Slowly, two or three at a time, most of the Jedi Masters were released from the medical wing. Some of them went to eat or rest, depending on their needs, but a few of them opted to walk around and observe. Particularly, they wanted to watch Ahsoka. Instead of being annoyed or paranoid, she decided to let them. After all, she had nothing to hide.

Actually, there wasn't much to do. Anakin and Ahsoka found Artoo, who promptly began to complain about Jinx again. Anakin was amused, but Ahsoka was starting to get sick of it and rolled her eyes through the entire rant. Obi-Wan just looked bored, honestly. They were only saved when Jinx, O-Mer, and Caleb came up to them, dragging Plo Koon and Depa in tow. 

At the sight of Jinx, Artoo passive-aggressively dismissed himself and rolled away. Jinx made a colorful comment under his breath, but not loud enough that his master could hear him. Caleb and O-Mer, on the other hand, sniggered.

"Hello again, little one," Master Plo greeted her warmly. "I've heard quite a lot about you from the Padawans. You've had quite a day."

Ahsoka smiled at the boys. "A good one, though. It's been a while since I've been able to reconnect with friends here."

Depa smiled. "Caleb showed me the schematics for the mission in the command room. For not being in the field for over a year, they were quite effective."

"War is a universal language," she reasoned. "The same battles are being fought all over the galaxy, and if you can see the pattern you can manipulate it. The same strategy would have worked at hundreds of different bases, with a few minor tweaks for each. Master Skywalker used the same tactics at Karikishaw, a few years ago."

"Oh yeah," Anakin recalled, crossing his arms. "I forgot about that. Although that time, we were rescuing senators, not Jedi. Quick and easy mission, though."

"That's what I was going for," Ahsoka replied, grinning. "Get in, get out, destroy the evidence."

O-Mer stared at her, mouth gaping. "You mean you copied the plan for the mission from someone else?"

Anakin nodded. "The best tactics of war are based upon mistakes made in the past. Skill builds on experience, but it doesn't always have to build off of your own. It's why Padawans fight with their masters on the battlefield, so they can learn from watching and engaging rather than out of a book."

"Otherwise," Ahsoka continued, having heard the speech before, "You have new Knights that jump on a cruiser with no idea of what to do. It's better to have a lower rank but plenty of experience than a high rank with nothing to work off of."

"It certainly seemed to work for you, 'Soka," Plo Koon praised, looking down on her with pride. "We would not be standing here if it were not for you."

You have no idea, Ahsoka thought to herself, but externally she just smiled. 

"If I may," Depa began, pointing down at her belt, "Are those lightsabers?"

Obi-Wan, who had stood off to the side, snapped his head around so quickly it popped. "I beg your pardon?"

In response, Ahsoka pulled them off her belt and ignited them, showing them the white blades. No one spoke until Caleb managed to make a sound.

"That. Looks. Amazing."

"How come you get to have white sabers?" O-Mer complained, forgetting that he was not supposed to be jealous. "That's so wicked!"

"I take it you can still fight, then?" Jinx asked, and Ahsoka smirked.

Deactivating the blades so they wouldn't burn anyone, she teased him. "Would I have run into one of the most dangerous slave houses in the galaxy if I couldn't fight?"

Caleb backed up so there was plenty of space around him, and turned on his own lightsaber. "You can't just show us that and not use them. Come on," he invited her, and she walked over, not bothering to consult anyone about if she ought to or not.

"Start with your proper strokes," she instructed Caleb, pulling out one lightsaber. "Let's just begin with the basic sequences. One, two..." and they went, her white blade clashing with his blue one. Her style was smooth and controlled, seeming quite effortless from an observer's point of view. The Jedi, except for Anakin, marveled at her polished form. Despite having avoided the Order, her dueling skills had not diminished. Anakin was just proud.

Once the two of them finished with regular strokes, he spun the lightsaber into reverse grip without having to be told. He knew the drill. He had done this with Ahsoka a hundred times before, back when she mentored him as a Padawan. She was holding herself differently, though. Her back was much straighter than she normally fought with, and she minimized her movement, rather than utilizing it like Form IV usually called for. Her hand was even behind her back, a choice she had seen Tyrannus do when he had the upper hand. 

When she realized it, she didn't understand at first why she was doing it. I don't want to become him, she argued mentally, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized the advantage it would have given her in a real fight. I'm hiding it from my opponent. I could draw another weapon with it, or use the Force, but my future intentions are concealed until it is too late.

Besides, she didn't want to follow in Anakin's footsteps and get a hand cut off.

After finishing the second sequence, she stepped back to the usual sparring distance, and reset her feet. Now, she crouched and used her left hand for balance, preparing to duel Caleb. He drew his lightsaber in front of him, grinning slightly. "Just like old times, huh?"

"Don't assume that," she warned him. "You don't know what I've learned in the past year, and nor I you. Progress is not always made in the same direction over the course of time."

He nodded, taking the warning as best as he could, but Depa and Obi-Wan were slightly baffled at her philosophy. "Where did she learn that?" Obi-Wan wondered, and Anakin shuffled his feet since he had a pretty good idea where, and it wasn't him.

Not that he knew it, but he was wrong. Ahsoka had actually learned that particular line of wisdom from Vicki, the leader of a gang she was friends with. Every once in a while, she offered to train with Ahsoka (just hand to hand combat) and was actually a very deep thinker, once Ahsoka got closer to her.

Caleb moved first, striking for the feet first. Ahsoka sidestepped the blue blade as it hummed past her feet, spinning and lifting her own to his neck just barely before he could deflect it. She held it for a moment, to show him her movement for next time. Then she lowered it and switched to formal grip, stepping back again. He tried jabbing at her side, but she twisted the blade away and kicked his legs out from underneath his feet. Again, the tip of her white lightsaber was now pointed at his neck. 

"I think I get what you mean," he confessed as she helped him up, lowering his center of gravity. "You're pulling a few moves I've never seen before."

"In the Lower Levels, I've had to fight as I've never had to before," she explained. "I took what I learned and combined it with my saber training, and what I learned was this: At the end of a fight, if you lose, you die. You win by surviving. War isn't always like that. You can lose a battle and still survive, but individuals don't have that luxury." She looked at him pointedly, the way Anakin used to look at her when he was lecturing. "Don't take that for granted."

Caleb nodded, thinking. "So how do I counter people like you?"

She thought for a moment, then decided on an answer: "Exposure. Explore the possibilities of how someone could fight, even if they don't choose to fight that way. Look at what options they do have, and work to eliminate those options in your favor. Leave them with the worst possible case scenario."

"Just like that?" he asked, knowing the answer. Ahsoka laughed solemnly.

"No, but it will be easier for you to pick up than non-sensitive fighters," she told him. "The Force can help you predict the movement of a person if you learn to read it properly. It isn't quite foresight, but it certainly gives you an advantage."

"Since when did Ahsoka decide to start teaching Caleb how to fight like a civilian?" Depa questioned, astounded by her words.

O-Mer grinned. "I have no idea, but I want in on it. Hey," he called out to the two of them. "Can Jinx and I join?"

She waved them over and reworked her attack to specifically utilize some of the techniques she had picked up from some of her friends, Tawnya and Obi (not to be confused with Obi-Wan). They were neat tricks but would have broken the dueling code Jedi followed. Some of her moves were downright dirty, but that was the point Ahsoka was trying to get across: most people didn't fight in the name of honor, but survival. When you have nothing to lose, you get desperate, and you will stoop as low as you need to in order to stay alive. 

It really did help, though. Nothing that the Padawans did to fight her came as a surprise, and frankly, none of them landed a hit on her. Her Force-boosted reflexes, coupled with three months of being jumped every week or so, out-matched the sheltered Jedi. She was older than Caleb, and Jinx and O-Mer had spent years hiding on an island with no weapons to train with. In addition, she saw a lot more dueling action, being the ex-Padawan of the Chosen One.

Speaking of, he was walking over now. Ahsoka stopped sparring the Padawans and deactivated her lightsabers. "A little unorthodox, I know," she admitted but refused to sound sorry. 

"You know me, Snips," he replied, smirking. "'Unorthodox' seems to be a theme around here."

Behind him, Obi-Wan snickered. You don't say, he thought to himself.

Anakin pulled out his own lightsaber. "One round?" he asked, activating it.

"With your back injuries?" she objected, raising an eyemark. "Kix would kill both of us if he saw."

He held out a hand to her, grinning. "I've had worse. Besides, the shinies won't snitch if I tell them not to."

Ahsoka wasn't entirely convinced, but then she remembered what Anakin had done for one of her own injuries. Quickly, and not very soundly, she took his hand and tried to channel as much Light into Anakin as she could. The glow wasn't nearly as bright as it had been when he had done the same to her, but she could see him relaxing just a little bit. 

She gave as much of the Force as she could without the Jedi Masters noticing. "I suppose it couldn't hurt," she conceded, mainly to distract the onlookers. "I still don't think it's a good idea for you," Ahsoka warned him, although she was grateful that he wasn't slouching anymore. 

He waved her off. "I'll be fine. Don't hold back for my sake."

She activated both lightsabers. "I don't plan to, that's why I'm worried."

The Padawans snorted, entertained by the idea of a civilian, albeit a friend of theirs, beating up the Chosen One. Obi-Wan shook his head. "I can already tell this is going to end badly."

Anakin moved first, as was their routine. He always moved first, because she was the one being trained, or tested. Right now, though, it didn't feel like either of those. It just felt like fun. 

To begin, Anakin thrust his saber directly into her chest, knowing that it was one of her weaker points. Instead of deflecting it, like she might have a year ago, she simply sidestepped it, and walked out of his range from his position. He tried striking down from on top, but she whirled out of the way of that, too. A smirk crept onto her face, and Anakin noticed a glint in her eye that looked familiar. He had recognized it in the Inquisitor too, once, just as he had before Ahsoka had left. It was a blend of joy and mischief, and a stroke of determination to tie it off. 

Ahsoka didn't want to train, or even show off, really. She wanted to fight. Just a good-natured battle between partners. Anakin grinned. Now that's the person I remember. 

So he went for it. Forgetting about his back, he jumped up and came crashing down on the Togruta, but instead of dodging him again, she responded to his burst of energy and leaped to meet him mid-air. They deflected off of each other, landing about 3 meters apart. Running forward, Anakin spun his saber once to build up momentum, and Ahsoka ran streamline, low and flat. She struck up beneath his arm, distracting him so she could kick out one of his knees. It didn't deter him much, he just swung parallel to the ground, forcing Ahsoka to flip out of the way of his blue saber. He was on his feet again in seconds.

And so it continued for some time, civilian versus Jedi for the sake of a good time. Ahsoka came to utilize her thin frame to leap through the air over Anakin's head, and her speed to strike quickly and stay on his level. Anakin opted to take advantage of weaknesses he knew she still had, and was not afraid to use the Force where he was strongest. He had more talent in dueling, and could match her speed when he wanted to. 

The Jedi, both Padawans and Masters alike, looked on from a distance, making sure to give the pair plenty of room. They marveled at not only the skill but the ease and the speed of the fight. Each dueler could anticipate the move of the other, and neither of them held the advantage for too long. On and on they went, unaffected by weariness or peer pressure. All the galaxy was naught but background to them, and their only concern was the next instant. 

And truly, why would they tire or grow faint? How could a simple duel be more weary than the weight of a year of separation, doubt, and pain? They could have sparred for an hour at least, and only their bodies would be sore. The chasm of the past was now bridged across, and every second it became more stable. Rank and title had no power over them, class and status meant nothing. 

Nothing to them, but much to the Jedi Council, almost all of whom were now watching. How could the Chosen One, their prized general, be so humble and carefree as to entertain and challenge a mere civilian? Was there no history between them, a trial, and a rejection that broke their bond? How had the trust once lost been rebuilt so quickly? 

Perhaps if they had looked beyond authority, beyond politics, they would have remembered the history that triumphed over it. If they had loosened their grip on their Code, maybe they would have seen the anger that had driven them to courage, the fear that had protected the other, and the love that knew no bounds, the love that not even Sideous' Darkness had managed to truly destroy.