Rohan sighed as he walked back into the executive training room. His victory over Ayumi had been taxing, both mentally and physically. He'd defeated her, sure, but he could still feel the effects of her sonic power humming faintly in his bones, like an echo that refused to leave. As he stepped inside, he spotted Ayumi sitting in one of the back rows, her arms crossed, glaring at him like she could still knock him out of the room if she really wanted to.
He hesitated for a moment, then made his way toward her. She was only 15, after all. He'd noticed during their battle that she had an edge, a stubbornness that reminded him of one of his siblings back home. The way she dug her heels in, refusing to yield, even when she was clearly on the losing side.
"Hey," he greeted, sliding into the seat next to her. She didn't bother to look at him, still clearly pissed.
"Hey? That's all you've got to say?" Ayumi muttered under her breath. "You beat me, and now I have to sit here and look at your face?"
Rohan suppressed a chuckle. "Well, you did kind of rush in like you had something to prove. Just saying."
Ayumi shot him a look that could melt glass. "And what about it? I was this close to winning."
He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Close, but not close enough."
Her glare deepened, but this time there was a hint of something softer behind it—frustration, not just anger. He could tell she was still fuming, but her mood was shifting, little by little.
"Look, I get it," Rohan said, his voice gentler now. "Losing sucks. But… you're strong. I can tell you've got a lot more in you. Next time, you'll probably be even tougher to beat."
Ayumi stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the wall in front of them. "You really think that?"
"Yeah, I do," he replied, surprising even himself with how genuine he sounded.
Just then, their instructor walked in, preparing to start a lecture on combat strategies. Ayumi sighed and turned her attention back to the front, but the edges of her scowl had softened. Throughout the class, Rohan noticed her glancing at the screen, her face scrunched up in concentration. She wasn't following something in the diagrams, and without thinking, he nudged her gently.
"You need help with that?" he asked quietly.
Ayumi looked at him, the irritation still there but less biting now. "No."
"Okay," he said, leaning back. "Just thought I'd offer."
A few minutes passed, and as expected, she nudged him back. "Alright, fine," she muttered. "What does this part mean? The way he's talking about the waveforms doesn't make any sense."
Rohan smiled to himself. He leaned forward, explaining the physics behind the waveforms in simple terms, occasionally drawing a few notes in her notebook to clarify. Slowly, her scowl relaxed even more, and for the first time, she didn't seem quite so angry.
By the time the class ended, Ayumi looked more thoughtful than furious. "Thanks," she muttered as they packed up their stuff.
"No problem," Rohan replied with a casual grin. "Like I said, you're stronger than you think."
She didn't say anything more but gave him a quick nod before walking off, still prickly but maybe just a little less so.
Later, at the cafeteria, Rohan found himself sitting with Amir Khaled, the executive of Egypt, along with Elena and Alejandro. The group was relatively quiet, and Amir, in particular, kept trying to engage him in conversation. Rohan couldn't shake the feeling that Amir had ulterior motives, but he played along for now, not letting on how suspicious he felt.
"You really think you can handle Amir in a fight?" Elena asked casually, her eyes glinting with curiosity.
Rohan shrugged. "I'll handle him the same way I handled Ayumi."
At that moment, Ayumi joined the table, taking a seat next to Rohan without a word. The tension around them lifted slightly, and he couldn't help but smile at the shift in her mood.
"You're going to explain how you beat me, huh?" she asked, her tone still holding a hint of challenge but less harsh now.
Rohan chuckled. "I already told you in class, but I can give you the real explanation."
Rohan smirked, knowing they wouldn't understand. But he couldn't resist explaining anyway. "Ayumi's power isn't just about throwing sound waves at an opponent. It's about manipulating frequencies, altering sound to create destructive forces. I used her own strength against her."
Rohan grabbed a napkin and started scribbling equations, diagrams, and scientific terms across the surface. "Sound is a wave—defined by its frequency and wavelength. But when you manipulate it just right, at certain resonance frequencies, it can cause structures, including biological ones, to break down. Every object, even our bodies, has a natural resonant frequency. I simply calculated Ayumi's power to target those."
He glanced at their confused faces but continued, his mind now fully immersed in the science behind his win. "When the wavelength of the sound matches the resonant frequency of an object, the amplitude of the vibration increases. This creates stress on the material—"
"Which causes it to shatter," Amir interrupted, finally catching on.
Rohan nodded, impressed. "Exactly. With the right frequency, sound waves can disintegrate matter on a molecular level."
He dove into a deep, almost absurdly technical explanation of how he'd used her sonic powers against her. He explained the physics behind sound waves, the frequency manipulation, and how he'd calculated the exact moment to counter. He spoke with such detail that he lost Elena and Alejandro halfway through, their eyes glazing over as he delved into quantum equations and energy frequencies.
But to his surprise, Ayumi kept listening, actually interested. As he wrapped up, Ayumi crossed her arms, giving him a sidelong glance.
"Okay, I'll admit, that was impressive," she said.
"Wasn't trying to impress you," Rohan replied. "Just wanted you to know how I did it."
"Well, I'll make sure you can't do it next time," she added, her tone lighter now, almost teasing.
He laughed. "Looking forward to it."
For the next three days, Amir hung around Rohan, making conversation and trying to get chummy with him for reasons Rohan couldn't quite figure out. The odd bond he had with Ayumi grew as well, the two of them exchanging small talks in class and at meals, almost like siblings.
Finally, the day of the battle arrived, and Rohan stood in the training arena, staring across the field at Amir, feeling the familiar rush of excitement for the fight ahead.