all the fuss about?"
"Oh, ah, false alarm," said Blank, but the look on his face said, 'I'll explain later.' Zidane nodded, then smiled at Kuja.
"Let's get him back to bed, shall we?"
Kuja nodded, a tiny worried frown creasing the middle of his forehead. It was almost cute.
With Zidane's help, they got Blank back to the room and back into the bed, where he snuggled down under the blankets contentedly. He looked pleased with himself. Zidane was practically dying of curiosity by this point.
"Kuja?" he asked. "Would you mind leaving me with Blank? I'd like to talk to him."
"Of course," said Kuja, with a slight bowing of his head. He picked up the bowl of water that they had been using to wet the cool cloth they placed on Blank's forehead. "I'll just go refresh this," he said. He hastily made his way out the door.
"So," said Zidane to Blank when they were alone. "What happened?"
"Kuja was trying to leave," Blank said softly. "He thought that by staying here, he was putting us all in danger. So he wanted to leave for our sake. He was trying to protect everyone."
Zidane inhaled sharply. "But... leave? Really?"
Blank nodded. "He was already on the dragon by the time I got out there. I think I managed to convince him to stay, but... well. Anyway, I think he'll be a little fragile for a while."
Zidane frowned, pondering this. "I'll have to make extra sure that Amarant doesn't do anything to upset him," he said.
"No need," came a voice from the doorway. The two men turned to find Amarant leaning against the wooden doorframe, watching them. Though he had replied to Zidane's comment, he was staring at Blank.
"He really intended to leave in order to keep all of us safe?" he asked.
Blank nodded. "That's the long and short of it," he said.
Amarant shook his head, grinning. He looked over at Zidane. "He takes after you a bit too much, I see." Though he couldn't see it, Zidane got the distinct sense that Amarant was rolling his eyes. "Well, don't worry about me. I won't bother him. Or you," he said, addressing Blank.
"Thanks," said Blank skeptically. "But why the change of heart?"
Amarant shrugged. "A man who would sacrifice his happiness for his friends' safety can't be all bad." And here he looked piercingly at Blank. "And if you're worth him giving up that happiness for, then you can't be all bad either."
Now Blank grinned. "Thanks for the sentiment," he said.
"Yeah, well," said Amarant dismissively. "Don't let it go to your head. It's not like I like either of you or anything. I'm just agreeing to stay out of your way."
"Deal," said Blank.
Amarant turned and walked out, just as Kuja returned with the fresh bowl of water. "Are you two done here?" he asked.
Zidane looked over at Blank. "Yeah, I think so," he said. He winked at Blank. "I'll leave you two alone and go reassure everyone that Kuja's not dead or anything. See ya!"
He walked out of the bedroom, chuckling to himself. As he closed the door softly behind him, he saw Garnet running towards him with a worried expression.
"Did you find him?" she asked breathlessly.
"Blank did," he assured her. "Everything's alright, don't worry." He smiled to himself. "I think they're going to be okay."