Cyare (A Rexsoka SWTCW Fanfic)

13

Ahsoka was getting more and more worried about her master with each passing minute. The were headed to the third seedy bar that the bounty hunter guild had made a aesthetic off.

Anakin practically radiated rage and fury. The council had, begrudgingly, let him search and arrest the bounty hunter that had killed Obi-Wan. What scared Ahsoka was that she wasn't sure her master would stop at arrest. He was out for blood.

Her master threw open the doors and stormed into the bar, brandishing his lightsaber. "WHERE IS THE KILLER OF OBI-WAN KENOBI!!" He roared, and Ahsoka winced at the volume, covering her montrals.

"H-he u-u-uh. Back room..." Stuttered the snakelike bartender, motioning back behind the counter. Ahsoka suppressed a sigh and followed her master back there. There was a man slumped on a padded bench. Anakin shook him roughly.

"Wake up you karking sleemo!" Anakin snarled. The man, who Ahsoka recognized from the holonet as Rako Hardeen, opened his eyes blearily.

"Uh? A jedi? Nah, already killed one of thoshe. Lemme shleep." He slurred. Anakin picked him up and slammed him into the wall with the force.

"Is he sick?" Ahsoka nodded at the scum. Even though he was being held two feet off the ground, he seemed pretty unfazed. His head lolled to the side.

"No, he's drunk." Anakin spat. He dropped him roughly to the floor and ignited his lightsaber.

"Master." Ahsoka put a hand on his arm, watching the torrent of emotions flash across his face. Anakin gritted his teeth and leveled the lightsaber at Hardeen's head. Ahsoka tightened her grip on his arm and pushed a feeling of calm the best she could through their bond.

He didn't put the saber away, but he slapped cuffs on his wrists. Ahsoka let out a long breath. Finally, he put the saber back on his belt.

"Rot in jail, sleemo." He spat. Ahsoka took her hand off his arm. Hardeen seemed to be trying to process what was happening. Anakin stepped behind him and shoved him forward, marching him out of the bar. Ahsoka took his left, keeping a hand on her lightsabers.

They got him to the speeder with minimal trouble, Anakin pushing him roughly into the back. Hardeen slurred something drunkenly and lunged at Anakin. Her master had his lightsaber out in seconds, but Ahsoka was faster.

She had her gold shoto blade ignited and at Hardeen's throat, both to keep him from attacking Anakin and holding Anakin's own sapphire blue blade at bay. She locked eyes with her master and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

Anakin closed his eyes and fought down his pain and fury. He shoved him back into the speeder and used a mind trick to knock him out. Putting away his lightsaber, slammed the speeder door so forcefully the entire vehicle shook.

The ride to the prison was a smooth one. Too smooth. The wardens took Hardeen off their hands and hauled him away with minimal issues. It was late when they got back to the temple, but they weren't gone for the two or three days that she was expecting. She grabbed her small bag with the changes of clothes and toiletries and headed back to her rooms to drop it off. She debated just going to sleep, but she wasn't tired despite the hour.

She didn't want to wake Rex up, but he would be upset if she didn't at least let him know that she was back early and that she was ok.

The door slid open to find him on his cott, face down and sound asleep. Ahsoka made her way silently over and brushed a gentle hand across his shoulder. Rex woke with a start, rolling over and grabbing her wrist in an iron grip as his sleepy mind tried to process what was going on.

"Just me, love." Ahsoka soothed. Rex let her go and sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Ahsoka sat next to him, leaning against him unconsciously.

"You're home early." He murmured, suppressing a yawn.

"Yeah. There's something suspicious going on with this. Rako Hardeen, the killer, had two days to jump ship, instead we found him passed out in the back room of a bar after he announced that he had killed master Kenobi." She sighed and frowned. Rex put an arm around her.

"But you caught him, right?" He asked. Ahsoka nodded.

"Yeah, but it was too easy. He left a very obvious paper trail and made a lot of rookie mistakes. Which makes no sense because he's one of the most famous bounty hunters in the galaxy. It was like..." she hesitated, "like he wanted us to catch him."

Rex frowned too. "That does sound suspicious. At least you're home early." He ran a hand down her arm and shoulder comfortingly. His fingers paused. "What's this?" He pulled at something stuck to one of the bands on her arms.

It was a small silver device the size of his thumbnail, with a small antenna and little blinking blue light. Republic military design, but Ahsoka didn't recognize the purpose.

"It looks like a listening device of some kind." Rex said. Ahsoka paled. The little blue light blinked faster.

"That means... they know everything we suspect, as well as where Hardeen is." Rex paled too, and the little light blinked even faster.

"That means..." He trailed off. Then he saw the light blinking faster. He frowned for a second trying to process what it was.

"They heard the cell number, the prison, they know that we are suspicious and this confirms this!" Ahsoka rambled on, her face growing even paler. "They wanted us to arrest him! They're after something else-"

"'Soka, get down!" Rex yelled, pushing her behind him as the bomb detonated. Blue light washed over everything and Rex was thrown back, hitting Ahsoka and slamming into the wall. His head hit the wall with a sharp crack in the back of his skull that he more felt than heard. He slid down the wall and and everything went black.

A/N - Well, with that lovely cliffhanger I will leave you stranded on, be glad that I'm updating twice today to make up for missing yesterday. Riddle of Yesterday: What English word has three consecutive double letters?