AN: I don't own Naruto/Star Wars: Legends
4:9:29
Aboard the Breakaway: "Training Room"
The hum of lightsabers pulsed throughout the cargo hold, with a number of items scattered about for those practicing within the confines. Occasionally there was the sound of the lightsabers cracking against each other. Each strike was punctuated by soft grunts and shouts of exertion. One such was grunt became a shout of surprise followed by a crash and a groan.
"... you okay?"
"... ow..."
Naruto moved up, holding a hand to Aayla as she struggled and was pulled back onto her feet. Rubbing her back, she shifted and sighed as she attempted to readjust her grip. Seeing her fire to go again, Naruto grinned. "You ready for another?"
"No, but if I don't, I'm just..." She groaned, flipping her lightsaber into a reverse grip. "It's, familiar."
"That's, good." Naruto nodded, stepping back and grinning. "You've come a lot further once we started lightsaber training. Guess you learn better on the move than sitting down. Pretty good for me, since I'm the same."
Aayla grinned, moving around Naruto before whipping her lightsaber again. Her movements were still not fully fluid, but she was learning quickly. The Force was strong with her, and it came back to her just as quickly once she was on the move. It was like her mind needed her body to lead it; a strange way to go about it, but as Naruto said, he was best when on the move himself. It made teaching her a matter of getting her to see what he did, and follow along.
Dancing about again, Naruto showed Aayla just how easy it was to keep up with her despite the many advantages she had just by following her motions. Each step she made was a good one, but the Force would quickly shout for her to move, to leap, to dodge, and the moment she didn't, he'd tag her with a knuckle. His lightsaber was powered down to the point it would only lightly singe at the worst, but a knuckle sent a louder message. He could reach out and clip her with his hand, not needing even the slightly more elongated reach of his shoto to score a hit. She in turn would flail about after such a blow, requiring Naruto to calmly talk her down, getting her to immediately refocus on the battle at hand so she didn't end up getting tagged again and again.
Naruto was an absolutely frustrating opponent, and in turn was an absolutely chaotic and difficult teacher at the same time. While his methods were like that of a game, it was always clear who had the advantage, and Naruto pressed it each time Aayla let her guard down for even a moment. Frustration would immediately spike, and then Naruto would talk her out of it within a moment. A cycle that quickened both in speed, and in difficulty.
Aayla stared at him as she barely leaned back, avoiding the back on his knuckle from brushing against her cheek yet again. This was unlike any training she'd ever experienced in her memories, and no matter how she dug, she couldn't seem to think of any reason for this kind of training. It was pointless, repetitive, and kept putting Naruto in harms way, as she didn't trust his adjustments to her lightsaber. Yet, each time he tagged her, she found her frustration spike and she tried going wild, swinging out to get him where she knew he'd tagged her, only to find him already moving. Slippery, difficult, impossible... it made her wonder more and more how she'd been half as composed against him when she'd faced him moments before Volfe had come in and struck him.
"Concentrate. Focus." Naruto's voice was soft, yet firm, eyes locked on hers as she began lashing out again. Near immediately she calmed, having done this so often that she allowed it to act as an instinct, focusing down as the Force told her to leap. Gritting her teeth as she did so, she felt a sudden validation, a freedom, as she soared over Naruto and swung down, clipping his shoulder with her lightsaber. "Ow! ... ha! Tag to you!"
As she landed, she exhaled, eyes on him with a wild, gleeful delight. She's scored a hit. After a week of training, leaping, struggling, she'd managed to have enough control to land a hit. Just one, but after the dozens of times he'd tagged her near each hour, it was a success she couldn't fully explain as she leapt and whooped in excitement.
Grinning despite himself, Naruto laughed and saluted her with his lightsaber, deactivating it and clipping it to his belt. "Alright, I think that'll be good for today. Early break, go relax and do something fun. Bother the droids to help them, or whatever you do during your downtime."
"I nap." Aayla gave him a flat, betrayed stare, taking a deep breath as her heart still thundered in her ears. "I sleep, because I'm usually so worn out that I don't want to stand up. You had to put me to bed the first two nights."
"Aha, yeah." Naruto scratched his cheek gently, looking mildly embarrassed. "Admittedly, I'm used to training myself and channeling the Force to keep going. I, hadn't realized what time it was. That's on me."
"Yes. Yes it is." Aayla sighed, slowly straightening herself, stretching her back for a second before practically skipping out of the room before all out running towards the hanger bay.
Naruto watched her run, slowly pulling up a crate and seating himself. Pressing a hand to his shoulder, he stared at it for a moment before closing his yes. "Be proud... be proud... be proud."
He was proud for her. She had landed a blow on him, struck him where he hadn't been paying attention for a brief second, and had proven she was getting better. Only a week, and she was beginning to regain some control of herself, showing that she was becoming more comfortable with her connection to the Force, controlling her emotions so that she wasn't just lashing out each time she was frustrated. It was a good thing, a great thing.
Gripping his shoulder, feeling the faint sting of it, he focused on it. He'd been hit. Wounded. It took a bit to force down his immediate reactions, exhaling and rolling his shoulder as he leaned back. Injured. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and let out a bark of a laugh.
"... what a forked situation." Naruto closed his eyes, laying back on the crate. On one hand, he was proud for her. On the other, he was berating himself for slipping up. In a training arena, where they were completely safe, and neither of them were truly trying to do harm to each other. Not really. "I need to clear my head. Space is getting to me."
"No product to give boss." Gonk called from the side, moving over with a faint clunk as it did so. "Only water, and a light snack. Not good product, but was given for you in case needed."
Naruto snorted softly at that. "I'll take a water then."
"Yes boss."
Opening its secret stash hatch, Naruto reached in, taking the water and sighing. As he was removing his hand, he paused, looking past what had been placed within Gonk. Reaching towards the back, he pulled out the lightsaber that had been placed there from Ord Mantell, rolling it between his fingers. It had been near a month - no, over a month by this point - since he'd seen or considered the weapon. Likely he'd pushed it out of his mind since... he and Aurra...
Shaking his head, he focused again on the lightsaber. It had a heat to it, that seemed to pulse from it with an active, real warmth to it. And, there was something more, something deeper than that. Something in the Force that he could almost sense, hovering just beyond sight, just beyond feeling.
Standing back on his feet, he began to inspect it further. It had a vaguely bulky feel to it, almost like it was meant for either larger hands than his, or perhaps it was meant more for someone wearing some sort of protective padding. Not uncommon, especially if this were an older lightsaber. What had his attention most though was the fact that it was untouched by time, so far as he could tell. Marked, and covered with words and symbols he couldn't identify, with rare material he had seen only in holotapes.
This lightsaber, just off of what he could see regarding the exterior alone, was valuable. Had Mress been looking to sell it, the value was clear from what it was made of. Rare minerals, possibly from some Outer Rim planet, that could be sold to anyone who could evaluate it for a good number of even Republic credits. To the people Mress could likely speak with could likely get even get more for it, from its historic, material, and cultural values. Yet, they'd held onto it. They'd kept it, and ran with it. Naruto hadn't paid attention to when they'd left, so he hadn't seen...
Turning it in his hands, he slowly found the ignition for the lightsabers emitter, and snapped it on. The blade that sprung forth illuminated the hold with a light like a burning bonfire, with actual sparks leaping from it as he held it away, a heat wafting off it and causing him to squint through some of it. Red, orange, yellows - a spectrum like pulsing fire, or waves of magma rolling across it, formed the blades color as it crackled rather than hummed.
Turning it over in his hands, Naruto felt a wash of the Force from the blade, the heat of orange, red, and black waves that permeated the blade, seeming to try and wrap around him, grab him, hold him.
"Finally, a true warrior."
Naruto froze, gritting his teeth as he tried looking around. Someone was there, hidden away from him. Trying to turn, he grunted, feeling his body locked up as he turned and shifted to try and get free.
"Do not struggle. It will do you no good."
Forming from the energy, an insectoid form seeming to coalesce, a hand gripping his wrist, and their other hand tightening and seeming to attempt to squeeze at Naruto. Turning their hand, they moved their hand towards Naruto, sparks jumping between them as they let out a sigh.
"Yes, you are strong... but I need this more than you."
They attempted to reach their hand to Naruto's head, forcing him to draw upon the Force to keep it back. He'd been careless, and sloppy. How could he have known the lightsaber was trapped? Was this what had happened to Mress? What if Aurra had tried to do what he had before him? So many thoughts ran though his head at high speed, fueling his emotions to keep whoever this was back.
Taking a moment as they struggled to pierce Naruto's barrier, Naruto could get glimpses of their form. They were some insectoid alien with something over their face like a mask; his best guess was that they were a Mustafarian. Piercing yellow eyes stared into his, a power struggle between Naruto's sparking rage, and the Mustafarian's delight at his anger.
Shifting, Naruto bore down with the Force, pulling his arm to the side and throwing them off and back from him. "I don't care what you want, or what you're looking for. Let go."
"Fool! Your form is mine, and I will live a-"
"Hey, what's going on out here?"
Both of them paused, Naruto glancing past the Mustafarian while they began turning to look behind them as well. Before they could, luminous green arms suddenly reached out, wrapping around the Mustafarian's neck and gripping their head as they yanked back. There was a snarl as the Mustafarian reached up to grip the arm of Jiraiya as they suddenly began to struggle against the spirit. As they let go and tried to fight back, Jiraiya suddenly lifted them back up into the air, let out a loud, boisterous laugh, and slammed them into the ground roughly. While it didn't seem to do actual damage, the stunned noise they made seemed worth it, and was punctuated by a pained grunt when Jiraiya suddenly dropped his entire weight on them, seeming to force both of them out of existence.
Left alone, blinking, and forced to take in the room after that sudden encounter, Naruto slowly deactivated the lightsaber, staring at the ground for a long time before Aurra suddenly peaked her head in.
"You alright?"
"Huh?" Naruto felt incredibly unintelligent with his reply, but it was all he could think after... that.
"I heard someone shouting and laughing, but then saw Aayla was in the hanger... are you alright?" She stepped inside, noting Naruto's demeanor, and stance. Slowly reaching up and pressing a hand to his face, she hummed softly. "You feel hot. Think you might be getting a bit feverish?"
"No. I don't... I don't really get sick." Naruto sounded completely unconvinced, staring at the lightsaber in his hand. Slowly putting it away, back on his belt, he winced as he felt the heat of it against his leg before it suddenly began dying down. "I think I... either had a vision, or had a bad experience."
"...what, like you smoked a deathstick? You?" Aurra laughed, lightly shaking his shoulder.
"A Force experience."
Aurra lightly cut herself off, letting her laughter die as she slowly began gripping his shoulder tightly. Shifting him and grimacing, she shook him gently. "Don't... don't get so caught up in all that. Don't do it. You're here, now. The Force is wherever it wants, but you're here. In the present. A gift to me, and... anyone else you talk to."
Naruto stared at her, letting the words sink in. Even still, he felt anxious. That, by the code it was something he needed to think about before even remotely considering. Yet there was nothing in the Force telling him no, that he couldn't or that he shouldn't. So, pulling her closer, he slowly pressed his forehead to hers and just held her near him. She seemed to immediately accept it, sighing and nodding to herself as he did so. A moment of clarity, and peace for them both.
Then, after a moment, she grinned and smacked his arm. "You're sweaty. Go freshen up. You've done your part for today, and that means I get to steal your time later."
"Yeah, I know." He grinned weakly, shrugging and shifting in place. "I'll go."
"Good... go. Now." She smacked his hip, getting him to jump and scuttle off. Both of them laughed, each of them glancing back to the other as he left with a smile.
Once out of sight though, Naruto gripped both his chest and the lightsaber again, feeling the malicious power and intent seemingly gone all of a sudden, yet still elsewhere. Elusively dodging his gaze. He had a feeling he wasn't rid of his new ghost assailant.
Softly, he muttered as he dragged a hand down his face, giving up on thinking to much harder than the simplest part of it he could think on. "... why is it always ghosts?"
[=-x-=]
Within the Seal
Jiraiya had no idea what would happen when he did what he had. He'd sensed the sudden energy, realized Naruto couldn't move, and then acted. Slamming them into the ground and suddenly dropping them both into the seal was... no on his list of things he'd expected. Likely it was a bad thing for this person to be here, but he wasn't going to focus on that. Instead he was going to focus on making sure they caused no trouble, and didn't cause harm to Naruto.
They were immediately up once the two of them separated, those damn yellow eyes seeming sulfuric, and nasty. He'd seen yellow eyes in Orochimaru, his former teammate, years before, but those were natural and had never seemed to almost look like they had a bad feeling to them. Like a smell he could see. It was the only way he could think of it, but it worked well enough for his mind, and that was that.
They seemed to like lashing out with the whole Force thing Naruto kept talking about, but with his Sage Mode active, he could almost see the wave as it moved towards him. It was a wide wave, making it hard to simply strafe around, but with a monstrous leap over top of it, he was able to not only dodge it, but come down near to them with a crash that sent them stumbling back.
There was something on their face, like someone from Amigakure - the Hidden Rain village - but when they spoke it seemed to illuminate slightly. So, not necessarily a device to breath underwater then.
"You are powerful, yet you are not alive." They shifted, moving back and forth as they watched Jiraiya's stance idly. "The Force is... strong enough with you. You should -"
"Not interested." Jiraiya said simply leaping forwards and swinging a seemingly wild haymaker. They shifted to dodge back, but weren't prepared for the Frog Kata's secret; the strikes were far wider than they seemed, as they were suddenly struck and thrown back and to the side. "You tried to slip into Naruto, which means I can't let you just wander around."
The creature got up, seeming undamaged for the most part, but having a hand to its jaw with a look of curiosity. "That, hurt. You can harm me."
Ah, good, confirmation. Jiraiya was a threat to this thing. Shifting into a more boastful, boisterous stance, he thought about doing his normal dance, but this figure looked like it wouldn't care at all, which made the presentation pointless. How disappointing. "I am Jiraiya, the Gama Sannin, or Toad Sage - one of the great three, who were among champions and defenders of our home and people. Now, my duty is to Naruto, and I will not let someone like you do harm to him."
"... fascinating." They slowly looked around, reaching out a hand and seeming to caress the air. "This is, impossible... and yet it is done. You have done it... I, cannot begin to describe this..."
Jiraiya internally was grateful for his willingness to recognize when something was too good for them, but at the same time, they almost felt like they were dismissing him. "Yes, fascinating. I am indeed a fascinating person."
"Yes, you are." Shifting, they slowly shifted, taking a knee and bowing. "I did not realize that there were others like me, who had studied into the ways of the Force to tether ones essence to another... without taking them over. To, follow, if you will. To hang on, but not remove the person. Truly a technique worthy of a moments consideration, and of respect. Jiraiya you said your name was? The... toad sage? Jiraiya the Toad Sage..."
"Yeah... that's what I said." Jiraiya suddenly got an uncomfortable feeling from this... entity. Were they a bug? Was that a space thing now? Well, if it were, then he could certainly play up his being a Toad Sage and be the one to take down this bug if it tried to do anything like that again. "And if I catch you trying that again, I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"... as you wish, Jiraiya."
"... just like that?"
The mood seemed to change, a faint goofiness to it all as Jiraiya was forced to take it in. Just like that? That meant this person was trying to slip into the village, to act as a traitor to their people, then exploit... wait, what weakness could they exploit? There wasn't really a weakness for them to exploit because there was no village to exploit. A technique they wanted to learn? He didn't even know what he'd done himself; how could he teach what he didn't know? Crossing his arms, he stared down the new person with a pointed, confused stare.
"Your technique was... impressive." They continued on, nodding to themselves as they placed a hand to their chest. Their form was taking on less of the yellow-red glow it had before, becoming something seeming vaguely corporeal. They wore armor that appeared to made of chitin or something to that extent, and items that appeared like they were meant to work somewhere that required it, or perhaps were some form of warrior of the past, as several marks across their armor indicated. "I am - was - Darth Vulcan ... a title that seems to hold as little to you as yours has for me."
"Yeah, I really... have no idea what that means. Your name is Darth? Or Vulcan?"
"You may just call me, Vulcan, if it helps."
"And the other part? It sounds like like dark, and that seems to be kinda on the nose there."
Vulcan threw back it's head as it began making an odd buzzing sound - like a laugh, but one that held a tinge of grating on Jiraiya's nerves until he shoved his chakra outwards in case it was some kind of illusion. Feeling the sensation fade, he figured he'd been on the right track, and kept staring down Vulcan unimpressed as they finished their laughed.
"My people have held their own ways, and don't tend to involve themselves. But my master found me, understood my potential, and taught me in the ways of the Force."
"Oh, so you're like one of those Jedi people." Ignoring the spike of indignation from Vulcan, he shrugged. "They seem alright. Kinda got a stick up their own ass, but I've met worse people."
"Worse than them? They are constant thorns, despicable entities who stand before the greatness that is the Sith Empire!" Vulcan shifted, looking for all the world like they wished to grab hold of something not there and strangle it. Slowly, it let it fade, dropping its head and letting out an electronic buzzing sound. "Be that as it may, the fact no Sith has been drawn to collect what I hide from Jedi gazes all this time means we lost the war. Inevitably, but we are not gone."
"The Sith? Oh, so you're the bad guys right?" Jiraiya had no idea if it were true or not, but once more the feeling of anger grew within them and he nodded. Right on the nose then.
"We are simply another cog in the galaxy. Without us, the Jedi are purposeless, and pointless." Breathing out another buzzing sound - an exhale perhaps, they slowly shifted and leaned back, staring up at him idly. "... but, you are not a Jedi. You give off nothing to make me think that. What... what are you?"
"I'm a shinobi, from a planet far, far away, with no way to get out into the galaxy."
"Yet, you are here, speaking with me."
"And with no intention of telling you more than that."
Vulcan growled faintly, then pressed their head back against the wall. "I suppose that is fair. I simply wanted to live again, to act, and to regain my place in the galaxy. Is that so wrong?"
"Stealing another person's body to do so? Yeah, no shit." Orochimaru had allegedly done something similar, and Jiraiya had no time for things like that. "And yeah, I ain't letting that happen."
"So I saw. You... did something to me. Stopped me, and trapped me. I am impressed." Shifting forwards, Vulcan let out another sigh. "Well, I suppose that means there's nothing else too it. I am your prisoner. Do with me as you wish... but, do tell me, if you know, what has been going on in the galaxy?"
Jiraiya considered that, rubbing his chin, then nodded his head wisely. "I have no fucking idea."
Vulcan stared, completely unable to determine if Jiraiya was making fun of him, or completely serious. Unable to sense anything that would indicate he was lying, they threw back their head and made that laughing sound again. "Ah, then we are both passengers without a clue as to what is going on, or where we are going. Well then, as they say with the Jedi... may the Force be with us, hm?"
"Uh... yeah... that."
Jiraiya got a feeling that Vulcan was smirking at him, but he couldn't be bothered caring that much one way or another. His whole purpose had been defending Naruto in a situation he couldn't get himself out - so far as he could tell - and against an opponent he couldn't harm... so far as he knew. Admittedly he'd jumped in without thinking, but then the outcome seemed advantageous, so he left it as that. For the time being, he would warden this entity, and keep it away from Naruto. After all the years he couldn't, he could do this much at least.
All the while, those yellow eyes stared back, idly waiting for a slip up that he promised himself that he wouldn't make.
[=-x-=]
The Breakaway: Cabin with Naruto
Naruto tensed in his sleep, curled tightly as he tried to let himself go deeper into actual dreams. He'd been able to so do more often, holding onto that as a way for him to return to the realm of restful sleep. As it was, it was shadowy, clouded, and felt like he was struggling once more.
Reaching out, he felt leaves and trees brush against his hands. No, he was aboard a ship. Yet his mind pressed onward, moving though until he stood before a structure that seemed to pulse with energy. Like a beacon of light, piercing through the sky, Naruto could almost swear he felt other places within the light, just barely out of sight of his eyes. It was resplendent, radiant, terrifying.
Drawn towards it, he stumbled when a few people were suddenly there, clearly taking sight of him as they held up their hands. Spectral, and seemingly focused with nervous intent, they watched him as they seemed to be trying to keep him away from whatever was happening. There were other races like them, perhaps in a way, but Naruto had never seen such blue skinned saurian species before in the many days he'd delved into the archives. And they had appeared before him so quickly, he almost wondered if they had done so like he often did.
There were others behind them, their arms upraised and attempting to do something. A pull in the Force build up a feeling, like something being shifted rapidly, as the light suddenly shut off and dissipated. Despite those before him looking back to it with a sense of relief, they quickly turned and stared him down.
"You should not be here."
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, the voice not from their mouths, but their minds. Great, telepaths. "Then why am I here?"
"... you are not a Hound?"
"I - what?" Naruto stared between them, eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on them with a look of clear frustration. "What are you talking about?"
Those around him seemed to look between each other for a moment, as though lost in conversation only they knew. Then, a wave of energy passed between them, and the scene began to leap. Bounding forwards, leaping in the years, moving until it rolled to a stop, the jungle still ever dense, and another person was standing there. Slowly, their form seemed to slip back into focus, familiar grey hair, small horns, and rippling eyes suddenly staring back at Naruto.
"Hagoromo..."
Hagoromo turned to face him, sighing softly before turning back to the distance. Naruto slowly stepped up besides him, staring where he had, trying to find what he was looking for. Seeing only the wild jungle, he slowly turned back to the man with a concerned gaze.
"Naruto." Hagoromo's voice was soft, but not silent. Here it carried with the boom that spoke of years of authority and power. His eyes were now focused away from him, seeming locked onto a fixed point in space. "There is trouble here. Trouble that will do poorly for you, myself, and your worlds outside our own."
"... you reached out to me again." Naruto said softly, shifting and slowly turning to the area he was looking for. Idly, his eyes followed where the light had once been, but only saw stone and trees where it now lay. "Why? What trouble?"
"What you saw was real, but not now. It is a thing that was, and should not be again." Hagoromo slowly turned and gave Naruto a pointed look. "There is, a world... by the name of Dathomir, by my understanding. Upon it, a race of people built a path, that stretched throughout the galaxy."
"Dathomir?" Naruto shook his head, looking around. If this was the place, what was he meant to see. "I don't understand."
"It extended to many corners of the galaxy." Hagoromo said again, holding out his hand towards where the light had touched down on the planet. "And that will be a danger, to you, your order, and the galaxy."
"Wait, what?" Naruto opened his mouth, so many more questions to ask, when he felt something pulse yet again, and his eyes snapped to the place where it emanated from.
As though in perfect view, he saw something being swallowed up in the distance, a world simply disappearing... sucked into nonexistence, without a trace. Then, from that very same instant, another world seemed to suddenly be reaching out, the stars parting ways as a shadow shifted from them, extending towards them. Bearing down with an ominous presence that sent a shock up Naruto's spine. Understanding flooded through him, as he was then jolted from it into consciousness.
Gasping and staring, Naruto slowly clutched a hand to his chest, staring up with wide eyes that slowly closed as he tried to regain composure. Feeling a hand move across his chest, he slowly stared back down, then to Aurra as she opened her eyes. Seeing him look to her, she leaned in and kissed him gently, giving him a moments respite after his dream - his borderline nightmarish vision.
"... can't sleep?"
"I could... but that was the problem..."
Aurra nodded, leaning into him and wrapping herself around him. It wasn't the first time she'd done it, like she was trying to anchor herself to him, and protect him from what his own mind was conjuring against itself. While it hadn't done anything yet, her very presence soothed him, and he found a smile on his face as he gently rubbed her back, trying to in turn soothe her, letting her know he was there, and that he hadn't suddenly vanished on her.
Closing his eyes, he sighed, staring at the ceiling. Aurra moved a hand to his chest, taking a few moments before moving to look at him more fully. "I can hear how your heart is hammering right now. Nothing does that, so... it must be important. Are you, in danger?"
Naruto mulled over the words, trying to think of what to say. Was he? Yes. Were they all? Yes. But only potentially... which was worse. A hypothetical danger, that could or could not exist in the galaxy. It was convoluted, frustrating, and confusing.
Yet, the Force pulled on him. It was as clear as a compass, suddenly swiveling and pointing in a direction. For the first time in the last few weeks, Naruto knew where he had to go. He hated every second of it, but he had to do it.
"We all could be, if I don't go to Dathomir."
"... Dathomir. Really? Looking to meet up with Brutus again?"
"No, I - I mean that might be a highlight, but that's..."
Aurra kissed him again, letting him have a moment to stop talking and reset. "Take your time. I was joking... but you sound serious. What is it?"
Naruto closed his eyes, then, slowly opening them, he explained the brief snippet of what he now understood. "There's a... path on Dathomir. I think it leads to my home."
"... Coruscant?"
"I... maybe. But not just there. To my home world."
"... oh..."
Naruto had explained a bit of his world to Aurra, and while she'd called it good fun, she'd come to understand that Naruto worried about them leaving that world. And now, he was telling her that there was some "path" offworld. Sighing, she leaned into his chest, resting her hand there and closing her eyes.
"I'm worried..."
"I know."
"You don't have to come with me..."
"As if I'd let you go alone."
"But you don't have to."
"But I will."
She smacked his chest with her last comment, getting him to start and sigh. There had been not enough sleep for either of them, and she didn't feel like continuing the back and forth. Her mind was made up, and ultimately that would be that. Dathomir. It certainly wasn't a vacation spot, but she would go with him, if only because he needed to go there.
"Get some sleep." She pushed herself to her feet, grabbing a robe to throw over herself. "I'll set course, and we'll be there in a few days."
"I..." Naruto paused at setting her look, then let his statement fall with a wry smile. "Thank you."
"Of course."
Making her way out, Naruto watched her go in silence before dropping his head back to the pillow. Dathomir, and a gateway to his home. That wasn't something he'd expected, or wished to hear... but by the Force, he would follow this message. He would prevent their potential danger in the galaxy.
He had to.
Omake: Refresher Course
Aurra had most certainly not followed Naruto down to listen to some of what Naruto was teach Aayla. That would be simply unnecessary, and she didn't have to do that at all. It wasn't necessary at all to see Naruto's instruction, or to listen and see what all he was having her do. Then again, peaking in and listening in was completely within the bounds of what she could do. It was her ship after all.
Now, standing in front of a crate, she found herself staring at it and grimacing. Aayla had apparently done it without much issue at all, and lifted it high enough to be easily notable. Reaching out, she attempted to do the same.
The Force was apparently just ignoring her, not letting her perform a simple feat like lifting a damn empty crate. Shifting, she tried to think on the Force, remembering what little she knew of it, then tap into it and found... nothing.
Scowling, she stomped her foot and growled at the crate. When she was younger she'd been able to move a number of smaller items, but looking at a large crate like this suddenly felt like a mountain compared to a pebble. Her connection to the Force was near nonexistent, and she couldn't possibly consider lifting something so large.
"Stupid Force. I don't need it." She gripped her blaster, looking as though she wished to blast it away to nothingness.
"Having trouble?"
Spinning on her heels, she snapped the blaster towards the voice, only recognition keeping her from just pulling the trigger a few times as a warning shot. Glaring down the barrel of her blaster, she slowly shifted and holstered it again. "Really? You followed me here Naruto?"
Naruto shrugged, hopping off and walking over to her. "I mean, if you want to lift this, getting someone to help you isn't the worst thing. I, won't insist, but if I didn't say anything, you'd have shot at me if I just... hovered there."
Aurra tried not to laugh at that. He was right, but she was trying to be mad at him. Stepping up and jabbing him in the chest, she exhaled and stomped her foot. Then she did a second time, trying to assert herself further. Finally, she tried to say something, hand wavering in the air before she let it drop and she groaned, stepping away from him.
Following behind her, Naruto pat the side of the crate, shaking his head. "The crate isn't exactly the easiest place to start, but it might just mean you have more skill elsewhere. Learning to move and lift things in the Force isn't easy until you learn the simplest truth."
"And what is that?" She turned, frustration at her failures, then stumbled back a step when she almost walked into Naruto.
"Size, matters not."
"... are you quoting Yoda?"
"Yes."
"Of all the people, why would you..."
As she asked, Naruto closed his eyes, raising his thumb finger slowly. Behind him, the crate began to lift as well. Moving his finger around slowly, it followed his motions, acting for all the world that it was in anti-gravity, tugged without resistance on a string, moving about as freely as it could. Then, dropping his thumb to his palm, it settled down as simply as that. So easy, so simple, and yet Naruto did it without a second thought.
"You're scary." Aurra muttered, but a small smirk peaked out. "You think you, of all people, could teach me a thing or two?"
"... might even be able to give you a refresher on your lightsaber forms too, if you're willing to let me try."
She considered it for a moment. Naruto was breaking practically every tradition, every ideal of 'secrecy' that most thought for the Jedi, for her. The more she thought about it, and the more she considered what she'd spoken to the Jedi Masters about, the more she found herself softening to the prospect. Slowly, she stared to the ceiling, trying not to give in, but knowing she'd already failed. "Fine, but you have to promise not to take it easy on me."
"Not on your life." Naruto smirked, stepping back and motioning her forwards. "We'll go basic, but if you can't keep up..."
The challenge in his tone was clear, and she found herself indignant. "Oh, like I can't keep up."
"Keep up then."
Grinning and smirking at each other, they moved back to begin their lessons. Aurra didn't bother question when Naruto had time after training Aayla; he made his own time, after all. Besides, how long could it be to relearn what she'd already learnt once before, a long time ago?
AN: The lightsaber revealing some history, Jiraiya with a save and some confusing thoughts, and Naruto now has his heading. Each have their good, their bad, and their odd, and I enjoy it. I like giving Naruto a bit extra to look at, and have to realize that no one else in the galaxy would know that they should care about an issue like that. It's a fascinating dilemma of being alone in the galaxy, and caring about it enough to try and do more.
Plus, a little glimpse at Naruto doing #TheNarutoThing - aka, using the Force to keep himself strong and awake to help Aurra in her training after Aayla, because he wants them both to be strong enough to protect themselves. Not nearly as bad as no sleep whatsoever, but he's running on as little as he can to help them.
Thank you all for your reviews, they are always great to read. For those of you who have gotten to this chapter, the poll for Naruto's pairing ideas/thoughts is currently closed. As such, I'll be opening another one for Anakin again in a few days. If you have people you'd like to see on that poll, go ahead and throw them my way, and I'll see about adding them to it. The poll will once again be on my Profile, for people to vote when it's up.
May this chapter find you well, and may the Force be with you.
