Name: Riku
Nickname: n/a
Organization XIII or Dark XII Nickname: n/a
Age: Eighteen
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Position: Untied to the darkness; allies himself with King Mickey and the light.
Powers: Dark Aura: Riku can eject multiple orbs of dark energy at the enemy, typically from his left palm or the tip of his blade. The latter results in a stronger blast that is harder to evade, but is meant for close combat and can’t travel further than a couple of feet. The attack expends only a slight amount of his energy.
Dark Shield: A solidified version of his dark powers, Riku can cast a wall of protection before himself or somebody he is defending. It is impenetrable, but lasts for a few seconds at most. Also, he can only cast one shield at once, and the rigid wall only offers around 90 degrees of protection. Its best use is for brief guards to frontal attacks. There is no limit to its usage.
Limit – Eternal Session: Triggered only by the powerful Limits of his friends, Riku’s final Limit unleashes dark waves of energy from his keyblade, rapid combos, and an onslaught of Dark Firaga magic. Eternal Session lasts only the duration of the Limit that initiated it, ending in a powerful combo between the two. It uses up nearly all of Riku’s magical power, which restores in a few posts (taking longer to regenerate when he casts magic, is in a state of exhaustion, or is in pain), and burns his physical energy to a large degree.
Cura: Can heal various low-scale wounds.
Dark Firaga: Searing flares of dark energy, similar to
Firaga, but darkness-based instead of elemental. Riku rarely uses this power.
Weapon:Soul Eater: The intermediary for Riku’s
Way to Dawn keyblade. Forged by Maleficent from the darkness in his heart, Riku initially believed that the blade would help him protect his friends – instead, it only slightly augmented his strength. The blade’s power increases when its master channels the darkness. When in his Dark Form, Riku was capable of dealing immense damage with this keyblade, though his newly enhanced speed was taxing on his heart. The blade resembles a dark, curved wing.
Riku no longer wields the Soul Eater.
Way to the Dawn: A symbol of the balance between the Realm of Darkness and the Realm of Light. Sometime before his arrival at the World That Never Was, Riku’s Soul Eater was replaced with the Way to the Dawn. After obtaining his true form before the final battle with Xemnas, Riku’s power over both light and darkness increased dramatically.
Riku fights with this keyblade in a slightly hit-and-run style, striking with rapid slashes and thrusts. It appears similar to the Soul Eater, only the curved blade has straightened and closed, a dark wing serves as the key’s teeth, and the guard now hosts both an angelic and demonic wing. Riku continues to refer to it as the “Soul Eater” even after its transformation.
Picture: RikuAppearance: Riku’s physique reflects his lifetime of existence on an island. His body is tall, lean and athletic, toned from years of racing his friends through sand beaches and shinnying up palm trees. His sun-bleached silver hair falls to his shoulder blades, layered, casually groomed, falling offhandedly in front of his eyes.
However, despite his constant exposure to the sun, a few of Riku’s characteristics deny his time spent by the sea. His complexion is paler than that of his fellow islanders. His facial features are also more refined, replacing the happy-go-lucky island kid attributes with cool, confident aquamarine eyes that sear from beneath his silver bangs.
Riku’s favorite attire currently consists of long, navy blue, deep-pocketed baggy pants held up by a studded black belt; a white zippered vest, trimmed with blue and yellow, with a similarly yellow underside and studs on each loose collar piece; and a high-collared black undervest that’s zipped just enough to expose a triangle of his stomach. A white armband around his left arm replaces the black gloves and bands from his adolescence, as well as the blue and yellow wristbands from his childhood. His shoes are now a standard pair of grey and taupe runners - thick-soled - with orange laces partly obscured by his pants.
He once donned a black coat and blindfold, but that period of his life is over.
Personality: Of the three from the islands, the dynamic changes to Riku’s character initially dwarfed that of Kairi and Sora. In the past his heart had grown weak, the hidden jealousy and ambition in its depths uprooted when he became seduced by the darkness. However, Riku used his power over the shadows to help his friends, and his heart began to restore itself. The deep scars began to heal, with the help of King Mickey, his friends, and the light.
During the many battles in Castle Oblivion, Riku began to understand that he couldn’t rid himself of the darkness in his heart. He learned to wield it, and balance the shadows with the light. In doing so he matured beyond compare, transcending many of his previous character flaws.
Once obsessed with the belief that his island was a prison with walls of water, after the year of Sora’s enchanted sleep Riku came to accept that, though it is a small world, it’s also “part of one that’s much bigger.”
Despite his newfound maturity, Riku still retains a great deal of his previous self. His competitive streak has yet to fade; his immense loyalty for his friends is still unrivaled; he enjoys playfully kicking ass at others’ expense as much as ever. However, the events of his past have not left Riku unscathed. He still hosts a darker side to his confident personality, a small shadow of his regret as reminder of the wrongs he committed.
Now, though, Riku is confident that his heart will no longer become eclipsed by the darkness.
Original World: Destiny Islands
Current World: Destiny Islands
Video Game: All games in the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
History:”I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And. . . suppose there are other worlds. Then that means ours is just a little piece of something much greater.”To Riku the young boy, Destiny Islands was a beautiful incarceration. He and his best friend Sora lived there in a good-natured rivalry, always fiercely competing and living out their days as if on their own personal playground. As time progressed, however, Riku became gradually more interested in other worlds and becoming stronger to protect his friends.
One day he encountered a man by the name of Terra, who saw the sincerity in his heart and asked him why he wanted to leave the island. Riku responded by recounting the tale of a man who had left the place to travel to new worlds. Perhaps by fate, perhaps due to the vision of a white-haired man that appeared before his eyes, Terra was convinced of the boy’s potential and bestowed upon him power of the keyblade.
One night a meteor shower illuminated the skies of Destiny Islands. As mysteriously as the streaks of fire materialized from the heavens, a girl arrived on the shore, apparently stranded there from another world. She, Riku, and Sora soon became inseparable. They adventured the island together, leaving no area unexplored, their existence carefree and happy. Riku and Sora held friendly competitions about anything and everything there was to contend over; Riku, naturally, nearly always emerging the victor, Kairi contenting herself with the role of a referee during such battles of testosterone.
On one occasion they ventured together to the boys’ Secret Place beside the waterfall, a cave they frequently explored. They discovered a mystifying door lacking any form of opening, though Riku caught a glimpse of what he believed to be Destiny Island’s keyhole. He quickly became obsessed with the belief that they had discovered a passageway to another world. The monotony had caught up with him – and he wanted out.
The three finally decided they were going to leave the islands, and set about building a raft and gathering supplies for their journey. On one occasion, in racing for rights to name the raft, Riku teased Sora that the winner of the race could also share a paopu fruit with Kairi.
The raft completed, Riku realized that he could not leave the islands with the mystery of the door still plaguing his mind. The night before their departure he finally opened it, mistakenly unleashing a violent, unnatural storm upon the Destiny Islands. Heartless flooded the shores, searching for the world’s heart. Amidst all the chaos Riku discovered a passageway out of the world. Sora found him surrounded by darkness on the smaller island, concerned for the friend who wanted little more than to leave his prison behind.
Riku stretched out his hand. Darkness began to swallow them both.”Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There’s no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can’t let fear stop us! I’m not afraid of the darkness!”Unknown to both of them, as Riku entered the Corridor of Darkness he lost his mastery of the keyblade, while Sora gained it.
The Corridor brought Riku to Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent took advantage of the weakness in Riku’s heart and began to bring out the evil within it. Initially he was suspicious of her motives, but when she informed him that the only way to save Kairi’s heart and find Sora was to ally himself with her, he agreed to learn to harness the darkness. She, like Terra, was sensing his potential and power; he thought only of protecting his friends.
Goaded by Maleficent’s words, Riku gradually convinced himself that he hated Sora, that his old friend had betrayed and abandoned him, was too busy playing hero. Maleficent proceeded to bestow upon him the shadowy Soul Eater keyblade created from the growing darkness in his heart.
One fateful event in the belly of Monstro confirmed Riku’s anger towards his friend. At one point along the great whale’s anatomy he asked Sora to help him rescue Kairi. Sora refused, disliking Riku’s methods. Riku then vanished into the Corridor of Darkness as the heartless returned. Sora would no longer have his protection.
Later Riku paid a visit to Captain Hook to retrieve Kairi’s body from the ship’s hull. Alongside his Soul Eater, Maleficent had granted him the power to control Heartless, a skill he demonstrated in the creation of an AntiSora to fight against his best friend. He refused to heed Sora’s warning that the Heartless would eventually consume his heart.
But Sora had been right. In returning to Maleficent’s citadel with the catatonic Kairi in tow, Riku took a risk and traveled the Corridors of Darkness without a vessel, leaving his heart drained and vulnerable upon arrival. A cobra on her weakened victim, Maleficent took advantage of his strain and finally unlocked the last of his power. Riku’s heart became almost entirely devoured by darkness.
At the gates of Hollow Bastion Riku yet again confronted Sora, now a shadow of his former self. He knew he was supposed to be the true master of the keyblade. The blade answered Riku’s call and abandoned its ‘messenger boy’; tied to their duties, Donald and Goofy were forced follow its new master.
In the castle’s foyer Riku once again attacked his old friend, only this time defeated by the strength of Sora, Donald’s, and Goofy’s friendship. In that moment the keyblade’s mastery transferred for the final time. Riku, however, refusing to believe his heart was weaker than Sora’s, agreed to merge with the darkness in order to have a keyblade of his own. It was then that he became unknowingly possessed by Ansem, his rage allowing the hooded figure to take control of his mind.
Wielding the new Keyblade of People’s Hearts, formed from the hearts of the seven princesses (excluding Kairi), Riku pierced Maleficent’s chest and unlocked the powerful dragon within the darkness of her heart. Yet she, too, was slain by Sora’s keyblade.
Fully under the name of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Riku battled Sora for the last time. He failed, only to learn that his friend had held Kairi’s heart all along; Sora impaled himself with the Keyblade of People’s Hearts to release her, unlocking the Final Keyhole.
Sora gone, Ansem turned to the rest of the party. Riku’s last act before losing control of his body was protecting his friends, fighting his possessor with the remainder of his strength, gaining them time to move on.
Later, at the End of the World, Ansem was finally defeated. The restored Riku appeared on the other side of the Door to Darkness, behind which hundreds of heartless waited to enter the Realm of Light. King Mickey appeared to ward them off.
Together they manage to close the door. Riku and the King on one side, Sora on the other.
“Take care of her.” Riku awoke in Castle Oblivion. Throughout the floors of memories, Riku formed a resolve, his heart gradually healing from the scars the darkness left him. He rose victorious in many battles, the light growing steadily within him. Later, however, he was knocked out by Lexaeus, but survived due to Ansem taking possession over his body once again. It was only with Mickey’s help that he was saved from being consumed by darkness.
At one point Riku encountered Zexion. The Organization’s Number XI tortured Riku with his own fears, using illusions to make him feel responsible for his friends’ disappearances. When Namine saved him (in the form of Kairi), Riku finally accepted that he could use the darkness as well as the light. Namine also explained to him the situation regarding Sora’s memories.
After a final battle with Ansem, Riku told DiZ that he’d choose neither the ‘road to light’ nor the ‘road to darkness’. He’d take the middle road, ‘the road to dawn’. It is then that he donned a black blindfold, so that his eyes couldn’t lie about the darkness he planned to wield.
From then on Riku had only one goal – to awaken Sora.
He allied himself with DiZ, who asked Riku to capture the physical embodiment of Sora’s memories: Roxas. At the start of their battle the two reached a stalemate (Roxas injuring Riku’s left wrist, hence the white band he currently sports), but Riku won easily after coming to a realization about the darkness he sought to win. He adopted the form of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, as he released his inner dark powers. The defeated Nobody was then placed in a data Twilight Town and kept occupied by Riku, who left clues in an attempt to reunite Roxas with Sora.
Riku abandoned DiZ after learning that he had merely been using him for his own ends. He also pleaded with King Mickey to mention nothing to Sora about him, not wanting his friend to see him in his state of darkness. Nonetheless, over the course of a few encounters Sora began to work out the identity of the cloaked stranger.
Riku rejoined his friends in the World That Never Was, fighting alongside them to defeat the Organization. They saw his true self beneath the cold face of Ansem and, overjoyed, denied his efforts to leave.
With Ansem the Wise’s sacrifice for the greater good, Riku was restored to his own body, deserting the blindfold and cloak to confront Xemnas alongside Sora. The long, strenuous battle ended with Riku taking a blow aimed for his best friend, leaving The Superior open to the boys’ final move. The Organization XIII were finally defeated.
The two escaped through an eternal abyss, eventually approaching a dark, moonlit beach, the coast dividing the Realm Between and the Realm of Darkness - the Dark Margin. They arrived exhausted and overcome, Riku limping from his assault by Xemnas’ Ethereal Blades. At the shoreline they rested. Finding themselves faced with their first moment of peace since leaving the Islands, the two fell deep into conversation, reminiscing their journey and musing over their friendship and future. They came to the conclusion that if the worlds were made of light and darkness, then they’d be the darkness. The Realm of Light was safe at last. At peace, the two sat with only the waves to break the silence, until the water washed a letter in a bottle upon the shore. Riku handed it to Sora, believing him to be the true addressee.
”Thinking of you, wherever you are.
We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.
Now I will step forward and realize this wish.
And who knows:
Starting a new journey may not be so hard,
Or maybe it has already begun.
There are many worlds, but they share the same sky.
One sky,
One destiny. – Kairi.”A blazing door of light emerged upon finishing the letter, illustrating the light shining within even the deepest of darkness, and the friends returned to Destiny Islands. They were reunited at last.
Sora places the lucky charm back into Kairi’s palm. “We – we’re back!”
She corrects him.
“You’re home.”Role Playing Sample: Inverted walls of water.
Running, running up stairs, through white marble halls.
A black blindfold. A heart-shaped moon.
Silhouettes against a blazing, brilliant frame of light . . .Riku jerked out of his thoughts. It took a moment for him to remember where he was – surrounded by rock walls graffitied with a childhood of chalk doodles, sitting cross-legged on the cold floor, lounging back on his arms as he reminisced about too many things at once.
He felt strange having so much time to relax. He had relished the last few weeks of serenity; he hadn’t been able to be at peace since he and his friends first left the islands. That seemed like a lifetime ago. Yet here he was, back in his prison of water, his hatred towards the islands gone . . . like the door that used to mark the spot he’d been staring at for the past half hour.
Riku shook his head before he could let the bare wall trigger another cascade of memories. It was time to get going. He could almost picture Sora’s impatient face, contemplating playing hero again to save Riku from whatever was keeping him so long. He smirked, then leaned forward and got to his feet, brushing off his pants as he did so. The nostalgia seemed to cling to him.
By the time he had reached the mouth of the cave, Riku had come to a decision. It was about time he, Sora, and Kairi got of their lazy bums and went out into the worlds again.
Only this time, he thought as he exited their Secret Place, shielding his eyes against the blaze of warm sunlight that greeted him,
together.
One sky, one destiny, right?