Chapter 327: The Drill of the Damned
The squeaking sound of sneakers on the hardwood floor got louder and faster. The vibe shifted quickly. It went from being a bit playful to feeling like a strict military camp.
Nash asked for a total focus, and that focus felt heavy on everyone on the court. He was not messing around anymore. He decided to move into individual coaching, where he could basically tear apart the way the girls played and rebuild their game plans from scratch.
The players had just finished several high-energy team drills. They were exhausted, having used up almost all the energy they had left. That was when Nash started his clinical breakdown. He looked at the girls one by one, pointing out every single flaw in their game.
He called Kai over first. She stepped forward, breathing heavily, with sweat glistening on her athletic stomach. Nash put her in a one-on-one duel against him. Every time she tried to push through, he stopped her with zero effort, making her feel like she was hitting a brick wall, then asked for her reasoning behind every attack.
"I just use my power, Nash," Kai explained. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, trying to catch her breath. "In the league, I just smash through the lines with force. That’s how I win my battles under the basket."
Nash listened to her patiently, but he did not say anything at first. Then, he stepped forward. His massive hands landed firmly on her hips. It was a heavy, guiding touch that made the tomboy shiver. He moved her pelvis into a different position, forcing her to bend her knees more.
"That means you’ll be powerless once you face someone stronger," Nash told her. "You need to put more ideas into it. And look, you are playing on your tendons, Kai, not your muscles. Stay low like that. Plant your heels into the wood before you hit the opponent. If you don’t fix your footwork right now, your explosiveness is going to destroy your knees in one season. You will run out of energy before the end of the quarter."
Kai froze for a second. His hands were large and hot on her skin, and as he shifted her body, she felt her cheeks burn with a sudden, intense heat. She was the tough brawler of the team, the girl who never backed down, but his direct, firm touch was doing something wild to her.
A warm, ache started spreading deep beneath her sports shorts, making her legs feel suddenly weak. She bit her lower lip, desperately trying to restrain herself, but the more touchy and practical Nash got with his corrections, the more she felt like jumping on him right here, right now.
She wanted him to wrap those massive arms around her and break her pride completely, but she clamped her jaw tight, forcing her focus back onto the ball.
"Y-Yeah... I get it," Kai muttered, her voice unusually small and flustered as she tried to look away from his chest. "I was just trying to brute-force everything. I will keep my base low from now on."
Nash smirked, as if knowing exactly what he was doing, his fingers gave her hip one last, firm squeeze that made her gasp softly, before he stepped back.
"Good," Nash said. "Let’s see if you can actually apply it. Go hard this time."
Kai wiped her mouth, a competitive fire gleaming in her eyes.
"Watch me, Nash. I am going to make you proud."
Next, Nash turned his attention to Hina. He immediately shut down the clumsy, "bimbo" way she was standing.
"Your body fakes and those curves are not just there to make the guys in the stands get excited," Nash said. "Plus, if you’re my woman, I’d rather keep it for myself, catch me? Your shenanigans about all the seduction stuff, it should be only for me. I don’t want my women to use her body on another man. We’re not playing the Underground way anymore, I’m moving you to the Small Forward position. You are not just a distraction anymore. When you swing your hips during a drive, you have to freeze the defender’s feet. Use your body to create a wall of flesh, open a path to the basket, and control the space."
Hina froze on the spot, her eyes wide as if she had just entered a total trance. Nash spoke a lot, but her brain just paused once hearing Nash claiming her body so casually while handing her a real, aggressive purpose on the court.
He completely short-circuited her brain.
She clamped her hands together right under her chin, her eyes turning glossy and shining with excessive love that was honestly hilarious to look at.
"Oh... Nash-sama..." she whispered, her body trembling while the other girls kept practicing around them. "My body... my soul... my entire existence belongs to you now. If my master wants me to be his Small Forward, I will break the ankles of every player in the league for him. Look! I won’t ever sway for anyone else again. I am yours! I’ll be your small forward... And you’ll be my Big Backwards."
On the sideline, Aiko slapped her own forehead with her palm, completely exasperated by the embarrassing display of romantic devotion.
Nash let out a low chuckle and patted her head to bring her back to reality.
"Good. Keep that energy for the next drill, Hina. Get back on the line."
"Yes, my love... Fuhi~!" Hina chirped, trotting back to her spot with her voluptuous ass bouncing happily.
Later, it was Miko’s turn. Miko was a little analytical genius. She stepped forward timidly toward the three-point line, nervously pushing up her round glasses with one finger. Nash took a step toward her, standing almost right against her.
The size difference was crazy; he was a mountain compared to her. He placed his huge, warm hand on her delicate shoulder. He used his other arm to tuck under her elbow, forcing her arm into the right position for her shot.
This kind of closeness and the weight of the giant’s hand made the little "Size Queen" shiver. She felt a twitch in her private area under her shorts, but her focus actually got better. Since she was naturally very smart, she was able to figure out the math and physics of Nash’s logic faster than anyone else.
Her doe eyes shone as she started hitting perfect shots, her body adapting to his way of doing things instantly. She was friend with Jaz? She would become a rival for Alicia.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, Rei and Aiko were still working. They were doing passing drills with the five substitutes, keeping up a ferocious pace in the dead silence of the court.
The final part of the training session was a brutal five-on-five practice game. It was the main starting five against the five substitutes. The whole team was moving together perfectly, almost like a machine that had been oiled up and polished.
Kai was the first one to show everyone what she had learned from her new lessons. She stayed really low to the ground, digging her heels into the wooden floor. With a burst of hot-blooded energy, she completely smashed through the substitutes’ defense. She had an athletic build, and every time she crashed into the paint to grab a rebound, her heavy, uncovered breasts bounced with the sheer power of her movements.
Over on the perimeter, Hina was totally owning her new role as small forward. She stopped acting all clumsy and teasing. Instead, she used her curvy hips to pull off super fast body fakes. It worked so well that the defenders were basically frozen in place, their feet stuck to the floor.
Before they could even figure out what happened, Hina sent some nice passes over to Miko and Aiko. The two of them were waiting in the corners, and they just kept sinking perfect three-pointers, one after another.
The whole court was filled with the strong smell of sweat, the loud thudding sound of the leather ball hitting the floor, and the heat coming off ten young women who were giving it everything they had.
Victoria stood on the sideline, her silk robe hanging slightly open. She had a smile on her face, looking very happy with what she saw. Right next to her Dahlia was busy typing notes and updating the player profiles on her handheld terminal. Nash walked over to them, using the back of his huge hand to wipe some sweat off his jaw.
"So, what do you think?" Nash asked. "Are you happy with the squad? We have enough talent here to totally crush the Underground circuit."
Victoria didn’t even look away from the court.
"Crushing the Underground? With you at the center of this plan, these girls are going to be a headache to the biggest teams in the Upperworld."
Dahlia looked up from her screen, her eyes sparking with excitement. She watched Aiko drive right past a substitute player.
"It’s honestly crazy how much the team has changed in just a few hours," she said. "Having the Baby-Boom girls fills every single gap in our roster. We finally have a monster for every single position."
Dahlia stopped typing and turned her head to give Nash a playful look.
"In fact... the only real problem left on this team is you, Nash. You are so good that you don’t even have one fixed position on the court. You can play anywhere from Point Guard to Center. It’s going to be a total nightmare for you to plan the rotations and figure out who has to sit on the bench."
Nash let out a low chuckle, his green eyes watching Miko hit another clean shot.
"Probably the first one who gets pregnant," he answered casually.
Victoria and Dahlia both nodded automatically. Their brains were so focused on the game that they just went along with it at first. Then, suddenly, Dahlia froze.
"Wait... what?!" She stammered. "What did you just say, you little rat?!"
Nash laughed and waved his hand, trying to brush off her sudden panic.
"Relax, I’ll start with those who don’t play, like you, Dahlia. And besides, we will have plenty of time to finish the regular season and the play-offs before that even becomes a problem. But speaking of the play-offs... who are they supposed to crush next? What is the next match on the schedule?"
Somewhere else, deep inside the cold bottom of the lower districts, far away from the fancy and safe villas, the scene was totally different.
It was a deserted, depressing locker room. A single light bulb flickered overhead.
Saya was sitting all alone on a broken wooden bench in the middle of that empty room.