As per usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow 79:
Cha'n eil cleith air an olc, ach gun a dheanamh.
The only way to conceal bad deeds is to avoid them.

8-

Genis woke up late with a fever.

By the time he came to, Nika and Bianca had already left for work and school, and there was no sign of Raine or Professor Low. A note was left on the table next to a covered bowl of soup and someone had left a wet cloth over Genis' forehead. His shoulders ached and his throat hurt, but he pulled himself out of the chair and trudged over to read the note that had been left for him.

Hey, Genis- you had a fever, so I let you sleep. All that running around in the rain yesterday must've caught up with you. I warmed up some of last night's soup for you and left it on the table, and when I get to the university, I'll let your professors know that you won't be in class. I'm working late tonight again, so I might not see you before you go to bed. Don't worry about me and just get some rest. Raine

Genis frowned and examined the soup. He grabbed the spoon that had been left beside the bowl, taking a sip of the soup to test it. Lukewarm. Yuck.

Still, he didn't want to have to make food himself when he felt so bad, so he resigned himself to eating the soup as he reread Raine's note over and over. It was thoughtful, at least, that she'd made him something and taken the message to his professors. But there was a sort of apathy to the letter that bothered him. He hadn't been sick like this in years. The last time he'd had a fever, Raine had taken care of him, sitting by his bedside, cooking for him, keeping him company. It was the kind of thing a parent would do for a child- or in this case, an older sibling for a younger sibling. Two months ago, Bianca got sick and Nika stopped working for several days to take care of her. Genis knew that Raine's work was important, but if Nika, who was living paycheck-to-paycheck to take care of their little family, could stop working to be a big sister, why couldn't Raine?

I know I'm not a child anymore and I can take care of myself, but still.

Sometimes it just felt good to be cared for… and empty to not be.

After finishing the soup, Genis set the dishes aside and moved to his bed. Initially cold, he stole blankets from Raine's bed to cover himself, but woke up a few hours later covered in sweat and ditched the blankets as well as his pajamas. An hour after that he woke up shivering, with no idea how he'd ended up shoving the blankets aside and sleeping in his underwear. The morning continued like that, jumping between frightful extremes, until the mid-afternoon when he finally fell into a weary, deep sleep.

It was too good to last long.

At some point in the early evening, Genis was awoken by a knock on the door. He groaned and stood up, tossing his blanket over his shoulders and approaching the door. He was sure that he looked awful, wearing nothing but his boxers and a dirty tee-shirt, his hair unruly and his face flushed, but with Raine working late he couldn't imagine that it would be anyone important behind the door. He sniffled, cleared his throat, and opened it just a crack.

Genis' heart almost stopped.

"Nika!"

He was sure that, if his face could've gotten any redder, it would have.

"Genis?" Nika's face fell in surprise as she looked him over. "A-are you okay?"

"N-no, I'm- er, I mean, yes, I just, uh-" Genis found himself stammering, feeling the burning in his face so much more strongly.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, I'm sick and in my underwear and she's standing right there and she's staring at me, oh gods, oh gods-

"Genis... are you sick?"

"I- uh, no. I mean, I just have a little cold. It's not a big deal. Come in- or don't, actually. I have a cold. A little cold! I'm fine, really-"

"I'm so sorry! I left this morning without even realizing it. Do you need anything? Have you eaten?" Nika reached out to place her hand on his forehead. "You do have a fever. Did you stay home from class today?"

"I, uh, did…" It took Genis a moment to find his voice through the haze of embarrassment from her hand on her forehead. "I didn't want to spread it to anyone else- you know these things are most contagious around the onset of symptoms-"

Nika waved a hand to cut him off. "No, that's fine. You should be resting if you're sick. I was just asking because…" Her voice trailed off as she looked away. "...Bianca said she was going to meet you at the university after her club finished. She told me I could pick her up here once I got off work so that I didn't have to worry about using my break to go get her."

The atmosphere in the apartment suddenly turned cold.

"So Bianca's-?" Genis choked. He glanced around, suddenly filled with more energy than he'd had all day. "She must be looking for me at the university. We need to go find her! Give me just a second to get dressed, and I'll meet you downstairs."

He tried to close the door, but Nika stepped in halfway. "No! Not if you're sick. You should stay here. I'll go look for her."

"I've been sleeping all day, so it'll be fine. We'll find her faster if we search together, I'm sure. Besides-" Genis motioned to his belongings in one corner. "-I have a backup key to Raine's lab building. If all else fails, we can go ask her and Professor Low for help."

"Genis, please." Nika shook her head. "You're always putting yourself out on our accounts. It's not fair for you to have to do this when you're sick-"

He cut her off, pointing to the hallway. "Outside. Five minutes. I'll be there and we'll go together to the university. Got it?"

For a moment Nika looked like she was going to argue. However, she sighed to herself and nodded, taking a step backwards from the door.

"Thank you, Genis."

Two hours scouring the university's campus, and nothing came up. It was disheartening to say the least.

Genis was tired and felt like his head was spinning, but he didn't want to show it. Nika looked like she was going to cry, and he had to be the one to keep it together for the both of them. Initially the two had split up, searching the buildings where Genis usually had his classes. They then reconvened and searched the library, at the very back of the third floor where Genis often went to work in total quiet. They searched the student center, in the room beside the kitchen where Genis usually ate his lunch while reading a book. They searched the recreation center, the music building, and the cafeteria, even though Genis hardly ever went any of those places- no luck either.

And by that point, there weren't many people working who could say whether or not they'd seen a little red-headed girl wandering around. It was starting to feel hopeless.

Undeterred, the two returned to Genis' apartment and then to the boarding house where Nika and Bianca lived. The apartment was empty and the boarders assured them that they hadn't seen any sign of Bianca the whole day. So, back to the university they went, the darkness of the city feeling all the more suffocating.

As they approached the steps of the main classroom building, Nika pulled her jacket tighter around her and turned back to Genis.

"It's getting chilly out here. You should go back home and rest."

"What? No way!" Genis shook his head, racing up a couple of steps ahead of her. "I'm sticking with you until we find Bianca. It's not fair that you should have to look on your own."

"But you're sick-"

"So what? That gives me an excuse to leave everything on your shoulders?" He turned his back on her. "Hurry; it's possible that she's fallen asleep on the couch outside of the dean's office-"

"Genis, stop."

He could hardly do otherwise when she grabbed his hand and tugged him backwards.

Genis stiffened and was about to yank his hand away to avoid passing on whatever virus he'd caught, but he remembered that Nika was wearing gloves, and didn't have the heart to.

"Please," she continued, "I don't mind. I've been responsible for Bianca ever since she was born. It's not fair for you that you should be doing this."

"Why not? If I want to, then what's so bad about it? I care about Bianca too, you know."

"B-because-" Nika was stumbling over her words at this point. "-I don't want to rely on you!"

The statement gave Genis pause. He was silent, letting his hand fall from her grip as she loosened her hold on his hand. Finally, after it seemed like she wasn't going to say anything more, he spoke again.

"You can rely on me, Nika."

"I didn't say I couldn't, Genis. I said I didn't want to."

At the sound of her statement, he felt a sudden lurch of his stomach that he doubted had anything to do with his illness.

"Why not?" he choked.

"Because... "Nika shook her head. "...you're the most reliable person in the world, and yet look what happens anyway! I'm sorry, Genis. It's not you. I have to find my sister. You go home."

As he watched her continue up the steps to the door of the building, he felt that lurch in his stomach growing into a gnawing sensation that threw him off-balance. It's not you. Go home. Those words sounded an awful lot like a break-up for someone he hadn't even been on one date with yet.

Turning around, Genis walked calmly back down the steps and along the pathway until he was sure that he was out of sight. After that, he began to run, not caring much where he was going so long as he was getting away. And all that sniffling he was doing- he could blame it on the cold, right?

It didn't occur to him where he was going until he noticed the reflection of a street lamp off of a police barrier. It enclosed an area of one of the buildings that looked burnt, charred from the outside by some sort of explosion. Of course! The attack from yesterday had struck very near Raine's lab, hadn't it? Without thinking, he'd run all the way to Raine's lab building. Somehow, despite the loneliness he'd felt this morning, she was the first one he wanted to see when he was upset.

And maybe she'd know something about Bianca.

Maybe if he found Bianca, he could prove himself to Nika.

Taking a deep breath and wiping his nose, he approached the lab door with a new resolve.

The hallways were dark and empty when he entered, and he could see light only down at the corner, where Raine and Professor Low were no doubt still working. Part of him felt guilty for stopping them in the middle of something so important that they had to stay late like this. But he just needed to see his sister's face. Raine always helped him realize things were going to be alright.

Genis considered knocking, but he figured it would be just as invasive if he were to step in unannounced- why delay things? He took hold of the doorknob and braced himself for the scolding he'd get for interrupting their work. But the clicking and creaking of the door seemed to go unnoticed for the moment.

Having worked as a teacher's assistant in the biology department, Genis was extremely familiar with laboratory safety protocol. Though the researchers in the archeology department were more worried about protecting the specimens from themselves rather than the other way around, most of the rules were the same. As Genis scanned the room, he was surprised to see the number of rules that the two women seemed to be breaking right off the bat. Raine was sitting on one of the tables- not safe!- and neither she nor Professor Low were wearing their lab coats. The lab coats had been tossed onto the floor… along with quite a bit of their other clothing.

Genis almost stopped breathing. He was pretty sure that, when the lab rules advised against putting your mouth on anything in the lab, that included your fellow researcher's mouth-

Wait! Why the hell am I still thinking in terms of lab safety?!

By that point, both professors had heard the door and pulled their attention away from each other so that they could look at the newcomer. Genis saw Professor Low's eyes widen as if she'd just seen a ghost, and Raine's shoulders stiffen as the color slowly drained from her face.

"G-Genis…"

"I-I'm sorry," Genis interrupted, his grip on the doorknob tightening. "I didn't mean to interrupt your important work. It's not like I would've KNOWN."

"Genis-!"

He didn't stay to hear what they had to say. Instead, he bolted out the door and down the hallway, around the corner to the back part of the building where the loading dock for supplies was located. He didn't know this part of the building very well, but he figured that his sister and Professor Low wouldn't look for him here. This was different from the way he'd run earlier. It wasn't out of desperation, but out of frustration and anger.

Why hadn't they said anything? Why had they lied to him? Was this what they did every night while they were supposedly working late?

I thought my sister blew me off when I was sick so that she could continue important research! I was hurt but admired her dedication to her work! Was she just blowing me off so that she could rendezvous with her girlfriend instead? Her girlfriend that I've known for months and she's never told me about? Gods, how could I have been this blind? And worst of all, Raine never even seemed to feel bad-

Caught up in his swirl of thoughts and unable to see much in the dark hallway, Genis accidentally ran straight into the door of a janitor's closet. Thankfully, he'd been running at a slight angle, so it was his forearm and cheek that slammed into the door first. He fell back onto the floor, a soreness in his arm and a prickling pain spreading through his lip along with the taste of blood. Defeated and dejected, he didn't even want to stand up again. Instead he let himself lie against the door, the tears that had been threatening earlier finally streaming down his face.

There were muffled sounds around him as he began to regain composure, and he first thought it was just the ringing in his ears from the impact with the door. But no- when he pulled his head away from the door, he didn't hear it anymore. He leaned back toward the door and pushed his ear to it, listening again for the sound. Sure enough, a muffled whimpering, almost desperate in its intensity, was sounding on the other side of the door.

Genis felt his body stiffen.

"Is someone in there?"

Sure enough, the sound grew, and the noise of something thrashing about became evident. Genis quickly pulled himself to his feet and tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

"H-hold on just a minute! I have a key," Genis called, reaching in his pocket to fish out the building key that he'd brought. Luckily for him, it opened the interior doors as well as the exterior, and with little trouble, he managed to unlock the door.

Opening it and fumbling for a light switch, he could hear everything more clearly. The muffled sobs and yelps were subsiding now that he was there, and once the light clicked on and illuminated the closet, he found out why.

Genis nearly froze.

"Bianca?"

She was bound and gagged, her hands tied behind her back to one of the shelf supports. Genis wasted no time in falling down beside her, his aching hands fumbling as he tried to undo the knot on the gag. Unable to figure it out, he spied a utility knife on one of the upper shelves and retrieved it, cutting with ease through the cloth and the rope that held her. Once freed, Bianca collapsed into Genis' lap, throwing her arms around his waist and sobbing into his chest.

Her words were completely unintelligible, but Genis didn't have the heart to ask her to slow down and enunciate at this point. His eyes stung with tears again as he wondered how long she'd been locked down here and why…

"Bianca, hey, look at me." He put his hands on her cheeks, tilting her head up towards him. "What happened? Who put you here? What did they do to you?"

Her response wasn't entirely understandable, but she was trying her best and Genis didn't want to push her.

"...was playing… courtyard… two people… said… attack… tomorrow… the marina… and then… but I couldn't… had to… tied me up… warn about… oh, Genis… I'm scared!"

"It's okay. It's okay." Genis wrapped her arms around her. "Don't worry. I'm here now. We're going to call the police, and we're going to find the people who did this to you. You're safe now, I promise-"

Genis had been so occupied talking to Bianca, he hadn't been paying attention to his other surroundings. He was cut off by the sound of Bianca screaming just a split second before a searing pain exploded in the back of his head. Disoriented, he felt himself fall over with Bianca clinging to him in panic. A pair of voices behind him were discussing something, but he couldn't quite make it out except…

"Great. Now our problem's doubled."