Kazuichi: "So, what are we gonna do now?" The five friends had gathering in the control room after learning about what Nagito did in the kitchen. The question was aimed at Hajime, who, out of the five, would most likely have thought of a solution.
Fuyuhiko: "We stay alert. Other than that, we can't really do anything." Fuyuhiko gave his own answer. Hajime had nothing to add, nodding when Kazuichi looked at him for confirmation.
Sonia: "There is not much we can do, is there?" Sonia questioned why they couldn't do anything to handle the situation.
Hajime: "No, not until we find him, or he reveals himself to us. So, until then, always keep an open eye out. That's probably going to mean less sleep for most of us." Hajime spoke an irritating truth. Because of Nagito, their peaceful lives on the island had to be adjusted for their own safety.
Kazuichi: "Wait!" Kazuichi interrupted, making a few of his friends flinch. "I just had a thought, what'll stop him from breaking into someone's cottage and doing something!?"
Hajime: "Even with one arm, I can't say that'd be out of his realm of capabilities." Presented with another possible safety precaution, Hajime probed his brain for an answer. "It's up to you all, of course, but we could all sleep here... for the time being."
Sonia: "I would feel better knowing you were all nearby." Sonia quickly accepted the proposal.
Akane: "Count me in!" Akane had already made up her mind.
Kazuichi: "Sleep here? Where... on the floor?" Kazuichi wasn't so willing to give up his bed.
Fuyuhiko: "It's all right if you stay in your cottage, it'll just make it easier for him to pick you off." Fuyuhiko teased, an odd amount of sincerity in his tone.
Kazuichi: "No, no, no, fine! I'll stay too!"
Hajime: "So, it's agreed then. Until it is safe to do otherwise, we all sleep here from now on."
The basis of the safety measures is now established, they began padding an extra detail. The night watch would be taken in shifts of two, with one rotation in the middle of the night. Hajime and Fuyuhiko would take the first shift, Akane and Sonia taking the second, with Kazuichi being a replacement for a different person when needed. No more than three people could leave during the day, leaving two people in the building.
Right now, there was no such thing as excessive measures, safety was now the number one priority. Hopefully, no one would end up hurt. Hopefully, Nagito was not planning to hurt someone.
===========Timeskip===========
Night One/ First Shift
Fuyuhiko: "You used that word? Exactly?"
Hajime: "Yeah... I did."
Fuyuhiko and Hajime sat on the floor atop their makeshift beds. The others fell asleep a few hours ago, leaving the two to start their night watch. To pass the time, they made small talk, the current topic being Hajime's confession.
Fuyuhiko: "Since when did you jump from like... to that?"
Hajime: "When I started getting to know her, in there." Hajime pointed at the pods, telling Fuyuhiko all he needed to know. "But everything else came first, of course. Besides, I was still nervous then." His friend couldn't help but smile and congratulate himself, his half-assed idea turned out to be a matchmaking success.
Akane: "Hey!" Akane's body shot up, her attempt at whispering almost turning into yelling. "Mind your own damn business!"
Fuyuhiko: "Go back to sleep." Fuyuhiko spoke back as quietly as possible. "Before the ghosts get ya."
Hajime: "You don't want to do that." Hajime sighed, shaking his head as the two of them watched Akane stand. She started walking towards Fuyuhiko, cracking her knuckles as she approached them.
Akane: "I'm going to rip your good eye out of its socket, if you don't shut the HELL UP!!!" She gripped Fuyuhiko by the shoulder and lifted him as she leaned in, spitting venom into his ear. He only chuckled in response. Beside them, Hajime stared into space to avoid involvement.
===========Timeskip===========
Night One/ Second Shift
Akane: "I did?"
Sonia: "Yes, you did." Sonia and Akane conversed quietly as the others slept, they shared a seat on Nagito's empty pod, a short distance from where the boys slept.
Akane: "I can't see it." Akane was oblivious to the point her friend was making. However, she shook her head confidently. Sonia tried to make it simple for her to understand.
Sonia: "Well... let us see... how would you feel if... you thought Hajime liked another girl? Could you have said anything to him then?" This was a weird topic to bring up, especially since Akane and Hajime's confession took place earlier that day. It must have something to do with the fact that Hajime spent a good amount of time during the killing school trip talking to everyone, trying his best to understand them as much as he can.
Akane: "About what?"
Sonia closed her eyes as her fingernails roughly went over the back of her head. This effort was seeming to be a lost cause. She shrugged, smiling at Akane, who smiled back. Looking over towards her resting companions, she could see Hajime waving her off before he rolled onto his side. He was telling her to give up, something she was going to do anyway.
Sonia: "Well, anyway, I am very happy for you, Akane." Sonia can tell that Akane was incredibly happy about how it all played out. But she couldn't help but feel a little jealous, she wanted what Akane had. A relationship with the one she loved... but he's not with them right now.
===========Timeskip===========
Night Two/ First Shift
Hajime: "Do you think you could make a boat?"
Kazuichi: "I can make a boat, it's not going to be anything you'd see at a fancy-ass dealership though. I don't have the materials to make anything too extravagant, what kind did you have in mind?"
Hajime: "One with a motor, to travel in-between the islands, there are six in total, counting the one we're on. The other five could have useful equipment, remnants of the drug store on the Second Island would be very helpful. The hospital on the Third Island, not to mention the warehouse on the Final Island. The buildings might not be there anymore, but there should be something we can use."
Kazuichi: "So, I would have to build a motor and a boat. I think we might have enough junk lying around to do that."
Hajime and Kazuichi had just settled on building a boat. They talked more about it, discussing what its primary use would be. For the most part, it would be used to travel to the nearby islands and scavenge for anything of use, any other reasons would present themselves eventually.
Kazuichi: "Oh, I've got an idea. We could ditch Nagito on another island."
Hajime: "Why?"
Kazuichi: "Because it's Nagito."
Hajime: "I don't think it would end there, he'd probably find his own fully functioning boat and come back."
Kazuichi: "Come on, nobody can be that lucky."
Hajime looked at his friend with a brow raised, his only response was a shrug. Silence ensured, engulfing the room. The only sound heard was the light humming of the machinery around them. He closed his eyes to relax, Kazuichi did the same, pulling down his beanie so that the brim was over his eyes. Every now and then, one of them would say a word to make sure the other was awake.
===========Meanwhile===========
Nagito: "They really are committed, aren't they?" Nagito spoke to himself as he slowly moved his fingers across his stump. The skin there was extremely rough, comparable to jagged stone. A slight amount of pain still lingered, a constant reminder of his self-inflicted burn wound. "I can wait."
He leaned against the wall of the control room's building, soaking in the cold night air. As he said, he was completely fine with having to wait. He had a plan in mind, but that plan didn't include getting caught. He thought about acting on it tonight, which was why he was hovering around the building now.
Nagito: "It'll happen sooner or later, with my luck, it could go either way."