Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters or settings.
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Riku was sick of watching Sora and Kairi kiss. Sick of knowing he wasn't wanted there. Sick of familiarity, of people, and most especially of romance. So setting out on his own would be logical, right? The perfect end to his torment.
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Riku: 18
Sora: 17
Kairi: 17
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Prologue—Three's A Crowd
Riku was watching Kairi stretch. Her breathing was labored. Peeking through the door provided cover, but also limited the amount of the room he could see without being caught. The dim light from her lamp cast shadows over the room and her, catching Riku's eye and refusing to let go. She sat up from stretching her legs and he put his hand to the door to push it open.
But he didn't make it.
Sora sat down next to her. He'd been doing push-ups at the other end of the room, Riku guessed, because he had taken his shirt off. Riku sighed to himself. They were in love and there was no place for him there. Three's a crowd. All the more reason to follow through with his plans.
He stood and walked away from the door, regaining control of his thoughts. He was 19 now, fully capable of going out on his own. The Destiny Islands was a huge world. Riku had yet to visit many parts of it. And Sora and Kairi wouldn't be able to track him.
He retreated to his room and pulled the backpack from under his bed. He check to make sure it was all there, then strapped it on. He headed down the stairs and found Kairi's grandmother in the kitchen. Sneaking past her was easy and once he was outside, he smelled the freedom in the air. The sun would set soon, and he decided he'd need to be far enough away so that they wouldn't find his hiding place. He'd be up by dawn and on the move again. Riku headed down into the woods and vanished into the thick overgrowth and tall, stretched-out shadows.