"A cat has nine lives"

Rin…I don't think I can do this…

That text sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't sleep well. I was beginning to worry. Riki had lied to me after all. During the party, I had kept my eyes on him. He hadn't eaten anything despite him having said he was okay. I replied to him with a text that told him to hang in there.

During the scavenger hunt I planned on talking to him in order to help him relax. It bothered me that his Narcolepsy had suddenly come back. I had to stay by him in order to keep him from getting hurt. I didn't really care for the mission that stupid Kyousuke had given; to me it was just an excuse to have something to do. I could always just play with the local cats. Cats weren't scary at all, and I only let Riki help take care of the cats if I could help it.

When morning broke I sat up from my bed. Riki hadn't replied to my text all night, which I took to be a sign that he had fallen asleep. I stretched my arms and stood to get ready for the day ahead. I hesitated when I started to leave though, feeling as though once I opened the door that something bad was going to happen. Part of me told me to not leave, to call Kyousuke and feign being sick. The other part said not to run from whatever was about to happen.

I took a deep breath, and then I slowly pulled the door open. I was surprised to see the gross sight of Masato out of breath outside. My heart partway sunk.

"Rin…" He struggled to speak, "Riki…Is gone…"

I felt like breaking down now. I wanted to crack under the weight of sorrow I felt. Riki was gone, without a word to me. I was suddenly too afraid to speak. I felt like throwing up or crying until I couldn't any more. But that was the old Rin. The day that I almost lost all of my friends, I had decided to not run away from scary things ever again. Instead of running back into my room like a scared little girl, I ran passed him and towards the exit of the dorm rooms.

I cursed myself for forgetting my phone in my room, but at the same time I felt like it didn't matter. All that mattered to me was finding Riki before something bad happened to him. I was strong enough to not be scared anymore, but I knew deep down that if I lost him that I would sink back into the helpless girl I used to be. Kyousuke would be mad, not that I cared though.

I slowed to a stop when I saw Komari, and then I decided to ask her for help, "Komari!"

"Rin?" Komari looked at me, "What's wrong?"

"Riki's gone! I need help finding him," I could tell my voice was frantic, but I couldn't help it, "I'm ditching classes. While I'm out please get the Little Busters together and start looking."

Without even waiting for an answer, knowing that she'd help, I ran away from her and left the school grounds. I spent the next few hours looking around the town for him. All I found from it was nothing. Not even my cat friends seemed to know anything. Even so, I offered them extra Mon Petit if they would help out with the search. That seemed to fire them up. I attached a note asking Riki to come back to the dorms to each of them.

After a little bit I sat on a park bench crying softly when I realized I wasn't doing any good. The search had failed. Riki wasn't anywhere to be found. I really had lost him. I had lost the guy I had found myself falling in love with. My chest hurt. My head hurt. I didn't want to do anything anymore. I felt like I had lost the will to even live.

"Rin?" My stupid brother's voice came from behind me, "Are you okay Rin?"

"Kyousuke…Riki's…I lost…" I couldn't form words. I was too upset.

"He'll show up. He always does. Don't cry," He sat beside me and held me for a moment, "The cats won't like it."

"Shut up…" I wiped my tears away and I pushed him away, "I want to be alone. So go. Look for him."

When Kyousuke left without another word I felt relieved. I couldn't figure out why, but something about his demeanor was bothering me. I felt like he was trying to do something again, just like he had when we lived in a transient world that was a repeated semester. And then it clicked.

A scavenger hunt. Riki goes missing. Masato made sure I left my phone at the dorms. He was scheming again. He appeared at my weakest moment because he felt like I was breaking. But now I knew the plan. I knew what he intended. He wanted to make sure I could handle being away from Riki. In his mind I probably had become too attached to Riki.

I looked around the park now. I needed hints. Something that would give me a sense of where to look. I closed my eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath. The wind changed directions. In my head, I could see something. Riki. Riki was walking around the streets. But something was wrong. He held his arm.

"Riki!" I suddenly shouted and ran towards the direction the wind was blowing towards. I didn't care about Kyousuke's stupid games. I didn't care about if I was too attached. Riki was all I could think about. Ever since we had agreed to go out, I hadn't exactly been the best girlfriend. I was distant from even him. Until we came back from the hospital that is.

The day we had woken up from a sleep, I had thought I had lost him. I was so scared. But then I heard the doctors talking about a boy who had history of Narcolepsy being roomed next to me. I wasn't scared anymore, so I began to improve "drastically" according to a doctor. Once I was strong enough to walk again, they had allowed me to visit him.

Riki's back had been burned. But according to the doctors, there shouldn't be any lasting effects. I stayed by his side as long as I could. We had discussed what had happened to us. I explained that I saw a vision of Komari and heard her wish. Her wish for me to be able to smile again. So I came to resolve to save everyone so I could smile again with them. And he had explained that he had discovered the cause of his Narcolepsy and forced himself to wake up from his attack.

We laughed about how crazy it sounded, but we both understood that it actually happened. After all, we retained memories from a fake world that was never meant to be. A world that Kyousuke had created upon his dying minutes. It didn't take long for us to use the strength we had gotten though.

I remember the feeling I got when Riki found Kyousuke leaning against the gas tank of the bus. I wanted so badly to save Kyousuke. Sure he was stupid…But he was family. All I had left from my family. But now my family included every member of the Little Busters. I had cried during that time, but Riki reminded me that Kyousuke was doing it so we could be safe. He had resolved to let Kyousuke keep buying us time.

I felt similar if not the same. Riki was injured and out there all alone. I had to do something. I had to save him. I didn't care if it made Kyousuke mad. I didn't care if anyone got mad. Riki was my boyfriend and part of my life. They couldn't tell me what I could or couldn't do. And right now I wanted to be with Riki.

It took me a few minutes, but I finally found Riki. Except…He wasn't injured. He wasn't holding his arm.

"Rin? Rin! I finally found you. Thank goodness you're okay," Riki let out a sigh of relief.

"Riki!" I ran to his side and inspected him to see if he was wounded. When I found no signs of anything, I let out a satisfied sigh.

"Rin, Nishizono told me you were missing. So I ran out to find you. When I couldn't find you, I got really discouraged. Kyousuke found me and told me that you might be hurt, so I decided to check town again," Riki said.

"That stupid jerk!" I hissed, "Kyousuke reminded me that you always show up. He sent Masato to get me. This whole thing was one of his schemes!"

"No way. Again? He's seriously testing us again?"

"Looks like it," I suddenly shivered.

"Hey look! It's that brat! Good for nothing girl. Weak girl. We should punish her again," A familiar set of voices approached us.

Instantly my vision darkened. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't feel anything. I touched my head and knelt down.

"Go away…S-Stay away…S-Shut up…I don't want to hear it…Not again…" I repeated everything again and again. I remembered everything.

My childhood. My tormented childhood. I was abused my everyone except Kyousuke. My father, my mother, and even the people who took care of our house. They called me worthless, pathetic, disappointing. They hit me. They made me cry every time I attempted to get friends. They ran off any animal I got close to.

Then Kyousuke and I ran off together and formed the Little Busters together. I had been saved by him.

I felt someone grab my hand, and then I heard my name being called.

"Rin. Rin. Rin!" It was Riki, and with every time he called my name he got louder. He started at a whisper, and ended up shouting.

When I opened my eyes, I saw him. His cheek was bruised, and his eye was black and swollen. His arm bled and he held his arm. I felt tears stream down my cheeks. Riki had done something. Behind him lay three guys. I recognized them. They were from my house. They took care of it. They had also abused me.

"Ri…Ki?" I asked silently.

"Don't worry. They won't hurt you anymore. I'll protect you-" Riki coughed up a little blood.

I noticed it. His eyes were dull. It was like he was having an attack. I wrapped my arms around him to catch him if he fell. But I noticed one of the two guys moving again. I bit my lip, not wanting Riki to get hurt anymore than he is.

"Hey bozos!" Kyousuke kicked the guy from behind, "Leave my sister alone!"

"Kyousuke!" I exclaimed, "Riki's having another attack!"

"N-No…In pain…" Riki whispered in my ear, "But…It's worth it…"

"Rin, I'll carry him back to the school. You guys did amazing on your mission. I didn't expect those guys to show up. How are you holding up?" Kyousuke walked over to me and took Riki from me.

"I'm fine…I think…I saw memories. I saw the past. It scared me," I admitted.

"I'm surprised. This is the first time I've seen Riki fight like that. He kept standing up even though he was beaten down. Even when he hit his head, he stood back up and told them to stay away from you," Kyousuke revealed, "I was going to help, but Riki gave me a look that said don't. He wanted to protect you this time."

"J-Jerk…" I looked at Riki, "You should have helped him. Now he's hurt and it's all thanks to your stupid mission."

"Stupid?" Kyousuke sounded offended.

"Don't ever toy with Riki like that again. If you do…I'll have every cat attack you in your sleep," I went with the only threat I could possibly think of.

Honestly. Riki scares me with a mysterious text like he was giving up on something. Then, he goes out and gets injured. It's like he's trying to say something to me. No…That wasn't right. It was like something was happening to ensure we pay for saving everyone. I didn't care though. Riki and I saved everyone. I wanted a world with everyone in it. I knew I liked Riki…But I wasn't ready to let go of everyone. So I stood up against the fate Kyousuke said was going to happen.

Was I really in the wrong saving everyone? Was the miracle really a curse? I couldn't explain it. But for some reason, a part of me regretted it. I felt like the world was fighting back, punishing me for going against it. That struck fear in my heart. Why was only Riki being punished? When was I going to start being punished? I felt like I was on my last life, having spent eight of them already.