A/N: hey guys, apologies! I haven't updated this in nearly a week, so sorry about that! I have to do so much work in such little time. A quiz or two per week and a unit test every week-and-a-half to two weeks. Dear math, I hope you get sucked into a black hole because you sure won't be missed <3. Anyways, here's a small update for you :D

TW: This chapter involves violence, harsh language and one swear word. Please read at your own discretion, do not continue if any of this bothers you.

***

What class do I have next? She wondered, numbly grabbing her timetable and glancing at it forlornly, utter misery radiating from her Force-signature. Great, pre-calculus taught by my favourite teacher Master Windu. Just perfect.

Securing her chocolate brown Jedi robes around her petite and fragile frame, Ahsoka Tano slipped her hood on, unwilling to show any weakness. As she dragged her feet down to the math wing, she could felt multiple ominous presences approach from behind, sadistic glee evident in their darker Signatures.

Math wing... I still need to go this way- oh, kriff. The Force just loves to torment me, doesn't it? Why do I have to through the longest, darkest, and eeriest hallway in the entire Temple? The young girl sighed in defeat. Windu was most definitely going to embarrass her some way or another upon seeing her arrive to class late, tattered and broken.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going, scar-head?" A cold voice jeered from behind. "We haven't given you a proper greeting yet."

"What an unwelcome surprise, Kyrena, (Kai-Reh-Na)" Ahsoka retorted snarkily, quickening her pace.

"How dare you disrespect me, Tano?" snarled Kyrena Bardot (Bar-dotte), rage mounting by the second as her hand itched to move forward, already curled into fists trembling in fury. Oh, how she longed to feel Ahsoka's windpipe being destroyed, crippled from the inside as her puny orange hands clawed desperately at her throat, begging for mercy. What a sight to see that would be, the foolish teacher's pet seconds away from death.

"You have no right to threaten me like that, Bardot," Ahsoka snapped. "You won't be- ahck!"

It was too late; the damage had been done. Kyrena lost her self-control as her hand thrusts forward, fingers slowly curling inward maliciously.

Though still a youngling, the Corellian female was very strong with the Force, very in-tune. As Ahsoka's feet began to lift slowly off the ground, she felt her airway began to close, forcefully as she was choked by way of the Force. Her hands flew to her throat, desperately trying to remove the invisible threat trying to kill her. Yet, the more she panicked, the more the snake winded around her airway, ready to go in for the kill-

But no. Ahsoka was dropped harshly on the ground, left wheezing for air, desperate for the intake of oxygen into her lungs. It's over now... finally. How wrong she was.

"Did you enjoy that, darling?" Kyrena sneered, her goons snickering darkly behind their leader. One of them, known as "Pyke Mini" within the younglings, finally spoke up. "You're a waste of space, darling. You have no friends. You have no future. You're a mistake. You shouldn't be here at the Jedi Temple. It's no place for weaklings like you."

"You're like a vampire, Ahsoka," a Nautolian female jeered. "A vampire who continues to consume the opportunities, resources, and money for yourself when there are much more deserving people out there. Like us."

"Exactly," a male Twi'Lek continued, baring his teeth at the young Togruta. "You have no future, Tano. No Master will want a stupid, foundationless bastard like you."

"Master?" Kyrena jeered. "You won't even be picked by the lowest-ranking Knight in this Order, you piece of filth. You're a shame to your kind. Why don't you run away, Ahsoka? Run, run away, far away so we never have to set eyes on you again. Return to whatever trash dump you came from."

Each gang member smirked evilly at the now-cowering Togruta.

The clique waited, smiling in suspense as they watched Kyrena stalk up to Ahsoka, her fists clenched and ready to pack a deadly punch. Or, so they thought. What came next was worse than breaking one of the young Togruta's ribs, as she usually did.

"You know," the Corellian said, too softly and much too gently for Ahsoka's liking, "everybody makes mistakes. They all have regrets, actions they want to take back, but can't. Your parents' biggest mistake, their biggest regret, was having a completely useless bitch of a daughter like you. They regret having you, but they can't go back. You're a failure, Ahsoka Tano. You're nothing more than a mistake." And with that, the cold, merciless bully cracked her knuckles, grinning manically while the rest of her gang joined in, ready to beat the young Togruta up.

One.

Two.

Three.

Crack! A resounding scream echoed in the dark little hallway, the sound of skulls collapsing, ribs fractured and splintered arms re-appearing, one after another. Ahsoka was left with huge bruises covering her body and internally bleeding organs as the clique left, high-fiving each other on the way out.

Ahsoka's eyes fluttered. They began to close as she felt darkness slowly consume her. It would finally end her suffering.

***

An angry Mace Windu walked alongside an equally as annoyed Anakin Skywalker in the lower levels of the Halls of Learning.

"... I tell you, Skywalker, Tano never shows up to her math class and never completes the assigned homework. She's going to be removed from this Order one day."

"What happens if she simply doesn't understand the concept, Master?" Anakin argued, unwilling for any youngling to undergo Mace Windu's idea of punishment.

"Be as it may, but she can still show up to class! It's not as if she's terribly injured. She is not crippled and can walk perfectly fine."

"You don't-"

"And besides, her study habits are just terrible. She keeps her hood on in class — all the time, actually — which is suspicious by itself. How do we know that-"

"Wait a minute," Anakin interrupted, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he felt a disturbance in the Force, and a very dark one at that.

"Skywalker-"

Anakin held up a hand. Taking a deep breath, he let his senses guide him as he found himself walking down a dark hallway leading to the Math wing. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

***

Anakin opened his senses, willing the Force to help guide him as he scanned his surroundings. He walked down the centre of the hallway, being careful not to bump into anything. Windu followed closely behind, doing the same. As the Knight's foot fell onto the floor, it hit something soft — it hit something soft?!

"Watch out, Master," he warned Mace as his lightsaber flew into his hand, igniting upon touch. A brilliant blue enveloped the hallway, closely followed by a snap-hiss! As a purple hue also covered the dimly lit area.

Looking down at what exactly his foot had hit, Anakin's jaw dropped in horror, not believing what his eyes were seeing. There lay a body, curled in on themselves as a slow, yet steady stream of blood dripped down.

Drip.

Drop.

Drip.

Drop.

A strangled scream flew out of his mouth, eyes watering at the sight before him. One of our own, so close to death. Anakin bent down, placing a gentle hand on the person's wrist, desperately looking for a pulse as his mind raced, thousands of miles per second. Thankfully, he found one — faint and nearly undetectable — but it was there.

Thump...

Thump...

Thump...

Skywalker retracted his azure blade as one arm reached under the person's neck, while the other scooped up their legs, carrying them bridal-style. As Windu took off their hood, their identity was revealed. It was Ahsoka Tano.

***

The first thing that came to Ahsoka's mind was, "it's so white." Then, "Is this what being One With The Force feels like?" Her fingers slowly began to twitch, then begin to flex slowly as she gradually regained consciousness. The Togruta took a deep breath as she turned over — yet, a searing sensation flooded her body just about everywhere as her eyes opened.

"Ahsoka?" A gentle voice came from beside her, acknowledging her presence.

The pre-teenage Togruta slowly rotated her head towards the source of the sound and jumped when she realized who was speaking to her.

"M-Master Skywalker," she stuttered nervously, not knowing how to address the said Chosen One. Would he laugh? Would he make fun of her?

"No, Ahsoka, of course not," he said, grinning ever-so-slightly. The small smile faltered, then vanished as he asked softly, "are you alright? What happened?" With genuine concern laced in his deep blue eyes.

"Nothing. I'm fine." The Jedi-to-be immediately responded, robotically, as a blank look overtook her facial features.

"Ahsoka," Anakin said, taking one of her hands in his, rubbing his thumb across her hand. "What really happened? I found you in a dark hallway..."

"I said I'm fine!" She snapped, averting her gaze.

"Please listen to me," the Knight said, adding a slight emphasis to his words. "Who did this? Why?"

"I'm fine!" Ahsoka said, gritting her teeth. She added what she hoped to be a confident smile at the end to prove her point.

"You're clearly not fine," Anakin countered. "Master Windu and I found you near death in a dark hallway!"

"Master Windu...? Oh, shoot, I'll be late for math class, nice meeting you, Master Skywalker!" The Togruta said as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, attempting to run away, to avoid this awkward and painful conversation at all costs. Little did she know, this only concerned Anakin even more.

The Knight sighed. Something terrible was clearly going on and had been for a while. He had his assumptions, but he desperately hoped they weren't true.

"Ahsoka," he continued, adding more weight to his words as he pushed her back onto the hospital bed. "Please. Who did this? And why are you so reluctant to tell me?"

"They might be watching," the teenage Togruta uttered quietly as her gaze flew across the room furtively.

"Who might be watching?"

"Ky... Kyrena B-Baldot and her gang of younglings."

A spark suddenly burst into a flame inside Anakin as his anger mounted exponentially. Those kriffing pieces of bantha dung, he snarled. They will pay for what they did.

Yet, he maintained his composure for Ahsoka's sake. "For how long has this been going on?"

"Since- since the start of last year," she said, glancing around furtively, hoping against hope that the little gang was not nearby.

Anakin remained silent as he struggled to digest this information. All pieces of the puzzle slowly fell into place. Why she constantly wore a hood. Why she constantly missed classes.

"How bad is it each time?" He pressed on gently. "Is this the worst it's been, or the lightest?" He asked, already dreading the answer. To his slight relief, however, Ahsoka answered, "this is the worst it's been. They only give me a few fractured ribs every time... more or less."

"Only a few fractured ribs?" Anakin nearly screamed. He was going to have a serious conversation with the Jedi High Council.

"Thank you for telling me all this, I know it must have been very hard for you to talk about. What strategies do you use to cope?"

"I don't," Ahsoka replied simply. "I just... smile through it all."

"Ahsoka, this is very important, and I need you to pay attention, alright?" Anakin asked, establishing eye contact with the Togruta. "I need you to know that you are not alone. You must speak out, and we will stand behind you. It's easier said than done, but please, don't feel intimidated by the truth."

"Thank you, Master Skywalker. I will."

***

A/N: okay, let me say right off the bat, that was so dark. I never write anything like this, but I felt creative and also felt the need to share that message. Don't be afraid to speak out, people will absolutely support you. Always remember that you are loved, and cared for by your family and friends. Talk to somebody and don't keep it to yourself. I'm always here to talk if you need someone 💕

- Jazzy