At this point I think we can just assume a standing apology for not updating sooner. It'll save us all time. With that out of the way, here's chapter 40. This is the start of the last 'interlude' before the next timeskip, though the next few chapters will include events and information important to the story, so they're less a breather and more of an action light mini-arc.

By far the most repeated question I got from the last chapter was why Jiraiya didn't seal Aurra Sing in a scroll to transport her back to the ship. The reason is that her wounds still contained trace amounts of Kurama's chakra. That risked destabilizing the sealing scroll, which might kill her. As for why he didn't detect the ambush earlier, he was on the lookout for bounty hunters and thugs, not Sith assassins and elite commandos. As far as either he or Luminara knew, they were the only trained Force users on the planet aside from Aurra herself. From Jiraiya's perspective, for the past 3+ years, the only people in the Republic who could hope to challenge him in power or skill have been his allies. He's not immune to making mistakes or growing a little complacent when he has no reason to suspect otherwise.

I'd like to point out that this story will reach its two year anniversary in a few days. I never thought when I started this that it would ever reach this size, nor that I would already have nearly 1000 reviews. Thanks to all of you who've read my little project, and especially those of you who've left reviews. Without your feedback, none of this would have happened.

As ever, send whatever support you can to Ukraine.

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Chapter 40

Flying the Dawn Wind proved to be an even greater joy than Naruto had expected. He'd never piloted a custom ship before, unless he counted the various projects he and Anakin had cobbled together in their spare time. They'd constructed those out of scrap parts, clever ideas, and wishful thinking, however. The Wind was about as far from such home brewed junkers as it was possible to get. It handled beautifully, more than a match for ships half its mass. Of course, Naruto being Naruto, he exploited the remarkable agility to its fullest extent, and turned the inertial dampers down to their lowest safe setting. The fact this caused no small degree of trepidation and discomfort for his two passengers was, of course, a complete coincidence. He was almost seven percent sure Master Windu would believe him when he said so, later.

Alas, his astronautical acrobatics could only last so long. After an hour of messing around, not that he would ever describe it that way, he felt Mace's presence in his mind. He sounded a bit strained.

'You have made your point, Padawan. Thoroughly. I believe Master Fay is turning green. Now, it is past time we returned to the Temple. Lay in a course for Coruscant.'

Naruto sighed, but sent back a wordless assent. The joys of piloting a good ship (and reminding the two Masters who'd tried to prank him who the real prankster was) aside, returning to the Temple meant returning to real life. The Ordeal hadn't been fun, far from it, but it had been a welcome distraction from his grief. Facing the fox, finding his inner balance again, those had all been problems he could mull over, gnaw on, and eventually solve. Viir's death, on the other hand, was a fact he'd been quite pleased to distract himself from. Now, that was no longer an option. He had to return home, a prospect no longer sweetened by the chance to see his sister. Instead, all he could look forward to were memories of her. He cherished every memory he had with her, and he always would, but they were a hollow, bitter substitute for having her alive.

He took a deep, cleansing breath and shook off his melancholy as he punched in coordinates for their first hyperspace jump. Viir's death weighed on him, but that was no reason to wallow in self-pity. He'd done enough of that in the past week. Much more and he'd have to start saying "hn" and brooding at all hours of the day. Besides, there was more waiting for him at the Temple than old memories and absent loved ones. Ahsoka, Anakin, Barriss, and all the rest of his family and friends were there, too. It was home, and he refused to let grief poison his home.

The trip back to the Core passed in a blur of flying and training sessions. Mace proved to be as good as his word when he'd told him his training would get harder now that he was a Senior Padawan. Whenever he wasn't flying the ship, Naruto was busy with intensive meditation or grueling lightsaber practice. Whenever Mace wasn't drilling him into a puddle of exhaustion, Fay was giving him tips on the subtler aspects of the Force. Raw power was something he had in abundance, but the finer aspects of many of the Jedi disciplines still challenged him. She walked him through everything from basic healing to mind tricks to Force stealth, along with the fundamentals of tutaminis, the art of absorbing and channeling energy with the Force. Every Youngling learned the absolute basics of the art, as it was partly what allowed them to land from high jumps and falls without injury. With greater skill, however, a Jedi could theoretically walk through fire, absorb or deflect blaster bolts, and even grab lightsaber blades barehanded.

The limited time and confines of the ship hardly made for a comprehensive education, but by the time they arrived at Coruscant, he already noticed an improvement in his control and awareness. Fay had also told him he had a natural affinity for tutaminis. Personally, he had his doubts, as he'd yet to successfully deflect even a basic sting bolt from a remote, but she'd insisted he'd progressed faster than any Padawan she'd seen before. It was one of the most exhausting training sessions he'd ever experienced, but it had been worth it.

His progress was immediately apparent when the ship exited hyperspace over the glittering capital of the Republic. Even from high orbit, he could sense several of his friends in the Temple. Easiest to sense, of course, was Ahsoka. The multicolored galaxy of light that was her unmistakable presence in the Force had always shone brightest in his mind; even brighter than Anakin's or Mace's. It had been that way ever since they'd fought their way out of the undercity together, and he could find her even against the vast fountain of power that was the Temple. His cheek tingled where she had kissed him and he had to fight down a blush when he recalled the feel of her soft lips against his skin. Rather unhelpfully, his subconscious then provided him with a host of other memories before it scurried off to bully his limbic system. The way her eyes flashed when she sparred, her cocky but endearing smirk, the liquid grace of her movements, how warm she'd felt curled up next to-

'Whoa, that's enough of that,' he thought as he swallowed hard. 'She's my friend. My best friend. I'm not gonna mess that up like I did with Sakura.'

Time, distance, and a lot of maturing had given him a new and uncomfortable perspective on his relationship with his pink-haired former teammate. After a lot of thought, he'd realized they might actually have been good friends if he hadn't continuously pestered her with his requests for a date. Looking back, he couldn't help but wince when he realized how he must have come off back then. Annoying didn't begin to cover it. Nauseatingly immature came closer.

Of course, it hadn't really been his fault. He'd been a neglected and sometimes abused orphan, with no one to teach him how to behave or what it meant to like someone. He hadn't even understood the difference between a friend and a girlfriend, beyond that you kissed one and not the other. Sakura's own childish obsession with Sasuke hadn't helped matters, of course, but that didn't change the fact that he'd constantly irritated her with his unwelcome advances. It had only been in the wake of the Suna-Oto invasion that she'd started to see him as anything other than a useless pest, and even then their friendship had been rocky. Perhaps, if he and Jiraiya hadn't wound up 50,000 years in the future, he and Sakura would have enjoyed a closer friendship. Maybe even something more. He would never know. What he did know was that he and Ahsoka were friends. Best friends. He was closer with her than he'd been with anyone back on Tython, even Sasuke or Gaara. Their bond was more precious to him than his next breath, and he refused to do anything to jeopardize that. So he put it out of his mind. An advantage of Jedi mental discipline was that he really could avoid thinking about something if he didn't want to. To a degree, anyway. It would have to do.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

As he guided the Dawn Wind towards the Temple, Naruto sensed a tension in the air that hadn't been present when he'd left for the Gathering. Both the Temple and especially the Senate were on edge over something. Some Senators were downright furious, most notably those he knew were sympathetic to Count Dooku's rhetoric. Curious, he looked more closely at those Senators most familiar to him; namely Padmé and her friend Mon Mothma. He always had an easier time sensing the emotions of people he knew well. Sure enough, both of them were worried and stressed, with undercurrents of stymied curiosity and burgeoning irritation. They weren't angry like some of their colleagues, but he could tell they were all upset about the same thing. It wasn't much, but he couldn't get any more without violating their privacy, so, reluctantly, he pulled back.

"Is something wrong?" Mace asked, no doubt drawn by Naruto's own consternation.

"I'm not sure, master. The Senate is… uneasy over something. The Temple too. I can't tell what, though."

"Hmm." Mace's eyes narrowed in thought. "Try not to dwell on it. If it concerns us, we will learn of it in due time. For now, focus on getting us back to the Temple. Master Fay will not be pleased if you scratch her ship."

Naruto grimaced under his mask at the idea of irritating the serene and slightly terrifying Master. His recent lessons under her had only reinforced just how skilled and dangerous she could be if she so chose. He knew she would never actually hurt him, but he'd also known Tsunade would never actually punch his head off his shoulders. That didn't make the thought any less unnerving. With a suppressed shiver, he adjusted his grip on the controls and concentrated on flying straight.

Yaddle and Plo Koon were present to greet them in the hangar when he landed the ship. He rushed down to the boarding ramp, eager to greet them in turn, but stopped at what he saw. Fay had reached the ramp before him and stood still at the bottom. While he couldn't see her face, she'd tilted her head back and a sense of profound joy colored the surrounding Force. With a start, he realized it was the first time he'd been able to sense her emotions without her specifically allowing him to.

"Master Fay?" He asked. "Is everything alright?"

She chuckled softly. "Yes, Padawan, everything is fine. It's just been many centuries since I set foot in the Temple. I had forgotten how… remarkable it is."

He smiled in understanding. Remarkable was certainly a good word for it. Even darkened by grief and marred by tension, the Temple still held an air of profound warmth and safety. It was home, in some ways even more so than Konoha had ever been. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to come back after centuries away, but the tone of gentle awe in Fay's voice gave him an idea.

She pulled herself from her wonder in short order, though, and moved to greet Yaddle and Plo.

"It has been a long time, my friend," Yaddle said. "In truth, never in this place did I expect to see you again."

"Indeed," said Plo, bowing his head respectfully. "It is an honor to meet you, Master Fay."

"And you, Master Koon. I hadn't thought I would ever return to the Temple, but the Force guided me. It's good to be back, and I suspect you'll be seeing more of me in the days ahead."

Plo seemed surprised to hear that, but Yaddle just nodded sagely and turned to Naruto. A wide smile spread across her face as she took him in. "Sorry I was to hear of the attack on Rago. I'm pleased to see you doing so well."

Naruto gave her an eye-smile in return and bowed. Of all the Jedi in the Council, except for Mace, he felt Yaddle believed in him the most. She was the one who'd most fiercely advocated for he and Jiraiya's admittance to the Order, and she was the one, more so even than Yoda or Depa, who most encouraged him to find his own path as a Jedi, regardless of the Code.

Plo stepped forward. As always, his mask and goggles made reading his expression near impossible, but his voice and aura were warm and welcoming. "Did your trip to Lothal help you find balance, young Naruto?"

"I think so, Master." He still wasn't sure if he could trust the Kyuubi, but he was hopeful. Deep in his mind, he heard a snort, but whether it was amused or annoyed, he couldn't tell. He set it aside, though, and took the chance to satisfy his earlier curiosity. "Did something happen here? The Senate and the Temple feel on edge."

Yaddle lost her smile at that, and Plo's brow shifted to suggest a frown. Certainly, his Force presence turned a touch grim.

"I'm afraid Jiraiya and Master Unduli encountered… complications during their mission," Yaddle said. "Alive and well they both are, but the details remain unclear. The situation is delicate, and there is much we do not know, but they are due back tomorrow. Hopefully, we will learn more from their report."

His mind raced. "Why would that upset the Senate? Did they get Aurra Sing? And what do you mean the situation is delicate? How did-"

"Naruto!" Mace cut him off. "Patience."

He looked at his master, who looked back at him evenly. 'But master, it's Jiraiya-sensei. He…'

'I know.' Mace's voice was calm over their bond, but unyielding. 'Your concern is admirable, but do not let it affect your judgment. I will brief myself on the situation, whatever it is. Trust that I will tell you anything you should know. No doubt Jiraiya will as well, when he returns. Until then, patience. Patience and control.'

Naruto nodded contritely, though his curiosity still burned away. He wouldn't gain anything by pressing the matter, though. 'Yes, master. Sorry.'

Mace's next words contained a hint of reproof. As usual, he saw his apology for what it was; a transparent attempt to end the conversation before it turned into a lecture. 'Do not let your concern for the future distract you from what you can achieve in the present. This situation with Jiraiya is beyond your control, for now. However, I believe you have several friends who are no doubt eager to see you. Perhaps they could benefit from your attention more than a problem whose details we do not yet even know?'

Naruto winced at the rebuke, even more so for how obvious it now seemed to him. 'How could I have forgotten about Ahsoka and the others?' He sent a silent but much more sincere apology to his master before bowing to the rest.

"I should go check on my friends. Excuse me."

"You should hurry," Plo Koon said solemnly. "It will be hard for you to hear your answers later, if little 'Soka bites off your ears for ignoring her now."

He shivered at the thought. Ahsoka still hadn't gotten him back for forcing her into the escape pod back on the Crucible. Given the circumstances, she had probably forgiven him, but he didn't want to give her cause to reconsider that position. "I'd- uh, better go," he stammered out, before he vanished in a sealless shunshin. He could feel the echoes of amusement from the four Masters behind him.

Using shunshin, he arrived at the Ahsoka's location in less than two minutes. She was inside the Halls of Healing, along with Barriss and Galdos. Predictably, her Force signature radiated impatience and restless energy. He grinned beneath his mask at the barely constrained need to move that fizzed through her mind. Much like him, Ahsoka was built for doing things. Long periods of inactivity would drive her insane more reliably than any torture.

'I just hope she's actually letting herself heal,' he thought, ignoring the sense of overwhelming hypocrisy. It was fine if he didn't like hospitals. He had his Uzumaki heritage and a giant, sentient, maybe-not-as-evil-as-he'd-thought chakra construct locked in his belly, giving him super healing.

Before he could open it himself, he heard a sudden flurry of movement before the door hissed open and what might as well have been an orange whirlwind crashed into him. Two familiar arms, bony but deceptively strong, wrapped around him, and the Force sang with a mixture of joy, relief, and affection.

"Naruto!" Ahsoka shouted. "You're back! Finally."

Any fears he'd had that seeing her again would be awkward vanished in the face of her warm, comforting presence. He returned her hug and simultaneously gave her the rough equivalent through the Force. She shivered a bit and hummed in response.

"You came back. I thought I was gonna have to go looking for you." Her voice remained light, but Naruto could sense a flicker of genuine worry behind it. He took a step back to look her in the eyes and pressed his forehead against hers. She pushed against him, and for a moment they just stood there, being.

"Hey," he said, completely serious. "I promised you I'd come back. I'm not going anywhere, 'Soka, okay? Believe it."

She took a deep breath and pushed against his head one last time before pulling back. "Yeah," she smirked. "I know. Because you know I'd never let you."

He laughed at that and got his first proper look at his best friend since he'd left Rago. She was back in her typical outfit and her bandages were all gone, including the ones around her stomach. He noted, with a flicker of guilt, the fresh scar marring her abdomen she'd earned facing him down on his rampage. It wasn't as glaringly prominent as it had been when she'd shown him in the hospital, but the pale, shiny tissue still stood out noticeably against her vivid skin. On the plus side, though, she was obviously much more mobile than last he'd seen her, a welcome change from the unsteady, hobbling from before. Ahsoka lived in and through motion, possibly even more than he did. Having that taken from her, even briefly, had bothered her more than she'd wanted to admit. Her lekku stripes were a bright cerulean again, matching her eyes, which was a distinct improvement from the dull, dark navy they'd been in the hospital. Overall, he thought she looked good.

'Better than good,' some part of him whispered, but he ignored it. This was no time for such thoughts. She looked as vital as ever, sure, but he still wanted to make sure.

"So, how are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm… managing. It's tough being here without her, you know." Naruto nodded. He didn't need to ask who Ahsoka was talking about. "Anakin and Master Kenobi helped a lot, though. I just- I really miss her."

She blinked hard and swallowed, while her presence dimmed under a blanket of grief. Naruto pulled her into another hug, his own eyes prickling with tears. "Me too," he choked out around the sudden lump in his throat. "Me too."

This time Ahsoka was the one to pull back first, before she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She took a shaky breath and gave him an even shakier smile, one he did his best to return.

"Come on," she said eventually. "You'd better say hi to the others before Barriss gives us a lecture."

He chuckled at that and allowed her to pull him into the room with the others. They were both going through a gentle exercise routine, with Galdos stretching while Barriss did squats. A medical droid stood off to one side, monitoring their progress. Both of them looked much better than when he'd left, though Barriss still had a brace on her leg and Galdos was moving his left side gingerly. Bacta and healing trances were wonderful things, but they didn't wholly negate the need for painful physical therapy after such severe injuries. Both of them looked up at him immediately.

"Naruto." Barriss smiled softly and limped over to him. "I thought you might be back when Ahsoka rushed off like she'd spotted food." Said girl stuck her tongue out at her friend, who blithely ignored it. "It's good to see you alright."

"Agreed," said Galdos, quills perked. "How did your trip go?"

Naruto glanced around for any other people and shot the medical droid a pointed look. "Shut down for a moment, would you? We need to have a private conversation."

The droid warbled nervously. "It is my duty to monitor my patients until-"

"It's okay, 2-1B," Barriss said. "We'll be fine, I promise."

It took a few more promises not to engage in any dangerous activities before the fussy droid finally relented, but eventually it agreed to give them ten minutes and shut itself off. Only once its eyes had dimmed completely did Naruto relate the tale of what had happened in the Temple on Lothal. He could sense their questions forming in the frown on Barriss' face, the staccato twitch of Galdos' quills, and the growing unease in their minds. Thankfully, they both held their tongues and let him finish. His and the Kyuubi's talk wasn't as difficult a tale to tell as the story of his past, but it wasn't one he relished repeating more than necessary. Once he'd finished, though, he braced himself for the inevitable and wasn't disappointed.

"Wasn't that risky, giving the fox access to your senses?"

"Do you really intend to let the Kyuubi go when you die?"

"Are you sure you modified the seal properly?"

"If the fox is so malicious, how can you trust him?"

… and so on. He answered each question as patiently as he could, but he could still sense their discomfort with the situation. Finally, he held up his hand to silence the worried duo.

"Hey, hey, hey! I get it, you guys are worried. So's Master Windu and Master Faye. Jiraiya's probably going to have a stroke when he hears I messed with the seal, and I don't even want to think about what the Council will say. But this was my decision. I did what I felt was right, okay?"

Barriss winced at the rebuke and looked down, chewing her lip. Galdos clicked his quills together nervously and took a step back, while Ahsoka gave him a querulous look. He instantly felt a surge of guilt for his harsh tone. He stood by the words, of course, but the last thing he'd wanted was to snap at his friends.

"Sorry!" He blurted out. "I shouldn't have been so-"

"No." This time it was Galdos who held up a hand for silence. "I am sorry. We should not have doubted your judgment. As you say, this was your decision. Your burden to bear. It is not our place to judge how you handle it, nor to cast aspersions on your abilities. It was wrong, and I am sorry."

Naruto, Barriss, and Ahsoka all looked at him in shock. In all the time he'd known him, that was probably the most Naruto had ever heard him say in one go. Galdos was famously laconic, often treating words as if each one he uttered took a physical toll on him. Even in classes, he rarely uttered more than one sentence at a time. Naruto wasn't even sure how to respond. Fortunately, or not depending on your perspective, he was spared the dilemma when a voice from behind him nearly made all four of them jump out of their skin.

"Well said, youngling, even if I'm not sure what you're speaking about."

"Kriffing Sithspit!" Naruto spun around as his hand clutched at his lightsaber and his heart made a bid for freedom, only to find himself looking at a disapproving Obi-Wan. Anakin was a few paces behind his master, grinning like the chaotic nerfherder he was.

"Mind your language, Padawan. Think about the example you're setting for impressionable younglings."

He glanced at Anakin, who was now just barely concealing his laughter, and smirked beneath his mask. "But Master Kenobi, I'm just following the example Anakin set for me when I was an impressionable youngling."

That would show his older brother to sneak up on him when he was distracted. Anakin made a sound like he'd narrowly avoided swallowing his tongue, and Obi-Wan turned his remonstrating look on his own Padawan. Whatever passed between them was silent, but Anakin's look of embarrassment told him his redirection had worked as intended. Score one for him. He'd probably pay for it later, but that was a problem for future Naruto, and he didn't exist right now.

"So, what are you two doing here?" He asked. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Anakin visibly pulled himself back to reality and shook his head. "No, we're fine. We came to see you. I sensed you and Master Windu get back to the Temple and, well, I wanted to check on you. See how you were doing after… everything."

Naruto sighed and mentally prepared himself for what was sure to be a long conversation. Neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan knew about the Kyuubi yet, and he didn't want to leave them in the dark anymore. Anakin was his brother in all but blood, and Obi-Wan was a trusted mentor. They deserved the truth. Perhaps more importantly, he badly wanted their input and advice on, as Anakin had so delicately put, "everything". None of that made the idea of sharing both his past and the events on Lothal again any more appealing. Both of them stood there, patient and attentive, or as patient and attentive as Anakin ever got, blissfully ignorant of the struggle going on in his head.

'Just tell them,' he berated himself. 'They'll understand. Everyone else did, and they weren't even on Rago. They didn't see how bad it could really get.'

Just as he swallowed his trepidation and took a breath to start his explanation, the ten minutes the medical droid had allotted them ran out. It's photoreceptors blinked back on and it straightened with a mechanical whine. Naruto shut his mouth so fast his teeth clicked. Talking about "everything" surrounded by his friends was one thing. Doing so in the presence of a random droid, one he knew was recording everything it saw, was entirely different. Legitimate security concerns aside, he wasn't there yet. Perhaps one day, but for now, he wasn't there yet.

"More visitors." The 2-1B unit gestured at the two new arrivals with a claw-like appendage. "You may stay, but I must insist the patients resume their exercises. Please do not be disruptive."

Barriss and Galdos looked at each other and shrugged. "We'd better do as he says," Barriss whispered. "Healer Bant made us promise to follow his directions if she was going to leave us alone."

"Then you'd best listen to him," Obi-Wan said. "We were Initiates together and trust me, Bant is no one you wish to disobey. She will see you healed, whether you like it or not."

They nodded and moved back to the mat to continue their therapy routines, leaving Naruto and Ahsoka standing off to one side with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Naruto glanced around awkwardly. He still wanted to talk to them, but not with the droid listening. Obi-Wan seemed content to wait patiently where he was until something happened, possibly the heat death of the universe, but Anakin knew him better. He picked up in his distress almost instantly and gave him a subtle nod.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" He said. Obi-Wan suddenly looked very focused on the present, while Naruto and Ahsoka both perked up like Akk hounds scenting prey.

"Oh?" Obi-Wan's voice was cautious, as if he were handling live explosives. "Should I have a bad feeling about this?"

Anakin looked confused and a little offended. "What? No! Why do you always assume my ideas will involve…" He waved his hands vaguely.

"Destruction? Chaos? General mayhem?" Obi-Wan supplied helpfully. "Because, my young Padawan, I've known you for many years, and I have seen many of your ideas during that time. Highlights include jumping into an active gundark nest, getting into a high-speed pursuit in a pod-racer on the streets of Eusebus, and, oh yes, blowing up a Lucrehulk from the inside with nothing but a light starfighter."

"Hey, all of those were perfectly good ideas at the time," Anakin defended himself. Naruto and Ahsoka both nodded their agreement. Nothing about any of those plans sounded particularly outlandish to them; a fact many Jedi would have found highly concerning, but one Obi-Wan approached with a sense of resignationf.

"Very well, Anakin. What was your idea?"

"Well, I just heard that Professor Huyang's parts got back from Rago. I was thinking we could rebuild him together. All four of us," he said while giving a look to his master, as if daring him to find a way a few hours in a machine lab could go wrong. "It'll be good for Ahsoka to get the experience, we'll be able to give them-" he gestured to Barriss and Galdos "-some peace and quiet, and it'll help take our minds off of, well, everything."

Obi-Wan blinked, taken aback. "Well, I suppose that might not end… horribly. In fact, I think it's quite a good idea. We could all use the distraction, and I long ago gave up on getting you to meditate properly. However, I'm not sure what use I'll be."

"Moral support," Anakin said solidly. Naruto and Ahsoka nodded with eerie synchronicity.

Obi-Wan cocked an eyebrow. "Moral support?"

"That's right. You can watch and look suitably impressed as the three of us amaze you with our wizard engineering skills."

The older Knight snorted and rolled his eyes, but raised no objections. Anakin apparently took his silence as assent and grinned.

"Come on. Let's put the professor back together. I'm sure he'll be eager to lecture us on all the ways we could have done it quicker." Even Obi-Wan chuckled at that.

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It took some time for them to get permission to rebuild the Professor, but Anakin's reputation as a master mechanic and engineer served them well. Once they'd sorted out the pieces that were salvageable, they took them to Anakin's favorite machine lab and got to work.

It was slow going, at first. Though his limbs had survived mostly intact, virtually all the delicate circuitry and servos in his torso and head were beyond repair. What was more, Huyang had been an extremely ancient droid, with his design schematics dating back to well before the Mandalorian wars. Rebuilding such an archaic droid with modern parts and tools was complex, and they would need to fabricate many of his components from scratch, but none of them even considered changing his design to make the task simpler. They would rebuild him exactly as he had been before, inconvenience be damned. Naruto considered it the least he could do for the venerable professor who'd sacrificed himself protecting his friends.

They worked in near silence for the first hour, while Naruto worked up the will to say what he wanted to say. Anakin and Obi-Wan were both content to give him the time he needed. He could feel their curiosity, but he could also feel patience and a willingness to let that curiosity go unfulfilled, something for which he was immediately grateful. He wasn't afraid they would reject him, not really. He was just tired. Tired of telling this story and dredging up all the grief and resentment that came with it. Tired of thinking about Viir, who should have been there, fussing over Huyang and getting thermal paste all over her robes. Most of all, though, he was tired of secrets. So, after an hour of chewing it over in his head, he sighed and started talking.

The words came in fits and starts at first, as if they were reluctant to leave the relative safety of his head. Ahsoka frowned as he related the story of his birth and the Kyuubi's attack and he could feel her emotions; a mix of sympathy, anger, and a vague, frustrated helplessness at seeing a problem she couldn't help him with. He wished he could tell her how much her just being there, being his friend, did help, but he didn't have words to express how much it meant to him. As it was, he gently bumped against her and tried to convey with the Force what language could not. She gave him a small smile and bumped him back, and he knew she'd gotten the message.

A few times, Anakin opened his mouth to ask some question, or else to express outrage on his behalf. Each time he did, though, Obi-Wan quelled him with a look and Naruto talked on. All the while, he kept working. The simple familiarity of soldering circuits, calibrating servos, and just working with his hands, helped soothe the turbulent feelings from his past. By the time he'd finished, they'd reassembled Huyang's torso and reattached his primary limbs. The quiet was overwhelming in the wake of his story. Finally, after a long few seconds, Obi-Wan broke the silence.

"Naruto, I cannot even pretend to understand the burden you carry, nor the decisions you have made. However, if anyone can handle such a weight, it is you. I may not be your Master, but I would like to think I have a good grasp on your character. You've always struck me as a profoundly good and loving person. This has done nothing to change that impression."

Anakin was, as ever, blunter than his master, but no less heartfelt. He set down the power coupling he'd been repolarizing, walked around the workstation and put his hands on Naruto's shoulders. Even with his newfound height, Naruto had to look up to look him in the eye.

"You're my brother," he said. "Nothing will ever change that. Nothing."

A few weeks earlier, Naruto probably would have cried. Now, though, he'd spent all the tears he could for the time being. Fighting the Mandalorians, losing his sister, nearly losing himself, facing the Kyuubi; all of it had left him feeling wrung out, physically, mentally, and emotionally. So, rather than shed any tears, he just let out a shuddering breath and sagged into Anakin's grip.

"Thank you." There were no other words. He didn't need any. Sometimes, the most profound emotions could only be expressed with the simplest of phrases. Anakin squeezed his shoulders before he turned back to the worktable and set about reassembling Huyang's power core. Naruto stayed frozen for a moment, still drained from the tale, until Ahsoka noticed and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon. Don't just stand there." She tugged him out of his head and over to the table. "We've got a lot to do. The professor won't repair himself."

"… right. " He shook himself free of his fugue and squeezed Ahsoka's hand. She squeezed back, and there had been Senate speeches that communicated less than those two simple squeezes. Years of friendship, affection, trust, and something… more. Something warm and bright and as yet nameless. Something for the future. "Right. Let's get him back together."

The next few hours passed in a blur of circuits and servos. Anakin and Naruto, after looking over Obi-Wan's attempts at engineering, quickly consigned the older Knight to fabrication duty. To his credit, he took the not-so-subtle condemnation of his mechanical skills with good grace. As he pointed out, nearly a decade of raising Anakin had left him with no illusions about his skills in the field of droid repair. Indeed, Naruto sensed in him a quiet joy at seeing Anakin in his element, happy and at ease, along with the pride of a teacher whose student has surpassed them. He couldn't help but smile at that. It wasn't quite a paternal sensation (Obi-Wan always saw himself as more of an older brother to Anakin than a father), but it was still a reminder that Naruto was hardly alone in finding a family in the Jedi, regardless of what the Code said.

While Obi-Wan worked to forge new body panels for Huyang to replace the old, ruined ones, and Anakin and Ahsoka worked to reassemble the droid's more delicate internal components, Naruto worked to recover as much data as he could from the Professor's old memory core. One of the blaster bolts had passed just a few centimeters from the delicate component, leaving it broadly intact, but somewhat crispy. Restoring all the data on the core might have taken weeks or even months. Fortunately for him, Huyang had been in the habit of backing up his memory before every Gathering for millennia. As such, he ignored all the older data, since they had a pristine copy of it anyway, and focused on the last few days of memory. Much of it was corrupted beyond recovery, but he managed to restore a little over half the files. He wasn't sure how much of it Huyang would find coherent, but it was better than nothing.

All in all, it took until well after sunset before they finished with the physical side of the reassembly. Obi-Wan had contacted Master Leem to grant Ahsoka permission to remain with them for the night. She'd conceded, if reluctantly, and Naruto felt a spike of guilt for not going to talk to her yet. Viir, he knew, had come to the Temple very young; before she could even walk. Master Leem had effectively raised her, and though she would never let herself admit it, he knew she'd been very fond of her. He could sense the ache of loss and concern now that he focused, and resolved to go see his former crèche supervisor as soon as he could. He owed her that much, at the very least.

Now, though, the only thing left to do was hook up the new memory core to Huyang's private archive and begin the lengthy process of transferring several thousand years' worth of memories to his new body. Given the archaic technology and code architecture involved, Naruto estimated it would take anywhere from 10 to 20 hours to transfer and decompress all the data.

For most of that time, they just sat around, waiting and chatting amiably about everything from the mood of the Senate (irritated), to their favorite foods (which turned into a twenty-minute lecture from Naruto on the unending virtues of ramen). Neither he nor Ahsoka were yet willing to leave the comforting presence of their friends, nor each other, for that matter. Instead, they shared a stool meant for one, ignoring the somewhat awkward positioning in favor of each other's proximity. Obi-Wan alternated between participating in the conversation and brief meditations. Anakin, on the other hand, couldn't sit still. He bounced between his chair, pacing around the room, monitoring the data transfer, and absently fiddling with various bits of scrap. All the while, Naruto could sense in him a steadily building cloud of indecision, confusion, and a strange mix of self-doubt and confidence; all centered on Ahsoka. He thought he knew what it was about, but he kept his mouth shut. Anakin didn't like it when people pointed out his emotions, no matter how obvious he was being.

Finally, after two and a half hours of wearing a groove into the floor, he sensed Anakin come to some sort of decision. His inner turmoil settled into a calmer mix of determination and nervousness, all tinged with excited anticipation. He took a deep breath, and then another, before he stopped pacing and turned to face the two of them.

"Ahsoka, can we talk? Privately, I mean." To his credit, his face betrayed nothing beyond his usual breezy confidence.

"Um, sure," she replied, nonplussed. "I guess."

He didn't seem bothered by the less-than-enthusiastic response, and merely nodded and gestured towards the door. Ahsoka slid off the stool and glanced at Naruto, who just shrugged. Even if he was pretty sure what this was about, he wasn't about to interfere. This was something that had to happen between the two of them, and only the two of them. Ahsoka shrugged back and followed Anakin out of the room.

The moment they exited, Naruto looked over at Obi-Wan with an excited grin stretched under his mask. "Do you think he's really gonna ask her?"

Obi-Wan obviously suppressed a smile of his own. "I'm sure I don't have any idea what you're talking about, Padawan." When Naruto cocked a distinctly unimpressed eyebrow, he responded in kind. His was better. "As in all things, patience will bring you answers far sooner than pestering others. I'm sure we'll know the results of their conversation in due time."

"Aww, come on Master. Don't be boring." However, no matter how he begged or cajoled, Obi-Wan refused to do anything but spout vague proverbs and smirk mysteriously. Naruto would have been impressed if it wasn't so damned frustrating.

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Ahsoka could honestly say she had no idea what Anakin was up to. As far as she knew, she hadn't broken any important rules lately. Even if she had, it would be Master Kenobi, or Master Leem, or literally any other Jedi giving her a lecture before Anakin. Sith hells, Naruto would probably lecture her on bad behavior before Anakin ever did. Aside from being in trouble, though, she couldn't think of any reason Anakin would want to talk to her alone. He hadn't mentioned teaching her anything special lately, not that he could with her technically still in recovery. Sure, they sometimes spent time together without Naruto, but that was generally when he was off on a mission with Master Windu. Whenever all three of them were in the Temple at the same time, Anakin typically made a point to spend time with both of them together.

Beyond how unusual it was that he'd pulled her aside, he was just acting weird. Even for him. He'd been twitchy and restless ever since they'd finished reassembling Huyang. Even now, despite his superficial aura of calm, she'd noticed his fingers twitching and fidgeting with his robes, and the tension in his shoulders. She could hear his heart beating faster than normal. If it were anyone else, she'd say they were nervous. This was Anakin, though. The Chosen One (according to Temple rumor). The most powerful and skilled Padawan the Temple had seen in millennia (though Naruto was set to give him a run for his money there). He got nervous about facing hordes of pirates and flying around black holes or the like. Not about some conversation with a lowly Initiate. Not for the first time, Ahsoka wished she had Naruto's empathy powers. It would make it a lot easier to figure out what was going on in the older Padawan's head.

Anakin led her down the hall a ways before he stopped and turned to face her again. Now that she could see his face, there was no denying it. He was definitely nervous. Several times, he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again without uttering a word. The silence grew heavier and more uncomfortable with every passing second until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Skyguy, what's-"

"Would you like to be my Padawan?" He blurted out. Whatever she'd been about to say died on her lips. Now it was her turn to stare mutely, her mouth working overtime to form words that refused to come.

"… what?" She finally managed. There was no way she'd heard him right. It wasn't possible.

"Would you like to be my Padawan?" He asked again, slower this time. Again, her mind declined to process what her montrals were hearing. The universe simply refused to make sense. For a moment, she wondered if this was how droids felt when their processors malfunctioned.

"I- you… but you're still a Padawan," was all she could say. Internally, she winced at how rude it sounded, but Anakin seemed more relieved than annoyed at the implied question.

"Well, yeah. I didn't mean right now. But when I get knighted, I'd like to take you as my Padawan." He looked at her expectantly, but her thoughts were still whirling in a million different directions. She frowned as an awful suspicion came over her.

"Wait, this isn't just because no one else wanted me as their Padawan, is it?" Ahsoka didn't think he would do that, but she had to be sure. She was no one's pity project.

"What? No!" He said, shaking his head. "No way. It's actually sort of the opposite."

She tilted her head in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He actually looked embarrassed, which only piqued her interest further. "Well, it turns out we have the beginnings of a training bond already. I didn't sense it until Obi-Wan pointed it out to me, but it's there. The other Knights and Masters could sense it, too. That's why none of them approached you. It wasn't because of you. They all thought someone else was destined to be your teacher."

A thousand thoughts all fought for space inside her head at once. 'It wasn't because of me. I didn't mess up.' At some point, she realized Anakin was waiting for her to say something. There were any number of valid responses, ranging from confusion to gratitude, but because she was herself, and Naruto was her best friend for a reason, there was really only one thing she could say.

"So what you're telling me is it's your fault," she snarked, and oh, all those months of worry and doubt were worth it for the flabbergasted look on his face. It was pure art. She only wished Naruto had been there to see it.

"My fau- what is that even supposed to mean?" He asked indignantly. "It's not like I shooed them away from you with my lightsaber. They just listened to the Force."

"Mmhmm." There was no way she was letting him off that easily. Not when there was still fun to be had. "But you were the one who didn't sense this bond. I'm just a youngling, after all. I can't be expected to know these things. You're a senior Padawan. Therefore, it's your fault."

She watched gleefully as he floundered for a response. Unfortunately for her fun, though, he somehow managed to ignore her teasing and refocus.

"You're hilarious, Snips. But I need you to focus. No more redirecting. Would you like to be my Padawan or not?"

Just like that, the weight of what he was asking settled on her shoulders. For months, years even, she'd looked forward to the day someone asked her to be their apprentice. She'd always thought it would be easy. Just do awesome in all the courses, wow the Masters with her skills, and the Force would do the rest. Now that the moment was here, though, it felt overwhelming. She searched the Force for answers as best she could, but there was nothing. Whatever she was supposed to do, apparently it was entirely on her.

"You're… really serious about this?" She asked, none of her previous mirth present in her voice. "You think I'll be a good Padawan?"

Anakin knelt down to be on her level, or as close as he could get to it, given that he was almost two meters tall now, and put his hands on her shoulders. "I think you'll be the best. I'm absolutely serious about this. So, what do you say?"

For a second, she did nothing. Then a wordless shriek tore out of her mouth and she tackled him with a hug, nearly bowling him over. "Yes! Yes, thank you, yes." After a moment, she pulled back and gave him the biggest grin of her life, one only matched by his own. "I'd be honored to be your Padawan."

He stood up and dusted himself off. "It might be awhile, just so you know. Obi-Wan said I still had about a year to go before I'm ready for the Trials. You'll have to be patient and train hard in the meantime."

"Just you wait," she said as she started back down the hall towards Naruto and Master Kenobi. "I'll be twice as strong as I am now by then. You're the one who'll have to train hard, or I might just catch up to you."

"Haha," he chuckled. "Maybe. But you know, part of being my Padawan means showing me respect and deference and- ow! And not punching me, Snips."

"Uh-huh," she said as she retracted her fist from his bicep. "I'll be sure to work on that."

"Ugh. Is it too late to trade you in for a refund?"

"Yep. Sorry," she said, without even a trace of apology in her voice. "You're stuck with me now, Skyguy. Now hurry up! I've gotta tell Naruto." She rushed down the hall with Anakin at her heels, laughing the whole way.

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Naruto sensed the moment Ahsoka accepted Anakin's offer. He was shocked the whole Temple hadn't woken up from the explosion of pure joy and gratitude that had burst from his best friend. As such, he wasn't surprised when she burst into the room, grinning like a loon, with Anakin right behind her, also looking like he'd just won the Coruscant Capitol lottery.

"So I'm guessing you said yes," he said before Ahsoka could say anything. She glared at him for a moment, though her grin kept trying to fight through.

"You knew, Goldie? You knew this whole time and just let me worry?"

He raised his hands and backed away slowly. "Hey, I only suspected. I didn't know until just now. Besides, it wasn't my place to say anything. I didn't want to get your hopes up or put Anakin in a tough spot. Any of those reasons working yet?"

She glared at him for a few more seconds before relaxing into an evil grin. "You're lucky I'm in such a good mood. Just you wait, though. My revenge will be swift and uncompromising."

"Now, now, my soon-to-be Padawan," Anakin said. "Revenge is not the Jedi way."

"What about creative lessons on how not to be a laserbrain?" She asked, looking as innocent as a log in a river does before it opens its mouth. "Are those the Jedi way?"

He affected a look of scholarly contemplation. "Now that you mention it, I think they might be."

"Oh, man," Naruto moaned. "The whole galaxy is doomed now, isn't it?"

Ahsoka threw her head back and laughed before she walked over and looped her arm around his. "Pretty much. Now, let's go eat. There's still hours left on the data transfer, and I'm starving."

As if on cue, Naruto's stomach let out a sound more appropriate for large mining equipment than a human organ, prompting another round of laughter. "That sounds like an excellent idea," Obi-Wan said. "The eastern dining hall should be open right now."

Their shared meal was easily the happiest occasion Naruto had been to in months. Jokes flew back and forth, and laughter filled the air. Ahsoka chattered endlessly about her training; how excited she was, what she was looking forward to, how amazing it was going to be. He and Anakin gently teased her about her boundless exuberance, and she teased them right back. Obi-Wan stayed mostly quiet, apparently content to watch and play referee to their chaotic back and forth.

Just as they were finishing up and preparing to head to bed, Naruto felt the touch of Mace's mind upon his own. 'Padawan, meet me in the main hangar. Master Unduli and Jiraiya just returned.'

His mask only barely covered his grin. 'Yes, master. I'll bring Barriss, too. She'll want to see Luminara.'

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Just a reminder, the poll for which story I should do next is still up on my profile, and will be for a while longer. It won't absolutely determine my choice, but it will give me some idea of what you all are interested in seeing. If you have any questions, either on that or on this chapter, please leave a review. That's all. Tune in next month (hopefully) for more.