Youichi sat propped against the wall next to Sawamura's unconscious form; gaze fixed on his outstretched legs, but not really seeing them. His mind was too busy wandering; feeding his brain with what-ifs and actions he should have taken, but were too late to make a difference now. Youichi regretted listening to Miyuki; things were escalating, and sitting around wasn't going to change that fact. It was bad enough that Sawamura had made himself out to be the man's favorite victim, constantly being taken away only to come back in an increasingly worse condition. But now, their kidnapper has branched out, taking Miyuki instead. Granted, Miyuki threw himself into the line of fire willingly, and Youichi completely understands why he chose to. Sawamura was currently completely helpless and vulnerable, and honestly, Youichi doesn't think he would have survived another session, and Miyuki must have had a similar thought process. But unlike Miyuki, Youichi came to that conclusion after the fact. When the kidnapper walked in, Youichi was frozen, for the man held a menacing aura that screamed insanity and violence, and instinctively, Youichi viewed him as an apex predator with zero inhibition.

Youichi knew he talked big when they were left alone, because logically, he knew they outnumbered him five to one, and, in theory, could at least take him down long enough to escape. However, whenever Youichi was in the man's presence, all he felt was fear; heartbeat skyrocketing whenever he elected it was a decent time to torment them. Youichi commends Miyuki's gall to, essentially, throw himself to the wolves for Sawamura. Miyuki, the arrogant bastard, quite literally, put his life on the line for his loud-mouthed boyfriend. His admiration for Sawamura; however, was even greater, though it was underlined by raw guilt. Sawamura had been taking one for the team, allowing himself to be beaten so the rest of them could sit around, unharmed, but worried.

Next to him, Sawamura made a quiet, disgruntled noise; causing Youichi to immediately turn towards the sound to witness Sawamura's face scrunch up in pain. "Hey, Bakamura," he called out, keeping his tone slow and clear as to not startle him. Youichi reached a hand forward, aiming to lightly jostle his shoulder, only to pause before making contact, letting his hand hover over the bandages. Temporarily, Youichi had forgotten that Sawamura's entire back was basically one massive wound. So instead, he lowered his palm onto Sawamura's bicep, giving it a gentle shake. Partially -selfishly- wanting Sawamura to just wake up already. Needing Sawamura to be his loud, obnoxious self. While Sawamura annoyed Youichi on a near consistent basis, he had quickly become like a little brother to him. Seeing him lying unconscious and clearly in a lot of pain, was bringing out a protective side in Youichi, that he himself didn't realize he had. Unfortunately, Sawamura did not wake; instead, his expression slackened, features softening as the heavy shroud of sleep claimed him again.

"Everything okay?" Kominato quietly asked. Though they both know he used the term "okay" loosely. Considering, under their current situation, nothing was alright.

"I just thought he was waking up." Youichi verified, turning to face Kominato, who was propped against the same far wall, just several feet away. He sat next to Furuya; talking with him in a voice too quiet for Youichi to pick up what was being said, not that he was paying attention even if he could hear. Furuya never vocalized a reply, having simply stared at the floor, hugging his knees to his chest. However, now it appeared as if Furuya had fallen asleep in his seated position.

Good. Youichi thought He needs it. He's pretty positive Furuya hasn't slept in a few days, so it was about time that it caught up with him.

"Maybe that's a sign he'll wake up soon," Kominato said, ever the optimist. Youichi hoped that was the case.

"Maybe. Though, I don't think he'll be happy to be awake." Youichi offhandedly replied, studying Sawamura's face for any further signals of consciousness. His expression earlier showed clear signs of discomfort and he hadn't even been fully aware enough to feel the true effects of what he had endured. Youichi knew Sawamura was better off asleep, for the sole fact that, at least then, he was oblivious. Youichi couldn't even fathom how much Sawamura's back must have hurt.

"Good point." Kominato sighed, easily picking up on the intent of Youichi's comment. They both understood it would be for the best if Sawamura didn't wake up quite yet, even if it would ease some of their concerns with him being alert.

They sat in silence after that; each lost in their own head, while Furuya and Sawamura slept on. Youichi's mind took him back to the moment Miyuki threw himself over Sawamura, as the kidnapper chose to take Miyuki, instead. Youichi had stood up instinctively to aid Miyuki, but not knowing exactly how, caused him to hesitate. Having the man threaten Youichi to do to him what was done to Sawamura, was sick, yet effective; further increasing the guilt and utter helplessness that weighed heavily in Youichi's mind as he sat back down, merely only able to watch as Miyuki was dragged out.

"Miyuki-senpai has been gone for a while," Kominato stated; breaking the silence. His voice was outwardly steady, but Youichi knew him well enough to hear the underlined worry that edged his tone.

Youichi didn't respond; couldn't bring himself to say with confidence that Miyuki will be back. At this point, it was only a matter of time before the worst were to happen to any of them. It had already been a close call with Sawamura. What if they had seen the last of Miyuki? Who's to say he'll even come back? They had absolutely no control over their lives; whether or not they lived or died was based on the whims of a madman.

Youichi was a young, healthy teenager; the thought that tomorrow could be his last day on Earth was terrifying. He has never been one for having existential crises, but death has never been so close before; he can't help not thinking about it. Especially with his friends and teammates toeing the line with the afterlife.

It promptly brought to question; who was next?

Kominato didn't push for an answer, and honestly, he probably wasn't expecting one, and for that, Youichi was glad. He wasn't in the mood to lie. To Kominato or to himself. Instead, Youichi changed the topic, keeping the conversation mundane, avoiding subjects that would ultimately lead to dark thoughts once again. And unfortunately, the biggest topic they had to steer clear of was baseball. They all desperately wanted to get back to playing the sport. Youichi even missed practice and would give anything to return to his previous routine. Sitting around day in and day out was making him antsy after spending the past couple of years constantly working out and moving; he had built up too much energy to keep uselessly stored away. It sure as crap didn't help him get some sleep; having too much stamina built up with no outlet.

They kept up their light-hearted conversation for some time; simply to distract themselves as well as to curb the boredom. They were in the middle of comparing childhood T.V shows when the lock on the door unfastened. Both immediately paused, freezing in place as they watched the door squeak open. Briefly, Youichi caught sight of the kidnapper just beyond the threshold before he shifted out of view, allowing space for Miyuki to trudge inside; the door instantly slamming closed even as Miyuki barely stumbled out of the way. Youichi's first reaction was relief in seeing Miyuki alive and walking; however, that quickly changed when he really took in his friend's appearance. Heart sinking and fears renewed.

Miyuki normally never had the neatest of hair, but comparatively, that was better than what he was currently rocking. His hair was disheveled as if he was just outside during a windstorm. His face was pale; expression blank and eyes unfocused. The latter of which, could be caused by his lack of glasses. Youichi's gaze was quickly pulled down to Miyuki's hands; watched as blood trickled off his fingers, and further down to the line of red that crossed over his ankles, where more rivulets tracked the tops of his feet.

Miyuki's gaze hovered slowly between all of them, before settling his sights on Sawamura. Youichi observed with bated breath as Miyuki made a beeline towards the pitcher, in staggered steps, accompanied by the wet slap of his feet against the tile, trailing bloody footprints across the room. When he reached Sawamura's feet, he leaned his back against the wall perpendicular to the one Youichi was against, letting himself slide down until he was seated with a grunt.

Youichi scrambled up, taking the few steps between himself and where Miyuki rested, arms leveraged on his raised knees with his face buried on top of them. "Miyuki?" He prompted, for lack of anything else, crouching down in front of him. What was he supposed to even ask? He clearly wasn't alright. He could ask what happened, but Youichi wasn't sure if Miyuki would even tell him. As it was, Miyuki wasn't responding, leading Youichi to wonder if he had fallen asleep, until he observed Miyuki's body fully twitch. The sudden movement caused Miyuki to release a heavy, frustrated sigh, readjusting his position while carefully maneuvering his hands and feet back to where he had them. So he was awake, which meant he just chose not to respond.

Kominato abruptly sat down next to Youichi, first-aid kit held between his hands, and began rooting through it. "Miyuki-senpai, are you alright?" He questioned without looking away from his digging. Youichi watched as he set aside the bandages, yet continued to search. He wasn't sure what else Kominato expected to find in there. They had already deemed the rest of its contents unusable, either because of their questionable state or they were unmarked.

"Miyuki-senpai?" Kominato attempted to gain his attention again. This time Miyuki raised his head, just enough to peer at them from over his arms. "Can we treat your injuries?" He asked, holding bandages up with one hand, and what looked like a spool of thread in the other. Miyuki squinted at the items, particularly at the spindle.

"Is that thread?" Youichi questioned, earning a nod from Kominato. "Where did you even find it?"

"The bottom of the box." He answered, tilting his head in the direction of the aforementioned box. "I was bored." He clarified. Youichi was befuddled, he didn't even notice when Kominato sifted through the scrap paper. "I stuck it in the kit, just in case." He held the spool out between his thumb and pointer finger, revealing dark blue thread with a single needle jammed through the tight spirals of string, preventing it from being separated.

Miyuki had raised his head completely at this point. Eyebrows furrowed in thought, before he opened his mouth to speak, only to close it again with a grimace.

That's concerning Youichi thought.

"Miyuki, what's wrong?" Youichi interrogated, applying more force into his voice, knowing Miyuki would gladly leave him questioning for shits and giggles. Youichi received a blank expression in response. "Miyuki." He attempted again to get how serious this was into Miyuki's thick skull.

He had to restrain himself from violence when Miyuki simply rolled his eyes.

Miyuki let out a gusty sigh through his nose, "Bit-" he started with another grimace, "-my tongue." He finished, pain washing over his face with a tightly clenched jaw. Youichi couldn't help it, he sputtered out a laugh. It wasn't funny; he knew it wasn't, but just the simple fact that that was all it took to keep Miyuki quiet tickled Youichi. And honestly, with all the crap that has happened, and that they have to put up with, it felt good to laugh. So much so, that his laughter didn't stop, hands holding his sides as the fit continued; borderline manic. He didn't stop even as Kominato elbowed him in the ribs, though Youichi did manage to contain it slightly, leaving him to giggle to himself as the other two stared at him as if he lost his mind.

To be fair, even Youichi himself felt like he was going crazy.

By the time his chuckling receded and he was wiping the tears from his eyes; Kominato was inspecting Miyuki's outstretched hands. "Do you want me to try and stitch these?" Kominato questioned hesitantly; he didn't sound like it was something he was keen on doing, but knowing him, he would do it if he was asked. Miyuki shook his head, gaze focused on the congealing blood caking the wounds on his palms.

"Miyuki," Youichi started, "we can't just sit around anymore. It's getting worse." Again, Miyuki shook his head, brows furrowed as Kominato began wrapping his hands. Youichi watched as Miyuki's hand twitched, making him let out a sound that resembled a growl. "We gotta try something." He only got another shake of the head in response. "We outnumber him, I doubt he's expecting us to retaliate at this point, that'll give us the upper hand." He tried. This time, Miyuki finally turned his head to face him; however, his expression was anything but considering. He looked angry with an undertone of annoyance.

"No." Miyuki grit out.

"Why?" Youichi countered; if he was going to continually deny their only other option, Youichi at least deserves an explanation.

"Because this," Miyuki began, thrusting his newly bandaged hands towards Youichi, "was premeditated. He planned to torture us." His voice was scarily calm coupled with the cold hardness of his eyes took Youichi aback. "He did this without provocation. If we try anything and fail, it will only make things worse."

"You think he'll kill us?" Kominato inquired, finishing up wrapping Miyuki's ankles.

Miyuki let out a dark chuckle, "No, he'll just make us wish we were dead." He finished with a wince, turning his head to spit out a mixed wad of saliva and blood onto the tiles. With that, Miyuki pushed himself up, shuffling over to Sawamura's side, where he awkwardly lowered himself to lay next to Sawamura with minimal use of his hands; closing his eyes in an attempt to succumb to sleep.

Youichi remained seated, taking in Miyuki's explanation. It wasn't what was said, more on what Youichi picked up. Miyuki was afraid; and that in itself, was concerning.