He started out as a ghost.

Or, to be more precise, something akin to an urban legend.

Those on the island who were of the sort who didn't believe in such things ended up having little patience at first for the ones who reported having seen someone living on the beach.

They'd tell their children, their students, their friends, to stop messing around. Everyone on the islands knew of everyone else, that's why some people got bored and wanted to leave so badly. And no one had left or come back since Sora, Riku and Kairi had come back from... wherever it was they'd been - they were never clear on the details, and for some reason no one ever pushed too hard, either because they were pleased they were back and didn't want to dwell on the idea that they might leave again, or because their minds simply skirted away from the question whenever it came up - not too long ago.

But then they started to notice.

"That shadow- it wasn't just me, was it?"

"I swear, those kids keep buying food they don't even need..."

"One of my old textbooks went missing - it's not even the version we're using any more, but someone must've taken it!"

In reality, the fact that he was there at all wasn't the problem. It was what - or who, rather - he looked like, that was.

The worlds were supposed to remain separate after all, not knowing that other worlds even existed. And how to explain that Riku had what could easily pass as his twin, if it weren't for the fact that his parents would clearly refute the fact if they used it as an excuse? The story was convoluted enough. Far easier, he'd said, to stay out of sight for the time being.

They'd come to try and drag him into doing normal things, give him new memories, nearly every day. But while he appreciated it, he often laughed it off, telling them that as long as he knew she was fine, then he would be, too.

To which Kairi had laughed, and shook her head, and pushed him off into the water.

After a while it became increasingly easy to tell the two apart - Riku, and the other Riku. The original was taller, and still growing taller, and tended to wear lighter clothes. The replica, if he could be called that, wasn't much different from when he'd first been created. Still looking just a little over fifteen, still a bit gangly, hair longer, eyes darker and harder.

Not that anyone who knew his story could blame him. He'd been through a lot.

Sunset found him staring out to sea more than once, and this time, he was both unsurprised and not to be joined by his original.

They'd started using that. 'Original', rather than 'the real one'. Just because one had come first, didn't mean the other was any less real, they'd said, Riku himself avoiding his copy's eyes at first, likely remembering the way they'd spoken in Castle Oblivion.

"I think..." he trailed off, staring off into the sea that he still remembered wanting to go out and explore, even if that was the original's memories and experiences, not his own. He sighed, and looked down at the sand on his shoes before closing his eyes and looking back up again. "I want a new name. Something that's mine, and mine alone. Just like whatever I choose to do next, whether it's staying here, or... going somewhere else."

Riku turned to look at... not himself, not a copy, not a replica any more. This new person, almost like a little brother he'd never had, but had been placed, unwanted, in his life. And now, it was like he'd started growing up beyond what everyone had expected of him for so long.

"What, you're asking me? Isn't that kinda counter productive?"

The other turned to glare at him, and he shook his head.

"If you want a name that's yours, then go choose one. And..." he took a deep breath, unsure how this would be taken. "If you end up following the same path as me somehow? Even just bits of it. It doesn't matter, because those were your choices that got you there. So... don't run away from something just because you think it takes you into my shadow, got it?"

"It's funny. I thought it was more Sora's place to make that kind of speech."

"Sora isn't the one who knows what it's like inside my head. He knows we can be idiots, but he doesn't understand how we can be idiots, sometimes."

...

AN: Based on an idea I'd been having since getting attached to the Riku Replica. And various things I've read here and there. I might end up ficcing one or two other ideas I've had, once they've solidified a bit more. Written before 'Upload New Entry'. Unrelated, but vague enough they might be if you want 'em to be.