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!

"You're kidding, right?" Sora said in disbelief. Both of Riku's parents were too stunned to come to their own defense, so Sora did it for them. "Since when are you a disappointment?" Sora was never disappointed in Riku, and he knew his parents well enough to know that they were only disappointed in their son at this moment, when he was lashing out at those who he loved. They weren't disappointed in him for his Darkness.

"Since I tried to kill you," Riku said sharply, glaring at Sora. "What is with you always forgetting that?" Why did Sora always neglect to remember that Riku tried to kill him more than once in the past? Sure, he redeemed himself, but it wasn't something to just brush off.

"I've forgiven you for it, so what difference does it make whether I remember it or not?" Sora said with a slight shrug. Riku brought that up every once in a while when he thought he needed to list off his sins, but it wasn't on Sora's list anymore. Riku apologized--that was enough for him. "That's something you did, not who you are. We know who you are."

 

"You're kind, brave, and loyal," Lightning filled in where Sora stopped. "You are not your sins." He was so much more than his past mistakes. They all felt that way. Couldn't he see that? 

"Stop," Riku ordered lowly, lifting his hands to clutch his head. He didn't want to hear this. He couldn't, not while Lightning was still in that stupid chair! He was the reason she was in it. Didn't anyone know that? He let her go, when he shouldn't have. She wasn't ready to take on Cedric. She wasn't ready... He wasn't ready to let her go.

"They're right, Riku," Serah said from her spot. "I know bits and pieces of your past. But that never affected how I view you. The things you do--the mistakes that you make--They aren't you. We all know who you are and that's why we're fighting for you. Because even if you can't see the Light right now, you've been a Light to all of us in the past." 

Riku ground his teeth together, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought sudden moisture. Why were they saying such good things about him? Didn't any of them know that he was the reason Lightning was hurt? That he was the reason she got kidnapped from the Islands? He wasn't a good person, even if he tried. He always screwed up in the end. His track record wasn't good.

 

Celes looked at the two people beside her, Locke and Sora, and seeing that neither of them were going to say or do anything, she went with the mother's intuition and approached her son. He was awfully short-tempered, just like he was growing up, but she knew how to handle it with grace and care. She stopped beside him and Lightning, silently lifting a hand to place on his arm. He tensed under her touch, and when he lowered his hands and looked at her, Celes fought the urge to cry. Riku's eyes were moist with unshed tears and pain. Her son was broken...but why? What made him this way? "Riku, honey..." she said softly. What was the matter?

Lightning moved back, deciding to give more room to Riku and his mom. Lightning couldn't do anything to help him and she hated it. He helped her so much but she couldn't do a single thing. But she would deal with her own shortcomings later. Right now, Riku was everyone's primary concern.

Riku looked at his mother past his unshed tears, not sure what to say. The only thing that left him was... "Mom," he said, voice trembling. Why was he like this? Why did he keep making mistakes when he tried so hard to make things right? Why did he hurt everyone he loved?

 

Celes lifted a hand to Riku's face and wiped at a tear that suddenly slipped from his eyes, ones that held heartbreak. Whatever happened, his family was here. Everyone in this room, and even out of it, supported him and loved him. He wasn't alone. Even if she was shorter than him, he hid his face in her shoulder when she embraced him. She closed her eyes to fight her own tears when he hugged her back, wanting to know what made him this way. She had never seen him so vulnerable, ever.

Edited March 12, 201411 yr by Forever Love

Lightning looked around the room, seeing that there wasn't really a dry eye anywhere. Locke was caught off guard by the tears, Sora's eyes full of both sympathy and confusion, and Serah, ever the sympathetic heart, was about ready to burst into tears too. When Lightning returned her eyes to Riku, she realized that her eyes were half full of tears too. Riku's pain hurt her. 

Riku soon felt another hand on his shoulder, and because he felt that weight on him a lot growing up, he knew it was his father. Tears left his eyes, but he didn't sob. He wouldn't, not in front of Sora, Lightning, and Serah. "Sorry," he mumbled into Celes's shoulder. He didn't mean to be a screw-up. Locke squeezed his shoulder at the apology. It wasn't only for his parents, but for his friends too. And the girl who was something more.

Sora tilted his head from his spot, hearing that apology but not understanding what it meant. Then again, there wasn't much he did understand about this. Whatever was bothering Riku really took its toll on him, because he was crying in front of them. That never happened. I wish Kairi was here. She'd know what to do.

"I wish Kairi was here. She'd know what to do." Kairi blinked at the words that suddenly reached her, the girl walking down the hall toward the kitchen. She was on her way to get Namine something to snack on, since she was hanging out with her today, but those words...and the feelings that came with them... They scared Kairi. What was wrong? She knew of Sora's trip home to get Riku's parents, and that must have been it. Sorry, Namine, she mentally apologized, starting up the stairs she was near. Her brother needed her more right now.

Lightning looked over at Serah when she saw her move out of the corner of her eye. Serah approached the Cole trio with a box of tissues at the ready. In that moment, Lightning felt a pang of sadness stab her heart. Even Serah was able to help in some way, but she couldn't. What could she hope to accomplish when she couldn't even walk. Maybe I should just leave. I'm not helping him here. 

Kairi was relatively close to Riku's room, a place she just knew she needed to be. She reached it just in time to see Celes take some tissues from the box Serah offered, and she blinked at the sight. She glanced over at her husband. What was happening? What was wrong?

Sora shook his head slightly at the sight of Kairi. Riku broke, he wanted to say, but at the same time, he didn't want to say those words. Riku was so strong and even unbreakable in Sora's eyes. To see his big brother collapse like this...It was startling and depressing. 

Kairi's heart beat with sudden weight at the look in Sora's eyes. She understood what he couldn't say, and by the way Riku clung to his mother, he certainly did break. "...Riku?" she called softly. She couldn't just stand here and watch this. She had to do something. She had to help him. He was her brother...her family.

 

Riku lifted his head at the voice, and he suddenly felt embarrassed. He forgot about everyone else in the room...and now more were here. He looked to the door and saw Kairi, and he wasn't sure what to do. He just froze. She wasn't supposed to see him like this. Nobody was supposed to see him like this. He was the oldest, the strongest... Or at least he was supposed to be.

I can't do this, Lightning thought. She couldn't take it. Everyone had some power to help Riku, but she didn't. She started going towards the door, having enough room to make it around Kairi. She'd let Riku be comforted by everyone else for a while; hopefully they would bring back the real Riku, because she sure couldn't. Those were the thoughts that now made her eyes sting with tears. 

Kairi glanced at Lightning, wondering what she was doing, but her eyes immediately returned to her best friend. He looked at her with shame, but why? Celes and Locke retreated, and Riku's hands fell to his sides. Just seeing him so sad... It broke Kairi's heart. "Riku..." she said, not making it a question this time. She hurried to his side and wrapped him in a hug, her arms tightening around him as she clung to him, even if he hesitated returning her embrace. He wasn't alone... Didn't he know that? For the past few days they tried so hard to get through to him. All it took was his parents to be here and he finally opened up.

 

Celes looked over after Kairi hugged her son, and that was when she saw the girl who mattered most to him try to leave. "Lightning, wait," she called softly, starting toward her. She didn't need to go.

Lightning shook her head slightly, hearing Serah say her  name as well now. Here she had been hoping to make a quiet exit. Well, she was still going to make an exit. She kept going towards the door despite two people wanting her to stay. She couldn't be in that room right now. She was going to be the next one to break.

Celes looked back at her husband when Lightning kept going, and he nodded to her. That was her cue. The woman left the room and followed Lightning out, picking up her pace slightly to catch up to her. She placed a hand on her shoulder to stop the girl. "Lightning, please," she softly requested. She just wanted to talk to her.

Lightning lifted a hand and brushed Celes's hand away from her shoulder, only stopping moving temporarily to do that. She did spare her some words though. "Go be with Riku," she said quietly. "He needs you." He obviously needed Celes and Locke and Sora and Kairi and even Serah, but he didn't need her. 

Celes didn't let Lightning brush her off so easily. "He needs you too," she said, stepping forward and in front of Lightning. "Please, just give me a minute to explain." She would express her thoughts and let Lightning be on her way. That was all she wanted.

Lightning fought the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. She adopted habits of annoyance from Riku during the time she found refuge in his apartment. But once that time was over, she moved in with Celes and Locke. They took care of her. They weren't family though--Lightning never let them get that close. They were caretakers, that was it. "Celes, you're a good mother," Lightning said. "But you're not mine." Therefore, she didn't have a right to keep her from going anywhere. 

Celes blinked at the words, but simply nodded. "I know, but I'm Riku's," she said in her defense. Lightning was very important to her son, that much was obvious. But Lightning was important to Celes too, even if they weren't related. "...And I know that you care about my son."

"Yeah," Lightning said simply. "I do." And what good has it done him? She prided herself in her ability to take care of herself. She took on a job, was a full time student and took care of Serah until they moved to Destiny Islands from Bodhum. Then somehow she got mixed up with Riku and she couldn't do a thing anymore. But she didn't blame him. She blamed herself for turning weak as soon as she found someone who she could lean on. She shouldn't have leaned on him; she only caused him pain.