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!

"No," Riku answered without missing a beat. He looked up at Lightning, shaking his head a little. "Why would you ever think you disgusted me?" He would never think that. Ever. Lightning was...amazing, and beautiful, and strong. Sometimes she could be a little lost, but so could everyone else. Like him.

Lightning kept her eyes on the books even though she felt Riku's gaze on her. She didn't have to meet his eyes to know that he was serious, which was good, because she didn't want him seeing her eyes right now. "Because," she said quietly. "You refused to look at me. And when you did, you..." Starting that day when she told him she wouldn't let the Darkness take her, he wouldn't turn around and look at her. Then he avoided her the past few days. When he did look at her, he looked at her like she was atrocious. Despicable. 

Riku lowered his gaze to the wheel on the chair closest to him, not knowing how to respond. He remembered. Of course he did. He couldn't look at Lightning without feeling sick, but didn't she understand why? It was the video. All of it was because of Cedric and that stupid video. And every day, after watching another couple hours of footage, his ability to look at her got worse, to the point where he needed to avoid her completely. Didn't she understand? It wasn't her. It was what happened to her.

"Never mind," Light mumbled. "This isn't about me." This conversation was taking a turn for the worse. Why was Riku even here? He was receiving the support that he needed from his family and his friends before. He was healing. Why did he chase after her instead of helping himself get better?

"...Actually, it is," Riku said, looking at his hands. He came here because he was the only one Lightning would listen to, the only one she would talk to. He had a connection with her unlike anyone else. Riku guessed it was because they faced so much together that it was impossible to neglect each other now. Staying away had been painful. Riku never wanted to do it again.

Lightning furrowed her eyebrows, looking over at Riku as he sat on the floor. "No," she disagreed. "You shouldn't be here worrying about me. You should be with everyone else. They were helping you." Something about them broke down Riku's walls. He trusted them enough to cry with him, which she knew was a big deal. They had the power to help him. She didn't.

"Lightning," Riku said, closing his eyes. His hands balled into fists as he mustered up the courage to speak the truth. "...I need you." He needed her days ago, when he was watching the video. He needed her the next day after losing sleep. He needed her the following night, and then yesterday, and then last night...and then this morning. Every time he woke up from only a few minutes of sleep, he looked to his side and hoped to see her there, but she never was. Riku pushed her away when she needed him, and he suffered from the loss. But now...now Riku needed Lightning.

Lightning's eyes softened with Riku's confession. "I can't help you, Riku," she said quietly. "I don't know how." In that room, where everyone was comforting him, she was driven crazy. She couldn't do anything from her stupid chair to help him. She couldn't embrace him like he needed, she couldn't hold out tissues and she couldn't just be his best friend like Sora was. What good could she do him?

"You help just by being there," Riku revealed, opening his eyes to glare at his hands. "I tried to shut you out because I was scared of hurting you, because I thought what happened with Cedric was my fault. I still think that I shouldn't have let you go, but...the world's just cruel. One way or another, Cedric would have won." He looked up at the girl beside him, eyebrows furrowing. "Now that I know that, I realize what I've lost...and that's you. I was broken enough to need my parents and my friends...but I really needed you. I was just too angry to see it."

Lightning saw the sincerity in Riku's expression--his determination and confidence that he was right. He said that he needed her, and those weren't just empty words. She could tell a difference between Riku's empty promises and his sincere revelations. Nevertheless...she couldn't comprehend it. "I don't understand," she said quietly. "What could I give you that you can't get from your friends and family?"

Riku's eyes locked with Lightning's again, and he didn't dare look away. He couldn't, not when he said this. "...You," he said. Nobody would ever be like Lightning. No one would ever replace her. She was one of a kind, and losing her scared him. He did for a few days, he guessed, and that was bad enough. 

Me? I'm not--I just-- Riku, I can't be... Even Lightning's thoughts couldn't form a coherent sentence, so naturally she didn't blunder and try to say anything out loud. She didn't get what was so special about her that he needed her. She obviously wasn't strong; Jihl and her father echoed that time after time and experience showed that truth. Riku was such a strong person, so why would he tie himself down with someone so weak?

Riku saw the disbelief in Lightning's eyes, and so he moved to be on his knees next to her. He was closer now, one of his hands resting on the armrest of her chair. "You don't get it, do you?" he asked, eyes darting over her face. "I've told you time and again how important you are, and you forget. You're Light. Not the person, but the opposite of Darkness. The opposite of my Darkness. Don't you understand?" She was Riku's Light. She always had been.

"I'm not...Light," Lightning said, though she comprehended what Riku was getting at. In a figurative sense, she was his Light--his hope in times of hardship. But when it came to elemental opposites, he was wrong. She wasn't stupid enough to think that he missed her Keyblade when he came in. He saw the Darkness that plagued her heart.

Riku caught the look in Lightning's eyes and lifted his hand without thinking, his fingers brushing her cheek. "Lightning, please believe me," he asked gently. "Remember what you said? That I was more than my Darkness... Whatever state your heart is in, it's true for you too." He wholeheartedly believed that.

Lightning felt vulnerable as soon as Riku's fingers stroked her face. She hadn't realized just how much she missed contact with him the past few days. Having him touch her face and speak gently  to her nearly made her forget how to breathe. "...You're different," she said quietly. She told him that she would trust him if he began to trust her words. And now he held up his part of the bargain. 

"And you know why," Riku said, smiling slightly. Lightning should have known, considering all he just explained to her. She was the person who changed everything. His family impacted him greatly, but so did she. No girl had ever done that before, not for him. Lightning was special.

Lightning shut her eyes, gritting her teeth as she fought back emotion. She was so ready to cry on every occasion these days. She never used to cry, but then again, today must have been a special day because Riku cried too. Even the strongest person broke down, but she wouldn't let herself do it. She couldn't cry...But could she invest her trust in Riku again?

Riku caught the flexing of Lightning's jaw, and the look in her eyes just before she closed them. His hand cupped her face gently, his face in close proximity to hers. "...It's okay," he whispered. She didn't have to hide from him anymore. All of his walls were down, and he hoped that she trusted him enough to do the same. "I know I messed up a lot when it came to us, but...it won't happen again. I won't let it." He didn't want to lose her again.

"Don't...make promises you can't keep," Lightning said quietly, keeping her eyes shut. She didn't want to get her hopes up again. She knew that Riku was a great guy and loyal to his friends through his actions, but his words often fell short. He didn't act on what he promised and caused hurt in the past--he could do it again in the future. 

Riku lowered his gaze, not sure how to respond. "Alright," he said, that being all he could come up with. He remembered now, how Lightning told him he was different. That he wasn't the same guy she started dating before the tragedies. That still hurt, and remembering had him taking his hand away. He wouldn't promise anything, not until he was sure that he could keep those oaths.

Lightning opened her eyes, sad when Riku took his hand away. "I already know you said something true," she said with a weak smile. "You're becoming a Riku I can trust again." But it wasn't going to fix itself overnight. Riku made a promise just now that he probably couldn't keep, because he was still human. Everyone made mistakes. He needed to work on promising things that were actually humanly possible and act on those. 

Riku's eyes found Lightning again, and he nodded faintly. "Good," he said with a weak smile. As long as he was returning to his old self, the one before Xehanort and the burdens, then maybe he and Lightning would be okay. Riku didn't want to be without her, as extreme as that sounded. He didn't want to lose her.

Lightning still donned her small smile, the girl hesitantly lifting one of her hands out of her lap. "Trust me when I say this," she said quietly. "...You either need to invest in a hairbrush or use the one you have." She smoothed out his hair, warmth spreading to her heart as soon as she touched him. She felt like she was finally with her friend again after being apart for so long.

Riku closed his eyes at Lightning's touch, the young man releasing a quiet breath. "Mm," he hummed, feeling her smooth his hair. "Long nights, no sleep, and losing your mind kind of overcome the small things." He showered, of course, but he didn't worry about his appearance too much lately. He never saw anyone, so what was the point?