Let's get right down to business:

1) This fic, I made it for game7girl on YouTube, for her video 'Riku - The Third Wheel Effect'. It's flecking awesome. And sad. Go watch it. I command you! .

2) Oh, uhm, well, I was going to say something, but I forgot... oops

3) I do not own Kingdom Hearts! Maybe I'll be lucky Tetsuya Nomura will gladly give me ownership over it for my birthday... And maybe flying purple pigs will rain down from the sky and exact revenge on us all for polluting the air and clogging it up so much that their wings shrivel up and die and they fall and impale themselves on church spires. Just maybe...

Very loosly and indirectly based on the song Speeding Cars by Imogen Heap. And if you've heard the song and disagree with me, please keep the opinion to yourself. I know that we are all entitled to our own opinion, butin my opinion, your opinion on song-blasphemy SUCKS.

...If your self-esteem was shot down by that statement, then I apologize. Your opinion is precious and important, just not to me. :3

On with the story!

"Sora, you doing anything today?"

"Yeah, yeah I am."

"Really? What?"

"I'm coming over to your house, duh!"

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Riku stood in the shoreline, jumping over the mini waves and giggling as a particularly large one surged up and knocked him over. He looked back as he heard someone yelling his name, his smile widening as he saw Sora running towards him.

He waved. "Hiya, Sora! I see you!"

Sora waved back, tripping over a stone and falling to the ground. Riku laughed, running over to help him up. The wet ends of his over-large pants sloshed around on the sand. "Haha, you fell down! And I ran over to help you up and ask if you're alright, coz that's what Mum said I should do. So, are you alright?"

The brunette nodded, smiling up at him. "O' course I am! Nothing wrong with me! Nothing at all! See, I'm all good!" Sora nodded enthusiastically, jumping back up. "'Ku, it's my birthday tomorrow!"

"I know, So'. You keep telling me every day of the week."

Sora pouted, poking his tongue out at him. "You'll call and tell me happy birthday, right?"

"And I'll be standing there with a bag of those chocolate coins you like," Riku laughed. "How could I miss your seventh birthday? You'll be a big boy now, just like me!"

The brunette laughed, skipping down to the waves. "Now I really can't wait for tomorrow! You're the bestest friend I've ever had, Riku!"

Riku smiled. "Of course I am, who else do you know that wants to get off this island?

----------

"Hey, Sora, I can see something in the water!"

"What is it? It looks weird!"

"Um, I dunno. I'll go have a look."

"No, Riku! It'll leap up and suck out your brains through your nose and eat them, and then it'll chop you up into little itty bitty pieces and give them to it's kids to try and put together, and then they'll get frustrated and eat them all up and I'll be sad!"

"Relax, Sora. It's just a girl."

----------

It had been a month since the new girl arrived, and now it was Riku's twelfth birthday. Sora was due to show up anytime now. He said he'd be bringing the girl along with him, and that was cool. Riku could handle a newbie in his midst.

"You alright, hun?" Asked his Mum as she watched him pace around the room.

Riku nodded absently. "Yea, Mum, I'm fine. Just a little bored with waiting."

His Mum smiled. "Aw, don't worry about it so much. Sora's never been late yet, I'm sure he won't be too long now. Don't question him; he's always right on time."

Riku smiled. He decided to go and wait in his room where he could work on the present he had started to make for Sora; a big pillow in the shape of a paupu fruit. He wasn't too sure whether he'd like the idea of the paupu, but because it was made by him, it would make it special.

So he sat in his room, working on that. And he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Irritated, he checked his watch. Sora was twenty minutes late now, what was up with him? He'd never been late before; maybe he was sick. Or the new girl turned out to be a murderer and killed him on the way there. Or a sea monster had come out and eaten them both! Or maybe-

His thoughts were cut off as the doorbell rang. He dropped the paupu and ran to the door, pulling it open so hard that, were it not attached to the frame, it would have flown away and been forgotten.

Standing in the doorway was Sora, the petite frame of the new girl next to him. "Hi Riku! Sorry we're late; Kairi wanted to go see the ocean again. Oh, yeah, you haven't met her yet, have you? This is Kairi, she's the new girl, remember?"

He remembered her. The one who he had imagined trying to kill Sora on the way here. Riku snorted, shoving that thought away. Her red hair was cut to just above her shoulders, and she wore a small skirt and cute white top. She could hardly murder anyone, let alone Sora.

"Of course I remember her! Hi, Kairi, I'm Riku, you're saviour and the person you're forever indepted to!" Riku announced proudly, receiving a sharp punch in the rib from Sora. "Just kidding. Come in, you two, you're late!"

He shut the door behind the two of them as they walked inside, Sora laughing and joking with Kairi the way the two of the always did. Riku sniffed. He could smell a new opponent.

----------

"Engarde, So-ra, I challenge you to a duel!"

"Sorry, Riku, me and Kairi are going to the secret place today."

"What? When was this arranged? And why was I not invited?"

"Er, well..."

----------

"Hey guys, what're you doing?" Riku asked as he walked towards the other two at the beach.

Kairi smiled up at him. "We're digging around for thalassa shells!" She motioned to a pile of pinky-purple shells beside them. "I'm going to make a lucky charm for the three of us, so that way, we'll never forget each other!"

Sora nodded, concentrating intently at digging through the sand. "It's really quite hard, you know. Kairi's found most of them; I've only found two. You should give it a go."

Laughing, Riku decided to join in on their game. "Sure, why not? I've got nothing else to do." He knelt down and began to sift through the sand with his fingers. Within minutes, he had found one, and added it to the collection.

They spent hours more there at the beach, looking for shells and other odd stuff. They managed to find quite a bit of stuff, the pile quite big.

Kairi knelt back, observing the pile as Sora chucked another shell on. "I think we've got enough for quite a few now, guys. We can start making them now!"

Riku nodded, picked two shells up and started to tie them together. He sat in silence as the other two talked animatedly, Sora continuously making mistakes. Kairi laughed as she undid it and Sora tried again, getting it right this time.

The silver-haired boy looked at his finished thalassa shell charm, and laughed bitterly. He'd give almost anything to get Sora to remember him.

No one noticed when Riku stood up and walked back home.

Neither did anyone notice when the tide picked up Riku's charm and carried it away.

----------

"Hey, Sora, Dad told me to ask you if you wanted to stay the night!"

"Of course I would, Kairi!"

"Guys... can I come?"

"Uh, well, Dad said I could only bring one person over. Sorry, Riku."

"Oh. Well, that's alright, I suppose."

----------

Riku sat at his desk, hunched over his papers as the computer light glared on his face. He had to study for this, it was probably the most important test in his whole school career. Well, for him, anyway.

He looked up and someone crashed through the door, annoyed, but the scowl removed itself from his face when he saw it was Sora. His test was important, but he would always find time for Sora.

"Hey, Sora, watcha doing?" He asked, shutting the laptop and turning to face Sora. He looked slightly lost, as though he had stumbled into Riku's house on accident.

Sora looked at him, his eyes slightly panicky. "K-K..."

Riku sighed. "Spit it out, Sora. You're mumbling, and I don't know what you're trying to say."

"Ka-Kai..." He took a deep breath. "Kairi's... gone." He finally managed to spit out.

Riku's eyes widened. He didn't care as much for Kairi as he did for Sora, but she was obviously special to Sora, so this was important. He stood up, disrupting his papers. "Does anyone know where she's gone? Did anyone see her leave?"

Sora shook his head sadly. No... no one knows where she's gone, or why. No one saw her leave. The last anyone's seen of her was me, night before last at the secret place. She just... vanished."

If he was cruel and selfish, he would have kept Sora there and comforted him. He wouldn't have let Sora search for Kairi. But he wasn't. He cared for Sora, and instead of chaining him next to his side, he went out and looked for the red-haired girl with him.

He spent most of his time searching with Sora. He failed his test, but that was OK, because he got to spend time with Sora. Just like old times. Only, not.

----------

"How come I never see you anymore, Sora?"

"You do too! I hang out with you all the time!"

"Yeah, but you're always talking to Kairi. You're never concentrating on me."

"And here's you being ego-centric again. Kairi's new, we have to make her feel welcome, remember?"

"Right, so she's still new, even though she's been here for two years now?"

"Hey guys, what're you talking about?"

"Hey Kairi! Man, it seems like I haven't seen you in ages!"

"I saw you last night, remember?"

"Gosh, reallly? Well, I've forgotten what we did. Look, I found something new at the secret place! I wanted to show you."

"Really? Well, you look excited. Lead the way, Sora!"

"OK!"

"Hey, Sora, forget someone? I'm Riku - the guy whose brains you used to be worried about, remember? Aw, who am I kidding? There's no more room in that big heart of yours for me, is there, Sora?"

----------

Sora had left the island two days ago. He didn't tell anyone. Didn't even tell Riku. But he knew why he'd gone. He'd left to find Kairi. And now, Riku was leaving, too. But unlike Sora, Riku wasn't looking for Kairi, he was looking for the aforementioned brunette.

He picked up his rucksack and swung it over his shoulder. He didn't need to tell anyone he was leaving. His parents died years ago. No one else cared about him. He was alone now.

He thought to himself. Even if he did find Sora, what would he do? How would they get back? Would Sora actually go with him?

Riku found his chance to leave that night. A storm came, similar to the one that came the night before Kairi arrived. A gate to the darkness appeared, and he stepped through it. He wasn't afraid, was he?

He found Kairi first. But she was a doll. She was lifeless. Something was wrong with her, and he didn't want to return Kairi to Sora in the condition she was in. So he strived for a way to fix her.

He found Sora later. But it looked like he had made some new friends. It looked like he cared nothing for Riku, nothing for Kairi.

He found a way to fix Kairi. And he tried. He really did. But nothing he did worked. In the end, he was stuck in the realm of darkness. Alone.

He spent a long time trying to find a way out. When he finally did, a year had passed. So much had happened, so much he had forgotten. But Sora stood clear in his memories, so he left to look for him again.

Along the way, a strange man came to him. He said he would help him find Sora, help him remember what he had forgotten. So he went along with him for a little while.

A lot of things happened, both to him, and to Sora. And when he finally found Sora again, he realized that he didn't want Sora to see him. Not yet. Not the way he was. He needed to be... fixed...?

But Sora found him. And he found Kairi. And they returned to the islands; together.

Riku watched as Sora ran up to Kairi, hugging the living daylights out of her. He laughed bitterly. Who had he been looking for; Sora? Or the one that used to be Sora?

Either way, he found a part of him, didn't he? But that part wasn't his to keep. It was Kairi's.

----------

"Back to being the third wheel, I suppose."

----------FIN----------

So there we have it. Congradulations for reading all the way down here; I didn't think you'd make it!

Note for Zume-Chan: ...Are you going to force Nomura to give up his KH rights? Coz that would make me happy. n.n

Here, a link for that video if you're interested. Just take out all the spaces:

w w w . youtube . com / watch?vCCLvq22uMrE

I'm pretty sure you know what I'm about to ask... Review... please? So that Riku can not be the third wheel?