'ello there, peoples of the earth!

I did tell you I hoped it wouldn't be long, and so here I am, once again, back with another Kira story! Yay!

I hope I'm not the only one super excited about this.

Anyway, I now present Chapter 1 of Bad Blood! Hope y'all enjoy! :)

Around 0530, the Jedi Temple was quiet. No footsteps echoed throughout the wide corridors, and no younglings or Padawans chattered excitedly on their way to the training hall. Neon lights from the city penetrated through the glass windows instead of sunlight, and the halls were empty of Jedi going about their duties.

It was Kira Narro's favorite time of the day.

The fully dressed and alert Jedi Padawan entered the training hall, happy to see that no one else had decided to get up for an early training session this morning. She unhooked her lightsaber from her belt and activated it, swinging it in a slow curve. The neon blue glow lit up the room and eliminated the need to turn on any additional lights.

Humming softly to herself, Kira went through the katas of Ataru, her preferred dueling style. Once she'd gone through those a few times, she switched to a reverse grip, something she'd been practicing for a while now. She hadn't quite mastered the reverse grip yet, but that was no reason to stop trying.

Kira's Padawan braid swung as she lunged forward, her saber pointing towards the wall. She swung the saber around in a circle and pressed her lips together in concentration.

The door opened behind Kira, the hissing noise startling her so badly she almost dropped her blade on her foot. And when she finally registered the intruder's Force presence, she sighed under her breath, knowing the company would have some sort of smart remark to make.

Sure enough, when Kira turned around, Caleb Dume stood in the doorway, grinning at her. "Keep that up and the Masters won't have to cut off your braid when you become a Knight," he teased.

"I could always grow it back," Kira retorted, deactivating her lightsaber.

"Hey, I'm just teasing." Caleb sauntered inside, pleased with himself, and unhooked his lightsaber from his belt. Caleb had passed his Initiate Trials a few weeks before and didn't fail to show off his new lightsaber whenever he got a chance. However, even though Caleb could be a cocky, arrogant bastard at times, Kira considered him one of her closest friends.

"What are you doing up so early anyway?" Kira asked. Caleb typically slept in.

Caleb shrugged. "Master Kenobi's taking some of us younglings down to the lower levels of the Temple later this morning. Not all of us have seen the knobs and dials down there," he said, nudging Kira's arm with his elbow.

In answer, Kira punched Caleb lightly on the arm. "It's nothing super special," she said nonchalantly. "As you say, it's just a bunch of knobs and dials."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Caleb flipped his lightsaber hilt in his hand and looked back up at Kira, his cerulean eyes sparkling with mirth.

Kira rubbed her arm, suddenly feeling a a shiver run down her spine. She guessed the vents had just turned on. "I don't mean to. It's just that machines have never been my specialty."

"That's right. You're going to be the next Negotiator," Caleb teased.

Kira rolled her eyes at the name some civilians had begun to call her Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. "No, I'm not. I hate politics."

"Says the girl that went undercover as a senator," Caleb said.

"And you know perfectly well it wasn't exactly by choice." Kira activated her lightsaber again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of a training run."

Caleb activated his own lightsaber. "Want to spar?"

Kira considered this request. "Sure."

In response, Caleb took a fighting stance. Kira did the same, holding her blade upright in front of her. Caleb attacked first and lunged forward, hoping to slip his lightsaber under Kira's and point the blade at her neck, but Kira parried with a strike to the side, suddenly on the offensive side of the duel.

It went back and forth like that for a few minutes. Caleb would attack, Kira would block it, and then it would be her turn to attack. Somehow the two duelists turned around in a complete circle, and Caleb forced Kira backwards, close to the wall. Kira pushed him back, but not for long. It was easy to see who would likely win the battle.

Oh no, you don't. Kira studied the surrounding area. Caleb held his lightsaber too high for her to jump to safety, and her position against the wall left no room for her to maneuver. Finally she saw a way out of her precarious position. If she could reverse her grip on the saber, she could duck under Caleb's blade and fight off his attack while doing so.

Kira parried one last time before dropping the lightsaber just far enough to turn her wrist and catch it in a reverse grip. Sure enough, she was able to duck through the hole in Caleb's defense and force him backwards into the spot where she'd been standing a few seconds before. She had him pinned in a matter of seconds.

Caleb raised his hands and deactivated his lightsaber, a sign of surrender. "What was that!?" he asked. He tapped Kira's forehead with his index finger. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Kira? The Kira I know doesn't use a reverse grip."

"It's just a little trick I keep up my sleeve, Caleb," Kira laughed, swatting his hand away before powering down her blade.

"Where'd you learn it? I didn't think Master Kenobi used a reverse grip."

"He doesn't." Kira didn't say who had actually taught her, but from the wistful look on Caleb's face, she guessed he had a pretty good idea. "I've been practicing for a while. It's a good emergency trick to use if my hand slips or something."

"Oh." Caleb looked thoughtful. "Could you teach me?"

Before Kira could answer, the door opened again. "Caleb, are you in here?" A girl with brown eyes and dark hair pulled into a ponytail peered inside. "I overheard Master Kenobi saying he was planning to take the younglings to the lower levels around 0700, so you might want to hurry up and get some breakfast. Hey, Kira."

"Hello, Cadena." Kira nodded to her friend and fellow Padawan before looking at the chrono on the wall. It read 0622. "Wow, that's later than I thought it was."

"Everybody seems kind of sleepy today. Or maybe it just seems that way to me because I had to wake Anakin up again." Cadena sat down on the bench in the room.

Caleb shrugged. "It's just you. I'm not tired." That remark was punctuated with a yawn.

Kira and Cadena giggled. Caleb frowned and changed the subject. "Want to come to the mess with me? I'm starving."

Kira couldn't deny that she was hungry. Training worked up her appetite. "Sure, Caleb."

"I'm in." Cadena stood up and made her way to the door. The other two students followed her, eager for some breakfast.

Later that afternoon, Kira bit her lip as she looked over her datapad. She'd borrowed a few research materials from the Archives and was trying to study them, but the movement in the corner of her eye was making it rather difficult. "Cadena, can you please stop that?" she asked, glancing up to see her friend spinning on a revolving stool she'd found.

Cadena kept spinning. "But I'm bored," she drawled. "You told me you'd spar with me."

"Yes, after I finish reading these." Kira ejected the first data card and inserted another into the datapad. "If you can't wait for five minutes, I'm sure Master Skywalker can spar with you."

"No, he can't. He's out."

"Again!?" Kira looked up. "Where is he even going? He seems to be going out a lot."

Cadena stopped spinning for a moment to shrug. "Beats me."

Kira went back to reading...until Cadena started spinning again. Kira sighed loudly. "Cadena, please don't make me resort to begging. The sooner you stop spinning, the sooner I can finish reading and the sooner we can spar."

"But reading is boring. Can't you do it later?"

"Sorry, Cadena. Just give me a few minutes."

"You said that a few minutes ago!"

"I know." Kira tried once more to read the datapad.

Cadena started spinning again when suddenly, the stool cracked in half and fell to the ground, taking Cadena along with it. The older girl let out a squeak of surprise, her eyes wide. Kira had to laugh. "Are you okay?" she asked, setting down the datapad and reaching out a hand.

Cadena gratefully took Kira's hand and pulled herself up. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, looking down at the stool. "Pity. I was having fun on that thing."

"Spinning or toturing me?"

"Both."

Kira's light punch on Cadena's arm didn't bother the older girl, judging by the massive grin on her face.

That night, Kira was sitting on her bed to change the power cell in her lightsaber when Obi-Wan entered the quarters they shared as Master and Padawan. This time, she wasn't startled by the sound of the door opening, but she did look up from her work. "Hello, Master."

"Hello, Kira. Changing the power cell?"

"Yes, Master. I won't make that mistake again."

Obi-Wan offered a smile at the mention of the adventure they'd had during a skirmish on Toydaria. Kira's lightsaber had stopped working because she'd forgotten to replace the power cell. "I'm sure you won't."

Kira pressed her lips together in a half smile and went back to her work.

Obi-Wan slipped out of the light robe he wore around the Temple sometimes and laid it on his bed. "Caleb was in the group of younglings I took to visit the lower levels this morning," he said.

That morning was not the first time Obi-Wan had taken younglings to visit different areas of the Temple. Sometimes he took groups on a tour of the Archives. A few times he took groups to the laboratory the Agricultural Corps maintained in the Temple. Typically, however, he took groups to one of the lowest levels of the Temple, the location of the central command center.

Kira perked up at the sound of Caleb's name. "Yeah?" she said nonchalantly, trying not to show how eager she was to hear what Obi-Wan thought of her friend, whom her Master had not met before.

"Yes. He had some interesting comments." Obi-Wan turned his eyes on Kira when she put up her mental shields. Kira inwardly cringed. She should've known her Master would sense when she did that - and definitely be curious why. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, Master."

Obi-Wan sat next to Kira on her bed, careful to avoid sitting on the lightsaber parts scattered around her. "Kira, look at me," he said, gently but firmly.

Kira obeyed and looked up at Obi-Wan, biting her lip as she did so.

Obi-Wan waited a moment before he spoke. "It isn't wrong to have friends," he said carefully. "And I'm not saying you can't see Caleb anymore. However, you need to be careful not to form attachments, my young apprentice. They won't be a problem now, but they can cause problems as you get older."

"Master, I don't-"

Obi-Wan held up a hand. "You haven't formed one yet. All I'm asking you to do is to be careful not to form one. Do you understand?"

Kira held her tongue. "Yes, Master."

"Good." Obi-Wan squeezed Kira's shoulder gently before he stood up and headed toward the refresher. Kira returned to working on her lightsaber, mental shields still up.

Obi-Wan stopped and turned back to Kira, his hand a few inches from the button that would open the door. "One more thing, Kira."

Kira looked up from the power cell. "Yes, Master?"

"Your mental shields are much better than they used to be." With that, Obi-Wan pressed the button and disappeared into the refresher, the door sliding shut behind him.

Kira smiled a little at the compliment as she looked back down at the disassembled lightsaber, eager to finish before bed.

By now, you probably know that Star Wars: The Clone Wars does not belong to me and that Cadena belongs to katierosefun. I just play around with them and make plans, and man, have I got quite the plans for the crew!

Kira: You know, that foreshadowing poodoo is starting to get annoying.

Me: Meh. Everything I do annoys you.

Kira: Um, yeah, it does. Can you please stop dancing now?

Me: No! I like this song!

Kira: ...it's the cantina band song.

Me: I know. *continues dancing*

Kira: *facepalm*

Me: I'll stop dancing if you do the review notice.

Kira: It's worth it. Please review if you liked it, hated it, or wanted to light it up and watch it burn.

Me: Very well. *stops dancing* Thanks for clicking in, everyone, and may the Force be with you always!