Thank you to all of you who reviewed the last chapter. Your support and feedback was very gratifying. This chapter marks the beginning of the next story arc, one I chose to write based off of the questions of a reviewer. As I've said before, I read every review I get, and some of them do end up influencing my decisions regarding this story.

For those of you who thought the last arc was a little slow or boring, you'll be pleased to hear that this one promises to have more action. I can't guarantee that every arc will be a fast paced thrill ride, but now that Naruto is a Padawan, things can start heating up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Naruto. I can go about my business. Move along.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Chapter 21

Three months later

"Keep your blade up!" Mace Windu said as he slipped his lightsaber through a gap in Naruto's defenses and tagged him in the side. He hissed at the sharp sting along his ribs. Even on their training setting, lightsabers hurt. It helped incentivize you not to get hit.

Naruto shook off the blow and responded with an attack of his own. His lightsaber became an orange blur as he struck at his master, over and over again. At his legs, his arms, his head, his chest, his stomach. Each strike was aimed to either cripple or kill, but not a single one hit its target. Every attack he launched ran into the impenetrable wall that was Mace's violet lightsaber.

Snap.

Hiss.

Crack.

Buzz.

Back and forth went the staccato music of their spar, only interrupted by his master's occasional comments.

"Vary the speed of your strikes," he said. "The core of Juyo is unpredictable aggression."

Another flurry of blows. This time, Naruto fell for a feint and took a strike to the legs.

"Don't fall into a routine. Use that impulse against your opponent. Establish a pattern, then break it."

He pressed forward again. Mace simply pivoted to one side and tapped him on the back as he stumbled past. Naruto growled, but turned and tried again.

"Take care not to overextend your strikes," he said as he scored another hit, this time across Naruto's chest. "Do not forget to mind your defense while assaulting my own."

Naruto disengaged and jumped backwards to gain space and regroup. His master must have been feeling unusually merciful, as he didn't follow or press his advantage. He just stood there, an immovable pillar, waiting to see what Naruto would do next.

Not that he was actually in a fit state to do much of anything. Sweat poured down his face like a waterfall and left puddles wherever he stood. His breath came in heaving gasps. Welts littered his limbs and body, souvenirs of when he had left too large a gap in his defense for his master's taste. His arms shook with exertion, and his lightsaber felt as though it weighed 100 kilograms. He was nearly spent.

His master, on the other hand, practically looked fresh. He had only a light sheen of sweat and slightly quickened breathing to show that he had been exerting himself at all. In the four hours they had been sparring, Naruto had not landed a single hit. He hadn't even come close.

With anyone else, he would have found such a thing incredibly frustrating. With Master Windu, however, it was only to be expected. Sparring with his master was like sparring with Jiraiya. He was outclassed in every way, and he knew it. Still, he figured that was no reason not to give it his all. So he gathered what little energy he had left, pushed his exhaustion to the side, and charged back into the fray.

Exactly two seconds later, he found himself lying on his back, his hands stinging, wondering what had just happened. He had been aiming a stab at his master's chest and waiting for the inevitable counter. He'd had a plan for each likely scenario. If Master Windu parried, he would use tràkata to bypass his guard and get in a surprise attack. If Master Windu chose to dodge, he had been prepared to use the Force to trip him up, and press his advantage that way. He had, of course, fully expected both of his gambits to fail. What he had not expected was for his master to somehow vanish from his sight, disarm him, and plant his ass into the floor, all in less than a second.

"What did I just say?" He heard Mace ask him. His tone was calm, with no hint of anger or disappointment. Nonetheless, Naruto could feel through their growing bond that his master was dissatisfied over something.

"To mind my defense, master," he answered sheepishly. "But you also said Juyo was all about being aggressive and unpredictable."

Mace sighed and tossed Naruto his lightsaber. He caught it and gingerly picked himself up off the floor. Now that the adrenaline rush was fading, he could feel just how tired and sore he really was.

"Juyo is about those things, true," Mace said. "But your form should guide your actions, not limit them. You accounted for my superior skill and experience with your plans, but you didn't account for the fact that I am also faster and stronger than you are for now. If you had used even an ounce of caution, you would never have left such an enormous gap in your defense, and your plan may well have worked."

Naruto couldn't hold in his skeptical snort.

"Really, master," he said. "Against you?"

Mace just narrowed his eyes, and Naruto shrank a little under his gaze. It seemed his master was not in the mood for jokes.

"I am not invincible, Naruto," Mace said. "I may be skilled, but even the greatest warriors can fall prey to a clever trick, especially if they do not mind their guard."

"Yes, master," Naruto said glumly. He hated disappointing Master Windu, just as he hated disappointing Jiraiya. Upon hearing Naruto's tone, Mace's face softened just a fraction.

"Naruto, you have come a long way in the past three months," he said. "I foresee that one day you will surpass even me, and I look forward to seeing that. However, it will never happen if you get yourself killed because you were so focused on your offense."

He paused for a moment and sighed.

"Naruto, when I asked you which lightsaber form you wanted to learn, why did you choose Juyo?"

Naruto made to answer, but Mace cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Don't answer yet. I want you to meditate on that, as well as the rest of what I've said, for the rest of the evening. I have a Council meeting to attend."

"The whole evening?" Naruto asked, unable to hide his annoyance. Meditation, and sitting still in general, still didn't sit well with him. He just had too much energy.

"The whole evening," Mace confirmed. "And do not use an alchaka either. Your body needs to recover, understand?"

"Yes, master," Naruto said, resigned to his fate.

"And remember to dispel your clones before you meditate," Mace added. "It will be a good opportunity to sort through their memories."

"Yes, master."

"Oh, and Naruto," Mace said as he walked out the door. "Good job today. You did well."

Naruto immediately parked up at the unexpected praise. "Thanks, master," he said with an eye smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It took Naruto the better part of half an hour to get back to his quarters. They weren't especially far from the sparring hall, but he was feeling the effects of the day. Some of the others in the hallway, those who knew who his master was, sent him commiserating looks. Mace Windu was well known for the intensity of his training, both of himself and his students. Even before they had begun sparring with their lightsabers, Mace had run Naruto through a gauntlet of exercises, both physical and Force-based. He put Naruto through such hellish endurance training once every few weeks, claiming it would deepen his instinctual connection with the Force to draw on it while pushed to his limits.

Much to Naruto's chagrin, he was right. Every time he had reached for the Force during their spar, it had come to him more easily. Where once he had needed at least a light meditation to switch from using chakra to the larger Force, now he could do it with just a few moments of concentration. He could feel his control improving, day by day.

He wasn't only improving his connection to the Force either. His lightsaber skills had now caught up, or nearly caught up, to the other Padawans of his age. His sealing skills had come a long way, too. He could now create his own explosive tags, much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone who knew him, and many who did not. Most exciting for him, however, was his progress with wind chakra.

He had mastered the leaf splitting exercise fairly quickly. The hardest part had been ensuring he only created one cut. Jiraiya had soon declared that the leaves were too easy and had moved him on to tougher materials. Thus it was that when he reached his quarters, he found ten identical copies of himself all intently focused on several small strips of duraplast.

"Any progress?" He asked. Most of the clones ignored him, but one turned and gave him a glare.

"Why do you even bother asking us?" It asked sarcastically. "You're just going to dispel us anyway and get our memories, so why waste our brief lives with pointless chitchat? Don't we clones suffer enough in our-"

Poof.

Naruto lowered the fist he had just driven through the clone's face. As the cloud of smoke dispersed, he turned to the rest of the clones, who were watching apathetically.

"Dispel. Now," he growled. With a series of faint pops, the rest of his clones vanished in a cloud of smoke. Naruto just shook his head and massaged his temples at the sudden flood of information.

"Damn clones," he muttered. "Always giving me a headache. Honestly, how can I have disgruntled copies of myself?"

After a moment, he decided that psychoanalyzing himself would likely lead only to madness, and turned his attention to cleaning off the accumulated sweat from the day's exertions. As he slipped off his dirty clothes, he examined himself in the mirror.

As usual, he was taken aback by his hair at first. His blonde locks, which had once reached past his ears, were now trimmed short, and even after three months as a Padawan, he still found the sight odd. The only exception was the small Padawan braid that dangled behind his right ear. It was still only a few centimeters long, but it would eventually grow down to his shoulder until it was finally severed once he became a knight.

The other aspect of his reflection that struck him was his height. Naruto was used to being short for his age, though he would vigorously deny it when questioned. Nevertheless, he had been the shortest in his Academy class, and even some of the younger Initiates in the Clawmouse clan had been taller than him. Now, though, more than a year of proper nutrition and advanced medical care had reversed that trend. He had grown almost seventeen centimeters since arriving at the Temple and now stood fairly tall for his age.

While he appreciated the extra height, and the dearth of teasing it brought, it had one unfortunate side effect. Two months prior, he had finally outgrown his Konoha flak vest. It had become increasingly snug, to the point of being genuinely restrictive. Laying it aside had stung, but not as much as he had expected it to. Perhaps it was because he had never worn it while on active duty for Konoha, or perhaps because he recognized it was only a piece of clothing, but after an initial pang of heartache, he had moved on without regret. He now wore a dark brown tabard over his light tan tunic, leaving his forehead protector, mask, mesh armor, and armored gauntlets and gloves as his only non-traditional clothing.

After his shower, he reluctantly began the meditation that Master Windu had set for him. He settled into a comfortable position on the meditation mat with a resigned sigh and began to even out his breathing. At the same time, he sank into the Force, allowing its currents to wash over his mind. He couldn't yet go so deep on his own as to peer into the future, but he could certainly block out the present. Once he was ready, he focused on his master's words from earlier.

He contemplated what he had done well and what he had done poorly during the day's training. He tried to find the hidden lessons that Master Windu so often snuck into his training. He even replayed their spar, his master's commentary and all, in his mind in order to find where he had failed and where he had succeeded. Eventually, he came to a conclusion.

'Holy howling crap monkeys, this is fucking boring!' He thought. 'It's got to have been at least an hour by now.'

He shook off his meditation and glanced at his chrono. The number he saw shining back at him inspired a truly pathetic groan.

"Ten minutes," he muttered. "It hasn't even been ten minutes." There were still at least two hours left until the Council meeting would get out and his master would return. Even then, Mace would no doubt want them to meditate together for an hour, to strengthen their Master-Padawan bond.

"This evening is going to suck," Naruto said miserably, before returning to his meditation.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Once more, Naruto found his attention pulled away from his meditation. This time, however, it was not due to his own short attention span. Instead, he was distracted by the feeling of his master approaching their quarters. In an effort to stave off the worst of the boredom, he had stopped looking at the chrono altogether, and had subsequently lost track of time.

The door hissed open just as he opened his eyes. His master walked in and sat across from him.

"How was your meditation?" Mace asked. "Did you find the answer to my question?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't know, master. All I can think of are the same reasons I told you back then. Juyo is the most aggressive and unpredictable of the saber forms, and I think that suits me best. I don't know what other reasons you want?"

Mace nodded, his face as unreadable as always. Naruto knew he had somehow missed the point of whatever lesson his master had been trying to teach him. Despite that, he didn't sense any disappointment or annoyance from Mace, just calm acceptance. It was as if he had expected such a result.

"Do not trouble yourself over it," Mace said. "You will have plenty of time to contemplate that question in the coming weeks. For now, though, we have a mission."

That got Naruto to perk up. While he loved training just as much as the next Jedi, and probably quite a bit more, he had been itching for a mission for a while now. So far, he and Master Windu had only gone on a few training missions, all of them on Coruscant.

"Really? A mission? A real one this time?" He asked, not even bothering trying to hide his excitement. Mace gave him a dry look, but refrained from commenting.

"Yes, a mission," he confirmed. "And if by 'real' you mean it is not just for training, then yes, a real one this time."

"Yes! Finally!" Naruto cheered. He pumped his fist into the air. "A real mission. It's about time."

"Naruto, control yourself," Mace admonished firmly. Naruto quailed a little under his stern gaze and immediately settled back down. Not even Master Leem had anything on one of Master Windu's Looks.

"Sorry, master," he said. "I'm just excited. It's my first real mission as a Padawan."

"Indeed," Mace said. "And if you can keep a grip on your emotions, I can tell you about what we will be doing."

Naruto just chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Mace gave him one last Look before moving on.

"Our mission is to investigate a potentially unstable situation on Naboo," he said. "They are holding elections for a new monarch in just five weeks, and there have been a series of disturbances over the past few months."

"What sort of disturbances?" Naruto asked. While he paid attention, he was also racking his brain. He knew he had heard of Naboo before, but where?

"It apparently started with a number of disappearances, mainly of transients and refugees," Mace said. "There have also been a growing number of violent crimes around the planet. Assaults, murders, terrorist activities, all have risen sharply. The Supreme Chancellor himself has asked us to look into it."

"Chancellor Palpatine?" Naruto asked. "Why would he- oh, now I remember. Naboo is his home planet, right? It's where Anakin blew up that Lucrehulk."

"Yes, it is," Mace said approvingly. "The Chancellor fears that these disappearances and the new wave of violent crime pose a risk to the security of the election, and that they may be part of a larger conspiracy. Naboo has already suffered several upheavals in recent years, between the Trade Federation and re-uniting with the Gungans. He wants us to ensure nothing disrupts the stability they have achieved."

Naruto frowned at that. While the concept of free elections had been foreign to him at first, he had come to see how valuable it was that the people have the choice of who ruled them. He didn't like hearing that someone might be trying to take that right away, and he especially didn't like to hear that people were being kidnapped. It reminded him too much of what he and Ahsoka had heard from the women that Black Sun had enslaved.

"We have to help those people," he said, slamming a fist into his palm. "When do we leave?"

Mace nodded at his enthusiasm. "We'll spend tomorrow morning in the archives, familiarizing ourselves with Naboo. I also want to talk with Kenobi and Skywalker before we leave. They were the last Jedi to operate on Naboo, and they both know the current queen. If all goes well, we should leave here tomorrow afternoon."

"Tomorrow?" Naruto asked, leaping to his feet. He waved his arms around wildly. "But master, if people are disappearing, we should leave now. More people could get hurt if we wait!"

Mace reached out and grabbed Naruto's shoulder to stop him from pacing. At the same time, he sent feelings of calm and patience down the Padawan bond. Once Naruto had calmed down, he spoke sternly.

"Patience, Padawan, patience. It is good that you are so eager to help those in need, but do not allow your emotions to blind you to good sense and prudence. Better that we arrive well informed and ready to help than a day earlier but ignorant of the facts. Do you understand?"

Naruto's frown lasted a few more seconds before he sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Yes, master. I still don't like it, though."

"That's because you are a good and compassionate person, Naruto," Mace said, his voice more gentle now. "You dislike the idea of letting anyone suffer when you might be able to do something about it. I do not like waiting any more than you, but it is better than running in half cocked. That only does more harm than good."

Naruto nodded. "I think I get it. I don't like it, but I get it."

"Good," Mace said. "Now go get some rest. I need you fresh for tomorrow."

Naruto wasn't about to argue with that. After the day he had just had, sleep sounded even better than ramen. Or at least just as good, anyway. He hurried to his room and changed into sleep wear. As he drifted off, his thoughts turned to their upcoming mission, and the people who needed his help.

"I will find those people," he thought. "I made a promise to never let something like this go, and I intend to keep it."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next day, Naruto and Mace rose early. After a quick meal and an even quicker morning meditation, their first task was to speak to Obi-Wan and Anakin. Naruto, despite his lingering impatience, was looking forward to seeing his friend again. While he'd had a few chances to talk with Ahsoka and Barriss since becoming a Padawan, Anakin and Obi-Wan had been on near constant missions for the past several months.

To Naruto's surprise, Anakin's reaction when he told him of his mission was not one of his excitement or encouragement. Instead, Naruto could feel a sudden spike of jealousy coming from his older brother. He also sensed annoyance, though he couldn't figure out who it was directed at.

"Master, I don't understand," Anakin said to Obi-Wan. "Why weren't we selected for this mission? Both of us have been to Naboo before. We both know Padmé. We should be the ones going."

For a long minute, no one spoke. The look Obi-Wan gave Anakin was a study in blankness. It communicated no censure, no agreement, no emotion of any sort. Nevertheless, Naruto got the sense that some unspoken conversation was taking place. Anakin twitched a little, but remained firm, his frown still in place. Finally, after several seconds, Obi Wan broke the silence.

"Anakin, are you saying that because you believe it to be a good idea, or because of your… feelings?" He asked, putting a strange emphasis on the last word. Anakin flushed and looked away, but his posture remained stubborn.

"Anakin, we have been on seven missions in the last three months," Obi Wan continued, his voice still calm and even. "We're both exhausted. Can you honestly tell me we're in a fit state to investigate a potential planetary criminal conspiracy?"

Anakin grimaced before he finally relaxed his stance and shook his head. Naruto could feel the anger drain out of him, replaced by embarrassment and resignation.

"No," Anakin said. "I apologize, masters. I was out of line."

"It seems both you and my Padawan have some progress to make regarding patience," Mace said. Both Naruto and Anakin looked away, embarrassed. "Still, admitting your faults is the first and hardest step in correcting them. You are making progress. Keep working on it."

That raised both of their spirits a little. Though he had not been Mace's Padawan for very long, Naruto had learned at least one thing about his master; he didn't mince words. He never gave more leeway than you had earned, and he never compromised on correcting you unless you deserved it. He wasn't unduly harsh or critical, but he was just as reticent with his compliments as he was with his criticisms. If he wasn't taking either of them to task for their respective outbursts, then he truly felt they were at least on the right track.

From there, the conversation turned to Obi-Wan and Anakin's experiences on Naboo. As it turned out, neither of them could give much useful intel. Anakin had just been a kid when he ended up on the planet, and Obi-Wan had spent most of his time there sneaking around Theed and the surrounding swamps.

They were able to give a few useful tips, though. The first was that Naboo, despite its idyllic appearance, had a dark side. Its oceans were more or less death traps for the unwary, and many of them were not officially mapped. The swamps were nearly as mysterious, being largely forbidden to the Naboo by the Gungans.

The other tidbit, though, was something Naruto had a tough time believing.

"She uses decoys? Really? And that actually works?" Naruto asked. He just couldn't picture it. It sounded completely ridiculous at first.

"Yep, it works," Anakin said. "She fooled me, the Gungans, even Obi-Wan was clueless."

"Wait, really? She fooled you?" Naruto said, turning his attention to Obi-Wan, who suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"The point is that when you are dealing with the Queen, make sure it really is the Queen," he said, neatly sidestepping Naruto's question. "She isn't fond of being handled, and she may try to pull a switch if she thinks she can get away with it."

"I still don't get why they even have that sort of thing in the first place," Naruto said. "I mean, specially trained handmaidens, just in case they have to do something like this."

"Padmé told me that until recently, Naboo's politics were pretty violent," Anakin said. "Assassination attempts were commonplace, so they developed the decoy system to ensure the monarch's safety. It worked really well, so… they…"

He trailed off as he saw everyone staring at him.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," Obi-Wan replied, a spark of mischief in his eyes. "I'm just a little surprised. It took me a year to get you to pay attention to my lessons, but Padmé somehow got you to remember her words for seven years within a week of meeting you. Perhaps her true calling should have been teaching rather than politics, if she can manage such miracles."

Once again, Anakin's face turned red. To his credit, though, he kept his expression neutral. Mace's eyes narrowed, and Naruto could feel faint disapproval through their bond, but the older Master said nothing. After an awkward few seconds, Anakin walked over to grab Naruto by the shoulder and started half guiding, half dragging him into the other room.

"You two keep talking," he said. "I'm going to show Naruto some new droid upgrades I've been working on."

Before he had any chance to protest, Naruto found himself more or less carried out of the room. Anakin didn't let him go until the door was closed.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked. Anakin just sighed and pulled his hand down his face.

"Obi-Wan was just getting back at me for letting you know he was fooled," he said. Naruto shook his head.

"No, I got that," Naruto said. "But what he said about Padmé… wait! You like her, don't you?"

Anakin froze. For a long moment he said nothing, but Naruto could see the gears turning behind his eyes.

"I… don't know," Anakin said slowly. He sounded unsure of himself, as if admitting this for the first time. "She was there when Master Qui-Gon rescued me from Tatooine. She was kind to me, and I think we were friends. You remember how hard that stuff can be to tell when you're…"

Naruto nodded, his mind flashing back to his own dark childhood. He could easily remember how hard it was to tell the difference between random kindness, friendship, and love when you had hardly ever experienced any of them. A starving man couldn't easily distinguish between flavors after all. His own history with Sakura was proof enough of that.

"Yeah," he said eventually. "I remember."

Anakin must have noticed his grim tone, because he gave Naruto a brief, one-armed hug. Naruto returned it gladly. Even now, he was still thrilled by how good it felt to have family, adoptive or not.

"Anyway," Anakin said after they separated, "I talked to my mom about it, and even a little with Obi-Wan. I don't really know how I feel about her, other than that we were friends. I mean, I barely know her. We haven't spoken in seven years."

Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"You mean you haven't talked to her since you left Naboo? That's not right. Friends should stay in touch."

Anakin tried to wave it aside.

"It's not that big of a deal, really. I was busy with my training, and she was the Queen of an entire planet. It's fine."

Naruto just frowned at him.

"Maybe, but friends should still stay in touch," he said stubbornly. "Besides, she won't be the Queen soon. When I talk to her, I'm going to make sure she contacts you. Then you two can be friends again."

Anakin sighed and palmed his face again.

"Honestly, you're even more stubborn than me sometimes," he muttered, before speaking up. "Fine, since I know you're going to do it no matter what."

"Yep."

"Ugh, just don't cause a diplomatic incident."

Now it was Naruto's turn to sigh.

"Why does no one ever have any confidence in my diplomatic skills?" He asked forlornly. Anakin just smirked at him.

"Because they've talked to you."

"Oh, yeah."

The two of them shared a laugh before heading towards the door. It was about time they rejoined their masters before they became annoyed. As he was about to open the door, though, Anakin turned back to Naruto, his face serious.

"Naruto, do me a favor, would you," he said. "Keep her safe. I've got a bad feeling about this mission."

Naruto nodded. His eyes shone with determination, backed by an iron will.

"I will. I promise."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

After Mace and Naruto took their leave, they went to the archives. Their research there proved to be of little value, however. The Jedi had rarely been involved with Naboo, and neither had any major militaries or corporations until recently. The simple fact was that, save for recently, Naboo was a quiet, unimportant backwater with nothing to draw the attention of the wider galaxy. On the one hand, that meant it had escaped much of the turmoil that had gripped the Republic in the past. On the other hand, it made finding detailed information on the planet an absolute pain.

Finally, after four hours of research, they called it quits. They had uncovered little of importance, beyond confirming what Obi Wan and Anakin had told them. Naruto was ready to gouge out his own eyes just to pass the time, and though he did not show it, he suspected his master was similarly bored. That was the feeling he got over their bond, at least.

Regardless, he wasn't about to complain. Studying in the archives was bad enough, but he could tolerate it if he found something interesting. Studying with no reward, though, now that was downright torturous. After a quick lunch at the nearest mess hall, they finally headed to the hangar, where their T-6 shuttle was waiting for them. Naruto, despite his eagerness to get on with the mission, had only one question on his mind.

"Can I fly the ship, master?" He asked. The hopeful light in his eyes could have lit up a room. "Please."

Mace just looked at him skeptically. He had no doubt heard of Naruto's penchant for exuberant flying. Indeed, he had even experienced it a time or two, when Naruto was piloting speeders on their training missions.

"You are aware that we need to get to Naboo in one piece?" He asked. "That means no flying like a mynock on Death sticks, no ignoring local ordinances just because you believe they are stupid, and no crashing."

Naruto's expression didn't waver in the slightest.

"So that's a yes, right?"

Mace just sighed in resignation.

"I know I am going to regret this, but yes, you can fly. Just… do not show off."

Naruto's whoop of delight echoed off the hangar walls as he rushed towards their shuttle. He was in such a hurry that he missed the ghost of a smile that crossed Mace's face at his Padawan's excitement. He had forgotten how much fun having a Padawan could be. Then again, he doubted any Jedi had ever had an apprentice quite like Naruto before.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Mindful of his master's instructions, Naruto kept his flying to strictly boring levels. He didn't push the engines to see how fast he could go, and he didn't weave around incoming ships to test his reflexes. As far as he was concerned, it was downright iniquitous to fly in such a staid and uninspired fashion, but he would take what he could get. Mace was hardly going to let him fly later if he disobeyed him now.

Even if he had been willing to test his master's patience with some fancy maneuvers, he wasn't sure he would have been able to get away with them here, anyway. As he looked out the viewport and then glanced at his scanner display, he was a little intimidated by the sheer volume of air traffic Coruscant had. He had never actually flown through it before. All the Jedi flight classes he had taken so far had either used simulators, or else had the instructor take them to a designated training zone past Cygnax-2, Coruscant's second moon. Anakin had given him plenty of extra pointers, but had also been sure to impress upon him the fact that nothing could replace experience. The T-6 may have been a relatively small and agile ship, but Naruto privately doubted his ability to weave through such crowded skies just yet. One day, certainly, but not now.

Fortunately, Mace was able to use his Jedi clearance code to get them through the traffic in less than twenty minutes. As soon as they were clear of the planet's ionosphere, Naruto punched in the coordinates and jumped to hyperspace. Once the dark void of space had given way to the endless tunnel of hyperspace, Naruto locked the controls and relaxed into his seat.

"We should be on the Corellian Run for the next six hours," he told his master. Mace nodded, his face thoughtful.

"Good," he said. "Once we get to Naboo, we will have to speak with Queen Amidala. She should be able to give us more insight into the situation on her planet. For now, though, we have time to train."

Naruto started, surprised at that.

"Now, master?" He asked. "But I have to monitor the ship's navicomputer and engines regularly. We don't have an astromech, and this thing's autopilot isn't good for long journeys."

"Naruto, what have I told you about making good use of small blocks of time?" Mace asked, though it was obviously a rhetorical question. "Even a few spare seconds is enough to practice some aspect of your skills. A Jedi should treat every moment of every day as an opportunity to improve themselves. I am confident you have something you can practice while here in the cockpit."

Naruto thought about it for a moment. Something that he could practice in the cockpit, preferably without damaging the ship or blasting them out of space. It took him a few seconds, but when the answer came to him, he nodded vigorously.

"I can practice connecting to the Force more quickly," he said. "It still takes me a few seconds to feel the Force after I've used chakra."

He could feel Mace's approval over their bond, even as the man himself nodded.

"An excellent idea, Padawan," he said. "In that case, I will practice creating and controlling chakra. Perhaps we can be of help to each other."

Naruto was shocked to hear that. So far, he had only given tips on chakra to his fellow clan mates and a few Padawans, including Anakin. It hadn't even occurred to him that he might teach a Jedi Master, let alone Mace freaking Windu. While Naruto was nothing if not brimming with self-confidence, the thought of giving instruction to such a legendary figure as his master gave even him pause.

Mace seemed to sense his doubts and gave him a reassuring look. "Naruto, do you remember what I said when I first took you as my Padawan?" He asked. Naruto just looked at him blankly, prompting a sigh.

"I said that a Padawan often teaches their master as much as the master does the Padawan. I am sure you will do a fine job helping me learn to use chakra. Now, I have never known you to doubt yourself. I would hate for you to start now."

Naruto stared at him dumbly for a second before bowing his head in gratitude.

"Yes, master," he said. It wasn't just the trust Mace showed in him that moved him so, it was the way he had said it. There had been no hesitation, no false enthusiasm, not even a coaxing encouragement. He had said it calmly and evenly, as though it were already a well-established fact. For Naruto, who still often found himself expecting mistrust and rejection from those around him, it was perhaps the greatest gift Mace could have given him in that moment.

Thus they settled into a comfortable silence, as each of them set about their individual training. Naruto practiced untangling the Force from his body's own energy as fast as he could. While he could maintain a connection to the Force with scarcely any effort now, he was still slower than he would have liked to make the connection in the first place. He began by channeling wind chakra to cut into a strip of durasteel he took from his pocket. Once he had scratched the metal, he immediately started a timer and began trying to connect to the Force around him. As soon as he managed to levitate his lightsaber out of his lap, he stopped the timer and checked his progress.

Much to his initial frustration, he made no real improvements at first. It took him roughly three seconds to connect to the Force, no matter how hard he reached for it. Regardless of the effort he put in, it felt like trying to grab hold of smoke for those first three seconds. As the minutes turned into an hour, and then two, he felt his irritation build.

It seemed Mace felt it too, either through the bond or simply by dint of his experience as a teacher. Either way, he spoke up in his typical calm, stern voice.

"You must remain calm, Padawan. Your emotions may lend you energy, but they also disrupt your focus. Only when you are centered, and your whole being is focused upon the here and now, will you achieve your potential."

Naruto clenched his fists for a moment, before he took a deep breath. As he let it out, he released the tension from his body. He repeated the exercise several times until he felt he had regained some sense of balance.

"I'm sorry, master. It's just- I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've been stuck at this point for over a month now. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to make the connection any faster."

Mace swiveled his chair so that he was facing him and gave him an appraising glance. "You are stuck because you are going about it the wrong way. You are only solving half of the problem."

"Huh?" Naruto gave him a confused look. What did he mean he was only solving half of the problem? What other half was there?

"You keep putting more and more effort into reaching out to the Force, but trying harder is not the key here. You must allow the Force to connect with you just as you connect with it."

Naruto's confusion just deepened, prompting Mace to continue.

"When you create chakra, you are not just pulling some of the Force into your body, you are also keeping the rest of it out. When you reconnect, the Force is trying to rush back to you. Be open to it. Trust it. Let it do some of the work, instead of pushing through on your own. I think you will find it much more successful."

Naruto contemplated that for a bit before responding.

"But… how am I actually supposed to do that, master?"

"That, Padawan, is something you will have to figure out for yourself. All I will say is go slow and be patient."

Naruto lapsed into a thoughtful silence after that. For several minutes he just sat in his chair and turned the problem over in his head, trying to puzzle out how to reach for the Force while also letting it reach for him. After a while, though, he sighed and smiled a little beneath his mask.

'Screw it,' he thought. 'Might as well go to the old standby; try stuff until it works. Why mess with the classics after all?'

With that, he once more set about his training. This time, however, he tried to feel for what Mace had told him to look for. It wasn't easy at first. If he didn't focus on reaching out to the Force, then he had trouble untangling his chakra. If he did focus on making the connection, though, then he was back at square one. Still, despite the apparently contradictory nature of his task, he persevered. He hadn't expected his master's instructions to be easy, and Naruto was nothing if not persistent. He had overcome most of the past obstacles in his training by beating his head against them until they crumbled, and he didn't see why this would be any different.

After an hour of what felt like trying to look up his own nose, he finally felt… something. He wasn't entirely sure what it was. He had been trying to break down the process of connecting to the Force into individual steps, going as slow as his hyperactive mind could bear, when he had sensed something different, something he had not felt before. It was like the difference between walking into the ocean and letting the tide and the waves come to you. Just for an instant, Naruto could have sworn he felt the Force reach out to him. It had faded almost instantly, but it was the first sign that he was on the right track.

He immediately tried the step-by-step method again, this time even slower. First, he calmed the flow of his chakra, until it was practically motionless in his coils.

Nothing.

Next, he carefully separated his own physical energy from the spiritual energy, the Force. He normally could do this in an instant, but this time, he took five minutes. At the end, the two energies were flowing side by side within him, but were no longer mixed.

Still nothing.

Continuing, he proceeded to slowly let the energy of the Force move outside of his chakra coils, until it uniformly suffused his entire body.

There! He felt it again.

As soon as the Force had finished diffusing throughout his body, he felt the sensation of something outside reaching in. Just like the first time, it vanished in an instant, but this time he could tell why. The moment he had felt it, his concentration had wavered, and he had automatically reached out to connect the Force within him to the larger Force around him. Normally he would proceed through the entire process without pausing, and he would never have felt the Force reaching out to him. Now, though, he knew what to do.

He practiced, again and again, for hours. It proved damnably tricky for him to find the balance between reaching out and remaining receptive, but he persevered. He had already learned how to touch the Force once. Doing it again was hardly an insurmountable challenge. With every failed attempt, Naruto could feel himself getting closer and closer to that one time he wouldn't fail. Finally, after three hours, he managed it. It was still slow, but he had found the right balance of push and pull.

"I think I've got it, master!" He said, his excitement clear in his voice. Mace glanced up from his own meditation and gave him an approving look.

"So I could feel," he said. "That was very well done, Naruto. Now all you need is practice and you should be able to switch from chakra to the Force in an instant."

"How's your training going?" Naruto asked. He had been dimly aware of Mace's efforts to create and maintain a chakra pool, but he had deliberately tuned them out so that he could focus.

"It is difficult. Using the Force like that runs against decades of habit for me. I can feel that I have made some progress, but it would be helpful to have some manner of measuring it. The leaf sticking exercise is not intensive enough to challenge me anymore."

Naruto frowned as he considered the issue. The leaf sticking exercise was really only useful for children and complete novices. While he may be new to chakra, Mace Windu was certainly neither a child nor a novice at using mystical powers. At the same time, he couldn't very well start tree walking. Mace wouldn't be able to keep his chakra stable long enough for that yet, nor could he just walk along the walls out in public. As Naruto had discovered, that sort of thing drew comment outside of the Temple.

It wasn't until later, when he was taking a break from practice, that he thought of a solution. He was checking over his gear, a habit that Kakashi, Jiraiya, and now Mace had all drilled into him. Most of it, except for his lightsaber, his medkit, and his comlink, was in a couple of small storage scrolls he kept on his belt.

As he resealed the last item, a thought popped into his head. After a moment's consideration, he took out his sealing supplies and set to work. A few minutes later, he rolled the finished product into a scroll and headed back into the cockpit, where his master was still meditating.

"Master, I made something for you," Naruto said. He held out the roll of flimsi, which Mace took and examined.

"What is it?"

"It's a storage scroll. You can use it to practice your chakra. Storage seals take more chakra to work than the leaf exercise, but they're not as tough as tree walking. Just seal rocks or something into it for practice. When you can store and retrieve something from it without losing control of your chakra, you should be ready for basic ninjutsu training."

Mace looked up from examining the intricate seal and gave Naruto a brief, but warm, smile.

"Thank you, Naruto. This is a very thoughtful gift," he said. After Naruto showed him how to properly operate the seal, he retrieved a spare stem bolt from the maintenance kit and set about his training once again. Together they sat and practiced, occasionally trading advice or observations, for hours, as the ship hurtled silently through hyperspace.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

By far the hardest part of this chapter to write was Mace Windu. He and Naruto are very different people, but they also complement each other weirdly well. He can reign in Naruto's more impulsive nature and direct his excess energy, while Naruto challenges his beliefs and brings out a lighter side of his character. I wanted to portray him as a hard-ass, but also as a competent teacher. For all his faults, he's still a Jedi Master with experience training at least on Padawan before Naruto. Let me know what you think of the way I wrote him. He's a very polarizing figure amongst fans, so I'm curious what you all have to say.

In case any of you were wondering, I'm using the Legends timeline for Padmé. It lines up better with my timeline for this story, and also makes more sense character-wise. In current canon she becomes senator in 28 BBY, which begs the question why she and Anakin never crossed paths until Jango tried to kill her.

An interesting thing I've noticed while writing this story is how I have to avoid most idioms. So many English idioms are incompatible with a Star Wars fic because they contain references to sports, cars, specific games, and other things that just aren't present in the Star Wars universe. Sayings like "ace in the hole", "broken record", etc. need to be modified, or else they break immersion.

As always, if you have any comments, critiques, or questions then please leave them in the review section. Your guys' thoughts on the story are invaluable to me when it comes to improving as a writer, so you're not just inflating my ego when you leave a review. You're helping me give you a better story. I especially would like feedback on what you think of Naruto and Mace's dynamic. It's one of the central relationships of this story, so I really want to make sure I get it right.