"So what're we gonna do from now on?" Kazuichi asked. The five friends had gathered in the control room the morning after Komaeda had vanished. The question was aimed at Hajime, whom had said the night before that he'd think things over.

"We stay alert. Other than that, we can't really do anything." Fuyuhiko gave his own answer. Hinata said nothing to object, nodding when Soda looked at him for confirmation.

"There isn't much we can do, is there?" Sonia questioned that they could do anything to handle the situation.

"No, not until we find him, or he reveals himself to us. So until then, we keep an open eye at all times. That's going to mean less sleep for most of us." Hajime spoke an irritating truth. Because of Komaeda, their peaceful lives on the island had to be adjusted for their own safety. "Fuyuhiko, you agreed to stay with me here during the night, right?"

"Yeah. Sucks, but I'll do it." he reluctantly agreed.

"Wait!" Kazuichi interrupted, making a few of his friend flinch. "What's gonna stop him from breaking into someone's cottage and doing something!?"

"Even with one arm, I can't say that that'd be out of his realm of capabilities." presented with another possible safety precaution, Hinata probed his brain for an answer. "It's up to you all, of course, but we could all sleep here. For the time being."

"I would feel better knowing you were all nearby." Sonia quickly accepted the proposal.

"I planned on staying with Hajime, so count me in!" Akane had already made up her mind.

"Sleep here? Where, on the floor?" Kazuichi wasn't so willing to give up his bed.

"It's alright if you stay in your cottage. It'll make it easier for him to pick you off." Fuyuhiko teased, an odd amount of sincerity in his tone.

"No no no, fine! I'll stay too!"

"So it's agreed then. Until it's safe to do otherwise, we all sleep here from now on."

The basis of their safety measures now established, they began padding on extra details. 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 at all times.

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, Komaeda wasn't planning to hurt someone.

Night One/First Shift

"You used that word? Exactly?"

"Yeah...I did."

Fuyuhiko and Hajime sat on the floor atop their makeshift beds. The others had 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.

"Since when did you jump from like, to that?"

"When I started getting to know her. In there. 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.

"Hey!" Akane's body shot up, her attempt at whispering almost turning into yelling. "Mind your own damn business!"

"Go back to sleep." Fuyuhiko spat back as quietly as possible. "Before the ghosts get you."

"You don't want to do that." Hinata sighed, shaking his head as the two of them watched Owari stand. She starting walking towards Fuyuhiko, cracking her knuckles as she approached.

"I'm gonna rip your good eye out of its socket, if you don't shut the HELL up." she gripped Kuzuryu by the shoulder and lifted him as she leaned in, spitting venom into his ear. He only giggled in reply. Beside them, Hinata stared into space to avoid involvement.

Night Three/Second Shift

"I did?"

"Yes, you did."

Sonia and Akane conversed quietly as the others slept. They shared a seat on one of the empty pods, a short distance from where the boys slept.

"I can't see it." Akane was oblivious to the point her friend was making. She shook her head confidently, however. Sonia would have to try harder in order for her to understand.

"Well...let's see...how would you feel if, you thought Hinata liked another girl? Could you have said anything to him then?"

"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 Hinata waving her off before he rolled onto his side. He was telling her to give up, something she was going to do anyway.

Night Four/First Shift

"Do you think you could make a boat?"

"I can make A boat. It's not gonna be anything you'd find at any fancy ass dealership, though. I don't have the materials to make anything too extravagant. What kind did you have in mind?"

"One with a motor. To travel in between islands."

"So I'd have to build a motor, and a boat. I think we might have enough junk lying around to do that."

Hinata and Soda 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.

"Oh, I've got an idea. We could ditch Komaeda on another island."

"Why."

"Because it's Komaeda."

"I don't think it would end there. He'd probably find his own fully functioning boat and come back."

"Come on, nobody can be that lucky."

Hinata looked at his friend with a brow raised. His only response was a shrug. Silence ensued, engulfing the room. The only sound heard was the light humming of the machinery around them. He closed his eyes to relax. Soda 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.

"They really are committed, aren't they?" Komaeda 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 debated acting on it tonight, which was why he hovered around the building at the moment.

"It'll happen sooner or later. With my luck, it could go either way."