Main article: Sora

Sora is the hero and main protagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series. Sora is voiced by Haley Joel Osment in the English versions and Miyu Irino in the Japanese versions.
Sora is fourteen years old at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts and lives on Destiny Islands with his best friends Riku and Kairi, and others including Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. Sora, Riku, and Kairi wish to escape from the Destiny Islands, and find out what lies beyond. On the night before they leave a huge storm comes. The storm turns out to be the Heartless destroying the heart of the world.
His name is derived from the Japanese word for sky, as Riku and Kairi's are derived from land and sea, respectively.
Story
Kingdom Hearts
Sora and his best friends lived in the isolated world of the Destiny Islands, and so often wondered about the outside world. They decided to build a raft to sail to other lands, their interest spurred by the arrival of Kairi. However, the day before they were set to sail, a storm ravaged the island, along with a strange dark force. His friend Riku succumbed to the force, while Sora remained stoic. Sora was swept off the island and thrown into the Corridors of Darkness, which landed him in a place called Traverse Town.
There he meets Donald Duck and Goofy, the respective Royal Court Magician and Captain of the Royal Guard of Disney Castle. Under orders from King Mickey, the pair were searching for two things - a mysterious 'key' and a man called Leon. As the King has disappeared in his own quest, Donald and Goofy accompanied Sora and they started searching for their respective friends. In addition to that, Sora found himself wielding the Keyblade - perhaps the mysterious key the King had asked them to find.
Sora discovered that Riku was also searching for Kairi, though neither of them could find her. Maleficent saw her chance and used her magic to poison Riku's mind against Sora, saying that befriending Donald and Goofy was a betrayal to Riku and Kairi. With this false knowledge, he set out to find Kairi on his own, as Sora travels to a number of worlds to stop the Heartless. Sora from there on unlocks the doors between the worlds, and locks them out from the reach of the Darkness.
Upon reaching Hollow Bastion, Riku confronts Sora, and takes back the Keyblade, revealing himself to be its true wielder. Donald and Goofy are forced to abandon Sora because of the King's orders, to stay with whoever has the Keyblade. However, when Sora goes to fight Riku, they rejoin Sora due to the bonds the trio have forged. The Keyblade then returned to Sora because his friendship with Donald and Goofy gave strength to his heart, stronger than Riku's. Enraged, Riku fought Sora and lost.
After this, the party encountered Maleficent. She was defeated and the darkness of her heart was unlocked by Riku, possessed by Xehanort's Heartless, who was known as Ansem. She transformed into a black, fire-breathing dragon from the array of darkness in her heart, but was again defeated. Further into the depths of Hollow Bastion, Sora fought Ansem, the supreme seeker of darkness and Kingdom Hearts itself, who now spoke through and controlled Riku's body, making him mortal again. Although it was difficult fighting his best friend, Sora emerged victorious in the struggle.
Kairi is revealed to be one of the Seven Princesses of Heart, but the door to Kingdom Hearts cannot open because her heart was within Sora. In order to return her heart and wake her up, Sora used the dark Keyblade that Riku had to remove both their hearts, sacrificing his humanity and becoming a Heartless himself for a short period of time. Kairi later used her light and deep feelings for him to return him to his original body.
After regrouping in Traverse Town, Kairi gave Sora her lucky charm (Oathkeeper's keychain) since he insisted that she should stay behind while he tried to get Riku back, and told him that where ever he went, she was always with him.
Sora and his friends managed to defeat Xehanort's Heartless at End of the World, the ‘heartless’ of all the worlds that fell into darkness. As Sora attempted to close the door to darkness, Riku and King Mickey appear on the other side of the door and together King Mickey and Sora seal it from both sides; with Sora's Keyblade from the realm of light and Mickey's Keyblade from the realm of darkness. However, Mickey and Riku are trapped behind the door, and Riku’s last words before it closes are “Take care of her”, referring to Kairi.
As the worlds begin to restore themselves, Kairi and Sora are separated. Sora promises to return to her as soon as he finds Riku and King Mickey.
Chain of Memories
After being separated from his friends, Sora wandered down on a long, meandering path with Donald and Goofy searching for a way to find Riku and Mickey, encountering Pluto on the way. When they reached a crossroad, a mysterious man in a long black hooded cloak appeared and informed Sora, "ahead lies something you need, but to claim it, you must lose something dear." The man disappears and only one path remains. The trio followed the path which lead them to a mysterious castle known as Castle Oblivion. They entered the castle hoping to pick up some clues as to the whereabouts of their friends only to discover, as they ascended the floors of the fortress, they were beginning to lose their memories and became more and more uncertain of themselves.
Little did they know, their memories were being manipulated by a mysterious organization that sought to capture and manipulate Sora. To do this, they used Naminé, a young witch who could rearrange the chains of memories and create new links. In order to make Sora forget Kairi, Naminé begins to replace his memories of her with herself. Meanwhile, a conflict between the Organization's members leads to several encounters between Sora and Riku, whose memories of Kairi had also been replaced with ones containing Naminé.
The trio's uncertainty builds to a point where they ended up in Twilight Town, a place that Sora is fairly certain that he has never been in, thus should not exist in his memory. Organization member IV, Vexen, revealed that it is a place that exists on the other side of Sora's heart, but is eliminated by Axel, another member of the Organization, before he can explain anything.
Axel ends up betraying Marluxia, the lord of Castle Oblivion, revealing that Marluxia and Larxene, the newest members of their group, intended to use Sora to overthrow the Organization. Axel manipulated Naminé into doing what she believed was right. She revealed to Sora that she never existed in his memory and that she had been replacing the person most important to him. Sora asks Naminé why he can't recall the most important person to him if they're so special. Riku then appeared to them again and was defeated by Sora. When Sora tried to help the injured Riku, he attacked Sora. Naminé used her power to break Riku's memories, and it caused him to collapse. Larxene came forth to eliminate Sora and Riku, who was revealed to actually be a Riku Replica, created by Vexen.
Sora defeated Larxene and forgave a regretful Naminé for her actions. She promised to restore the memories of the trio once they reached the 13th Floor of Castle Oblivion, where Marluxia was waiting for them. Axel attempted to destroy Marluxia himself, but then Marluxia used Naminé as a human shield. Sora stepped in and defeated Axel. Once Marluxia was defeated, Naminé asked that they step into machines that would rearrange their memories back to the way they were at the cost of breaking the links she created. She also informed him that the process will take some time, during which Sora, Donald, and Goofy would sleep as their memories were slowly restored. Naminé tells Sora to recall his most important person (Kairi) because she is his light, and recalling her will aid his memories' regeneration. While they knew that they would forget Naminé, Sora promised her that while she was forgotten, she would remain in his heart, never lost.
Kingdom Hearts 2
One year after the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Sora, Donald and Goofy awake in Twilight Town with their memories restored, although they cannot remember what happened in Castle Oblivion. Continuing their journey to find Riku and King Mickey, they set out traveling across new worlds, meeting old friends and enemies from the original Kingdom Hearts game, battling the Heartless and a new threat, the remaining members of the Organization they encountered in Chain of Memories.
Soon after exploring Twilight Town, Sora and company head off to the Tower and Sora obtains new attire—on the advice of master sorcerer Yen Sid considering Sora's first game outfit to be "too small"—from Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. The new outfit enables Sora to transform into new forms and attain special powers for each of them. The source of the clothing's magic is linked to Sora's heart, which is connected to everyone Sora had befriended including Donald and Goofy. Sora was referred to as the "key that connects everything" by Yen Sid which is how Naminé's memory manipulation works.
Throughout the game, Sora expresses his determination to bring Riku back home with him to Destiny Islands, where Kairi is patiently waiting for them. The quest gets more complicated when Kairi herself is kidnapped by Axel. Pete (who works for the resurrected Maleficent) and Organization XIII are causing trouble in the other worlds, and King Mickey refuses to give information regarding Riku. Sora must also discover why some of the members of Organization XIII address him as Roxas even after he clearly states his name is Sora. Also throughout the game Sora becomes rather intrigued and interested in the romances between his friends, showing a greater level of maturity, while at the same time alluding to his feelings for Kairi, which Donald and Goofy find amusement in.
Eventually, Sora, with the help of Hayner, Pence, Olette (three friends of Roxas in DiZ's simulated Twilight Town) and Axel, manages to find the route to The World That Never Was: the stronghold of the Organization, where a copy of Kingdom Hearts, created by gathering many hearts from the Heartless slain by Sora's Keyblade, resides. Soon after entering the world however, in the area of Memory Skyscraper, Sora's group is ambushed by Samurai Nobodies and Sora is forced into a showdown with an Organization member, who turns out to be Roxas (disguised in his former Organization XIII cloak) on a platform of Dive to the Heart, finally awakening after witnessing Axel's death through Sora with Sora slaying the Nobody impressing Roxas who says that "You make a good other." Afterwards, Sora, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey storm the castle in search of their friends. There, Sora finds Kairi and Riku (having Xehanort's Heartless appearance) and the mysteries of Roxas' identity and King Mickey's secrets are finally solved. Fighting their way up the winding paths of the Castle That Never Was, Sora, Riku and the others later encounter King Mickey and DiZ, now revealed to be the former ruler of Radiant Garden, Ansem the Wise, who was trying to absorb Kingdom Hearts into his machine and encode it as data. Kingdom Hearts proved too strong for Ansem's machine, and with his final words, "Roxas, if you can hear me, I'm sorry.", the machine exploded, taking Ansem with it. Riku's appearance then reverts to the way it should and he and the others attempt to stop Xemnas, the leader of the Organization. After they seemingly defeat the Organization leader Xemnas, Roxas emerges from Sora's body to speak with Naminé before she fuses with Kairi to complete herself, while Roxas returns to Sora's body making Sora whole.
Sora and Riku are separated from King Mickey, Goofy, Kairi and Donald. They fight Xemnas again on their own and defeat him, though they remain stranded in the Realm of Darkness, and as they wonder through the eternal abyss, they discuss their adventures and friendship, they come to the conclusion that "if worlds were made of light and darkness, they'll be the darkness" since the light realm is safe. As they listen to the waves, a bottle containing Kairi’s letter washes onto the shore. Riku gives it to Sora, believing him to be the proper recipient. Sora begins to read it, and his and Kairi's hearts connect; the door to light appears, and both Sora and Riku use it to return to their home world: Destiny Islands.
Having brought Riku back home and reunited at last with all his friends in one piece, Sora returns Kairi's lucky charm to her, saying "We-We´re back!" and Kairi corrects him saying "You´re home". Kairi extends her arm to Sora, as he holds her hand. During the credits, Sora is walking around in the Secret Place. He smiles while looking at all the pictures he and Kairi had drawn over the years. He glances down at the picture of Kairi and himself. He sees that Kairi drew the other half of a Paopu fruit, and smiles to himself. It is notable he mimics Kairi's movements from the ending of Kingdom Hearts.
At the end of the credits, another FMV shows Sora asking Riku what he thinks the door to light was. Riku replies that it was Sora's heart, "it's always closer than you think". Kairi runs up to them and give them a bottle she found, containing a letter from King Mickey. The trio reads the letter, its contents a mystery to the player.
Personality
Sora has a brave and heroic personality, meaning he'll willingly risk his life for people he doesn't even know. He's extremely loyal to his friends, and has shown to be extremely forgiving to Riku (even forgiving Riku for the times he's tried to kill him). He constantly "thinks positive" and is therefore highly optimistic. He puts Kairi and Riku above all else; when he tells Tarzan what friends he is missing he begins to say Donald and Goofy, but instead corrects himself and says Kairi and Riku. In Kingdom Hearts II, he seems to put them on an equal level.
Sora has shown a large amount of gullibility. For example, he fell for Mulan's attempt at passing for a man. Ironically, he doesn't let his enemies fool him as easily, since he didn't fall for Xemnas's attempt to play on Sora's sympathetic side. Despite Sora's good nature, he appears to sometimes hold grudges, since he seemed to go after Xemnas merely out of spite for him. Sora is also often quick to anger whenever he's confused. He is also quite childish at times.
As the game's main character, he forges the most relationships with those around him. The most prominent are below:
Riku
Sora's best friend; the two have known each other for most of their lives. At the beginning of Kingdom Hearts, they are shown to have a rivalry from who is the strongest to who will gain Kairi's affections, but it is friendly. Their friendship, however, it tested as the events of Kingdom Hearts unfolds.
Riku feels betrayed by Sora, convinced he has replaced himself and Kairi with Donald and Goofy. Maleficent uses this to lure Riku to her side, promising to find Kairi for him. Riku and Sora meet up throughout the game and clash; Riku constantly berating Sora about Kairi, and asking if he really wants to save her. He becomes more and more consumed by his darkness, and his heart is eventually overtaken by Ansem. At the end of the game, Riku realizes his folly and sides with Sora once again. He and Mickey help Sora shut the door, but as a result are locked in the realm of darkness. Riku tells Sora to take care of Kairi, as Sora sorrowfully closes the door on him.
In Kingdom Hearts 2, Riku has a large desire to right his wrongs. He works with Diz to restore Sora via union with Roxas. He remains hidden from Sora, ashamed of his new appearance, but when they meet, Kairi takes them by the hands, and Sora can see Riku underneath. In his relief, Sora falls to his knees and begins to cry, expressing how hard he had looked for Riku. They also share the final battle, with Riku making sure Sora was protected. They also have a discussion about their friendship afterward, saying the other is an indispensable friend.
Kairi
Kairi is a close friend of both Sora and Riku, having arrived on the island the night of a meteor shower. It becomes obvious Sora is in love with Kairi right from the beginning of the game, and it is hinted she returns the feelings.
In Kingdom Hearts, Sora is flustered when Riku suggests he share a paopou with Kairi-a fruit which, when eaten with another, will entwine your destinies together forever-and seems jealous of how Kairi reacts to Riku's cool and self confident personality. He does, however, take comfort in the special bond they forged when they were children, even going so far as to draw pictures of each other on the walls of the secret place. Too shy to do so in person, Sora draws a himself giving Kairi a paopou fruit from the picture of him she drew.
He tries to find her throughout the game, clashing with Riku. During the game's course, images of Kairi walking around or talking to him pop up. Near the end of the game, he has a flashback and sees a young Kairi at the library in Hollow Bastion, being told a story by her grandmother. The reason for these hallucinations are explained; to flee from the darkness, Kairi's heart stowed away within Sora. Thinking for a bit, Sora decides to release her heart with Riku's dark keyblade-effectively killing himself just so she could have her heart restored. Kairi's feelings for him restore him when he becomes a heartless, however, and he and his friends are all able to leave Hollow Bastion. Talking in the waterway, Kairi gives him her good luck charm, and he promises to return it, after Kairi accepts she cannot join Sora on the rest of his journey. At the end, the worlds are returning, and Sora and Kairi meet once more. He tells her he is always with her too, and that he, with Riku, will come back. They hold onto each other's hands as long as possible, but eventually the boundaries between the worlds separate them. Kairi explores the secret place a little later, and has a little shock; she comes face to face with Sora's new addition to their drawings. Touched, to the point she cries, she returns the favour by drawing a paopou to him.
While she scarcely appears in Chain of Memories, their bond is apparent. Naminé makes Sora forget Kairi, and Sora's feelings for Kairi becomes his feelings for Naminé. Desperate to find her, he wanders away from Goofy and Donald. The two finally meet, but there are two Naminés; the real one tells him he has been deceived, and she is not the person special to him. He asks her afterward why he can't recall Kairi if she is so special, but they are interrupted. At the end, she tells Sora that Kairi is his light, and if he recalls her, his memories will restore faster. He finally recalls Kairi, and in his mind she smiles and nods at him. Light bursts from her, and then Sora manages to recall everyone else.
In Kingdom Hearts 2, Roxas, when talking to Kairi, pointedly addresses her as the girl Sora likes. Sora proceeds to think about Kairi throughout his journey. Upon seeing William and Elizabeth hug, his mind wanders to Kairi. He is caught out by Donald and Goofy, who wonder about his red faces. He denies anything, but Donald smugly says he knows who Sora is thinking about. Sora also imagines he and her dancing in place of Sally and Jack, and is embarrassed after snapping out of it. When she is kidnapped he is angry and upset, and becomes determined to find her again. At one point he begs Saix to take him to her. Saix seems quite surprised at his devotion and asks if she is really that important to him. Sora confirms that Kairi is his most important person, and Saix coldly denies him seeing her, in hopes to fuel his anger. He pointedly tells Kairi she is the fire that fuels Sora's anger.
When they finally meet, he remarks she is different. She suddenly runs at him and hugs him, surprising him. She tells herself this is real, and without saying a word, Sora closes his eyes and hugs her back, enjoying being in the presence of the girl he loves once again. Goofy and Donald watch the scene from behind, and exchange giggles, but decide not to ruin the moment.
Upon talking to Roxas and Naminé, Kairi says that she and Sora will be together forever. Sora is startled by her statement, and bashfully agrees. At the end, when they are reunited at Destiny Islands, he is exceedingly happy and tries running to her, only to have his run cut short by Goofy and Donald in their joy. He smiles at Kairi afterwards, and she smiles in return. He returns her goodluck charm, and she grabs his hand. Later, with the exact same movements Kairi had at the end of Kingdom Hearts, he sees her addition to the drawing, and smiles to himself.
Donald
They meet in Traverse Town, and stay together because Sora wields the keyblade. Donald hopes that it will lead them to King Mickey. While at first their relationship is rocky due to Donald's personality, they eventually reconcile and form a strong bond.
At first, Donald has no real intention of finding Sora's friends if it distracts them from finding King Mickey. En route to Deep Jungle, Sora and Donald fight. The result is the Gummi ship crashing, and seperation. When they meet again at the tent, they are happy to see each other and run at the other-before recalling their dispute and both turning away in a strop, much to Goofy's displeasure. At the end of that world, they reconcile, and continue on their journey. Their bond is once again seen at Hollow Bastion. Regretfully, because Riku is the rightful wielder and they must stay with the key, Goofy and Donald leave Sora. However, he remains determined to save Kairi, and pursues Riku. When Riku is about to hurt him, Donald and Goofy's friendship with Sora leads them back to him, defending him. Strengthened by their friendship, Sora becomes the key's rightful wielder. When Sora later sacrifices his life in order to save Kairi's, Donald yells out for him to stop. He is very upset when Sora vanishes, but resolves to protect Kairi for him. He is very relieved when Sora is returned to normal.
In Kingdom Hearts 2, the three go on yet another adventure. There are no disputes like before between Sora and Donald. Donald looks out for Sora and viceversa, as well as teases him about Kairi. When Riku and Sora are separated from the others at the end, he has to wait on Destiny Islands. When he returns, Donald is overjoyed and both he and Goofy tackle Sora to the ground.
Goofy
They meet in Traverse Town, and stay together because Sora wields the keyblade. Donald hopes that it will lead them to King Mickey. Goofy's kind and laid back nature allow him and Sora to get along without arguments; though Goofy is frequently saddened by Donald and Sora's friction.
Goofy cheers Sora up throughout the game, and their friendship grows throughout the game. Their bond is once again seen at Hollow Bastion. Regretfully, because Riku is the rightful wielder and they must stay with the key, Goofy and Donald leave Sora. However, he remains determined to save Kairi, and pursues Riku. When Riku is about to hurt him, Donald and Goofy's friendship with Sora leads them back to him, defending him. Strengthened by their friendship, Sora becomes the key's rightful wielder. When Sora later sacrifices his life in order to save Kairi's, Goofy can do nothing but watch in horror. He is very upset when Sora vanishes, but resolves to protect Kairi for him. He is very relieved when Sora is returned to normal.
In Kingdom Hearts 2, they all go on another adventure together. Goofy teams up with Donald to tease Sora about Kairi, and acts as moral support throughout the story. They still get on as well as ever. When Riku and Sora are separated from the others at the end, he has to wait on Destiny Islands. When he returns, Goofy is overjoyed and both he and Donald tackle Sora to the ground.
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