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The war against the Sith was lost a long time ago.
A bloody massacre. That’s how the small, surviving generation of Jedis who fought in the war have described it as.
Still— Yuuta does not fear the Sith. There remain very few things spark that feeling in him as of late.
Perhaps his way of thinking is influenced by his master, the strongest Jedi Master in current existence, Gojo Satoru who has all but drilled it into Yuuta’s head that he and Yuuta are destined for greatness beyond what the remaining council of Jedi believes. Gojo believes that the reason the Sith have not been defeated is because the Jedi Council is weak and is hesitant to push back because they fear retaliation and failure. Gojo does not agree with the way everyone seems to cower under the Sith and how outdated the Jedi Council’s way of thinking is.
They fear change despite having, Gojo, the strongest Jedi that’s ever existed, quite literally shifting the force on the day of his birth, with Yuuta following along a few years later. Change that comes in the form of Gojo and Yuuta themselves. They come from a powerful lineage of Jedi that is few in numbers, living now in hiding from the Sith. Gojo and Yuuta were born on a desert planet, one void of anything where life was difficult. Gojo remained there until he was taken by the Jedi Council for training at a young age and when he later became a Jedi Master, he returned for Yuuta.
Yuuta is well aware that the Jedi Council fear him and Gojo, he’s known it since the day he was presented before them as a small, dirty child. They fear what Yuuta and Gojo will do, and what wars they will declare and fight when they decide to no longer submit to the restrictions bestowed upon them by the council.
They are correct to fear because Yuuta agrees that they have lived far too long in the shadows, hiding from the Sith in order to survive. They’re nothing but sitting ducks and nothing will change unless they do it themselves. Yuuta knows he and Gojo are strong, and both entered the world with the prophecy of restoring the balance to the force, even if those above them fear it more than welcome it.
Yuuta has long ago embraced his destiny, he welcomes it with open arms, lightsaber ready by his side. He has lost too many people he cared so deeply about for him not to fight for them, it’s always been his mindset—fight for those he loves, live for them, because there is no other reason to remain alive if not for that. This is a new generation of Jedi, even if their numbers are limited, they have risen with an appetite for retaliation for those lost and for the places that no longer exist in the galaxy because of the Sith.
Although Yuuta knows it won’t be an easy ordeal. A lot of the powerful Jedi clans were either wiped out or joined the Sith during the war. The pushback will be difficult, but he does not care, not when he has already lost so much. He will not let those deaths be in vain because he’s always believed in existing and fighting for those he loves, even if they no longer reside in the world of the living.
Revenge has always been what kept him moving, back when he was a child, hidden on that desert planet from the Sith before Gojo had come back for him. Even when Yuuta had started training, showing his potential as a young child when he’d jumped from Youngling to Padawan to Jedi Knight in just a year, he’s always known.
But what has always fueled his anger, bitter and heavy was the one he lost directly to the Sith. It seems like it was lightyears ago with how distant the memory is in his mind, but he recalls it so well, playing under the hot suns in the stand until the tuskin raiders would come out once night had set in when he’d resided on his home planet, a wasteland of a place truly, back when hunger and destruction were normal to him, he’d known someone. He remembers Toge—sweet Toge who’d always been smaller than the rest of the children but just as eager to keep up with everyone. Yuuta could never forget him even if they were just children back then, hoping for a better tomorrow, still naïve to the horrors of the Sith.
Yuuta remembers the night Toge went missing, so vividly even after so many years. He remembers searching alongside the rest of the children, wiping the tears from his face. He tried so hard to search in the following days of Toge’s disappearance, even if everyone around him kept whispering about how they’d come for him, condescending sneers about Toge’s mother and how much of a fool she’d been to try and hide her son from his father.
Yuuta never knew what they meant back then, still young, only understanding the heavy weight of loss that sat in his heart as he played in the sand alone. Nothing seemed to excite him, not even when the Force awakened in him since Toge was no longer there to see what Yuuta could do with it. There were so many nights where Yuuta would sit and wait, gazing at the stars in the sky as he waited for Toge’s return because he’d still believed he would return, back then. Yuuta would wait, he’d wait despite the tuskin raiders’ screams, even if after the suns broke over the horizon, he vowed to wait forever. That was until Gojo came for him a few years later and told him the truth about Toge. He knows now that it was the Sith that came for Toge, causing destruction even then in Yuuta’s life. It only adds to the resentful need for revenge inside of him as he remembers violet eyes that would shine so brightly under the suns.
The time for change is now. Yuuta knows this but he also is no fool. Even with the force on his side, the Sith are strong. There is a specific clan of Jedi that joined the Sith at the beginning of the war, one the council believes no longer exists, believing they were consumed by the Dark Side, but Yuuta does not accept that because there is no way someone as strong as them, the Inumaki clan, would not be valued under the Sith. Even those with a hunger for power and destruction would not waste such an opportunity and if they still fight alongside the Sith, as part of their forces, the Jedis will need as much hope as they can muster.
Yuuta’s lightsaber is precious to him. He’s had it for years at this point and it never fails to tug at his heart every time he unsheathes it.
He still recalls the time before he’d had it, back when he had to practice with a less powerful one when he’d still been a Padawan. That was before he went on the quest to obtain his lightsaber.
Gojo had sent him on the quest to find his kyber crystal on Ilum where the crystal cave was located, for what would become Yuuta’s lightsaber later on. It’d been grueling but finally, after weeks of searching on the planet, Yuuta had found it, or more like it had found him because the legends always did say the crystal chose the Jedi, never the other way around.
The crystal had beamed violet at the feel of Yuuta’s Force, letting him know that even years later, his heart had not forgotten Toge.
Nanami, the lightsaber smith had made the handle for Yuuta’s lightsaber, one that resembled a katana, much to Yuuta’s delight. He’d never been a fan of the original design, wanting a lightsaber that could be unsheathed instead of powered up.
Now, years later, Yuuta still wields the same lightsaber that shines violet. It is his greatest treasure, one that will aid him in bringing down those who have reigned for too long. He’d thought it back then when Nanami had finished the lightsaber for him, and again now, finding himself in Nanami’s care, watching the man make last-minute adjustments to the lightsaber. as he prepares to meet Gojo the night before they go against the council.
“You’re truly going through with this?” Nanami asks Yuuta as he works.
Yuuta stands a few feet away, arms crossed as he watches Nanami work.
“Of course,” Yuuta answers, never doubting his decision, even hours before.
“It will not be easy,” Nanami warns him. “And you are so young still.”
Yuuta smiles as he slowly nods. “This was never going to be easy. It was not something I’ve doubted.”
Nanami seems to understand that Yuuta’s mind is made up and no amount of reasoning will sway it, not after so much preparation. “You’re far too selfless, you know that?” He instead scolds the boy.
Yuuta looks over at the man with a genuine smile. “Why would I put in all this effort for myself,” he confesses. “When it is others, I seek revenge for.” He watches as Nanami powers up the lightsaber for a test run and the beam bathes Yuuta in violet.
Gojo is a smart man. He is, after all, Yuuta’s master. Yuuta knows he will follow his master to the ends of the universe if need be. So, when Gojo comes to him, as well as their small group of Jedis who no longer believe in the Jedi Council’s authority, Yuuta is ready to strike.
It is not difficult. Gojo plans to present the council the following day with a list of changes he demands be made, changes that Yuuta and the other Jedis want as well. They are tired of not pushing back against the Sith, even if retaliation could mean death, they are done with hiding. What good is it to have Jedi Masters as strong as Gojo Satoru, Shoko Ieiri, Utahime Iori, and Kento Nanami if they are meant to be kept down until the council says otherwise? What is the point of having Knights as promising as Okkotsu Yuuta, Fushiguro Megumi, Zenin Maki, and Kugisaki Nobara if their potential is never unlocked? It is as Gojo says often, they are letting good fruit rot because of their refusal to embrace a new way of thinking even when a famine rages on.
Gojo had once joked, after the council had upset him some time ago with their high and mighty way of thinking, “maybe I should just kill the Jedi Council.” Yuuta did not believe him then but does not doubt it now as they prepare to enter the council room.
The Jedi Council is not amused to see Gojo enter without an ounce of respect in his demeanor. It makes Yuuta bite back a smile as he watches his master dramatically sigh and approach the council.
“My demands are few and simple,” Gojo explains. “We must commence the retaliation against the Sith before the new year. You have all sat back and watched them continue to reign their authority over the galaxy and have done nothing. We cannot wait another year.”
The Jedi Council’s reaction is immediate. They will not hear it, they think Gojo is a madman and Yuuta does not doubt them, but he is a man with a plan, and revolution has long been brewing.
“Only a Sith deals in absolutes,” the Jedi Counsel tries to contradict Gojo in hopes of making him see reason.
The words do not phase Gojo in the least. “Perhaps that is why we cannot seem to advance because you still see things so black and white.”
The argument goes back and forth until Gojo cannot stand to argue a second more. His mind is made up. “It’d be easy to kill everyone who’s in charge, here,” he threatens, making the council bristle in their seats. “But all it would result in is others just as pathetic as you taking their place. Nothing would change. My apprentices and I will be leaving tonight.”
And with that, Gojo and Yuuta storm off, with Panda, their droid rolling after them, beeping in delight at the mention of a trip.
The Jedi Council scrambles to stop them, knowing that Gojo is the reason they are kept safe from the Sith. But Gojo does not give them the opportunity. He simply holds out a hand, using the Force to keep them back as he takes his leave, not looking bothered in the least.
Megumi waits for them by Gojo’s ship, Limitless, ready to go. Megumi is Gojo’s other apprentice, one he’d saved from being sold to the Sith as a young child by the Zenin clan. It is typically frowned upon when a Master takes on more than one apprentice, but Gojo has never been a fan of tradition and he often says that teaching is the key to change, since it gives him the opportunity to train and educate his own allies. Megumi and Yuuta are living proof of his way of thinking.
Limitless takes off towards the sky, coordinates set. The three of them and Panda, the little droid, watch the planet, they’ve trained on for years disappear as they enter space, leaving the Jedi Council scrambling as Gojo leaves them without their strongest Jedi Master and Knights.
They jump to light speed as soon as they leave the planet’s atmosphere, not wanting to waste a second more since this has been a long time coming. It doesn’t take long for them to arrive where the rest await them.
Nanami is here, he’d been the first to leave as to not arise suspicion. It would’ve been a dead giveaway if he’d left with Gojo and rest. Utahime is here as well, with her apprentice, Nobara, awaiting instructions. She has decided to join them despite her annoyance with Gojo and his lack of seriousness at times, she knows he’s their best bet at winning. Shoko is present as well, with her apprentice, Maki from the Zenin clan, one that once held influence before the war against the Sith. Maki and Megumi are two of the only force-sensitive members in years, in addition to Maki’s sister who fell to the dark side years ago.
It is not a large group, but it does not matter because they are betting quality versus quantity on their success.
They’re on a planet, in the midst of asteroids where no life resides, where their ships can remain undetected until the following morning when they shall all part ways. Gojo has constructed a plan that will give them the best chances at success, it is simple, if the Sith refuse to leave the provinces they govern long enough for them to strike, then the Jedi must go Sith hunting. Bring the fight to the enemy if they refuse to show. Besides, there is no better element than one of surprise.
Gojo will take the southern province, where one of the strongest Sith Lords reigns— Getou Suguru. Yuuta knows that his master and the Sith Lord have a history, a close one that ended in bitter betrayal. Yuuta cannot imagine what Gojo must be thinking or what he will feel when he is face to face with the one who once held his heart.
Utahime and Shoko will go East. They are strong together and a force to be dealt with so they will go and fight the Order of Kenjaku and his small army who hunt the remaining Jedi. Utahime and Shoko are a force to be reckoned with so Yuuta cannot see them not being successful.
Megumi is assigned the west, in search of an apprentice gone rogue, one that will be no easy task, but is any of the Sith at the end of the day? Once a Jedi in training, the apprentice ingested something unknown, causing the ghost of one of the most powerful Sith Lords, Sukuna, to ever exist to reside inside of him now. It is said that this apprentice fled into hiding when the Jedi Council tried to kill him. But Gojo does not believe the apprentice is evil, only what lurks inside of him, so he tasks Megumi with finding him and bringing him out of the dark, into the light so he will join their forces.
Maki’s assignment is personal—her sister Mai who has joined the Sith. If the task is predicted to end in death or saving, Yuuta does not know and the pained expression on Maki’s face lets him know it is better not to ask.
Yuuta will head to the small, northern province where Getou’s apprentice has taken rule as of recently. It is said he is strong, a true Sith Lord in the making. The plan is to lure the apprentice to a nearby planet that is covered in snow, making nostalgia pull at Yuuta’s heart as he remembers how much Toge had once wished to see snow in their childhood, anything to get away from the hot, scorching sand of their home planet. It makes Yuuta’s heart ache at the thought of the small boy with violet eyes who never got his wish but makes his anger grow, knowing that he will take his revenge soon enough.
Nanami will stay behind to coordinate them as they venture out. He gives them all his blessing as they head out, ordering them to come back safe and sound. The lightsaber smith tries to remain stern but the concern is evident on his face as he watches the Jedi Masters and Knights get ready to depart.
Yuuta departs with Panda, taking a smaller spacecraft that detaches from Limitless, it’s black and compact, a N-1 Naboo Starfighter that should keep him hidden on his journey.
Takeoff makes a rush of adrenaline shoot through him at the notion of what’s to come and the reality that there is no running back now sinks in.
Nanami’s voice comes over Yuuta’s headset, guiding him as he heads towards the North. Yuuta tries his best to concentrate as he follows Nanami’s instructions, heading towards the Sith Star Destroyer he knows looms in the North. He pushes his Starfighter as fast as it can go, zooming through the asteroids.
The journey isn’t nearly as quick as it would be with light speed, but he must stay hidden. Finally, he enters the northern province, and the Starfighter starts beeping when the Sith Destroyer comes up on its radar.
Yuuta wastes no time setting things in motion. He has to draw out of the Sith towards the snowy planet that resides a few hundred kilometers below. At least this is the fun part.
He nosedives near the Sith Destroyer, grinning when he sees the auto-turrets appear and point towards him. He relaxes his shoulders and lets the chase begin, zooming through the fire they shoot at him just like Gojo taught him. He’s egging them on as he flies near the Destroyer letting the massive ship take its own fire.
Yuuta isn’t too worried about losing the Starfighter in the fight, all he needs is to hold off long enough to draw the Sith towards the planet.
Finally, it appears that the Destroyer is beginning to deploy its own fighters to take Yuuta out, but the young Jedi is ready for them. Gojo had upgraded Yuuta’s Starfighter himself and it packs a deadly punch, crushing the Destroyer’s fighters into fragments. Panda screeches in delight from the back of the Starfighter.
Yuuta is beginning to sweat when the Destroyer shows no signs of movement. This could be bad, but Nanami tells him to remain focused on the task at hand and Yuuta knows better than to doubt the Master.
He needs to get closer to the Destroyer so the Sith apprentice can sense his Force and give chase since many of the Sith believe that Jedis no longer exist but how wrong they are when it comes to the notion.
Yuuta has been told by other Jedis that his aura feels sinister, despite not being evil. So, he’s betting all his coins that the Sith will feel him and come after him, giving in to the game of chase Yuuta is playing here and Yuuta dominates at it. He remembers being a child and running from Toge through the dunes of sand, smiling when his smaller friend couldn’t catch him but would refuse to surrender.
Success arrives sooner than Yuuta expects when the Destroyer begins to move after him. It makes his demeanor break a little, but he takes a deep breath and heads toward the planet. Panda screeches as if Yuuta doesn’t see the massive Destroyer coming after them.
Yuuta hastily lands on the snowy, barren planet. It’s the dead of night and the snowfall continues to fall, basking the land in a white, thick layer of frost as far as Yuuta can see. The planet has two moons that shine brightly in the dark sky, making the snow reflect in the night. It’s not the ideal battlefield but this was the closest choice given the Destroyer’s location and Yuuta knows he does not stand a fighting chance confined onboard the Sith’s ship. He had to bring the fight down to the ground for a fair fight.
He leaves the Starfighter and Panda hidden amongst the snow on the west side as he heads east on foot, giving Panda specific instructions to evacuate and head back to Nanami if Yuuta does not emerge victoriously.
Yuuta walks cautiously towards the east, trying to score out an ideal location because he knows the Destroyer’s arrival is near. He continues to walk until the ground dips into an empty field where only snow covers the ground, going on as far as Yuuta can see in the dead of night. The setting almost camouflages him since he’s dressed in a white plain cloak, long and flowing, with an over-tunic and under-tunic underneath. It is a dead giveaway for his Jedi status, but he does not care because once the Sith Destroyer lands, there is no hiding.
He does not have to wait for much longer because soon, the Destroyer appears in the sky and begins its landing. It causes the air around Yuuta to whip around him, making his cloak’s hood fall back as the Destroyer lands just below him in the field. Yuuta stands ready to strike as he watches, one hand on the handle of his lightsaber, ready to pull it out of its sheath at a moment’s notice.
The snow goes flying as the Destroyer touches the ground and it wastes no time dropping the entrance and letting two squadrons of stormtroopers come out, guns ready and pointed at Yuuta.
“Hm?” Yuuta takes notice, cocking his head to the side from his place on the cliff. “You won’t face me alone?” He continues to try and taunt the Sith apprentice out, maintaining his hand on his lightsaber’s handle. The stormtroopers hesitate as they take in the amount of Force that radiates off of Yuuta but try and push through as they keep their weapons pointed at the young Jedi despite the uneasiness.
The mood is tense as the stormtroopers aim but suddenly, a dark figure starts making their way out, walking in the middle of their army of troopers. The figure doesn’t look the least bit intimidated as they look toward Yuuta on the cliff. They motion for the Stormtroopers to back down with a dismissive hand as they walk further into the field alone.
Yuuta narrows his eyes at the figure, sensing the Force coming off of them even from a distance. So, this is his target, the Sith apprentice. He jumps down from the cliff, landing only a few feet away from the Sith and the stormtroopers. He makes an indent in the snow but doesn’t pay it any mind, just straightens up and meets the Sith’s glare head on.
Something tugs at Yuuta’s heart when he takes in the Sith’s violet eyes, beaming and vibrant in the night. The rest of the Sith’s face is covered with a black mask, concealing them in darkness along with the black cloak and hood that covers them.
Both Yuuta and the Sith refuse to break their gaze away. They both know what Yuuta is, that much is obvious. Yuuta thinks back to his master and wonders if he’s already gotten to Getou and if the Sith Lord had managed to warn his own apprentice of who was coming for him.
The Sith steps forward, crunching snow under their black boots as they make their way to Yuuta before stopping in the middle. They keep their gaze locked on the Jedi as they deliberately reach behind their cloak and pull out their lightsaber. It glows a menacing red once it is powered up, a hard contrast again the Sith’s black clothing and the snow around them.
So, they’re doing this. Fine, because Yuuta wouldn’t have settled for anything less.
“It’s been a long time since I killed a Jedi,” a robotic voice announces from inside the Sith’s mask.
Yuuta takes a moment to process what just happened. He’s heard rumors of the Sith apprentice with the talent for using the Force through their voice, a blessing, and a curse at the same time. That being said, this can go either way for Yuuta then, with the Sith using their voice to defeat him not caring for the repercussions or choosing not to. When using something like that against someone as equally in tune with the Force as Yuuta, the rebound will be strong and the Sith will take the internal damage if they choose to play like that.
Either way, Yuuta intends to win, no matter the cost.
“I’m actually still a Knight in training,” Yuuta casually answers, taking a fighting stance. “I’m on the weak side compared to my master, but now— I’m done talking.” He pulls his lightsaber out of its sheath in one swift movement, illuminating the area around him in vivid violet as the weapon senses his will to fight.
The Sith wastes no time running up at Yuuta, jumping once they’re halfway as they wield their lightsaber in both hands. They pull it back as they prepare to attack. But Yuuta is ready, he’s trained for this moment for years.
He doesn’t give the Sith the opportunity to land the hit as he blocks it with his own lightsaber, creating a clash of red and violet. The weapons spark as they collide. It takes the Sith by surprise when the strength behind Yuuta’s block pushes them back, but they manage to land on their feet, scraping the snow as they slow their glide. The black hood of their cloak falls back with the impact of the landing, revealing a boy with blonde hair underneath.
The hair and the eyes make Yuuta feel oddly nostalgic, but he doesn’t get to ponder the feeling for long because the Sith strikes again. He lifts his hand out and extends it forward, curling it into a fist to use the Force to drag Yuuta towards him.
Yuuta stumbles and is dragged a few feet but he manages to break free, using his strength to resist it going any further. It’s a double-edged sword because even if he’s managed to free himself, he’s letting the Sith know just exactly how powerful he is and if the Sith hasn’t figured it out already. That and Yuuta is basically advertising that he isn’t alone as a Jedi if he’s been trained this well, letting the Sith know now there are more Jedi out there.
The Sith exhales in annoyance through his mask but comes at Yuuta again. He might be shorter than Yuuta, but he knows how to wield his lightsaber, thrusting it out and making Yuuta duck to avoid being sliced in half. They keep fighting, moving further away from the Destroyer and more towards the cliff Yuuta had been on earlier. Their lightsabers keep colliding, basking them in a mix of violet and red as they move.
The Sith comes at Yuuta again and he barely manages to block the hit this time. They’re on the same level, clearly when it comes to skill and training.
They move further back towards the cliff, with Yuuta blocking and the Sith attacking. It keeps on until it results in Yuuta having to hold the block and the Sith pushing the lightsabers against Yuuta’s chest which only makes the Jedi frustrated.
Yuuta scrambles to think of a way to retaliate as the heat from the lightsabers gets closer to his chest. It’s making him sweat despite the cold air that surrounds them. He thinks back to his master and everything Gojo trained him to do and finally, he formulates a plan. Yuuta will just have to play by the Sith’s rules, thinking back to earlier when the Sith had dragged Yuuta using the Force. It’s typically frowned upon for a Jedi to use the Force like that, but Gojo had taught him to use all means to survive because no matter what the Jedi Counsel would try and teach Yuuta, Gojo’s words reign supreme right now, ‘when you die, you’ll be alone.’ Yuuta must fight selfishly even if it’s just this once to stay alive.
He barely manages to push the Sith back long enough for them to part and create an opening between them. He swiftly raises his hand before his enemy regains his footing, wasting no time in extending his arm forward and curling his hand into a tight fist. It’s almost too easy, lifting the Sith with the Force and closing in on his airway to make him scramble for breath. The stormtroopers come rushing over from where they’d been watching the duel not a second later.
Yuuta feels his anger bleed into his hold, tightening it as he remembers why he’s here, why he’s doing this, and for who.
But then, the Sith’s mask falls and so does Yuuta’s wrath.
Toge.
It’s Toge who was under the mask but he’s older now. Toge who Yuuta thought died long ago in the hands of the Sith. Never once did it cross his mind that they would’ve taken Toge to fight for their filthy cause. There are a million questions on the tip of Yuuta’s tongue. How did they know Toge was Force sensitive when even Yuuta hadn’t known, and they were joined at the hip as children? How did they make Toge, sweet and silly, Toge who’d never hurt a broken droid, join their cause, give his life to the Sith, to the Dark Side? It is not possible. Yuuta’s hand trembles as he struggles to keep holding Toge up now that he knows who he has been fighting this whole time.
Toge takes his moment of reluctance to break free and land on the snow, standing up and gripping his lightsaber once more, violet eyes fixating on Yuuta with a hard intensity.
“Toge,” Yuuta whispers, letting the cold wind carry his voice over towards the Sith. The name feels foreign on his tongue with how long it’s been since he last spoke it out loud, not that he’s ever forgotten it, not once, he’d never. He would reserve thinking of Toge for the night, after training when he was alone, and the ghosts of the past would come out and consume him. And Yuuta would let them, each and every time because sometimes, the sadness and the anger of his loss were the only indicators that Toge was real. “Toge… you know me.”
Toge’s face tightens at the mention of his name, but he pushes it back and runs after Yuuta again. He chases Yuuta up the cliff, and onto the mountain, desperately trying to land another hit as he was trained to do but Yuuta is not making it an easy ordeal.
Yuuta keeps moving away from Toge, not finding it within himself to keep fighting. He can’t, he can’t fight Toge, not sweet, little Toge who used to run after him through the sand, giggling as they played until the sun would set. Yuuta swallows the heavy feeling as he avoids Toge’s lightsaber time and time again as he recalls all the atrocities the Sith have done, and how Toge is one of them.
“No,” Yuuta mumbles, turning around and taking position as Toge closes the distance between them for the nth time. “It’s not true, you’re not one of them!” He yells almost as if trying to convince himself, swinging out and colliding against Toge’s lightsaber. They keep hitting and blocking, reminding Yuuta of their childhood when they’d find discarded parts of ships to use as weapons. It’s bittersweet, to remember Toge’s face back then, one full of smiles and taunts, now replaced with an expression of anger and determination.
Yuuta falls back but turns quickly, jumping in the air and pulling his feet back to use all the strength he can muster into a hit, making Toge fall back into the snow on his back in hopes of making the Sith surrender.
Toge brings his lightsaber up, holding it across his face to block the Jedi. The movement basks Toge in sharp, red light, making Yuuta’s heart twist at the sight of someone he’d once mourned as something he’s vowed to destroy.
Yuuta pushes his own light saber down, gritting his teeth as he presses Toge into the snow. The lightsabers are sparking between them from the heat, melting the snow around them. “Toge, this isn’t you; this was never supposed to happen to you!” He stresses. “You weren’t meant for this fate!”
Toge’s eyebrows furrow at Yuuta’s words as if trying to decipher them and it makes the Jedi softly gasp in realization. He has to break through Toge’s indoctrination, he has to at least try.
“Don’t let them destroy you!” Yuuta begs, pushing the lightsabers closer to Toge’s face in hopes of making his childhood friend see reason. He can’t let the Dark Side have someone he loves and cares about so deeply, someone he’d been ready to avenge with his life. “You were mine first, the Sith can’t have you!” He screams through clenched teeth. “I WON’T LET THEM!”
Toge startles under him and for a split second, a flash of recognition crosses his face, making a dim shade of blue appear over the red color on his lightsaber.
They freeze in their struggle, both going wide-eyed as they try and process what just happened. But Toge seems to push the feeling back and starts trying to overpower Yuuta once again.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Yuuta pleads through gritted teeth. “Destiny is not cemented, we have the power to change it if we try! The Force is only meant to guide us, not decide for us, we can decide our fates if we try enough!”
Toge shakes his head against the snow, frowning deeply at the words. “GET OFF!”
Yuuta goes flying back, landing on his back in the snow a few feet away. He struggles to stand after having the wind knocked out of him, quite literally. Toge’s speech is powerful and it seems he is not afraid to use it, consequences be damned.
He looks towards the Sith apprentice, watching him wipe the blood that leaks out of the corners of his mouth away with the sleeve of his cloak. He takes notice of the two lightsabers laying in the middle of them, melting the snow where they lay.
It’s now or never, Yuuta decides. He holds out his arm and extends his hand forward, curling it into a fist as he musters all his power into bringing the lightsabers towards him. If he can disarm Toge and make him rely on his speech alone then Yuuta won’t have to fight him to the death, just until the Sith exhausts himself.
Toge, however, extends his own hand forward as well and focuses on trying to pull the lightsabers towards him, all while still coughing up blood.
“Toge, don’t do this!” Yuuta begs him, curling his fist as tight as it can go. “Don’t let them deceive you any longer!” He wants to break through to Toge, he has to at least try. “You weren’t meant for this!”
Toge’s eyes scrunch closed as he tries to fight it, tries to tune Yuuta out. He won’t hear it but Yuuta isn’t making his words easy to ignore.
Yuuta’s mind races back to their childhood, back to when life might’ve been harder but at least they were together. He thinks back to how much he loved Toge, even back then when they’d still been so young, he remembers their promises to stay together forever, despite still being so naïve to the galaxy they’d been born into. It makes a torrent of emotions flood through Yuuta, making his eyes glaze over with tears at the longing he feels for the boy in front of him and how much power is flowing through him.
It’s the push Yuuta needed clearly because the lightsabers come towards him, no matter how much Toge tries to stand firm.
He throws the lightsabers behind him and keeps his arm raised as he moves towards Toge. The Sith looks at him, violet eyes wide as he takes in Yuuta’s strength and realizes, this is not a duel he can win. Yuuta keeps closing the distance between them, using the Force to push Toge back until he’s pinned against a tree.
Yuuta keeps his arm raised as he moves to stand in front of his childhood friend, looking at him through bleary eyes. “The Dark Side can’t have you, Toge,” he whispers now that they’re close enough. “I won’t let it.” He keeps Toge pinned, afraid that he’ll strike again.
Toge looks up at Yuuta with newfound desperation as if he’s seeing the Jedi for the first time. He shudders, shaking his head and trying to get out of Yuuta’s hold. “Let me go,” he tries but it’s not nearly as powerful as earlier.
“I’ll never let you go,” Yuuta confesses, feeling his throat tighten as he watches Toge’s eyes glisten with tears as the words sink in. “I promised you that a long time ago, remember that?” Because Toge should know this, has to remember because he’d been there, sitting in the sand dunes with Yuuta as they gazed towards the sky, small hands interlocked as they smiled after swearing to be together forever, no matter where life took them. Never did Yuuta imagine that it would be on different paths but it doesn’t matter because he’s found Toge, after so long, and he won’t let him fall, not alone at least.
Toge’s hand comes up, trembling slightly as he wraps it around Yuuta’s hand that pins him to the tree. “Yuuta,” he says it so quietly as if trying to see if he remembers how to say it. It sounds foreign on his tongue, so different from what Yuuta remembers as a child but he welcomes it.
“You know me,” Yuuta whispers, nodding as he feels the tears slide down his cheeks. “You know me, Toge.” Because it’s the truth, Toge knows him, knows what he means to the Jedi, back then and now. “My heart is yours, it’s always been yours.”
Toge starts hyperventilating in Yuuta’s hold and the Jedi lets him slide to the ground, squatting beside him as he watches the Sith tremble.
He looks behind him, watching Toge’s lightsaber flash quickly from red to blue, the color the same as Yuuta’s eyes. The lightsaber won’t stop changing colors and it seems that whatever is causing that to happen is coming from inside Toge.
“Come back to me,” Yuuta begs him, reaching hands out to cup Toge’s cheeks, thumbs caressing his cold face. “I’m not going anywhere, not without you.” And he means it, every word of it.
Toge looks up from the snow and meet’s Yuuta’s eyes, fear now replacing the anger. “Yuuta.” His voice is quiet, as if he’s trying to make sense of everything.
“It’s alright, I’m here now,” Yuuta promises him as he leans down to press their foreheads together. They stay like that for a moment, letting it sink in that they’re together again after so long.
Yuuta reaches down to scoop Toge into his arms, bridal style. He turns around and opens the hand he’s using to support Toge’s legs, pulling the lightsabers towards him. Toge’s lightsaber goes into his cloak and Yuuta’s lightsaber comes to his hand, ready for anything.
He calls Panda over the transponder to bring the ship. He’s leaving with Toge. His mission is complete.
The Starfighter arrives a few seconds later with Panda screeching happily at seeing Yuuta unharmed and ready to depart.
The stormtroopers start coming at Yuuta from the other side but the Jedi is ready. He turns around, mindful of Toge unconscious in his arms. He sheathes his lightsaber and instead, curls his hand into a fist and motions to the side, making a snowbank fall between him and the stormtroopers.
“Don’t move,” Yuuta orders them, pushing the snow towards them and burying them. It’s exhausting but he cannot have the stormtroopers stop them from leaving.
He gets into the Starfighter, sitting Toge beside him carefully as he and Panda prepare for takeoff.
Nanami’s voice comes over the communicator, asking for an update, desperate to see if Yuuta is alive.
“I’m here,” Yuuta reassures the man as the Starfighter takes off towards the sky, with the suns breaking over the horizon. “Mission complete.”
He isn’t sure what the future holds or if his master and the rest were successful but for now, Yuuta will count his lucky stars that Toge is by his side again, safe and far away from where the Sith cannot reach him. Even if they come for Toge, Yuuta will not let them have him, they cannot have him, not when he and Toge already belong to each other.