be the rightful owner of Sora's Keyblade, which is bequeathed onto the five-year-old Riku by Terra during the events of Birth by Sleep; however, his reliance on the power of darkness causes the Keyblade to reject Riku in favor of Sora. In Kingdom Hearts II, the 16-year-old Riku acquires another Keyblade of his own, the "Way to the Dawn"; this Keyblade is later broken in Kingdom Hearts III, leading him to obtain a new Keyblade, "Braveheart". Kairi Young Kairi is the main female protagonist of Kingdom Hearts. She is the best friend of Sora and Riku. Later, she is also in a romantic relationship with Sora. She is a non-playable character in most games of the series, but debuts as a playable character in the Re Mind scenario of Kingdom Hearts III. As one of the seven Princesses of Heart, she is cast adrift from her homeworld of Radiant Garden at a young age as part of Xehanort's experiment to locate the key bearer, which eventually brings her to the Destiny Islands, piquing Sora and Riku's interest in other worlds. In Birth by Sleep, it is revealed that her arrival on the islands is the result of an encounter with Aqua, who gives the four-year-old Kairi a protective charm to shield her from the darkness; Kairi gains the ability to wield a Keyblade after touching the one belonging to Aqua. During Kingdom Hearts, the 14-year-old Kairi's heart is stolen by the darkness bugs commanded by "Ansem", sending her body into a coma while her heart takes refuge within Sora's. Upon learning her identity as a Princess of Heart and the location of her heart, Sora sacrifices his own heart in order to release hers and return to her body. While Sora disappears, Kairi escapes from a revived Ansem along with Donald Duck and Goofy. Soon after, Kairi finds Sora's Heartless and restores to human form. Kairi later remains behind on the restored Destiny Islands to await Sora's return from this journey. In Kingdom Hearts II, Kairi is approached by Axel to come with her, but she runs away with the help of Pluto and a dark corrider made by Riku. She is soon kidnapped by Saïx to motivate Sora towards acting in the Organization's wishes. She escapes with the help of Naminé and Riku, receiving her Keyblade "Destiny Embrace" from the latter to fight alongside Sora while the former merges