Hey guys. Here's a different sort of story from me which I hope you will really enjoy. :)

This story is sort of a mini spin-off to the Kingdom Hearts story I am currently writing now, which is called 'My Last Few Days With You'. Don't worry if you haven't read it, because this story will still make perfect sense regardless, as it doesn't really tie-in with that story's plot. I was just writing a part of its newest chapter (uploaded at the same time as this), and it gave me the idea for this, which I went ahead and wrote.

All you need to know is that this story is set one year after Birth By Sleep. So since it revolves around Sora, Kairi and Riku, you will need to picture them as little kids instead of teenagers. ;)

Alright then. Let's get on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix.

"Guys, will you please stop fighting?" Kairi pleaded, watching in irritation as her two best friends continued to battle each other with their wooden swords. "I want us to start the game!"

"We will, Kairi!" Sora answered without looking at her. He couldn't take any focus off what he was doing, for it would likely mean being defeated by his six-year old rival. Smirking up at the face which was glaring down at him, he raised his sword to block Riku's attack. He was not willing to let him triumph over him. "We'll play it right after I beat Riku!"

"No, Sora!" Riku remarked, pulling his sword back quickly from Sora's and ducking to avoid being struck. "I'm gonna beat you!"

"No you're not, Riku!" Sora sneered, blocking another attack from the silver-haired boy with his trust-worthy weapon. "I'm gonna beat you! 'Cos I'm the hero!"

"No, I'm the hero! Not you!"

"No! I am!"

Kairi sighed softly as she listened the boys' childish bickering, remaining sat where she was and burying her hand under the sand. "You guys can take turns to be the hero. You don't have to fight each other."

The three young friends were on the beach of the smaller island. Above them, the sun was sending its golden rays down to light up the beautiful day. Not a single cloud was joining it in the blue sky, which had its lovely colour reflected in the deep, crystal ocean. Waves were washing up endlessly onto the shore. Once again, the summer weather on Destiny Islands was proving to be as lovely as always, driving Sora, Kairi and Riku out of their houses each day to play happily together. Almost immediately after they had met on this day, they had decided to play their favourite game; one of the boys was to pretend to take Kairi captive, and the other would have to rescue her. The game would always end in Kairi being saved, and the villain being defeated in a sword battle against the hero.

Before they would begin to play, however, there would always be a mild argument between Sora and Riku over who would be the one to rescue Kairi. Both boys wanted to be the hero who would save her, and neither of them wanted to be the evil villain who would kidnap her. Since the three of them often played the game again straight after it finished, Kairi often advised them to take turns in playing hero and villain. That way, they would both get to play the character they really wanted to be - but this usually led to them sword fighting before they even began playing to decide who would be the first of them to take the role of the hero. Kairi could only wait impatiently for the lengthy battle between the boys to be over, hoping one would defeat the other soon so they could start their game.

The end of their swordfight was now approaching, for the small amount of strength young Sora had was building up inside his arm which he was using to wield with. It was all he needed to swing his sword with enough force to whack Riku's out of his small hand. The short wooden weapon flew through the air to land with a soft thud on the ground. Now unarmed and defenceless, Riku's face filled with horror as Sora drove his sword towards him. Its pointed end tapped the silver-haired boy lightly in the chest, resulting in a victory for Sora.

With a cry of false pain, Riku pressed both hands where Sora's weapon had hit him on his chest. He swaggered from side to side, pretending to be losing his energy fast before crumpling forward, lying face down on the sand. He groaned to himself in disappointment. Though his defeat in the battle with Sora hadn't cost him his life, it had cost him the chance to be the first one to play the hero in their game. This meant he had to be the first one to kidnap Kairi, when he wanted so badly to be the one to save her.

"YAY!" Sora cried triumphantly, jumping happily up and down on the spot whilst Riku lay 'dead' on the sand. "I won! I won! I'm the hero!"

Kairi's eyes lightened up as a grin spread widely across her face, for she was very happy they were about to start playing what she really loved. "Can we start our game now?"

"Okay!"

With a delighted smile over winning the part he wanted to play, Sora began make his way from his friends, heading towards the bridge that crossed over the sand and sea to lead out onto the miniature island. He intended to wait behind its other side so that he wouldn't be in sight when their game would begin. That would give Riku the chance he needed to take Kairi captive. He wouldn't be able to do it if Sora was anywhere near her and able to foil his evil plan straight away.

As he treaded hurriedly along the beach, the five-year old boy turned to shoot the excited grin on his face over his shoulder and in the direction of the others, noticing that the villain was still lying on his front. "C'mon, Riku! You're the bad guy!"

Sora's eager words drove Riku to push himself up from the ground to be on his hands and knees. Lying face down had led sand to cover his clothes and to creep into his hair. After hurriedly dusting it all from himself, Riku picked up his sword and sprinted away in the opposite direction that Sora had run, leaving a giggling Kairi all by herself. He stopped once he reached the small pier, climbing up onto it quickly with the use of the wooden steps. Once he was on the long wooden platform, he spun around to gaze down to see that Kairi was now standing before the shore. She was no longer taking any notice of him and was facing out towards the ocean, not to see him while he would be making his moves to capture her.

Knowing the game had begun, Riku spread a sinister-looking sneer across his little face whilst his eyebrows pointed downwards. It was rather easy for him to take the role of an evil character, despite the fact he wasn't really happy to be playing one.

Kairi's eyes explored the endless miles of the ocean which stretched out into the horizon. She was now in character for the game, pretending to be someone who was all alone on the beach - or at least, believed she was all alone. Reaching down towards the sand, she fisted her hand to pretend to be picking a beautiful flower, holding it up in front of her nose to sniff its imaginary aroma. She didn't notice the person watching her from the nearby small pier, getting ready to kidnap her.

Riku was still sneering down towards the girl who was standing by herself on the shore. There she was, with no one to protect her. Not even that silly Sora who had always saved her from him. Nasty Riku had been foiled by him so many times when he had tried to keep Kairi prisoner. She wouldn't be rescued from him today, however. It was going to be his long-awaited time now to gain victory over that useless hero.

Not waiting to waste another second, Riku took a few steps back to prepare himself to make a leap from the pier to the sand below. He knew that if he were to race down the wooden steps, they would only make a noise which would make Kairi realize he was there and escape from him before he could even get a chance to capture her. It was annoying enough for Nasty Riku that his evil plans were always going wrong, thanks to Brave Sora. He couldn't make this one go wrong himself. It would be so embarrassing.

Once he had backed up to be standing on the right edge of the pier, Riku charged back towards the left side, then launched himself forward into the air as high as he could (making sure not to let go of his sword). He fell back down towards the sand, landing on it with a thump and a grunt as he ended up collapsing onto his side, his weapon flying out of his hand.

Kairi gave another little sniff of the imaginary flower in her hand. She smiled softly to herself, unaware that her arch nemesis was right behind her, picking himself up from the crash-landing he had gone through. She barely heard the small groans that were coming from behind her. All she wanted to do was happily admire the beautiful place she was in. As she was still gazing in the direction of the sea, she wasn't able to detect the smirk which was being shot from behind her back, sent by the evil person who was about to take her captive.

To see that Kairi still had no idea he was there made Nasty Riku very pleased. By the time she would realize he had come for her, it would be too late. She would not be able to escape from him and Brave Sora wasn't going to save her. Knowing he had to be extra careful, however, the silver-haired villain picked up his sword from the sand, holding it in front of his face. Though Kairi's hero was not there to protect her, he had to make sure he was armed in case anyone who might just be nearby would try to save her. All it would take would be a few swings of his sword to show them what he was made of. Anyone who attempted to foil Nasty Riku's plans would be making a huge mistake.

Riku began to charge as fast as he could down towards the shore, stopping at nothing to reach Kairi. The evil smirk on his face widened as he neared her with each hasty step. As soon as he was right behind her, his free hand shot out to grasp her arm (taking care not to grab too hard so that he wouldn't cause her real pain). "Hello, Princess Kairi."

Kairi gasped in alarm from having her arm grabbed and from the sinister, familiar voice that had spoken to her. Knowing perfectly well who it was, she fearfully turned her head to face who had come for her, the horror in her expression building up when she saw her mortal enemy. "Nasty Riku!"

"That's right, it's me!" Riku said cunningly. He had altered his voice in an attempt to sound as venomous as villains that appeared in movies and cartoons he watched. Although he wasn't enjoying playing the part of a bad character, he was doing his very best to sound exactly like one. He sneered at the frightened princess. "And I've come to kidnap you! No one will save you this time! Ha ha ha ha haaa!"

"NO!" Kairi cried in terror, finding she was being dragged forcefully away from the shore by the person who was kidnapping her once again. She attempted to pull away from him, but his hand had slipped tightly around hers, and she was too weak to free herself from his grasp. As he hauled her along the sand and towards the back of the beach, she pulled against him as hard as she could, glancing frantically around the beach. She was hoping to catch sight of the one who had always saved her from this evil villain.

"Help!" she yelled. "Brave Sora! Help! Save me!"

From the other side of the bridge, Sora had been waiting patiently for his cue. Now that Kairi's frightened voice had reached him from where she was in trouble, he jumped up urgently from the sand and onto his feet. He listened out in alert to the cries for help, taken by surprise from the sound of them. "What's that? It sounds like Princess Kairi is in danger!"

Knowing he had to act immediately, Sora gripped his sword tightly in his hands before dashing at his highest speed under the bridge. As he raced out into the opening at the other side, he stopped in horror at the sight of his mortal enemy, Nasty Riku, dragging the helpless princess towards the back of the beach.

"Sora!" Kairi squealed loudly when she saw him. As she continued to attempt to pull away from Riku without success, she stretched her free arm out towards her hero, needing him desperately to rescue her. "Help! Save me!"

"Let her go, Nasty Riku!" Sora ordered angrily, coming out of his alarmed state to point his sword towards where his nemesis was with the princess. He began to charge along the sand after them, intending to take Riku down with all his strength so that Kairi would be safe from him.

Riku cackled at the sight of Sora coming after him to save his princess, who he just dragged firmly up the first of the wooden ramps that led to the raised level of solid ground. His hand remained gripped firmly around hers. He knew that no matter how hard she pulled against him, she was not strong enough to slip free from his grasp. "You'll never see her again, Silly Sora!"

Brave Sora could see that Nasty Riku was hauling the frightened princess up the second of the ramps, clearly intending to take her into his lair (which was right next to the waterfalls). He glared furiously towards his enemy, who he was getting ready to successfully defeat once again. There was no way he was going to allow him to keep Kairi captive. Sora picked up speed, continuing to charge unstoppably along the sand and nearing where the pair of them were - until his foot struck something lying in his path which only existed in his imagination.

With a startled cry, Sora stumbled forwards with his arms waving about in the air, dropping his sword from his hand before falling to land on his front. He lay where he had ended up on the sand, making no movement, effort or twitch to pick himself up - giving Riku all the time he needed to escape with the princess.

"Soraaaaa!" Kairi yelled out to him, horrified at the sight of her hero falling over and apparently unable to get back onto his feet. Her wide, alarmed eyes were locked onto him as she was dragged further away from him. There was nothing to stop Riku now from taking her as his prisoner. Helpless, frightened and unable to escape from the villain, Kairi was dragged a little further along the raised level of ground, until her captor finally stopped pulling her and released his grip on her arm.

The princess shot her head away from where Sora was lying unconscious on the beach to cast her terrified expression at her evil-blooded enemy. The fear she was going through grew even more enormous when she saw that he was pointing his sword at her. The two of them were standing outside the entrance to his lair - which happened to be the Secret Place.

"Get in there," Riku ordered, trying to sound threatening.

"No!" Kairi shook her head, trying without any success not to let him know how frightened of him she was. She shot her head away from him to look out desperately where she had left Sora, finding that he was still in his unexpected sleep when she was in great danger. "Soraaa! Wake up!"

"Get in there!" Riku demanded more dominantly. "Or do I have to let my sword do the talking?"

After sending a wide-eyed, panic-stricken expression down at the sword being pointed at her, Kairi shuddered as she turned towards the brambles that were covering the tiny entrance, going down onto her hands and knees to crawl unwillingly but hopelessly into it. There was nothing she could do to protest against Riku. She knew he was evil enough to carry out the threat he had just made to her. She would just have to go inside the lair to keep her life, but she was praying that she wouldn't have to stay in there for long - if Sora would just regain his consciousness.

Once his intimated captive had disappeared through the small hole, Riku smirked as he dropped down onto his own hands and knees to crawl after her into the lair. If the entrance to the Secret Place had been much larger, he would have been able to drag her inside without stopping. To take her inside the cave which he had claimed for his own personal evil space, they would have to each crawl through the its miniature entrance, one after the other. Threats always did the trick to get the princess to go through it when she refused to. As soon as he would be joining her inside the darkness, he was going to drag her up mercilessly up to where she had been held prisoner many times before.

Down on the beach, right after Riku had crawled into his beloved nasty hideout, Sora mumbled before pushing himself up to be on his knees. His minute of being unconscious had allowed his enemy to succeed in taking the princess where he usually kept her captive. Knowing that she was in danger and he was the only one who could save her, Sora furiously grabbed his sword and jumped up to his feet. He glared in determination up to where Nasty Riku's lair was. The princess was somewhere inside, frightened and unable to escape. The evil, silver-haired villain had succeeded to kidnap her - but he wasn't going to keep her there for a great length of time.

All prepared to take down his enemy and rescue Princess Kairi once again, Brave Sora marched along the beach and towards the ramps that led to the cave, sword clutched tightly in his hand. "Hang in there, Kairi," he said. "Brave Sora's coming to save you."

Inside the lair, Kairi found herself trapped in the horrible place she was often held prisoner on most of the occasions when she had been kidnapped by her enemy. She was in the circular area at the far end of the cave. There was no way she could escape unless Brave Sora would save her. Nasty Riku was watching his captive with an evil, satisfied smirk. He was certain that he had won this time and the princess would never be rescued from him. The two of them were surrounded by the bleak darkness of the cave - as well as the chalk drawings which they - along with Sora - had scrawled across the walls during previous visits together to the Secret Place.

"I've got you this time, Princess!" the six-year old said menacingly. "You won't get away from me this time!"

"Yes I will, Nasty Riku!" Kairi argued with a frown. "Brave Sora will save me! And he'll stop you, you big, bad meanie!"

Riku chuckled darkly as he shook his head. "No he won't, Princess! Nasty Riku's got you now! Silly Sora's not gonna save you!"

Sniggering at the triumph he believed he had gained over Brave Sora, the silver-haired villain turned away from the princess to disappear down the long, narrow tunnel that led to the opening of the cave. Kairi was left all alone in her 'cell'. She was still frightened from being held captive by Riku once again, but at the same time, was remaining completely confident that it would not be long before she would be saved from him. She had lost count of all the times he had kidnapped her, but every time he had done so, she had always been rescued by Sora. Kairi knew that her hero was going to save her again. It would not be long before he would arrive to take her away from this horrible, creepy, dark place - and from their arch nemesis who was so bent on keeping her forever.

Kairi sat down on the sand-covered ground, gazing silently towards the opening of the tunnel which Riku had strode out through. All she could do was wait until a familiar figure would eventually walk through it, race over to take her hand and guide her out to freedom - as he had done every single time she had been held here.

With the same evil sneer spread across his face, Riku continued to tread down the tunnel, still armed with his sword. As he was now approaching the end of the cave, he caught sight of the small amount of light which was only just able creep through the tiny entrance to his lair. It illuminated the green of the brambles outside that partly concealed the hole. Stopping before the cave wall he had reached, Riku dropped to his hands and knees and began to crawl out through the hole. Leaving Kairi on her own whilst he went outside for a minute wouldn't hurt; there was no way for her to escape from him, and the hero who she had such high faith in wasn't coming to free her.

Once he had made his way out into the bright light of the world outside his dark lair, Riku picked himself up and stood up straight, feeling a few tiny water drops flying onto him from the waterfalls on his left. The vile look on his face was sent down towards the beach ahead of him. Certain that he would see his foe still lying unconscious in the same spot, Riku took a few heavy steps forward to get a better view - only to freeze in surprise when he saw that Sora wasn't there. The young hero was nowhere to be seen. He had obviously awoken and picked himself up to go elsewhere, but Riku hadn't bumped into him on his way down the tunnel, nor was there any sign of him charging towards him along the beach with sword in hand. Brave Sora had just seemed to leave the location completely.

Riku knew he had to be sure whether his brunette-haired enemy was still nearby or not, for he had never once abandoned Kairi wherever she had been held captive by him. He gazed from left to right along the beach, trying to catch sight of him on it. Had he thought to turn around, he would have seen that Sora was actually behind him. He had his back pressed to the rocky wall beside the cave's entrance and was holding some of the nearby brambles up in front of him in an effort to hide himself. Seeing that Nasty Riku didn't have any idea where he was brought a wide, pleased grin to his face. He had the chance he needed to sneak into the lair and save Kairi, so he hurriedly let go of the brambles to drop to his hands and knees.

The silver-haired villain was straining his eyes to see if Sora was near the small pier, when a nearby shuffling noise crept into his ears, making him freeze in alert. He refrained from moving an inch to listen hard to it. It sounded like it was coming from right behind him. Realizing that his foe was perhaps closer than he thought, he spun around quickly just in time for his widened eyes to catch a glimpse of a shoe disappearing through his lair's tiny entrance. He shot an evil little smirk down towards the hole. It was blatantly obvious to him who was trespassing inside his lair, as well as why they were daring to. It wasn't the first time this unwelcome visitor was intruding on his private, horrible quarters, but this occasion would be the very last time, for he wasn't going to come out alive. From this day forward, he would no longer be around to rescue the princess. Nasty Riku was going to be rid of him at last, free to keep his captive forever.

As he went down onto his hands and knees, Riku made sure to keep a tight hold of his sword as he began to crawl through brambles to go back into his lair. He was grinning wickedly over the black-hearted goal he aimed to achieve.

Brave Sora hurried down the narrow tunnel and through the bleak darkness of Nasty Riku's lair. Now that he had snuck past his enemy, there were no further threats to keep him from reaching where he would find the imprisoned princess. Although he knew this, he made sure to have his sword ready in his hand to take down any unexpected dangers that would attempt to stop him from saving her. Besides, he knew that this rescue mission was going to be as tough as every other one he had been on. It was highly unlikely he was manage to guide his friend out of the lair without being confronted by his enemy, but he wasn't afraid of the possibility of having to face him off with his sword.

The wide, circular area at the far end of the tunnel began to come into view. Sora saw it ahead, knowing that was where the princess was being held once again, and that she awaited him there to set her free. Not wanting to keep her waiting any longer, he picked up speed and ran out into the much brighter and more spaced-out section of the lair. His face illuminated in delight when he saw who was sitting before him on the ground. "Kairi!"

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed happily, jumping up instantly to her feet. Her own face had lit up as well from the sight of the one who had come to this horrible place to rescue her. "I knew you'd come save me!"

Racing quickly over to the joyful princess, Sora grasped her hand tightly in his free one. He turned to the opening of the tunnel which had led him to her, knowing it was only way out. He hurriedly began to pull Kairi towards it, intending to use it to make their escape. "C'mon, Kairi! Let's get outta here! We're gonna get you away from that Nasty Riku-"

"Oh no you're not!"

The hero and princess froze in fear together before they could race hand-in-hand into the tunnel, for it was now blocked by Nasty Riku. The silver-haired little monster was stood firmly at the opening to keep his enemies from escaping. The devious sneer on his face was shot at Sora, as wide and sinister as ever. He was highly enjoying seeing how instant fear was visible in their expressions - mostly brought on by his sword, which he was pointing at them.

Kairi screamed loudly from the sight of their armed foe, then cowered quickly behind Sora, shaking in her terror.

"Come to save the princess again, Silly Sora?" Riku chuckled dryly with a shake of his head. "You just never give up, do you?"

"I'd never give up on Princess Kairi!" Sora yelled, managing to push aside his fear to point his own sword back at Riku. He glared angrily at his mortal foe, not realizing that Kairi was growing more frightened from how he was about to engage in battle. "I'm not letting you keep her, Nasty Riku!"

"I'm afraid you're going to this time." Riku's grip tightened around the handle of his weapon, getting ready to use it to strike the boy before him. "Because this is where I finally beat you! You'll never see your princess again, Silly Sora! It's time for you to finally go down!"

Without warning, Riku suddenly drew his sword back and swung it towards Sora's head in an attempt to whack it with what strength he had. Kairi shrieked in horror from the attack her friend was about to receive - only to see it being blocked off as he brought his own weapon into action. With his sword's wooden blade now holding off Riku's, Sora locked his eyes full of anger and fearlessness with those of his mortal enemy. If he really believed he was going to get rid of him through the sword dual they were just beginning, after losing to him in every other one they had fought each other in, then he was even crazier than Sora thought. He was going to show Riku that he would never allow him to win, nor would he let him keep the princess captive forever.

Sora scrapped his sword away from Riku's and attempted to strike him to finish him for good, but found himself instead just whacking his adversary's weapon over and over again. Both boys knew in reality that a thrilling, exciting sword fight couldn't be over in less than ten seconds. They needed to keep attacking each other for a fair length of time before the winner would finally reach his victory, bringing his losing rival down in the process. They wanted their battle to be as action-packed as ones they often saw on television, where the onscreen heroes would build up their suspense by fighting against the ambitious, power-driven villains. The only audience member present to see their dual was Kairi. She watched them endlessly wield against one another, still giving the same horrified expression to show she was deeply frightened for Brave Sora's safety.

Without ceasing his attacks on Riku, Sora began to walk forward whilst continuing to bat his sword against his foe's, forcing him to back into the tunnel. The brawling pair proceeded to swordfight their way through the cave to make their way up to its opening. This was their way of keeping their battle moving forward. As well as to ensure they didn't stay in the same spot for the entire dual, they both intended to get out of the Secret Place. Fighting against each other would be much easier in the open outside world, where they would always find plenty of different ways to create a dramatic closing to their battle. They continued to swing their swords around in failed attempts to hit each other, trying not to scrape them against the cave walls. Kairi followed them down the narrow tunnel, staying in character.

Riku was not going to allow Sora to have any advantage from being the one able to walk forwards whilst they were battling. He was having to tread backwards without getting to take so much as a glance behind him, but he was not going to let it become a weakness for him. He was going to show Sora that he could easily defeat without needing to see where he was going. Nothing was able to distract him from the fight he was in with his most despised enemy - until he backed into the rocky cave wall that was above the tiny entrance.

The six-year old gave a jump of surprise from how he had just found out they had reached the front end of the cave. Halting his attacks on Sora (who had also just realized this) for a moment, he looked down and behind him to see the small hole that he could only use to get outside by crawling through it. Remaining in character, he lifted his head back up to face Sora again with his signature evil sneer. "Come and get me, Sora."

The next thing Sora knew was that Riku had dropped to his hands and knees to scramble backwards hurriedly out through the small entrance, taking only his weapon out with him. He brought back the deep glare which had temporarily disappeared from his face. To keep himself from slipping out of role whilst Riku made his struggled exit from the cave, he drove his sword down towards him, missing his head as it disappeared through the hole. It was as if Brave Sora had made an effort to get rid of Nasty Riku during a moment where he was defenceless. His attempt to get rid of him had unfortunately failed, and with the silver-haired monster now outside the lair whilst he and Kairi were still in it, Sora went down quickly to his hands and knees and clambered out through the hole to go after Riku, still armed with his sword.

Passing through the brambles outside, Sora cringed slightly as he felt the strong sunlight hit him from the sky. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as a few of the sun's rays shot powerfully into them. After being inside the darkness of Riku's lair, he was genuinely not used to being back out the bright open atmosphere and needed to adjust to it. Once the light beating into his face began to soften, he managed to slowly open his eyes - then let off a cry from what he saw and leapt forward to avoid being struck by Riku's sword.

"Stay still, Sora!" Riku bellowed angrily. He had been standing over his brunette-haired foe while he had been crawling out of the cave. Having just failed to finish him off in the same way Sora had failed to with him, he was no longer sneering or cackling, and was instead getting fed up of how his enemy was impossible to kill. He clenched his teeth as he turned to the spot where the little hero had launched himself to, raising his sword quickly to block his oncoming attack. "You're gonna be sorry for all the times you foiled my plans! I'm gonna take you down, once and for all!"

Standing on the edge of the raised level of ground they were on (which was right above the pool the nearby waterfalls were gushing into), Sora just shot his hard glare up at Riku whilst forcefully holding off his sword's blow. He wasn't affected in the slightest by his threats, for his determination to fight him off and save Kairi remained as strong as ever. He grated his weapon from the villain's and went back to endlessly hitting it. He was determined give Nasty Riku the defeat he truly deserved. Only then would Princess Kairi be rescued.

Hero and villain continually thrashed their swords against one other's. They were both bent on taking the one they were fighting down. Neither of them were willing to let each other win. Both were battling with all their strength, trying to drive their swords into their opponent before they could do it to them. As they were so focused on trying to rid the world of each other, they didn't notice Kairi was watching them from beside the cave's entrance, having just crawled out through it after them. Deep fear was still visible in the little princess' expression. She had seen Sora swordfight Riku all the other times he had saved her from him, but she was still panicking in case he wouldn't survive this dual.

With all his strength, ambition, evilness and hate for Sora combining altogether inside him, Riku swung his sword around to give Sora's a tremendous whack. With a loud sound erupting as the one wooden blade struck the other, the smaller boy's weapon was forced out his hands in exactly the same way Riku's had been earlier when he had lost the battle to play the hero. As he watched with shock as it flew away from him and out to his left, an alarmed, ear-piercing scream escaped from the princess, followed by a soft splash as her hero's weapon landed in the pool below.

Sora was now unarmed and defenceless. He gaped wide-eyed in terror up at his enemy, finding he had brought his sneer back from gaining the upper hand over him. There was nothing he could do to fight him off and keep himself from meeting his end. He couldn't protect himself without a sword.

Riku laughed triumphantly from the victory he knew he had gained. "This is it, Silly Sora! This is the end of you! Your little princess will never see you again! And she will never escape from me!"

Sora took his frightened eyes from the monstrous villain before him to peer past him and towards where Kairi was trembling. He saw that she had covered her eyes in fright, unable to bear watching him get killed. He couldn't die and let Nasty Riku win! She needed him to save her. If he allowed himself to be finally finished off, then she would be their enemy's captive forever.

Still just as desperate to save Princess Kairi as he had been all day (even with all the terror he had just rapidly built to a high level), Sora looked back up at Riku again. He saw that he had raised his sword so that the blade was pointing over his shoulder and towards the sky, liker a golfer just about to strike their ball with their club. It was how he intended to get rid him at last, which was what he had wanted to do for a very long time.

"Bye bye forever, Silly Sora!" Riku smirked, and swung his sword.

Sora ducked.

Missing his brunette-haired opponent, Riku suddenly found he was unable to stop himself and had now begun to spin in instant alarm around on the spot from the swing he had taken. With his feeling of triumph now gone and replaced with horror over what was happening to him, he attempted to gain control of himself, only to find that his body was not doing what he wanted it to. Everything around him seemed to be spinning faster and faster, and he lost his grip on the sword which had come so close to killing Sora. It fell out of his hand and down towards the pool below him, letting off a splash as it landed in the water to join the one it had just been constantly hitting.

The silver-haired villain, no longer armed and having failed to destroy Sora, managed at last to stop himself from spinning, though it felt as though his head was continuing to do so. Dazed and unbalanced, he staggered a little as the soles of his feet struggled to stay on the ground. After witnessing the trees towering over him appear to rotate, he lowered his head to send his giddy expression ahead - his eyes widening in shock when he realized where he was standing. Sora was still in front of him, but was now on the spot where Riku had just been himself, sending him a wide grin from the predicament he had gotten himself into. Kairi was also in sight, which she had not been before Riku's killer blow had failed to get rid of Sora. He could see that she was now grinning towards them, clearly relieved that her hero was still alive, as well as appearing to be just as excited as he was.

As if the sights and expressions of his two enemies were not enough to tell Riku he was in danger, he could hear the sound of the waterfalls cascading into the pool coming from directly behind him. He was standing on the edge of what would be a drop of defeat. All it would take for Sora to beat him would be just one push to send him plummeting down it - and from the delighted looks on his two enemies' faces, they undoubtedly knew this as well.

"No!" Riku cried, alarmed. He quickly shot his hands up defensively in front of him. Neither of them were holding any weapon now to fight off Sora and stop him from doing what he intended. "Don't push me! I won't let you do it! I won't let you win again, Silly Sora! You can't beat me-"

"Bye bye, Nasty Riku!"

Using both hands, Brave Sora gave Nasty Riku a shove to send him falling backwards from the ledge. The beaten villain let out a loud, terrified shriek which drowned out the victorious cheers of the pair who had just triumphed over him once again. There was nothing he could do to stop himself from plunging down to the pool, landing in it with an enormous splash that served as the signal for his embarrassing defeat. His goal to keep Princess Kairi captive had been foiled. She was now saved from him.

"YEEEEEEEESSS!" Brave Sora cheered ecstatically, jumping up and down on the spot in all the joy his victory had gained him. Whilst listening to the overjoyed cheers that Kairi was jubilantly letting off behind him, he pointed down jeeringly at the boy in the pool below him. "Have a nice drink of water, Nasty Riku!"

Riku scrambled to his feet - having landed in the shallow water on his back - and stood foot-deep in the pool, gaping speechlessly up at Sora. He was shocked; really shocked. He had thought Sora would only tap him lightly with his hands so that he could pretend to fall backwards from the ledge. He hadn't for one minute believed his friend would really push him into his unexpected bath. Although all the other occasions when he had played the role of the villain had ended with his character being beaten, Sora had never before done anything like this, which had left him feeling genuinely stunned and humiliated. He could only watch as the younger boy above him celebrated his victory. His hair and clothes were dripping wet and he was freezing from how cold the water was.

Still in character while Riku was not, Sora danced happily on the dry ground, pleased that he had succeeded once again to defeat Nasty Riku. He bounced around to be facing the girl he had rescued - and let out a startled cry as she almost knocked him into the pool with Riku. She had just charged over to where he was, happily throwing herself at him to give him a tight hug.

"Thanks for saving me, Brave Sora," Kairi said sweetly. "I just knew you'd rescue me from that big, nasty monster."

Sora grinned softly down at her, returning the embrace. "It's okay, Princess Kairi. I'll always be here to protect you from anyone evil. I promise."

The five-year old girl closed her eyes, the happiness within the smile on her face increasing from what her hero had just told her. As he truly was her best friend, she felt very comfortable with hugging him, and felt it was right to give him one now. Many girls in movies and cartoons she had seen would often embrace the heroes after they would save them. They would also give them something else, but Sora was not to receive it from her.

"Okay, guys! It's my turn to be the hero now!"

Sora and Kairi broke their hug in surprise, finding that Riku was standing next to them, having just climbed out of the pool to join them back on the ledge. He was soaking wet with water endlessly dripping from him, making the spot where he was standing become damp under his drenched shoes. Clutched in his hands were two water-absorbed wooden swords which he made sure to take out of the pool with him. A wide grin was spread across his face. He was pleased that Sora's time of play Kairi's rescuer was now over, meaning his chance to perform the part was about to begin.

"But ... Riku ..." Kairi murmured unsurely, pointing with her small hand at the dank boy, taking in his soaked hair and clothes. "You're all wet."

"I don't care!" Riku shook his head at the girl as the grin on his face grew. "That's not gonna stop Brave Riku from saving you from Nasty Sora, Princess Kairi."

Kairi's blue eyes instantly widened and began to shine with delight, which had been brought from learning that Riku wanted them to play the game they had just finished all over again. Forgetting completely how wet he was, she glowed excitedly at him before gazing up at the silent Sora, failing to realize how alarmed he suddenly looked. "C'mon then, Sora! Let's do that!"

"Yeah c'mon, Nasty Sora!" Riku grinned. "You gotta kidnap Princess Kairi! Brave Riku's gonna stop you!"

He handed the aghast boy his dripping sword back, then began to make his way swiftly back down onto the beach, his soaked shoes squelching as he descended the wooden ramps. He headed for the larger wooden pier to take the position Sora had been in when the previous game had begun. He was beside himself over the fact it was his turn to rescue Kairi.

Sora watched in dismay as Kairi gleefully left him to race after Riku down the ramps. His eyes, full of newly-formed frustration, followed her as she charged across the acres of sand, returning to the spot on the shore where she had been standing at the beginning of the previous round of their game. It didn't seem to make a difference to her who was the one to kidnap her and who was the one to rescue her. No matter which role Sora and Riku were enacting, she always loved playing the game with the two of them. Playing the role of the good and brave hero meant so much to Sora. He always loved being the one who save her from danger and keep her protected from the evil villain. It was so unfortunate that Riku always wanted to play that part just has much as he did, and although he had just gotten his way by being the first one of them to play the hero and had just rescued Kairi, he was growing increasingly upset that he now had to perform the role the other boy had just had to reluctantly play.

Sora absolutely loved playing his favourite game with Kairi and Riku. He absolutely hated having to play the villain.

Hope you've enjoyed this story. It was very different for me to write Sora, Kairi and Riku as little kids for an entire story (I wonder if the producers of Birth By Sleep thought the same when they were working on the game! XD ) I sure hope I managed to make them sound like them. And just think; in their futures to come, Sora faces a time when he really does have to save Kairi from Riku. :P

Well, that's that then. See ya! :)