~*~ A Secret Rivalry~*~



Sora awoke bright and early that morning way before dawn. He had surprised himself by doing this because he was usually the kind of guy who'd sleep late.

The grandfather clock read 5:30 Am. He looked over at Riku's bed to see that he was still sound asleep but would be getting up soon. Sora then took advantage of the bathroom and readied himself for the new day. He dressed and took care of his other necessities. When he was done the clock read 6:00 Am. He knew everyone would still be sound asleep at this time because no one usually awoke until 7:00 at the most except for the cook and a few maids and of course the guards. He lied down on his bed not realizing he was still a bit tired and he slowly drifted off again. He woke up when he heard the clock chiming. He jerked up and looked over at it to see it was 9:00 Am! He looked over at Riku's bed. It was neatly made and some clothes were neatly folded and were lying on top of it. Sora quickly redid his hair and walked towards the dining hall were he was welcomed by the sweet aromas of breakfast.

Princess Kairi however was not present that morning for since she was still bed ridden her breakfast was brought to her however there sat Riku in his seat chatting away with the king.



He greeted Sora with a smile He patted the seat beside him which Sora accepted his offer and sat down beside him.



"Well hello boy....It's good of you to join us I was just discussing some matters here with Riku about my daughter."replied the King.



"I think it'd be best if I each set up times of the day you could spend with my daughter doing whatever she wants."replied the king.



"Yes we were just discussing this... We each get six hours of leisure time with her."replied Riku with a bit of a smile.



"Plus since my daughter likes you so much if you'd like it I could extend your time here in the palace."replied the King.



Riku looked at Sora as if he was in favor of the whole thing.



"Ok we'll extend our time here to three months and no more."replied Riku.



To Sora it seemed as if Riku was pushing his luck a bit like he really didn't want the time to be extended and just wanted to rush into something he didn't rush into.



"Alright three months it is."replied the king.



Sora fidgeted in his seat a bit and eyed Riku then he was caught off guard when the kung replied.



"Well are you ok with the matter?"he said as he directed his full attention towards Sora.



"Why yes it's ok with me."he replied.



He wanted to spend all the time he could with Princess Kairi. To get to see her pretty face and to get to know her a little bit better each day was rewarding enough to him.



But it seemed that Riku had something going on within his mind that might throw him completely off guard. There was a different look and gleam in his eyes now that shook Sora up a bit. He knew that his friend might turn into his rival in the months that followed and he knew that meant he was going to have to be on his feet and on the lookout 24/7.



Riku took a sip of his water his hand grasped around the cool glass and he took a sip from it slamming it down on the table which caused the ice in it to rattle and the clear substance to run down the side.



"Well I best be going I have some matters to attend to with one of the guards."replied the king. He got up and exited the dining hall leaving Sora and Riku to themselves.



"Well Sora you have fun last night?"smirked Riku as he looked at him.



Sora blushed a bit. Did he know all along what he'd done? Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Riku was not one to be stupid he seemed to always find out everything Sora did.



"What do you mean?"asked Sora acting in a casual calm manner trying to hide his embarrassed expression.



"I mean the little visit you had with the princess the other night."replied Riku gazing at him still grasping his glass.



"What visit?"lied Sora.



"You know what I mean the one about 11:00 PM."replied Riku.



"You think I don't know what you've been up to?"replied Riku.



"I know everything about you and everything that you've done."replied Riku.



It was true no matter what he tried to do secretly Riku always found out about it ,and it drove him insane at times trying to figure out how he managed to do it.



"Look we just talked."replied Sora feeling very nervous now.



"Oh I know.....Just don't let me catch you doing anything wrong or anything you'll regret."he said with a smirk.



"I'm watching you..."he said in a manner that freaked Sora out a bit. He then left the table. His black leather boots clacking against the marble floor softly as he walked away his silver bangs swishing in the air and his sword clacking against his side.



Sora was relieved that he left.... He knew from now on things would no longer be the same between them. It was every man for himself and he knew he'd have to watch out what he did and be very careful and secretive or he might do something he'd regret and get in much trouble for it. It seemed as if there friendship was turning into a rivalry that could only be won by one man.....