Okay, first off, thank you guys for your kind words, I really appreciate it! Since I can't reply to the anonymous reviewers any other way, I'll just do it here again:
-Reader: That means a lot to me, I really don't know what to say. I truly hope I can meet your expectations! Also, you like Byakuya being stuck with a bunch of crazy eccentrics? Have fun with the new chapter then. ;)
-Nutrify: Monokuma's still gonna take another in-story day to make a reappearance… which I'd say takes at least 4 more chapters? This story is moving sooo slowly. There's so much good stuff I wanna get to but there's just too much other stuff that has to happen before. It's a real struggle.
Thanks to my beta reader, who suggested that I should rewrite half a scene, it's an extra-long chapter this time. Hope you like it.
Chapter 10: Wouldn't It Be Great If This Island Had a Hospital?
By the time Byakuya realized that Mikan was still following him, he had already gone back to the hotel's kitchen to prepare two more plates with food—plain white rice would be good enough for those two. He turned around to the nurse, who stood a way back, fidgeting nervously.
"What is it?" he asked.
She made an "Eeep" sound as she flinched at being addressed. Immediately, she looked down at her intertwining fingers. "I-I-I was just… I mean y-your…" She shut her eyes tightly and quickly said in a single breath, "I would like to take a look at your arm!" Then, almost startling herself with her own request, she opened her eyes wide, adding, "I-if that's okay, of course!"
What on earth had he done to make her that nervous? "Right, you did say you wanted to do that." He looked at the rice cooker to estimate how long it would take to finish. He figured there was enough time for her to change his bandages in the meantime. "You can do that right now while we wait. Accompany me to the cottages afterwards to patch up Nagito when he gets his food."
"O-okay!" She quickly nodded and took off to get her supplies. She was back in record time and got to work. She finished fixing the new gauze in place almost at the same time the rice was done cooking. The fresh bandage was very welcome and made his arm feel better already.
Byakuya prepared the two plates, piling a bit more on Nagito's plate than on Teruteru's. He figured this was a good time as any to try and make the lucky student look less malnourished.
During the preparations, he considered letting the nurse carry one of the plates, since the strain from carrying it might be a bit too much for his injured right arm. However, he quickly remembered her tendency to trip over thin air and decided against it. "Mikan, I want you to go to the old cottage and check the storage room. Make sure that the irons Nagito prepared there are unplugged. Once you're done, come and meet me at the cottages." He would have to make the trip twice and sending her off on this errand would mean he could bring Teruteru his food first and then come back to get Nagito's.
She nodded hesitantly. "Alright." Clutching the first-aid kit to her chest, she left the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Byakuya made his way over to the cottages, plate in one hand, an empty glass in the other. He could manage that much with his injured arm. If they both had a glass in their cottage, they could just fill it up with tap water whenever they were thirsty and he wouldn't have to waste more time than necessary to bring them something else to drink. He struggled a bit with opening the door, but eventually managed it. Teruteru was sitting on his bed, not looking up from the ground as he entered.
"I brought your breakfast," he said.
Teruteru didn't move. The "Thank you" he mumbled sounded hollow.
Byakuya rolled his eyes and set the plate down on his nightstand. He then proceeded to tell him that he would keep the key to his lodge for now and regulate any possible visitors.
Again, Teruteru barely reacted. He just shifted his weight a little on the bed. "Okay," he said quietly.
Shaking his head, Byakuya walked out to make his way back to the kitchen to get the second plate. If Teruteru wanted to sulk, that was his decision.
When he returned, Mikan was already waiting for him by Nagito's door. "So?" he asked her.
"T-they were all unplugged," she quickly said in response.
"Good." He nodded and held out the plate for her. "Hold this."
For a second, he feared she would drop the plate after all, as she struggled taking it, but she ended up keeping it firmly in her grasp. Just to be safe, he took it back immediately after opening the door.
Nagito was smiling at them when they entered. "Oh, you bring me food? I feel honored that—"
"Quiet," Byakuya cut him off and handed him the plate. "Don't mistake this for anything but a bare necessity. I can't have you starving to death."
Mikan placed her first aid kit down and then hovered uncertainly at the boy's bedside. "Uhm… sh-should I wait for you to finish eating?"
"Oh, no, I wouldn't want you to waste more time than necessary on a failure like me. I can eat this later," Nagito quickly assured her, setting his plate aside and looking at her expectantly.
"Uh… I… r-right…" She obviously didn't know how to react to that, so she trailed off and got to work.
While Mikan went about taking care of Nagito's wound, Byakuya used the time to fill the glass with water in the adjacent bathroom. Nagito wouldn't be able to get up, so he couldn't do it himself. Maybe it would be better to get him a pot later, so he wouldn't have to rely on him to get water. Byakuya was already fed up with how much legwork the two troublemakers became.
Once he came back and placed the glass next to the plate where the lucky student could reach it from the bed, Byakuya stood off to the side to watch the proceedings. The wound didn't look quite as nasty as he would have imagined. The skin around it had started to bruise a little, but since the wound itself was rather small in diameter, it didn't look as serious, especially since it had been cleaned up. His stitched-up arm actually looked worse in comparison.
When Mikan was done and had finished packing up her supplies, he expected her to leave with him, but to his surprise, she kept lingering when he walked to the door. Turning around, he saw her fidgeting nervously.
"I… uhm… I was wondering if I could speak to him alone for a few minutes?" She dared to take a look at his face, but she immediately dropped her gaze when she saw Byakuya scowling.
"Didn't I say earlier that I wouldn't allow anyone to talk to Nagito or Teruteru without supervision?" The gears in his mind already began turning and he wondered what she was planning.
"I… Y-yes, but—!"
"If you have anything else to say to him, you can do it now, but I will not leave the room."
She looked like she would cave, but she surprised him again when she kept arguing. "B-But I can't discuss p-patient information in front of a third person. It's c-confidential."
Patient information? What, was there something wrong with his wound? "If there is a problem, I would demand to know about it anyway. Spit it out. I will not change my mind about this."
Mikan looked like she was about to burst into tears, her hands interlocked in a white-knuckled grip. Taking a shaky breath, she turned around to Nagito and squeezed her eyes shut as she bowed deeply. "I-I'm extremely s-s-sorry about this, but I need to ask you if you received p-previous treatment for your condition or if you need to take medication regularly!" she squeaked out.
Byakuya's eyebrows rose. Condition?
Nagito blinked once, looking surprised, then he chuckled. "Oh, so you've noticed."
"I saw that your lymph nodes are swollen and i-it seems like you've lost a lot of weight lately," she stammered out. Then, she quickly added, "O-of course, I can't make a proper diagnosis just based on that, but—"
"You are sick?" Byakuya asked sternly "And you didn't tell anyone?"
Mikan snapped back up and looked at him in horror.
Nagito just smiled at him. "There is no need to worry. It's not contagious." Then, his smile dropped a little and with a sigh he turned his head to address Mikan, "It's okay, I don't mind him knowing. I was diagnosed with stage 3 malignant lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia right before I was accepted into Hope's Peak Academy."
The nurse gasped, while Byakuya asked incredulously, "You have cancer and dementia?"
"I got started on chemotherapy and a number of different pills as soon as I got the diagnosis."
Mikan tugged at a strand of her hair in distress. "Lymphoma is treatable, even at stage 3, b-b-but we don't have a way to continue your treatment here on the island."
Byakuya's facial expression hardened. "Is that why you tried to kill someone? You felt like you had to get off this island to receive further medical help?"
Nagito cocked his head to the side as if he didn't quite understand what he was saying. "No, that's not it. I told you already that I wanted to see your hope shine."
That only served to anger him. He raised his voice as he said, "Don't give me that nonsense! Why would—"
"Please stop! Shouting at him won't help!"
He stared at Mikan, momentarily speechless from her outburst. She blushed and ducked her head under his gaze.
"I'm sorry," she lamented quickly, "but he's a patient and I… I…" She trailed off.
Byakuya huffed, looking over at Nagito whose curious eyes were now trained on Mikan. Byakuya couldn't imagine that these illnesses didn't play any role in his behavior last night. He just couldn't figure out whether he did it because he wanted to get off this island to get treatment or because he felt like he was going to die anyway and didn't value his own life anymore. Maybe a combination of both? Was his whole spiel about hope and despair just an act? But then, why did it sound so eerily similar to what Junko had believed in?
He sighed. "For now, it seems there is nothing else you can do here. Mikan, I need to talk to you outside."
Mikan looked back and forth between them for a moment, visibly torn between her desire to care for her patient and acknowledging that she really couldn't help him right now. In the end, she hung her head and nodded, following him outside.
Byakuya locked the door, then he asked her seriously, "How would this affect him? Does he have any physical restrictions? Is he going to have memory loss or something?"
The nurse looked back at the cottage door sadly. "He shouldn't be too impaired physically. I-I mean, his body is still fully operational, but he is generally weakened, e-especially considering lymphoma is often accompanied by sudden weight loss and fever. As for his mental capabilities, frontotemporal dementia mostly affects the s-social skills and the ability to speak. In the early stages, it usually leads to a change in the patient's behavior. He could become a-aggressive or tactless or act irrationally… In later stages, he might have trouble finding words or even lose the ability to speak entirely. He could get problems with his memories later, but those symptoms wouldn't be as strong as in other forms of dementia like Alzheimer's," she explained.
Irrational and aggressive behavior? Well, if his actions yesterday weren't irrational, Byakuya didn't know what else they would have been. He breathed out slowly. Just great. So, it was entirely possible that his weird behavior originated from some stupid disease. "Is there anything you can do to relieve the symptoms?"
Hearing that question, Mikan hung her head. "I don't think so. L-like I said, lymphoma is treatable, but there is no known cure for frontotemporal dementia. And even if there was, we don't have access to it on this island." She suddenly started wailing, "P-please forgive me! I'm u-useless!"
Hmph. Perfect. That was exactly what they needed on top of their other worries. "We will get off this island. It's only a matter of time," he told her firmly. There was no doubt about that in his mind. "In the meantime, we don't have any other choice but to keep an eye on him. For now, continue treating his stab wound and just make sure he doesn't die."
There wasn't anything else they could do. He could only hope that there wouldn't be any complications with Nagito's conditions. Who knew what might happen if he ended up dying because of it? Maybe Monokuma would blame Mikan for not saving his life. The idea was ridiculous, but he wouldn't put it past the bear.
Mikan nodded and responded with a timid "Okay…"
"You can approach me whenever you feel you need to do a check-up, but try to keep it to the minimum."
"Y-yes," she said, lowering her gaze to the ground.
Well, at least that was cleared up for now. "If you'll excuse me, I have some other things to do," he said, already turning to leave.
He heard her replying with an "O-of course!" and left the hotel area without another look. He hadn't meant for this to take that long. Who could have known that Nagito would cause even more trouble, just by existing? They would have all been better off if he had died from his illness before he had come to this island… Well, it was no use contemplating what could have been.
There was another thing he wanted to do as soon as possible. Last night, he had made up his mind to get some people involved in his attempt to keep the others alive. There weren't many students he would trust with a job like this. Most of them hadn't shown much potential and responsibility yet. However, if he was going to appoint helpers, Hajime and Sonia seemed to be the most reliable candidates for now. Or at the very least they seemed less likely to cause trouble than anyone else. If he could get those two to keep an eye open for unusual activities or conflict, it would help him spread the workload.
There were also Mahiru, Chiaki, Mikan and Kazuichi who could potentially be helpful in other ways, since he didn't expect them to actively work against him and they also didn't seem to be too insane to work with, but he wasn't sure if they were really up to the task at hand. Chiaki didn't seem reliable in any way, while Mikan and Kazuichi both weren't assertive and forceful enough to step in, should any issues arise. Well, Mikan was already good to have as a nurse, so she didn't actually need any extra tasks on top of that. As for Mahiru, Byakuya wasn't quite sure if she wouldn't end up causing trouble in some way with her stubbornness and that bossy nature of hers, if only unintentionally.
Well, he would see if he could find a use for those other three in time. For now, he would settle for two people.
Unfortunately, he didn't get far in his search. As he left the hotel and considered where either of them was most likely to be, he was alerted by a female battle cry and loud noises coming from the beach. Immediately, Byakuya took off as fast as his legs would carry him and arrived at the beach in record time.
Long before he had reached them, he spotted the cause of the disturbance. Akane and Nekomaru were engaged in a fierce battle, the two of them trading blows without hesitation and with no regard for either person's safety. He also noticed Gundham and Hiyoko standing some ways off, looking unconcerned with the fight. Byakuya scowled.
"Knock it off!" he shouted as soon as he was within hearing range.
The combatants ignored him. Akane just continued swinging her leg in a high kick to Nekomaru's face, which he deflected with his forearm with seemingly no effort at all. He retaliated quickly by swiping out her other leg from under her. However, instead of falling to the ground, she twisted her body backwards in the air, caught herself with her hands in the sand and tried to hit him with her feet as she flipped back in a wide arch. Nekomaru narrowly avoided the attack and settled back in a defensive stance right as she landed back on her feet and charged again with a primal scream to punch him in the stomach this time.
"Stop fighting immediately! I won't repeat myself!" Byakuya yelled again, as he came to a stop just far enough so he wouldn't be hit by a stray limb.
Akane still didn't acknowledge him, but Nekomaru thankfully took note and caught her fist in his hands. He grunted from the impact but stood his ground. "Akane, wait. Byakuya wants to speak to us."
"Can't that wait? We're kind of in the middle of something here," she said through gritted teeth, rather breathlessly, as she struggled to free her hand from his grasp.
"No, it can't!" Byakuya cut in, "What on earth are you thinking? What reason do you have to start a fight like that?"
She turned her head to look at him in confusion, which made him see the blood trickling down the side of her face. "Do you need a reason to fight?" she asked, genuinely curious. Seeing as she relaxed a bit, Nekomaru let go of her hand, so Akane, still straining against his grip, stumbled a few steps back.
"Yes, you do!" Byakuya bristled. "In case you've already forgotten, we are in a killing game! You don't just start a fight unless you want people to think you're trying to kill them!"
"Aw, don't be so dramatic. No one's killing anyone. We were just sparring," she argued with a shrug that turned into her rolling her shoulders to work out some kinks.
"You call this sparring?" Byakuya asked, pointing at her head. "You sustained an injury already and you still didn't stop! What if one of you had gotten killed on accident?"
"Huh?" She raised her hand to pat her head. When she touched the side of her head where her injury was hidden under her mop of hair, she winced a little and brought her hand in front of her face to look at it in confusion as she saw the blood on her fingers. Then she grinned brightly. "Psh, this is nothing to worry about. I didn't even notice when I got it. I've had worse before."
This girl was impossible. Not a single working brain cell in her head. It really wasn't surprising, given that she must have taken a lot of blows to the head in the past to be this careless about a head injury. "You still don't understand the gravity of your situation? Do you want to get executed this badly?"
She raised an eyebrow at that, but he already moved on and rounded on Nekomaru. "And you! Aren't you supposed to be a coach? I thought you were responsible for training people, not getting into a brawl with them!"
At least Nekomaru had the self-awareness to look slightly guilty. "We did get a bit carried away," he admitted. Still, he argued, "However, a fight is good training for reflexes, strength, flexibility, …" He trailed off when he saw Byakuya's scorching look directed at him and cleared his throat. "Well, but you're right, we were too reckless about it. It won't happen again."
"Hey, what are you talking about? How am I supposed to beat you when you hold back? C'mon, I didn't have an opponent this strong in a while!"
Nekomaru shook his head. "Just because we won't be engaging in an all-out fight doesn't mean I can't train you. I see a lot of potential in you, but you are wasting a lot of it by focusing on raw strength rather than technique." His tone became chiding. "You've got the talent of the Ultimate Gymnast, yet I barely see you making any use of it. You've got a lot to learn until you can call yourself a master of your discipline."
Akane looked down with an unhappy frown, twisting the tip of her shoe in the sand. "Yeah, whatever."
Byakuya rolled his eyes. How nice the world must seem for someone with such a simple mind. Without commenting on her behavior, he turned around. "Don't think I forgot about you two either," he addressed Hiyoko and Gundham, who were still keeping their distance, even though Hiyoko had apparently been curious enough to come a few steps closer.
"What are you talking about? Maybe you should get your glasses checked if your eyesight is that bad. I didn't do anything!" the short girl replied indignantly.
"Exactly! Why didn't you try to stop them?"
"And get myself killed in the process?" she asked with a derisive grin. "No thanks. Unlike you, I actually value my life."
Byakuya forced himself take a deep breath, then he asked Gundham, "What's your excuse?"
The breeder looked off to the side over the ocean. "Great forces clash at times. Such is the nature of the universe," he said darkly.
"Unacceptable!" Byakuya snapped. He registered in satisfaction that Hiyoko flinched a little. "Just so we are clear, if you see a fight happening, I expect you to help break it up before anything worse happens! Otherwise I will hold you accountable!"
"Well, what do you expect me to do? Throw myself between them?" Hiyoko asked sarcastically.
"No, but I expect you to at least try to talk some sense into them!" God, these students were giving him a headache. "I am aware that you wouldn't be able to physically restrain anyone, but you could at least do everything you would be able to do. And where do you think you're going?!" He asked without missing a beat as he heard footsteps crunching in the sand behind him. Turning, he saw that it was Akane who tried to wander away.
"Huh? We're done here, right? I was gonna go grab a bite to eat," she answered matter-of-factly, looking unaware of what she did wrong.
"You will not. Nekomaru will accompany you back to the hotel. If you're lucky, Mikan might still be there. You need to get that wound checked immediately. No detour to the restaurant. Are we clear?" he stressed.
"Oh, come on. All I need is some meat in my belly and I'll be fine." She emphasized her claim by patting her stomach.
"You will go and see Mikan! No food until you received treatment!" He could just hope that she would follow his instructions. He neither had the time nor the drive to make sure she actually did as she was told. He would have to rely on Nekomaru for that.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. Would it be alright if someone else went with her?" the coach threw in at that point.
So much for that plan. Well, it wasn't like there was a single responsible person present, so there was really no reason to prefer one over the other. "Fine. In that case—"
"Not me! I'm not crazy enough to go along with that. What if she's got even more brain damage now and attacks me on the way? Gundham can go, nobody would be sad if he died anyway," Hiyoko interrupted him.
"Hah!" Gundham exclaimed with a confident grin, as Hiyoko already stomped off. "I have faced demonic beasts and creatures much fiercer and more dangerous in the past! I will not step down nor perish from a task like this. It is barely a challenge for the Overlord of Ice!"
…Why did he have to deal with this? Wouldn't it just be easier for him if they killed each other off?
"Fine!" Byakuya exclaimed in exasperation. "Then Gundham accompanies her to see Mikan. I'm relying on you, so make sure she doesn't get into any more trouble. Please." There, he'd done it. He stooped low enough to say 'please.' That's how desperate they had made him. If they still managed to screw that up, he would probably end up screaming.
He waited for them to leave, watching them with narrowed eyes until they disappeared down the road, before he faced Nekomaru. Taking another deep breath to brace himself for what was to come from this, he asked, "What is it you wanted to speak to me about?" Oh, how he hoped it wasn't another problem he had to solve. This was only their fourth day on this island, yet it seemed like everything kept getting worse with every passing second. He needed a break to recover his sanity.
"Well, I already spoke about it with Hajime last night and we both agreed that we should build a stronger bond in the group," Nekomaru explained.
One of Byakuya's eyebrows rose. "A bond?"
Nekomaru nodded. "Yes, I believe it would help our situation if we could establish some sort of team spirit. We need to think of us as a unit instead of as individuals who happen to be in the same situation. It's the same with sports teams. One player alone can't win the game, but if everyone is united under the same goal where they all complement each other and work together, they can succeed."
Byakuya's first instinctual reaction was to dismiss the idea as idiotic. However, he was aware that this was just due to his own upbringing. When you were alone, competing against all of your siblings, the lone wolf approach was suitable. This situation was different. He needed to take that into account, so he forced himself to actually think about it.
Back at the start of the first killing game, he had regarded them all as single competitors striving to win the game. He had even encouraged them to distrust one another, because that had been what seemed to be the most logical thing to do. Because he had seen it as a competition. This time, that wasn't what it was. He wanted the students to survive instead of engaging in stupidly killing each other. He needed a different approach from the first time if he wanted to accomplish that.
Granted, he didn't have much experience with this, but he could recall how they had been able to escape the first killing game. Sakura's suicide had been the first incident that made them feel a little more like a group, but it hadn't been enough. They had still doubted each other and ended up voting for a wrong blackened after falling for the mastermind's tricks. But once they had started working towards the same goal, they had been able to corner the mastermind and win the game in an entirely unconventional way. He wouldn't exactly call it trust, but they had ended up seeing each other as one group standing against Monokuma and his puppeteer. So, he guessed there had been some connection they had built their resolve upon, if only due to the fact that they were in the same boat.
Building a bond among the students right from the start actually sounded like it would be a good idea when he thought about it like that. Such good advice coming from Nekomaru of all people was a bit unexpected, though Byakuya probably shouldn't be too surprised. As a team manager, he would obviously have experienced the effects group mentality could have on people's morale first-hand. If anyone knew best what it meant to be a team, it would be him.
Maybe he wouldn't be as useless as Byakuya had thought only seconds ago. Granted, it had seemed that Akane had started the earlier fight and Nekomaru had just failed to put a stop to it. Though, that didn't mean that the coach was any better in his book. Byakuya didn't know nearly enough about him to be able to judge him properly. But at least he seemed to be a bit more open to communication. And if he came up with suggestions like this, he might be able to help figure out group-related problems, as long as he didn't get involved in any physical arguments.
He nodded approvingly, after mulling the issue over in his head. "This sounds like it would be helpful in our current situation. Do you have any suggestions on how to accomplish this?"
Nekomaru gave him a huge grin that took up at least half of his face. "I knew you would understand. You really are a fitting leader."
Well, he already knew that, but it was nice knowing that the commoners were able to see it, too.
"One of the most important things to do would be to initiate positive and reinforcing group activities. It can be as simple as eating together or keeping a regular exercise routine. I'd actually recommend both. After all, keeping your body healthy and working up a sweat is a good way to deal with stress!" He laughed, which kind of made Byakuya's ears ring. Why did his voice have to be so damn loud, anyway?
But eating together, huh? Well, he'd never participated in them, but his own classmates used to have these weird breakfast meetings, right? Maybe they could establish the same thing on this island. Working out on the other hand… he would have to consider it. Keeping them all in line was enough of a workout in his mind. Besides, he didn't see how doing exercises would help them becoming a group.
"In that case, I will make attendance at breakfast mandatory, starting tomorrow," he told the coach, nodding to himself.
"That's good!" Nekomaru beamed. "It would also encourage conversations among us, which is important for our mental and emotional stability."
Mental and emotional stability? What? Byakuya frowned. "What do you mean by that? Could you elaborate?"
Nekomaru furrowed his brow and reached up to scratch his neck. "Well, you know… being trapped on this island and this whole killing game ordeal is sure to put everyone under a lot of stress. It's important to share your emotional baggage in situations like this, or you might not be able to handle it, right? I mean, look what happened to Teruteru." He sighed with closed eyes, looking pained somehow. "I'm sure he's not a bad person, but he must have been terribly desperate to escape in order to do what he did. And no one knew he was feeling that way, because he bottled it all up. After all, we don't know each other. Of course, he wouldn't have been comfortable talking with us about this sensitive stuff. Do you know what I mean?"
Well… he started to see where the coach was coming from. He nodded slowly, pushing up his glasses when they slipped a little. "I see. There might be more students hiding their true feelings, and if they reach an emotional breaking point, it could end in disaster." He hadn't even thought of that. What a pain. Why did humans have to be so complicated?
"Yes, but if they interact more and get closer to each other, they might just become friends in no time. And once they feel comfortable enough to talk about their fears, they'll probably open up to their new friends."
Was that how it worked? Byakuya hadn't felt this way, not even towards the other survivors of his first killing game. He would go so far as to call them friends, but that didn't mean he had the desire to talk to them about anything. Then again, he didn't have a load of teen angst bottled up inside of him that he would need to talk about. Apparently, it was different for people with mundane problems.
In that case, just one meeting a day might not be enough. His own classmates had been meeting for breakfast regularly, but it hadn't prevented any murders among them. Well, they had become friends eventually, which also meant that the murders stopped, but it had taken them too long to reach that point. Was there anything else he could mandate now that would cause them to spend more time together?
"It might be a good idea to make sure we all stay together as long as we are in this killing game. It would drastically reduce the chances of another murder happening and it would lead to people spending their time together, so they can become friendly with each other," Byakuya eventually suggested.
Nekomaru frowned a little at that. "Another murder? Nobody killed anyone."
Tch. Slip of the tongue. "Yet," he countered.
The coach shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea regardless."
"Oh?" One of his eyebrows rose as he crossed his arms. "And why would that be?"
"It might just put them under more stress," Nekomaru explained calmly. "I understand your reasoning, but if they feel forced to interact, it would just strain their relationships. Besides, they might not be comfortable spending so much time together. Everyone needs a break at some point. If they can't retreat when they feel overwhelmed, they might start associating their negative emotions with the group. People need their privacy and their free will."
That… sounded plausible. As much as he wished for a simple way to keep tabs on everyone, he couldn't possibly justify it against a reasoning like that.
… Well, spending all day with all these nutcases would have been exhausting to no end anyway.
"Fine," he conceded, still a little reluctantly. "I shall think of something else."
