In the stands, Chloé was a wreck. Her hands were clamped tight onto her knees, and she hadn’t been able to squeeze out a single word for at least three possessions. Next to her, Snow was staring at the game with a deep frown, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, completely sucked into the tension.
"What an intensity," Mirage whispered. "How do they play like this so long without subbing out?"
"Seriously... I’ve never seen Seth play with this kind of rage," Kaito added.
Maya was just standing there with her mouth hanging open, totally speechless. Rain didn’t say a word; he just watched, knowing that both teams were playing at a level way beyond what they could ever do. Beside him, Alexia was chewing her nails to bits, not even realizing she was rooting for Blacklist with everything she had. If she had noticed, she probably would’ve been shocked. And Griffin? He hadn’t blinked once since Nash scored that last basket.
Out on the court, Jaz stepped in to replace Kai. Kai was absolutely drenched in sweat, her shirt sticking to her skin, and she almost collapsed the moment she hit the bench, throwing a towel over her head to catch her breath.
On the Colossus side, Vex was a mess. He was practically stumbling between plays, his legs shaking every time he tried to stand his ground. This was the big problem, and exactly why Blacklist’s coaching was winning: Jaz had just entered the game.
The Colossus coach was hesitating on the bench. He knew he was walking right into a trap.
Should he pull his best defender out now, just as Blacklist brought in their best attacker, fresh and ready to kill?
He looked from the court to his bench, his mind racing.
"Get him out," his assistant whispered. "He can’t do shit in that condition."
"If I pull him, we’re the ones in deep shit," the coach snapped back. "They’ve got the giant, the singer, and the shorty who drop three points non stop hasn’t even come in yet. They’ll bury us if we lose Vex."
In a desperate gamble, he left Vex on the court, his eyes glued to the clock that kept ticking away.
On the opposing bench, Nash watched the whole thing unfold. He noticed the way his girls were moving, that fluid, confident vibe they had. It made him smile. One by one, they were clicking. They had reached that state of team zone. It happened slower than usual, but it was definitely there.
It was different from what he was used to, not a whole team zone at once, but a chain reaction, one person triggering the next. It was like a snowball effect.
Nash looked down for a second, then gave a simple signal to the bench.
"Miko, go in for Alicia," he told Dahlia. "That puts our starting five back on the court."
Dahlia blinked, confused.
"Alicia? She just hit several threes in a row, you don’t want to ride that momentum?"
"Exactly. She did her job," Nash replied. "Now, I need the most dangerous players we’ve got. They’re cooked. If we put the starting lineup back in, they’ll be forced to keep their five on the court too. And those guys look like they’re about to puke."
Alicia jogged off, giving Miko a high-five as they passed.
"Get two for me!" Alicia chirped.
"I’ll get three," Miko replied, pushing up her glasses.
Once she stepped onto the hardwood, she leaned toward Jaz, rubbing her head softly against Jaz’s shoulder.
"Come on, sissy. Let’s finish this ourselves."
"That’s the spirit," Jaz replied with a soft grin.
Nash, Jaz, Aiko, Miko, and Rei. The starting five were back together. Some were fresh, all of them were wired, and one felt the heat of Tartarus in his lungs. For the Colossus, this was a nightmare.
Seth, Cross, Kael, and Hall were still dangerous,no one could deny that, but without a Vex who could hold Jaz for more than ten seconds, it was a wide-open highway to Hell.
The very next play proved it. Jaz caught the ball under the rim, used a shoulder to create a tiny bit of space, and slammed it home despite Vex’s contact. Vex was just too slow, too tired to actually stop her.
[Colossus 89-109 Blacklist]
Then came Rei. She brought the ball up after the defensive rebound, stepped back behind the arc without a second thought, and let it fly.
[Colossus 89-112 Blacklist]
Twenty-three points, five minutes left. The Colossus players felt the floor slipping out from under them.
And that was the perfect moment for Nash. He raised his hand toward the bench.
Dahlia looked up, totally surprised.
"Another change? Now?"
"Yeah," Nash said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Nia, your turn. You’re going in for me. Have some fun."
Nia froze.
"Excuse me?"
"I’m sending in my best playmaker, that’s all," Nash explained. "That’s why you trained. This is your moment."
"That’s why I... Nash, I don’t know what’s going on but you need to go back and find whatever brain cells you left in Chio!" Nia jumped up, gesturing wildly. "Like, what the fuck?! You said the distraction tactic wouldn’t work anymore! What the hell am I supposed to do out there?!" She was practically shouting now. "I’m here to give some distractions, annoy that dumb yapper, and whisper nasty things in people’s ears! I wasn’t supposed to play the final minutes of a game like this! They’re trying to come back, and if you leave, we’re dead!"
"You play great," Nash said simply.
"I can’t replace you, Nash! Not now, not at this point in the game!" She pointed frantically toward the court. "Look at them! They’re in a flow I’ve never seen. Everyone is clicking, and you’re actually holding it together. And you want to throw me into the middle of that? With you on the sideline??" She bit her lip, her voice trembling. "If I mess up my first pass, if I break the rhythm... I’ll ruin everything. I’ll be the reason we fail after all this work..."
"Nash," Dahlia interrupted, "One second. Just one second."
"I’m listening," Nash replied.
"There’s not much time left," Dahlia began. "She’s right, the Colossus are fighting back; they aren’t finished yet. Seth is still there. Honestly, the best bet is to let you finish, even if you’re exhausted. If you leave, the girls might lose the rhythm they’ve found, and you’re putting all that pressure on Nia at once. That’s a lot for one person. Why Nia, now?"
"Because that’s who I want," Nash answered, despite everything, he sounded way too sure about it.
"I know you’ve thought about this, I know you always do... but... we’re so close..." Dahlia lowered her tablet, glancing at Nia before looking back at him. "If things go south in the next two minutes, if the Colossus catch up..."
"Dahlia."
She stopped. She knew that tone. She’d been through this too many times; that was why she was the one talking and not the actual team manager.
Victoria, sitting a meter away, just crossed her legs and raised an eyebrow.
"Don’t look at me, Dahlia," Victoria said smoothly. "I’m not saying a word."
Dahlia sighed. She knew what that meant: the conversation was over. The decision was taken. No one was changing his mind. She let out a small, defeated laugh.
"Of course," she murmured. "Of course you’ve already decided."
On the court, Jaz, Aiko, Miko, and Rei stood with their hands on their hips, watching the drama unfold on the bench, exchanging looks.
From where they stood, it looked intense, Nia gesturing wildly, Dahlia clutching her tablet, and Nash just standing there. It didn’t take long to realize what was unfolding.
Aiko took a step toward the bench, but Rei put a hand on her arm and shook her head. No one stepped in. Nash knew what he was doing; he always did.
Who would even dare to argue with him after everything?
"I’m not going to tell you how to manage your team, Nash," Dahlia sighed. "You’re the boss."
In the stands, the giant screens had finally caught the scene. The fans were seeing Nash menacingly close to the bench and started to panic.
"Oh shit, here it is... he’s getting subbed," one supporter said, pointing at the screen.
"Shhhh- Shut the fuck up," his neighbor groaned. "Don’t tell me that. He can’t leave! He’s not allowed to! I put five hundred on this game! He can’t leave while that monster Seth is still alive!"
"Oh Nash... not like this! Not now, after everything you’ve done!" a third guy wailed. "We’re so close! We’re going to win! Noooo!"
"NASH! STAY ON THE COURT!" someone screamed from the back, immediately drowned out by a chorus of shameless protests, with betting tickets crumpled in fists as if their entire lives depended on it.
"Girls, just trust me on this one," Nash said, shrugging his shoulders. "I’ve spent the whole match watching how everything moves when the ball is in play, and it’s been months since we’ve been training together. I know exactly what you’re capable of. So go on, Nia. The choice is yours, anyway."
"Really?" Nia asked in doubt.
"Obviously. Either you go in, or I stay and collapse on the hardwood right in front of all the cameras."
"Why am I not surprised?" she sighed. She closed her eyes for a second, exhaled, and then grabbed the zipper of her warm-up jacket. "Fine. Very well. I’m going in. Anyway, I already owe you too many things to say no..." She slid the jacket off her shoulders and tossed it onto the bench.
"Nia, wait."
"What now?"
"Listen to me for two seconds," Nash said, stepping closer to her. "The rhythm isn’t something I’m holding. It’s all of you. If you’re here today, it’s because you fought for your place on the team. Nobody buttered up the path for you. They’ve been playing like this for ten minutes without me saying a word, and they aren’t going to stop just because one person changes. You’re the only one on this bench who reads the court like I do. You aren’t going to break their rhythm; you’re just going to follow it, like you’ve always done. And if you miss a pass? Nothing. We’re up by twenty-three points. No one here is going to hold it against you, and I’m certainly not."
Nia looked at him, searching for any sign of a joke in his expression, but she found nothing.
"And besides," he added, a tired smile escaping his lips, "I’m beat. I’ve been dragging my feet for ten minutes, and I won’t lie, I can’t do any better than what I’m doing right now. It’s not the Raptors we’re facing, I need you in there. You’ve been my right hand since day one, right? I want you to be the one who finishes this match instead of me."
She didn’t answer right away. Her breathing had calmed down a bit, and her shoulders had relaxed too.
"I want you all to be the ones who get the final ovation," he continued. "Not me. You. And you, with them. I believe in my girls, all of them. But right now, you’re the one I want in there. You’re much stronger than you think, Nia."
Nia’s lips stayed slightly open for a whole second, her eyes fixed on him without really seeing him, every syllable being processed by a brain that was struggling not to short-circuit. She, the girl who always had a comeback ready, the queen of sarcasm, had nothing to say for the first time.
Then her gaze drifted to the side, toward the court, toward something less bright than this guy who looked like he had stepped right out of a high-tension soap opera.
"I..." She coughed into her fist. "Anyway, I... yeah."
Nash raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips.
"It’s just that..." She scratched the back of her head, her fingers digging into her hair, while her other hand mechanically fiddled with her jersey. "I didn’t imagine that you... well, that you thought that. About me. Like, really. Not as a joke, not just to make me feel good. I thought I was more like... the funny one of the team. The one who says stupid things... uh... do you really think that...?"
No one had ever spoken to her like that. No one had ever told her she was worth that much, especially not from him, and certainly not in front of everyone with that kind of seriousness.
Then she felt her inner Aiko wake up. A wave of heat rushed to her cheeks, a real surge that climbed up to her ears, feeling it in every single centimeter of her face, and there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.
All around them, she could feel the eyes on them. On the court, the four girls were standing there, not missing a single detail. On the bench, Alicia, Kai, and Hina were all turned toward her.
"No," Nia whispered. She put both hands over her face. "No, no, no. This is your fault. All of this is your fault."
"I know," Nash replied, savoring every single second of her embarrassment.
"You have no shame." Her voice was muffled behind the back of her hand, her eyes averted as much as possible, but the guy had become three times bigger in her sight; he seemed to be everywhere at once. "Say something disgusting. Anything. Insult me, tell me some filth you’d do in bed, make a dirty joke, whatever, just break this mood, please!"
Nash looked at her for a few seconds and shrugged with the most annoying smugness in history.
"I’m happy," he said simply. "It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to see you without your shell. You always act like you have everything under control, but... you didn’t see that coming, did you? Heh, you’re actually very cute like this, you know? All red and emotional."
"Y...You..." Nia groaned. Behind her hands, she wanted to collapse right there, disappear under the floor, or just die instantly. Not this. Not in front of everyone. Not this kind of couple-movie phrase, and definitely not in front of four cameras and twenty thousand people.
From the bench, it was even worse. She heard her death sentence in the form of a small, stifled laugh. Then a second one. She didn’t even need to look to know who it was. She was going to pay for this. She was going to pay dearly after the match.
So she slowly lowered her hands, her face still bright red, gritted her teeth, and did the only thing she had left: she stepped forward and planted her index finger right in Nash’s chest.
"Very well. Thank you, really. But listen here, you lil’ prick. You throw me into the middle of a final, you put the pressure of my life on me, you say something like that in front of everyone..." Another poke of the finger. "After the match, you’re paying. For this, and for everything you put us through. I’m warning you, you won’t get away with just one night. One night is too easy."
"One night?" Nash repeated, an eyebrow raised. He gently grabbed her wrist, moving her finger away from his chest, and leaned down toward her ear. "Nia, I’m planning on getting you out for nine months very soon, if you see what I mean. And when that’s done, I’ll start all over again. You’ll have more, and more, and it’ll always go further. One night isn’t even the beginning of everything I’ll do with you."
Tic tac, the bomb was about to blow.
Her mouth opened and closed. Her eyes grew wide. A shade of red she had never reached before took over her face, from her neck up to the roots of her hair. The Aiko in her had just merged with another Aiko to create the reddest ball in existence, which had just exploded inside her.
Total K.O.
She turned around in one block, like a robot, and ran onto the court with her head down, her hair sweeping over her scarlet face, determined to make sure no camera captured what was happening on it at this precise moment.
Nash watched her enter the court, shoulders hunched, face in the shadow of her hair, red all the way to her neck. He smirked. Even after all this time, even with her experience, he could still surprise her. That was probably his favorite part.
Then his legs decided the comedy had lasted long enough. He let himself fall onto the bench in one go, his neck against the wall, his chest heaving up and down.
The girls were on him before he even finished sitting. Chio shoved a bottle into his hand. Hana wiped his forehead with a towel, while Kai and Hina slid to each side, their shoulders pressed against his to prop him up.
"You’re pale as a ghost," Hana noted. "Drink."
"I’m fine," Nash assured her between two gulps. "I just don’t have legs anymore."
"Do you want us to carry you?" Mai offered.
"I just need to sit for five minutes."
They let him breathe for a few seconds. Then, when they were sure he had recovered enough to chat, the whole bench exploded into whispers.
"Wow," Alicia gasped, both hands on her cheeks. "What did you do to her? Did you see her face? She’s never going to sleep after that."
"I’m not sleeping either," Kai muttered, her gaze lost somewhere toward the court.
"Never seen that gal so K.O., even in bed," Rumi said, leaning over Yuna’s shoulder. "Respect, boss."
"It was too cute," Hina let out, fanning herself with her hand. "My pubic hairs are standing on end."
"Aren’t you regularly shaving?" Kai raised her eyebrows, before Hina put a finger on her lips.
"Don’t be a silly, ladies don’t shave. Except for barbarians like you and Rumi, no one has hair down there," Hina corrected, and by the process, contradicted herself.
"Then where’s your hair down there, you idiot? In your fat ass?" Kai replied.
Nash listened to all this nonsense, his head leaning back, a smile on his face. He didn’t say anything, not only because it was a total load of bullshit, but mostly because he knew exactly what he had just done.
Nia wasn’t carrying the fear of failing anymore; she was carrying something else, something warmer, heavier. And at this exact moment, she was in the perfect state of mind for what he needed.