Sawamura remained unconscious long after his neck was bandaged. There wasn't much else they could have done, and as they have no knowledge as to what he was injected with, they could only check the entry point periodically for any changes. The protrusion of his veins had decreased slightly, but that didn't necessarily mean it was getting better, since whatever was forced into his bloodstream was still going to be flowing through his body. So Kazuya took to frequently checking over other areas for alterations. He checked his eyes, gums, and nailbeds for discoloration. He checked his arms and legs for unnaturally visible veins, same with his temples and around the eyes. Kazuya was only able to investigate his chest when they changed the bandaging wound around it. They only had a couple of rolls that they needed to make last, something Kazuya wasn't going to risk tearing through

just to make sure nothing strange was happening underneath.

They have only changed the bandages once, so far. The sight of Sawamura's back was, he felt guilty to even think, disgusting. The expanse of his back was marred with sharp lines of cuts angled in every direction. The skin was raw and angry; flesh peeling from the areas where the gashes overlapped one too many times. Blood still freely trickled from the deeper ones, but it appeared to be at a slower rate, at least, he hoped. Some of them looked like they could use stitches,

Surprisingly, Kuramochi was the first to look away, hand over his mouth, eyes hard. Kazuya was pretty sure Kominato was forcing himself to continue watching through the changing process, as if Sawamura would be insulted if he glanced away, despite the tears he was holding back. Furuya sat uncomfortably stiff, hands clenched tightly on top of his knees, with his brows pinched together in a grimace. Kazuya himself felt obligated to look, with the knowledge that Sawamura suffered through this for them. It broke his heart. Kazuya had an inkling of an idea as to what caused the marks, though he kept it to himself, to see if the others come to the same conclusion.

They looked like wounds from a whip. Now, Kazuya has never seen any in person, but he has seen something similar in movies. Even if Sawamura's wounds weren't caused by a whip, it would have had to be from some other thin, blunt object, swung with enough force repeatedly to split skin. However, now the question was, why? Was it something Sawamura said? Did? Or maybe Kazuya was overthinking it; maybe it was just straight torture. Something to amuse the man in a sick, twisted way.

For a majority of the time, Kazuya remained holding Sawamura to share body heat and keep him off the floor. Well, that's mainly what he told the others. Deep down, he wanted physical contact with Sawamura. On one hand, he could constantly check his condition, while on the other, he was able to reassure himself that Sawamura was alive. It was odd to see him lay still for so long. Even in sleep, Sawamura moved around a lot. If it wasn't for his deep breathing, Kazuya would easily be convinced that he died. The others haven't questioned him as they all pretended like his vocalized excuse wasn't flimsy. Kazuya knew they knew the real reason for his actions. He knew they knew he knew they were refraining to call him out. Kuramochi, out of all of them, would normally be the first to tease, wasn't even sliding them looks with a smirk on his face. While he and Sawamura dating was no secret amongst the team, they were not safe from the playful teasing by their teammates for public intimacy, no matter how small. So for there to be no remarks was almost jarring, he was also grateful. This was something he needed.

Kuramochi was more observant than people gave him credit for.

Besides, the others were always quick to ask how Sawamura was doing; wandering over to see for themselves even though nothing had changed from the last time anyone asked. But just like how they didn't call Kazuya out on his weak excuse to stick to Sawamura, he didn't comment on them hovering every couple of minutes.

Kazuya's legs had grown numb long ago, but they were beginning to be painful. His back hurt from leaning against the wall for an extended period of time. He had been ignoring it easily, at first; however, it was now starting to become unbearable, and even though he desperately didn't want to, he needed to get up and move. Awkwardly, he slipped his shirt over his head to spread it across the floor next to him. Gently, he slid Sawamura onto the fabric - a meager barrier between him and the floor - and pushed himself up. Kazuya had to brace himself against the wall as the pins and needles tingling in his legs intensified. When the sensation faded enough, he limped his way over to the sink. The others watched him the entire way. He couldn't really blame them, there wasn't much in the way of entertainment, so the simple act of him standing up to rinse his hands was distraction enough.

The faucet squeaked as he twisted the cold water on, the sound pierced the silence. They found out quickly that the hot tap did not work. It could have been a source of drinking water if not for the discoloration, Kazuya didn't trust the quality of the water; thankfully, they have not gotten to the point of being desperate enough to test it. However, it worked sufficiently for simply rinsing something. Kazuya's hand may have dried from cleaning Sawamura's back, and even after the initial wipe onto his shirt, he clearly did not get it all. Dried blood crusted under his nails and between his fingers, giving his skin a slight orange tint.

It always took a couple of seconds for the water to sputter out, accompanied by the clanking of the pipes behind the wall. Without soap, he was only able to scrub the blood off with inconsistent water pressure. The water reached frigid temperatures, suggesting that the pipes it traveled through were just as chilled. Kazuya frequently had to pull his hands out from how painfully cold it got. He spent some time digging blood out from under his nail, and eventually, he had to deem it good enough.

He shut the water off and was shaking the excess water off his hands when the lock on the door clanked and the handle twisted. They all immediately froze as the door was pushed open. Their kidnapper stood in the doorframe, gaze shifting overall of them. Kazuya watched as his eyes landed on the bloodstain, before finding Sawamura bandaged. His sights remained trained on Sawamura, and Kazuya immediately had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the man began walking towards Sawamura.

No! Kazuya felt the panic rise, Sawamura was unconscious, what more could the man want from him? Sawamura had been through enough already, more than he should have had to deal with at all. He hadn't even been returned for a couple of hours; normally the kidnapper would bring Sawamura back and they wouldn't see him again for, roughly, a day or two. Why has he come back so soon?

Kazuya's feet were moving before he realized what he was doing. He beat the man to Sawamura; throwing himself over his unconscious form. He didn't know what he wanted Sawamura for, but all Kazuya knew, or cared for, was that he couldn't let Sawamura be taken. The man came to a halt, surprised by the action. Kazuya glanced up, feeling dread sink into his bones. The man was full-on grinning, eyes unnaturally wide with teeth on display.

"Oh?" The man questioned in a lilted voice. Kazuya has rarely heard him speak, but it managed to send a shiver down his spine. "Protecting your friend, are you? How heroic." He cooed as if he was talking to a child. Kazuya fought the urge to comment, biting the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from making a smartass remark. The man-made it clear on day one that he did not want them to speak. He warned them that he would stitch their mouths shut if they uttered a single word. They hadn't wanted to test if he would follow through on it, though that never stopped Sawamura. And honestly, Kazuya was surprised, yet thankful, that the man hadn't actually gone through with it. Though after seeing Sawamura's back, Kazuya was unsure whether or not he would still hold them to it. Regardless, they have been trying to play it by ear, keeping silent whenever he came in.

"I guess you'll do." He announced, reaching down to grab Kazuya by his neck, forcing him to his feet. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Kuramochi rose to his feet as well, making a move to step forward. Kazuya quickly made eye contact with Kuramochi and mouthed the word no to him; internally pleading that he would obey. Thankfully, he listened, though the conflict was visible on his face. The man laughed, observing their interaction. "That's right, listen to your friend. Don't want you to end up like that one, now do we." He said, nodding his head to where Sawamura was laying. Kuramochi froze, eyes flicking over to Sawamura; clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he slowly lowered himself back onto the ground. Kazuya was glad he backed down. When he saw him stand, he feared that Kuramochi was about to do something drastic, and he probably would have if Kazuya hadn't told him not to. He didn't think the threat was necessary. "You won't be needing these, either." The man yanked the glasses off his face, letting them fall unceremoniously onto the tile with a clatter. Unable to see clearly, Kazuya was pulled from the room and into the dimly lit hallway. The heavy door slammed shut with a resounding clang.