CHAPTER 78: THE EDGE BEFORE THE BREAK

Nash shoved the hangar doors open. The whole place reeked of sweat and rubber, sneakers squealing, balls smacking the floor, players yelling over the chaos.

Business as usual.

Heads turned the second he walked in. The girls lit up like he was a rock star, grins spreading, the boys... not so much. Stiff backs, rolled eyes, mutters like grumpy old men.

He didn’t rush. Just strolled across the court, picked up a ball like he owned the floor. Started dribbling, thump, thump, thump.

His own rhythm, the perfect place for his daily quest.

Drex couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

"Look at this dude. Too special to train with us, huh?"

One of the subs laughed.

"Arrogant prick. Thinks bouncing a ball alone makes him a star."

Alicia cut in fast.

"Shut the fuck up. He’s better than you all of you. Let him do what he wants."

That set it off. Boys barking back about commitment, teamwork, all that noise. Nia backed Alicia, both of them firing back, definitely not out of a delicious memory.

The room buzzed like a fuse had been lit, but Nash didn’t even care. Just kept dribbling, his focus elsewhere, like none of it mattered.

Truth was, it wasn’t arrogance. He wanted to train with them, maybe ease some of that bad blood. But he had bigger chains to carry: the system.

The system had him locked on the Permanence quest. No new training, no fresh drills, just the daily grind he was assigned. That’s what he stuck to.

He wasn’t ignoring the team; he was following the rules that kept his system alive. And every time he did step into a scrimmage, he tore the floor apart. Victoria knew it. She gave him a free pass, ’cause he’d already proved he was game-ready, no questions asked.

Victoria’s whistle cut through the noise.

Her eyes scanned the floor, freezing every single player.

"Enough," she spoke. "Tonight, you put everything on the line. You want sunshine the next few months? Or nightmare? That’s what this is about. Every one of you better act like you understand."

One of the boys, trying to sound calm, raised his voice.

"But... Ma’am, we just mean... if everyone trained together, we’d feel more like a unit."

Drex added quickly.

"Yeah, no disrespect, it’s just... team needs everyone."

Victoria’s head turned slowly toward them. She lowered her glasses a fraction, fixing Drex with her piercing azure eyes.

"So you’ll bring us the victory on your own then? If you’ve got the right to take decisions in my team, then you’ve got the strength to back it up."

Drex froze, mouth half open, then shut it with a click. No one else spoke.

Victoria slid her glasses back into place, her voice cold.

"If we’re clear, I don’t want to hear anything else but balls bouncing." She raised the whistle. "Resume the training."

The drills resumed, sharper now, tension turned into focus. Nash paused his dribbling, glancing across the floor.

The atmosphere was really bad... But hey, he was the VIP here. At least he didn’t feel the pressure, but he really wished the quest could end closely before the team implode.

His eyes caught Jaz. She wasn’t into it, her movements slower, her eyes somewhere else entirely.

He then looked over at Jinzo, but the guy seemed the same as always, maybe a bit stiff. That only made him wonder more.

Nash stepped closer to Jaz, lowering his voice.

"Yo, you good?"

She flinched at first, then nodded too quickly.

"Y-yeah. It’s nothing serious."

Her tone was soft, almost rehearsed, very different than the confidence she showed after his little show with Amara.

Her eyes gave her away, something was wrong. Something she wasn’t saying.

Nash focused on her.

[TARGET STATUS VIEW: JAZ]

Type: Introverted | Hidden Pervert | Escapist

Current Mood: Frustrated

Affection: 52%

Lust: 41%

Trust: 18%

Triggers:

Insisting she opens up → +6% Affection, –4% Trust

Suggesting reading the doujin together → +12% Lust, –6% Trust

Proposing private training together → +8% Affection, +10% Trust

Praising her play quietly → +5% Affection

Ignoring her feelings → –10% Affection, –10% Trust

Nash closed the window, his eyes narrowing slightly.

This was tricky. Training with her would break the permanence quest, it could be counted as a new training.

And now there’s was no way out, ignoring her would now would also cut deep into her trust. Both roads led to problems.

Jaz looked at him again, expectant, almost nervous. And for a second, she seemed to think he was already ignoring her. Nash noticed and acted fast.

He leaned in slightly, smoothing his voice.

"Listen. How about we train together later? Just you and me. You’ll tell you more then, if you want. For now... focus on your drills, you’re doing really good."

+6% Affection, –4% Trust

+8% Affection, +10% Trust

+5% Affection

This was it, three triggers scored at once. They were about asking after all, not doing. Her 4% trust lost was healed with the 10%, and her affection rose greatly.

Jaz’s eyes softened. She nodded quickly.

"Thanks... I needed that." She hesitated, then her lips parted again. "It’s just... with Jinzo, it’s... frustrating."

Her cheeks reddened, and she dropped her gaze.

"He’s still... on this whole mission to make my first time perfect. Like it has to be some movie scene or something. His idea is to..." She stopped herself, flinching, embarrassed. "N-no, forget it. It’s dumb."

She brushed it off, turning back to her drill, but a crack had been made, she was opening up, bit by bit.

At this point, Nash couldn’t say for sure where he was going with her. He mainly leaned on the triggers to smooth their interactions, but with her affection climbing and her problems with Jinzo growing clearer, he worried this could spiral into the worst kind of couple drama.

For the first time, he found himself wondering if maybe he should put some distance between them before it got messy.

He held the ball in his hands, his eyes half-lidded as if staring through it. He murmured, only audible to himself.

"I’m starting to look like him..."

For a few seconds, he stayed still, frozen in thought. Then his brow furrowed. In one sharp motion, he hurled the ball from mid-court like it was a stone shot from a sling.

The ball tore through the air, WHHHRRRR—CLANG! It smacked against the rim with violent force, rattling the whole basket.

Nearly dropped in.

The sound took everyone’s attention. Heads turned, players and Victoria alike staring.

Nash’s arm stayed outstretched, fingers pointed toward the hoop. He muttered to himself once again.

"Stupid to even think that. I’m strong. I’ll get stronger."

His gaze dropped to the palm of his hand, clenching into a fist.

"I don’t have the right to lose with this power. I’ll win. And I’ll crush Dust Dogs."

The others exchanged looks, confused. To them it seemed like he’d just taken a wild shot and gotten annoyed for missing. A few shrugged, some smirked.

But Victoria didn’t. Her sharp eyes caught the look in his eyes, the way his body tensed and his whole vibe had changed.

She adjusted her glasses, just slightly. She liked what she saw.