It was a day like any other. No, I didn't say that right. It was the same day like all the others, the same 20th of June. As I lay on the grass and stared at the clouds that would never move, I couldn't help but think about the one person responsible for this inescapable time loop. The one who had made my life miserable by locking me up in this world, along with his closest friends. They weren't my friends, though. I didn't have any. Damn that redhead.
Natsume Kyousuke hadn't left his room in six days, or more precisely, in six times June 20th. According to Kengo and Masato, he just sat in his room against the wall, wearing a blanket over his head and reading his favorite manga. It sounded pathetic. Whereas the other Little Busters tried to live their lives to the fullest and bring joy to each other, their so-called 'leader' did nothing but spread gloom and depression.
'Watch out!' Upon hearing Masato's warning, I curled myself up like a ball and heard a dull thud right next to me. If I hadn't moved, the baseball would have definitely hit my arm. 'Sorry about that, I'm a little rusty.' Masato smiled as he walked up to me and grabbed the white ball. I just nodded and wanted to look to the sky once again, only to find my vision blocked by Masato's grinning face. 'You know,' he chuckled 'you can play with us if you like. It must be boring to look at the same sky over and over.'
They had done this so many times now, trying to get me involved with their group. It was a nice gesture, but it wasn't what I needed. What I needed was to escape to the real world, back to my real life of shutting myself in and playing video games all day. That was my life, not this fake friendship that wouldn't even last if things were to get serious. I didn't need friends; I just needed my old life back, that and my revenge at Kyousuke for doing this to me.
'No thank you, I'm fine. Maybe some other time.' I didn't even bother to look at Masato and instead, pointed my eyes at the grass next to me. He, on his turn, threw the ball back at Kengo, Riki and Rin and sat down next to me. 'You always say that, yet you never play with us.' The muscled guy made it hard for me to look away from him, as if my eyes were drawn towards his. 'You don't like us, do you?'
I shook my head and sat up straight, staring at the three members who were practicing their wings. They genuinely seemed to have fun, how could they in a world like this one? 'It's not that I don't like you, it's that I don't like being here.' I paused for a few seconds and expected Masato to interrupt me, but he never did. Instead, he looked intrigued and was ready to hear more. 'I just want to go home and live my life like I did before.'
The smile Masato showed was a sad one and as he wanted to speak, it seemed as if he recalled something and shut his mouth, after which he shrugged his shoulders and stood up. 'Well,' he sighed 'that's your choice, but it's kind of a waste, isn't it?' He put the baseball glove he had worn back on. 'You could have fun with us and play games all day long, but instead you're just sitting here, feeling sorry for yourself. If it were me, I would try to spread as much happiness as I could, because you never know what awaits you when these days are over.'
There was something strange about the way he said it, as if he knew more about this world than he would tell me. I wanted to ask him about it, but before I could, Masato was already back on the field, ready to hit one of Rin's pitches.
Then it struck me.
I had never once tried to ask questions to the one who probably knew most. Riki and Rin hadn't been able to answer me, Kengo wouldn't answer me and now Masato didn't seem like he was going to give anything away either. If I wanted to escape this horrible, repeatable fate, there was only one person I could try and pry answers from; the depressed leader.

'Are you in there?' After two whole minutes of knocking, Kyousuke still hadn't answered the door. My question really was a rhetorical one, I knew he was inside, tarring away underneath the blanket, I had seen him here once before. 'I'm coming in.' As I opened the door, my eyes were taken in by the darkness around me. I closed the shrieking door behind me and let my eyes get accustomed to my new surroundings. 'Kyousuke?' At first it seemed as if the red-haired leader wasn't in his room, but then a shuffling sound gave away his location.
He was sitting next to the door, completely covered in darkness. With the blanket pulled over his head, Kyousuke seemed so preoccupied with his manga, I wasn't sure if he had noticed me. Just looking at him would suck away any person's sense of joy and I could feel that the little amount of that feeling I possessed, wouldn't last long in this room.
Even so, I sat down next to him and tried to make eye contact, without success. Just when I thought the redhead was going to pay some attention to me, his actions took away that hope. Without saying anything, he stood up, switched his manga and sat back down. Before I could blink, he had already pulled the blanket back over his head and wanted to start with a new volume.
That was when I lost it.
'What is wrong with you?' While screaming, I yanked the manga out of his hands and threw it to the other side of the room, awaiting his response. Kyousuke didn't move, but that didn't stop me from letting him know how I felt. 'I can't even remember how many days it has been.' I had to fight my hardest to hold back the tears that were coming. 'We have been here in this world for so long, when is it going to end? This is all your fault Kyousuke, I hate you! When are you going to take me back to my own world?'
For a brief moment, Kyousuke looked at me, his eyes seemingly filled with pain. He sighed and stared at the ceiling. 'You don't have a world to return to, none of us do, except for Rin and Riki. Just try to make your wish come true, that's all you need to do here.' My wish? What was he talking about? The only thing I wished for right now was to return to my own room, with my own stuff and my own life. There was nothing else I wanted, let alone something from this world.
When I looked around me, broken from my line of thoughts, Kyousuke was already back to reading the manga I had thrown away. It seemed as if the with pain filled eyes looked a bit more rejoiced now that he had his book back. He was just like me, the red-haired leader, escaping to a world of fantasy and imagination, where anything would be possible and where no one would have to suffer.
'So, what's it about?' I sighed and got a little closer to Kyousuke, trying to read over his shoulder. He seemed startled and restored the space between us. 'Why are you still here?' Once again, he sounded so depressed, as if all the positivity from the leader everyone knew had been taken away from him. It was sad to see.
'Because I'm going to stay here with you. There is no reason for me to go back outside.' He needed someone, this broken man. He needed a voice who would tell him that everything would be fine, even if that voice had no idea what was going on. Right then and there I decided that the voice who would guide him to happiness would be me.
'I thought you said you hated me.' The redhead briefly looked at me once more and closed his manga. 'I did, and it's not like I didn't mean it. Still, you look like you're lonely and I hate to see people with that look on their face. So, I'm going to try my hardest to take away that loneliness.' Without me intending for it to happen, a smile appeared on my face, a genuine smile. As I looked at Kyousuke, I wondered how long ago it was that I felt the way he did now. 'How about it?'