Chapter 2: The Messenger's News

Standing on the balcony of Sora's room, the mysterious man stood, holding a cell phone to his head. "Yes, Your Highness?...Yea, I'm here with them. Luckly, I got there in time. They were almost gonners.....yea. They found a sighting, of course. Kairi was the host.....yea, she's doing ok. Do you have any updates on our situation? ...No? Damn...don't worry, we'll find him. He has a strong heart, like Sora and, surprisingly, Riku. I doubt any Posessed will take hi-...no, I don't think it's false hope. I'm sure, and you should be too. He disappeared once before, but he came back.....yes, understood. I'll call you again if I find any other information based on these sightings. We'll go to the Graveyard first, see if there's any clues there...ok. Talk to you later, ok? Ok. Goodnight, Your Highness."

As he hung up, the man looks to the starlit sky, sighing. "Geez...I hope everything's all right with him. I know he took those two with him, but...it just seems strange." As he says this, he looks out of the corner of his eye, and sees Sora stretch. He then opens the door to his room, and walks inside.

Riku stands against the wall, with one foot against the wall, supporting him. Kairi sits on the edge of the bed Sora is in, fresh clothes on, looking down on the floor. Sora stretches his arms out, one hand brushing against Kairi's back, startling her. "Oh, Sora! You're up...are you feeling ok?"

Rubbing his eyes, Sora sits up, next to her. "Huh? Oh, yea. I feel awesome...wait..." Sora places his hands on his neck and shoulders, feeling for any wounds from his fight with Lucille, but does not find any. "What the hell? Kairi, did you heal me?" Blushing, Kairi shakes her head, and points to the mysterious man who just walked in from the balcony. "N-no. He was. He healed all three of us."

Blinking, the man looks around, confused on what is being talked about. "Heh, yea. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here.", Riku says, eyes closed. He then opens his eyes, and everyone's viewpoints went to the man, startling him. "H-hey! Why is everyone staring at me? Isn't it common for a man to posess healing abilities? Geez..." Rubbing his head, he sits down in a chair, still getting stares from the other three. "Heh, ok, ok. I guess I do owe an explanation on what's going on." Sora sighs, placing his hand on top of Kairi's. "We don't even know your name. What is it?"

Smirking, the man throws his thumb against his chest. "Why, it's about time I said that. My name's Ishtu. Ishtu Obigawa. Yea, I know. Weird last name, but oh well. Can't help it." "Ishtu, huh? Interesting name...for a weirdo.", Riku says, laughing. Ishtu then glares at Riku, freezing him in place. "Only I can make fun of my own name, so let's leave it at that." Sighing, Riku looks down to his feet

"Eh, whatever...but, why are you here in the first place?" Ishtu sits forward, placing his forearms onto his legs, as if he was thinking. "Well, that's a complicated answer to be given out. It involves the letter His Majesty sent to you three." Kairi blinks, tilting her head. "Oh? What about it?" Eyes closed, Ishtu's stance stiffened. "...that was the last letter His Majesty sent. After that letter, he wrote another, mysterious one, and then...left the castle once again."

Sora then sits up more, shrugging his shoulders. "So? Mickey always leaves the castle when he thinks something is wrong...wait...!!" Sora stands up quickly, startling Kairi again. "That means something is going on! My only question...is what is it?" Ishtu gives a look of stupidity as Sora askes this question. He then turns to Riku, who is shaking his head. "I didn't expect the Keybearer to be this dull..."

"Oh, don't worry," Riku says, still shaking his head, "He has his moments. This...just isn't one of them." Clentching his fist, Sora walks to Riku, and grabs his collar. "Hey! Make fun of me all you want, just don't insult my intelligence!" Kairi jumps up and runs to Sora, grabbing him by the waist. "Stop it, Sora! We agreed, no more fighting." Sora then releases his hold on Riku, and laughs a bit. "Oh, Kairi. You know how I get. I wouldn't hurt Riku, and you know that."

Sora and Kairi sit back down, looking at Ishtu, who hasn't moved an inch. "Uh...Ishtu? You ok?" Ishtu moves his head, startled. "Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought...anyways, the main reason His Majesty left is because of what happened with Kairi...you see, she was posessed by an unknown being." Kairi's eyes open wide, her jaw dropped. "WHAT!?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN I WAS POSESSED!?!"

Sora freezes, seeing Kairi's reaction, remembering the sex they had before Lucille showed her true self. "Uhh...yea. That's right, Kairi. You did seem a bit different...yea..." Sora places his hand behind his head, rubbing it, laughing a bit. Kairi quickly glares at Sora, as if she was angered. "And did anything happen, Sora?! Tell me the truth!" Ishtu brushes a strand from his black hair away from his face with a grin. "Don't worry, Kairi. I can guarentee you nothing happened." Kairi then glares at Ishtu, with the same look she gave Sora. "Oh? So you were spying on us...you pervert!"

Ishtu rolls his eyes, sighing. "Of course I was spying on you...you were showing signs of the posessed being...in fact, I was following your mother as well, Sora." Sora then freezes again, and slowly turns his head towards him, with a frightened look. "W-what!?!? My mom was possessed as well!?!" Ishtu nods in agreement. "After you two got to your house, your mother started to act more normal, and Kairi gained the presence of the possessed. Don't worry, she didn't do anything as well."

Riku then looks up from the floor, staring at Ishtu. "So...what should we do about this situation? Surely, you didn't come here just to tell us what's happened to Mickey." Ishtu looks up at Riku, and laughs. "Heh...it's weird to hear someone call him by his name so casually...his stories have been true, I guess...but yes, there is more here." The three Keybearers moved their attention to Ishtu. "The Queen has sent me here to get you three to help find His Majesty. I'm sure I know the answer, but do you accept this mission to find him?"

Sora then runs up to Ishtu, with enthusiasm. "Of course, we'll accept!" Kairi then smiles, blushing. "Yea...I'll accept as well. Besides, he's done so much for us...we have to repay him somehow." Both Sora and Kairi look at Riku, who is staring off into the night sky, through the window. "Heh...maybe this adventure will make me feel better. Plus...I want to see him again. I'll go as well."

"It's agreed, then," Ishtu says, with a semi-serious look in his eyes, "we will depart tonight." Blinking, Sora looks away from Ishtu. "So suddenly? What about our parents?" Smiling, Ishtu shakes his head. "You won't have to worry about that. I've already left messages to them saying you three were gonna go off to another adventure. So, meet me down at the beach when you're ready." In an instant, Ishtu teleports out of the room, leaving the other three in amazement.

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As the three get to the beach, they spot Ishtu wielding own Keyblade. "Hey, Ishtu. Is that your Keyblade?" Grinning, Ishtu turns to them. "Yep. This is my beaut, Wishmaster." His Keyblade takes the form of a solid white frame, similar to Oathkeeper, with a beak-like frame for the end. "It seems kinda...bland." Kairi says, examining it. She then looks down at the handle, and notices the chain for the keychain is bound to Ishtu's wrist.

Riku blinks, and looks at Ishtu. "Wait...didn't you call it something different?" Ishtu quickly looks at Riku, eyes opened wide. "Nope! I didn't call it differently. You've must've heard something else." He places his hand on the back of his neck, and laughs. Kairi then looks down at Ishtu's wrist, and notices the gold bracelet, where the chain from Wishmaster connects to. "Huh? Why is it chained to you?" Ishtu blinks, and looks down at his wrist. "Oh, yea...this is my own, custom Keyblade. It is linked to me, so you could say that my body itself is the keychain."

Sora tilts his head, confused. "Wait...custom? You can have a custom Keyblade?"

Ishtu nods. "Yep. Only those who have mastered a Keyblade can have one custom-made."

Riku closes his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. "Heh. I remember Mickey saying

something like that. It's born from the power you have in your heart, I believe. That's why

you said it is 'linked to you,' right?"

Ishtu laughs, the chain from Wishmaster rattling. "Yep, you got that one, Riku. Over time, a Keyblade master will gain and store power subconsciously in his or her heart. When a custom Keyblade is made, it takes all the stored power and takes a physical form...however, once it is done, the master cannot re-do the process. You're stuck with whatever comes out."

Sora smirks at Ishtu, shaking his head lightly. "And I guess you went down that path, huh? That's why your Keyblade looks pitiful." The other three freeze, looking at Sora like he just said something stupid. "Heh...even though you've grown up, you still know nothing. Besides, Wishmaster is very sensitive. Saying it is pitiful is down-right rude."

"Oh?" Sora says, cocking one eyebrow. "Then, why don't we see how it actually

works." Sora's right arm extends outward, and collects energy, calling forth Ultima Weapon. Sora then leaps up, and swings his Keyblade downward, aiming for Ishtu's head. Looking bored, Ishtu lifts his head up, and brings his Keyblade up, easily parrying Sora's attack. Ishtu's arm does not move an inch, showing no signs of struggle. Still smirking, Sora pushes off of Ishtu's weapon, and runs towards him, swinging like crazy. Blinking, and still looking bored, Ishtu parries all of Sora's blows with ease. Sora stares at Ishtu's Wishmaster, not believing that such a boring piece of metal could easily go against the strongest of Keyblades.

"Take my word, Sora. I'm stronger than you...but don't worry. You'll catch up to me in no time." Laughing, Ishtu snaps his fingers, and a ball of light forms above the four. Kairi looks up, admiring the white glow. "What...is that?" Ishtu looks up, smiling. "This...is our transportation. Cool, huh?"

Sora looks up as well. "Woah...pretty...but, what is it exactly?" Riku joins in, looking at the ball of light. "That's a teleportation spell...right, Ishtu?"

"Yep. His Majesty taught me this spell. It's very nifty, since Gummi Ships move so slow." Ishtu then looks down at the three. "Do you all have what you need?" The three Keyblade wielders look down, nodding. "That's good. First, however, I wish to show you the place where you would be doing most of your training." Sora looks at Ishtu, tilting his head. "Huh? You mean we're not goi-" Without any warning, the orb of light expands around the foor, and as quickly as it expanded, it implodes, a spark of light shoots out as the ball becomes nothing.