Cyare (A Rexsoka SWTCW Fanfic)

5

"The object of this lesson is simple." Ahsoka stated, tossing Rex a wooden practice saber. He caught it and brought it into the Form One ready position in front of him. She brought her own around and fell smoothly into the same stance. "For every time you fail to hit me, I will hit you." 

Rex chewed his lip thoughtfully, and the pair began to circle. What was Ahsoka trying to teach him? Perseverance through pain? Unlikely, since he was a clone soldier. Patience? Maybe, but she knew that he could wait quietly though hours of briefings. Simply lightsaber combat? Perhaps, but he was still in the shallow end of the pool when it came to that, nowhere near ready for an actual duel. Well, only one way to find out. This was probably going to be a long and painful lesson. Even if Ahsoka would never really hurt him, she wouldn't hesitate to leave bruises as a reminder. 

He shut off his inner monologue and attacked, tentatively swinging his saber downwards in a cut at her knees. She blocked it with ease and gave him a swift chop to the ribs. Yeah, for the sake of teaching she definitely wasn't afraid to leave marks. But she would help him put bacta on the worst ones at the end of the day, or rub his shoulders if she was especially hard on him, so there was a little silver lining. He tried for a similar maneuver to the one she had just used on him, and again was blocked. This time her blow hit his upper arm, and he grunted softly. 

They continued this little dance for a while, with Rex trying desperately to hit her and her smacking him for every time he missed. Soon, after a dozen hits to the ribs, arms, knees, and once even a swift rap on the back of his skull, he finally outright asked her how this was helping him learn to use a lightsaber. She raised a white marking at him. 

"Rex, have you learned nothing over the last week?" He hesitated, almost lowering his blade as he paused to think about that. (He had learned early on that letting his guard down was a quick way to get a sharp smack on the chest the hard way.) 

"Feeling the Force? How would that help me become a better swordsman?" He asked, and the two began to circle again. Ahsoka gave a slightly exasperated sigh.  

"Feel the Force around me. How it changes as I move to block or strike." She instructed, then her face lit up. "I have an idea. Hang on." She moved to her small wardrobe and pulled out what looked like a black scarf. 

"How is a scarf going to help me exactly?" He asked. She gave an evil grin. 

"Not a scarf Rexie. A blindfold." She looped it over his head as he tried to protest and tied it the best she could. Rex eventually gave up and bent over to give her better access to his face. She secured much better, and he stood. 

"And... How is this going to help me?" He asked, fumbling to get his blade into the proper position. 

Ahsoka laughed and readied her own blade. "Now you can't use your eyes. Rely on the Force to guide your blade, oh noble knight of Mandalore." She said in a cheesy old mandalorian accent. Rex laughed, but he stopped when her practice saber connected with his ribs yet again. 

"Ow. What was that for?" He complained. Ahsoka laughed again. 

"If you were focused on feeling the Force around me, you could have blocked that easily." She whacked him across the back of the knee, and he yelped in a mixture of pain and surprise. With a sigh, he closed his eyes behind the blindfold, and tried to sink into what Ahsoka described as a 'moving meditation.'  He could feel her, her movement so fluid and precise that he would have loved to simply watch her forever. That is until she leveled another jab to his chest. Ok. Time to stop standing like a target dummy. 

When he felt her move again, he fumbled to get his blade into a somewhat correct block. He was still to slow to defend himself, and received a knock to the shoulder. Ahsoka's presence lit up brightly, and he could hear a smile in her voice. 

"Now you're getting it. Defend yourself, knight of Mandalore." She swung at his head again, still using only the form one attacks, and he managed a sloppy block. As his saber trembled slightly in his hand from the force of her strike, he was instantly glad that it hadn't connected with his head. This time it was Rex that attacked. He tried a hit on where he knew her left arm to be but she shifted again, blocking it easily. There was no way that he would win this duel, not with her superior skill and knowledge. 'Experience beats everything,' he had told her once. Now she was proving him right. 

Well, one thing you could use to counter experience was foul play. That's the other part of the lesson that he himself was still learning. Instead of trying to hit her, he focused on her blade. Once they were stuck in a simple bladelock, he leaned over their crossed blades and kissed her on the forehead. She froze, and it was just long enough for him to break the bladelock and prod her in the side with the tip of his saber. 

"Ha!" He yelled triumphantly, tearing off the blindfold as Ahsoka tried to process what had just happened. 

"That doesn't count, you cheated!" She punched him in the arm with her free hand, making sure to hit one of the many bruises. 

"Ow." He whined, "I didn't cheat, I pressed my advantages." He smirked at her. She brought her blade to the ready position again, and Rex mirrored her. 

"I think not. A contest of skill will decide who really won the battle, my noble knight." She gave him a cheshire grin. Rex was welly and truly karked. He paled and gulped audibly. The fight didn't last long, Ahsoka knocking his blade out of his hand and forcing him to his knees She leveled the tip of her blade at his throat. 

"Do you surrender, noble knight? Or shall I leave your body broken on this hallowed field of battle?" She smirked. Rex kept his face straight as he channeled his inner Fives. 

"Milady, I surrendered to you the moment your lips first met mine." Ahsoka cracked a grin and dropped her practice saber. Before he could think she had her lips pressed against his, kissing him fiercely. Rex smiled into the kiss, and Ahsoka pulled away. "If that's how you treat my broken body on this hallowed battle field, my new motto is 'Never surrender.'" He smirked.

She laughed and stood, helping him to his feet. He winced at the movement, every muscle and bruise complaining at the movement. Ahsoka winced along with him, and he limped  over to the bed. She helped him take off his shirt and observed the patchwork of new and old bruises with a mixture of pride and guilt. 

"I'm sorry." She pulled out a small box from under the bed with first aid supplies in it. He cracked a grin at her. 

"No you're not. You just like seeing me without my shirt on." He chuckled, and Ahsoka retrieved a bacta salve. He gave a small sigh of relief as she started on his shoulder. Ahsoka hummed softly. 

"Mmm, guilty as charged." She agreed. 

A/N ~ Warning, the updates over the next week might be a little slow in coming due to my rapidly approaching birthday on the 30th. Please limit Happy Birthday comments to a minimum, I really don't get what the fuss is about. My uncle and sister and me all  have birthdays with in weeks and days of each other, so parties all week. Unfortunately, as good as the cakes are, parties mean little time to update. Thought I would warn you ahead of time. RotD: What has 13 hearts, but no other organs?