Jake looked at Emma.
She had not moved.
He looked back at Briggs.
“Then why are you acting like you’ve seen this before?”
Briggs did not answer immediately.
That pause said enough.
A murmur moved through the gym.
Emma exhaled slowly.
“Briggs.”
He looked at her.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t.”
Jake’s attention snapped between them.
“Don’t what?”
Neither answered.
His frustration rose.
“You two know each other.”
Briggs shook his head.
“Not the way you mean.”
“Then what way?”
Emma raised her hands again.
“We’re still training.”
Jake stared at her.
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“I’m standing right here.”
“You know exactly what I’m asking.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And you should focus.”
Jake laughed without humor.
“There it is again.”
“What?”
“That calm thing.”
Emma’s expression softened only slightly.
“You think calm means I don’t care.”
Jake said nothing.
“It doesn’t.”
The room quieted further.
Emma continued.
“I heard every joke.”
Jake’s jaw tightened.
“I heard the office comments.”
A soldier near the wall looked uncomfortable.
“I heard the twenty-second prediction.”
Nobody moved.
Emma kept her voice even.
“I heard you tell me I was in the wrong place.”
Jake looked down briefly.
Emma did not raise her voice.
“That’s why I stayed.”
Jake looked back at her.
“To prove me wrong?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“To see if you could stop performing.”
The answer struck him more deeply than the earlier version.
Briggs looked at Jake.
For once, Jake had nothing ready.
Emma raised her hands.
“Can you?”
Jake took a breath.
“Yes.”
Briggs nodded.
“Then show it.”
The whistle sounded again.
This time Jake moved carefully.
Emma did too.
The crowd stayed silent.
Jake stopped trying to overwhelm her.
He stopped trying to impress anyone.
His balance improved almost immediately.
Briggs noticed.
“Better,” he said.
Jake did not look at him.
Emma moved right.
Jake adjusted without chasing.
She changed direction.
He followed without overcommitting.
For several seconds, their movements became almost quiet.
A training exchange replaced the spectacle.
That was the unexpected shift.
The crowd had come to watch Emma fail.
Instead, they were watching Jake improve because Emma refused to humiliate him back.
Jake realized it before most of them did.
He stepped away.
“You could’ve made me look stupid.”
Emma lowered her hands slightly.
“You were doing fine on your own.”
Several soldiers laughed.
Jake closed his eyes briefly.
Then, surprisingly, he laughed too.
It was different now.
Shorter.
Quieter.
Not aimed at anyone.
Briggs almost smiled.
Almost.
Jake shook his head.
“All right.”
Emma waited.
“That one was fair.”
The tension loosened for only a moment.
Then Jake looked at Briggs again.
“But I still want to know.”
Briggs’s almost-smile vanished.
Emma sighed.
“Jake.”
“No.”
He pointed between them.
“You two are acting like there’s a whole conversation happening that nobody else can hear.”
Briggs spoke first.
“There isn’t.”
Jake shook his head.
“I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Then answer one question.”
Briggs folded his arms.
“What?”
“Why did you hesitate before this started?”
Briggs became very still.
Jake stepped toward the edge of the mat.
“You asked if she was sure.”
“I ask that often.”
“No, you don’t.”
Several soldiers looked toward Briggs.
Jake had their attention again.
This time, he was not enjoying it.
“You looked worried.”
Briggs glanced at Emma.
There it was.
Another quick look.
Another hidden signal.
Jake caught it immediately.
“You keep doing that.”
Emma spoke softly.
“He keeps checking whether I want him to answer.”
The room froze.
Jake stared at her.
Briggs exhaled.
Emma continued.
“That’s what you’ve been seeing.”
Jake looked between them.
“So answer.”
Briggs said nothing.
Emma looked at him.
Then she gave one small nod.
Briggs unfolded his arms.
He did not step onto the mat.
He did not make an announcement.