Chapter 432: The Winner Takes It All
For a moment, there was absolutely nothing.
No screaming, no whistling. Just the dead bounce of the ball rolling toward the touchline, and twenty thousand people staring at the scoreboard, holding their breath like they were about to die.
[Colossus 93-117 Blacklist]
Then, the roof practically flew off.
The whole arena exploded. It was a wall of sound so loud it made the bleachers vibrate right through the spectators’ teeth. People were screaming, others were sobbing, clutching betting tickets that had suddenly turned into a small fortune. One guy, three rows behind the bench, climbed onto his seat and started waving his t-shirt over his head like a damn flag.
On the court, the girls finally let the pressure go. The second it happened, a huge ocean of post-zone state exhaustion crushed them.
Jaz just collapsed. She sat right there in the middle of the paint, folding up like a cheap umbrella, and buried her face in her knees. Her shoulders were shaking. When Miko came falling down against her, glasses crooked on her face, Jaz grabbed her without saying a word and squeezed her so hard Miko let out a little squeak.
"Jaz... can’t... breathe..."
"Sorry, I can’t let go either," the giant girl sniffled, not loosening her grip by a single millimeter.
Rei, though, stayed on her feet. She just stared at the scoreboard, arms hanging loose. That lasted for about four seconds, then Aiko crashed into her at full speed, burying her head in Rei’s stomach. Rei collapsed to her knees, wrapping her arms around her, her face buried in Aiko’s red hair.
"You’re heavy... and this isn’t the face I want to see you making," Rei whispered.
But it was no use; Aiko was already sobbing. Big, stupid tears that she tried to wipe away by rubbing her face against Rei’s chest, but they wouldn’t stop.
"Shut up... You’re crying too," Aiko managed to choke out.
It was true. Rei was actually surprised by it. She touched her own cheek and found it wet. And it definitely wasn’t sweat.
Over by the bench, it was a different kind of disaster.
The bench had basically melted. Hina had jumped up screaming, so high that this time, Nash’s reproductive’s instincts took over his lust and forced him to get the fuck out, escaping just in time to Hina, who landed right on Kai’s back. Kai lost her balance and ended up on the floor with a laughing bimbo crushing her.
Rumi was crying and laughing, and Chio had hurled her water bottle to the other side of the court without even looking where it landed. Alicia let out screams of joy and dove into Mai’s arms, who in turn fell into Yuna’s arms.
Nash looked at them, more relaxed now. He though he had escaped it now, but as he dropped his guard, h didn’t see the first wave coming.
"NASH!"
Hina hit him first, obviously targeting him from the beginning. She leaped at him head-on, legs wrapping around his waist, arms locking around his neck, and she planted a wet, sloppy kiss right on his cheek.
"We did it! We did it, we did it, we did it!"
"Hina... I can’t... breathe..."
"Open your mouth! I’ll breathe for you!"
Kai slammed into his back before Hina could actually suffocate him, rubbing his hair. Then came Rumi, Alicia, Chio, Mai, and Yuna. By the end, there were so many arms wrapped around him that all he could see were scraps of jerseys and massive, sweat-soaked tits pressed against his face. To make things even better, someone was already groping his dick, and he couldn’t even tell who it was.
With his five senses occupied, he felt like this was really the end this time.
"I’m going to die," he thought, his voice muffled by a sweaty cleavage.
But still... really, really not a bad way to go.
Out on the court, Nia was walking alone toward the bench. Her steps were a bit stiff, like she’d forgotten how to actually walk. Her cheeks were bright red, more due to fatigue than emotion this time. Her hair was stuck to her forehead with sweat, and she had a ridiculous smile on her face that she couldn’t wipe off. Jaz spotted her and leaped up, literally lifting Nia off the ground in a massive hug.
"Nia! You’re amazing! How did you play like that?! You were amazing!"
"Wait... sugarcube... I can’t... breathe..."
"I scored because of you! This is all thanks to you!"
"Stop making me laugh, my ribs hurt... ah fuck... I’m gonna puke..."
"She’s so cute," Miko commented, wiping her eyes.
Nia didn’t say anything else. She just let her head rest on Jaz’s shoulder and closed her eyes for a second, trying to remember the most basic way to breathe again.
Dahlia finally snapped. She crossed the touchline like a missile and jumped on Victoria.
"MA’AM!"
Victoria took the hit without flinching... well, almost. Her sunglasses slid down her nose, and she had to catch the bench with one hand to keep from landing on her ass.
"Dahlia... Dahlia. Control."
"We won! Do you realize that? We won!"
"Yes, I saw the scoreboard, thank you. I can still read. It’s been sure for five minutes..."
"You’re smiling!"
"I am not."
"You are!"
She was. A tiny, tiny smile that she was trying to hide behind the collar of her dress. Dahlia was hugging her so hard that her feet almost left the ground, laughing like a little girl with tears in her eyes.
Victoria finally raised a hesitant hand and patted her back, twice, then a third time, lasting a bit longer than expected.
"Okay," she whispered. "One minute. Just one. After that, we’re adults again. You panic too much for this stuff."
"Two minutes."
"Maybe it was better when I was cold to everyone..." Victoria lied.
But it didn’t matter; Dahlia wasn’t letting go, and she wasn’t ready to.
Miles away, inside the manor’s living room, things were absolutely chaotic.
Lina was the first one on her feet. She had somehow managed to snag two remote controls and was waving them around like they were gold medals. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, "IT’S US! IT’S US! IT’S US!" over and over, jumping up and down on the rug and not giving a single fuck about the roommate’s slippers.
"They did it!" Sarra yelled right next to her, punching the air with both fists. Her hair was a complete mess over her face and her glasses were flying off her head. "They actually did it! They won!"
Amara leaped right onto the table, standing there barefoot, clutching a cushion tight against her chest, screaming just as loud as the other two.
"I told you! I told you my man was going to fuck them all up!" Amara bragged.
"Your man?" Lina snapped, pausing her jumping for a second to glare. "Remind me who got her guts rearranged first. That was me."
"Guts?" Amara froze on the table, the cushion still held high. "Oh, honey. I had his first time. His absolute first. You can’t beat that."
"His first time was just a warm-up," Lina sneered. "I’m the one who got the real deal."
"A warm-up?! What did you just say?!"
The two of them locked eyes. Lina clutching those remotes, and Amara was perched on the table with her cushion, chin up. The whole room was screaming around them, but for three seconds, it went dead silent between the two of them.
Then, Lina lowered the remotes. Amara stepped down from the table, one slow step at a time.
"...Alright. Between us, I don’t think there are that many options," Lina admitted.
"Yeah, I agree with you there," Amara nodded.
They shook hands, very officially, like they were signing a business contract.
"Okay. First one to get pregnant wins," Lina grinned.
"Deal. And the loser has to take it up the ass while the other one watches."
Lina shrugged.
"...I see that as a win."
Zayela, meanwhile, wasn’t screaming, she was jumping. High, arms stretched out, using all her momentum as if she decided that if she jumped high enough, she’d actually hit the ceiling. Her laughter was louder than the screaming, while her hair flew everywhere.
Over in the armchair, Saya hadn’t moved.
She had been sitting on Amara’s lap before Amara flew off toward the table, and she had just sort of sunk into the cushion of the chair without realizing it. She wasn’t crying, nor screaming like the others. She was just staring at the screen, eyes wide and mouth open, looking like someone watching a car crash in slow motion, not quite understanding how this happened.
Then, slowly, a little laugh escaped her.
It was a surprised breath that made her own eyebrows jump. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes still glued to the screen, specifically to the face of Nash, who was currently disappearing under the bodies of different girls.
"...Hm." She laughed again, softer this time. "He actually did it, that idiot."
She felt something deep inside, something she would never admit out loud. She wasn’t sad. She was actually happy. But there was also this... hunger? An itch? A bit of envy that she couldn’t quite put into words. She just knew she wanted to be...
"Saya!"
Before she could process her thoughts, two arms scooped her up from the chair, and the living room started spinning.
It was Zayela.
Saya was speechless. Zayela, the one who had put her in her place back then, the one Saya had been too scared to even approach since she started crashing here, this was the same Zayela lifting her up.
"Zay... what are you doing?!"
"We’re dancing!"
Zayela spun her around in the middle of the room, laughing loudly. With Lina screaming with joy and Amara and Sarra clapping their hands, Saya felt completely lost in the chaos.
She wanted to protest, to be stubborn like she used to be, but then she saw Zayela’s smile. It was honest. No hidden agenda, no grudge, no judging. Just a girl who was happy and wanted her to be included, just like everyone else.
Just like the others.
The tension in Saya’s chest suddenly snapped.
She burst out laughing. A real, genuine laugh that made her shoulders shake. She clung to Zayela’s neck, her cheeks getting red and her hair getting messy.
"You’re completely insane!"
"I know! But we won!"
We.
Zayela had said we.
Suddenly, that weird feeling from earlier came back. Saya felt her eyes sting, and she laughed even harder so no one would see her tear up. She was here, in this room, in the middle of them, and for the first time in forever, she wasn’t afraid of being the odd one out.
Maybe this was it... maybe she could actually hope for something... maybe she had finally found it.
Her place.
Roam would have never seen this coming.
On the court, the crowd was absolutely losing their minds.
Nash finally managed to climb out of the pile of girls. It took a bit of effort, some smooth talking, a couple of sneaky gropes of some juicy tits and asses, and a vague promise to Hina that he’d make her scream later, but he finally got back on his feet. Well, almost. He was shaking, barely able to stand.
He looked up.
The ceiling of the Hell Gates Arena was massive and pitch black, crossed through by white spotlights that stung his eyes. And below them, the stands. Thousands of faces staring right at him. Arms in the air, flags waving.
There were banners with his number on them; some were hand-painted and looked so shitty they were actually kind of cute. The noise was so dense it felt like something physical, a wave of heat rising from the floor that made his chest tingle.
Beautiful, he thought. We actually fucking did it.
He straightened up a bit more, feeling so prideful. His eyes drifted to the other side of the court.
The Colossus.
They were just standing there, scattered and broken. Cross was leaning against a pole with a blank look on his face. Kael was slumped on the bench, elbows on his knees. Hall was staring at his shoes like they held the secrets of the universe. Vex was frozen at the foot of the scoreboard, looking like a statue left out in the rain. And Seth, right in the middle of the circle, hadn’t moved an inch.
The best of the best. The undefeated champions of the league. This was the team everyone watched on TV, thinking there was no way on earth anyone could beat them this season. Even Nash, a few months ago, had thought the same while watching Baby-Boom get absolutely demolished.
And now, here they were. Beaten.
By Blacklist.
Undefeated. A whole regular season. The thought was like a slap in the face. Nobody had ever done this. Nobody. Blacklist had just written the history of the league as the first team to finish a season without a single loss. And they did it starting from absolutely nothing.
Where the hell did they even come from?
A street team, all wobbly and messy, sponsored by a brothel in the Red Zone. Jinzo and his pack of idiots who thought they were Kings.
The era of Jinzo and his clique... it felt so far away suddenly that it gave him a bit of vertigo. Like it was a life that belonged to someone else.
He was in paradise. There was no other word for it. A tired, sweaty, stinking paradise, but paradise all the same.
He lowered his head. He was smiling. He couldn’t help it; he just couldn’t stop. A big, dumb grin that made his cheeks hurt.
Then, he looked toward the bench.
Victoria was there.
She had watched him approach, obviously. She’d pulled herself out of Dahlia’s unyielding arms, slid her sunglasses back on, smoothed out her dress, and put her Ma’am’s mask back on. But when Nash caught her eye, the mask slipped.
He raised his hand slowly, signaling for her to come over. Her smile grew, and she walked toward him.
"You look absolutely terrible," she said as she reached him.
He didn’t answer right away. He just lowered his head a bit, one hand on the back of his neck, the other clutching the towel.
"Thanks, Victoria."
She frowned.
"Excuse me?"
"Thanks. For everything."
She stared at him for a long time. Then, she let out a short laugh that sounded almost annoyed.
"What are you thanking me for? I didn’t do anything." She crossed her arms. "Seriously, Nash. I sat there for the whole match. I barely opened my mouth. I am probably the worst manager in the history of Breakball."
She leaned in, her lips almost brushing his ear.
"My only strategy from the start has been to sit back and let you do your thing. And every single time, you make me win. Every. Single. Time. I don’t expect too much from you, but I don’t expect too little either. All I know is that whatever happens, you’re there, and you’re always right. Even if you failed..." She shrugged slightly. "I’d still believe in you. You’re my man, after all."
Nash blinked, then a smug look crossed his face.
"Wait a second. Are you actually getting emotional right now?"
"Not at all."
"Your voice is shaking."
"Your ears are shaking."
He laughed, and she looked away, at the crowd, the ceiling, literally anything but him.
"I am not emotional," she said, trying to regain her dignity. "Just a little bit of sophistry. I’m learning to lie with a straight face, in preparation for the day I’ll make them crawl."
She adjusted her glasses.
"And as for what happens next," she added, her tone returning to that light, airy vibe, "that’s your problem, honey. I’m just a part of the vehicle you’re driving."
"A part, huh?"
"Exactly."
"Maybe my co-pilot, then."
She rolled her eyes.
"Let’s just say I have great taste. When you have a man capable of doing what you do, you avoid getting your hands dirty. It’s those little specialties of yours that make you my man, Nash. Don’t forget that."
He bit his lip to keep from laughing.
"Noted."
"Note it."
He got a bit more serious then.
"But honestly, I’d rather say I’m just a part of this too. This isn’t just my victory. I never would have made it if even one of those girls had slipped up. Not Hina, not Kai, not Nia... none of them. And not you either." He looked her straight in the eyes. "So thank you, Victoria. For making this possible."
She didn’t answer.
She just stood there beside him, arms crossed, staring out at the crowd. Her jaw tightened every now and then, like she was fighting back a sentence that wanted to come out.
To the twenty thousand people in the stands, they were just a manager and her star player enjoying the win. Nobody could see that Victoria’s pinky finger had slid against Nash’s, and she wasn’t letting go.
They stayed like that. Side by side, facing the screaming crowd, the noise of twenty thousand people wrapping around them like a heavy blanket.
"...Not bad," she finally whispered.
"Not bad? Just not bad?"
She smiled.
"Don’t push it."
He was about to reply when something slammed into them from behind.
"HEEEEY!"
Dahlia crashed into their backs. It was just a little bump that made them both stumble half a step, but she was already spinning around, laughing her head off.
"You two are just standing there like statues! Twenty thousand people are screaming and you’re acting like poets!"
"Dahlia," Victoria sighed, "you almost knocked me over."
"That was my most beautiful drift yet!"
Nash started laughing, rubbing his shoulder. He found it hilarious that Dahlia, who had been such a nervous wreck a few minutes ago, was now this burst of pure energy.
"She’s right," he chuckled, glancing at the woman’s playful expression. "I almost ended up on my ass."
"Good! You deserve it!"
Dahlia squeezed herself between them, throwing an arm around each of their waists, and punched the air toward the crowd with a scream that didn’t even make sense.
Victoria sighed. Nash burst out laughing. And, though she tried to keep her dignity, Victoria finally let a hand rest on Dahlia’s shoulder.
Three silhouettes huddled together at the edge of the field. Two lovers that nobody suspected, and one concubine. Just three people who had won something impossible, and were still trying to figure out if it was actually real.