XI
A/N s are in the next chapter. Till then, enjoy.
Ahsoka inspected the soldiers one last time before allowing them to leave. She had a very bad feeling about this fight. Anakin hadn't ever fought against the clones, and the Imperial troopers were unlikely to abstain from attacking him simply because he was once their general.
She found her Master standing next to Luke and Leia, who were discussing battle tactics. Occasionally he would offer them a piece of advice, but for the most part he kept quiet, observing the soldiers who were marching out.
"Anakin." Ahsoka poked his arm gently. He seemed lost in his own thoughts.
She poked him harder.
"Skyguy!"
He came out of his reverie.
"Oh, hey Snips."
She smiled wryly.
"Well, guess the team's together again, huh?"
"Yeah, but this time you're the old one. How old are you again ? "
She glared at him.
"Don't even start."
He looked at her innocently.
"Start what?"
Luke called them.
"Guys, the party's up front! Does 'The Team' want to lend a hand?"
They glanced at each other and ran to help Luke.
They hadn't been fighting for a very long time, just around four hours by Anakin's estimation, when the clones finally stopped coming. At first he had found it hard to fight them, but soon he got into the familiar rhythm of battle.
Duck. Slash. Block. Feint to the lower abdomen. Force push. Duck again.
He knocked the last of his opponents out. They had been giving him a bit of trouble, but they had worn out and he took the opening. They could be questioned later, but they wouldn't be waking up any time soon.
He looked around for Ahsoka, but instead found Leia tending to her wounds at the med center.
"Hey." he greeted wearily, flopping onto an empty bed.
"Not too many casualties." he observed.
"That's because most of them are too far gone." she snapped.
Seeing the look on his face, she calmed.
"Sorry, its just that that was one of the longer ones."
"Really?" he asked, surprised.
She frowned at him.
"Yes, why?"
Anakin wondered how she had suddenly overcome her apparent hatred of him, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Its just that the battles I'm used to last a bit longer" he said.
"What's the longest you've fought?"
He considered.
"I'd say around nine hours non-stop?"
She gaped at him.
"What?" he asked indignantly.
"Nothing. Just … Must be that Jedi training huh?"
Anakin grinned and shook his head.
"You'd think so, but it isn't. The Jedi are peacekeepers. We don't train for battle."
Despite herself, Leia was curious.
"So how'd you do it?"
Anakin sighed.
"As a child, I lived on Tatooine."
He averted his eyes from her curious gaze and looked at the floor.
"Slavery was rather common."
Leia felt outrage and disbelief rise in her, welling up in a confused mix of sympathy and hate.
"You were a slave?"
He was about to answer when Ahsoka swept in.
"Leia! Anakin! Good to see you two are patched up!"
She narrowed her eyes at Anakin, who was looking a bit like a bantha in the headlights.
"You did get patched up, didn't you Anakin?"
She looked at Leia, who shook her head.
Ahsoka glared at Anakin and sat down at the edge of his bed, cutting of his escape route, and inspected his arms.
Anakin protested vehemently.
"Seriously Ahsoka! I'm fine! "
He made an expansive gesture, spreading his arms.
"Do you see anything wrong with me?"
Ahsoka went pale, first with fear, then with fury.
"You idiot!"
She grabbed angrily at her light saber, igniting it and slashing at Anakins torso in one smooth move. He yelped and stared at her as his shirt fell away in two pieces.
"Um…"
There , in plain view for all to see, was a large red blaster burn. The wound was bleeding sluggishly, and there were many other similar scars which looked fresh.
But what Ahsoka was looking at was worse.
It was a black lightsaber scar, still not healed properly. The edges were rough and jagged.
"How long ago did you get that?"
Anakin's whispered answer sent her into even more of a frenzy.
"Three day before I got here."
She exploded.
"ANAKIN SKYWALKER! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK YOU TO RECOVER LAST TIME ? DON'T YOU THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU?"
"Of course I do!" replied Anakin indignantly. "Why do you think I became a Jedi?"
"YOU COULD HAVE DIED!"
"I'm fine! It doesn't hurt!"
"It doesn't hurt? IT DOESN'T HURT? Oh, well then, -"
"Ahsoka, I'm fine! I just -"
"You could have- "
"WHO CARES ?!" yelled Anakin, and he immediately regretted it.
" Ahsoka, that's not what I meant. You know that." he said softly, seeing the anger and hurt on his padawan's face.
The hurt melted away, replaced by absolute red-hot fury.
"OH YES, THE GREAT ANAKIN SKYWALKER IS SOO SELFLESS! AND TELL ME, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO ME IF I LOST YOU AGAIN?"
Anakin attempted to calm her down.
"Ahsoka, calm d-"
"Fine, forget me. What would happen to YOUR SON?"
Anakin stared in shock.
"… my…son?"
