The entire hoop shuddered from Jaz's dunk, the rim rattling like it had been hit by a truck.

The ball clanged down, bouncing across the court. Everyone's eyes followed it, Baby-Boom frozen in disbelief, Blacklist wide-eyed.

Then the arena exploded.

Blacklist fans jumped to their feet, a wave of black-and-gold roaring, "Jaz! Jaz!" like a chant that shook the rafters.

The pink sections of the stands went silent for a heartbeat, then filled with shocked whispers. Some Baby-Boom fans clutched their signs tighter, their mouths half open.

The jumbotron replayed the scene in slow motion: Jaz's massive frame rising, the ball slamming through with enough force to make the net ripple like a flag in a storm.

The sound faded in Nash's head as he focused, eyes narrowing on Baby-Boom's formation.

Alright. Time for plan A.

The game resumed.

Baby-Boom's players each processed what had just happened.

Rei jogged back, jaw tight.

I didn't take that one seriously enough...

Miko, keeping pace behind, glanced toward Jaz with a worried gaze.

She's going to make everything harder...

Kai looked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing.

That jump... I won't outjump that. Ever...

Aiko's focus turned between Jaz and Nash.

It was already hard with him, but now... Wait... she's staying back? I thought she was a center... so what is she doing that far from the rim?

The ball went to Aiko. Quick pass to Hina.

Hina caught it and slowed, ready to flash that confident smile, and maybe something else.

She turned toward Drex and Mac, hips tilting, eyes low, voice dripping charm.

"Boys, don't blink this time."

But before she could even step into her usual rhythm, a flash of black cut across her vision.

Nash.

He was there before she realized it, eyes sharp, grin thin and cold, that terrible grin that stretched her guts like nothing before.

He snatched the ball in one smooth motion, and Hina screamed, stumbling back, her hands flying up in panic.

The crowd gasped as Nash's body twisted mid-run, launching a laser pass downcourt. The ball whistled through the air, straight to Jaz.

She turned, grinning as she caught it. Rei was the only one between her and the rim.

Jaz took one step, lowered her shoulders, and powered forward. Rei planted her feet, trying to block, but the collision was brutal.

The sound echoed, body against body, muscle against will. Rei jumped as Jaz jumped, but it didn't matter.

Jaz rose higher, the light catching her frame as she slammed the dunk straight through.

The rim screamed. The crowd roared again.

Rei landed hard on her back, her eyes twitching as the ball bounced once, twice, then rolled past her head.

4-4

Miko called out, rallying them.

"Rei! Move! Reset!"

On the Baby-Boom bench, their manager, a tall woman in a black suit, long dark hair falling past her shoulders, watched silently, her mouth gaping.

Even she could see it now: the formation had flipped. Jaz was up front, Nash in the back, their rhythm reversed, and somehow it worked.

Nash redirected the defense with short, sharp calls.

"Mac, left! Drex, hold middle!"

He moved like a conductor at the base of the formation, cutting every passing lane Hina tried to open.

Each time she dared a 1v1, he was there.

Hina froze every time he appeared, her earlier confidence crumbling under the weight of his presence.

For the first time, Baby-Boom's tempo broke.

The whistle blew again, and the game resumed. Rei handled the ball at first but passed to Miko right away.

Miko reorganized the play mid-flow, her eyes calm, scanning everything. She saw Hina circling Nash's side and tensed.

Hina tried to sneak around Drex, but Nash appeared again, cutting her lane like a ghost.

She gasped, the sound breaking into a nervous cry.

"Leave me alone!"

Nash grinned.

"You didn't want that last night."

Miko groaned, running her hand through her hair.

As I feared. She's traumatized. Her own trick's turned against us.

She shifted her plan.

"Kai, Aiko, you're the carry now!" she shouted.

Hina was done for the moment, visibly shaken whenever Nash came near.

Kai took position in the paint, Aiko sliding beside her. Their movements synced instantly, Aiko baiting Mac and Nia with her feints, Kai driving through power and motion.

But Nash was already there.

He stepped up as if rooted, body low, arms wide. Kai went for a strong move, fake left, power right, but Nash's hand shot out, stealing the ball clean.

Aiko lunged to intercept, but Nash tapped it off her fingertips, controlled it, then flicked it away again with casual precision.

His calm unnerved them.

Kai exhaled sharply.

"He's not even a center… how is he defending like that?"

Aiko smirked.

"Too bad. I like my rivals to lose at their full potential."

Nash's head tilted slightly, already on the other side of the court, his eyes catching hers.

"Then come 1v1 me, girl."

Aiko blinked, the faintest spark of excitement rising. She started to step forward, but Miko's voice cracked through the noise.

"Aiko! Focus! He's baiting you!"

The next play began, and Nash retreated to the back again, watching everything.

Hina's rhythm was broken. Drex and Mac held firm under his callouts. The arena began to notice, Nash wasn't just feeding Jaz anymore; he was holding the entire floor together.

The court had changed hands without anyone realizing it.

Nash caught the rebound from a missed shot from Hina.

Without hesitation, he flicked it forward, a long, sharp pass to Jaz waiting near half-court.

She turned, caught it in stride, and charged.

Each assist from Nash hit perfect timing, direct, high-speed, and perfect landing. Every pass found her exactly where she needed to be.

Jaz's motion became a rhythm of its own: step back, crouch, lift, rise. Her jumps were monstrous, effortless, like gravity didn't apply, but when it came back on her descent, you'd better not be there.

She almost shattered the rim every time.

The crowd started chanting again.

Rei met her once more under the rim, desperate. She tried everything.

A shoulder push, Jaz didn't flinch.

A double guard with Kai, Jaz spun and split them like air.

An attempted block, Rei rose, but Jaz rose higher, her arm sweeping down with unstoppable force.

Rei hit the ground, gasping, while Jaz hung from the rim for a second before dropping down, the ball already rolling away.

The scoreboard blinked: Blacklist 12 – Baby-Boom 4.

The camera cut to Rei's face, sweat dripping, eyes trembling. She looked up just in time to see Jaz smirk, towering over her.

Nash walked by, voice low.

"So… what was that again... Ah, prepare your anus?" his grin widened. "Thanks for the idea."

Rei gritted her teeth, fists tight, face red.

The next inbound from Baby-Boom was sluggish. Miko shouted orders, but the crowd's rhythm had changed.

While Rei and Kai scrambled to reset, Miko's eyes didn't blink.

She watched Nash and Jaz move like gears in the same machine. Nash's passes, Jaz's timing... too clean to be coincidence.

She started piecing it together. Every rebound Nash directed backward into open space, every assist fired half a second before Jaz even made her move.

Miko's voice cracked through the court.

"That's it... Girls, I've found out! He's timing her before she even moves!"

There was a moment of silence, then, everyone turned, toward her stunned. Even Nash blinked, caught off guard.

... Timing? he thought, eyebrows raising.

It sounded like the most useless information possible.

He was timing? Truth was, he wasn't doing any magic.

He just read the flow, the air, the rhythm, the energy of the game. He could see when Jaz was alone, yes, he had eyes, and he knew she'd crush anyone on this court in 1v1, even 2v1.

His passes weren't prediction; they were timing.

If she was near the rim, he'd go for the mid-jump pass. If she was further, he'd laser it right in her hands.

"You really planned this?" Aiko had jogged closer to him during. Despite the score, her expression was bright, almost excited. "The timing, the passes, all that precision, like you calculated it down? For real?"

Nash looked at her, intrigued by how fired up she was. She was so distant yesterday, but now her tone was playful, curious, almost fangirl-like.

He shrugged.

"Yeah, something like that. Give or take… a few hundred quantum equations per second."

Aiko blinked.

"Quantum… what?"

He grinned.

"Yeah. My brain runs a simulation every possession. Calculates ball trajectory, teammate speed, gravitational variance, air humidity. You know, standard stuff."

Aiko's jaw dropped, half impressed, but trying to hide the other half lost.

"Wait... you actually... Yes, just like I thought!"

Nash nodded, smiling wider.

"I don't doubt it," he said, "I just know you'd be the one to guess it."

Aiko laughed, smacking his arm lightly.

"Oh, you're so full of it."

"Maybe," Nash said, his tone teasing. "But you're still there, so I must be careful."

Aiko grinned back, trying to hide her amusement. Way behind her, Miko rolled her eyes.

"I was the one who figured it out first… but whatever..."

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