READ THIS BEFORE YOU READ THE STORY—PLEASE DO NOT SKIP.

What's up, sappy KH fans? It's me again, samuraistar, proud author of "10 Things I Love About You" and "They Could Tell That They Were Going To Be Friends." Those were actually one-shots, so they didn't get very many reviews; but they were favorited, for which I am truly thankful! I have a few people to dedicate this story to…

XxxaRisa-hasEgawa-18xxX, my little fanfiction sister who's as much of a total sap as I am!

Kupo3.0, for your lovely reviews and for putting me on your favorites list!

Lulala, author of "Sincerely, Nobody," who is just cool in general. I dedicate this to her as a fellow RikuOC shipper! WE ROCK!

And most importantly, to all of you who are YouTubers and totally love Sora/Kairi and Roxas/Naminé, AND all YouTubers who used Within Temptation in any of their Sora/Kairi love videos. You helped inspired this work! Give yourselves a hand and have a cookie! (I'll be giving these out regularly—the good kind, not the icky computer kind, 'cause no one likes those.) There's also a VERY obscure Avatar reference for all you Avatar fans out there!

Anyway, I am now done rambling (rambling? As if!) . Let's move on with the story! (It's mostly about Riku and my OC, but there's also a lot of Sora/Kairi Rox/Nam love in it, too!) And one more thing:

"A strong man stands up for himself. A stronger man stands up for others."- Ben the Cow, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (that's gonna be, like, the theme quote of the story)
Official Summary: Ame is a beautiful, powerful, socially inept waterbender with celestial ancestry, more power than she realizes, and a terrible blushing problem. That doesn't stop Riku from falling head over heels for her, and vice versa. As each little adventure brings them closer together and she bonds with him and his friends, an enemy from her past that even she doesn't know about is quickly approaching. The only one who knows anything is her wise, rich, immortal grandmother—and she's not talking. But how long can she keep a secret from her own grandchild, and what part will Riku have to play in this? More importantly, will he be able to step up and fight for the girl he loves, the woman he respects, and the home he holds dear? Join me in this epic tale of teenage attraction, the strength of family, self worth, a couple of plot twists, and what it means to be a true man as Riku and his friends band together for yet another battle in the name of love.

Chapter 1: The Heart of the Earth

Kairi wished the science teacher would just put a sock in it as her face bore its whole weight on the bottom of her hand. She reached into her bag and pulled out her small pink notebook and a pen, deciding to pretend she was taking notes. She turned to the last written-in page and found a poem there in beautiful calligraphy. She read it.

The heart of the earth is suffering. Though it thrives on the love of friends and family, it is dry and barren for want of true love.

It longs for the rain in dreams to come in the waking world. Until that day, it suffers in silence. Watching, waiting, dreaming, the heart of the earth walks through the days listening for the song of the rain that will quench its thirst for love forever.

'Wow,' Kairi thought, reaching into her mind, 'Naminé, did you write this?'

'I did,' came the gentle reply of he Nobody, 'I wrote it last night while you were asleep.' Naminé and Roxas were able to step out of Sora and Kairi's bodies whenever they were asleep, thanks to Naminé's exceptional magic powers. They couldn't go too far, but they enjoyed it all the same. The little pink notebook was one Kairi had bought just for her and Naminé to share. It was also magic.

'It's so beautiful,' Kairi continued.

'Thank you,' said Naminé, 'It's about Riku.'

'Riku?' Kairi was surprised. 'Why?'

'Have you noticed how distant he's been acting lately?' asked Namine.

'Yeah,' replied Kairi, 'Now that you mention it, he has been more quiet than usual. I thought he was still getting over our Kingdom Hearts adventure.'

'I wish it were the case,' said Namine sadly, 'but no. I've been watching him lately. He's reached that point where he realizes that there's something missing from his life...something neither you nor Sora can give him.'

'True love,' said Kairi.

'Bingo,' the witch agreed. Kairi sighed inwardly and cast a sad glance at the poem on her desk, then at the desk beside her, where Riku was.

'Riku…' she thought sadly. Only then did she realize the teacher's Ben Stein-styled monotone was calling her name.

"Kairi...Kairi?"

"Hm?" she snapped to attention. After answering his question, she looked back down at her notebook. A note appeared in it: Talking to Naminé again?

It was from Riku. The magic of Kairi's notebook was that she could write to any one of her friends in it, and whatever she wrote appeared in their paper, and vice versa.

Is it my fault this guy couldn't hold our attention in a five-gallon bucket? she wrote back. She heard Riku snicker a bit and continued.

Anyway, what's up with you lately? You look like you're seeing visions or something. Anything wrong?

Nothing appeared for a while. Then:

I'm not really sure myself, Kairi. I'm happy to be home and have you and Sora back, but...I don't know...I feel like my life's a puzzle that's missing an important piece.

Namine thinks what you're missing is true love, Kairi wrote. Does that sound right? Are you lonely?

I'm not sure, he responded. I've never really thought about it. You really think I'm lonely?

Maybe, she wrote. Why don't you think about it? And in the meantime, try to act normal. I'm worried about you, bro. Riku drew a smiley face.

:) Thanks, sis. I'll think about it. Don't want to make Sora worry, too!

I'll tell him not to, she concluded. But you should talk to him, too.

I will.

The bell rang. Everyone gathered their stuff and milled out. Riku and Kairi went in the hall to meet Sora for lunch. Catching sight of her boyfriend, Kairi's face lit up and she ran to him, his Kingdom Crown necklace bouncing against the plate of her chest. (If any of you read my "10 Things" one-shot, you'll recognize that!)

Sora swept her around in a hug/kiss combo to the adoring "awww" of some girls from the yearbook committee. Sora and Kairi had been voted "cutest couple" in their class and thanks to some of the nosier girls, they were reminded of this daily (like they needed it).

"Oh, bug off!" Sora swatted at them, sending them running in a fit of giggles. His face sizzled.

"Stinkin' freshman." (No offense!) Kairi laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Sora!" she laughed, "Once they get boyfriends of their own, they'll stay out of other's business."

"If they get boyfriends," Sora sulked. A peck on the cheek from Kairi cleared up his mood.

"Okay, I'm happy now!" he chirped as Riku caught up and gave him a high five. They walked down the hall together, heading to the lunch room.

While Sora and Kairi chattered like turtledoves, Riku mulled over what Kairi had said to him. Were she and Naminé right? Was he really lonely? But Riku couldn't imagine dating any of the girls he knew. The only girl he truly loved in any way was Kairi, and she was like the sister he'd always wanted but never had.

One thing Riku was sure of: He definitely had a void in his life…only, who could possibly fill it?

Author's Review
I know this one was short, but trust me: The rest of them are much longer! The teacher's monotone voice calling for Kairi is a reference to the movie "Ferris Buler's Day Out," which I've only seen the trailer for, in which Ben Stein keeps calling, "Buler…Buler?" I just thought that was funny. And the notebook magic I guess could be a reference to "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," but I swear that's not how I meant it.

The next chapter will be a direct tribute to all you fans of Within Temptation, whose beautiful songs I only know from watching YouTube all the time (thank you, YouTube!)

Until next time!