He is meditating when the memory hits.

He is thirteen, still young and cocky, hair cropped short, a Padawan braid lightly slapping his shoulder. His master stands before him, training saber in hand, a wry smile on his bearded face.

"Ready, Anakin?"

"Ready," he chirps in response. His voice is high-pitched and almost innocent, nothing like the artificial growl he would come to know. He holds his saber like an amatuer, and Vader knows that if the war were to begin at this exact moment, the wide-eyed Padawan he used to be would be gunned down before the end of the first battle.

"Begin," says Obi-Wan in his pompous, condescending tone, and flourishes his blade in a Soreasu salute that is elegant, but not yet as polished as Vader knows it will become.

Vader watches as the boy smiles and brandishes his saber at his master, twirling it so rapidly that it ceases to be a blade and becomes a beam of pure light. The child's style is fast and rough, and each of his blows are deflected easily by his opponent. Finally, Obi-Wan leaps away from Anakin's saber and onto one of the many small platforms lining the dojo walls. For any other Padawan, the battle would be over. Not for Anakin.

His hands tighten on the training saber as he watches his master raise an eyebrow, wordlessly demanding his unconditional surrender. But for Anakin, it is a silent challenge. Drawing upon the Force, he leaps straight into the air, dangerously close to Obi-Wan's saber. Vader draws an anxious, laborious breath, knowing what's to come.

With the uncanny speed of a true Jedi, Obi-Wan deactivates his training saber, and reaches out to catch him. He pulls up his apprentice until Anakin is standing beside him on the platform, and gently brushes away traces of dust from his Padawan's tunic as he lectures.

Vader turns away, but not fast enough to hear the end of the lecture.

"So what have we learned, Padawan?"

He doesn't want to hear it, hear the lesson he would, years later, so disastrously forget.

"Never jump when your opponent has the high ground," Anakin responds dutifully.

Obi-Wan smiles and places his hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "Exactly."

As the pair begin another round, Vader feels something damp on his cheek. He reaches up, and realizes he is crying.