So this has been a very tough topic for me to bring up because, well, I really don’t know how I should approach it. I’ve tried making a draft on the refrain topic, but it started getting too rambly. I was thinking of waiting for the podcast, but I don’t think I’d be able to put my thoughts into words that well. And I figured that, really, the only place I should put this thought of mine is here, in Kyousuke’s topic.
This is, after all, my analysis into the mind of the great man we know as Kyousuke Natsume.
Let’s get the facts straight first. Bus crash happens, Kyousuke sees that Rin and Riki are the only ones likely to survive, he screams in desperation, and a world is born. But, what exactly was it he wished for in this world?
This is my personal interpretation on this whole thing. I think that 90% of Kyousuke’s intentions in this world were for Rin. Call it bias, since Rin is his sister after all. But I honestly believe that Kyousuke believed that Riki would, by himself, be able to overcome their deaths. I think Kyousuke knew that Riki would, even with them gone, find a new meaning to live, especially if left alone with Rin. And I think he was more worried about Rin, because he knew that even if Riki would be able to cope with the loss of his friends, Rin would most definitely not be able to do that. And Riki, as he is, would only be able to help himself and not Rin. It’s hard for me to prove this, especially since Riki reverted into a regressive state when he was a child, but I think my biggest basis for this is the existence of Rin1.
The reason why Rin1 happens, and why we are shown Rin1 is simple: it’s the Rin route where Riki remains a wuss and refuses to let Rin go to the sister school. And it takes Riki 5 routes plus another go-through of Rin’s route to accept that “yes, Rin needs to do this to grow.” And this is something that only Riki could do for Rin; nothing Kyousuke can do or say would convince Rin to go to the school. But imagine if this wasn’t an issue. Imagine if, on your very first playthrough of Rin1, Riki was strong enough to tell Rin to go. I am confident in saying that that would have fast-forwarded Kyousuke’s entire plan (and it still would have failed, mind you). My biggest point here is that Kyousuke wanted Riki to grow solely so Riki could tell Rin to go to the sister school.
That was Kyousuke’s master plan, after all. He wanted Rin to grow by pushing her to interact with people she doesn’t know. More importantly, he wanted Rin to become aware of the possibility of him and the rest of the crew no longer being around, by having her interact with people who are in the same situation as what would happen to Rin and Riki. Kyousuke choosing the “bus crash for the sister school” wasn’t just an in-game hint for the readers. It was done for Rin. And the only way he could continue with his master plan was to make Riki strong enough to let her go. And the only way he could do that was to ask for help.
It might be coincidence that the rest of the girls ended up in that world. Or it might be their own selfish desire to solve their regrets that put them there. Either way, Kyousuke saw that as an advantage, and used that to push Riki to interact with the girls, solve their problems, and grow stronger. Masato remained neutral, and Kengo remained adamant (until, of course, Kengo realized he was wasting his own life). And then comes Rin2, and we all know how that ended up.
Kyousuke’s master plan failed miserably. He was aware of that. And his only way of mitigating the damage that had been done was to wake up from the dream world, prevent the gas from leaking, and buy time for Rin and Riki to escape. While he was doing that, though, he noticed something. He noticed Riki owning up to the challenge, trying to create what he had destroyed. So, despite it being extremely taxing on his body, Kyousuke pushed Riki in that direction. He abandoned all morals, put Masato and Kengo through hell, all so he could make Riki into not just the man that could handle himself after they were gone, but the man that could handle himself and Rin alongside him. And he succeeds! Despite it being a back-up plan, it worked as he had hoped, and he could rest easy, knowing Rin would be in good hands, even if she wouldn’t be able to face reality immediately.
Or could he? While he himself was satisfied, he knew, in the back of his mind, there was a chance for something more. We see him mulling over this possibility in Episode: Kyousuke. But pulling this off would need more than just Riki being strong enough. It would need Rin to be strong enough. And that was something that he couldn’t seem to figure out how to do, since his master plan failed, and his back-up plan focused only on getting Riki strong enough. Despite all that, he gives them the option. Is it enough? Or is it not enough?
This is an answer that not only Riki makes, but Rin herself makes. And that’s what surprises Kyousuke the most: that Rin herself wants to grow, the same way that Riki wanted to grow. And with that, he allows them to create their own dream world. The new dream world where Rin learns from everything that happened and Komari is able to do what Kyousuke was not: help Rin grow. The new dream world where Riki tackles the final obstacle needed to save them: his narcolepsy. The new dream world where they can have the chance to learn and simulate what needs to be done in order to save everybody. And once they have all that done and over with, that’s when we get the ending that we all hoped for.
I guess, at the end of the day, what I want to point out is that Rin’s growth by the end of Refrain is just as important as Riki’s. And while Kyousuke’s plans were totally different from the beginning, he adapted to his failures and made the best of the whole situation. A truly respectable character, and I’m glad he will continue to live on with the Little Busters
) , and even though Riki hasn’t been there for Kyousuke nearly as much as the other way around, it still feels like that side of the bond is just as important to him as it is to Riki, so I figured getting some thoughts from recent read-throughs of LB could be pretty interesting.
