Scooter: Took me forever! I apologize!! I updated three times a few days ago and I didn't even touch this one!! I feel so terrible!! Anyway, here's the next chapter of torture. =D I hope you enjoy this next update!! Tell me please if you catch any mistakes!!! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Upon hearing the squeak, Kyon's body jerked and he looked at Itsuki with fatigued eyes. "L-let's go..." he said, all life seemingly drained from his words. He struggled up, grimacing and holding his stomach, and then extending a hand out to Itsuki to help him up.

I...I'm really tired...but I can't sleep...I'll die if I sleep, I know it...

Upon impulse, Itsuki accepted the hand, only to pull Kyon over, look him straight in the eye, and give him a huge kiss on the lips.

Kyon grimaced as he was pulled, but then his eyes shot open in surprise and he grunted slightly, his eyes looking at Itsuki.

"Nnn..." he moaned softly, his eyes falling halfway. He sank against Itsuki slightly, his eyes remaining in their half-opened stage.

Itsuki promptly stopped what he was doing, the knee in the gut he was expecting not coming.

"That was my best idea too..." He frowned, apparently Kyon not offended enough to jump away.

"Itsuki..." Kyon averted his gaze. "Th-Thank you...It surprised me enough..."

But does that mean that he doesn't think the same as I do? He almost wanted to cry, but he smiled slightly instead. "I"m awake. We need to get out of here before the collar kills you, Itsuki,"

Itsuki was staring in disbelief, enough not to hear what Kyon was saying.

"'Thank you'?" He repeated.

Kyon realized what he had said and he blushed slightly, expecting a slap or something. "N-Never mind...it's...it's nothing." he said quietly, putting one hand on the wall and the other on his stomach.

Itsuki linked his arm under one of Kyon's.

"I'm having an easier time walking. I'll help." He said as confidently as he could.

Kyon looked up at Itsuki and smiled. "Th-Thank you." He took a step away from the wall and almost collapsed, but he managed to keep his feet steady. He panted lightly, his eyes concentrated upon the ground.

"Le-Let's go..."

Itsuki reached towards the steel door and gripped the handle.

Feeling the thickness, indeed, it would have been impossible to open in their current state.

He pulled it open and rounded to the other side while supporting Kyon.

Kyon cringed and leaned against Itsuki. "Thanks..." he mumbled, his eyes half open. He looked inside this next room and he blinked slowly. "Where the hell are we?" he asekd in a quiet voice that was shaking slightly.

The first thing that greeted Itsuki's vision was the picture of two different doors.

A small envelope was taped to the wall separating them, and Itsuki did the obvious thing by reaching out for it, pulling it open hastily, and reading what was inside.

'Congratulations gentlemen, it seems you've made it through your first test. As you can imagine, the game doesn't stop here. For this next test your lives will be in each others hands, even though you must split apart...'

Kyon looked at Itsuki fearfully then looked straight ahead. It was all one room. One large-ass room. But one room all the same. But it was split in half. Kyon looked between the two of the rooms, then looked back at the ESPer. "We're each to go into one of the rooms..." he said quietly, moving so he could stand on his own.

He wobbled slightly but managed to stay up straight.

Itsuki looked them both over and chose the one on the left. Kyon's room seemed relatively non threatening, while his was...well, pretty chilling.

He gave the other man a pat on the back, before heading into the room, which shut and locked behind him.

Kyon smiled slightly at the other teen and walked nervously forward, hearing a door of his own slam shut. At first, nothing seemed to be happening. Until he began to get warm. He began to pant slightly and he wiped his forehead, looking at the sweat on his palm.

"I-If...it's...this hot here...is it the same over there?" he wondered absentmindedly, looking around the room quickly, the heat getting worse.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Itsuki noted the bone chilling frost of the metal room that assaulted the nerve endings of the bottom of his foot. The next thing he knew, there was the sound of rushing water...like through a shower.

He snapped his head up and noticed that there were countless faucets and nozzles lining the walls of the room, gushing water like no tomorrow. Probably ice cold water, the whole room being a damned freezer.

He began to panic, thinking of what in the hell he was supposed to DO in this room.

The heat began to get extremely bad and Kyon began to pant hard. "Itsuki..." he murmured, looking around for anything to indicate that there would be a way out. He looked to the end of the room and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head.

Was that...?

It was! There was a small key hanging against the wall. Kyon made to move towards it, but stepped back as the heat grew immensely. His panting grew heavier and he whimpered softly. He took his jacket off and continued, the heat growing still.

The water was pouring out so fast and from so many places that it had already gone past his ankles, despite the sheer size of the room. The only thing of merit was a window to a smaller portion of the room with metal bars blocking it off, and the steel door to what was presumably the way out.

Fat chance of it opening....

The only thing left to do that he could think of was wade across to the other side, numbing taking the place of painful tingling sensations.

Kyon pushed ahead, his eyes hardly able to stay open. He coughed dryly, his throat extremely dry and sore. He saw the key and continued to push forward.

After a few more moments he reached the key and he extended his hand to grasp it, but yelped in pain and retracted his hand, looking at the burns on his fingers and palm.

Upon closer inspection of this window, he saw a key dangling from a chain past the metal bars.

Putting two and two together was simple, but reaching past those bars to a key that far away was...

But if it meant getting out, that was the only way to do it.

He reached in, thinking it getting colder by the minute as the water reached his knees.

Kyon bit his lips, debating everything. The thought that got him to move on was the fact that he'd see Itsuki again...

He took a deep breath and reached out again, grasping the key. The hot metal scorched his palm and he let out a small scream, pain shooting through his left hand. He ran back as quickly as he could to his jacket and dropped the key on it, and knelt, nursing his hand briefly. Nasty burn marks were on his palm and he bit back tears, wrapping the key up with his coat with a wince as raw skin was rubbed against the fabric.

He ran over to the door of his 'cell'.

Itsuki was trying desperately to reach the key, but it seemed JUST out of his reach.

He was so numb, he didn't even notice the water draining into small holes in the floor.

In a desperate push, the side of his face pressed against the frosty metal bar, and the tip of his finger brushed against the surface of the key. Once more, he thrust his hand as far as it would go, his fingers wrapping around the key, and pulling it free.

In Kyon's room, the heat dyed down.

Kyon panted and noted the heat began to die down. He blinked in surprise. "H-Hunh?" he stood on wobbly legs and staggered over to the door, pulling the key out and almost weeping in pain. He slid it into the keyhole and turned it, waiting until he heard the click as he pushed the door open, falling out and onto his knees, coughing and clutching at his stomach as if it was about to burst open.

When Itsuki pulled his head back, he gave a loud scream of pain when a good layer of his skin was ripped off by the metal bar.

Staggering back, he felt threatened to even touch his cheek with his cold hands at that point. Wading again through the slowly draining water, he fumbled with the key and the lock with his numb hands, trying to get it open.

When he succeeded, water poured out of the room and onto the stone floor, and Itsuki staggered out, desperately breathing on his pale hands to get them to warm up.

Kyon jerked up and gasped at Itsuki's cry and he took off to where the ESPer basically fell out of the 'cell' he had been in. "Itsuki," he cried, looking at the other and then pulling him into a tight hug. Itsuki felt good against him. But then it hit him...

While he had been boiling, Itsuki had been freezing. Kyon used his right hand and rubbed Itsuki's shoulders to try and get them to warm up. "You're OK," he muttered, his stomach clenching. He kept his burnt hand clutched to him. It as shaking and he wrapped his jacket around Itsuki.

Itsuki collapsed into a heap, bringing Kyon down with him, so overwhelmed with relief he had made it out and that Kyon was alright, he lost strength in his legs.

Kyon brushed a hand across Itsuki's face, careful about his face. "I-Itsuki..." he said. He lay the other down gently, laying his coat over the ESPer, Kyon turned away, his mouth open, ad panting. He gagged and got on his hands and knees, whimpering slightly as he put weight on his injured hand, and he threw up blood and vomit.

The lack of strength didn't last long, concern and panic replacing relief in a heart beat.

The ESPer scrambled to his feet and rushed to Kyon's side.

"Kyon!? Oh God, I-I don't, I don't know how to make it better!"

Kyon whimpered and closed his eyes, trying not to cry in front of the ESPer. "I-I don't...don't think there's anything...you can do..." he said in a weak voice, sitting back on his heels, cradling his burned hand to his chest and wiping his mouth, looking at Itsuki.

He coughed weakly and hugged Itsuki. "Are you OK?" he asked, completely jumping over what had just happened to him.

Itsuki forgot about the skin ripped off his face in his panic for Kyon.

"Fine! Just kinda chilly!" He reassured the other male.

He pulled Kyon into another hug, shivering.

Scooter: There's the next chapter! Hope it was worth the wait! I really do!! I'll see you next upload!! Which will be soon hopefully! *laughs*Seeya!

~~Scooter~~