Working together was supposed to make things easier.
Instead, it made everything more complicated.
The council office had become their unofficial battlefield.
Not loud.
Not chaotic.
Just constant friction.
Papers spread across the table. Policy drafts. Committee reports.
Anaya stood at the whiteboard rewriting a proposal outline.
"You're making this too aggressive," he said from behind her.
She didn't turn.
"I'm making it clear."
"You're making it threatening."
"That's the point."
He walked closer to the board.
"Threats trigger resistance."
"Resistance exposes weakness."
He leaned slightly beside her, looking at the outline.
"You want transparency across all committees."
"Yes."
"That will make enemies."
"I already have enemies."
He almost smiled.
"True."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Anaya stepped back from the board—
And realized how close he was standing.
Too close.
Not intentionally.
Just proximity.
The kind that happens when two people are focused on the same thing.
She moved slightly to the side.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to restore distance.
"You're avoiding the real issue," he said.
"What issue?"
"You enjoy pressure."
"I handle pressure."
"You provoke it."
She turned to face him fully now.
"And you manage it."
"That's leadership."
"That's control."
Their eyes held for a moment longer than necessary.
Neither looked away first.
Across campus, Kiara was reviewing council updates.
Her assistant leaned slightly closer.
"They've submitted the transparency proposal."
She didn't look surprised.
"I expected that."
"You're going to block it?"
"No."
That answer surprised the assistant.
"No?"
Kiara closed the folder calmly.
"If I block it immediately, they become martyrs."
"So what then?"
She smiled slightly.
"Let them succeed first."
Because success created visibility.
And visibility created vulnerability.
Back in the council office, the tension hadn't disappeared.
It had shifted.
"You're quiet," he said.
"I'm thinking."
"Dangerous."
"That's your line."
"You stole it."
She picked up another file.
"You're enjoying this."
"What?"
"This challenge."
He didn't deny it.
"You're the first person here who doesn't play safe."
"And that bothers you?"
"No."
He paused.
"It makes things interesting."
Interesting.
She didn't like that word.
Interesting meant unpredictable.
And unpredictability complicated strategy.
Outside the office door, Aarav leaned against the hallway wall, scrolling through his phone.
He looked up when they walked out together.
"You two argue like an old married couple," he muttered.
Anaya threw a file at him.
"Shut up."
He caught it easily.
"Just saying."
Across the corridor, Kiara watched them leave the office.
Together.
Again.
Her expression remained perfectly calm.
But inside her mind—
The board was shifting.
And if two powerful rivals became too comfortable standing side by side—
Then someone would eventually have to force them apart.