After Miyuki finished puking, Eijun had helped him off the wet floor and out of the bathroom; taking him back to their designated corner. They quickly got to a point where they no longer felt safe anywhere that didn't surround them. With nothing that could completely encompass them, corners were the next best thing, since then, at least, they couldn't be sneaked up on as easily. Eijun would never have guessed that he would receive such mental comfort from two perpendicular walls, but now finds himself anxious whenever he has open space on every side. He has noticed that the first thing he does when he enters a new room, is scope out any hidey-hole, and if none, his gaze will zero in on the corner furthest from the door.

He propped Miyuki against the wall, who slowly sagged down it with a moan; hand resting on his abdomen as if that would relieve any discomfort. Eijun wished there was something he could do to help, but they literally had nothing, not even clean water to wash the bile out. For exterior ailments, they could use random bits of cloth to staunch blood flow. They had no medicines or even tea to help against nausea. The only thing that could be done was to wait it out; hope it fades away on its own, and pray it doesn't get worse.

Eijun reached his hand out to brush the sweaty fringe off Miyuki's forehead, "Feeling any better now?" He asked, watching as Miyuki's eyes fluttered closed with a sigh.

"It's not as bad," Miyuki mumbled, head resting against the wall. "It'll go away." He continued, though it sounded more like he was saying it for Eijuns sake rather than his own. Eijun retracted his hand, bringing it to rest in his lap as he situated himself beside Miyuki. He wasn't entirely sure if he believed that. They've been on a steady downward spiral of things going wrong that he was beginning to always suspect the worst, though he constantly has to remind himself to be more optimistic. The situation could always be worse, and at some point, things should start looking up. They just have to persevere until that time comes, despite how difficult it may seem.

He had to keep a positive mindset. If not for himself, then at least for those around him.

"Your stomach must be weak if it can't withstand the gunk we eat." Eijun joked with an exaggerated laugh that was, ultimately, cut short as it quickly turned into a cough. The single cough multiplied into a full-blown fit, and even after the copious amounts of water that had come up the first few times; he could still feel a small portion of fluid be expelled, causing the hacking to sound wet. As the coughing slowed and trailed off, it felt like he was being watched, and sure enough, when he lifted his head, Miyuki was staring. "What?" He inquired, uncomfortable with the examining gaze.

Miyuki didn't respond for several long-drawn seconds, "Your nose stopped bleeding." He casually mentioned. Eijun eyed him suspiciously, feeling as if Miyuki wasn't saying what he really wanted to, but it was sometimes hard to tell with him. A lot of the time, he'll change the topic, only to circle back around to it, catching Eijun off guard. It tended to end with Eijun unintentionally spilling the beans on whatever it was he was trying to hide. But then other times, he'll simply change the topic because he doesn't see a need to continue it. And by the way, Miyuki had been staring at him, there seemed to be a lot going through his mind. A lot going unsaid. So was Miyuki about to bombard him or was he dropping it for a future discussion? Either way, Eijun knows he'll hear about it eventually. Though, there was a very slim chance of Miyuki containing it too long until it all built up along with any other thoughts he ends up having. And in rare cases, it could lead to Miyuki snapping, and a genuinely pissed Miyuki could be terrifying. Eijun recalls the time Miyuki turned on him when he was bad-mouthing Chris, and Eijun does not want to be on the receiving end again, thank you very much.

"I don't think the suspicion is warranted," Miyuki commented with a smirk.

"Um, have you met you?" Eijun immediately rebutted, causing Miyuki to chuckle. Of course, Miyuki would get joy out of being a sly bastard. He wears the title with pride.

"How are you feeling?" Miyuki asked; again, changing the subject.

"I'm fine," Eijun replied, possibly a little too quickly going by Miyuki's raised brow in disbelief. If Eijun was being completely honest, he would say he was tired, and not in the way that he stayed up late, but in the sense of a full day of strenuous, non-stop practice. His body ached as if he had been straining his muscles, despite the fact that he hasn't actively used them in however long it has been. His throat still felt raw, and his nose throbbed with a hot ache. Eijun had temporarily forgotten his pains during Miyuki's spontaneous bout of sickness; however, now that it was brought up, the exhaustion hit him full force, making his eyelids heavy.

"I'm alive," Eijun said in what was supposed to sound reassuring but came out shaky and quiet instead. Miyuki stared at him silently, before he slid himself down the wall until he was lying flat on his back. Without a word, he stretched the arm out closest to Eijun in invitation. Eijun hesitated for a single second, then practically threw himself to lay half on top of Miyuki's chest. The arm wrapped gently around his shoulders, giving him a light squeeze before relaxing.

They had recently been put into a position that required them to snuggle. Due to Eijun being unable to lay on his back, he had since been using Miyuki as a body pillow to help minimize any pressure applied to the wounds. Before everything that was happening, they hadn't had any opportunities to cuddle; it was hard living in a dorm. Eijun had roommates, while Miyuki's was constantly used as a hangout spot, with the chance of interruption at any given time. Even with that obstacle, between school and practice, they didn't have a lot of time or energy to cross that line. Who knew all it would take was some pain and lack of any surface to lay on to break out the snuggles.

Not that Eijun is complaining about cuddling, in his opinion, they should have tried it out ages ago. No, Eijun just wishes that they could have graduated to it naturally, where they could take their time, to wake up slowly, and maybe even exchange lazy handjobs, or to simply explore each other a little more. While, in the grand scheme of things, Eijun thoroughly enjoys the closeness with Miyuki, feels safe even, but the utter bone-wary and pain prevents any urges he otherwise would have had from being in this position.

He'll take any form of comfort he could get at this point.

Eijun snuggled his head more firmly against Miyuki's chest, hand coming up to rest in front of his nose, as a sigh gusted passed his parted lips. For the last bit of comfort, Eijun swung his leg up and over to cram his knee in between Miyuki's own, who easily allowed it by shifting his legs the fraction needed apart to make room.

"Get some sleep, idiot," Miyuki mumbled against the crown of Eijun's head. And just like that, Eijun's eyelids slipped closed with one final thought; it could always be worse.


Eijun was having a weird dream. It started out simple enough, him standing on the pitcher's mound, eighth inning, and one point ahead. He was getting ready to wind up the pitch Miyuki requested; signature smirk plastered on his face, with the reflection of the sun obscuring his eyes, but as he lifted his leg in preparation, he was suddenly shook off balance by what felt like an earthquake. Eijun easily regained his footing as his head swiveled around to catch everyone else's reaction. No one else moved. He was just about to call out, when a vice-like grip surrounded his throat, preventing him from making a sound other than a choked-off squeak. His hands flew to his neck, seeking to remove whatever was just barely cutting his airways. Nothing. There wasn't anything around his throat, and before he could make a panicked attempt to scream for help, he was suddenly pushed forward by an unseen force.

And as soon as he hit the ground, Eijun's eyes snapped open, only to find himself bent over the metal table with a hand gripping the back of his neck. How did he not hear the man come in? Eijun always wakes up when the door opens. If he doesn't, Miyuki is sure to be awoken first, alerting Eijun to be on guard.

Miyuki!

Where was Miyuki? Was he okay? He couldn't hear anything over his own frantic breathing and racing heart. Eijun made an attempt to turn his head in search of Miyuki, but couldn't fight the force on his neck.

"Let me go!" Eijun ground out, as he struggled against the hold. His efforts were in vain with the minimal amount of energy he was able to muster. After going so long with barely any food, water, and sleep, on top of the constant torture, they were left weak without proper necessities. "Miyuki!" He called, hoping to get some form of response.

Immediately, he was penalized as the fingers around his throat squeezed just that extra bit tighter to completely cut off airflow. The presence behind him shifted closer.

"Shut up," the man growled next to his ear, causing a chill to run down his spine with a sinking feeling weighing heavily in his gut.

Suddenly, the hand was gone, but before Eijun could relish being able to breathe, a palm smacked him directly in the center of his back, sending a stinging pain across the entire expanse of his spine. Tears instantly began to well up in his eyes as his torso was pushed further down until his chest completely rested on the metal table. Eijun had just barely remembered to protect his nose from colliding with the steel, using his hands to catch himself at the last second. The renewed pain inflicted to his back paralyzed him as he stared at the metallic surface mouth agape, and wide-eyed.

The hand was soon replaced by something bigger, bony, and applied more pressure. If Eijun had to hazard a guess, he would assume it to be the man's knee. A stopgap measure to keep him from moving. The question, however, was why? What did he have planned?

A repetitive clicking noise sounded from the form above him before they were replaced by a whoosh and what sounded like a release of an immense amount of air. Eijun felt a rush of heat brush along his exposed skin, but otherwise no new pain. Abruptly, the sound stopped with another loud click. Eijun held his breath in anticipation, for what? He couldn't say, he just knew something was coming.

For several long seconds, nothing happened until something solid and searingly hot pressed into the skin at the base of his neck. Eijun choked out a scream, not able to get enough air in for a proper one as the intense, blazing pain ramped up. Tears freely flowed down his cheeks to puddle onto the table beneath him. In only a few moments, though it sure as hell felt longer, the object was lifted from his flesh. The knee was removed from his back, and a grip on his arm roughly rolled him off the steel surface, where he crashed to the floor. The pain that he surely would have felt from the fall was immensely dwarfed by the excruciating agony that was spreading along the entirety of his neck and over his shoulder blades.

Distantly, Eijun registers a hunched-over form in front of the same pipe Miyuki had been tied to. The man waltzed over, a long metal object held in his hand. Through the haze of pain, Eijun watched as he swiftly untied Miyuki, not bothering with the gag tightly bound between his teeth. Before Eijun could process what was going on, Miyuki lunged for the man, ramming his shoulder against their kidnapper's gut. However, the man merely took a step back, hand raising the metal stick and slamming it down onto Miyuki's skull in retaliation. Miyuki stumbled, the man caught him by the arm and dragged him to the table. Eijun was given minor relief to watch Miyuki's feet fumble to keep up, meaning he hadn't been knocked out.

Eijun waited until the man got closer, before he, too, made a move. He latched both his arms around the leg nearest to him, not entirely sure what he was trying to achieve, but hoped to slow him down. The man growled before a booted foot kicked him directly against his ear. The sound reverberated in his head as his ear rang painfully. It wasn't long before his eyes lost focus and his arms lost their strength, releasing his hold on the leg as he got dangerously close to passing out.

Eijun could barely make out Miyuki being bent over the table in the same treatment given to him. Saw the man reclaim an item that he left on the table followed by the familiar clicking sounds. A blue flame was spit out of the gun-shaped object as the man held the end of the metal rod directly into the fire. In his daze, he watched as the metal began to shift to a bright orange that slowly expanded up its length. He knew what was coming. With great effort, he attempted to push himself up, but his motor functions were struggling to respond, leaving Eijun to do nothing but watch as the heated metal was lowered to the back of Miyuki's neck with a vile sizzle. Miyuki flinched violently, before the knee digging into his spine pushed down, even more, pinning him.

The rod was pulled away soon after, and just like Eijun, Miyuki was rolled haphazardly off the table to land heavily onto the concrete but didn't move from there. Eijun stared at Miyuki's still form as the man gathered his things and stepped out of view. Eijun vaguely recalls hearing the door open and shut, but by then his vision was beginning to grow black around the edges.

The last thing he registers is the wafting scent of burnt hair and skin from their newly branded flesh before his vision fades completely.