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 saw Riku's confusion and smirked slightly. Each tile was about the size of one of Riku's feet, which was perfect. "The panels will change colors," she said. "Keep both feet on the blue ones." He couldn't have feet overlapping the lines of the tiles. He had to be precise and quick.

Riku looked from the floor to Lightning. "You're kidding," he said. Riku was one for challenges, but this? He had a feeling he would be doing a lot of movement along the lines of hopscotch with this one. And that was always Kairi's thing when they were little, not his.

"It'll go slower at first," Lightning said, a hand still on the computer as she faced Riku. "Keep your movements precise. Speed will come later." The more comfortable he got with precise movements, the faster he would eventually become. It would take time, but eventually, he'd be lighter on his feet.

Riku gazed at Lightning for a moment, able to recognize the seriousness in her eyes from where he stood. She wasn't kidding around, and because of that, he would try a little harder with this exercise. He nodded slightly, then looking down at the ground. He saw the tiles change and stepped over onto the blue ones, just as Lightning directed, getting to work.

Lightning watched for a moment and then turned up the speed, seeing Riku have trouble with that. When one of his feet overlapped onto another tile, she called him out on it. "Precision, not speed," she called. "Speed won't do you any good if you're moving into another unsafe area." He had to move quickly and precisely, but precision was more important. At least to her in this exercise.

Riku's eyes narrowed as he concentrated more on the tiles, moving from one to the next around the room. The speed did make it more difficult, but it was just more to the challenge, and he accepted it. He took Lightning's words into account, working on precision rather than speed.

"Work your way towards me," Lightning said, turning up the speed a little more. "Each time you make a misstep, you go back two tiles." She crossed her arms over her chest expectantly, seeing him halfway across the room. This could take some time, so hopefully Riku would have patience. But it looked like he was finally taking her seriously as a teacher.

"Got it!" Riku called, moving from tile to tile. He winced in disappointment when he messed up, doing as he was told and going two tiles back. But he didn't give up; he kept going, pushing through. Nobody was as dedicated as he was to getting stronger, though Lightning was pretty close. Regardless, this was about winning, protecting what mattered, and he wasn't about to let that go.

Edited October 25, 201213 yr by Forever Love

"Critical misstep," Lightning called, seeing Riku utterly fail at one of them. "Back four tiles." Precision was key, which she kept on emphasizing over and over again. But Riku was generally getting more comfortable with it. Her exercise was actually working...

Riku frowned in aggravation, but wordlessly did as he was told. He went back four tiles and restarted, waiting for the tiles to turn from red to blue, but also making sure he was off the ones he was standing on before they turned red as well. It was tricky, but he was getting the hang of it. Or so he believed.

Lightning smirked slightly as she watched Riku's feet, seeing exactly what she wanted to see. He was focused on what he needed to do. He was thinking critically instead of allowing his brute strength to make up for his lack of precision. It was starting to sink into his thick head that she had something to offer him.

Riku grunted a little when he nearly lost his balance, and he had to quickly make up for it because of the rapidly changing tiles. He hopped from one to another, making his way toward Lightning. She hadn't increased the speed much, but it was fast enough. Riku had to admit that this was difficult, but it wouldn't stop him. He had to get better, faster, in order to protect those he loved.

Lightning's smirk remained, seeing Riku one set of tiles away. He'd be in her face in just a moment. After this was done, she'd ask him what he thought. Since he was taking this seriously now, he would actually tell her if the exercise was good or not.

Riku kept his eyes on the floor, sight darting to see when the next tile would turn. When he saw it, he stepped to it instantly. That was when he sensed sudden heat in front of him, smelling roses. Lifting his sight, he saw the girl he cared so much for. The girl who put him through this test and tried his patience. And she did well.

Lightning's smirk faded, her eyes set on Riku's now. "Well?" she prodded, the question obvious. What did he think of this exercise? Did he think her teaching was bad? Was he still unwilling to learn from her? Or did he finally realize that she had something to offer him? Whichever question he answered would be fine.

Riku smiled crookedly in confidence. He was relieved he finished the test, but he was also proud. That wasn't exactly easy. "You know I like challenges," he said softly, still standing right in front of Lightning. "What next?" He approved of that one, so what was she going to have him do now?

Lightning smiled crookedly as well, relieved he wasn't shutting her down anymore. "Go back to where you started," she said. "And turn around. This time, you're coming at me backwards." It would definitely be more challenging, but if that wasn't enough, she had another idea in mind. By the end of the day, Riku would know she was serious about this.

Edited October 25, 201213 yr by Peanut

"Yes, ma'am," Riku said with a small nod, turning and starting back toward the other side of the room. He knew what to expect at least, but it would be more difficult. That much he couldn't deny. He wanted to tease Lightning about some kind of reward for doing this, but he knew the truth: the best reward would be better control of his body, and in turn, that would save his life.

Lightning's crooked smile remained as she watched Riku and started the exercise. Being surprisingly kind, she slowed down the changes so he could get the hang of it. But once he was going, she sped up even more than it had been when he was going forward. It wasn't unreasonable, but it would push him.

Riku had to repeatedly glance over both shoulders to do this exercise, and since Lightning decided to be a bit more daring, he had less time to think critically and had to act on his gut feeling. It was reliable in most cases, especially life or death. Right now, it didn't fail him too badly, but when he did mess up, he cursed under his breath and went back (or forward) two tiles like he originally had in the first stage of this exercise. Within about twenty minutes, he was three-fourths of the way across the room, near Lightning again. He was making some progress.

Lightning waited patiently where she was, not shouting out at Riku like she did before. Every once in a while she pointed out a misstep, but she had a more gracious tone. There was no need to be so mean now that Riku's attitude was gone. When he stopped right in front of her, she smiled and wrapped her arms around him from behind. You did well.

Riku glanced behind him slightly at the touch, lifting his hand to rest over Lightning's arms. "Do I pass?" he asked quietly, the room now silent. He wasn't sure what else he could do; he'd been at this for over an hour, with both stages of the exercise. He wasn't overwhelmed, but his head hurt from concentrating so much. Riku would never admit that to Sora, though; he would call him stupid.

"This stage of it," Lightning confirmed, setting her head on Riku's shoulder. She had more in mind for him, but she would give him a break. He had been working hard after all, even if it wasn't that physically challenging. She felt like asking him if she passed as well as his teacher, but she wouldn't ask right this second.

Riku couldn't help but smirk at the answer. "Good enough," he replied with a small nod. He ran a thumb over the skin of Lightning's arm, looking at the room. The floor was now the dull gray it had always been, since Lightning apparently shut off the program. She made good use of it, though; she challenged him.

"For now," Lightning piped, keeping her arms around Riku. He was so much different now than he was before. He wasn't angry anymore. That's what he was before when he found out she would be his teacher for once. What changed his perspective? The lesson?