They returned to the center.
Briggs stood between them.
“This round stays technical.”
Jake nodded.
Emma did the same.
Briggs looked directly at Jake.
“Technical means technical.”
“I understand.”
Briggs’s gaze held another second.
Then he looked at Emma.
“You good?”
“Yes.”
“Touch.”
Their gloves met again.
This time Jake did not lean close enough to threaten her.
He simply stepped back.
The whistle sounded.
Jake waited.
Emma waited too.
Five seconds passed.
Neither moved.
Daniels watched from the boundary.
Someone near him whispered, “What are they doing?”
Nobody answered.
Jake finally advanced.
He used the improved stance Emma had pointed out earlier.
His heel stayed grounded.
His shoulders remained centered.
Emma moved with him.
He probed.
She slipped outside.
He withdrew before overcommitting.
Emma nodded once.
Jake noticed.
“Don’t coach me.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“That nod was coaching.”
“Then stop looking for approval.”
Jake’s mouth tightened.
He stepped forward.
Emma pivoted.
Jake followed carefully.
He tried to control the center.
Emma allowed him to take it.
His confidence increased.
Then she changed direction.
Jake adjusted.
Better this time.
Emma had to move farther.
Several soldiers noticed.
Jake noticed them noticing.
His eyes started to drift.
Then he caught himself.
He looked back at Emma.
She saw the correction.
“So you can learn.”
Jake exhaled.
“Can you stop talking?”
“You started this with a speech.”
Daniels looked down to hide a smile.
Jake noticed.
This time, he let it go.
Emma saw that too.
The shift mattered more than the exchange on the mat.
Jake moved again.
He reached for controlled contact.
Emma redirected.
He recovered without stumbling.
She touched his shoulder.
He touched hers.
Neither scored anything meaningful.
The gym stayed focused.
They reset.
Jake’s irritation began changing into concentration.
Emma welcomed that.
A concentrated opponent was safer than an angry one.
It was also more honest.
Jake circled.
“You really counted the others?”
Emma nodded.
“What others?”
She did not answer immediately.
Jake pressed.
“What did that mean?”
Emma stepped outside his reach.
“You repeat patterns.”
Jake frowned.
“So?”
“So I watched.”
“When?”
Emma shifted again.
“Before I stepped onto the mat.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You were studying me?”
“I study situations.”
“That sounds rehearsed.”
“It isn’t.”
Jake reached.
Emma redirected.
He withdrew.
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
“Still not an answer.”
Emma stopped moving.
Jake also stopped.
For a strange second, they simply faced each other.
“You wanted me nervous,” she said.
Jake’s expression hardened.
“You wanted everybody watching because that was supposed to help.”
He glanced toward the room.
Emma continued.
“But once I stopped reacting the way you expected, you kept checking them.”
Jake said nothing.
“You wanted confirmation.”
His gloves lowered slightly.
Briggs watched without speaking.
Emma’s voice stayed calm.
“You weren’t measuring my confidence.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed.
“You were protecting yours.”
The room became completely silent.
Jake looked toward Briggs.
The senior instructor finally moved.
He lifted the whistle.
But he did not blow it.
“Keep going,” Briggs said.
Jake stared at him.
“You want this conversation happening during the round?”
Briggs answered evenly.
“I want you listening.”
Jake’s face tightened.
Emma felt the atmosphere change again.
This was no longer about who could touch whom.
The confrontation had widened.
Jake looked around the gym.
This time, nobody looked away.
Daniels met his eyes.
The specialist was cautious.
But he did not erase his expression.