Author's note: this chapter has been edited to erase some grammar and spelling mistakes

~ 4 ~

Habits die hard

- Strength is not the absence of weakness – strength is the courage to acknowledge your flaws -

Seemingly, at least, Anakin tried his best with the library work, though it was evident his efforts were minimal. Instead of enduring Anakin's fidgeting and restless foot tapping any longer, Kenshin decided to dismiss him, relieving him from the evident torture of sitting still in the archives. What was so unbearable about the archives? Of all the places in the Jedi temple, the archives were Kenshin's favorite. That, and the dojo. In these places, people usually left him alone, which he preferred. People were complicated, their complexities often following patterns he could observe and recognize. What truly irked him were their expectations and rules, which often made little sense to him. They usually criticized or rejected him for his thoughts, feelings, and actions. So, when it came to interacting with people, he preferred to avoid it, and the archives were perfect for that. Rules were clearly something his new Padawan also struggled with. Yoda had warned him about that, and the more so, Kenshin wondered why he had been assigned as Anakin's new teacher.

An hour later, as he made his way back to his room, he heard noise and yelling from the Padawan's dojo. Curious, he checked to see the cause of the turmoil and was amazed to find his own student in fists flying in a fight with another boy his age. Anakin certainly did not lack fighting spirit.

"Both of you, calm down," he commanded.

Neither boy heard him. A well-dosed force pull separated them, and two pairs of surprised eyes looked up at him.

Kenshin crossed his arms over his chest, eyebrows raised, and waited for an explanation. The boys glared at him, then at each other, until Anakin burst out, "He called me a slave! Again!" pointing at the other teenager.

"Yeah, and you tried to kick me in the face, you twat. You can't take a joke once it's about you!"

"You blasted, stupid pile of bantha poodoo..."

"Enough," Kenshin interrupted, sighing internally. He quickly counted the times his new Padawan had been in a quarrel since he knew him – a grand total of three days. A teenager with anger issues, and he was supposed to fix it. Wonderful. Once again, he questioned Yoda's sanity in assigning him as the master of the human mess standing in front of him.

"Anakin's reaction was wrong," Kenshin said, giving his apprentice a stern, disapproving stare before turning to the other boy. "But you knew calling him a slave would provoke him. So why did you say it?" The other Padawan furiously stared back, remaining silent.

"You're coming with me," Kenshin gestured for Anakin to follow him. He led his apprentice to his living quarters, away from where other Padawans could disturb them, handed him a cup of tea, and sat him down.

"Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," the teenager spat out, fixing his gaze on the floor in front of him. Another reprimand, just from a different person. He was so over it! Why even bother anymore?

"Nothing? That's exactly what it looks like. It's been three days since I've come to Coruscant, and in that time, you've gotten yourself into four fights that I know of. Impressive. What that other Padawan said was wrong; he provoked you, and it upset and hurt you. I get it! But why does it touch you so deeply? Why is there so much anger?"

Anakin's eyes kept burning holes into the ground. It was the first time someone asked why he reacted the way he did – but how could he explain? He didn't know! How dare this guy, rank of Master or not, think he'd understand what he was going through, what he was feeling. He didn't even know him.

"I see, you don't want to discuss this. Then what am I supposed to do instead?"

"Leave me alone!"

"You'll find me at the knight's dojo if you need me," Kenshin said calmly, summoning two metal rods – training weapons from what they looked like – into his hands before leaving.

Wait, what? Anakin looked up, but Kenshin was already gone. Had he really just stood up and left? Anakin was so bewildered that he momentarily forgot his fury. How could Kenshin just walk out on him? "Leave me alone," he revisited his own words... he had definitely not expected his Master would take them literally. Anakin looked around. Kenshin's quarters weren't any different from the first time he had been there, just a few days ago. The room was small and contained nothing but a low table, two seat pads, and a sleeping mat. Even for a Jedi's accommodation, it was sparse. No personal items, apart from a bag and a few clothes carelessly thrown into a corner, a datapad, and an old-fashioned flimsy-paper book next to the bed. Its title read "The Way of the Sword." Anakin curiously opened it and leafed through it when something fell out from between the pages. It was a picture. It showed a younger Kenshin, maybe 15 or 16, smiling happily. A great contrast to the frown that seemed eternally embedded on the face of the man he knew. Next to him was a girl of the same age, obviously also a Jedi, with one arm around Kenshin's shoulder and the other hugging a third teenage human, who seemed to be a villager on whatever remote planet the picture was taken on. Just by looking at it, one could feel the happiness and profound friendship between the three. Feeling as if he were intruding on something too private, Anakin quickly put the picture and the book back and decided to go find his Master. He still wasn't sure what to think about Kenshin, but he felt like he owed him an apology.

Approaching the knight's dojo, Anakin found his Master engaged in a fast-paced fight with three training droids simultaneously, expertly wielding the two training swords he had seen earlier. These droids were far more powerful and realistic than those available in the Padawan training rinks. As far as combat skills went, Kenshin was several levels above anyone else at the temple. One droid was kicked to the ground, Kenshin backflipping over the second and sending it crashing into a column while slashing down the third with a sword. He landed in a low combat stance and remained still.

"That was impressive, Master," Anakin said, genuinely awed.

Kenshin looked up and threw Anakin one of the swords to catch.

"Metal swords?" Anakin questioned.

"Not as forgiving to weaknesses in your technique as a lightsaber is," Kenshin replied.

"I don't have weaknesses in my technique," Anakin boasted.

"Everyone has weaknesses."

Without losing another second, Kenshin engaged him with a fierce attack. The strange Jedi Master was by far the best duelist Anakin had ever faced. The other Padawans hadn't stopped gushing over how Kenshin had defeated Windu. Regardless of the style being used, Anakin was definitely not accustomed to feeling like the weaker side in a fight. His sword soon went flying. He picked it up and attacked harder and harder, only to be disarmed again.

"Your defense needs work. And your presence of mind. I have presented three weaknesses, and you didn't see or use any of them. Observe. Be mindful!" Kenshin revisited the last moves with him.

Anakin's mind was as turbulent as a storm. His lightsaber and sword-fighting skills were better than any other apprentice's; he was even better than some of the knights. How did his master dare criticize him like that, treating him like a mere pupil!

"I sense your irritation, Anakin. I'm detecting flaws where you thought you had none. A correction adds to one's store of knowledge and skill. It's a thing to be grateful for, not something to take offense at!"

A part of him knew his Master was right. He was getting upset about being corrected. Rightfully so, he had no flaws! He couldn't explain to himself why he had so much trouble opposing Kenshin in a fight, but it must have been because... whatever, because he wasn't used to Kenshin's style yet.

"Don't lecture me! I'm soon going to be stronger than anyone else, even you! I don't have room for weaknesses."

"Strength is not the absence of weakness – strength is the courage to acknowledge your flaws and work to improve upon them."

"I'm the best Padawan in the entire temple. I'm even better than some of the knights, and it won't be long before I can defeat you, too!"

"I'm waiting for it." Kenshin's stern look told Anakin his Master wasn't impressed in the slightest by his words. "I don't care what they have told you. I don't care that you're the Chosen One. If you want to train under me as your Master, it is my standards you will be judged by. And by those standards – you have more to learn than you can even imagine."

Hot anger surged within the teenager. How dare he! He would make his Master see how powerful he was! As their duel continued, Kenshin increased his speed instead of slowing down. Was this guy never getting tired? Anakin grew more upset, becoming sloppier. Soon, his sword went flying again into a corner. Kenshin gave him a scrutinizing look.

"Anakin – I don't really know you, but I can feel how insecure you are. All your arrogance is just an attempt to hide how scared you are. You're scared of failure! Do you know what the path to greatness is? Believe! In! Yourself! As of now, you're being your own greatest enemy."

Staring at his Master, his own angry glare was met with a piercing yet unimpressed glance. Anakin began to feel uncomfortable, as if everything he suppressed and tried to hide was laid out in the open. Why did he have a feeling this strange Jedi already knew more about him than he did himself? 'Your greatest enemy is yourself.' What was that supposed to mean? What was he talking about? He wasn't insecure, he wasn't scared, not of anything! Kenshin couldn't be right, could he? Of course, he believed in himself! Or did he?

"What does that even mean, Master?"

"You're insecure. Know yourself. Accept yourself. Accept failure! Failure doesn't make you weak. Failure makes you grow. You fear your weaknesses. So you deny them and don't see where you could improve. You don't trust yourself that you will."

Anakin just stared at him, trying to process what he had said. In the back of his mind, he knew Kenshin was right, but he hated to admit it was true.

"I guess we're done for now," Kenshin finally said. Anakin silently agreed.

"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin muttered as they were leaving the dojo.

"What for?"

"Me getting into another fight, and being... dunno, being not nice to you."

"You still haven't answered my question. You carry a great deal of anger, especially for someone who doesn't know how to use it."

"I don't know, Master! My anger, all these emotions – they're just there, always were. That guy called me a slave – again – and it just made me so angry."

"Why does it make you angry being called a slave?"

"No one's supposed to call me a slave. Nobody's supposed to be a slave in the first place!"

"That is true. Do you think you are worth less than others because you were born a slave?"

"What do you mean?"

"Those kids calling you a slave – they want to make you feel bad about yourself. They say 'slave,' but they mean 'worthless.' And you just buy it. You don't question it. You just rise to provocation. You do not believe in yourself; you do not understand that you are just as worthy as everyone else here. You are putting yourself down."

Anakin looked at his Master in disbelief. Putting himself down? Why would he do that? He could not quite grasp the meaning of what his master had said, but it felt again like Kenshin had been reading his thoughts, looking straight into his soul. As if he was a book that Kenshin could easily read. And then, nobody had told him he was a worthy person. Of course he was. It was just that nobody saw it.

As they walked in silence, Anakin's thoughts swirled with confusion. His emotions were a turbulent storm, a mix of defiance and a reluctant acknowledgment of his Master's words. Could it be true that he was his own greatest enemy? That his anger and arrogance were shields hiding his fear and insecurity? A hint of realization gnawed at him, unsettling but undeniable. For the first time, he felt a crack in the armor he had built around his heart, a vulnerability he wasn't ready to face but couldn't ignore. As he pondered this, a small spark of determination flickered within him – a desire to prove himself, not just to Kenshin, but to himself.