AN: Formerly my penname was DragonMaster Reborn but I have finally updated it. (After going through a dozen others that were already taken that is... ) This is my first attempt at a Kingdom Hearts story so be easy on me all right? My muses are working overtime to come up with ideas but yours are always welcome! A good authoress always listens to her fans right?

Now I am in College at the moment there are a lot of constraints on our time but…this was just begging to be written…or typed out rather. Rhino7 is the one who actually gave me this idea, so credit to her! And go check out her story Summer of Snow, also about Riku! Poor guy, we put him through so much don't we?

By the way, this takes place after Kingdom Hearts II. Everyone is back on the island and life is back to normal…or is it? Read on and please enjoy!

Chapter One: First Signs

It was just a normal day at Destiny High School. Kairi had finally managed to convince 'her boys' to buckle down and get some studying down before they failed completely. Well Sora at least, Riku was an excellent student and always pulled off good grades, much to the Keyblade Master's chagrin. So they were in the library preparing for the upcoming project.

Kairi frowned as she stared at Sora's less than perfect notebook. There was a huge report coming up soon for their History class and the Keyblade Master had yet to start on it. He hadn't even bothered to take adequate notes. The spiky haired teen held his hands up before she could yell at him, "Hey! It's not my fault Mrs. Janise hates me!" he objected, referring to the aged teacher. Kairi sighed heavily, resigning herself to yet another afternoon of helping Sora muddle through his History homework.

Riku snorted at that pitiful excuse as he finished up his own research and closed the book he had been flipping through. "Maybe she would like you more if you weren't always snoring and daydreaming during her classes," the silver haired teenager reminded him. Sora had a habit of letting his mind wander the minute he encountered something that wasn't interesting to him.

With a smirk Riku added, "Ignoring the teacher is no way to win them over, or to get good grades for that matter," he offered perceptively, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. He had actually taken the time to prepare for the report, and as a result, he and Kairi were now finished a week before the deadline.

Sora grunted indignantly as he hunched over his textbook, grumbling to himself about 'stuck-up jerks who always got good grades'. This comment merely earned him a smug look from Riku and an irritated glance from Kairi who said, "It's your own fault for not studying. You could get good grades also if you bothered to do the work. Just try applying yourself a little more," she chided and Sora rubbed his neck at that.

With a sheepish look on his face Sora quickly tried to amend the statement, "I know, I know…and I will! I PROMISE," he emphasized putting his hands together and looking at Kairi with bright eyes, "But you'll help me just this one time won't you?" Sora asked his friend hopefully, putting in a smile for added effect. When Kairi crossed her arms he hurried on, "If I don't get someone to help me out then I'm doomed to failure! You don't want to go through life knowing that I got an F do you?" Sora pleaded, putting in the infamous 'puppy dog eyes' just in case.

Sighing heavily in resignation, for nobody could resist THAT look, Kairi pinched the bridge of her nose, "Fine, FINE, I promise that I'll help you with your report okay?" she finally agreed looking over to where Riku was sitting. The lanky teen grunted in agreement at that and put his arms down before handing over the volume that he had been using. Sora would need all the help he could get.

Riku took out his class notes and set them down in front of Sora so he could use them as reference also. "Well guess I might as well help out too, or I'll never hear the end of it; but I swear this is the last time, man. You really need to start paying attention in class," he warned and Sora grinned happily at that sign of reluctant consent.

The Keyblade Master knew that he would be seriously screwed if not for his friends help; but it was good to be worried about something as mundane as a History report after traversing countless worlds in search of Kairi and Kingdom Hearts, not to mention stopping Organization XIII. All of them were relieved to be home and back to the more normal aspects of teenage life. Things just couldn't get any better then this.

About time…it wouldn't have taken this long if someone had stopped to get directions.

I tried to but that light dweller in Radiant Garden nearly took off my head! Crazy ninja…

Stop arguing, or I swear I'll give you over to the Heartless.

Light dwellers… one look at us and they automatically think we're out to steal hearts.

Agreed, we may look similar, but we are NOT Heartless. The very idea is insulting.

Amen to that brother!

…

What?!

Idiot.

Moving on.

Don't forget that his friends are the Keyblade Master and the Princess of Light.

So they won't let him be taken away again. Great…another person ready to kill me.

And yet another problem arises for us.

Lets just grab the kid and leave.

I know your stupid but I didn't think you were suicidal.

Just making a suggestion…no need to yell at me…sniff…

See? Now you've made him upset. He'll be sulking for days.

Are we ever going to get to the real issue?!

Xehanort still resides in his heart, but any one of us can take care of that.

True. So we just need to convince him to listen to us then?

Correct. Master must learn the truth; the truth about what he has become.

This case is very unusual indeed.

Shouldn't he have turned into one of us after being exposed to the darkness like that?

Normally, yes.

He is the one we have been waiting for, that is why he was able to return to the light.

Amazing.

No one else can control the darkness so fluidly.

Enough talk. Have we come to a decision?

Yes. For now you will wait. I will go observe him personally.

Everything is settled then?

Affirmative. Riku will come to us soon enough.

Feeling a strong hand grab his shoulder Riku startled awake and shot straight up, weapon clutched firmly in his hand. His body was covered in sweat and his eyes were wide until he saw who was standing in front of him. Sora wrinkled his nose as he stepped back with his hands up defensively, "Geez, no need to be so uptight. That must have been some dream you were having," he commented as Kairi set her sketchpad aside. Now that she had been united with Namine she had started drawing in her free time.

Getting up from her spot in the sand, Kairi walked over to her friends as Riku recalled his weapon and stood up, looking around as if too make sure that everything was really all right. "You okay Riku? You were mumbling a lot as you slept," she added with a hint of worry in her voice and concern in her eyes as she watched him.

Sora frowned slightly in agreement, "Is everything all right? You've been a bit…off lately. Like something is distracting you…" he commented awkwardly, he didn't know exactly what had gone on with Riku after they had first been taken from Destiny Islands, and his friend had gone with Maleficent, but it was clear that his best friend was still bothered by it, and thought about it often.

The teen looked away quickly, avoiding their worried stares. They were finally together and back home again, he didn't want to burden them with his problems. He could handle things just fine on his own. "I'm fine…just another nightmare," he grunted out, brushing the sand off his pants before straightening up and looking off towards the ocean.

Still Riku couldn't help but think about those strange voices from his dream. Whenever he went to sleep they would start talking again; discussing the Keyblade Master, Princess of Heart, Heartless, light dwellers, or other things along those lines. Some of the conversations didn't make sense, or were simply pointless. At other times the strange voices were clearly about Sora, Kairi, and himself.

Frowning slightly Riku thought about the 'conversation' that had just ensued in his dream. Like just now…what do they want with me? And what did they mean about me learning the 'truth'? Ugh, or maybe being in the darkness for so long has messed up my head for good, he considered, not able to avoid the clench of worry that knotted his stomach. That last sentence especially caught his attention; they had mentioned him by name…but why? Just who WERE they and what was going on here?

Riku spent a minute or two lost in thought before he turned back and saw that Sora and Kairi were staring at him suspiciously, so he crossed his arms with stubborn insistence, "I'm FINE you guys. Really. I just need to relax a bit that's all. It's been a long time since we've been back home, you know?" he explained calmly and Sora finally nodded slowly, deciding to let it go…for now.

With a grin Sora took out his Keyblade, "Well if you say so. Of course I could always knock some common sense into that thick skull of yours since your not willing to tell us anything" he offered boldly as he dropped into a fighting stance. Riku smirked and drew his own weapon, "Why bother when you know your going to lose?" he retorted with his usual self-confidence. Out of all the times they had fought Sora had only won twice and that was because Riku had been distracted and staring at Kairi at the time.

Smile still in place Sora tilted his head slightly as he thought, "If you win then I'll drop the subject, but if I win then you have to tell us what's REALLY bothering you," he challenged as Riku spun his own blade around in his hand, aqua eyes partially hidden by his long bangs. "Suit yourself. But I'm telling you, you guys are getting worked up over nothing," he replied easily, but Kairi caught the slight hesitation in his voice as he said that.

Lately Riku seemed to be having more and more bad dreams, most likely caused by what he had been through during the past year or so. Unfortunately he was never willing to talk about it and always brushed it off and dismissed Sora and Kairi any time they brought it up, saying that he was fine and just needed time to 'adjust.' But Kairi could tell that Riku was just shoving aside the real issue the way he always did. Hiding how he felt so that he wouldn't be a burden to his friends.

Shaking her head Kairi stepped back so she wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. One time she had been sitting a little too close and had ended up in the water; she had spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the salt and sand out of her hair. Boys and their toys, she thought as her worry gave way to amusement.

Still a nagging voice in the back of her mind told her to keep a watch on her friend, warning and telling Kairi that something was wrong. Riku always did have a habit of keeping things to himself. He would carry the weight of the world on his shoulders if it meant helping out one of his friends, but at the same time he would leave himself hanging out to dry.

I just wish that he would pay more attention to his own needs instead of always trying to help everyone else. Riku tries to do too much on his own, Kairi thought, her worry coming back as she watched her boys spar with each other. Inwardly Namine agreed whole-heartedly.

As much as Kairi wanted to believe that things were back to normal…her heart insistently told her that this was just the calm before the storm, and that it was only a matter of time before the hurricane swept all of them away with its fury.

From the shadows a strange creature was watching the teenagers actions intently. At first glance it looked identical to a Heartless, a Neo Shadow to be specific; but upon closer inspection one could see some differences. Its eyes were ruby red instead of golden yellow and there was a strange symbol coiled around its left arm. It was a silver dragon with brilliant aqua colored eyes, broad wings, and front and back feet that were tipped with huge talons; but coiled around it were two more identical beasts, one untainted white and the other pitch black.

The Neo Shadow crept slightly closer, carefully remaining in the shadows of the palm trees and large bushes to reduce the risk of being seen. There he is…one who exists in the light, but belongs to the darkness, it considered, watching carefully as Riku sparred with the Keyblade Master. A strange choice of friends to be sure but he wasn't going to question it.

Slowly the dark creature lifted its long fingers to trace the strange dragons coiled around its left arm. For now he would let Riku remain with his friends, but the time was coming when the teenager must face the truth about who he really was, and where he really belonged. Master…he is the one we have been waiting for…the one who will free those who have become Heartless…just as I was set free, he thought looking down at his body.

Oh, the memories he had of being just a mindless Neo Shadow hungering for more hearts, it made him shudder in disgust as he thought about how he had acted. Well, technically he was still a Neo Shadow but not actually a Heartless…it was complicated to explain and he had other things to think about right now.

Riku wouldn't understand any of this at the moment though. Who I am, what he is, why I'm here…it would just be a jumbled mess if I tried to explain it all, he considered with a small shake of his head.

Quickly he crouched down when the Princess of Heart looked over his way with a frown on her face. After several minutes of searching, though, she turned back to her friends, throwing a single glance over her shoulder once before smiling and heading back over to Riku as he won the fight. No surprise there.

Backing up the Neo Shadow opened a dark portal, but looked over his shoulder briefly to catch another glance at Riku…the one for which they had all been waiting. For now he deserves to spend some time with his friends…it may be the last time he ever sees them, the Neo Shadow realized as he stepped through and into the darkness. Mere seconds later the doorway vanished from sight. As if it had never been there in the first place.

AN: Now I know that this will probably make little, to no, sense to all of you at first but don't worry. Things will get clearer in the chapters to come.

Who or what were those voices that Riku heard in his dream? Why was that Neo Shadow searching for him? Riku may say that he's fine but we all know him better than that don't we? Kairi and Sora have a right to be worried about their friend. Next chapter is up so please stick around and see what develops! Please? Pretty please!

Plus I changed the summary a bit so that it's more accurate. Not that the other one was off base or anything; I just thought that it could be better. The chapter has been edited so thanks for reading!

Your reviews fuel my inspiration! So please tell us what you think so far! Questions, comments, or constructive criticism are all welcome.