Hi all! Me again, with another roleplay. Through Discord I found another RP partner, so this is strictly 1x1. It is a College AU, though it has some canon tidbits included.

 

Please refrain from posting in this topic, but feel free to read along and join us for this journey!

 

Thanks!

 

Hoshi, take it away!

Edited July 24, 20187 yr by Forever Love

Lightning's smirk turned confident. She lifted her gun, closed one eye, and pulled the trigger. Alarms went off from the machine. Bullseye, she thought with pride. She looked back over at Riku, the challenge in her gaze. "That pizza's going to taste even better since I won't be buying," she taunted. He was going down.

Riku growled, though he couldn’t help but enjoy her air of confidence himself. “Don’t count me out yet,” he declared back, aiming his gun again. This time he was able to hit a bullseye. Proudly, he stood back and gestured for her to continue. “I think you’ll be buying me pizza. I’ve got pretty good aim myself. First one was just a warm up.”

Edited August 9, 20187 yr by aoi hoshi

Lightning rolled her eyes playfully and lifted her gun. The machine had multiple targets now--moving targets specifically. Piece of cake. "Okay, wise guy..." she mumbled to him, squinting one eye. She then pulled the trigger, hitting one target before shifting to the next, and then the next, and then the next. Bullseye, on every single target. Her score kept going up. Beat that, Riku.

Riku nearly fell back he was so stunned. “H-How did you...? When did you...?” He finally shook his head and laughed at how stupid he must seem to her now. “What kind of pizza would you like, Light?” The abbreviation of her name rolled off his tongue naturally. He hoped she didn’t mind.

Lightning smiled slightly at the nickname, not that it was anything she hadn't heard before. But coming from Riku? She liked it a lot more. "What can I say? I'm a good shot," she said, smile turning proud again. She lifted her gun to her lips and "blew out" the smoke coming from the barrel. She liked this game, quite a bit.

“More than a good shot,” Riku said in amazement, “You could be a professional. I don’t think anyone here could take you.” A few of the people who had gathered to watch them seemed to back away at the invitation. “We should play a co-op version. With you on my team, I definitely won’t lose,” Riku joked, fishing out a few more tokens from his pocket.

Lightning felt a blush coming on. "Flattery will get you nowhere...unless you're lucky," she told him. "In your case, it'll get you a little closer to a nice prize on that wall over there." She nodded to the trophy area, where there were plenty of items to choose from in exchange for tickets. There were already quite a bit spilling out of the machine due to their previous game. 

Riku eyed the back wall, rubbing his chin playfully. “I wouldn’t mind a set of mouse ears.” They were silly and Riku likely would never wear them, but it was funny to see merchandise made in honor of his friend. He also liked the idea of Lightning wearing them. ‘She would look really cute...’ He brushed the thought aside and slipped in a few coins. The screen began a countdown with large red numbers. “Ready partner?”

Lightning positioned her gun. “Mm,” she hummed in confirmation. To her, this game wasn’t much of a challenge. She guessed she had the college’s military training program to thank for that. She never knew a skill used for security or killing could come in handy at an arcade, of all places. The timer ticked to zero and targets appeared. Lightning instantly pulled her trigger, gunning them down.

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

Riku was star struck for a moment before joining in, taking out his fair share of bad guys on the screen. The gun wasn’t as familiar as a keyblade, but it reminded him a little of using magic. Towards the end, he managed to hit one of the lingering targets. Neither of them broke a sweat by the end, despite their enthusiasm. Riku watched the machine spit out prize tickets with a satisfied smile. “Looks like we’ll have enough tickets for a couple of prizes.”

“Nice work,” Lightning commented with a faint smile. She returned her gun to its holster. “You’re not a bad shot, either. But you still owe me pizza.” She did win their small bet after all. Riku couldn’t back out now. She wasn’t too worried, though; Riku seemed like a man of his word.

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

“Thanks. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to play in arcade, but where did you learn to shoot like that? Your accuracy is crazy good?” Riku asked before adding, “The cafe is towards the back I think. You’ll have to pick what toppings you want for your pizza.” Has he been younger, Riku might have taken the loss harder, but now he saw the fun in simply competing and spending time with someone he cared about. And he cared about Lightning. He wanted to see her happy.

Lightning nodded and stepped out of the way of a few rowdy kids. Consequently, she stood closer to Riku. “The university’s military program,” she told him, looking up at him. It was the reason she was even at the college, other than Serah.

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

“The miltary?” Riku repeated in surprise. He tried not to think about how close they were now; his fingers twitched slightly, aching to take hold of hers. “That makes sense...” Up ahead, a line for the cafe was growing, but Riku managed to snag a place near the middle after a woman with two boys excused her little group to make an impromptu trip to the bathroom. Why would Lightning join the miltary? Maybe the fight with Xehabort had tainted his view on subject, but the idea of being a soldier forever...Riku grimaced slightly at the thought. He was sure she had some good reason. It was Lightning after all.

“You seem surprised...” Lightning placed a hand on her hip as she stood next to Riku. This line was pretty long, but she would survive. “Do I not look the type?” Pink hair threw people off sometimes, but that didn’t nexessarily mean she was overly-feminine. She could hold her own.

Kairi tapped Sora on the shoulder. “I think Riku is gonna get some pizza,” she told him over the noise. “Should we make him pay for us too?” Riku was always good at saving his money, so he could spare some for the sake of his friends, right?

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

“Uh, n-not surprised really. I mean I’ve seen you throw punches before. You’re perfectly capable. It’s just...” Riku sighed, raking a hand through his hair. How did he explain this without giving away too much? People knew about Xehanort, but the details were under lock and key. “I guess it’s just the idea of always having to fight. It’s never really appealed to me. I’m sure you have your reasons though, and we do need miltary forces here.” Especially as the kingdom was rebuilt. The anarchists could easily feed into a mob mentality at any point.

 

Sora turned around after throwing one more mini basketball into the hoop above. It teetered around the hoop but eventually slid in. The machine offered loud praise and tickets, enticing Sora to spend more of his tokens. “I could definitely go for some pizza,” Sora agreed, his stomach growling as if on cue, “and I bet our best buddy could spare a little of his munny.” Sora wanted to save his last bit to play against Roxas (the two had been trading taunts all last night over who would have to buy the other ice cream), so Riku’s contribution of pizza was almost a necessity really.

“Got that right,” Lightning crossed her arms and looked ahead at the line. Her arm briefly brushed Riku’s. “Ever since the fall of Radiant Garden, I swore I would do what I could to protect it. What happened all those years ago...I won’t let it happen again.” That mess... It was personal.

Kairi grabbed Sora’s hand. “C’mon!” She dragged Sora with her, starting toward the line. Riku could buy them dinner. They would pay for any snacks he wanted at the karaoke bar, because Riku wasn’t going to enjoy that surprise very much.

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

Riku sensed a greater hurt underlying those words but didn’t press on it. “You’ll make an amazing soldier,” Riku said, touching her arm gently. He only hoped she wouldn’t have to go to war anytime soon.

 

“Whoa, Kairi slow down!” Sora exclaimed, using his free hand to snag the left over prize tickets. She had quite a grip!

Edited August 9, 20187 yr by aoi hoshi

That small touch softened Lightning up. The memories from her childhood vanished because of Riku’s hand. She looked up at him and smiled faintly. Thank you, she thought. It was nice to hear that, instead of the insults and ridicule she got for being a woman interested in the military. Guys were jerks. But not Riku.

Kairi giggled. “We have to get there before he orders!” she said in her defense. They couldn’t miss this opportunity for free food!

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

His friends laughter was audible despite the noise all around him, and Riku turned around just as they almost collided with him and Lightning. Riku rolled his eyes but his voice was teasing. “Hungry?”

 

“Starving actually,” Sora corrected, flashing a goofy grin. He noticed Lightning a few seconds later and waved. “Having fun?”

“I just won myself a free pizza, so I think so,” Lightning answered. Her smile turned into a smirk as she looked up at her companion. She was a better shot than him, so now she could eat her win in greasy pizza. She would have to work that off in the gym the next day.

Kairi lifted an eyebrow. “Hold on, you beat Riku at a game?” Lightning nodded and Kairi blinked in shock. Riku hardly lost anything. What did they even play?

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

Sora gawked at Lightning in what could be described as a mixture of shock, horror, and admiration. “You best Riku?” Sora’s wide eyed then moved to his other best friend. “Is this real?”

 

Riku brushed their comments aside, crossing his arms. “She wiped the floor with me playing the shooter game up front. Lightning has amazing accuracy. Bullseye every time I think,” Riku confirmed. There was a tinge of pride in his voice as he said this. Not many girls could aim like that. And very few people could beat him at anything, which impressed the boy more.

Lightning confirmed Riku’s words with a nod. Kairi’s jaw dropped. “A bullseye every time?!” she repeated. “Wow! That’s awesome! You’re lucky Riku isn’t bitter about the loss, though. He can be a sore loser sometimes.” She linked her hands behind her back and smiled sweetly at her friend. She said those words with love, of course.

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love

Riku shot her a small glare as a red blush spread across his cheeks. “She beat me fair and square, and besides, I was like that when I was younger and only because Sora always tried cheating,” he pointed at the brunet accusatorily.

 

“No way!” Sora protested, “I beat you fair and square too. Remember the race to share...” Sora stopped abruptly and glanced at Kairi nervously. He forgot she didn’t know about their little bet back then. “To share the one thing?”

 

Riku shook his head. “You took a short cut. Doesn’t count.” He knew their bickering was silly, but it was habit. He and Sora had always been overly competitive with one another.

Kairi rolled her eyes. “Not this again,” she said, shaking her head. She met Lightning’s gaze, catching the confusion in her expression. Kairi stepped up to be next to her since the line was moving. “When we were kids, they had to compete over everything. The name of a raft, who got the best shade spot on the beach, who could catch a fish the fastest... It was constant.”

“Beach?” Lightning repeated. There wasn’t a beach on Radiant Garden. Where were they from?

Edited August 10, 20187 yr by Forever Love