Long shadows stretched across the training courtyard beneath the midday sun. Heat shimmered off the stone tiles. Ten trainees stood in a loose semicircle, silent for once, the air heavy with tension and the smell of sweat and dust.
In the center: Arjun and Aarini.
One month of brutal, unforgiving training had led to this. A final evaluation match. Not to test skill—but to measure resolve.
"Cover contact," Instructor Ranya said, voice like flint. "Stop when one submits, or I say so. Understood?"
Arjun nodded, jaw clenched. Aarini didn't speak—just shifted low into stance, poised and razor-sharp. Her eyes, unblinking, burned with challenge.
Maya and Dharan stood beside Ranya, arms crossed.
"She's faster," Dharan murmured.
"But he's adapted more," Maya said. "He learns from every loss. That's harder to beat."
Ranya didn't blink. "She's a prodigy. He's a survivor. Let's see which one holds up."
"Begin!"
Aarini struck first—blinding speed. A high kick aimed at Arjun's temple. He ducked, pivoted, swept low—but she flipped backward, landing light as ash. Her footwork was elegant. Efficient.
Arjun pressed forward, feinting left, then jabbing high. She deflected and drove a palm into his chest, knocking him back. He rolled with the impact, sliding into a sideways stance, eyes narrowed, calculating.
He launched a sudden one-two, then dropped for a leg hook. Aarini anticipated the move—leapt just enough to avoid the sweep, her foot clipping his thigh as she flipped clean over him.
She landed behind him and spun into a hammering kick—
—Arjun ducked, rolled under it, and slid inside her guard. He was close now. He struck fast—three rapid punches. One grazed her shoulder. Another clipped her ribs.
She winced—then rammed a knee into his gut.
"You've improved," she said, impassive even as they traded blows.
"You're just slower than I remember," Arjun wheezed, grinning through the pain.
She swept at his legs again—this time landing it clean. He dropped—but twisted mid-fall, using the momentum to aim a snap kick at her knees. She recoiled, eyes flicking with surprise.
"Get up."
"Wasn't planning to nap," he muttered, forcing himself upright.
Maya leaned in slightly. "His footwork's better. Timing too."
"Still rough," Dharan replied. "But he's adapting on the fly. Countering her patterns."
Ranya nodded. "She's never fought someone who doesn't break after five hits. It's getting in her head."
Back in the ring, the rhythm shifted.
They exploded into a full exchange—Aarini's strikes sharp, surgical. Arjun's returns were wild but clever. He shifted weight at the last second, baited openings, struck from broken angles. He was fighting like a man with no script, just instinct and raw analysis.
She lunged with a spinning punch meant to end it—
He read the momentum, sidestepped, hooked her arm, and threw her over his shoulder.
She crashed down hard.
The crowd gasped. But Aarini bounced up immediately—blood on her lip, fire in her eyes.
"No more jokes."
"Finally," Arjun panted, wiping his brow" let's do this".
She charged.
Gone was restraint. Gone was calculation. It was fire now—pure and punishing.
Arjun barely blocked the first few strikes. A roundhouse clipped his ribs. A jab cracked his lip. He staggered—
—and she caught him with an elbow to the jaw.
They broke apart, panting. Bloodied. Swaying.
The courtyard was silent.
"I never wanted this," Aarini said suddenly, voice raw. "To hate someone for being better. But you didn't earn it. You didn't climb like we did."
Arjun blinked through blood and sweat. His voice was low.
"You think I asked for this?" he rasped. "You think I wanted to wake up with power burning in my veins and someone dying in my arms? I didn't earn it. I survived it."
A beat of silence stretched between them.
Then—
"Enough," Ranya barked.
The spell broke.
Both fighters dropped to their knees. Exhausted. Silent. Spent.
Maya clapped once. "That's more than enough."
Dharan turned to Ranya. "They'll either push each other to the top… or tear each other apart."
Ranya's voice was quieter now. "She's fire. He's stone. One burns. One endures. Together?" She tilted her head. "They'll raise the entire batch—or leave a crater where it stood."
⸻
Later, Arjun lay flat on the warm stone, eyes on the fading sky. Every inch of him ached.
Beside him, Aarini sat, arms folded. But she wasn't glaring.
"You're still annoying," she muttered.
"I get that a lot."
"…You fight well."
"…You too."
A pause.
"I still don't like you."
"I know," he said, grinning despite his bruises. "I'm learning to live with it."
She smirked. Just barely.
And maybe—for the first time—something more than rivalry had sparked between them.
Something harder to earn.
Something close to respect