Author's Note

Unfortunately, I haven't read any "good" Riku x OC stories (if there happens to be one, please recommend it). I always try to work outside the box, so the inspiration for this story came from that. I felt unusual pity for Riku's character with the conclusion of KH2. What, Sora gets Kairi, and all Riku gets is a hug from a mouse? -Cough- I digress.

Please enjoy, and don't forget to review!


Part One

It always felt like a dream when I was near Riku.

My mind wouldn't be so clouded whenever he was near…

And he didn't even notice me.

When he'd hardly glance at me, it never bothered me. I savored every moment of the sheer ecstasy I felt by just being in the same room with him.

I knew my conditions weren't the best, but I was aware of how much worse the circumstances could be. It was only out of pity that I was spared, so I focused most of my willpower on grinning and bearing my current status.

Overtime, I grew accustomed to my place in the makeshift laboratory DiZ worked in. I hardly had the strength to move, and my conscious mind was usually engulfed in darkness, so I understood why Riku didn't notice me. I probably looked like an inanimate doll to him.

After days, at least it felt like days, I couldn't keep track of time from all of my drifting in and out of consciousness; my mind progressed further out of the perpetual darkness that held me captive. I stayed conscious more, rather; I was able to stay awake longer. I even attempted to walk on my own a few times.

DiZ had cautioned me to not take the recovery process too swiftly, but even if I wasn't this capable, I would've pushed myself to this point. When I never heeded his words and ended up stumbling or falling, DiZ would sigh as though he was withholding his irritation with my newfound stubbornness.

"Why do you persist…?" he asked one day, staring at me with a glint of concern in his eyes. I gazed at him for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. But minutes passed, and without an answer, I stared dejectedly at the floor.

DiZ waited, and then resumed his work, without a word. I listened to the rhythmic clicking as he pressed multiple keys on the wide keyboard in front of him. Suddenly, the clicking stopped, and I looked up, puzzled.

"I am not certain of the reason for your motivation…However, I believe in a heart as strong-willed as yours…"

As DiZ spoke, he never turned to gaze at me. I sighed deeply, bitterly confused.

"Strong-willed heart…" I muttered. I promptly thought of Riku, but I shivered and shook that image out of my head. I felt giddy just thinking about him; I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my smile. He was the sole reason I forced myself to come this far.

Yet, shortly after breaking out of the darkness, I started to suffer from exhaustion. I could think and move, but at times, I could feel myself slipping and losing consciousness. I feared the worst, but I tried consoling myself by thinking that the darkness was gone- forever, perhaps…

This wasn't an issue while Riku was around.

When Riku was here, I was frozen in place. I refused to look at him; I told myself to only look at him when he spoke to me. I would breathe faster and I clinched my fist to keep from fidgeting my fingers. My whole body was tense.

Diz would always laugh when Riku left and I immediately relaxed.

One afternoon, after Riku took his leave, DiZ suddenly paused, halting his work, and looked at me. I stared back, perplexed. There was an unusual glint of amusement in his eyes.

"You need to stop being afraid, Aria." He started. I listened warily, my hands still curled up in little fists. "Riku doesn't ignore you; actually, it's quite the opposite." I gasped in disbelief. "You may not realize it, but you have a tendency to appear annoyed when you're just being shy. You seem to be so tense when he's near," he stopped, observing my expression.

I stared at the floor, reliving all the moments I had seen Riku, but never spoke to him. It all felt so foolish, now.

I heard the rhythmic clicking, once more. There was a pause. "I haven't heard you sing in a while. That would be nice hear again…"

I smiled. It's true, I haven't sung in a while. Maybe, tomorrow, I'll go up to the White Room and hum a tune. Right now, I'm so tired…No, I can't fall asleep. I have to stay awake so I can see Riku.

I forced my eyes to stay open, but, somehow, darkness seeped in and overwhelmed my vision. I wasn't sure if my eyes were still open or not.

"DiZ…" I choked. "Help…" I gasped, reaching for my throat. I panicked, I could no longer speak. I felt my hands drop to my sides. My heartbeat slowed, until it reached a low pace. The last sense to go was my hearing…And those voices echoed in my empty mind.

I believe I heard Diz. He sounded worried and anxious. He said my eyes were dark instead their usual violet color. There was another presence there that my mind couldn't register. I knew who it was; I felt I knew who was there, but by then the darkness had conquered my whole body, and it muted his voice.

A wave of sorrow washed over me. Deep in this darkness, it was hard to be aware of anything, and yet, my mental capacity was never too vague. It was as though I had been forever trapped within my own prison, never to see the light again, never to feel again, never to see Riku…

Riku…

Suddenly, I could recall the other presence in the room. I could hear his voice, ringing in my ears. I could feel my heart racing from the sheer sight of him. Then, I realized why I didn't recognize him. My heart sank.

I shook deeply. A fate such as this was worst than death itself. Maybe I couldn't bring myself to terms with it, or maybe I didn't want to acknowledge it, but now, if I didn't snap out of it, I wouldn't get to see Riku again.

It would be like leaving without saying goodbye. That was the least that my heart yearned for now: a single moment of bliss. I sighed, feeling upset, pitiful, confused, disoriented...

Just as quickly as the steel bars of my prison formed, I felt as though I was being lifted through the air, like I had been freed from my personal hell.

A voice graced me, "Aria, are you there? Can you hear me? Please," it pleaded, "Wake up for me, Aria…"

It was Riku's voice. I struggled to open my eyes.

He was calling out my name, in a last attempt to wake me from my dark slumber. I felt the warmth return to my limbs, but not because I was regaining consciousness. He was holding me. I concentrated on his voice, trying to reach it. I hardly noticed when I had been set free.

I couldn't think, but it was for a different reason. Putting in that much effort took a lot of energy out of me and I fell forward, gasping for air. Riku, almost automatically, caught me. My head was resting upon his chest; this was the most comfortable I had felt in awhile.

I was too timid to glance at him, but I felt his eyes on me, watching me endearingly.

I noticed that we were in the White Room, or Namine's room; the drawings plastered on the wall confirmed it. I was sitting on the table, my arms at my side and my head lying on Riku's chest.

I could feel Riku's breathing. He took very prolonged breaths of air, as though he were attempting to keep calm. Riku, nervous much? I chuckled, mentally.

He took in a deep breath of air and spoke.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" I could only murmur. Now that you're here, I thought. Riku flinched when I abruptly pulled away from him and glanced up. That was the first time I ever stared into his aquamarine eyes.

We spoke more often after that incident, and yet, I never revealed my true feelings for him, no matter how badly I wished to.

It seemed that his childhood friends, Kairi and Sora, meant more to him than I ever would. After all, that was why he was here, to begin with. I usually disregarded my position in Riku's hierarchy; I tried not to think about it. I wasn't quite sure if he considered me to be an actual friend or some momentary replacement for his old ones.

Either way, I was happy. I was a part of his life now, though it may have been an insignificant part.

I was amazed at how much Riku always opened up to me. It was obvious that he hadn't had someone to talk to like this, as DiZ isn't the right person to keep up a personal conversation with. Each day, the perfection I once associated Riku with seemed to disappear. As I listened to his stories of being tainted by darkness, it made him seem more human, more common.

He made mistakes.

"I may as well be the cause for destroying the Islands and separating my friends, but that's all in the past," he said. There was a deep resentment hidden under his words; he still had some darkness left in him, and I felt so sorry for him. He had to endure most of his journey alone.

And I couldn't stand a few days alone in the dark.

Because Riku never asked, I never told him we had the same home or why I had reoccurring fits of being drowned in darkness. I felt that it would put the blame on him more. After all, if Riku hadn't opened the door to darkness at Destiny Islands, I wouldn't have met him. Maybe it was fate.

To me, it was a blessing, actually.

I had a habit of keeping my mouth shut, but in this case and regardless of was DiZ said, it was good. Riku told me so much, and perhaps simply knowing that I was listening, may have eased his pain. He hardly left now. He either helped Diz or talked with me. It wasn't long before it became routine.

I generally took short naps throughout the day. Although the darkness never returned to harm me, I would be dreadfully tired if I didn't catch a few hours of sleep. Of course, I acted as if I were fine when Riku was around. I wanted to work to heal his wounds, he need not to worry about me.

I was always apprehensive of being vulnerable to Riku. I rather not take that risk.

What if I was hurt and he just walked away? I doubt I could take it.

This was the natural order of things or, the way things were supposed to be. At least in my mind, it was. We would be nothing more than friends and when Sora would awaken, he would forget about me. I accepted that fate.

But without my knowing, the order was disturbed.

I took DiZ upon his offer mentioned earlier, and after finding a quiet spot where I could be alone, I started humming a melody. I stood, gazing out a window, observing the scenery, and singing a song. I paused when Riku took my hand in his.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked, with curious contentment.

I smiled slightly and continued singing. The song filled the room, almost making it come alive. He took my other hand in his so that I faced him; I couldn't escape his enrapturing gaze. As the song got more upbeat, I tried harder to hide my blush while looking in his eyes. His hair had grown longer, since when we first met, and now it just about covered his aquamarine eyes.

He smiled warmly, as I continued, with the same affectionate look that always made my heart melt. I rocked side to side, turning to look out the window at the twilit sky. Riku placed his hand on my cheek and gently pulled me back into his alluring gaze. I took in a deep breath of air before beginning again.

A good singer maintains a beautiful voice even when under pressure, I thought to myself as Riku inched closer to my face. I had to avoid my voice becoming shaky. As I held the last note of the song, our noses were touching.

We stood there, a few more moments, waiting on each other to make the last move. I breathed slowly, licking my lips. My heart was pounding inside my chest. It wouldn't be much longer before I'd literally collapse.

I raised my hand and slowly moved his hair from in front of his eyes. My hand refused to return to my side and slid down his face, neck, and shoulder.

He lifted my head and tenderly pressed his lips against mine.

Riku squeezed my hand gently, before wrapping his arms around my waist and stroking the small of my back. I smiled as hot fury filled our veins and we fought to claim each other's lips. He kissed me roughly, the warmth of his lips drawing me in, until my arms reached around his neck and my hands were caressing his hair. This pleasure was short-lived when Riku abruptly ended the kiss.

Riku laughed and tried consoling me by kissing my neck a few times. That just made it worse.

"I've been waiting for that for a while." He whispered in my ear.

I huffed, "Since when?"

"When I first laid eyes on you," He responded, nudging me with his nose.

"Love at first sight?" I asked. Riku didn't seem like the kind for that. He kissed me again, gentler this time.

"Whenever you were unconscious, even when DiZ and I first found you, you'd always move whenever I got near you." There was sorrow in Riku's eyes, "I'm sorry for not being there for you sooner, if all it took was-"

I put a finger over Riku's lips and shook my head. "I'm here now," I reassured him, kissing him.

I sighed. "But, why?" I asked. I know it was broad, but I had so many questions that the easiest thing to say was just "why".

He smirked. "For one, Sora and Kairi like one another, but neither of them have been this close. I just have a habit of doing things before Sora." he said, now swaying from side to side slightly.

"Hmph," I snorted, frowning. His answer didn't satisfy me, but I guess that's to be expected. "So you just like me?" if he went this far, maybe I'd get the satisfaction I was looking for.

"No," he said. I was a bit surprised. He stepped back and used his hand to raise my head again.

"You didn't let me finish." He whispered, "Secondly, I love you." he kissed me briefly, and then stared out in the distance.

The compassion in his expression faded. "I did this because it wouldn't feel right if I just left without saying goodbye."

My eyes widened. "You're leaving?" Tears welled up in my eyes. He couldn't leave now…Now that I knew how he truly felt.

He sighed and hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry, Aria. I'm stuck on thinking that I have all the time in the world-"

"You do have all the time in the world! I'll go with you." I pleaded.

He shook his head vehemently. "No, Aria, it's too dangerous. Diz told me that you were once attacked by Heartless and…" the expression he wore looked as if he would regret saying his words, "For what Diz wants me to do, I can't stop and protect someone at the same time."

I understood what he meant. I would just get in the way. "And," he gulped, "If you saw how bad you looked when we first found you…I can't let that happen to you again," It looked as if Riku were on the verge of tears also just by recalling that memory. I bit my lip.

"Aria, I promise that I'll come back. And when I do, I'll take you back home with me."

My expression softened. Home

He faced me toward the window and held me in his arms. "When I'll hold you in my arms, like this again, we'll be home."

The next day, I held Riku's hand as he walked to the door, upon departure. He was wearing a blindfold and a black coat and he wouldn't tell me where he was going and what he was going to do. He simply said, "I'm going to wake up Sora."

I grabbed his wrist right before he exited the door and gave him one last kiss. He pulled his blindfold down and ran his fingers through my hair.

"Promise?" I whispered to him with troubled eyes.

"Promise." he kissed my forehead and headed out the door.


Author's Note

Wow, that took a while. I re-wrote this whole story, and to be honest, I like it a little bit better now. A few people commented, saying that the story was too short, and I agreed. So, this is to remedy that problem.

I don't know if I'll continue this series or not, or whether I should start on one of my other stories. But I'm really happy of how this turned out. I really adore Riku's unique character.

Oh, by the way, the song Aria was singing is "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton.

~Eyna of the Moon