Dominance Evolution System: Sweat, Sex, and Streetball-Chapter 224: The Kind of Stupidity We Needed

Nash let his words sit there for a moment, like he’d just thrown a grenade onto the cafe table. The silence after was so heavy it felt like you could bite into it. It was that kind of awkward silence where everyone stops breathing for a second.

Aiko’s jaw actually dropped, like those old-school anime characters when they get hit with something unbelievable. Rei’s hand just stopped moving entirely, her coffee cup hanging in midair like her brain had short-circuited.

And then,

"Ehhh?!"

Both girls made the exact same noise at the exact same time, sounding like someone just stepped on a cat. Aiko’s twintails bounced as she practically launched herself forward, eyes wide as dinner plates. Rei’s coffee cup wobbled dangerously between her fingers, her pupils shrinking to tiny dots.

Aiko was the first to snap out of it, or at least pretended to. She smacked both hands on the table so hard the parfait glass jumped, sending pink whipped cream splattering over the edge.

"Join Blacklist?! Have you lost your entire mind?! After all the crap we’ve dealt with, you think we’d just... just join your team?!" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Her voice totally broke halfway through, and honestly? She didn’t even sound mad. More like her brain had blue-screened and was still loading. You could practically see the loading wheel spinning behind her eyes.

Rei, meanwhile, gently set her cup down, maybe trying to act like the mature one when Aiko was around. She stared at Nash like he’d just recited the entire dictionary backwards in pig Latin.

"...Blacklist," she said slowly, testing the word. "You want us to join Blacklist. Your team... You’re... actually serious about this?"

Nash just leaned back in his chair, completely at ease, like he hadn’t just suggested the most bonkers thing imaginable.

"It’s just a small wager," he said with a shrug. "Something to spice things up. You girls are fun to play with. And between you and me?" He grinned. "We’d wreck everyone together."

Aiko made this weird coughing-laugh noise, like she’d inhaled her own spit.

"Fun?! You think any of this is fun?! You’re talking about literally risking your neck at Pier 9 and acting like it’s some kind of playground game?!"

She waved her arms around wildly, at Nash, at herself, at Rei, like she was trying to physically toss her disbelief at him.

"We’re buried in debt up to our eyeballs! One screw-up and we’re toast! And you’re sitting here all chill like ’hey, join my crew if I fix everything,’ like it’s no bigger deal than picking what to eat for lunch?!"

Rei tightened her grip around her coffee cup.

"That’s... impossible," she muttered, voice low. "Even if you could dig us out of this hole... joining Blacklist means owing you. Forever."

She swallowed hard, fingers twitching against the ceramic.

"I hate owing people. And now you’re asking me to... to add another shackle."

Nash smirked, leaning forward just enough to be annoying.

"Really? Well, I think you kinda like being in debt, Rei. You think helping your friends means they owe you something?"

He said it like a joke, light and teasing, but Rei blinked, and for half a second, her mouth almost, almost, twitched into something resembling a smile.

Friend? That was a strange concept. In the Underground, no one was really a friend. There was a saying that people who look alike should stay together, but it didn’t mean solidarity; it meant you’d stick with people until you found a better hook.

The Baby-Boom had a great bond, but what if someone like Nash walked in and offered his help only to one of them? Would the chosen one refuse out of friendship, just to become a sexual tool one day or another?

In her case, Rei was always ready to be the one being left out, so seeing Nash was a slap in the face. He didn’t use the bet to take her; he took his time for each of them, and now he was working his ass off just for them.

This attitude was the definition of being an idiot down there, but it was the kind of stupidity she was hungry for.

"Listen," Nash said. "I’m not asking you to owe me squat. I just... want you on my team. No shackles. No strings. Just... as partners."

He looked between them both.

"I’m not going anywhere. Not from you two, not from Hina, Kai, Miko, none of you. So hang tight. I’ll figure something out."

Rei’s breath stuttered, just once. Aiko’s hands trembled at her sides.

Nash pushed his chair back.

"I’m checking out Pier 9. Just scoping the place. If it’s bad news, I bail."

He turned toward the door, then,

"WAIT!"

Aiko exploded out of her seat so fast her chair legs screeched against the floor. She grabbed Nash’s sleeve, then his arm, clinging like he might disappear if she let go. Her face had gone tomato-red.

"You’re not going alone!" she yelled, voice cracking. "Are you insane?! You think you can just stroll into some sketchy abandoned spot by yourself?! What if something happens?! What if you don’t come back?!"

She yanked his arm, leaning in so close her forehead nearly collided with his chest.

Nash looked down at her, eyebrows raised.

Rei rubbed her temples.

"Aiko, be reasonable. Pier 9 isn’t..."

"No!" Aiko cut her off, shaking her head violently enough to whip her twintails side-to-side. "If he goes, I’m going! End of discussion!"

She tugged Nash’s arm again, gentler this time, almost pleading.

"I’m not letting you throw your life away for nothing! It’s dumb! And reckless! And... and I don’t want you—"

She cut herself off, but her grip on his arm tightened.

Nash and Rei stared at her, then at each other, both surprised.

For a second, nobody breathed. Then Nash grinned. This was surprising, yeah, but also a little entertaining.

"You’re actually serious."

Aiko puffed out her cheeks like an angry chipmunk.

"Of course I’m serious!"

Rei sighed, quieter this time.

"...She’s right. Pier 9 isn’t a one-person job."

Nash looked between them, Rei calm but tense, Aiko practically buzzing with determination.

And honestly? He loved this. Aiko, all fired up and refusing to let him go alone? Perfect for his quest.

"Okay," he said.

Aiko blinked.

"...Okay?"

"Yeah. You’re coming."

For half a second, she just gaped at him. Did he just accept? So easily? No heroic speech, no bullshit excuses, just... yes?

Her entire face lit up like a Christmas tree. She actually bounced on her toes, twintails flying, before catching herself and crossing her arms like she hadn’t just grinned like an idiot.

"I-I wasn’t asking! I was telling you!"

But her feet were doing this little happy dance under the table, and she kept glancing at Nash like she couldn’t believe he’d agreed.

Nash chuckled, ruffling her hair right between her twintails.

"Let’s move. But change into dark clothes first, you stand out too much."

Aiko took the ruffle for seconds, then remembered to be angry and smacked his hand away.

"Stop that! And obviously, duh!"

Rei watched them, lips pressed thin.

"Nash."

He paused.

She looked up, worried but with something warmer underneath.

"Just... don’t do anything dumb."

Nash smiled.

"Promise."

Aiko grabbed his sleeve again, practically vibrating with impatience.

"Come on! Before you chicken out!"

Nash laughed, pushing the door open.

Aiko practically skipped after him, trying and failing to play it cool.

And Rei? She stayed seated, watching them go, worried, yeah, but also... kinda relieved.

Because for once? They weren’t alone.