RiRi walked with Sora and Riku as they showed him the sights, and it didn't feel strange that almost every man was pausing to take a look on the way. In fact, it felt… good. Very good.

Don't let it go to your head. Tatiana gently admonished him. They're not interested in your mind. A treacherous grin threatened to break out over RiRi's lips, but he suppressed it manfully. Mind or not, it felt good to be watched and desired. And he had to admit that he was feeling some desire right back. RiRi smiled as he watched Riku and Sora… they were both extremely cute, in completely different ways. Hmm. Did this mean he was gay after all? But given the body at the moment, that would make him heterosexual. Deciding to shelve the whole thing, RiRi paid attention to what Sora was saying.

"And this is Kairi's house! She's great, you'll like her." Sora said confidently, but RiRi had his doubts. He'd noticed the looks a lot of the women were shooting him… not friendly looks. Apparently, being incredibly lovely had a few downsides.

Among humans, anyway. I was only good looking for an elf. RiRi blinked at that, and wondered what a beautiful elf looked like. You'd be amazed. It's just as well I'm not that beautiful, though. I'd never be able to pass as remotely human if I were. RiRi nodded to himself. People seemed to be overlooking the ears and angular eyes easily. Probably because elves didn't exist in the Destiny Islands at all, so they were assuming it was a deformity.

"Hey, there's Kairi." Riku pointed down the street and waved. Kairi stopped for a moment as she saw the stranger with them, then waved and walked over.

"Hi Sora, Riku! Who is this?" She smiled at RiRi, and he was surprised at the genuine friendliness in the expression.

A Princess of the Heart. Can you feel it? She can be trusted. Tatiana whispered to him, and he smiled, offering Kairi his hand.

"This is RiRi, Kairi." Riku said as they shook hands. "She's new here… where were you from, anyway? And where are you staying?" For a moment, RiRi felt like his tongue was glued to the top of his mouth. He hadn't thought about this enough, clearly. But he quickly found an explanation.

"I'm from the mainland. I'm staying with friends down by the beach." There was a snicker from Tatiana that seemed to indicate he'd stumbled onto an accidental truth, but he ignored it. If she had some plans for where he would stay, she would tell him when she wanted to. "It's pretty nice here so far, I really like it." Sora beamed at that as Riku and Kairi smiled.

"That's great! A lot of people from the mainland seem to think it's boring here. Are you going to be going to school in the fall?" Sora said hopefully, but RiRi shook his head. He was sure Riku wasn't going to school at nineteen, and RiRi needed to be near him, so school was out.

"No, I'm nineteen." Riku looked at him with interest, and RiRi smiled at him. "I was thinking of getting a job for a while, while I figured out what I want to do."

"My dad might hire you. Right now, I'm helping him around the store but he's getting older and needs some good, reliable help." Riku offered, and RiRi had to hold back a grin. That was exactly what he needed. A way to legitimately spend a lot of time around Riku… it was practically gold plated. "He doesn't pay a lot, though." He cautioned RiRi, and he shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, I don't need too much. Could you introduce me to him?" RiRi asked, and Riku smiled, feeling very pleased by the idea. His father had been making comments about the 'fagginess' of his adopted son for a while. The old man would be struck dumb when he brought home this vision. For the first time in a long time, Riku actually looked forward to talking with his parents.

"I'd love to." Riku said sincerely, and RiRi smiled at him, taking his breath away. She had such a beautiful smile, so brilliant and open. Everything about her was beautiful… although her eyes and ears were a little odd. But that hardly mattered. If anything, it made her look even more exotic.

"Thank you!" RiRi said, linking his arm with Riku's and making the boy blush. Sora, meanwhile, couldn't hide a flash of jealousy… but he shrugged it off and grinned again.

"There's still a lot to show you, come on!" He dashed away with Kairi following behind, laughing. RiRi and Riku exchanged an amused glance, then followed the younger children as they ran. RiRi felt Riku's hand on his back for a moment, and smiled.

That felt good.

"Mom? Dad?" Riku glanced around the house as he led RiRi in. RiRi glanced around thoughtfully. It was a very mundane home. There was a rather beaten up looking TV, a rug on the floor and some poorly done paintings of people with expressions that seemed to indicate terminal constipation, if RiRi was any judge. None of them looked at all like Riku, but he was an adopted half-elf so that was hardly surprising.

"Riku." A woman stepped out of the kitchen, rubbing her hands on a cloth. She was a plump older woman with frizzy white blond hair. It was so pale that she almost looked credible as Riku's mother, although her brown eyes gave that the lie. She blinked in surprise at the sight of the beautiful girl in her den. "Who is this?"

"Mom, this is RiRi. She's looking for a job, is dad around?" Riku's mother looked at her dubiously, particularly the sundress, and RiRi suddenly wished it wasn't quite as revealing. Sure, it was a very hot day, but still…

"I think he's in the garage. Is she going to be staying for dinner, Riku?" Riku hesitated, then looked at RiRi.

"Would you like to?" He asked RiRi quietly. "I would be glad if you did."

"I would love to." He responded with complete sincerity. This was working out even better than he'd dared hoped. And it would give him at least one good meal before he had to figure out what he was doing… he had a feeling that Tatiana was going to spring something on him he wouldn't like. What, exactly, he wasn't sure… but elves probably didn't do things quite like humans. Despite her earlier dubiousness, Riku's mother looked pleased at the response, and RiRi wondered why.

"I'll go put another tart in the oven then, dear. Go introduce her to your father." Riku took RiRi's hand and led him to the garage. He winced at the sound of machines running, and heard Tatiana grumbling about humans in his mind. An older man with slate grey hair was running a piece of wood through a saw, but frowned and shut it off as they entered the room.

"Riku, what do you…?" He stopped, almost gaping as he spotted RiRi, and Riku smiled slightly. This was just as satisfying as he'd expected it would be.

"Dad, this is RiRi, she's going to stay for supper if that's alright?" Riku asked, and RiRi smiled as Riku's father pulled himself together.

"Sounds like a great idea, son, just clear it with your mother." Riku grinned, and didn't point out that he'd already done that.

"Thanks dad." They left the garage as the machines started up again. RiRi found himself agreeing with Tatiana… the sound was really disagreeable. Although slicing wood with nothing but hand tools would be far more disagreeable, in his opinion. He was pretty sure the elf woman wouldn't share that particular feeling, though.

No, I wouldn't. There's nothing wrong with hard work. RiRi mentally shrugged. He couldn't disagree… although he didn't think there was anything particularly good about hard work either. It was all in how you looked at it.

"Supper isn't going to be done for a while… want to come up to my bedroom? Or we could watch TV down here." RiRi looked at the battered TV and felt like shuddering. He couldn't remember having any fondness for TV, so Riku was probably just offering that to be friendly.

"Bedroom, please." He said firmly. "I don't watch TV. I prefer to read." Riku smiled at that, and led him up the stairs. RiRi could have found his own way, but he wasn't about to reveal that.

"Me too. Most of what's on TV is just garbage. What kind of books do you read?" Riku asked, interested, and RiRi smiled.

"Mystery, mostly, but a lot of general fiction. Have you read the Nightingale's Song?" Of course, RiRi knew he had… and knew it was one of Riku's favorite books. He'd read it dozens of times as a child. Riku's smile was a bright, happy thing.

"That's a great book. I didn't know anyone else had read it… have you read Andromeda's Gift?" RiRi was able to respond to the affirmative. That was another one that Riku had read before he had gone into the darkness.

It was so easy to make friends with Riku that RiRi was astonished. But how could it be otherwise? RiRi knew precisely what to say and when to say it. It was as easy as breathing. They were closer than lovers, closer than friends… RiRi was changing a bit, now that he had his own heart, but at the bottom of things they would always share so much. All the memories that had formed them…

Riku's mother called them down for supper, and RiRi took Riku's hand as they walked down the stairs. RiRi was vaguely aware that Riku's mother and father had both noticed, but that wasn't why he had done it, not really. He just liked Riku. It was as simple as that. Riku squeezed his hand, and RiRi met his eyes, seeing the interest there.

We are going to discuss this later. Tatiana didn't sound happy at all, and RiRi suppressed a grin. He was pretty sure he knew what she was going to say, and he was already marshalling his arguments. He was Riku's copy, not his brother and not his mother, and this was his body now to use as he saw fit. It wasn't incest.

Although he doubted he'd be able to convince Tatiana of that.

RiRi assumed his male form with a relieved sigh. While Tatiana's body had a lot to recommend it, it still wasn't the one he was accustomed to. It was a relief to go back to being a boy. He was standing by a small spring in the woods, near the beach. He knelt down, taking a deep drink of the cool, crisp spring water before he spoke.

"So where am I staying?" Tatiana laughed, and he frowned.

Right here. Look over there… a bit of my hut is still here. It looks like most of it blew away, though. RiRi blinked, and looked at the poles on the ground. A hut? Tatiana had lived in the wilderness? Of course. I knew nothing at all of humans then, except that I had been harmed by them. I hid until I realized Riku's birth was imminent… I would have hid then too, but birthing is very hard for elves. If I had lived, I would have brought Riku here and raised him here.

"No offense, but… it's probably just as well you didn't." RiRi could feel Tatiana's sadness. "I'm sorry."

Don't be. Now that I've had time to observe the people here, I think that you're right. I wouldn't have been a good mother. Too young and terrified… Riku was probably better off with his human family, for all their faults. At least he knows how to be human. I could only have taught him how to be an elf.

"Right." RiRi sighed and started gathering up wood. It was getting chilly out, and he would need a fire for warmth. "I hope you can help me with all this." Riku's memories included nothing about wilderness survival. Riku had never had to make fires or hunt for his breakfast, and RiRi was depressingly certain he'd have to do both for a while, until he started making money anyway. And even then, he'd probably still be making fires.

Of course. All elves know how to survive off the land. Let me take over your body for a moment, we have something to discuss. RiRi blinked, and felt Tatiana's presence fill him. His hands moved without his conscious control, and began the routine of fire starting. You cannot seriously be considering sleeping with my son. RiRi, this is my body and you are the same person.

"I admit, it's a little squicky. But Tatiana, I'm not his brother and I'm not his mother. And you want me to prevent him from hurting himself, right? Can there be any better way?" RiRi thought that would be a telling point, and Tatiana's silence indicated that it was.

Unless you become the source of his pain. And RiRi, it's not right. You're absurdly close. I don't like it. RiRi tilted his head to one side, thinking. She might have a point. Would how similar they were get… boring? Still, if it did, surely Riku would feel it and break things off. Not to mention that you've approached him on the basis of a lie.

"And whose fault is that?" RiRi demanded, then sighed. "I know. I'll have to tell him who I really am and why I'm here eventually. But I need to gain his trust first, so he doesn't just freak out." Which he knew Riku would be in danger of doing if he just sprang all of this on him instantly. Actually, RiRi suspected he would end up on the business end of the Way to Dawn if he just flung it all at Riku. "Besides, I don't know if anything is going to happen anyway. Right now I'm just a girl hanging out with him. And I need to keep a really close eye on him, so I can be there when he finally tells Sora how he feels and Sora tells him to take a hike."

You think he's going to? Sparks flew, and a few caught on the dry wood. RiRi felt his body bend over as he gently puffed on the flames, nurturing them with small scraps of wood. Tatiana was really good at this.

"Yes and yes. Riku's interested in me, and I think that means he'll want to find out if Sora can return his feelings before he turns away." RiRi frowned to himself. "It's what I would do… but depending on how it goes down, he might need help coping with it. Especially since suicide by keyblade is so easy." RiRi felt Tatiana's sudden worry, and tried to reassure her. "I'll be watching him closely, in my male form as well as female. Don't worry."

I can't help but worry. His blood has already brought him so much grief, and it can only get worse. My poor boy… RiRi blinked, wondering what she was talking about, but she didn't go on. Sighing, he curled up by the fire and tried to get some sleep.

He had plenty to do tomorrow.