"So, Kamikita, was it?"

"Fuee?"

Kamikita tilted her head, looking up at him while the boy was observing every inch of her appearance:

Her blonde pigtails that were knotted by a pair of red-and-white long ribbons and a yellow stellar pin; her dusty light yellow sweater worn over her school uniform with a red bow around her collar; her plaid skirts hanging on her waist down, concealing her bright white thighs nicely; and the most interesting part was her small hands, wrapped by a pair of oven mitts, which normal people used to protect their hands from hot objects. But she was told that they're going to play baseball so there's no reason to wear those type of mittens at all. This very uncommon behaviour had tickled his profound curiosity.

"Why are you wearing mittens?"

"Don't you need these for baseball? I know that much! Tee hee~!"

He had to raise his eyebrows. It was such unexpected retort, even though she put it in a rather cute manner, the content itself was surprising because he feels that the form of real baseball gloves were common knowledge.

This was their initial meeting; a childish, yet mature boy matched an honest to a fault girl. Even though they had been studying at the same school and they had known each other before now, this was their very first time they talk to each other; engaged into a conversation.

She was such a pure girl, as pure as shining of a silk. This very character of her had made him cynical about her. What could a weak looking angelic girl like her possibly do to help his baseball team or ultimately, his secret plan?

However, he couldn't just ask her to leave. He had asked his best friend Naoe to bring in new members of his baseball team and Kamikita-san here was the first one he brought. It would be disrespectful and discouraging to Naoe if he just reject her, therefore, he at least had to give the clumsy girl an entrance test.

"Kamikita, what is necessary for baseball?" asked he, looking serious.

"Um… That would be…"

…

"GUTS!" she exclaimed vigorously. "BRAVERY, aaaand...

"—FRIENDSHIP!"

"—YOU PASS!" the boy jumped instinctively for the girl had surprised him, in the best way possible. He already forgot his pessimistic thoughts about her because her way of thinking had resonated to his young soul in the deepest of his heart, allowing him to accept the girl to join his baseball team — which at that time only consisted of his precious childhood group of friends — without considering her lack of physical aptitude.

That was the first time she moved his heart through her virtuous behavior alone. He never had guessed that she would amaze him countless times in the future and those events would also led them to a closer friendship. But that's not the only case for the girl; they also endowed her with admiration for him.

The two eventually grew imminent to each other, close enough for the boy to finally tell her about his secret plan and the truth about 'this' world. Of course such revelation was a shock to the pure-hearted Kamikita Komari.

"T—that's horrible… how could this happen?" she stuttered in fear.

He just nodded slightly in react to Kamikita's response, but he still had his heavy feelings on his chest after he explained the whole facts that he knew but she had not yet. However, he never threw off his calm expression for it's the leader's job not to make his team member worried. "So will you help me… Kamikita?"

"Of course! Even without you asking, I'd help you!" she replied, clasping her hands together as she closed her teary eyes. "This is for Riki-kun and Rin-chan…"

He smiled gently. "Thank you, Kamikita."

She looked at him who's sitting right next to her. "Kyousuke-san, you know…"

His sight fell from the starry sky to the blonde as he heard his name being called and quickly noticed a pink hint across her cheeks as she requested, "… you can just call me by my first name..."

She stammered, unable to bear the tense atmosphere within her own chest. She also a bit takes him aback with her demand because the only girl he calls with her first name is his own beloved little sister. To call an opposite sex that's not his family by her first name means that the person is dear to him. This girl, who's looking away to hide her blush, is definitely passionate and friendly with him. After having spent two months with her, he knows that his affiliation with her is special. Hence, without a doubt, he remarked, "Okay. I'll be counting on you…"

"Komari."

...

Chapter 1: "The Ending is The Beginning"

A white world with millions orb of lights floating and vanishing. Each light carried every element in this crumbling illusionary world. They are the component of this world, like how every piece of pixel in your computer screen gathered to create a sensible picture, or particles of sand in a desert. Slowly, but surely, everything in this world started to disappear. Nobody could prevent the end of this world. Not even the creator himself. It's as if the world has its own mind and it had decided to dissolve itself after serving its purpose as a special vessel for a group of people.

It's the world where nothing happen.

The world was crowded, but there are only three people left now. The couple who is already running away, trying to escape from the ending of this world; and then the creator of this world, a man who stays on the remaining of the school's baseball field. From his position, he could see the whole city. Lands, trees, mountains, rivers, even the couple he loved the most in his life that has been separated from him by distant space. Everything turned into lights and ceased to exist, leaving an empty white void. The world feels so much bigger now since he could no longer see the horizon. The auburn-haired guy turned around. In front of him was the school building that he had gone to for almost 3 years, one of the most precious places in his life and the only place he did his best to hold with his remaining power.

He decided to go into the building. He wanted to reminisce everything that happens in this school: every sad moments or happy moments, everything. As a senior, he was supposed to graduate next year if not for the truth of the other world. Therefore, there's a desire in his heart to value every seconds remaining.

He arrived at the lockers. As usual, other students would greet him.

"Natsume, good morning!"

And his fan girls cheering him.

"Kyaaa! Natsume-senpaiii!"

"Oh, my... He's as handsome as usual~"

He opened his locker and put on his indoor shoes to venture deeper into the empty school building. He stepped up the stairs, heading towards his class on the third floor. He slid the door open, revealing the hollow classroom. His heart ached, his head hurts, his sight went blurry; with a smile on his face, he gazed upon his desk at the corner of the room. From his course around the school, supported by the fact that he could only hear his own heartbeat, he could confirm that he really is alone now.

He dropped his knees down to the floor, as if losing his will to stand. He clenched his fist, tensed his muscles, grimaced his teeth, and furrowed his brows. His thoughts of him dying soon as he left this world had sent him to despair.

Moments later, a line of smirk was formed on his face. He knew this was bound to happen eventually. Everyone he had worked with to carry on his mission would leave him and he'll be all alone for a moment in this world he created.

However…

Suddenly he heard a girl's voice along with a flash of a pair of ribbons with star-shaped hairpins. The voice said, "I want to watch over Rin-chan until the very end!"

As he recalled his memory, he stood up.

"Komari…" he muttered. He still had this feeling in his heart telling him not to go, weighing him a pessimistic thoughts that prevented him from moving. However, he fought it. He dislikes despair. He's always been bright and blithe in heart. He always thinks straightforward. He played god by creating a world for his noble quest and he didn't really enjoy it because he had to act out of his character. That's why he fought back. Rather than being alone and sad, he decided to see her face before the end to share the remaining time together. For she always brought him and the team the light of happiness.

He followed the direction of the image he had just seen. He walked down the hall, climbed the stairs, and eventually come across the door to the rooftop. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. In just a second, he found a small window. He figured that she just jumped through the gap of the window. So, he tried to do the same and finally, arrived at the rooftop. He expected to see the nostalgic face of hers, but there's nothing than empty space and wire fence. "She's already gone…" he reflected.

Once again, his thoughts were denied.

…

*BONK!* "Kyah!"

Just now, he heard a girlish cry he knows very well. Hope immediately filled his heart. He checked his surrounding, yet found no one. So he moved from his spot. The guy walked around the locked door and found a ladder. He climbed it, taking him to the water tower. At the gap underneath the huge barrel, she lied, a blonde girl with a pair of ribbons and a stellar hairpin on the side of her head. Or rather, he is sure that she always wears them in pair, but one of them is missing.

"Komari," he called her name.

The girl who's still in pain after accidentally hitting her head to the water tank opened her blue eyes and discovered an auburn-haired guy, the leader of her team and the guy who dragged her all the way into this illusionary world. The guy she really respected for his leadership and his caring to the members. She put on her smile as she replied his greeting, "Kyousuke-san~"

He raised his eyebrow, trying to analyze what in the world is the girl doing under the water tower. Her dusty sweater said that she probably lied face down a minute ago; her dirty knees also support the assumption. Underneath was her untucked shirt. Kyousuke had never seen her dressing messily like that. Considering her hobbies and such, there's only one answer to this mystery: she was she's trying her best to reach the deepest part of the pit. She stretched her arms and that had made her shirts escaped from the skirt's grip.

She scratched her right cheek while chuckling goofily, "Umm… This… I was just looking for my emergency snacks that I bought this morning. I figured that I could eat them later. Hee hee~"

"You were still thinking about sweets before the end of the world? That's amazing."

He gave his hand at her, offering a help to slide out of the uncomfortable small gap. As she took his hand, he remembered that he noticed a difference from her usual appearance when he came here earlier. He immediately understood something, "So you've met Rin, huh," he asked as he pulled the girl up.

"Yes," she confirmed with her heartwarming smile as she tidied her usual light yellow sweater and plaid skirt. "When she came to me, she had those strong eyes. The ones I always see when we are together. Happy and faithful eyes."

"… I see," he relieved a sigh. "Thank you, Komari. It's really all down to you Rin could evolved. You are the one who opened up Rin's heart. You, alongside Riki, are the only ones who really always been by her side. You, Komari. Without you, my plan won't work out. If it was another person - not you, I'm sure Rin would've stayed weak as she was."

She shook her head, "You are wrong."

Suddenly, the scenery around them slowly reappeared. The orange evening sun once again rose.

"Rin-chan has always been strong. Even though she didn't talk as much as I do, she has a strong conviction in herself and she would always finish what she's assigned to do. She knew her weakness well, but was still willing to challenge the problem in front of her until the end. For me, that is also called true strength," she claimed. "Well, she was a bit too shy at first. Hehehe~"

"Haruka-chan, Yui-chan, Mio-chan, Kud-chan, also Kengo-kun and Masato-kun gave all their best to support her," said her. "They're great friends, Kyousuke-san."

Kyousuke grinned as Komari chuckled.

"And, it's more like I'm the one who's saved! If it wasn't for Riki-kun and Rin-chan's and everyone's help, I would've still been trapped in that unending nightmare and never able to come out," she added.

"If it's about our mission, then it's all thanks to Kyousuke-san that we succeeded. No one worked harder than you. Though you had to bear the great pain from hurting your beloved childhood friends, you'd always back on your feet and try again, until you're sure that Rin-chan and Riki-kun have grown…"

Kyousuke didn't reply. He just gave her a sneer and a stare to her shimmering blue orbs. It went just like he thought. Being with her would put his heart at ease. Now, he could completely let go of them. This girl had made sure that his mission had succeeded and there's nothing to worry about. A brief second after that, he gazed upon the settling sun, followed by Komari.

"So, what should we do now~?" Komari wondered as she clasped her fingers. "Ah, let's eat this snacks for starters!"

Komari rustled the plastic bag and grabbed a box of chocolate bar. She opened the box, pulled out the content, and put it in her mouth. "Fue? You want some?"

Kyousuke who had been staring at her replied, "I'm amazed at how calm you are in this situation."

After that, he grabbed one stick from the box, "OK! Let's eat all these snacks before everything vanishes! Mission start!"

"Yosh! I'm motivated!" Komari yelled happily, "This has to be the best mission you've ever given to me, Kyousuke-san~!"

"Heh, I save the best for the last," he replied. But of course he wasn't serious about it.

The bag was full of sweets: chocolates, biscuits, chips, cakes, and etcetera, so it was pretty hard to eat them one after another. It makes him wonder how Komari normally eats all those snacks. When he looked at her, she was eating them slowly, enjoying each bite down to the smallest piece of the snack in her mouth. Without her knowing, the sky turns white as they emptied the convenience store bag.

With that, the happiness they gain from feasting upon the snacks had faltered and faded as their mind once again were brought back to their surroundings where everything is getting dim.

"Kyousuke-san… where are we going after we are dead?"

The term dead doesn't fit her image at all, but now she can only suck her tears up and face it head on.

"… I don't know. To be honest, I still don't believe that we are going to die… But if this world was made when we were only a step away from death, then shouldn't the afterlife be a much more beautiful world than this one?" Kyousuke snickered, trying his best to cover up his sadness.

"Hmm~ that doesn't seem so bad," she said with an honest smile across her face.

"Not bad at all. In fact, I'm quite sure you would be happy."

She trembled. Her eyes were teary as she cried. "… I can finally meet my older brother."

Kyousuke, as smart as he is, failed to realize that he had just brought the sensitive topic to the girl. Hence, she patted her head and brought her closer to him so that he could console her.

"… Komari… forgive me."

She grabbed his shirt as if she is about to fall. Her hidden expression emerged as she asked, "Kyousuke-san… are we really going to die?"

"…" He didn't react because even though he thought about the answer, he'll just stumble upon the same answer as before. However, her question reminded his mind about the aftermath scene just minutes ago when he was about to left Riki and Rin.

When he was crying his heart out.

"Why the hell must I leave everyone behind?! I just want to be with you. All along, all I wanted was to be with you. What is this bullshit?! Goddammit! I always, always wanted to be by your side. I loved all of you, but now... I must leave you behind? That's just unbelievable! Why? I don't understand! Shit!"

Without looking at him, Komari spoke. "Losing something is always sad. Even when I lose something as tiny as a worn-out eraser, I feel pretty down for a day or two. That's why I always look for him if he's not in my pencil case. Now, I've just spent the best time of my life here and have found so many precious friends, which I don't have in real life. If I die, am I going to lose all of them?"

Kyousuke had been listening to her next inquiry with a serious face. Her story was a sad one; he knows that very well as he watched every time Riki solved every members of little busters' problem. As the former leader, he also shared the pain with them while understanding all of them.

"Komari, at first, I was as desperate as you. I didn't want to leave everyone behind. But then I remembered… all the time we went through together. With that in mind, I can tell you that the Little Busters will live forever. Even in the hardest time, we will be together. Whatever happens, they won't leave our side. No matter how long the time has fled, they won't forget us. They love us, always. Our strong, beautiful bond won't fade through time and space," he explained and ended it with a wide grin. "And rest assured. In the end, we will be together again because it's the fate of humankind to die. We're just going ahead of everyone."

"Really? We will meet Rin-chan and everyone again?"

"Yes. That's what I've decided to believe. Like I said, we'll always be together!" he replied with his usual childish grin.

Komari loosened her grip on his shirt as her happy tears starting to burst out. She was thankful for Kyousuke's answer because they had successfully sent her sorrow away. It was like the time has stopped for them and the spheres of light around them were gracefully dancing, as if celebrating her happiness.

"!?" Suddenly, Kyousuke gasped and his eyes were wide open.

"What's wrong, Kyousuke-san?"

"Just now, I had just seen a glimpse of the real world… Turns out I'm still alive, barely. And those guys… Riki and Rin… are trying to rescue us all…"

"!" Komari covered her mouth just before it let out a loud yell.

It was normal for Kyousuke to occasionally get an image of the real world from this side because he also dragged his real body to the place where he was needed to be.

"Stupid! Even though we've done everything to make them able to survive on their own! Why!? Why the hell don't you go save your own asses!? Do you want to make all of our effort in vain?!" He clenched his fists.

Suddenly Komari placed her hand on the angered raging fist, telling him to calm down.

"You just said it yourself, Kyousuke-san," Komari reacted. "That they won't leave us, that they will not forget us. Besides…

"It's Rin-chan and Riki-kun. You've done everything to make them mature, to make them stronger! They won't let your hard work in vain. They'll save us for sure."

After he's cooled down, he grabbed Komari's hand that is on top of his and gave a smirk comeback. "You are right! Let's believe in them!"

"Yes!" she returned his smile.

"… and then Kyousuke-san… If we make it, if we are allowed to live again—"

At that time, somehow Kyousuke's consciousness is fading, rendering him from hearing Komari's phrase. He could read what her lips are speaking, but he got no sound or voice to hear. When he looked around, he realized that he and Komari have started to vanish away along with the light orbs.

Under the orange sky, holding each other's hand and gazing at each other's smile, Kyousuke and Komari stayed put as their surrounding turned into orb of lights and vanished in the air. A second later, Kyousuke's hand was empty. She had gone. She had gone to the real world, waiting for Kyousuke. The moment she left, Kyousuke knows that what awaits in the other world is not death, despair, or sorrow; but Komari and the rest of Little Busters along with endless happiness. He finally smiled contently and ready to take off from the world engulfed in white orb of light into the colorful world, the beautiful world where all of his beloved friends exist.

「つづく」

Author's Note: The fic will feature my OTP, Kyousuke x Komari. It's un-canonical, but there is a strong hint in the manga about these two. It's strongly implied that Komari has something for him. Oh, KEY wrote the manga so it should be official. Interesting, right? I mean, you must have this feeling of wanting to see what happened if Kyousuke is the hero instead of Riki and Komari is such typical KEY's heroine! Perfect! So I'm going to do my best to do this right. Oh, there will be other pairing, which is Riki x Rin (and maybe more).

As such, you probably have noticed that I'm using the anime's forced timeline for this fic. Don't worry; it won't be affecting the plot of this story too much.

By the way this fic is beta-red by PRONTO3000! Thanks a lot dude!

THANK YOU FOR READING~

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN LITTLE BUSTERS! If I do, I would've made this pairing Kyousuke x Komari official and instead of Kud Wafter I'd make a Kurugaya Ahhfter or Rin Nyafter instead!

If you have more free time, could you please tell me your thoughts on this story? If it's bad, please don't hesitate to tell me what has let you down.