Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or any of it's characters mentioned in this story.

Shadowstar108: "Sweet, my first story! (^_^)b Anyway, I've had the idea for KH fan fiction in my head for a while now, and after some convincing from my girlfriend, I decided to write and publish it here. I thought about the series, and I wondered why Riku was never THE main character in the story. I hope to correct that somewhat with this. BE WARNED, THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM HEARTS: BIRTH BY SLEEP! Also, expect a lemon in a few chapters. Enjoy! (^_^)"

The Path of Twilight

Chapter 1

Riku was sitting in his room, gazing out into the open night sky. He had nothing else to do, as Sora and Kairi had left for a little trip yesterday. Sora said that he was going to teach Kairi how to use the Keyblade, but he had his doubts. The two of them REALLY wanted to be alone to "christen" their new relationship, and he wasn't going to object. 'Sora's optimism gets really annoying after a while.' Riku laughed at his joke, poking fun at his best friend while he wasn't there.

*Flashback*

Riku and Sora were sitting on the edge of the Dark Meridian, relaxing from having just stopped Xemnas and his plans to rule the worlds with Kingdom Hearts. Riku had gotten the most severe injuries, but he didn't feel that bad. 'I must heal really quickly.' He thought, basking in the gentle breeze as flowed through his silver hair. "Sora?" Riku asked, turning to his brown haired friend. "Remember what I said back there, about thinking I was better at stuff than you?"

"Yeah?" Sora said.

"To tell you the truth, I was jealous of you." Riku said. "I just wished I could live my life the way you do. Just by following my heart."

"Yeah, well, I've got my fair share of problems too, you know." Sora said with his trademark grin.

"Don't we know it." Riku said, the two boys chuckling as they remembered the difficulty of their last journey.

*End Flashback*

Riku snapped out of his memory, realizing it was pretty late. He should be off to bed soon, as he needed to sleep for tomorrow. He threw off his yellow vest and black shirt, not caring where they landed, as his room was a mess anyway. His body was a sight to behold, as he had really defined muscles and rock hard abs. His skin was lighter than Sora's, as he preferred to spend his time indoors whenever possible. Despite his calm and gentle personality, and his incredible body, he didn't care much for the girls at school, even though he could get whomever he wanted.

"Time to get some sleep. Got a test tomorrow." Riku told himself, as he threw off his cargo pants, and put on a black pair of shorts and a Metallica T-shirt. Riku's room was somewhat simple, with various rock band posters on the walls, covering up the light green paint that he didn't like. The window was fairly big, with large red curtains blowing in the slight breeze. There were no sounds in the room, except his breathing and the slow, droning hum of his computer, which he soon turned off. He laid himself down on his bed, which was positioned right next to the window, and tried to close his eyes. He stared at the night sky, with stars twinkling like jewels amongst a sea of black and blue, and nodded off in a peaceful sleep.

KHKHKHKHKHKHKHKH

A young woman with blue hair, and a man dressed in an all black coat were talking on a beach, with the moonlight shining down upon them and the sea. Her outfit looked like adventuring clothes, with white sleeves that covered her arms, but were not connected to the rest of the outfit. Her black vest and shorts were skin tight, hugging the natural curves of her body. The vest was held up by purple straps, pinned to the vest with an odd symbol, and pushed up her natural C-cup sized breasts. The shorts were covered in the back and sides with a blue skirt, with a white ribbon tied to it on both sides. She wore black stockings, and her shoes looked like a cross between high heels and metal boots. The man's coat was exactly like those worn by Organization XIII members.

She had just heard the story of his encounters with a keyblade master, and how he saved the worlds and his friends. She took in every word, having some good news to talk about in her 12 years in this realm of darkness. Even though they were in a bad place, she couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the world.

"Please, what is this boy's name?" She asked in a desperate tone.

"His name is… Sora." The man in black replied, in his usual calm and serious voice.

"Sora…" The girl repeated, staring out into the dark horizon, her face already swelling with tears. Just then, a miraculous white light appeared, which warmed the cold, dark beach with it's glow.

"What is…?' She said, astonished at the wonder in front of her.

"That, my dear friend, is the 'Door to Light'. I am not sure how it opened, though." The man in black wondered with intense thought.

"If it's a door, where will it take me?" The girl asked, hoping he had the answers in his fading memory.

"I do not know." The man said with curiosity. "But, I'm sure it will take you someplace that you are destined to be."

"Can… Can you come with me?' The girl asked him, hoping to have a friend to travel with.

"No." The man replied calmly. "I must stay here, where I belong. But don't worry, we will meet again, when the time is right."

The girl nodded. "One more thing, before I go. What is your name?" She asked.

The man looked up at her with surprise, hidden under his black hood. "My name is…" He hesitated, as he struggled to remember it. "My name is Ansem the Wise." he repeated firmly.

"Well, goodbye for now, Ansem. I hope we meet again soon!" The girl said, running toward the light, almost tripping over the small waves of the shore. She entered the light, and it closed, it's warmth and brightness dimming on the black beach of darkness.

"I hope so too, Aqua…" The man replied, bowing his head.

KHKHKHKHKHKHKH

"No! No! You can't do this!" Riku exclaimed at the silver haired man, struggling against his chains of darkness that held him prisoner. There was blood everywhere, and he was covered in cuts, his clothes torn to pieces.

The silver haired man turned to him. "Oh, but I can. And I will…" he said with an eerie smile, raising his sword above the girl with blue hair, who was knocked unconscious.

"Don't do it! Please! I love her!" Riku exclaimed, grunting as he was still trying to break free of his prison, to no avail.

The silver haired man walked over to him, and spoke softly in his ear; "I know. That's why I'm doing this. To break you, to make you surrender to your darkness…" He moved back to the girl, still intent on doing his evil deed. She was also cut up and bloody, her armor fractured and broken in several spots, her helmet cast aside to reveal her face.

He raised his sword of darkness, and prepared to strike. Riku tried to summon his keyblade, which didn't appear.

The silver haired man laughed, sword still raised above the girls head. "That won't work. We wouldn't want you to break free and save your lover, would we? That would be no fun…"

"You bastard!" Riku exclaimed, staring the silver haired man down, trying to be intimidating.

"I know, I'm evil." The silver haired man laughed, raising his sword in an execution like manner. "Now to prove it…" He cleaved his sword, chopping her head clean off. Blood spattered all over his clothes and blade, with him laughing manically.

"No… NO!" Riku screamed with anger and hate, fumes of darkness poring into his body.

"And now, it begins…" The silver haired man said, in awe of what would happen next..

KHKHKHKHKHKHKH

"Auagh!" Riku exclaimed, jumping up from his sleep with a start, sweat pouring from his head. He was in shock from his dream, wondering what it could mean. He'd never seen that girl before, and he definitely never saw that silver haired man before. He rose from his bed, sweat making his clothes stick to him like glue.

"I need a shower…" He exclaimed, throwing his clothes off across the room. The cold water felt good on his hot and sweaty body. He washed himself off, trying to make sense of what he saw in his dream. 'What could it mean?' He thought with deep concentration. 'Why would I dream about someone I never met? And why would I dream about her being murdered in cold blood?' He stepped out of the shower, water dripping off of his body and long, silver hair. He dried off and looked out the window, towel wrapped around him.

The beach next to his house was covered in fog, with rain coming in last night. Riku always enjoyed this type of weather, but he didn't know why. It was always so mysterious, yet oddly comforting. His concentration was broken though, as he spotted a person laying on the beach. Riku threw on his old clothes, not caring how dirty they were, and vaulted out of his bedroom window, with it only being five feet off the ground. He ran towards the beach, his legs moving as fast as they could carry him. The body, on closer inspection, was female, probably close to 5'10", her clothes were torn, and her hair aqua blue hair was covered in sand. It then hit him like a ton of bricks.

'This is the girl from my dream!' He realized, slightly surprised. His thought was broken, as the girl moved slightly, her eyes opening. Her sky blue eyes met Riku's green ones, looking at him with a sense of renewed hope.

"…Sora…" She said weakly, with her slipping back to unconsciousness, slumping like dough in Riku's arms. He picked her up bridal style, taking her back to his house for help.

'She's really cute.' He thought, walking through the front door to his house. 'Why is it they always come for Sora?' He shut his bedroom door, sitting her down on his bed. Riku left his room to get some medicine, shutting the door behind him.

KHKHKHKHKHKH

The girl awoke lazily, wondering what happened to her. She realized she was in someone's room, staring at the posters on the ceiling above. The last thing she remembered was talking to Ansem, and then entering a door of light. She tried to sit up, ignoring the pain in her chest. She looked around the room again, taking in the sights from her new viewing angle.

"Where am I…?" The girl wondered, turning around to look out the window. The fog has lifted somewhat, giving a startling morning view of the beach, the sun poking through in spotty rays of light. The door opened, with her clutching her ribs in apparent pain, as Riku walked in with bandages and medicine. They both turned around and looked at each other in surprise, the silence able to be cut with a knife.

KHKHKHKHKHKH

Riku spoke first, seeing that she was somewhat frightened. "You should try and lie back down. You'll heal better."

The girl responded with a calm yet nervous tone. "I'll heal fine. I've been through worse."

"Uh huh." Riku said with a mocking tone. "Just do what I say, you'll be glad you did."

The girl stared him down, trying to get him to back down in his demands. He seemed unfazed as he readied the bandages and medicine.

"That won't work." He replied without looking up from his current task. "I've seen scarier things."

"Hmph!" She replied with an annoyed tone, and laid back down on Riku's bed.

"So, what's your name?" Riku asked, trying to start conversation.

"Aqua." She replied. "What's yours?"

"Riku." He replied calmly, moving forward to apply the bandages.

"Where am I?" Aqua asked, hoping to find some answers.

"Destiny Islands. You're at my house. I found you on the beach this morning, muttering something about 'Sora'." Riku replied, hoping to jog her current memory.

"I came here to find someone named Sora. Do you know him?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do. He's my best friend." Riku replied as he applied the medicine and bandages to the wound on her stomach. Aqua yelped in pain, not realizing that it was supposed to hurt. She glared at Riku, which prompted a laugh from him.

"What?' he replied, still chuckling from her reaction.

"You could've warned me." Aqua said, with some resentment towards her rescuer.

"Where's the fun in that?" Riku said sarcastically. Aqua put that aside, as Riku applied another bandage to her arm, causing her to shift slightly in pain. "I have bad news, though." Riku said. "Sora left yesterday on a trip, and he won't be back for a few days."

"So what, I'm supposed to wait here for him?" She replied somewhat angrily.

"Yep, that's the plan." Riku said, leaving to put away the medical supplies that he no longer needed. 'Well, he is kind of cute…' Aqua thought, her eyes trailing him as he left the room.

Shadowstar108: "Originally, this was supposed to be two separate chapters, and I threw it all in one because it didn't seem long enough. The dream is foreshadowing to an end chapter in the story. I hope you enjoyed it, and leave a review if you have time!"