Obi-Wan Kenobi walked through the entrance to the Temple and let out a small sigh of relief. He was exceedingly glad to be back within its peaceful, soothing walls. The last two weeks had been rough, to say the least. He was still in the process of dealing with the death of his master, Qui-Gon Jinn; with being a newly appointed knight; and with being a newly appointed master.
Obi-Wan glanced down at his new padawan, Anakin Skywalker. A jumble of emotions flitted through him as he thought of his young charge. He wished Qui-Gon were here. Another jumble of emotions flowed through him at the thought of his former master. Obi-Wan pushed his confusing emotions aside. He would sort through them when he had the time.
Obi-Wan put his hand on Anakin's shoulder and guided him towards their apartment. It was the same unit he had shared with Qui-Gon. Pain pricked his heart as he saw the nameplate outside the door: Jinn/Kenobi. He steeled himself as he opened the door to an apartment full of memories.
Obi-Wan paused just inside the door. He dreaded the task that lay before him – packing up all of Qui-Gon's things. Sensing his master's distress, Anakin put his hand on Obi-Wan's arm. "I will help you, Master."
Obi-Wan smiled down at him. "Thank you, Padawan." They set about their task, which actually turned out to be therapeutic for both of them. Anakin would ask about a certain item or holopic. Obi-Wan would then tell him the story attached to it. It ended up taking them hours, but those hours helped to further their fledgling master/padawan bond.
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Obi-Wan was sitting in his living area, engrossed in a datapad when his comlink beeped. "Kenobi here."
Yoda's voice answered back. "Obi-Wan, word with you Master Windu and I would like to have."
"Of course, Master."
"Outside the Council Chamber meet us."
"Right away, Master." Obi-Wan got up, put on his cloak and headed out the door. As he walked through the hallways of the Temple, he couldn't help but feel a bit disconcerted. Eyes followed his every move. Conversations immediately stopped as people noticed his presence. Young initiates and padawans stared at him with a look akin to awe. Fellow knights and masters nodded at him, respect in their eyes.
This happened every time he set foot outside of his apartment. Thus, he'd been staying inside the apartment most of the time since coming back from Naboo. Anakin was in classes all day with the initiates. He had a lot of catch-up learning to do before he could participate in padawan-level classes. Obi-Wan spent most of his time trying to get his life back in order. He set up a schedule for Anakin, studied materials on being a Jedi Master, got the apartment organized to suit him and meditated quite a bit.
Obi-Wan focused his wandering thoughts as he approached Masters Yoda and Windu. He bowed to them respectfully. "Masters."
Mace spoke up. "Walk with us, Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan fell into step beside him and Yoda, who was sitting on his hoverpad.
Obi-Wan tried to focus on the masters, but was again noticing the reactions of everyone who saw him. He didn't see the knowing look that Mace and Yoda shared. They had noticed as well. They were also privy to the Temple gossip about the new knight.
Mace turned to Obi-Wan. "We have a request for you." Yoda chimed in, "Teaching position open there is. Want you to fill it we do."
Obi-Wan looked at both masters in turn. "What is the class, Masters?"
Mace spoke up again. "Padawan Lightsaber 1."
Obi-Wan mulled over the prospect, not noticing a group of female initiates passing by. They stopped and bowed to the masters. "Good morning, Masters."
The sound of their voices brought Obi-Wan out of his thoughts. One girl spoke up shyly, "It's good to have you back, Master Kenobi." The other girls quickly murmured their agreement.
Obi-Wan smiled at them. "Thank you, Initiates." The girls stared at him with a look that made him suddenly uncomfortable.
Mace cleared his throat. "I'm sure you have some place to be, Initiates."
That broke the spell. The girls quickly apologized and took off down the hall. The masters could hear them giggling as they got further away.
Mace and Yoda shared an amused look as Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably. Yoda floated closer to him. "What say you, Obi-Wan?"
"I'm honored that you have asked me, Masters. I accept." He looked at both of them. "When do I start?"
Mace crossed his arms. "Today. 1500 hours. Sparring Room 10."
Obi-Wan hid his surprise. "Thank you, Masters." He bowed to them and walked off quickly. Great. That gives me a total of four hours to prepare a lesson for a class that I didn't know I was going to teach.
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Yoda and Mace watched Obi-Wan walk down the hall, causing the same reaction in all passersby. Mace put his hands on his hips and looked at Yoda. "We have a full-fledged celebrity on our hands."
Amusement shining in his eyes, Yoda nodded his head. "That we do."
Mace looked down the hallway again. "Well, if it had to happen to someone, I'm glad it's Obi-Wan. If anyone can handle it without getting a big head, he can." Mace chuckled. "In fact, he'll probably hate every minute of it!"
"Ah, yes. Humble to a fault, Obi-Wan is."
Mace turned serious again. "Do you really think it's a good idea for him to teach that class?"
"Needs to keep busy, he does. And hide from his celebrity he cannot."
Mace stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know. He's had a lot of things thrown at him all at once."
Yoda's ears perked up and his eyes narrowed. "Doubt him, do you?"
Mace couldn't help but smile at Yoda's protectiveness of Obi-Wan. "Not at all. But he hasn't had any time to truly deal with all that has happened. Anyone of us would need time just to absorb that many huge changes."
Yoda nodded. "See how it goes, we will. Last long celebrity usually does not. Minimal disturbance to the Temple let's hope it will be."
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Obi-Wan strode into Sparring Room 10 to find the entire class already assembled. They were all sitting on the mats, waiting in anticipation. He glanced at the chrono on the wall. It was fifteen minutes before class was to start. Most students waited until the last possible moment before reluctantly entering the classroom. He could tell that these students were quite eager for class to start. Excitement was buzzing in the room.
"Good afternoon, Padawans." Obi-Wan glanced around at the twelve and thirteen-year-olds.
"Good afternoon, Master Kenobi." The children spoke as if they were addressing the Force incarnate.
Oh, boy. Obi-Wan forced himself to smile. He thought he heard distinctly female sighs coming from around the room. He dismissed it. "Well, since we're all here early, we might as well begin."
Obi-Wan began to go over the course as a whole and what would be required to pass. The boys sat in rapt attention, hanging on every word coming from their hero. The girls stared starry-eyed at their knight-in-shining-armor, not hearing a blessed word he said.
"We'll start off with a simple kata before bringing out the training sabers." Obi-Wan turned around to remove his cloak and stow it. Again, he thought he heard a collective female sigh. Then he heard a boy whisper to his friend, "This is so great! We're being taught by the Sith-Killer himself!"
Keeping his outer calm, Obi-Wan couldn't help but think, I wonder if it's too late to tell Masters Yoda and Windu that I respectfully decline? He took a deep breath and turned back to the class. "I'll demonstrate the kata, then I want you to spread out and follow my lead."
The boys watched their teacher's graceful movements with awe. The girls looked like they were about to swoon. Obi-Wan quickly finished. "Okay, spread out. We'll take this a step at a time." He demonstrated the first move and watched as the class repeated it. Actually, he watched as half the class repeated it. The boys all completed it, anxious for their teacher's approval. The girls still looked to be in another galaxy.
"Very good, boys." The boys in the class reacted like they'd received the Grand Prize in a tournament. Obi-Wan had hoped that congratulating the boys would have sparked a response in the girls. No such luck.
Crossing his arms, Obi-Wan looked at the girls with a stern expression. "Ladies, this part of the class requires P-A-R-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N." That seemed to bring the girls back from La La Land, at least temporarily. They didn't want to disappoint their teacher. Through the rest of the class, the girls tried hard to concentrate.
The training sabers were brought out and Obi-Wan demonstrated the same kata as before with his lightsaber. He paired off all the students, but took time to work personally with each one. Towards the end of the class, the girls were getting distracted again. Obi-Wan's face was flushed. Some sweat-soaked strands of hair clung to his forehead. And his tunic had come partially open to reveal part of his sweaty chest and strawberry-blond hairs. The girls knew that they were Jedi and were supposed to focus, but this test of their focus was cruel and unfair! In fact, it was impossible!