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!

Light shook her head softly, tightening her hold on Riku. "You both are doing a good job," she assured him softly. Everyone else was performing well in their training too. Sora spoke of how Ven helped him tune in on the skill of speed, Kairi was becoming very competent in physical fighting, and Aqua was also becoming quicker. Lightning though...she felt like she was the slowest learner. That was far from the truth, but that was how Master Yen Sid made her feel. She felt like a failure.

Riku sighed, lifting his hand to grip one of Lightning's arms. "At least you have faith in us," he said softly. Master Yen Sid seemed to give up on them, or so Riku believed. The talk they had just recently didn't keep the negative thoughts away; they only encouraged them.

Lightning hummed again, partially uncommitted. She had faith in everyone else, but herself...not so much. How could she when Master Yen Sid was so disappointed in her every time that he saw her? She didn't know what she was doing wrong, but obviously it was a big deal for him to come down so hard on her. How could she please him? Was it even possible at this point?

Riku kept quiet after that, losing himself to his thoughts. Getting to the final battle was complicated, and while this was a longer process than the war would be, it would be just as hard then. Xehanort would be merciless, but they had to be the same. It was life or death for them, but also for the worlds.

Lightning pulled her head back after a little while, hiding it from Riku's sight as she leaned her head against his. He was lost in his thoughts and she was lost in hers. She really didn't know how she could do any better! She wasn't a warrior by birth; she was working hard to grow stronger. She made so much progress every day, but it wasn't enough. She wasn't enough.

Riku closed his eyes as Lightning adjusted, and he let his thoughts drift into nothingness. What more was there to think about? There was only one option for them to do now, and that was to keep training. Everyone needed to continue working and getting stronger. That was it.

Lightning ran her hand over Riku again, supporting him with her presence alone. She didn't know what to say--she felt like if she opened her mouth, she would say something stupid and regret it. Or he'd realize Master Yen Sid got to her too. She didn't want that at all. She wanted to support Riku the same way he supported her, if she could.

"Sulking isn't going to do any good," Riku realized then, releasing Lightning's arm as his hand fell to his side. "Let's get back to training." Riku would save his emotions for another day; right now, they would fuel his drive to continue forward. That much had to be done at least.

Lightning frowned at the topic she didn't like so much lately, but she knew Riku was right. Sulking was only making matters worse. "Who's training who?" she asked, beginning to release Riku and rise to her feet. They had been near the end of Riku's training time, which meant it was probably his time to give her lessons. She wasn't sure how she was going to do at them today.

"I'll think about it on the way back," Riku said, standing up and brushing off his pants. He turned, glancing at Lightning before he started back to the castle, trusting her to follow. He would make that decision based on facts, not feelings. They had to be soldiers, warriors. That was it, as far as Master Yen Sid was concerned.

Lightning's frown remained as she began following Riku back to the castle. He was going to push her harder in training now, wasn't he? It was going to be like the first day all over again, when he was cruel enough to knock her out. That had been an accident, but still. That training had been reckless, and that was how it was going to be again. She just knew it.

Two days later, Radiant Garden

 

Riku stood on a balcony high above the room, his eyes on the first floor where he left Lightning. Of course, it was for purely training purposes. Over the past two days, since the confrontation with Master Yen Sid, Riku and Lightning continued to train; Riku hadn't changed a thing about his technique, and that seemed to work in Lightning's favor. Now they were off-world, away from Disney Castle's safety and out where Heartless roamed. Riku figured the abandoned castle where Maleficent previously resided would work well, considering all the Darkness that lingered there. Lightning would do fine. Besides, she had to prove to herself that she didn't need him to back her up, and that she could handle real enemies, not simulations.

Lightning slashed at a nearby heartless backhandedly, witnessing it fade away out of the corner of her eye as she sent a fire spell at another. Don't get surrounded, she reminded herself. She ran out of the circle around her, shooting off some more magic spells as she did so. She was doing surprisingly well for one of her first fights in the real world. Even if Riku was standing by, she knew that this battle was up to her. He wasn't going to jump in if he couldn't help it. 

Riku observed from above, watching Lightning closely. She was using her senses just like he taught her, and keeping a few of his rules in mind. One being, don't get surrounded. He leaned against the balcony wall, eyebrows furrowing as he witnessed the Heartless trail her. She had plenty of room to move around in here. She could do this if she focused hard enough.

One final knockout, Lightning thought. She could get rid of all these Heartless in an instant now that they were all in a wave before her, not far to her sides or behind her. Her hand briefly glowed green as she summed a wind spell, casting it out to hit all the Heartless. It succeeded, knocking them all into the air before forcing them to the ground, where the final damage of the fall made them disappear. She won the battle.

Riku smirked instantly, pride in the expression. Lightning had only been fighting the Heartless for a little while. The fact that she got rid of them so easily said something about her strength. He sensed more Darkness, which gave away the fact that Heartless still lingered. Lightning wasn't finished yet.

Lightning briefly shut her eyes, focusing on her other senses. There was a soft breeze blowing, but that didn't tell her anything. She couldn't smell Darkness like Riku could. But she could feel it. Her skin was crawling and her fingers tightening around her blade. It wasn't over. She swung around, opening her eyes as she dispelled a Heartless with one swing. Good. Right on target. 

Riku witnessed the fight continue, but after another few minutes, he grunted. He lifted a hand to his head, the amount of Darkness that suddenly entered the room alarming. It hurt his head, but only for a moment; the pain was forgotten the second he caught more and more Heartless spawning. It was as if one's defeat welcomed two more. Lightning...

Something's wrong. Maybe. Lightning dodged one of the Heartless, barely avoiding the swinging claw of another. The Heartless were multiplying too quickly. But then again, she didn't know much about the rate of Heartless spawning. Riku told her to listen to her gut before, but she convinced herself her gut was wrong. This was just a tough fight--that was it. 

Riku's eyes darted over the area, skimming the Heartless. There were too many to count, almost. But why? There were never this many Heartless here in the past, nor were they as strong; they weren't just Shadows--they were Soldiers and Neoshadows. Riku's eyes sharpened when all of the Heartless froze, the air in the large room still. What's happening?

Lightning swung her blade at one of the Heartless, but when it became unnaturally still, she paused mid-swing. She did two small jumps back, blinking in silence as she looked around her. There were more Heartless than she could count, and all of them were frozen. She lifted her eyes to where Riku was standing, believing that he was the cause of this somehow. 

Riku met Lightning's eyes, even from where he was. "Are you okay?" he called down, his voice echoing off the walls. He didn't do this. He didn't have that kind of power unless he used Stopza, which wasn't in his grasp just yet. Since that was the case, who did?

"I'm fine," Lightning nodded, unable to sense the confusion behind Riku's tone. "I could have handled it though." Yes, it would have been tricky and she would have been injured, but she could have survived. Riku was doing what Master Yen Sid accused him of doing; he was coddling her. 

Riku blinked, frowning in confusion. "Lightning," he called, shaking his head slightly, "I didn't do that." As overwhelming as this fight could have been for her, he knew her limits; this wasn't one of them. Riku didn't touch the Heartless, in any sense. Something else caused this--or someone.

Light frowned, shifting her gaze to the Heartless. All of them were still frozen. Whoever did this has a lot of magic power, she thought. Now that she thought about it, not even Riku was strong enough to cast a spell like this. Aqua maybe, but even that was a stretch. The only people stronger than the Keyblade wielders are... The Organization. The Thirteen. One of them's here.