Cheerful Sky "Riku: We've always been rivals, haven't we?" However, there is some doubt between them, at least from Riku's side, because he is open enough for Maleficent's influence on his thoughts on Sora and their relationship, finally being convinced that Sora quit looking for Kairi and caring for his old friends. After giving in to the darkness - especially after being taken over by Ansem/Xehanort - Riku only sees the rivalry between them while Sora still seeks to get his friend back again (even after Riku tried to steal his heart in order to get Kairi back and used her for creating the keyhole, Sora still wants to return and look for him). After the final battle, however, when Xehanort is eventually defeated, Riku becomes his old self again and sees clearly that he has been wrong and mistaking Sora for his enemy when he was in fact his friend. So, Sora's trust is finally not disappointed but rewarded: Riku restores his old self, saving his friends and staying in the darkness in turn. "Sora: You're still Riku, no matter what!" After being separated for the second time, their friendship has to face another hardship, which however it easily overcomes. When they are reunited eventually and Riku doesn't even have his own body anymore, neither Sora nor Kairi care, but rather ask him to stay with them as they only care for him being Riku inside, not outside. "Riku: You know... I always figured I was better at stuff than you. - Sora: Really? - Riku: Are you mad? - Sora: No. I kinda always thought you were better at everything, too." In the end, Sora and Riku not only fight together, but fall into the darkness together as well after defeating Xemnas (and lots of heartless). But they don't resign; in contrast, they deepen their friendship even more, facing their seeming fate without fear. And - to me, this is of major importance - they admit how they have been envying each other. Riku tells Sora that he used to perceive himself as superior, and although Sora agrees, states that it was only out of envy of his canty nature and ability to follow his very heart. Sora, on the other hand, says that he wanted to be like Riku who always appeared stronger and more mature than him (which he probably was). But in the end, Riku concludes, Sora was in fact the one who proved to have a stronger heart - which was what Riku didn't understand and, as a consequence, wanted to have for himself, too. But they still prefer to be themselves now, as this way they can have the other one as a friend. "Riku: What I said back there... about thinking I was better at stuff than you... to tell you the truth, Sora... I was jealous of you. - Sora: What for? - Riku: I wished I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart. - Sora: Yeah, well, I've got my share of problems, too. - Riku: Like what? - Sora: Like... wanting to be like you. - Riku: Well, there is one advantage to being me... something you could never imitate. - Sora: Really? What's that? - Riku: Having you for a friend. - Sora: Then I guess... I'm okay the way I am. I've got something you could never imitate, too." To me, that's a really great sign of friendship - appreciating the other one's friendship more than being as great as the other person and therefore putting it above one's own desire/yearning. Riku is also the one person Sora has known the longest out of all his friends and acquaintances. "Sora: Kairi. Remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise! - Kairi: I know you will!" Both of them have very deep faith, even if there's no logical reason for it. They simply are convinced to meet each other again, to find each other wherever they are and whatever happens. This might seem childish, and it probably is; but it's a special ability connecting them. "Kairi: A letter... I wrote it yesterday, to the boy I can't remember. I said that no matter where he is... I'll find him. One day. And when I stopped writing, I remembered we made a promise, something important. This letter is where it starts. I know it. - Selphie: Wow... I hope he gets it. - Kairi: He will. Starts with an 'S'. Right, Sora?" At one point, Kairi even forgets Sora (nearly) completely (except for their promise), but she remembers him eventually, writing him a letter with the strong belief that it will reach him, no matter how unlikely (and it does, finally - of course, it's a game *g*). "Kairi: Sora, don't ever change." There are a few hints scattered throughout the game that they share a love interest, however it's never confirmed. Personally, I think it's quite obvious what the developers intended by letting them act the way they do (compared to what we usually see in other japanese games as well as anime and manga), but I will examine this further in the fitting section; so please check that out if you're interested (the latter part of this sentence doesn't serve any purpose, I just wanted to make use of the term "check out" for once). "Sora: Fine. I'll let you tag along. For now." Although they make peace shortly after, when they realize that friends are of the highest value and they shouldn't argue about such silly things when in fact they like and care for each other, this comes into play again at a later point in the game. "Donald: Goofy. Let's go. We have to remember our mission." Since Donald and Goofy are assigned to follow the keybearer, they kept being around Sora naturally (although, as I said before, they grew on each other as well). However, when at some point Riku appears to have a stronger heart than Sora and is therefore able to take the Keyblade off of him, Donald might feel sorry for Sora on one hand, but does not doubt his king's command on following the one with the key, thus easily abandoning Sora. "Donald: Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together. Well, you know... all for one and one for all." Nevertheless he does in fact like Sora as a friend, as proven later, when he will switch sides again in order to support Sora even without him having the Keyblade (yet he needs Goofy to take action first). As both of them have rather unsteady temperaments, they tend to easily irritate each other. "Goofy: But I'm not gonna betray Sora, either, 'cause he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together! See ya later, Donald. Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?" Also, he is far more reluctant about leaving Sora behind when Riku snatches the Keyblade from him, being the first one who sides with his old friend again when the opportunity arises (and Sora is in desperate need of help, too). By all means, though, I would not rate the friendship between Donald & Goofy and Sora as deep and strong as the ones with Riku & Kairi, EVEN THOUGH Riku might not deserve as much trust due to his aforementioned betrayal (on the other hand, Donald and Goofy left Sora behind quite fast as well...). "Roxas: Tell me... tell me why he picked you!" It is only an oneiric vision, but as Roxas is at that point already part of Sora again (apparently both can't exist at the same time), it's just as 'real' and still of major importance to their relationship. "Roxas: I see. That's why." When Sora wins the fight although he isn't as strong and skillful, Roxas would finally understand what makes Sora 'better' (or rather: the somebody that he is) than him: it's his strong heart. "Roxas: You make a good other." Therefore, he accepts his 'fate' of 'only' being a nobody by complimenting Sora that he is a good/ "Naminé: See? We meet again, like we promised." It's basically just their indirect relationship through Roxas that makes them appear somehwat close (to me, at least), as Roxas is Sora's nobody and stays within him (as Naminé returns into Kairi) and they both share very strong bonds. Nonetheless, I will enhance this section as far as I'll get my hands on new information (or new thoughts, that is). -------------------------------- (CC) BY-NC-SA Image from Same Sky PHP from Celestial Star JavaScript from Dynamic Drive CSS from Cascading Style Sheets Kingdom Hearts by Square Enix & Disney Please don't steal or copy, OK? |
||