(standard disclaimers apply, in other words, I don't own Riku, Sora or any of the other KH characters.)

Misunderstood

Kairi put away the basket of laundry that she had saved from the sudden downpour before she headed towards the kitchen to make herself some hot tea. There was nothing like the aroma of Jasmine from hot amber coloured tea, mingled with the fresh smell of summer rain.

She mindlessly stirred the sweet smelling beverage with a silver teaspoon. The thin handle of the spoon reflected the frown on Kairi's face as she thought about how she could help her two best friends get back together. Her mind kept churning possibilities and ideas that did not seem to be practical or useful. Finally, she gave up and took a sip from her mug, only to realise that the tea was no longer hot, the way she liked it.

Shaking her head, Kairi poured away the tepid drink.

Kairi walked to her small stove and turned on the fire to reheat the kettle of water for another cup of tea. As she waited for the water to boil, Kairi took out another tea bag from its paper sachet and set it into her favourite mug. It was a lovely lavender coloured ceramic mug that had been a gift from Sora and Riku on her last birthday. Kairi could not remember when her real birthday was so they decided that they would celebrate it on the day she had arrived on the island instead. A faint smile surfaced on Kairi's face as she held the mug close to her heart childishly.

They were like her family.

Sora, with his sweet disposition and sensitive nature, was like a younger brother that longed to find ways to make her smile. There were countless memories of Sora's goofy attempts at cheering her up when she was down. Riku, on the other hand, was not so obvious in displaying his emotions but Kairi could sense that he would secretly look out for her, like a reliable older brother. She knew that the reason she was never ostracized as an outsider was due to the fact that she had the two boys. Sora had the charisma that charmed the island's folk into accepting Kairi as he did with open arms. If he didn't take the first step to acknowledge her, Kairi was not sure that she would have been integrated so easily into the community.

Credit had to go to Riku too as he provided her with the means of survival on the island. It was of no coincidence that the family that took Kairi in was able to do so if not for Riku's intervention. There were few families on the island that would accept a stranger like her into their lives. Her foster parents were willing to treat her like their own but did not have the means to do so because of they poor financial background. That was when Riku stepped in and offered her foster father a job in his mansion. The paid was ridiculously high for someone hired just to mow the lawn every two weeks. But with the extra income, Kairi was given a warm home and a loving foster family.

The high-pitched ring of her insolent doorbell abruptly interrupted Kairi's recollections. She gently put her beloved mug on the table before walking briskly to the front door. When she opened it, she could not believe her eyes... …

Kairi was rooted the ground with shock as she could not accept the scene that was delivered to her doorstep.

This was the first time Kairi had seen Riku so… devastated.

He stood under the relentless downpour and his eyes were red, as if he had cried and was using the rain to mask the tears that had filled his eyes. There was this sense of loneliness and insecurity in the way he stood, unaware of the fact that he was drenched to the core. For once, Riku did not have his guard up or wore a front of indifference. In his face, Kairi saw sadness.

"Riku…" Kairi was at a loss for words, unable to say anything coherent other than the name of the boy before her. It took more than a minute for rationality drag her out of her stupor. When she realised what was going on, she quickly pulled Riku into the shelter of her home's narrow doorway and out of the cold rain. She then went to get a fresh towel and a set of her foster father's clothes before ushering Riku into the bathroom and ordered him to take a hot bath. After she closed the bathroom door behind her, Kairi sighed as she made her way back to the kitchen. Kairi replaced the kettle on her stove with a pot as she took out the ingredients to make soup. There was nothing like a hot bowl of soup on a rainy day.

All this while, Riku remained quiet, which should not come as a surprise due to his detached nature. However, his silence was not that of the norm. It was as if Riku did not know how to express himself. Kairi wisely refrained from asking any question as she could sense that he was not ready to say anything. She just hoped that whenever Riku was prepared to open his heart to her, she would be able to help him out.

Riku walked into the kitchen cautiously, his steps hesitant as his thoughts in his mind whirled in confusion. He silently looked at Kairi, unsure of what to do.

"What are you doing Riku? Standing there like a statue? Tsk tsk, come over here and take a seat while I pour you a bowl of soup." Kairi's voice was laced with warmth and understanding as she addressed her lost friend.

Obediently, Riku walked to the tiny kitchen table and sat on one of the sturdy stools around it. After a minute, a hot bowl of creamy mushroom soup arrived before Riku and Kairi put a silver spoon into his hand before returning to the stove to dish herself a bowl of the soup.

When Kairi settle down opposite Riku, she realised that the boy was just staring blankly at the spoon in his hand. Oh dear… this looks really bad. Riku was worse shape than she thought.

"Ah… Riku, the spoon is for you to drink the soup with. It's not there to be admired."

Kairi's words broke through Riku's daze and he focused on finishing the hot soup before him.

A comfortable silence descended upon the room and was only broken when Riku decided to speak.

"I… hurt him."

Kairi did not respond with words but with a soft gaze that encouraged Riku to continue.

"I said some things that weren't true. And he was behind me. He heard everything. I didn't mean it when I said that I didn't need him… I… I just didn't want to be the weak one! I don't him to keep protecting me because I want to be the one strong enough to take care of him! I… I want to be the one protecting… because… he means so much to me…"

Images of the past flashed through Riku's mind and in those memories, he could see how important Sora had become to him. The reason why he was feeling so frustrated with their relationship is that he knew that he was capable of taking care of himself and did not need Sora to keep mothering him. Instead, Riku wanted to be the one that Sora could rely on. He wanted Sora to see him as an equal. As a partner. But he did not know how to express this desire of his and the only way he knew how to deal with this situation was to keep his emotions bottled up. Yet, as he struggled with his feelings and thoughts, he had unwittingly distanced himself from Sora.

When Tidus had confronted him today, Riku cracked. All the frustration within him just exploded without a thought. Riku's words were spoken harshly with the intent of deflecting Tidus' probing, as Riku was still unable to face his own emotions. He never thought that the gods would play a cruel joke on him by letting Sora hear all the words he never should have voiced. He watched Sora's smile fade before he turned and disappeared behind the sheets of rain. A dismal daze blinded his vision as regret flooded his senses and he wondered if it would be the last time he would ever see Sora smile at him again. Panic overwhelmed him as the rain chilled his senses. A voice of consciousness invoked a question he never dared to answer: " Since when did you become such a coward?"

"… I don't want to run anymore. Kairi, I don't want to hurt Sora anymore."

The helplessness in Riku's voice pulled at Kairi's heartstrings and the girl fought back the urge to cry on behalf for her friends' plight. "You have to talk to Sora. Stop avoiding him."

"But… I am scared that he wouldn't be willing to listen to me… after what I did…"

"Then you will just have to find a way around it! You can't give up now. There is just too much to lose. Explain your feelings to Sora and I am sure he will understand." Kairi paused before adding, "Don't you want to show Sora that you are dependable? That you are as strong as he is? This is your chance to prove yourself!"

Riku closed his eyes and thought about Kairi's words. When he opened them, Kairi could see the resolve within his magnificent turquoise eyes and she smiled. Things were about to take a turn for the better.

Dcal's note: GAH! Sorry for the long wait. I really couldn't help it. There were just too many distractions from school, work and etc that kept me from working on this fic. Anyways, this fic should be done soon and I promised I will try to wrap things up as fast as I can! In the meanwhile, I hope you like this chapter!

Edit: Whoopsie… I made quite a lot of spelling mistakes in this chapter, as I did in other chapters… sweatdrop I tried clearing some of the mistakes but I am not perfect so forgive me.