An hour later, they headed for Blacklist’s new training center. The bus sped through the tunnels of the Spires, packed to the brim, sports bags piled in the aisle, everyone talking at once.

Kai had pulled out her phone to film Jaz miming a dunk from her seat, nearly knocking Alicia out in the process.

"I’m warning you," Jaz called, sitting back down with a killer smile. "I’m literally going to crush everyone at the first practice."

"In your dreams," Kai answered without looking up from her screen. "You’re going to spend half the time flat on your ass."

"Flat on my ass picking up your fouls," Jaz shot back.

Miko, stuck between the two of them, rolled her eyes.

"Do you two have to start fighting before we even get there?"

"Always," both of them answered at the same time.

A little further down the aisle, Rumi and Chio had launched into a stupid contest to see who could stay balanced the longest while the bus took a turn, Yuna counting the points out loud while half-laughing.

"Three seconds," Yuna announced as Chio collapsed onto a seat laughing. "Rumi wins."

"Obviously I win," Rumi said with a proud smile, before losing her own balance on the next turn.

At the front of the bus, Dahlia watched all the chaos from her seat with a slight resigned smile, then leaned toward Victoria, who was sitting right next to her, buried in her phone.

"Sometimes I wonder if we’re running a professional team or a playground," Dahlia said quietly, one eyebrow raised toward the back of the bus where Jaz had just taken a cushion straight to the face. "Is it going to be like this all the time?"

Victoria didn’t even look up from her phone, a smile on her lips.

"As long as they perform on the court, they can sleep all day and fight with hammers the rest of the time for all I care."

"Your policy never changed, huh?" Dahlia said, amused.

"Never had a reason to change," Victoria answered, finally lowering the phone. "The results speak for me."

Behind them, Saya stayed silent, watching the joyful chaos unfold around her without really taking part. She simply observed, a hesitant smile on her lips.

It reminded her of everything she had never had with the Dust Dogs. The shitty court where the team used to train, the atmosphere always tense, everyone suspicious of each other, Roam constantly watching who was talking to who, Vargas yelling over nothing. Nobody ever really laughed there. Nobody ever bickered just for fun.

Here, it was completely different. A real team, she thought, the smile widening a little despite herself. Not just a group of people forced to share a locker room.

The bus eventually slowed, turning onto a new street, and in the distance, through the windows, a massive structure began to take shape.

"That’s it over there," Dahlia said, pointing.

As the bus moved forward, the structure gained clarity. At first just a dark mass in the distance, then contours that sharpened — glass, steel, several floors rising above the neighboring buildings. Then, as they drew even closer, the logo appeared, enormous, hanging above the main entrance, the black and silver of Blacklist already shining under the artificial light despite the distance.

The conversations in the bus began dying out one by one, replaced by eyes turning toward the windows.

"Wait," Alicia said, leaning over Nia for a better look. "That’s our center?"

"Looks like it," Nia answered, mouth half-open.

Kai had straightened up in her seat, silent for once, eyes locked on the building that grew larger every second. Jaz, next to her, had completely stopped trash-talking, her gaze just as fixed.

The bus finally stopped in front of the entrance with one last squeal of the brakes. The doors opened with a rush of air, and everyone started getting off, a little jostled, sports bags being dragged out of the center aisle.

Once outside, everyone stayed frozen for a moment, heads tilted up toward the facade. Up close, the building looked even more imposing than from the bus, the tinted windows reflecting the artificial light of the Spires, the Blacklist logo dominating everything, huge, black and silver.

"Fuck," Alicia breathed, mouth wide open. "It’s enormous."

"Alright," Victoria said as she got off in turn. "Grab your stuff, we’re going in."

A small group was already waiting near the entrance, lined up, about ten people in simple uniforms, some with still-new badges clipped to their chests. Dahlia stepped forward to make the introductions while everyone approached with their bags.

"Physios, strength coaches, maintenance staff," she said, gesturing toward the group. "Some of them just started in this field, so be as gentle with them as possible."

Nia, walking closer, narrowed her eyes at one of the men in the group — a built guy in his thirties, arms crossed in a posture she knew well.

"Wait," she said, stopping dead. "I know you. Weren’t you a bouncer at the Midnight Rest?"

The man smiled, a little surprised but happy to be recognized.

"Exactly. Glad to see you haven’t completely forgotten me, Miss Valencia."

Nia then swept the rest of the small group with a more attentive eye, gradually recognizing other faces — one of the prostitutes from the milking area, another guy who used to handle security in the hallways.

"Wait," she said, a smile stretching across her face. "You’re all former Midnight Rest people?"

"Most of us, yeah," the man confirmed, nodding. "When Madame lost the establishment, she didn’t forget the ones who worked for her. She contacted us again as soon as she could, offered us real positions here. Better pay, better conditions, none of that rotten atmosphere we had after that other psycho took over."

He glanced toward Victoria, who was already walking away.

"We owe her a lot. A lot of us followed her here purely out of loyalty, honestly. She never treated us like cattle, unlike some people."

Victoria, who hadn’t managed to disappear before hearing the conversation, simply gave a discreet nod.

"Alright," she said. "Let’s tour the place."

The doors slid open, and everyone moved inside. A religious silence fell over the group as they discovered the entrance hall. The polished marble floor reflected the light from the large luminous panels hanging from the ceiling, each one looping images of the Blacklist logo and highlights from certain matches.

Jaz stepped forward first, her footsteps echoing on the floor, eyes raised toward the screens.

"Wow... fucking... shit..." she murmured, almost to herself, recognizing an image of herself mid-jump, captured in full action.

A little further on, a glass corridor looked directly onto the main court, visible from the hall, the brand-new hardwood gleaming under still-dark spotlights. Hana and Mai stopped in front of the glass, hands pressed to it, breath a little short.

"We’re going to play on that," Mai said, her voice full of a mix of excitement and disbelief.

Alicia had already rushed toward a display board listing the different rooms in the building, tracing each name with her finger.

"Weight room, recovery room, locker rooms, video room, secondary training court..." She turned back toward the group, stars in her eyes. "There’s even a video room just for us."

Kai had already taken off toward the weight room, whistling at the brand-new machines, running a hand over the metal frame of a squat rack.

"Look at this," she called, testing a bench-press bench.

Jaz joined her, stopping in front of another machine, a competitive smile already in place.

"So, first time on real equipment like this, huh?" she called toward Kai, who was just passing by. "Hope you don’t collapse on the first squat, princess."

"Excuse me?" Kai answered, one eyebrow raised, approaching. "I didn’t wait for this transfer to know how to lift iron."

"We’ll see," Jaz said with a predatory smile, placing her hands on the handles of her machine. "This one and I are about to become friends."

Alicia had rushed toward the locker rooms, letting out a shout when she saw her name already engraved on a door.

"Girls, come look, they made us individual lockers!"

Rumi and Chio came running, Yuna right behind them, nearly tripping over a bag left on the floor.

"Mine’s right next to yours," Chio said, delighted, pointing at the two neighboring doors.

"You think they did that on purpose? Since when do they know us that well?" Rumi added.

"I just hope the walls aren’t too thin," Yuna said, one eyebrow raised, and everyone immediately understood the implication, triggering a wave of embarrassed laughter.

The locker rooms were spacious — light wood benches, individual showers separated by frosted-glass partitions, everything brand new.

Alicia started changing right there, pulling off her top without the slightest embarrassment, her breasts bouncing free for a moment before she grabbed the new jersey hanging in her locker.

"Seriously, look at the fabric," she said, pulling the top on against her bare skin. "It’s so much better than the old shit we used to wear."

"It’s not exactly the same jersey? And also... you never wear a bra?" Kai remarked, pulling off her own top in turn, her firm breasts bouncing lightly with the movement before settling.

"Why would I bother?" Alicia answered with a proud smile. "I feel freer like this, and it’s faster for a quickie with Nash, lol."

"That’s a solid argument," Nia admitted, pulling on her own jersey with a half-smile.

Jaz, also bare-chested, grabbed her own breasts with both hands, weighing them with a satisfied look.

"You think? Maybe I’ll try the test too," she declared without the slightest modesty. "I need a bit of support, otherwise they go everywhere during games."

Kai, bare-chested next to her, stepped closer, comparing her own chest to Jaz’s.

"Yeah but you’re an anomaly. How do you keep them that big and soft with your physique?"

"Soft?" Jaz repeated, fake-outraged. "It’s plush. There’s a difference. Nash loves that."

Hina squeezed in between the two of them, her own chest rising proudly.

"You two are cute, but nothing beats real bounce. Look—" she twisted slightly, her breasts jiggling in an almost hypnotic way, "pure jiggle physics. Nash is crazy about that."

"Liar," Nia called from the medium-chest camp, pulling on her own jersey. "He’s clearly more of an ass guy."

The three of them had moved closer to debate better, forming a tight little cluster, without realizing that Miko, stuck right in the middle while trying to slip toward her own locker, was getting a different pair of breasts slammed into her head with every movement.

"Seriously," Miko growled, pushing away a pair of breasts that had just crashed into her and shoving her crooked glasses back up her nose. "We get it, you’re a bunch of cows, but do you have to crush me with your things right under my nose?"

Hina stopped dead, turning her head toward her, a completely soft expression painting itself across her face.

"Aaaaw," she cooed, her voice full of tenderness. "My adorable little cabbage. You feel rejected, is that it?"

"What? No, I never said—"

Hina didn’t let her finish the sentence. She slipped behind her with surprising speed, her hands coming down over Miko’s shoulders to grab her breasts through the fabric of her jersey, her fingers immediately finding the nipples and starting to roll them gently between thumb and index finger.

"A-Ah—" A surprised moan escaped Miko, her body tensing at once, before she started struggling, trying to grab Hina’s wrists to pull them off her chest. "Hina, let go, what’s your problem—"

"There’s absolutely no point getting mad at yourself, you know," Hina said, unfazed, tightening her grip slightly despite Miko’s efforts, her chin coming to rest against her shoulder. "You’re perfect just the way you are. Look, they’re already getting hard under my fingers."

"Shut up," Miko hissed, cheeks red, continuing to squirm without much result.

"Anyway," Hina continued, completely indifferent to the protests, "Nia’s right. A hole is a hole. Nash doesn’t have any preferences, big, small, firm, soft, he takes everything. He likes you exactly as you are, so don’t feel rejected, big girl."

"To be fair, I do have preferences," a voice said from the locker room entrance.

Every head turned at once.

Nash stood in the doorway, his sports bag over his shoulder, a smile on his lips, clearly in no hurry to interrupt the spectacle he had just walked in on.

"I don’t have any type I like less," he said, walking into the room. "But I do have a soft spot for girls who can’t stay quiet for five minutes."

Hina finally released Miko, who immediately took the opportunity to escape toward her locker, face still red, muttering something unintelligible while readjusting her jersey.

"Alright," Nash said, setting his bag down on a bench and scanning the room, every girl now turned toward him. "Quick briefing before we really start."

He began pulling off his own t-shirt as he spoke, without paying much attention to it, revealing his torso, the muscles of his back and abs contracting with the movement.

"From today on, the level is going up a notch. Seriously up. We’re no longer a team that settles for winning — we’re a team aiming for the top of the entire league. And that means training is going to be harder, more demanding, than what most of you have known until now."

He grabbed his training jersey but took his time putting it on, one arm suspended.

"Some of you are probably going to be disappointed with the first results. That’s normal. Nobody walks into a new system and masters it on the first try. But I want you to remember one thing: I chose every single one of you. Each of you. Nobody here is here by chance, or out of pity, or because we needed to fill a roster. You’re here because I saw something in you. So don’t worry about playing time. You’ll all get plenty."

He finally pulled the jersey on, the fabric sliding over his torso.

"The time for fighting among ourselves, for proving who deserves their spot — that’s over. Honestly, it never needed to exist. Now is the time to have fun. To play the way you’ve always dreamed of playing, without holding back, without being afraid of messing up."

He smiled, proud of his team, proud of the moment, of a speech that deserved thunderous applause.

But total silence received him. Every gaze was already fixed on him, but not a single ear was listening.

Every pair of eyes was far more focused on the movement of his muscles than on the actual content of his words. Aiko stood with her mouth half-open, her eyes slowly sliding over his torso before she caught herself and looked away with a mix of embarrassment and irritation at herself.

Yuna even let a small trail of drool escape, which she discreetly wiped with the back of her hand, too absorbed by the spectacle to really care.

Nobody had clearly followed a single word since he had started undressing.

An amused smile stretched across his lips.

Well, at least the atmosphere is there, he thought, shaking his head slightly.

However, one person had not been petrified by his prominent muscles. Rei walked through the room with a steady step, weaving past the gazes still locked on Nash’s torso, already changed, arms crossed, a half-smile on her lips.

"Not bad," she said, stopping in front of him with an approving nod. "The speech. I thought it was solid. Shame half the room didn’t listen to a word."

"I noticed," Nash answered, amused.

"I listened," Rei clarified, crossing her arms. "And I agree with every word. We’ve fought among ourselves long enough, between teams, for crumbs, to prove we deserved our place. That’s over."

Her gaze hardened, that intensity that defined her rising back to the surface.

"I’ve been training with the girls this whole time the way you taught us. Decent matches, decent sessions. But now that we’re really on the same team, don’t hold back." She held her hand out toward him, a determined glint in her eyes. "Go all out with us. Push us, exhaust us, break us if you have to, but give us everything you’ve got. We’ll be your arms on that court, your speed, your strength, everything you need to crush whoever stands in front of us. We’re going to set the entire league on fire until there’s nobody left to contest the crown."

Nash looked at her hand for a moment, a smile forming, before gripping it firmly.

"I couldn’t have said it better myself," he answered. "We’ve all fought to get to this result, so now... we break everything."

Everything he had built, everything he had fought for, was finally taking shape, exactly the way he had imagined it.

Real Breakball started here.

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