A/N: This is, maybe good news to some, bad news to some, but this chapter has a last scene with a talk between Obi/Midii/Jiro. The next chapter, I promise, will have action in it. And a tempting from the Dark Side of the Force...! And, yes, Qui-Gon is still a jerk in this chapter. ^^; In the next chapter, he'll be somewhat good, I promise.
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"Succumb Intoxication"
by ; andrea
x . c h a p t e r t h r e e
; drunken talk
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Obi-Wan trailed behind his master, following him to the council. He tried to keep the feeling of intoxication back, hidden behind his mental shields. What would his master think if he knew he had been drinking? Obi-Wan paused in his thoughts, and then smiled to himself mockingly. His master wouldn't care!
So, he was leaving the temple—he was leaving Coruscant. He was probably going to be some lowly moisture farmer... No, of course not. The council wouldn't be that degrading! Obi-Wan swallowed the lump that was in his throat. He didn't expect much when he decided he was Jedi. He expected to be the keeper of peace... But, somewhere out there... He stared up into the sky of Coruscant through the long window that was at the wall of the hallway. He would be a nobody...
But that didn't matter, did it?
But, oh, how he wanted to be someone to his master!
No, Qui-Gon was not his master anymore. Well, at least soon, he wouldn't.
Obi-Wan bit his lower lip and tried to walk faster, tried to walk faster so he could get out of here as soon as possible before he'd feel terrible. Too late...
Before he knew it, he was standing before the council, Qui-Gon in front of him. He could feel the eyes of them all bleeding into his skin, through his clothing.
"Insulted the Jedi, you said he did?" the squirmy voice of Yoda asked.
"Yes, he did," Qui-Gon answered formally. "But I do admit. I lost my control. I did strike the boy, which I completely and utterly feel guilty towards."
Qui-Gon's a good liar, Obi-Wan thought.
"Is this true, young padawan?" Mace Windu asked.
Obi-Wan raised his head, which had been lowered in shame, and turned to look at Mace. The man's figure was swaying back and forth in his seat. No, that was just Obi-Wan. The Correllian drink was getting to him again.
"Y-yes."
"Wise, it was not, Qui-Gon, to strike this boy. Teach him anger, it did."
"I am aware of that," Qui-Gon answered, nodding his head firmly as he put his hands on his hips in a confident pose.
Yoda closed his huge eyes and lifted a three-fingered hand in front of his face towards Obi-Wan. "The force is strong with this child. Positive, you are, that he should be sent to Tatooine? Patrol Jedi you would like him to be?"
"Yes."
"You do realize that you will not have another padawan," another member of the council spoke up.
"Yes, and I am grateful for that."
Yoda nodded, then added a 'hmm' in his little voice. "Harsh you are to this boy. Half your fault for his wrong-doing, you know it is, correct?"
"No, master," Qui-Gon retorted. "The boy is just stubborn."
Mace interrupted, "The only defiance I sense is in you, Qui-Gon Jinn."
Getting back to the point, Qui-Gon went on, "So Kenobi is allowed to be shipped off to Tatooine?"
Obi-Wan flinched at the thought of being 'shipped off.' His master was speaking of him like a mere object.
"But," Obi-Wan said quietly. Qui-Gon turned around to the boy and stared at him. Obi-Wan lowered his head slightly, but kept his eyes on his master. "I don't want to go to Tatooine... Master."
"You don't have much of a say in this."
Obi-Wan visibly shuddered and took a step back. "But it's my future, isn't it? I don't want to be..." He caught himself speaking and closed his mouth immediately. Qui-Gon's figure began to dissolve, sway and blur. He squinted at his master, trying to realize what was wrong.
The drink...
"I'm not feeling well, Master, council... I..."
Feeling all the eyes upon him, he took another step back and put his hands to his face, hoping they wouldn't see him—or sense his disturbance.
But they had sensed it.
"Drank Corellian liquor, did you not, our young padawan?"
Obi-Wan couldn't recognize the voice. Only Yoda would speak like that, but the voice was terrible, hoarse and high-pitched. He shivered, feeling his knees give way. He plopped down onto the floor, holding his head. Why now?! He could hear a few startled gasps coming from the council, but he tried to block them out, as well as everything.
"Your doing, this is," Yoda motioned towards Qui-Gon.
"I didn't even know where he was," Qui-Gon retorted quietly.
"Know that, I do! That is why!"
Mace motioned to the door with his right hand, "Take the boy to the healer's ward. We'll speak about this later."
Qui-Gon turned around to grab the boy's arm and he held him up, walking out of the council. I got nothing accomplished here, he thought. Obi-Wan hobbled behind him with his arm still in Qui-Gon's grasp.
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"There's nothing we can do for him right now. Corellian blue liquor is not something to toy with. Maybe for the rest of the day, and maybe tomorrow, he will have pauses... in the hangover or drunkenness. It switches off and on. But I cannot tell..." the nurse went on, looking at Obi-Wan who was swaying back and forth by his master. "How much he took so I am unsure how long this will last."
Shaking his head to himself, Qui-Gon took his padawan by the arm and led him out of the healer's ward. That visit was also useless. The halls were quiet and not very crowded at all. Obi-Wan tried to focus on the raindrops on the windows, but his head kept spinning.
"Master," he blurted, gripping Qui-Gon's arm that was holding onto him. He held onto his master for support in his drunken walk. "Master—master I'm sorry for what I said. It was wrong and it's not my place—place to say... something like that. I'm glad you hit me—or I don't know what else I'd do."
"Quiet for now, Obi-Wan."
"Y-yes, Master," the boy stuttered.
The door shut behind him. Obi-Wan hadn't realized he had been dragged back to his quarter's. He swallowed hard and then his eyes glanced across the room. Qui-Gon was gone. He was probably in his room. Obi-Wan stood in front of the door, trying to suck up all the emotions that were welling up in every orifice of his body. Especially his mouth. He felt his stomach lurch, possibly, well, it was crawling up his throat!
"Qui—" But before the boy could finish, he swallowed down whatever was threatening to disgorge out of his mouth. "Gon," he finished, sinking back onto the door, trying to find the support in his legs. He couldn't stand up much longer. But suddenly, a wave of relief washed over him.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he whirled to his side to see Jiro—standing there.
The events just seemed to come down on him so fast.
"How did you!? So fast!?" he spat.
"Shh," Jiro said, nudging Obi-Wan into the small hallway that led to his room. "Qui-Gon's gone and—well—you're really sick. He sent for us to watch after you while he... well," Jiro paused, turning to his side.
Midii was standing beside Jiro, her hands behind her back as she watched Obi-Wan. She didn't say anything. She let her feelings out into the force, hoping Obi-Wan could feel them. But he didn't, since he was not at all sober.
"He's not here right now," Jiro said, not knowing how to finish off his earlier sentence.
Turning his head sloppily back to his friend who had just spoken, he got pushed into his bed carefully. This all happened so fast, that the next movement came extremely slow. The blankets on his bed pulled gently over his shivering body by Midii's delicate fingers.
In this brief moment, he closed his eyes, trying to concentrate and make everything smoothly go back to its original pace. Everything went so fast, or too, too slow.
After taking a few steady breaths, he opened his eyes to find Jiro hovering over him, grinning slightly.
Jiro had bright, ginger-brown hair that seemed to contrast his dark brown eyes. A mischievous grin never left his face any moment. His skin color was that of deep chocolate which stood out with his blazing white teeth.
After taking a look at Jiro, Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile.
"Jiro, with you just here brings a smile to my face."
The brown-eyed boy couldn't help but grin even wider. "What are friends for?"
Obi-Wan closed his eyes, and kept them shut.
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Obi-Wan awoke later that night, or earlier, very earlier, to have his eyesight fine and, most importantly, normal. He gazed around his room. He saw Jiro and Midii crumbled up onto each other in the one chair that was in his room. Midii, surprisingly, was awake, her chin on Jiro's shoulder, who was snoring loudly.
Midii, also surprisingly, to Obi-Wan at least, had dry traces of tears down her pale face.
Obi-Wan paused, then forced a smile to his friend. She didn't move from her position.
He suddenly felt a huge rush of guilt wash over him. He hadn't told his two best friends yet, has he?
"... Midii. I'm... leaving, soon."
Midii was sitting beside Jiro, but leaning on his shoulder. He must have seen her crying. The girl nodded gently, but felt another tear stream down her face.
"So is Jiro, you know."
Obi-Wan didn't say anything for a moment; he only turned to look at the ceiling. The silence began tainting the air around the three.
But Jiro's snoring drove it away.
"Why is he leaving?"
"He's going to a planet called Naboo. And he's not returning. And you—you're leaving too, aren't you? That's what Qui-Gon had told us..."
Her voice cracked and bent on her last sentence. She leaned her head closer to Jiro's and held her breath.
"And I'm to stay here—on Coruscant," she finished off quietly. "And that's the truth, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan shut his eyes tightly and bit his lip. He didn't mean what he had said before, did he? Well, it didn't matter if he did or didn't, because he regretted it now.
"I'm sorry, Vesper."
"Doesn't matter, Kenobi," she stated quietly, furrowing her brows. "At least you're here right now—and, thank the Force, you're all right."
"This is my last time seeing you... Midii."
"I know, Kenobi."
"We had some fun times together."
"Being a Jedi has hardly any fun in it."
"I know... and it looks like, for me, being a Jedi is something that has never been right."
"Don't say that," she whispered desperately. "You're a great Jedi. I don't see what's wrong with your master, but you... you have great potential. I'd do anything, anything for you to become a Jedi. Right now, I feel... lost."
"I do, too."
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Later, after Midii and Obi-Wan had their last talk quietly, and while Jiro snored, Qui-Gon stepped into the room. He turned to look at Jiro and Midii. The one stare that he had given the two was enough to say a million words. Midii woke Jiro up gently by touching his forehead and using the Force. She stood up, Jiro groggily standing up after her. The two young padawans bowed to the older master and made their way out of the room.
"If you are able to stand, we are ready to leave, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan sat up from his bed and stood. He took his cloak that was draping over the chair Jiro and Midii were sitting in. He pulled the hood over his head and put his hands in the baggy sleeves. He was ready to leave.
But he wasn't ready to give up being a Jedi completely. Sure, he would be somewhere on Tatooine, doing absolutely nothing but preventing brawls at cantinas, but, still, he would be a Jedi. He remembered the words he had said to his master.
But what did I expect from a Jedi?!
His eyes stung with hot tears but he blinked them away.
"Then we are ready to leave."
Obi-Wan took a bag and swung it over his shoulder. That was all he needed for the rest of his life, wasn't it? A bag of clothes and a light saber at his side.
That was all he needed... right?
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A/N: Yep. I'm finally getting into the real plot! D The next chapter will possibly be longer than the rest because... well, why am I telling you this!? You'll just have to read. Heheh. Oh, and Midii and Jiro won't be included so much. I got some mixed opinions. Some people loved them. Some people hated them. I will include them later on, but the main focus here is Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Someone from Obi-Wan's past will show up in the next chapter. *Hears gasps from the readers.* Jiro's past will also take on a slightly bigger part in the next chapter. (But there'll be no Jiro. ^^;) I'm confusing you, aren't I? Oh well. Just getting you prepared for what you're gonna read later on. Review? ^____^;