Don't Forget Kobato

by AI The Original

Kobato gets furious for having to put up with Kodaka inviting Sena on a regular basis. She eventually gets into an argument with Kodaka and runs out of the house. A junior game developer picks up Kobato and offers her help. The Neighbor's Club fail to find Kobato until her face shows up in strange places. The developer is unwilling to return Kobato.

8. Epilogue – Discontinuation Notice

Published 8/13/2015

Chapter 8:

Epilogue – Discontinuation Notice

Thank you for supporting this fanfiction. I am here to sadly announce that this fanfiction has been officially dropped. There are many reasons for this decision, but the main reason is that I am not happy with how the official story is progressing. The delays with Light Novel Volume 9, 10, and 11 and announcements from various sources suggest that the author is unsatisfied with how the story is progressing. Writing a CONNECT volume to give readers and insider view of each character is considered bad writing practice from some people.

Based on all these opinions, I feel that the author is attempting to backtrack and push the story towards a different direction. Volume 9 was to be point the story in a new direction to head to. However, with Volume 10, it seems like the author realizes he cannot do so successfully so he decides to drop this story with a quick end and start over with a new story (Imouto sae Ireba Ii). I don't have faith that the last volume will turn out any better.

I plan to keep my other Boku wa Tomodachi fanfic (Rinjinbu on the Fallout), but there is a likely chance that fanfic will be dropped too.

Before I close the story, here is summary of what was supposed to happen in this fanfiction.

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After escaping from the Kashiwazaki household, Kobato walks along the streets at night in the dark angry at Kodaka for not understanding her concerns and trying to connect her to Sena. Then, she suddenly gets picked up by stranger in a large and fancy purple convertible (reference to Wario).

Sena, Kodaka, and the others at the Kashiwazaki household conduct a search mission for Kobato. However, since the stranger and Kobato had left by the time the search mission begins, she is nowhere to be found. Pegasus then helps by posting missing posters of Kobato around his home and at school.

Yozora and the other Neighbor's Club members take note of the posters and question both Kodaka and Sena. They both get the seiza-style discipline (Like Maria a few times and Yozora in NEXT Episode 10) wearing signs that said "I abused and harassed Kobato". Yozora is not surprised that Sena would do such thing. Then, Yozora, Rika, and Yukimura suspects that Kodaka is biased towards Sena and scolds him for not taking good care of his sister. The only thing Sena and Kodaka can say is sorry.

Rika then brings out her laptop and informs everyone that despite Sena and Kodaka's mistakes, they still need to solve the main problem: finding Kobato. The entire Neighbor's Club tries to brainstorm ideas such as going to Kobato's favorite places and posting advertisements that will attract Kobato's attention.

The Neighbor's Club then begins their search. However, Kobato is nowhere to be found. After a week of searching, they all give up. Kodaka becomes worried that the news might reach his dad.

As for Kobato, she wakes up and gets treated to a hearty breakfast by the stranger. At first, Kobato feels uncomfortable with the stranger. However, she becomes more comfortable with the stranger since they share common interests: Kurogane no Nercomancer, anime, and video games. The stranger then reveals to Kobato that he is the president of a startup video game company called WaminoWare Inc. (Also a reference to WarioWare Inc.). He just got a contract from the owners of Kurogane no Nercomancer to create a spinoff and is looking for someone to help him with creating this spinoff. None of his staff have good suggestions so Kobato volunteers to help.

As time goes on, Kobato likes her new life even more. She does not have to do homework, study, take tests, and deal with Sena. She can also watch anime and play video games without having to fear Kodaka confiscating them. The developer also takes Kobato to places she likes to visit.

Thanks to Kobato's ideas, the spinoff game starts to take its form. The entire development team is proud of the working product and asks Kobato to serve more roles for this game. This includes posing for one of the characters. To make that character distinct from the other characters, it gets Kobato's voice. Kobato agrees, thinking that she can use it to get back at Kodaka. It's based on the principle "You don't need to be highly educated to make lots of money."

The spinoff game Kobato and the team are working on gets a TV advertisement. This ad is seen by everyone including Pegasus and the Neighbor's Club. They are shocked that one of the characters resembles Kobato. At first, they think it is just a coincidence, but Rika proves it false. Rika had picked up a pre-release copy beforehand and plays it in front of the Neighbor's Club. As they observe the questionable character, they recognize that she is speaking in Kobato's style and voice. Kodaka also suspects that the character's behavior is based on Kobato.

Once everyone is convinced, Rika tries to call the game company WaminoWare Inc. She asks about the Kobato-like character but the company refuses to explain, stating that the character is their property and under a tight lid. They do not want competitors and random media outlets to steal their ideas. Everyone else in the Neighbor's Club tries but also gets turned away.

With no other choice left, The Neighbor's Club forcefully storm over to WaminoWare Inc. by foot. The company turns out to be small, spanning a few rooms in an apartment complex. The developers try to kick the Neighbor's Club out, keeping them from spying on their game. After repeated negotiations, the developer opens the door. He only vows to talk to them for 5 minutes.

During the 5 minutes, Rika questions the developer in person on the Kobato-like character. She also tells the developer that it's impossible to create a character with that kind of attitude. The developer replies that a kind soul helped him make this game. He does not want to reveal who it is for privacy reasons. Sena then shows pictures of Kobato to the developer and the developer quietly nods.

Yozora demands the developer to return Kobato to them but the developer refuses. The developer accuses them of dumping and abandoning Kobato on the streets and plans to adopt her. Rika then tries to argue that such action would be considered kidnapping. The developer also acknowledges that Kobato enjoys his place far more than anywhere else. As their 5 minutes are up, the developer tries to escort them out. However, Yozora and Rika continue to push for more time, allowing them to fully explain their story.

As the argument between Yozora, Rika, and the developer continues, Kodaka tries to speak with Kobato personally. He finds Kobato in her bedroom decorated with ornaments and wallpaper matching Kobato's taste. He tries to apologize to Kobato, but Kobato refuses to accept it. She thinks Kodaka will make her study and push her closer to Sena again. Kodaka apologizes more, telling Kobato that he did not want to upset Sena for letting them stay at her home while their house gets renovated. Kobato is still unhappy, so Kodaka promises her to treat her afterwards. He also tries to get Kobato to understand that there are benefits from doing well in school. If Kobato does very well in school, she could make her own game and have her own studio. He gets Kobato to understand that she is only walking in the shadows of the developer. If he finds her no good anymore, he can dump her and find someone else. Kobato agrees and climbs into Kodaka once again.

As Kodaka and Kobato slowly reconcile, the developer screams in agony because Kobato is the centerpiece of this game. Without Kobato, the entire spinoff game project is doomed. They are at the final stages of production and are hoping this game to be successful based on all the feedback they have been getting on the pre-release copy. While Yozora tells everyone to leave the developer alone and return back to the Neighbor's Club, Rika feels sorry for the developer and wants to stay with him. Yozora tries to get Rika to leave, but Rika ends up staying.

The game eventually makes it to the shelves and makes a decent amount of sales. Kobato gets interviewed and everyone in the Neighbor's Club buys a copy. They all enjoy the game. Sena also treats Kobato better and Kodaka responds to Kobato's feelings more. Kobato feels more respected than ever before.

In the end, Kodaka and Kobato move back home. Their new home is now a five-story mansion (reference to High School DxD). The footprint of the mansion is also three times the size of their old home. Sena wants to use this place as her 2nd home because she feels lonely being alone in her 1st home (The Kashiwazaki estate). However, it backfires when she sees Yozora moving in. Yozora claims that Sena and Kodaka are poor at taking care of Kobato so she's around to keep Kobato happy. Yukimura and Maria also request to move in, but Sena harshly declines their request. Kodaka then lets them in, saying that there's lots of room in their new house. Before long, Kate is already decorating the top floor of Kodaka's house.

As for Rika, she decides to join WaminoWare as a full-time staff and help out with the developer. Although the developers don't like Rika's BL theme, they accept her due to her intelligence. Rika is able to improve their current game engine with her superior programming skills. Even though she is a full-time staff she will still keep her laboratory at St. Chronica's Academy.

There was a planned sequel in which WaminoWare starts on a new game from scratch. With Rika as the lead developer, she has the Neighbors Club brainstorm ideas and create all the artwork and narration.