Sparring Practise

A.N: Timeline setting: Spans various eras of time. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out when each part is set... hopefully. :)

The first time it happened, he learnt a valuable lesson, one he had only heard Yoda preach before.

Caleb Dume thought he was good with a lightsaber, or at least halfway decent. His clan in the Jedi temple, consisting of around fifteen other younglings often sparred together. They would train from each other, learn from each other, and develop the skills they would need to become Jedi Knights.

Sparring was one of Caleb's favourite aspects of learning to be a Jedi. The method and control required to effectively use a lightsaber gave him a sense of accomplishment, as well as stability. If he could learn to use a lightsaber, then he could be seen as a Jedi. If he could be seen as a Jedi, then he could help people.

And in the end, that was all he wanted to do. Help people.

Training lessons were often held for the younglings by various masters. More often than not it was Tera Sinube that led them, but every so often someone else would fill in, or they would have a guest to assist them.

Master Sinube himself has said that Caleb was a rising star with a lightsaber, and so when it was announced in class that he would need a volunteer to go up against a Padawan guest to see how far they had come in their initial training, Caleb had immediately volunteered.

And he'd been confident in himself. Surely by now, at ten years of age, he would be more than able to hold his own against a Padawan.

And that was how he met Ahsoka Tano. She wasn't especially tall, and didn't really fit the image of what a Jedi was. Rather than wear the tell-tale robes of most Jedi, she instead wore a simple outfit, one that showed plenty of skin and was clearly designed to allow her to move quickly.

Truth be told, she didn't look much like a threat.

Oh how he would learn to eat his words.

Confident with himself, he had stepped forward, bowing before the Togruta girl who was not much older than him, but already a Padawan.

Once the bowing was complete, the pair had dropped into their preferred stances, and ignited their blades.

Padawan Tano's form was unique. She seemed to use some amalgamation of form five, mixed with a reverse Shien grip. Unorthodox to be sure. Caleb hadn't trained for this!

Moments later, the duel started. Ahsoka's green blade pivoted towards Caleb, clashing against the blue blade, before heading off into a series of strikes, all which forced Caleb onto the defensive.

The lightsabers may have been set to training mode, but they still packed a nasty punch if a blow was landed.

Caleb was forced to alter his footwork to allow himself to backpedal away from the onslaught that was Ahsoka Tano. Her bright green blade seemingly came from multiple directions at once, further forcing Caleb to alter his strategy.

How was he supposed to counter this?

When it appeared that the Togruta was finally wearing herself down, Caleb moved to attempt an offense.

Only to have the Togruta girl drop to her knees, flicking her foot out in the process, and tripping Caleb up.

Caleb suddenly found himself face first on the floor, his lightsaber hilt rolling away from him, and Tano's boot on his spine.

Master Sinube had congratulated Ahsoka for the victory, before also passing compliments to Caleb for lasting as long as he did. Clearly he hadn't been expecting it.

But what had surprised Caleb was Ahsoka's reaction. Rather than get smug about the victory, she simply reached down a hand to her fallen opponent, a bright smile on her face.

"Nice job. You fight great!"

The compliment itself encouraged him to push forward, to become more like her.

And he had also learnt why Yoda often repeated a phrase to the younglings.

'Judge me by my size do you hmmm?'

Suffice to say, he never would again. Even the smallest of people could be dangerous.

The second time it had happened he would later admit was a bit foolish of him.

Shortly after he had been rescued by his team from Tarkin's Star Destroyer, he had found himself wrapped up in some sort of organized rebellion.

And there she was. Ahsoka Tano, in the flesh.

And it was then that he had made a mistake, this time in front of the entire crew of the Ghost.

"I want a rematch!"

Everyone's head had turned in shock to look at Kanan, completely bedazzled at the sudden demand their friend had made.

But Ahsoka simply smiled, her serene and calming nature never breaking. She didn't show smugness from the past, even now.

Instead she nodded, and before Kanan knew it he was standing in a training room on Phoenix Home, lightsaber in hand. Opposite him stood Ahsoka, twin white beams ignited.

This time Kanan attacked first, covering the distance between them in a second.

Only to once again find himself face planting as Ahsoka vaulted over him, delivering a sharp kick to his back in the process.

Kanan tried to shake of the fall quicker this time, but he was still too slow. Once again he found himself under Ahsoka's boot, a familiar rogue smile on her face.

From the edge of the ring, he could hear Zeb's boisterous laughter, as well as Ezra's sounds of wonderment. His young apprentice was clearly awed by Ahsoka's performance, even if she had done next to nothing.

And to be honest, Kanan was too.

The third time it happened, he had Ezra by his side helping him.

He thought that maybe together, a master and an apprentice, they could defeat Ahsoka.

And to begin with it had been going well. Both Kanan and Ezra forced Ahsoka onto the defensive, their blades coming from multiple directions, forcing Ahsoka to alter every swing of her own blades to counter theirs, whilst trying to find a gap in their defensives.

If they could keep this up, hopefully the strain on the Togruta would have been enough to wear her down after a while. However, that appeared to not be the case.

The duel lasted several minutes, and Ezra appeared to be beginning to buckle under the fight, his strikes becoming sloppy and unprecise.

Not that Kanan blamed him. It appeared that Ahsoka had the stamina of a rancor!

In the end, it was the teamwork aspect that led to their defeat. In their attempt to fight together, they had left themselves open.

Ahsoka had moved like water, forcing Ezra back and focusing her efforts on Kanan, yet leaving her back exposed for the young boy.

Clearly Ezra had spotted this, and had taken his opportunity.

Only for Ahsoka to once again vault over Kanan's head.

And rather than hit her in the back, Ezra's blade continued forward, striking Kanan in the chest, delivering a sharp electric shock throughout his body.

"Argh, dammit kid!" Kanan had called out, collapsing to the floor as he felt the current run through him.

Ezra's response was simple.

"Oh karabast!"

The fourth time it happened he thought he had everything planned.

It wasn't an obsession of his at least that was what he had assured Hera. But once, just once, he wanted to be able to say 'I beat Ahsoka Tano in a lightsaber duel'.

But every time he tried in the past he had failed. And now he knew why.

She had been prepared for him. She had planned ahead. She knew what was about to happen.

And that gave her the advantage.

But if he could surprise her… then maybe he would gain a temporary advantage over her, even if it was brief.

So he had set things in motion. He had originally asked Rex to help him lure Ahsoka to a small section of Chopper Base so he could ambush her, but the clone had laughed at him, telling him he was doomed to lose again.

So Kanan had turned to Chopper, who had agreed to help, stating that he would enjoy watching Kanan lose again.

Kanan had kicked the droid then and there, before the orange astromech had left.

And now here he was, suspended on the underside of a crate that was hanging on a metal clamp, waiting for Chopper to lure Ahsoka towards him.

And then, from around the corner, they came.

He could just make out what Ahsoka was saying the Chopper, as well as the retorts the droid was giving back.

"Just a few more feet." Kanan whispered to himself as Chopper continued to lure Ahsoka so that she was directly underneath him.

When said Togruta was in position, Kanan sprung his trap.

Releasing his hold on the crate, he began to dive towards Ahsoka, manipulating the force so that he would land in a roll in front of her, before springing up with his lightsaber equipped, ready to attack when her defences were down.

Watching as he fell, Kanan noticed that Ahsoka had yet to figure out her was there. She was simply too engrossed in talking to Chopper.

Kanan was only a few feet from the ground now, and he began to shift his body so that he would land in a roll.

He had her!

And then Ahsoka raised her hand, palm facing out towards Kanan.

And suddenly Kanan found himself suspended in the air, completely at the mercy of Ahsoka's manipulation of the force.

Looking around, Kanan only have one thing to say.

"Not again!"

In the background, he could hear Chopper laughing.

The fifth time he tried he was blind. Malachor had taken a lot from everyone. Ahsoka had lost her master. Ezra had been subject to the very heart of the darkside.

And Kanan had lost his eyes. He would never see again. All it had taken was one small mistake, and his vision was gone for good.

For a time he was broken, unsure what to do. What use was he without his sight?

At least, that was what he thought, until he met the Bendu. Through rigorous training and words of wisdom, Kanan had found himself. He may no longer be able to see the physical aspects of life, but he could still see it all.

Just differently now.

And so it was that he challenged Ahsoka Tano, the woman who had killed a Sith Lord, to another duel.

The two stood opposite one another, the crew of the Ghost standing around them in a circle, watching.

Taking a deep breath, Kanan ignited his saber and prepared, opting for a different form than he was used to. Placing one arm behind his back, he tightened his grip in his saber hilt, and waited.

Patience. That was what it would take.

Patience.

Through the force he could feel Ezra's excitement, as well as Ahsoka's surprise at the different form. Kanan would almost say she was impressed.

And the she moved, dashing towards Kanan, white blades ignited coming across in a sweeping motion.

Seconds before the blades made contact, he shifted his position, sliding under her swings and jumping back to his feet to attack her back.

The Togruta corrected her move quickly, spinning on her heels and locking blades with Kanan's, pushing against his single handed grip.

Breaking one blade off from the lock, Ahsoka tried to sweep it across his knees. But the force sang to Kanan, warning him. In his mind he saw the attack coming, and he allowed the force to guide his direction.

The force sang commands to him. Back. Forward. Left. Right. All directions he should move.

And he did. He listened to every single command, and in turn skilfully evaded each of Ahsoka's attacks.

Their duel turned into a dance, white and blue moving in swift graceful arcs around their bodies. Kanan had in the past been a more brutal fighter than most, favouring heavy strikes that debilitated.

But now he opted for a change. He let the force flow through him, and in turn he flowed through the force itself. The energy around him moved with ease, allowing him to match Ahsoka's speed.

Another clash of blades came, and another, each as graceful and quick as the last. There was no prolonged contact, only the blades clashing lightly, before pulling back out of reach.

Ahsoka evaded backwards out of reach of an attempted strike by Kanan. Clearly she had figured out what he was doing.

But rather than pursue, Kanan relaxed himself, centring his presence in the force, and returned to his ready position.

Kanan listened. He listened to everything around him. The sounds of the rebels that had gathered to watch. The various creatures that inhabited Atollon in the distance. The sound of machines and ships, of technology and equipment.

And of the song in the force. His song. One of peace and stability.

Kanan remained calm, his breathing never leaving it's steady pace that was healthy. He was not worn out. He was ready to go.

Across from him he could hear it. No one else could, but he knew what it was.

As discreetly as she could, Ahsoka was breathing hard, her breaths laboured from her display of prowess.

That was the problem with Ahsoka's style. It could wear her out quickly.

And that was what he had hoped to exploit.

He heard her move suddenly, the fast paced approach she made would be her downfall.

Bringing his blade across in front of him to deflect Ahsoka's attack, he began to redirect her white blades around in a circle.

In an instant, he poured all his reserve energy, all of his strength that he would have usually used at the start of the fight, and pulled.

In that moment Ahsoka's twin lightsaber hilts were yanked from her hands, falling to the floor at Kanan's feet.

Through the force he felt everyone's shocked response, as well as heard some of the gasps of disbelief.

But from Ahsoka, there was no sense of shame, no sense of loss, or anger or anything that would be present in a sore loser.

Rather, all he felt from her was pride.

He only hoped that Master Billaba would feel the same.

Author's thoughts

See Kanan, all it took was patience, and losing your eyesight for you to be able to defeat your childhood hero. Good job man!

Hopefully you liked this one shot. I had fun writing it and showing how Kanan evolved as a Jedi, especially with the added humour of his constant failures trying to beat Ahsoka.

Now, I have no idea what the next one shot will be, simply because I haven't written it yet. The reasoning for that is my left arm/hand is currently not in the best shape, and thus it is really hard to effectively do anything with it, which is a problem since it is my dominant hand. Hell I had to type all of this using just my right hand. I have no idea what is wrong with my had, but I clearly need to rest it for a bit.

Thus, I am going to take a break for a bit, give myself time to heal and prepare more ideas. Don't worry, more is coming, I just need to stop for a bit. Hope that's ok. Sorry for the inconvenience. :(

I will return though, no need to worry. :)

Anyway, as normal, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

Maliwan: Glad you liked the addition of Barriss. I wanted to include her for a while.

Cranky Paws: Sorry for making you sad, but I wanted to do a one shot like it.
Kaeden and Pryce were confused about the pets thing, that's for sure.
And all hail Ahsoka the White. She comes to us, at the turn of the tide!

LukeDude: Glad I managed to surprise you. Including Barriss at some point was always the plan. It was just a case of when. Her feeling guilt was a major part of what I wanted to do with her. Far too often when she reappears in fanfic she is some sort of super evil villain, which I can understand and does work as well. I wanted to do something different with her, as is my way.
As for her meeting Ahsoka again... maybe one day.

Travis Middleton: Barriss was a great character indeed, and she was right in what she said, just not what she did. Still, I had to bring her back since we don't know her canon fate.
The rebels finale was awesome. I loved every minute of it, especially the way Thrawn was defeated. But R.I.P Gregor.
Thrawn meeting with Rae Sloane is something that will be done, I promise.

SLE's fave guest: I'd imagine she probably was, but then again Filoni did say he had plans for her character at some point. Plus she was originally going to die in those episodes, but didn't. Clearly they changed that for a reason, who knows. (Filoni does no doubt)
Glad you liked her redemption path instead of death though. Happy endings are always good. Better than sad ones in my opinion.

TerminatorJedi1995: Glad you liked this look at Barriss and how she feels after what she did. I am most certainly planning a reunion between her and Ahsoka. Let's hope our favourite Togruta stays calm!

Chiara Polairix Edelstein: Thanks, glad you liked the path to redemption she is taking.
My review will be up at some point, once my hand heals and I finish writing it.

FossilQueen1984: Yeah, Barriss being alive opens more opportunities than having her dead, hence her survival. Glad you liked it.
And you'll have to wait and see how well reconciliation goes, if it goes well at all that is.

Mysterious Guest: Thanks, glad you liked the interaction. I wanted Ezra to be the one to meet her as he would not know who she really was, and thus not instantly judge her.
If it had been Ahsoka that met Barriss first, then it would depend entirely on Ahsoka's mood. She did kill Vader without remorse after all for betraying her.