Shadows of our Past

VII

2 weeks later

Obi-wan's POV

Even though Anakin wasn't my Padawan anymore, I still kept a close eye on him. I had practically raised him and I used knew when something was wrong or when he was hiding something. After the whole Darth Sidious thing which happened what felt like years ago, Anakin's mental shields had changed and they were a lot stronger. Usually, a Master always knows the cracks and weaknesses of their Padawans mental shields because they helped create them but Anakin always went above and beyond. It kind of hurt when I realised I could no longer slip through his shields and I never understood why he always had them up, after Count Dooku's death his shields were lowered for a while but recently he's been putting them up again, that was the first sign for me. At first, I thought something had happened to Ahsoka that he wasn't telling me but she returned from her first solo mission a week ago. It had gone successfully but I could tell there was still something Anakin was hiding, I had tried asking Ahsoka and even Padme but they both didn't think he was hiding anything or that anything was wrong with him. For another week I shook it off as paranoia but after clone security called me into the office I knew I wasn't just being paranoid.

They showed me a recording of Anakin walking through the Temple Hallways, the time in the corner of the screen read 12 am and I frowned when I saw another figure walking beside him. They didn't look exactly human though, they had a blue tinge around them and you could kind of see through them.

"Do you recognise that Jedi next to General Skywalker?" the clone trooper asked.

"No, I'm afraid I don't. Something odd is going on here," I muttered.

"Should I inform Temple Security?" he asked.

"No, I'll try and see if I can figure out who this person is. I'm afraid alerting Temple Security won't do anything, this is a Jedi matter,"

I sensed the clone troopers confusion but he still nodded. I thanked the clone and left the room stroking my beard as my mind whirred, everyone in the Temple has heard of Force ghosts, most people believed that Force Ghosts were a bunch of lies and no one could come back as a ghost even for a short amount of time. I didn't personally know what to believe but I didn't really believe Force Ghosts were real until I saw that recording. 

I debated whether I should go to Master Yoda and tell him about it but finally decided against it, Master Yoda claimed that he sometimes hears voices of Force Ghosts in desperate times but the topic of Force Ghosts made the Council debate whether they were real or not. 

I sighed finally making up my mind and walking towards the training room where I could sense my former Padawan's presence and Ahsoka. I entered the training room and like usual, Ahsoka and Anakin were locked in an intense lightsaber battle which drew Padawan's attention away from their Masters, some Masters got annoyed that their Padawan was distracted while others were also staring at Ahsoka and Anakin. A small smile crossed my lips, I remembered when other Master and Padawan duos would stare at Anakin and I when we fought. By the age of 15 he could keep up with me in a lightsaber battle and we'd often have to call a truce, at the age of 16 he won a few battles and I won a few but there were still mostly ties. When he was 17 he was beating me in almost every spar that we did no matter what lightsaber form I chose to spar in, Masters and Padawans used to stare at us in awe and wonder. 

I stood on the edge of the training mat Ahsoka and Anakin were sparring on and sighed, I hadn't truly realised how much Anakin had grown since he was my Padawan. I remember my doubts when he accepted Ahsoka as his Padawan, it had kind of been my idea at the beginning but I was worried that Anakin wouldn't be suited to teach after I saw him and Ahsoka arguing. Now Ahsoka and Anakin were the most recognised Master/Padawan duo in the Galaxy in this age, Ahsoka was a fast learner like Anakin but she still held a bit of fear of messing up and disappointing her Master. 

"Hello Master Kenobi," Ahsoka greeted. 

I snapped out of my thoughts and greeted Ahsoka with a warm smile, I hadn't realised they had finished training.

"Hello Ahsoka," I replied.

"Is everything okay?" Anakin asked walking towards us.

"Yes, I just need to talk to you about something," 

Anakin nodded and Ahsoka understood the silent dismissal.

"I'll see you later, Master," Ahsoka said before leaving the training room.

Anakin and I left shortly after and walked in silence through the Jedi Temple halls for a while before I finally spoke.

"What's your opinion on Force Ghosts?" I asked trying to ease into the subject.

Anakin sighed and gave me a look before running a hand through his hair.

"You know, don't you?" 

"I saw a security hologram of you walking through the Temple hallways. Who is he and why haven't you told anyone a Force Ghost has appeared to you? Master Yoda says that Force Ghosts only contact him when he desperately needs guidance," I demanded.

"I know what I'm doing Obi-wan, you don't need to know who he is or why he's here, just let me worry about that. No one knows everything about Force Ghosts but he's here to help me and the Jedi," 

"How do you know you can trust this Ghost? What if it's a sith trick to get you to fall to the dark side like Palpatine almost did?"

"It's not, you just need to trust me on this one. I'll tell you everything eventually but right now I just need to keep it all hidden from the rest of the Council," Anakin snapped.

"You want me to keep this from the Council? You know they're weary of everything and it won't take long for them to find out about the Force Ghost. Master Yoda can already sense that something weird is going on in the Force," 

"You don't have to hide it for long, trust me. I just need a few more weeks and then I'll explain everything to Master Yoda,"

"I don't think this is a good idea," I sighed.

"Then I must be doing something right," 

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily, Anakin reminded me of Qui-Gon so much that sometimes it felt like he was here in a way. A thought suddenly and I met Anakin's deep blue eyes.

"Is the Ghost Qui-Gon?" I asked.

Anakin opened his mouth but then shut it and frowned, from the recording it didn't look like Qui-Gon but maybe things were different after you died.

"N-No, it's not," Anakin replied quietly.

I could tell he was thinking deeply about something and there was something he wasn't telling me but I knew he wouldn't tell me anything now that he was lost in his thoughts. 

"If I get any hint of some dark side presence or the Jedi Temple blows up, I'll have to tell the Council about this,"

"Got it," Anakin replied distractedly, "I'll see you around Master,"

He ran off and I sighed and ran a hand down my face, I can't believe I was agreeing to go against the Council and keep something from them again. Maybe Anakin was rubbing off on me, I guess Qui-Gon would be proud.