Heartbinding
Chapter 2
Kishi knelt where the old man had once sat, clutching his new blade, unable to move or process what had just happened. The true weight of every responsibility was flooding into his mind all at once, leaving him a frozen husk for several minutes. Only after hearing a giant thunderclap was he able to snap out of his stupor. He didn't have time to dilly dally, he had to find this Oswald guy soon. He stood up and gave one more cursory glance at the spot where Cleric had his final moments, the brick column would forever be an unmarked tombstone for the old master.
"I promise, I will carry on your legacy, no matter the cost."
Taking off back through the woods, he was relieved that the sky had parted and hoped this meant the Heartless was done attacking the town. This would be a fool's dream, however, as several Heartless shadows crawled out of the trees to attack Kishi. He hesitated for a moment, fear clutching at his chest, but he remembered his promise and steeled his resolve. He brought the Starlight up into a defensive stance. He had never fought with a sword before, but he remembered how the kids would play Struggle and hoped that would suffice for the time being. A shadow leaped at him with its claws bared. Reflexively he swung the keyblade around and hit the creature. As though it was a hot knife through butter, the blade cut through the monster, making it POOF into a dark mist that quickly dissapated along with the faint image of a pink glowing heart shape.
Kishi stared at his new weapon and looked strangely giddy. "Ha! HAHA! YES! I got one! Alright, who wants some now?" He yelled, feeling a spark in him erupt into a true fiery passion. He decided to go on the offensive and slashed at any Heartless in his path on his way back. What he failed to realize as he did this was that many of them could instinctively meld into the floor to avoid damage. This led to quite a few getting a sneak attack on him, giving him some major cuts and bruises. Once he got through the tunnel and back to the Market Square, he realized that the Heartless weren't attacking anymore, and some citizens decided to venture outside to see if the storm had passed. He also noticed that the Starlight disappeared from his hand with a flash of light, but he wasn't worried. He could feel its power, like a comforting warmth in his chest. 'That explains why Cleric wasn't lugging his giant one around all day.' he thought as he made his way back home. He knew that he would have to leave soon if Cleric's warning was anything to go by. The Heartless would come after him eventually while he still had the keyblade, and it wasn't something he could risk his mom for.
Getting back to his apartment, he found his mom sitting on the couch, worry all over her face. "Oh, Kishi, you're safe!" She exclaimed as she got up and gave her son a bone crushing hug, at least before she realized all the minor cuts on him. "Honey, what happened? Did you get hit by some debris in the storm? You look like you've been through the wringer."
Kishi panted and gulped "Mom, I saw a man die. And now I need to tell you what happened."
The mother and son sat down at the kitchen table. Aiko treated her child's wounds with a first aid kit while he told her everything that had just happened, including the passing of the keyblade. Obviously she didn't believe him until he summoned the Starlight to his hand.
"It seems to appear whenever I call to it, like when I need it."
He then talked about his plans, how he needed to find this master friend of Cleric's and how he would probably be gone for a long time.
"Honey I... I don't know what to think of this."
"I gave him my word, mom. If he died alone there would be more worlds in danger. This is my chance to actually do some good, and protect people. You wanted me to do that, you said as much last night."
"I know dear, and I'm so proud of you. It's just...this sounds so dangerous."
"That's why I'm gonna go find this Oswald guy, so I can train. I'll be strong enough to deal with whatever comes my way, and then I'll be able to go anywhere and protect the innocent."
Aiko looked in her son's eyes and saw a grit and determination that she had not seen in years. It was the kind of grit that could cut a diamond. She gave a defeated sigh and patted her son on the shoulder, "Just please promise me you'll write and let me know you're okay."
Kishi hugged his mom as tightly as he could, "I promise mom, I will. I love you."
"I love you too. Now you go save the worlds."
Kishi returned to his room and changed into a spare tracksuit he had but never really got around to using. He packed any extra clothes he felt he would need into a rucksack. 'I don't know how long I'll be gone, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.' As he packed what he figured would be useful, he glanced around his home one last time. His mom was nowhere to be seen. 'She's probably in her room. I'd better take off and not make this harder than it has to be. Rip off the bandaid quickly and all that.' He thought as he left the apartment that he had called home for so many years.
'Cleric said to go beyond the mansion. I guess that means I'm going back to woods again.'
As the new keyblade wielder trekked through the sewer tunnel and out into the wilderness yet again, he noticed that the Heartless were either not appearing or were completely gone. 'Maybe I scared them all off? No, I'm not that good. They must've left to find another victim.' Kishi hiked up the same hill from before and found the mansion, still in the same condition it was from earlier. But with the glow of the sun on it, the manor seemed to take on a new more inviting color. Approaching the front door, he kept his gaze away from the spot where Cleric had disappeared, not sure if he would have the emotional strength to keep going if he saw it again.
The front door opened with an extremely loud creaking sound. The main foyer was an expansive room that spanned two stories. Display cases were shattered across the floor. The wood was dark rotted and splintering. The sun rays coming through the windows showed how much dust was floating through the air. Cobwebs were splotched in every corner and all over the central chandelier. Straight forward was a glass door that led to a back courtyard. If he had to go beyond the mansion, that was his best bet. And he really didn't wanna spend any extra time in here.
Stepping back out into the light, he trekked onward, making sure to follow his predecessor's instructions as best as he could. The woods continued on for several more miles, twigs and leaves crunching under Kishi's boot with every footfall. It was usually during these quiet mundane times that he would space out and play a movie in his head or obsess over one minor mistake from his youth. But this was his time to be as focused as possible on his goal. 'Gotta find a rabbit, that's what he said right? Is it any specific rabbit?' he thought as he scanned over the forest.
'Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen any rabbits in these woods before. Maybe that's why he pointed it out.'
After a few hours of walking, with the help of some keyblade bushwhacking, the forest thinned out to a wide green meadow. The sun closing in on the horizon let Kishi know that it was late in the afternoon. 'I probably shouldn't keep moving once it gets dark. I'll need to rest soon anyway.' The hiker went on for another hour before finally deciding to stop at a reasonably clear patch of the meadow.
He looked through his rucksack to see what kind of provisions he brought, and was promptly agitated at his past self for not packing any food or sleeping bag. 'Goddammit. I'm so stupid. I didn't see any animals or edible plants on the walk here. So I'll have to find Oswald tomorrow or go back and get supplies and start over like a jackass.' Doing his best to ignore the hunger pains, he laid back on the grass, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow. As Kishi closed his eyes to relax, he began to think again. 'Maybe I went about this the wrong way. I could've rented a bike, or make sure I had camping supplies. God I'm in over my head with all this, and I've barely fought any Heartless.'
As the sun started to set for the day, a nearby rustling made Kishi's eyes shoot open. He scrambled to get up and summoned Starlight with a flick of his wrist. He held the key in the same defensive stance as before, but the hiking and lack of food was catching up to him and his grip was shaky to say the least.
"Who's there!? If you're a Heartless, you caught me at a really bad time. I know you guys are the forces of darkness, but there's no reason to be rude."
Just then, a black and blue blur roughly half the size of him jumped from behind him over his shoulder, spun around his hand like a top, and landed with Kishi's keyblade on the ground before him.
"Start talking, kid. Where did you get this? Who did you steal it from?"
Kishi realized the blur that was holding his key was a ... rabbit?... kinda? In the same sense that Mr. McDuck was a duck. It was a bipedal black rabbit that was only about 3 feet tall, not counting its long ears. It had pale white face with beady black eyes with a furrowed angry brow. He was wearing a black and navy blue collared vest and shirt with matching pants and sneakers. He also was wearing big white gloves on his hands, and pointing the Starlight directly at the young adventurer.
"Steal it? I didn't steal it. I was given it. Are you the rabbit I'm looking for? I was told to find a Keyblade Master named Oswald."
The rabbit raised its brow quizzically, "Why would you need to find Oswald? Don't tell me you need someone to train you."
"Actually, that's exactly what I need. If it's not too much trouble, would you please introduce me to him? Master Cleric told me to find him."
"Ugh! Cleric! The second he leaves he decides to find a new heir and dumps him on me to train the kid, cause he's too high and mighty to waste his time with some greenhorn!" the rabbit ranted to itself.
"Wait...are you...? Are you... Oswald?" Kishi asked, confused about the whole situation.
"Of course I am! What were you expecting? Look, I know you must've come a long way, but I'm not taking students right now." The newly revealed Oswald tossed the Starlight back to Kishi, who nervously caught it, "Go back to Cleric and tell him if he wants you to fight so badly, he can teach you himself. I got enough going on."
"I...I can't. Cleric... he... he's gone..." Kishi managed to choke out. Oswald's entire demeanor suddenly changed as he processed what the new wielder said. He recalled to the master everything that had happened in the last two days, from meeting Cleric, to the storm, to taking up his keyblade, and finding a teacher.
Oswald looked down at the ground and gave a sad chuckle, "Figures. It took dying for him to finally decide to have an heir. When I die, I'm gonna give him a real what for."
"Sir, I'm sorry it's come to this, but I desperately need a teacher. I need to be stronger. I need to protect people, so we don't have another incident like Cleric. Will you teach me? Please." Kishi got down on his hands and knees and pressed his forehead to the dirt, doing his best to show his desperation and humility.
Oswald sighed, "Well, both our hands are kinda tied. We promised each other that if one of us passed on before we could teach our heir, we would teach them. He really wanted to hold me to that. Honestly I didn't think he ever would. Get up kid, I'll be your teacher."
Kishi gasped and got up to his feet, "Thank you sir, I promise I won't let you down. I'll listen to whatever lesson you have."
"Well eager beaver, we need to get home before it gets dark first. And I need to come up with some sort of lesson plan to get you in top form. That'll take a bit. Grab your bag and let's go."
"Yes sir"
The two walked through the meadow for another hour until they reached their destination, a rather large house with a surrounding brick wall to mark the boundaries of the estate. The whole house was two stories and the faded primary colors that made up the outside showed how long the house had gone without a touch up. Much like the abandoned mansion, this house also had a large forested area behind it. Kishi was confused as to why a creature so small would need such a large house that was clearly built for average sized humans. As they walked up to the front door, he noticed that it was divided into a regular sized door, with a smaller door built into it that was clearly there for Oswald.
"Look, before you go in, just stay out here. I need to talk to the Misses about this. It may be a bit." Oswald said, stopping Kishi from getting closer to the entryway.
"Ooookaaaay?" he replied, not sure what to think.
Oswald opened the smaller door and entered the house. Kishi could barely make out a greeting between his mentor and a new, slightly higher voice (which was saying something given how high pitched the rabbit's voice was). Afterwards he could barely hear any sort of mumbling. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another vaguely animal shape take a glance at him from the window next to the front door. He chose to ignore it and rock back and forth on the balls of his heels. He was afraid to do anything that would be offputting and ruin his whole quest for training.
'Should I really trust this guy? He seems kinda weird to be keyblade master.' he thought
'He was able to disarm you and you barely saw him. He clearly knows some things. It's not like you have any other options.' he replied to himself.
After about fifteen minutes, though it felt more like several hours, the door opened and Oswald stepped out and beckoned his new student into the house. The interior of the house was a comfortable design, with an entryway that went into a living room with chairs, couches, and a tv to the left, and a kitchen full of cooking appliances to the right. This was definitely a house made for a large family, just by looking at these two rooms. Kishi's eyes finally scanned downward and found Oswald standing next to a cat creature similar to him, but wearing a pink polka dotted dress and powder blue apron, giving it away that this was Oswald's wife, or Kishi was being too assuming.
"Kid, this is my wife, Ortensia. Sweetie, this is...uh... I don't think I actually got your name, kid."
"Oh! Right, I'm sorry. My name is Kishi Hikari. It's a pleasure to meet both of you. Thank you for everything." he replied with a deep bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kishi. Welcome to our home." Ortensia replied with a faux curtsy.
"Um...I'm sorry for showing up out of nowhere. If there's any way I can make it up to you two, maybe helping around the house, I won't object." Kishi stated, feeling awkward at the whole situation.
"We'll talk about that later, kid. For now, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Oswald said as he led Kishi up the stairs into the hallway. Opening the door, the two entered a small bedroom furnished with basic amenities. There was a bright blue dresser, a red nightstand that had a lamp and alarm clock on it, an old timey tv with bent bunny ear antennae (no pun intended), but what caught the eye was the bed. It was less of a bed, and more of a stack of mattresses and futons with a single pillow.
"Sorry bout this, kid. We don't really get a lot of guests your size too often. This is the best we got at the moment." Oswald said, scratching the back of his head.
"It's fine, sir. I can make due with this. Thank you again for all this."
"Nah, you can thank me when we're done with your training. For now, just get comfortable. Ortensia says dinner'll be ready in an hour."
"Is it carrots?" Kishi jested, trying to lighten the mood. Oswald was not impressed.
"... you do know that rabbits don't actually eat carrots, right? And no, we're not having that."
"Ah, yeah...sorry."
The black rabbit walked out of the guestroom and shut the door, leaving the new novice with his quarters. 'Guess one too many people have made jokes about that' he thought. Not sure what to do, he tossed his rucksack on the floor and laid out on his 'bed'. He stared up at the ceiling, once again contemplating the events that had transpired these past two days.
'Mom, I'm sorry I had to leave so sudden. Honestly, this has been such a blur of events, I have no idea how to process any of this. I only hope that this path I've chosen is one you can really be proud of. And I can come back to visit sometime. Oh, I should probably see if there's stuff to write letters with, but lord I'm exhausted.'
After resting as much as he could, Kishi was snapped out of his head with the smell of food, which meant the hour was probably up. Stretching his limbs as best as he could, Kishi got up and went downstairs to see his new 'landlords' setting up a table in the kitchen.
"Hope you like lasagna." Ortensia said with a kind smile on her face as she carried a steaming tray to the table.
"Yeah, it smells great. Would you like some help cleaning up after, Ms. Ortensia?"
"Oh that would be a great help. Such a gentleman. Reminds me of when I first met Ozzy."
Just as she mentioned her partner, Oswald came into the room and sat at his spot at the table, which Kishi assumed was his regular place. "Now, I'd like to think I was a lot more handsome in my hayday." He said half-joking.
Dinner and cleanup went off without any major hiccups. The new student didn't want to pry into personal questions regarding his new caretakers just yet, and it seemed like they wanted to just focus on the food for the moment. Once the dishes were done, Kishi left the kitchen to find his new teacher, who happened to be resting in a way too big armchair in the living room, watching some black and white cartoon on the tv.
"Uh...sir? I was wondering if you had any stationary?"
"What? What do you need stations for?"
"No, I mean like paper and pens, and envelopes. I was hoping I would be able to write letters to my mom while I was training here."
"Your...? Oh right. Yeah, I'll get you those tomorrow. I'm sure there's a box in one of the rooms upstairs. You can do what you want tonight, kid, so long as you don't break anything. But I'll make sure you're awake tomorrow morning for your first lesson." He said lazily, without even looking up from the tv.
"I truly appreciate it, sir." Kishi said with a stiff bow, still not sure what the rules of ettiquette was in this situation.
Back in his bedroom, Kishi decided to check out the adjoining bathroom. It was a standard bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower tub. The walls and drawers were decorated sky blue to give it a neutral clean look. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to shower, using the time as a pseudo-meditative nap. It also gave him time to notice how sore his legs were from walking all day.
'I'm out of shape. I'm gonna have to get used to walking and conserving stamina. The worlds I'm going to probably aren't always gonna have transportation.' Figuring he was clean enough, the young man got out and decided he might as well brush his teeth and get ready for bed. He was glad he had the foresight to pack his sleepwear, since he wasn't sure how comfortable he would be sleeping in a foreign bed in just his underwear. He hopped into bed and felt himself nodding off pretty quickly. 'Oswald said he wanted me up early. I wonder how early he was talking.' He didn't have a chance for more thoughts as sleep finally overtook him.
"...et...e...di..."
"...et...e...di..."
"yo...et...e...di..."
BRRRRIIIIIIINNNNGGGIIIIINNNGGGGG!
Kishi hollered and jumped out of bed with a loud THUD. The alarm clock on his nightstand was ringing and shaking like crazy. He immediately grabbed the clock and hit the top of it as hard as he could to get it to stop. The noise stopped, but the young man's ears were still ringing from the sudden jolt. 'I don't remember setting an alarm.' he thought to himself. Just then he heard a knocking on his door and a familiar voice from outside it.
"Rise and shine, kid! I know you're awake! Be ready for breakfast and early morning training in fifteen minutes!" Oswald's slightly muffled voice yelled. Kishi sighed and quickly got up to brush his teeth and get dressed. He figured that the tracksuit from yesterday would be good enough for training for the time being. Once breakfast was over, Oswald took Kishi to the backyard to finally begin training.
"So what're we gonna learn first, sir? Magic spells? Summons? Dual wielding!?"
"None of that, kid. You need to be in better shape to be a keyblade wielder. So that's what we're gonna do." Oswald said with his hands behind his back.
"We're gonna start with basic stamina and strength training," Oswald pointed at the woods just beyond the backyard, "You will be running an obstacle course in the woods I set up some time ago. If there's time left in the day after you finish, we'll work on swordplay."
Kishi couldn't see where the course started specifically, but judging by his wording this course was either going to be absolutely hellish, or his new teacher had zero faith in his abilities. Probably both.
"So, if I can finish this course before the end of the day we can move on to actual fighting?"
Oswald crossed his arms in frustration, "Just for today, yes, and that's IF you manage to beat it by nightfall. Also, I told the misses that you don't eat again until you finish. So keep that in mind when you're a quarter way through and you start to get hunger pains."
Kishi gulped nervously as he realized what this meant. "I'll do my best, sir."
"Well, ya better get started. Just follow the flag markers in the woods." The student nodded and took off jogging into the forest.
"Don't you think you're being a little extreme for his first day, Ozzy?" Oswald turned around to see Ortensia standing in the backyard with him.
"It's the same exercise I started out with. If he can't make it through this, he shouldn't have a keyblade. I want to see if he really deserves to take Cleric's place." he stated with true determination in his eyes. Ortensia had a concerned look on her face.
"...Is this about really about Cleric? Or is it really about...him?"
Oswald looked down at the ground and let out a defeated sigh, "Honestly, I'm not so sure myself. Last news we got about him was that he got the Mark of Mastery, so he probably does have an apprentice. I don't know if this new kid is gonna cut it, but if he is, it might be the new hope we've been waiting for. Doesn't mean I'll go easy on him."
Kishi kept a decent pace jogging down the path in the forest and was nervous about what made this course so harrowing. 'Is it hard just because it's a really long track? Maybe because he's so short that it seems longer to him. Are there enemies nearby?' As he continued his pondering, a huge log attached to a rope swung out of nowhere into his path. With a yelp he jumped back, but not before getting his arm clipped by the edge of the log. He clutched his arm in pain as he saw several splinters sticking out of the torn sleeve of his tracksuit. 'This damn rabbit is gonna kill me.'
After several hours, the sun began to set and the air started to become chilled. From his chair, Oswald was reading a book while Ortensia was sewing some clothes.
"It's getting pretty late Ozzy. Maybe you should go look for him." the cat said while looking out the window.
"I'm sure he's fine. It's only gonna get easier for him from here on out." he replied, not looking up from his book. Just as he said that, the front door swung open. The married couple turned their heads in time to see Kishi. His tracksuit was torn to shreds. His body was covered in so many cuts and bruises he was barely recognizable. As he took a single step into the house, he immediately collapsed onto the floor.
"...see? I told you. He's fine." Oswald said nonchalantly.
Ortensia got up and walked over to check on their new ward. She was relieved that he was breathing, but he clearly needed medical attention and rest.
"Don't just sit there, honey! Help me take him to his room."
Kishi's head was swirling in a dark mist. A dull throbbing in the back of his head was keeping him from truly falling unconscious, but that didn't stop him from nodding off a few hours at a time. He suddenly felt a warm light on him coming from some unknown source, but it calmed his mind and made him feel much more at ease, at least for a little bit. In his dream, he was back on the training course, but with a pale fog covering the whole forested area. In the distance he saw a cloaked figure he couldn't make out. But he could hear that sound. It was the same sound he had heard the night before.
"...u...e...me...ie"
Kishi gasped awake with a start, clutching his head trying to comprehend everything as his heart pounded. As he shot up, he didn't notice the company he had sitting by his bed.
"Oh! Goodness golly! You gave us quite a start, young man." Ortensia was sitting on a stool by the bed with a first aid kit and a tray of sandwiches. Her patient was confused as he patted himself and stared at his hands.
"What happened? I remember being in a lot more pain than this."
"That's just my amazing bedside manner." Ortensia said with a wink, "Ha, I'm kidding silly. We carried you up here after you fainted from exhaustion. Ozzy casted his strongest Curaga on you. You had quite a bit of broken ribs and fingers. The spell healed most of the major injuries, but the smaller ones I just finished treating before you woke up."
"Well that'll happen when you fill a training course with boulders, spike pits, bear traps, and a banana peel."
"Yeah, the boys did have wacky ways of training." she replied.
"The boys? You mean Master Oswald and Cleric?"
"What? Oh... no dear. I was talking about Oswald and...um...someone else. It's not really my place to tell. But maybe you'll find out some day."
"Well, thank you for taking care of me, Ms. Ortensia. I guess I'd better get ready for today's training."
"Oh no, Mister Man. You're not doing any training today. You still need to recover."
"But I only did a day of training."
"A day of training that destroyed you physically, which is the point. You need an off day to rest and so your muscle tissue can regenerate. That's partly why Ozzy used such a strong spell on you."
"Huh, I guess that makes sense. Well, if I'm no going anywhere today, do you have any stationary at hand? I wanna write a letter to my mom."
"Right here, sugar. Ozzy already told me about that. I'll leave these here along with the food. If you need help with anything else, just let me know." Ortensia said as she pulled out a notepad and pen, along with an envelope.
"I can't thank you enough, Ms. Ortensia."
"Oh it's quite alright, Kishi, you being here might give this old house the energy it's been missing." she said, happily patting the young man on the arm.
On her way out, Ortensia stopped at the door, "I know Oswald can seem like he doesn't care or doesn't want you here, Kishi. But he really is happy to have you as a student. He has trouble showing affection given his...history. I hope you won't hold it against him."
"I understand, ma'am. Thanks again."
With a click of the door, Kishi reached for the paper and pen. He figured he would write first, even though he had not eaten anything in over a day. That, combined with his general fatigue, really came through in his handwriting.
Mom,
I know it's a bit early to be getting a letter from me, but I wanted to let you know I made it. I found the mentor Cleric told me about and I'm staying at his place. I just got through my first day of training and it was, to put it lightly, rigorous. I'm okay, but it looks like it's gonna be a while before my training is done. I hope things aren't too tough back home without me, and I hope Kuro isn't being too much of a bother.
Love,
Kishi
He put aside the letter, satisfied with its contents. He decided he would mail it later, as he really didn't feel up to getting out of bed at the moment. He took two bites of the sandwich left for him on the tray and soon he felt sleep taking him over again.
In the following weeks, the novice keyblade wielder had gotten into a routine. Every other day he would wake up, eat breakfast, and do the training course again. The next day he would rest and recover. Every time he remembered a few more traps and how to properly dodge them, thus leaving him with less injuries in the process. He could feel himself getting considerably stronger as he progressed with his Master's regiment.
After about a month of the routine, Oswald finally decided that his body was strong enough to start learning actual techniques. The bunny instructed him through several basic sword forms and stances as they sparred with basic wooden swords. When asked why they couldn't use their regular keyblades, Oswald insisted that he didn't want to kill the boy by accident, and Kishi decided to not pry further than that. Since he wasn't completely wrecked physically at the end of every day, Ortensia decided to put the young man to good use by having him do more labor intensive chores around the house during the afternoons, like painting or moving furniture.
Month two had Kishi start actual combat training with dummies. Only on occasion would Oswald jump in and spar with the student. He was forced to keep his guard up extensively whenever his master would join in the exercise, as his skills and agility were unlike anyone or anything he had seen before. When he wasn't asked to do chores, the student decided he would take time and study through his mentor's collection of books on keyblade lore and the Heartless. He learned about the Keyblade War that began the whole ordeal, and he learned about Nobodies, the empty shell left behind those with stronger hearts. The Heartless attacked out of instinct, but Nobodies could think for themselves and strategize.
The third month had Oswald teaching Kishi about aerial combat. The apprentice wondered why he would need to make fighting in the air such a priority, but the master informed him that several of his enemies would be airborne and would exploit that advantage to know end if he wasn't able to get more vertical. Jumping wasn't that much of a problem for Kishi with his newly strengthened legs, the problem was keeping aloft. His master's trick was using his momentum to kick off of any enemy in the air he was done with, as though it was a place for footing. In his studies, he learned about the old Masters of Daybreak Town, and the Keyblade academy that use to be the Land of Departure before it was swallowed by darkness. No one had seen it since then.
Four months in, Kishi had perfected his aerial combat skills, along with a new skill that required absolute focus. By clearing his mind of all distractions and focusing on a single point, he could zip to that point almost as quickly as his teacher could. The problem was finding the right point and targeting it without getting interrupted in the heat of battle. Oswald proved how tough this would be by smacking him with a stick right as he jumped, causing him to veer off course and crash, breaking his arm in the process. That was a real eye opener to him.
The fifth month began with the lesson Kishi was most excited for, how to cast magic. Not only was this incredible, it also meant he had to use his actual keyblade for lessons. It started off simple, firing sparks or cold air by focusing magical energy through the keyblade. After a week, he was able to shoot a fireball or a glob of water with relative ease. In his off time he got the idea to try and channel his magic through his focus energy. By keeping his focus on several small targets, he could fire off a barrage of small flaming orbs. The one downside was that this left him with a splitting headache. He also was able to learn Cure, which meant he could now recover from small injuries by himself, taking a lot of responsibility off of Oswald's shoulders. All the while, the young man was given permission to look through his master's old training notes. Though it was strange to see several pages illegible from being scribbled out. One particular thing he noticed was how often 'Balance' was mentioned in the notes.
And then, month six. Oswald brought Kishi out to the backyard where there were no training dummies, no targets, just a flat patch of earth.
"What are we learning today, Master?" Kishi asked. Oswald walked out to the center of the backyard silently, held out his hand and summoned his keyblade with a flash of light. For the first time, Kishi got to see his teacher's weapon in the flesh. It wasn't as long as the Starlight. The blade was curved slightly and divided into two halves, a black side with a hooked notch almost like a scimitar, and a shimmering golden side that had points coming out that resembled a crown. The keychain was in the shape of his head.
"I'm gonna test you, kid. I'll go as easy on you as I can, but I'm also gonna be quizzing you as we fight." Kishi hesitated for a moment. It felt like this is what he was finally here for. His master was serious and wanted to see what he was made of. He summoned Starlight and stepped into the backyard.
"I'm ready master. Hit me with your best shot." He said as he got into his traditional fighting stance.
"Trust me, kid. You don't want my best shot. Now think fast!" Suddenly, Oswald was gone, a blur of an afterimage in his wake. Kishi could just barely react fast enough as he heard a sound behind him. He brought his blade up and blocked a strike from his teacher. The force behind it was intense. If Kishi had a weaker grip, his keyblade would've gone flying right then and there. He knew his master was good, but he didn't expect him to be this strong.
"Question 1, what is the purpose of Keyblade wielders?" Oswald asked as he jumped back and shot off in another direction.
"To protect the innocent from the forces of darkness." Kishi replied, making sure to project his voice as best as he could so his mentor could hear it clearly. He jumped and brought his blade down where he assumed Oswald would land next, but he was off by about a foot. This gave the lucky rabbit an opening to kick him in the head.
"Not bad, kid. Question 2, What are the forces of darkness exactly?"
"Beings like the Heartless that use darkness as a power source to harm others." This caused Oswald to stop for a moment and lean against his keyblade like a post.
"Oh? Why would you use that phrasing?"
"Because darkness isn't an inherently evil force. It's a part of nature. Almost everyone has darkness in them. It's only when we reject that part of ourselves that causes it to grow and fester, consuming people and making them become Heartless." While he was answering, Kishi took the opportunity to try and strike at his master. The rabbit dodged by swinging his body over his keyblade, pulling it out in the process and deflecting his attacker. They crossed blades again.
"I read your notes, Master. Balance is what matters most. Order needs chaos. Life needs death. Light needs darkness." Oswald smiled at this statement.
"Seems like your finally getting it." Kishi shot out several fireballs at his teacher, but he managed to deflect all of them with his blade.
Kishi then decided to use an idea he had for awhile. Using his focus, he jumped to the roof of the house, then pushed off of the house with his feet back the opposite direction. This was one skill Oswald wasn't expecting and his student managed to get a solid hit in, sending him sprawling across the battlefield.
"Good trick, Hikari, but those tricks don't work twice." He then pointed his keyblade and fired a light beam at his pupil. The young man jumped and dodged and weaved around the laser, playing on the defensive for the moment.
"One last question kid. What is the World Order?"
Kishi jumped in the air and brought another flying slash at Oswald, their blades clashing with a loud SHING. "It's a gigantic mistake that the Keyblade wielders are trying to keep up."
"Oh? and why is that?" Oswald responded as he forced his strength behind his blade, pushing the apprentice back.
"It keeps worlds separate and disconnected. It leaves only an arbitrary few the privilege of knowing about world travel, and enemies can use that to put worlds at a disadvantage. If a world is suffering from a deadly virus, and another world has the medical technology to cure it, they would have no way of contacting each other. Or if a world was under attack by the Heartless and almost swallowed by darkness, the residents of that world would have no way of escape." All while saying this, Kishi was still pushing his blade against Oswald's, sparks flying from the friction.
"Being separate and isolated makes us all weaker." He asserted. Oswald could feel his grip shaking.
"Oh? And why is that, kid?"
"Because our hearts are ONE!" With one final push, Kishi broke through his master's defense and smacked him hard in the chest with his weapon. The black rabbit skidded across the dirt, kicking up dust clouds in his wake. Kishi realized what he did and immediately ran to pick his teacher up, thinking he was in serious trouble.
"*cough* I think you're ready, kid."
END OF CHAPTER 2