Riku and Kairi had very different childhoods than Sora. After Sora had been kidnapped, thrown into a dark portal, lift continued on rather mundanely. They never caught the woman that took him. They never found out where she came from or who she was or why she had taken him. She disappeared into a portal like the one she had thrown him in and was gone forever.

His parents were distraught. If more than one person hadn't seen what happened, they would have counted his father as crazy. Another man from the build team had seen everything and backed Sora's father, Riku, and Kairi's claims.

The children were upset and rightly so. After several visits to child councilors, they learned to accept what happened and moved on. They grew up as close friends, both sharing the same experience. They grew, went to school, studied, played, and went on with their lives.

After the debacle, Kairi asked Riku to teach her to fight. She wanted to grow strong now, too. She wanted to be able to protect herself and others from evil like the woman with a black cloak and large horns. Kairi would never forget that face. That strange and otherworldly face. Pointed, tinted green, with red lips. Kairi knew she wasn't from this world. She prayed that her and the woman were not from the same one.

The two grew up like two peas in a pod. They were inseparable. They dreamed and planned together. When Riku would say things that worried Kairi, she would whack him over the head and tell him to get over himself. He wasn't that important. None of them were. She kept his head leveled and let him know he didn't impress her.

She felt like she had to keep him in check. She also felt like she was doing a great job.

Kairi had seen Sora's parents around. When she went to the grocery story with one of her adoptive parents, they'd stop and chat. They had a little girl now, not older than four. She was a spitting image of her brother. Kairi knew that she wasn't a replacement for Sora and that his parents hadn't forgotten him. But, what could they do? There was no way to find their lost boy. They continued life as normally as they could.

As they got older, their island felt too small. When Kairi was fourteen, they decided it was time to get moving. Riku and Kairi built themselves a raft—well, Riku mostly. Kairi pretended to help as she messed around making a good luck charm. When Riku finally put his foot down, she decided she'd help by gathering rations. Fish, mushrooms, fresh water, some coconuts. That should have been enough.

The night before they left, he and Riku watched the sunset. This would be something Kairi would miss if she left the island for good. These beautiful sunsets with her best friend were times she'd remember best.

"Hey, Riku?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think we might find Sora?"

The boy was quiet for a moment. The boy from their childhood was long forgotten by most. She wouldn't be surprised if Riku was one of them.

"Sora… I haven't thought of him in a long time." Riku shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe we'll find that lady that took him and get some answers."

She laughed. "We'll beat it out of her if we have to!" Kairi felt like she was getting better. She beat Riku in their last spar. Then again, she had a feeling he let her win, even though he insisted otherwise.

He joined her laughter. He tried to act so tough all the time. When they were alone, he let himself go and smiled sometimes. He wasn't so bad, even though the others felt intimidated by him. Riku was strong and kind of a loner. His favorite company besides Kairi was his own.

"Kairi… ah… there's something I gotta tell you." Riku adjusted his position against the tree she sat on, looking straight out into the sun. He seemed nervous. Oh no. What did he do now? He struggled with his discomfort as she waited patiently. It was funny to see him this uncomfortable. It didn't happen often. "I… well, I just wanted to say… I… I like you."

Was that just the sun's rays on his face, or was his skin turning red?

"Well, we'd be awkward friends if I didn't like you, too, Riku." She snickered.

"No!" Riku turned to face her. "I… I really like you. Like, like you, like you."

Oh. Kairi felt her face burn. Okay, now this was awkward. So so so so so very very awkward. Kairi looked into those sincere aquamarine eyes. He was being honest. His face was as red as hers felt. Oh, goodness. What should she say? What should she do?

Kairi slipped off the tree to meet him. She gave a soft smile as she shook her head. "Riku… I'm… I'm really sorry. I don't feel the same. I love you, but… not like that. You're like my brother. I just… I can't see you any other way."

Riku was clearly disappointed, but took his rejection with grace. They talked about it, both finding it hard to really look at one another at first. Eventually, as the sun began to fall below the horizon, it became comfortable again. Riku had liked Kairi for a long time. Almost as long as he could remember. And it wasn't like Kairi hadn't entertained the idea. Selphie teased her about it relentlessly. She just… couldn't see herself with him romantically.

The journey was still on. Well… they hoped. They talked for so long, it had gotten dark and storm clouds were forming above the island. Kairi felt something was wrong. This wasn't a normal storm. Impending doom came to mind when lightning struck.

"We should go home before it starts to rain," Riku suggested.

"The raft." Kairi reminded him. It wasn't exactly secure where it was. It was just sitting there on the beach. If the storm got as bad as it felt it wouldn't survive. And they—well, Riku—worked so hard on it.

"We're still on for that?" Riku's eyebrows shot up surprised.

"Why not?" Kairi rolled her eyes. Just because she didn't feel the same didn't mean she didn't want to hang out. She still wanted to leave this island and Riku was the only one she wanted to go with.

"Uh… right. Then, come on."

They made their way to the raft, the feeling of something being wrong only got stronger. The winds picked up, making Kairi wonder if it would be safe to take their tiny rowboats back to land. She watched the dark waters toss and rise, growing angrier as they pulled the raft back further.

When the two of them returned to the dock, they found it impossible to make it to their boats. A strange black creature stood in the middle, skittering around. Riku held tight to his wooden sword as they backed up. What was that thing? It gave Kairi a bad vibe. Then… they were everywhere.

Riku and Kairi were surrounded. The monsters attacked and they fought back. Their wood didn't do anything to them. In fact, it passed right through them. Riku grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the cave thinking maybe they'd find shelter there. What an idiot! They'd be trapped! Kairi tugged his hand and pulled him towards the islet. They could at least swim if worst came to worst.

They were there, too. Kairi gritted her teeth. What even were these things?! Where did they come from?! Something about them seemed… familiar.

"Heartless," she breathed. She'd seen them before in her nightmares that haunted her when she yearned for her home world.

"Heartwhat?" Riku asked, exasperated and breathless.

"Heartless!" Kairi repeated with emphasis and a grunt as she swung at the creature. As she did so, her wooden sword shimmered and thwack! It landed a hit! Only… it was no longer a sword made of wood. But a blade with flowers shaped like a key. What?

"Kairi, what—Urg!" Riku winced as one of the Heartless slashed at him. He growled, launching at the monster, taking a swing. His sword transformed before it slashed through several at once. "Huh?"

What were these blades? Kairi had never seen anything like them. Whatever they were, they worked against the Heartless. They fought their way through the endless waves of the monsters, trying to get back to their boats. They had to get to the mainland. Maybe somebody knew what was going on.

They never made it to the mainland. They didn't even make it to their boats. The island began to break apart as a Heartless rose from the ground. A massive mound of darkness burst, looking like twisted black roots. Smack in the middle of his chest was a hole in the shape of a heart.

"Kairi, stay back." Riku commanded with a hand in front of her, backing them up. The blade in his hand was shaped like a red bat wing, a white wing protruding from the tip. Kairi wondered if it was enough to take on this giant Heartless.

Riku lunged for him. Kairi, despite his protests, was right behind him. They fought harder than they ever had, struggling to stay afloat, as their island broke apart around them. When the monster fell, they felt like dropping as well. The winds picked up. It became harder to keep their feet on the ground. As a particularly strong gust picked them off their feet, they reach out for each other, keeping tight hold on one another.

When Kairi finally woke up, her hand was still clasped with a passed out Riku's. Where were they? Brick… cobblestone… lights. The air was calm. In her other hand, her new weapon gleamed dimly. Destiny's Embrace. The name popped into her head like she'd know it forever. Whatever it was… it saved their lives. But it wasn't enough to save their home.

They'd made it to another world. This place was unlike any other she'd been to in Destiny Island. It was the only explanation. She nudged Riku with her elbow, still holding onto his hand tightly. "Riku. Riku, wake up." She urged him. Kairi elbowed him harder in the chest. "Riku!"

The boy coughed awake. "What? What? Ow! Kairi!"

She finally let go of him, holding fast to her weapon. Kairi climbed to her feet, slowly making her way out of the ally. A dog barked, running up to her that she barely registered. "Riku… we made it." There it was, laid before her: Streetlights, people milling around, a café, and a shop to her right. "We're in another world."

At what price?

Sorry this one's kind of short. I want to explain what Kairi and Riku have been up to while Sora was in the Realm of Darkness, so the next few chapters will be Kairi centric. I hope to give her the development she deserves, since the games have failed me. Kairi's a beautiful character and I love her, okay?! Lemme know if you like the direction I'm going. Like, we're veering WAY off the course of canon here.