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!

Lightning knew Riku wasn't happy with her; he didn't believe she was strong enough. "...I trained again earlier," she revealed softly. "I was able to do it then." She could shoot to kill. Being extremely ruthless and cold was actually something she was capable of. For better or worse, she changed.

Riku closed his eyes, squeezing Lightning's hand again. "I know," he said, opening his eyes to look at their hands. "I saw." He witnessed her shoot at one of the Organization members, and the bullet hit the one-way mirror where Riku was standing. It was kind of hard to ignore the look on her face at that moment.

Lightning blinked in surprise, though she immediately looked away. The feeling of despair in her stomach made it pretty evident that she wasn't happy with the change. She didn't like Riku seeing that, but... "..Aren't you proud?" she asked softly, looking at his face naively. "You wanted me to be able to..." To kill.

Riku met Lightning's gaze, the look on her face nearly breaking his heart. "I'm proud that you gained some strength, but..." He shook his head. "I didn't like the way you looked doing it." And by "it," he meant killing. It was something he didn't want Lightning to do. Not anymore. He encouraged her in the past, but after today, he never wanted her to kill a person. Ever.

Lightning felt her expression change, showing confusion along with frustration. "You wanted me to do it," she said tensely. He encouraged her to kill Jihl the other day when he was being tortured! She could never mistake the message that he was directing at her, and now he was suddenly taking it all back?

"I wasn't thinking," Riku said, releasing Lightning's hand as he sat up in his spot. "I was desperate to get rid of one of them back then. Why wouldn't I be?" He lifted a hand to his hair, not caring that he messed it up. "They hurt me... They hurt you. Of course I would want them dead for it, but...once you kill someone, you're never the same. I don't want that kind of life for you." He wanted her to keep her innocence. Murder was no laughing matter.

"I guess you would know, wouldn't you?" Lightning said quietly. Riku...knew what it was like to kill people. He seemed to do it regularly in the past. She knew that and accepted it, but she had a feeling that when she saw it happen, she'd never be able to look at him the same way again. Maybe he wouldn't be able to look at her the same as well.

Riku didn't respond to that, not knowing how. He had one arm propped up on his knee, his eyes set on the foot of the bed. He did know what it was like to kill people. The first time he did it... It was terrifying, even if it was just. After that, you were a different person. He didn't want Lightning to be scarred by a kill. The life Riku wanted for her was a happy one. If one of them had to bear the burden of killing someone, he wanted it to be him. Without a second thought.

Lightning sat herself up, looking down at her extended legs rather than looking at Riku. He didn't seem offended by the comment, thank goodness. But his expression was still very solemn. And it would only stay that way with her next comment. "...I don't think I can avoid becoming that way. I don't see any options where I don't fight and..." And kill. Sure, she could bring people close to death and let somebody else finish it off. To her, though, that was still killing.

Riku exhaled a heavy breath through his nose. He just told Lightning that she had options, and she did. It would be considered running away, but at this point, Riku didn't really care. He didn't want Lightning in danger and he didn't want her to kill. But at this rate...he doubted that wish would be granted.

Lightning pulled up her legs a little bit, staring at her knees at Riku's heavy breath. "...Never mind," she said. "I'll sort it out on my own." He clearly didn't want to hear what she was thinking, so she wouldn't bother saying it aloud again. He sure was stubborn though. Didn't he see that there were only two options here?

"No....no," Riku said, lifting a hand to his head and raking his fingers through his hair. "I want to help you. It's just..." He shook his head, staring down at his lap for a moment. He then turned his head, looking at the person right beside him. "...This isn't the kind of life I wanted for you." He wanted her to be happy with her sister, away from all of this mess. But it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

For some reason, Lightning felt a small smile tug at her lips. "What kind of life did you want for me?" she asked, turning her head to look at Riku beside her. It sounded like he put some thought into it, so she was curious as to what he had in mind for her. She could guess the basics: a life where she wasn't haunted by past demons and burdens.

Riku saw that smile, and he smirked a little before diverting his gaze. He looked down at his lap as he thought about it, though it didn't take long for him to find a way to express himself. "...The most stress I wanted for you was taking care of Serah," he said then. "Or avoiding the paparazzi with me." Riku lifted his eyes to Lightning, his small smirk still present. Whichever one of those she preferred, he wanted that to be the hardest part of her life. Not this.

Light exhaled a soft breath, creating a sound much like a laugh. She briefly looked down at her lap before she looked back up at Riku, her small smile still present. "Fleeing the paparazzi wasn't nearly as fun without you," she said. "Even if I did nab your motorcycle one day and nearly crash it into Cecil." He had been on the scene for once, and though she hadn't meant to drive towards him, she wasn't too skilled with the bike. So...that was the result.

Riku blinked. "You nearly crashed it?" he repeated in shock. That wasn't something he really wanted to hear. "At least I can expect a few scratches when I get back." Of course, he was just kidding. Scratches could easily be fixed.

Edited October 7, 201213 yr by Forever Love

"Glad you're so concerned with how I fared in all that," Lightning snickered, gently elbowing Riku jokingly. "Thanks Riku." Here he was, just concerned about the bike and not the situation. He was such a guy, worrying about something that could be repaired easily instead of being concerned about human lives.

Riku chuckled a little, looking at Lightning for a moment before he stared at his propped up knee. "Anyway," he started, focusing back on what they were talking about beforehand. "Aside from running over Cecil or dodging the press, I wanted you to be happy. This...isn't the best way at doing that. Do you know how long it took me to be happy with the Keyblade?" he asked. It took Riku...ages, it seemed like. Sometimes he still wasn't happy with his responsibility, but he had to live with it. The Keyblade chose him, and that was something he had to accept.

"But you are happy," Lightning pointed out, wrapping her arms around her legs lightly as she looked over at Riku. He was happy with his life, at least he was back on the Islands. Well, except for the whole thing with Ashe. And Lightning being shipped off to an abusive household, and...well, the bad situations that always seemed around. Other than all that, he seemed happy.

"Not anymore," Riku said with a small shake of his head, meeting Lightning's gaze. "Whenever I actually need the Keyblade, life is rough. Really rough, and that's not what I want for you. I want you to be with Serah, or with me, and just...happy. Laughing and smiling, things like that." It was difficult to have that when you had a huge responsibility, like saving the worlds.

Lightning looked down at her legs, loosening her hold. "Well," she said quietly. "I'm only laughing and smiling when I'm with you...So you need to be happy too for me to be that way." Riku had a big impact on her, obviously. He helped her see herself as a human being again and not just Serah's provider. And he made her feel alive, and happy, and just...loved.

Riku couldn't help but smile a little at that, truly touched. He lifted his arm, wrapping it around Lightning's shoulders and bringing her close. "I'm flattered," he said, placing a kiss to Lightning's head of pink hair. He was glad that he could make her so happy, but...could he keep doing that, after all this?

Light smiled and hummed softly, leaning into Riku's side and feeling Riku's lips against her hair. She was glad he took it as a compliment; she wasn't sure how else he could have taken it. But she meant what she said. If she was going to be happy, it would be because Riku was too. Like right now, as they shared this room and each other's company.

Riku rested his chin on Lightning's head for a moment, contemplating their situation. More than likely, Lightning would have to fight. It would be on the Light side, he was sure, and because of that, Riku knew that it was going to be a difficult fight. "There's going to be thirteen of them and seven of us," he told her softly. "You need to be ready...so I'd like to train you myself." He could make sure she was getting more than what the simulations offered; the training program could get pretty repetitive.

Lightning looked over at Riku, surprised. "...What?" she asked quietly. First off, where did that come from? But more importantly... "Did you just include me in the seven?" He had been completely against it before; he even yelled at Master Yen Sid for suggesting it. Now he seemed to be accepting it, which made little sense to her.