Riku

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**Riku**is a major character of the ***Kingdom Hearts*** video game series and its following manga/novel series. He serves as the deuteragonist throughout the entire series in comparison to Sora's main protagonist status.

He is the best friend of Sora and Kairi, acting like a cool, level-headed older brother to them. Riku often desired to explore worlds beyond his homeland, similar to that of another boy who once had the same dreams as him.

That is until the **Heartless  Invasion**in which he was separated from his friends and landed into the clutches of the Disney Villains. Riku nearly fell to darkness thanks to his near-possession at the hands of Ansem but Sora managed to rescue him from this fate.

Consumed with guilt over his misdeeds, Riku would undergo his "road to dawn" by helping Sora fight against Organization XIII and soon dedicate his life to defending his best friend from harm. Around that time, Riku originally struggled to accept his darkness, until, with encouragement from both Mickey  and Naminé, he overcomes this fear and embraced his nature.

Riku's main weapon of choice is his **"Soul Eater"** sword and his dark powers obtained after accepting darkness as a part of his heart. It later evolved into the "**Way to Dawn**" Keyblade, reflecting his journey between the light and dark, that being his path to dawn.

## Appearance

Riku is a 16-year-old teenager with long white hair with bangs, emerald-green eyes, and pale skin. Unlike his friend Sora, Riku possesses a muscular build to his body and is quite athletic due to constant sword practice. His clothes are usually colored darkish-blue schemed to reflect his nature of the darkness.

In Kingdom Hearts, Riku wears a yellow-and-black tank top with white-trimmed, black straps crisscrossing his chest and upper back with a white on each end. He a sports pair of gray-trimmed, black gloves with matching black wristbands, dark blue pants with brighter blue baggy pant legs connected with white-studded suspenders and are buckled with small black straps on his ankles. On his hip, he wears a black belt with a silver rectangular buckle.

Upon gaining access to the power of darkness by Maleficent, Riku obtains a new bodysuit tainted in darkness, the **Dark Mode** suit. Riku's dark suit is mainly a black jumpsuit covered with blackish-red outlines that highlight his newfound nature. The suit also appears to have the Heartless symbol on the blue-armored chest. He also dons reddish armplates with dark-blue gloves to channel his dark powers. Another note is that Riku's dark suit has few blue belts strapped across his body, ending with a ripped white-colored long-coat. Riku's boots appear to colored darkish-blue with black soles. He only wears this outfit when powering himself up and during the time he was possessed by Ansem.

## Personality

Riku is a cool, level-headed young man who mainly appears to have a confident streak in his abilities. Riku often strives in becoming the best but deeply appears to care for his close friends. He also possesses a more mature-leveled persona as he atoned for his mistakes, becoming more of a big-brother type to those who looked up to him. The young man notably had doubts about himself at first but later grew to accept his current powers as strengths for the future. Originally, Riku was rather cocky about himself and believed he was the one destined to lead his friends to new possibilities. He also appeared to express a competitive streak against Sora, considering him both a rival and friend for Kairi's feelings. Riku would occasionally crack few sarcastic one-liners just to tease his friends but still holds them in equal level.

When their home was destroyed by the Heartless, Riku prioritized finding Sora and Kairi before exploring off to newer worlds at first. However, upon seeing that Sora has acquired the Keyblade and made new friends (Donald and Goofy), Riku felt envious of his friend's feats. At that time, Riku thought that Sora just wanted to show off his Keyblade and believed that he "abandoned" his childhood friends. Driven by jealously, Riku changed his goals to just rescuing Kairi while antagonizing Sora out of spite. Over time, Riku became remorseful of his past actions once he realizes Sora truly cared about him, leading to the boy resisting control over Ansem and vowing to atone for his mistakes due to his love for his friends.

Around the time he escaped from the Realm of Darkness,Riku grew out of his previous persona as he took on the forces of Organization XIII and gaining supportive allies in the form of Mickey, Namine, Axel, and the mysterious Ansem the Wise. The young man adopts a more calmer personality, complete with a mature-outlook on life and appreciating the help he's gained from his friends. He also developed some angst over his past sins, to the point where he refused to show himself in-person to both Sora and Kairi when he took on the appearance of his arch-nemesis Ansem. By the time he reunites with the two, Riku has grown from the overconfident jerkass boy to a strong, protective friend who has more optimism towards the world itself.

## History

Born on Destiny Islands, Riku spends most of his childhood playing with his best friend Sora. Riku and Sora often played sword fights, races, and exploring the rest of the island's surroundings. Riku was also admired for his talents and skills, in which Sora dreamed of becoming strong like him. At some point, Riku would encounter a man named Terra, who would perform a Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony on him. Terra would also tell him to keep this encounter a secret until he unlocks his own Keyblade many years later. Sora attempted to question Riku about what Terra told him but the latter mentioned "it was a secret", frustrating the younger naive boy.

As the years passed by, everything changed when the great meteor shower occurred. During this event, Sora discovers a girl named Kairi washed up on the shore and takes her to the mayor's home. Riku would even accompany Sora to visit Kairi, making sure she'd feel safe and well-adjusted to the islands. Throughout the rest of his life, Riku spends time hanging out with Sora and Kairi. The three form a special bond and desire to explore worlds beyond the Destiny Islands. However, Riku started to witness Destiny Island's keyhole at some point when visiting the Secret Spot with Sora.

## *Kingdom Hearts Final Mix*

### Manga

Riku tells Sora and Kairi to stop slacking off.Sora tells Riku and Kairi that he feels ready to explore other worlds.Riku senses the Door to Darkness finally opening.

## *Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories*

### Manga

Riku defeats a fake illusion of Malificient.Riku horrified at the sight of Ansem's return.Riku wonders if he'll ever find a way to forgive himself.Ansem appears before Riku.Riku prepares to finish off Ansem.Riku finally destroys Ansem for good.

## *Kingdom Hearts II*

### Manga

A hooded Riku appears to defend Roxas from the Dusks.Kairi reunites with Riku.Kairi refuses to be left behind again.The Heroes of Light confront Xemnas.The Heroes refuse to submit to Xemnas."My Friends are my Power!"Xemnas' defeat.Kairi relieved that Sora's alright.Riku nearly crying with joy upon realizing his friends want him back.The Final Battle.Sora and Riku brace themselves for Xemnas' Final Attack.Xemnas brutally injures Riku.Reaching the Realm of Darkness.My Sanctuary.

## *Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days*

### Manga

Another Side, Another Story.An enraged Roxas tells Riku to back off.