Chapter 326: Scoring Big
The doors to the private gym opened. Nash, Victoria, and Dahlia walked straight inside. Following the plan, to make sure nobody from Apex found them, Victoria had used a fake name to rent the place.
Over on a bench by the side, Zayela was sitting there with her long legs crossed. She used two fingers to tug at the top of her tight shirt, pushing her chest out a bit, and her lips were pressed together in a thin line. Now, she wasn’t actually there to practice or run any drills, she was just there to watch. A whole bunch of girls were joining the team, and she was determined not to be pushed to the side just because the roster was getting crowded.
Nash walked right out to the middle of the hardwood floor. Victoria stayed a few feet behind him, her fingers sliding across her tablet. Dahlia was right there with her, dragging the heavy ball racks into place.
"Alright, bring it in," Nash said with a smirk.
The Baby-Boom girls walked onto the court. They lined up in front of him, and you could tell some of them were still exhausted from last night, but they all kept their eyes glued to the giant.
"We are here to check out your individual style," Nash explained. "I need to see how you all play before you merge with Blacklist. Once that fusion is done, the training is going to get a lot more interesting. That’s when we will decide who gets to start the game and who has to sit on the bench. But look, don’t put too much pressure on yourselves. Everyone is going to have a spot on this team, and everyone will get their time on the court."
Rei nodded her head, totally agreeing with him. To her, this was perfect. These girls were used to playing under a ton of pressure, so this was exactly what they needed to hear.
Right next to her, Aiko crossed her arms tight over her chest. Her long red twintails shook as she let out a huff. The moment Nash’s green eyes glanced her way, a bright, cute blush crawled up her neck, making her cheeks turn completely red. She leaned over toward Rei, whispering just loud enough for her captain to hear.
"I’m going to show him he doesn’t even need to run a test on me," Aiko muttered, kicking the heel of her sneaker against the wood floor. "I’m a starter, period."
Rei turned her head and gave her a gentle smile. She reached over and tapped Aiko on the shoulder with a soft hand to help her calm down.
"It doesn’t matter if you’re a starter or a bench player, Aiko," Rei said softly. She looked up at Nash, her eyes burning with deep determination. "We are one team now. Even if my only job on this team is to wipe the sweat off everyone’s shoes, I will be the absolute best shoe-wiper this league has ever seen, just to make sure we win."
Nash let out a low chuckle. He actually respected the captain for thinking like that. Behind him, Dahlia smiled and scribbled a quick note on her clipboard. Victoria lowered her dark sunglasses just a tiny bit, a proud smirk on her lips.
"You know, Nash..." Victoria murmured. "Looking at them right now, I think this might actually be the best investment of my entire life."
Nash gave the signal, and the warm-up drills finally started. The girls rushed down the court to do some basic stuff, routine layups, running the length of the court while dribbling, and passing sequences from the mid-range to get their hearts pumping. You could hear the sneakers squeaking against the wood and the steady thumping of the balls, but something was off.
The chemistry just wasn’t there. While the substitute players were trying their best to keep up, two of the starters were basically ruining the whole flow.
Kai drove toward the hoop for a simple layup, but her timing was totally messed up. She missed the backboard entirely, and the ball just rattled clumsily off the rim. When she landed, she hit the floor hard, looking exhausted and spaced out. The substitutes nearby started whispering to each other, wondering what was wrong with her.
On the other side of the court, Hina tried to do a quick crossover. She pivoted awkwardly, got her own feet tangled up, and almost fell flat on the hardwood. She ended up stumbling conveniently right into Nash, who happened to be standing nearby for no particular reason.
"Are you okay?" Nash asked. He looked a bit surprised, but his hands caught her quickly so she wouldn’t actually hit the floor.
Hina didn’t try to stand up right away. Instead, she leaned her soft body entirely into him, letting her head rest against his broad shoulder for a long, very long second.
She let out a soft, theatrical sigh, her big eyes fluttering open as she looked up at him through her messy, yellow-and-pink hair.
"Oh, Nash-sama... my legs are shaking so much," Hina whimpered in a high, sweet voice, deliberately letting her heavy breasts pressing against his chest. "The floor is just so hard today. I think I twisted something... or maybe my energy is completely drained. You’re going to have to carry me if you want me to finish the drill. A weak little idol like me can’t take this monster training."
Over on the sideline, Rei, Aiko, and Miko all made faces of pure disbelief. Rei crossed her arms and pinched the bridge of her nose, while Aiko aggressively pouted, her red twintails shaking to illustrate their owner’s annoyance. What on earth was this nonsense?
Nash saw through the act immediately. He gave her a small smirk.
"The contract doesn’t have a clause for slacking off on the parquet, Hina," Nash said. "Stand up and get back on the line. You’re not twisting anything today."
Hina let out a cute, exaggerated whine, puffing out her cheeks in a small pout.
"Hmph! You’re so cold, chinpozilla... A real butt savior doesn’t treat his girls like a drill sergeant."
Right as that happened, Kai decided she wasn’t going to let Hina take all the spotlight. She walked over, deliberately limping and dragging her leg on the wood, putting on her own ridiculous performance.
"Stop the clock for a second, Nash," Kai claimed, holding the back of her leg and grunting. "Ugh, fuck... I’ve got a horrible, killer cramp right in my thigh. It’s tightening up bad. I think my muscle is about to snap."
She was clearly just looking for any excuse to stop the boring drills and get his hands on her body. She leaned her weight against his side, giving him a playful look.
"You’re the coach, right?" Kai continued, though her voice was straining from holding back a giggle. "A good manager is supposed to take care of his power forward’s physical health. My thighs are too valuable for the next match. Come on, massage it out for me, or I’m striking for the rest of the afternoon."
Nash looked down at her toned, athletic leg, then back at her bright, mischievous smile.
"I tend to be like chilling when we are in private, girls," Nash said. "But this is not one of those times. What are you doing? This is a serious practice."
Kai and Hina weren’t scared at all; in fact, they kept trying to provoke him. Hina stepped even closer, trying to use her charms to get him to let things slide, while Kai stayed by his side, testing how much patience he had left.
"We just need some real motivation to run, Nashy..." Hina murmured, looking up at him. "I have been distracted since yesterday. I need a reason to focus. Maybe... If you took really care of me till I’m satisfied..."
Kai let out a playful little laugh and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"We could just get down right here, right now, your call," she suggested. "Nobody would mind. Maybe they’ll even join us."
Nash did not give in even a single millimeter. He placed his hands on their shoulders. His voice dropped even lower as he looked directly into their eyes.
"We are not out here just to play for fun," Nash began, cutting through their flirting. "Do you not want to win for real? Don’t you want to take your revenge?"
Kai and Hina froze, their grins disappearing instantly. Nash had struck the exact, painful raw nerve they had been trying to hide behind their freedom.
Around them, the sound of bouncing balls died out. Rei, Aiko, Miko, and the substitutes stopped their drills, everyone looking at each other.
"I watched the game against the Colossus," Nash continued, his green eyes almost piercing through them. "I know what they made you go through. I know how the fans mocked you, and I know how you were treated like you were replaceable the second you lost a match. Do you really want to keep slacking off and prove those people right?"
The words hit them exactly where it hurt. Kai and Hina both flinched, stepping back a little bit. They felt a huge wave of shame, and suddenly, it felt almost impossible to look Nash in the eye.
The weird thing was that Nash wasn’t even yelling. He wasn’t using mean words or insults. Instead, his voice actually got warmer. He sounded like he actually believed in them, and honestly, that felt way more pressuring than if he had just gotten angry.
"You guys have an incredible amount of talent," Nash said, looking at them. "Every single one of you does. If you give me everything you have on this court, we are going to build a team that nobody can beat. We are going to dominate this league, even the Upperworld. But it starts right here. Right now."
Both girls looked down at the floor, unable to keep eye contact. They felt a heavy weight of shame sitting in their chests. It was a hard feeling to deal with because they weren’t used to this. Usually, people just criticized them or acted like they didn’t matter, and it is easy to just ignore people when they are being mean.
But Nash was different. He was treating them with real respect. He was talking to them like they actually had what it takes to be champions. Hearing someone have that much faith in them caused a huge shift in how they felt. It basically ripped away all their defenses, leaving them feeling totally embarrassed that they hadn’t been putting in enough effort.
Nearby, the harsh glares from Rei, Aiko, and Miko softened. They were actually moved by how he managed to get the team back on track.
Kai rubbed the back of her neck. She was deeply embarrassed by how she had been acting. Hina looked timidly to the side, playing with the edge of her shorts, completely disarmed by how sincere he was.
"Y-Yeah... You’re right, cap," Kai muttered. "Sorry. We are going to do things right."
"We will focus, Nash-sama..." Hina whispered. "Start the play again. I swear I won’t goof around this time."
Without another word, the two girls stepped back into line. They dropped the act and fell back into the discipline of the court. Finally, the training session could actually turn into real work.