This story is set post TPM by about 3 years. Anakin is 12 years old now and has been training with Obi wan for the last few years. They are about to be sent on their first official mission, what could possibly go wrong? Enemies see to disrupt their new bond at every turn.

A/N-2 - chapter updated to fix mistakes and rectify issues

In out, in out, in out Anakin tried desperately to block out everything else around him in the training room and concentrate solely on breathing and finding his inner calm. The sweat from his hair dripped into the tightly tied blindfold which very effectively cut off his vision. Training saber gripped tightly in his hands Anakin prepared himself for his latest training exercise.

Listening intently he could hear the humming of a droid above him, darting around the room trying to confuse him. The droid would fire laser bolts at him at random intervals from any direction, Anakin's job was to not get hit. Simple right? However he was also balanced on a training beam. The other rule was to not touch the floor, now that would be easy if it were not for the fact that each beam was smaller in width than one of his feet and extremely slippery!

The prospect of being hit by one of the sizzling bolts racked his nerves,, even though this was a training exercise the bolts still carried a sting and left a bruise, if you were very unlucky the dastardly things sometimes broke the skin. Also of course he had the very real possibility of falling awkwardly off of the beams, which were at varying heights around the room.

The exercise was designed to test one's focus and reactions whilst being physically blind, of course being physically blind for a Jedi did not mean they couldn't see. Taking away the learners sight essentially compelled them to trust in their sense instincts and most importantly be at peace with the force. This was Anakin's first attempt at this particular course, hence the nerves and sweat pouring down his face, he could feel the watchful eyes of his master track his movements as he advanced along the very thin treacherous beam.

'Remember padawan, trust the force, connect to it and you will feel the danger before it reaches you.' Obi wan's calming voice sailed over the training bond intent on focusing Anakin's mind for the given task.

Obi wan watched from the sidelines of the training salle, high above his determined student in the observation room. It had been 3 years since the heartbreaking events on Naboo where Anakin was inadvertently thrust into his life. He didn't regret a single moment of training Anakin however, he just wished his master Qui gon was still here to advise him.

Obi wan had been thrust into knighthood immediately upon slaying the Sith lord and suddenly he was responsible for training the chosen one, it had all happened expeditiously, perhaps too quickly. Here he was, trying his utmost to train Anakin to become a great Jedi where he often felt like he wasn't ready to be a master yet. It had been a great learning curve for the both of them, Obi wan felt immensely proud of what Anakin had achieved so far, he had excelled in almost every part of his training and pushed himself harder every day.

As he observed Anakin try to follow the sounds of the droid, abruptly his apprentice performed a perfectly balanced force jump to reach the next beam after the droid got too close for comfort, it was again evident his padawan, oh force that took a while to get used to, had excelled so much in training already. He moved gracefully around the room, leaping from beam to beam trying desperately to keep the droid in front of him, listening intently to anything he could pick up on.

His light saber held in a defensive stance ready for the first blasts. Anakin had excelled in all of his classes, was an excellent pilot and nearly had reached the level of his other agemates for lightsaber training. He had achieved so much in so little time, training to this level usually took younglings double the time Anakin had been given. It was an extraordinary achievement and one that still baffled Obi wan some days. The most remarkable thing about Anakin however was his connection to the force. It had grown exponentially since they had started their training together, it never ceased to amaze Obi wan how Anakin was able to harness the force with more and more ease every passing day. His pride over his padawan's progress shone out from every fibre of his being.

Obi wan's attention steered back to his apprentice as he expertly deflected three consecutive laser bolts, lightsaber a blur of action, and force jumped from one side of the training room, off a wall, and landing on the other side only stumbling a little before regaining his balance and tracking the droid yet again. Obi wan let a small smile tug at his lips, that was very nearly a perfect move, Anakin was improving at his balance and his trust in the force.

A memory suddenly flashed in Obi wan's mind of Anakin in one of their first training sessions in this hall.

Anakin stood in position, training saber gripped in his hand so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. The training droid then was set to a much slower speed and very basic difficulty. As the first bolt shot out Anakin was too slow and hit him square in the shoulder, his frustration bubbling rapidly as realisation dawned that he'd missed the first one.

Obi wan reminded him to just focus and trust in the force. Anakin struggled with the comprehension of doing just that, but he obediently took a deep breath and followed the droid around the room as it spun, the next bolt flew out, Anakin's saber came up meeting and blocking it perfectly. 'He sure learns quickly' Obi wan thought even then.

He watched Anakin positively beam with happiness that he had felt the force guide him and deflected so easily. Of course nearly straight after that Anakin's focus began to fall as he was so intent of the joy of the first victory. Still it had been a good first training exercise with his padawan who was slowly but surely learning the ways of the force.

Obi wan smiled as the memory played back in his head, it felt like so long ago. Obi wan had been emotionally raw then, with qui gon just having perished at the hands of the sith darth maul, but Anakin and he had thrown themselves into training determined to honour Obi wan's late master's memory.

Anakin breathed in deeply, that was close he nearly slipped off the training beam now that would have been embarrassing! A steady stream of sweat now trickled down from his hairline only to be absorbed by the blindfold. It only took Anakin half a second to rebalance his body and turn back towards the droid. He felt the next bolt before it got anywhere near him and moved his saber to the right to deflect a shot that had been going for his leg. The droid suddenly whipped around to the other side and Anakin twirled around just in time to deflect a bolt heading for his head. ouch that would have hurt.

The next bolt flew before Anakin could regain his balance, no time to deflect he tried in vain to move out of its way and jump down to the beam below. He succeeded, well mostly, there was a slight searing on his left arm as the bolt grazed him. focus Anakin!

He released the discomfort into the force and realigned himself finding balance and searching around for the threat. Anakin waited for the droid to make its next move, it was taunting with him dancing around but not firing. Anakin's frustration was building and even started to seep into the training bond which of course Obi wan picked up on immediately.

'Focus Padawan! Your patience is slipping, you must release it if you want to keep up with the droid' Obi wan's voice drifted along the bond along with a steady burst of calmness.

Obi wan sighed, that was Anakin's biggest weakest his impatience. He was the same when he had been a padawan learner and arguably still struggled with patience in the direst of moments. He fondly remembered qui gon's many exasperated attempts to make Obi wan more composed on missions and indeed in every day life. Eventually he had learned to not let his concentration waver and focus on the task at hand. Which was the precise problem his padawan was having at the moment, Anakin liked to be in the action and thrived in no better place than when he was in the middle of a spar or being shot at.

Obi wan kept trying to ingrain this philosophy into his young padawan, but the boy was still only 12 years of age. Obi wan had to have faith that as he once had, Anakin's impatience would slowly disappear over time and with more experience. Obi wan saw Anakin nearly take a direct blow in his latest tactic, his breath hitched as the laser came towards his unprepared padawan, and just at the last second Anakin vaulted off the side of the beam taking no more injury than a slight graze. Obi wan knew it was just a training exercise but those beams did still leave a sting and he felt the slight pang across the bond before it was released into the force.

The droid sent another two blasts towards Anakin, who had adjusted his position and released his impatience just in time to deal with the new attack. He moved swiftly and gracefully again feeling at one with the force. He deflected and moved along the beam as more and more lasers fired at him. Anakin soared up above the droid flipping and landing the other side whilst also deflecting a laser by bringing his saber over his shoulder and spinning round to face the droid again. He was in full swing now, the laser bolts kept firing and Anakin parried at every bolt deflecting them all one by one.

Obi wan tracked his padawans movements, impressed by what he was seeing. This was Anakin at his full capability, as soon as he felt him release his impatience he had entered a trance like state and his full attention was on the task at hand. The rate of the laser bolts started accelerating and he could see Anakin getting dangerously close to complacency, that was the danger and if that happened his focus would slip.

Anakin was really enjoying himself now, his adrenaline spiking as he successfully dodged blow after blow. This is what I live for! He was so intent on all the skills he was successfully performing that stupidly when he bounded to the next beam he miscalculated the position and ended up landing awkwardly. Anakin hadn't been concentrating on all his surroundings just the droid, that mistake ended up costing him dearly as the droid relentlessly fired bolt after bolt which Anakin couldn't keep up with after his near fall before.

He never properly had time to correct his footing and started to panic, the next bolt got past his defences and slammed mercilessly into his shoulder. Anakin let out a cry of surprise and distress as he fell off of the beam and sailed downwards at an alarming rate to the training mat below. He readied himself for the fall cushioning his landing with the help of the force, however the training saber still crashed out of his grasp as he smacked down to the floor more forcibly than he had expected. Winded he heard the unmistakable sound of the droid being switched off and Obi wan approaching his position, a little faster than usual, I must have landed badly!

Obi wan watched tensely as he noted Anakin miss the perfect landing on the next training beam, this was it he had lost his focus. A shot of pain rang through the bond when the bolt hit Anakin's right shoulder and he winced when Anakin fell towards the floor. He tried to send as much assistance as he could with the landing and abruptly switched off the droid and raced towards his fallen padawan. That had been quite a hard landing it must have hurt quite a bit.

"Padawan are you alright?" Obi wan's voice was slightly tainted with worry as he reached Anakin and helped him remove the blindfold.

"I think so, didn't expect to get shot and fall off in one go" Anakin replied grumpily, wincing slightly when he sat up and Obi wan removed the blindfold blinding him slightly from being deprived without that sense for so long. The first thing he saw when his eyes had readjusted was the worrying look on his masters face as he scrutinised his padawan looking over for injuries.

Obi wan gaze searched over Anakin's body, slight graze on left arm, laser wound to right shoulder which will need slight medical attention, no lasting effects from the fall, good. His assessment over he released his panic into the force and grinned finally.

"You did well padawan" before he continue Anakin interrupted his next sentence.

"Well?! I just fell off the beam and got shot! I failed…" Anakin trailed off obviously miffed at himself and his performance.

Obi wan's tone and posture softened, Anakin always talked of things in success and failure there was no middle ground for him, he had to realise there were many things he did well and his failures were mistakes to be learned from.

"Maybe if you had let me finish" Obi wan started in a joking tone, waiting for Anakin to meet his gaze and sending him a small smile.

"Yes there were areas which need improvement to stop that from happening again, but that is the point of mistakes Ani, they are there to teach us how to do things better the next time. Without mistakes you could never learn." Obi wan waited for Anakin to look at him properly before giving his good shoulder an affectionate squeeze that seemed to lighten Anakin's mood.

"So you're not mad I lost concentration?" Anakin asked warily.

Obi wan smirked slightly, "Padawan this was your first attempt at this exercise if you had made the whole thing without a scratch I would have been dumbfounded. I am very proud of your performance today your light saber technique is better than ever. You already seem to know where you went wrong so thats another thing."

He paused waiting for Anakin to let out a deep breath releasing the last of his panic and frustration into the force. Good Obi wan thought now we can begin rectifying those issues and Obi wan knew Anakin would get better and better once he improved his concentration and patience.

"You have a problem with your patience that influences your control over the force, you saw that today didn't you?"

"Yes I thought I was going to lose balance then, it helped when you calmed me down." Anakin replied thoughtfully a smile tugging at his lips as he looked up at Obi wan.

"Indeed, you need to be able to do that by yourself, but that is something you will learn with experience" Obi wan quickly added as he saw Anakin's panicked look at having to master that right now. he wants to be perfect now Obi wan chuckled to himself, Anakin had alway been pushing himself as soon as he reached the temple. As if he had something to prove to everyone, I suppose he must think he does, having the knowledge of being the chosen one cannot be easy for the boy. His attention drifted back to Anakin as he brought up the other mistake in the training exercise.

"Now the reason why you got shot" Obi wan started pausing for a moment.

"You already seem to have identified it, you were getting too involved with the droid, complacency is very dangerous in a battle. And it cost you when you had no focus on your surroundings. If you had had focus on all your surroundings you wouldn't have landed so awkwardly and been on the back foot for the droid to take advantage". Obi wan watched Anakin absorb the information nodding his head slightly.

"I understand master, I realised too late my mistake and then I panicked!" Anakin exclaimed.

"Yes well the past is past, you have learned your mistakes and the next time you try this I'm sure you will improve with your new found knowledge" Obi wan answered helping Anakin to his feet up off the training mat.

"Is your shoulder bothering you padawan?"

"Not anymore master, I recover quicker than you, you know young body and all that" Anakin teased scrambling away from his master as he went to swat his head.

"What are you implying padawan?!" Obi wan exclaimed aiming for his apprentice's head before he slipped out of his grasp. Obi wan chuckled, force was he fast when he wanted to be. He sent a gentle swat along the bond 'insolent brat' , smiling all the time giving away his lack of seriousness.

Anakin just laughed and turned to face Obi wan. "Nothing master, nothing at all". His padawan didn't stop grinning, it was always infectious to anyone around him.

Their training bond had grown very powerful over the last few years as they got to know each other more. Not many other padawan master bonds were as strong as theirs after only a few years, they could communicate easily across their bond telepathically and could sense each others feelings and moods.

"You wouldn't mind a sparring session then if you've fully recovered, my young padawan" Obi wan gleefully remarked, pushing back the beams from the last exercise into their rightful place with a flick of the wrist.

Anakin stilled, sith I walked right into that one, Obi wan always beat him then again Anakin did enjoy these sessions with his master very much, he just didn't enjoy the various bruises he always sported after the match.

Obi wan smiled as he saw the realisation spread across his padawan's face as he realised he had dropped himself in it. We have the training room for another 15 minutes, we might as well use the time wisely!

"Ready yourself, take a deep breath and focus let me know when you are ready to begin" Obi wan readied himself into his own position and force grabbed a training saber from the other side of the room, thumbing the activation switch whist adjusting to a defensive position.

Anakin stilled his breathing, closed his eyes and let himself be at one with the force again. His saber came flying towards his hand and his fingers closed around the hilt, igniting and letting off an azure glow he readied himself for battle.

'I'm ready master' Anakin sent across the bond as he opened his eyes.

'Let's begin then' Obi wan smiled back.

Anakin made the first move, Obi wan always commented that he had an offensive fighting style rather than Obi wan's defensive posture, his saber clashed against Obi wan's in a blur of motion as unsurprisingly his first blow at his masters midsection was halted. He fastened his pace of attacks, trying all sides and angles with varying speed.

Anakin's footwork was one of the skills he had been working on recently. Abruptly he had to go on the defensive as Obi wan bore down on him with such strength every strike made Anakin's arms tremble, it took all of Anakin's concentration to block each move. lower left, upper right, oh force that was close that attack was going straight for his neck, it would have been successful if Anakin hadn't ducked and gone under his master's out stretched arm. He stepped back a few paces breathing in large gulps of air, his master was very fast, and Anakin knew this wasn't even his best!

Obi wan gave him a few seconds to recover before launching another assault, Anakin was very good offensively his weakness was always his defensive actions, that was why Obi wan didn't want him getting to complacent and besides it was best to test his padawans weaker side.

Obi wan sliced downwards aiming for Anakin's right shoulder, then left towards his midsection and spun to strike down towards his head. Anakain blocked each attack with surprising strength, his eyes focussing on the blur that was Obi wan's light saber. As these were training sabers on low setting they would sting for a while and leave a mark and some bruises for a few days but that was it. Seeking for a gap in his padawan's defence Obi wan saw Anakin's midsection wide open and slashed across it.

Fiery agony shot across Anakin's chest as he realised he had been too slow to block Obi wan's attack. Now thats going to leave a bruise! Time to get back on to the offensive he thought. He force leaped back onto the wall behind him and somersaulted over Obi wan's head, slashing ground-wards as he went only to be met with Obi wan's light saber. He landed gracefully the other side and this time pushed Obi wan back towards the wall. Anakin landed blow after blow, aiming at Obi wan's knee caps at one point in which he responded by jumping straight over them and force pushing Anakin backwards causing Anakin to sprawl out as he tried to cushion his landing.

Obi wan lingered until his padawan had regained his footing and advanced towards him once again. He has been practising since we last sparred, his attacks are more capable and precise, of course they were still choppy and predictable but he was growing stronger every session. Pride once again welled up in Obi wan at his padawan's achievements.

Once Anakin had regained his footing he leapt across the room at alarming velocity causing Obi wan to bring his saber up hurriedly in a defensive parry, Anakin had been going for the match winning blow always ambitious Obi wan thought to himself. The problem with Anakin's strike was he had opened himself up for attack from Obi wan.

Anakin had to think quickly as Obi wan's saber attacks got faster and faster and he was pushed backwards towards the wall. Sweat dripped from his hair getting into his eyes, his arms were trembling now with the force of Obi wans blows raining down on him from all directions, seemingly all at once!

Suddenly Obi wan was in the air flying over him and before he had the chance to turn and react he felt the slight burn of the training saber on his neck. Obi wan had won the match. Anakin let out a sigh of relief and crashed to the ground turning off the saber, his muscles on fire and his breathing ragged that had been one heck of a spar! His shoulder was now burning in agony from the strain of the mock duel.

Obi wan disengaged his own saber and kneeled beside his padawan, he had actually broken out a sweat keeping up with some of Anakin's moves, yes he was improving vastly.

Anakin looked exhausted as he lay there and Obi wan noticed his shoulder was bleeding, he peeled back his padawan's tunic to take a look and grimaced. damn all this exertion must have opened it up. Obi wan grabbed his bag from the side, handed Anakin some water so he could replenish some of the fluids he lost and pressed some bacta to Anakin's shoulder.

Anakin hissed as the bacta was pushed against his shoulder, but continued to drink the water thirstily.

"Sorry, this just needs a little dressing and it'll be good as new." Obi wan murmured, assessing the rest of Anakin's wounds. He checked his padawans midsection, good just slight bruising, and the same on his neck. Obi wan cleaned up the graze on Anakin's arm, when that was done he too started gulping some water.

"You fought very well today padawan, I see you've been practising some of your foot work and acrobatics" praised Obi wan.

"Thank you master, and yeah me and some of the other boys in my class have been doing some out of hours practise. I love light saber training" Anakin beamed.

Obi wan chuckled, Anakin certainly did, that was the one thing he liked even more than flying! 'Come on padawan we better go get cleaned up' Obi wan sent over the bond climbing to his feet and throwing a towel into his apprentice's unprepared face, smirking as it met its target.

Anakin scowled from behind the towel, but softened when his master offered a hand to help him up and soon his face was back to beaming again. They gathered their things from the corner of the training hall and were just about to head out when they were interrupted by a beeping, it was Obi wan's com link.

"Required in the council chambers immediately, master Kenobi your presence is. Bring your padawan, you must. " Spoke the voice of master Yoda across the comms.

"We're on our way master, we're just heading out from the training hall now." Obi wan replied pocketing his comlink.

Obi wan and Anakin both glanced at one another, it was unusual they were summoned directly to the council chambers together. Anakin's mind raced with all the possibilities, is it possible I could be going on my very first mission?! The bruises of the match forgotten Anakin felt positively elated at the thought.

'Patience young padawan, the council could have summoned us for any number of reasons, don't go in there bouncing of the walls.'

Obi wan chuckled at the thought Anakin had been pestering him recently about when he would be allowed on his first mission. Obi wan had a hard time keeping him calm whenever the council asked for his presence. This time might just be the time we do get sent, are we ready though? Obi wan asked himself, I suppose only time will tell.

Obi wan placed his arm around his positively fidgeting padawan trying to settle him down before the council masters saw how much he was buzzing. Enthusiasm was one thing but Anakin would just come across crazy at the moment! With a burst of calming force over the bond he saw Anakin start to contain his excitement. They both headed off towards the council chambers with a wide grin plastered on each of their faces.

A/N So this is my very first star wars story, please let me know what you think. I like to think that Anakin and Obi wan had a pretty strong connection when they were training together. As you can probably se they are quite close in this scene. Throughout the story there will be a series of flashbacks which basically cover from TPM to where they are now. I will try to keep to a schedule of one update a week, unless uni deadlines get in the way that is! Hope you all enjoyed it!