As some of you may know, Peanut and I are crazy about Roleplaying, and it's clear, since this is the second one on this site that belongs to us. And we aren't even done with the first one! Regardless, that won't stop us from starting this new roleplay, Rude Awakening!

 

Kinda dark and mysterious title, eh?

 

As stated in the title, this RP is one on one, no exceptions. Please refrain from posting in the RP. Instead, follow us on this new journey!

 

Peanut, my amazing friend, let's begin!

Jihl smirked down at Lightning, seeing the girl’s blue eyes come up to her as she struggled just to breathe. “I’ve hit right next to the pressure point,” she declared, explaining the situation even if Lightning didn’t ask. “The pressure point on the neck, you see, tells the mind that you can’t breathe and sends you into unconsciousness so that you can recover immediately.” She twirled her baton once, her wicked smirk growing further. “Hitting right next to it confuses the mind. Your mind is trying to decide whether to send you to slumber to recover or keep you awake or not. So here you are now, caught in the middle and unable to breathe.” That will teach you not to underestimate me, girl, she thought as Lightning breathed raggedly.

That witch, Riku thought in fury. It was hard forcing himself not to move, but he knew he had to do it for his and Lighting's ultimate safety. If he didn't, they would be in some serious trouble. Worse than they already had.

Light was glad that her face hid Riku's; he was probably infuriated with Jihl. So was she, but she just had to focus on keeping it all together. She slowly shut her eyes, tugging Riku's arm around her more as if to hold her. Of course he wouldn't move to hold her; that would put them in more danger. But she needed to know that he was still with her, unlike when he wasn't with her the first time she met Ansem and the Guardian. Even if he was "unconscious", he was a comfort to her as her breathing remained hoarse.

Riku felt what Lightning was doing, and since he could sense her face in front of his, he very quietly shushed her. Relax, Light, he told her silently. She just needed to relax. If she did that, her breathing would return to normal. Hopefully. He couldn't take this, sitting here and hearing her suffer.

"Stand back up," Jihl ordered mercilessly, kneeling down and pressing the tip of the baton against Lightning's neck again. "We've taken long enough as it is. At this rate, we'll be at the castle in half an hour." That was despicable to her. It took them forty minutes to get this far. Why did Cedric hold his daughter in such high esteem? She was pathetic.

"Threatening her with that stick of yours will do little good," Cedric said, standing still where he was. He looked from his daughter to the young man on the ground and then to Jihl. "If anything, you're only pushing my daughter to defy you. She doesn't take orders quite that well."

Jihl looked at Cedric, hmphing as she rose to her feet and started forward towards him. "Then you coax her to her feet," she said. "Enough time is lost on this 'test' of yours." He wanted Lightning to carry Riku to prove her strength, but Jihl was only seeing her weaknesses. Lightning was nothing compared to Jihl.

Cedric smirked. "Not every woman is as tough as you are, Jihl," he quipped with a small glance her way. "Especially young women. Patience is a virtue." He looked to his daughter and approached her, looking down at her as she cradled Riku's head with her arm. "Compose yourself, sweetheart. We need you to be strong. The longer you take, the more punishment your Keyblade Master suffers." He looked to the young man before giving his daughter space to move. "Choose wisely."

Lightning glared at her father, her breathing slowly becoming more controlled. At least she didn’t pass out; that was a plus. But the threat to Riku was not. She carefully lowered his head to the ground, using that arm to grip his once again as she began to sit up and then rise to her feet. Her breathing wasn’t completely normal yet, but it was better than it had been when she was first hit. That would have to be good enough.

Cedric smiled in approval. "Good, good," he said with a small nod. He then looked over at Jihl, pleased with his daughter's response. She always had been a daddy's girl, so he guessed this was nothing out of the ordinary. Riku was still out, at least from what Cedric could tell, so he gave his daughter some more room to rise to her feet completely. Then they would be on their way to the castle.

Lightning tugged at Riku's left arm with her corresponding hand once she was on her feet, wincing in pain. That was the arm that had kept Riku from hitting his head. She must have landed on it wrong, because it was throbbing with pain now. She could hardly stand to have Riku's arm over that shoulder. But instead of focusing on it, she focused on what would happen if she didn't carry Riku. Nothing good could come out of that.

Cedric saw that his daughter was cooperating and decided to get a move on. He started forward to walk beside Jihl, leading Lightning in the correct direction. Xehanort was waiting.

Light tried to hide her pain from Riku as she began walking once more, glad he couldn't see her expression right now since his face was nestled against her neck again. Even if Jihl and her father were walking in front, they still could have turned around and seen that Riku was awake if they didn't keep up the charade. What were they going to do, though? Did Riku have any ideas?

Riku let Lightning walk for a moment before he spoke. "Are they both ahead?" he asked softly. He could hear their footsteps, and he was almost positive that was where they were. He just needed to make sure.

Edited October 1, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Lightning nodded without trying to hide it as she did before with other movements. Yes, Jihl and her dad were walking in front of her and Riku. She was impressed she could hear it over her breathing, which was still heavier than usual because of Jihl's stunt and was probably amplified by Riku's close proximity. But she wasn't against him picking up on that on his own; it made things much simpler.

"One to the left and one to the right?" Riku checked. He was still going with his plan from earlier. Lightning would drop and Riku would ambush. It was the only way to get themselves out of this mess.

Edited October 1, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Again, Lightning nodded. How Riku could tell that they weren't walking one in front of the other, she didn't know. But she figured she'd give him one more piece of information and hope that he could decipher it. She lifted her index finger and tapped one of his arms five times in a row. That meant they were five steps ahead of her.

Riku took in the tapping only for a moment, deciphering it. When he figured it out, he spoke. "On three, let me go and drop to the ground," he instructed. He would strike the moment he was released.

Edited October 1, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Jihl didn't notice Lightning nod faintly to Riku after a moment's hesitation, her focus elsewhere. She was about to bring up something crucial with Cedric. "If she was really so weak physically, she would have passed out from the hit to the neck," she declared quietly to Cedric so that only trained ears could pick up on it. What she was implying was that Lightning was purposely acting weak to throw them off. She was purposely wasting time.

"One," Riku started softly. Thinking that he heard whispering ahead but not sure. He cared more for the plan.

 

Cedric kept his eyes forward. "Claire isn't as weak as you think," he said in his daughter's defense. Everyone misjudged her, but he was glad she was proving the others wrong.

 

"Two..." Riku continued, keeping his voice soft for obvious reasons. He trusted Lightning to do as he said before and drop, because he didn't want her in the line of fire when he attacked. The timing was crucial.

Edited October 1, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Jihl looked over at Cedric, eyes narrowed in anger. "Save your pride for later," she hissed loudly enough for even Lightning to understand. "She's playing us!" Lightning was dragging her feet to delay the inevitable. Jihl didn't know why, but that was what she was doing.

 

Lightning's eyes widened at Jihl's remark. So she knew then. Jihl knew that Lightning wasn't carrying Riku as well as she could have been, but she didn't seem to know that Riku was conscious. Was there still time to utlize this plan though, or was Jihl going to turn around and attack before Riku reached the final count?

Riku didn't care for Cedric's response at Jihl's outburst, instead focusing on the plan. He felt Lightning stiffen slightly, but she needed to focus. Now was the time to take action. "...Three."

Edited October 1, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Lightning knew now wasn't the time for hesitation; this was the plan that she and Riku agreed to, and so he trusted her to do the small part she had and do it quickly. So when he said "three", she released his arms and dropped to the ground as quickly and as quietly as she possibly could, not just sitting on the ground, but laying so that Riku could easily get over her to the two villains up ahead. But Jihl, alert to Lightning's ploy, turned around in time to see it happen.

Riku summoned his Keyblade to him as he set his feet and jumped over Lightning, rolling into the landing and sending a surge of electric energy at the two in Organization cloaks with a grunt. He heard Cedric release a cry at the attack, clearly not expecting it, but it should have been enough to strike both of them down. At least temporarily.

Lightning grunted when she landed on her bad shoulder, wishing she would have thought about that before falling down in front of Riku. She lifted a hand and grasped it, though her focus quickly went to Riku and how he was right in front of her. And how even if Jihl saw Lightning fall and Riku remain standing, she still was unable to deflect the attack that came at her. At least that worked in their favor. But if Riku couldn't take them down quickly, then their situation would be terrible again.