Chapter 102 | The Price of Pride

I nodded and backed off.

Naomi stood twenty feet away. She’d watched the entire exchange with those pink eyes. When our gazes met she turned and walked to the opposite side of the field.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Alright." Misato clapped her hands together. The sound cracked through morning air. "Gather up. Before we head to breakfast I need to address something."

We formed a loose circle around her.

"Blair Davenport made Monroe an offer." Misato’s voice stayed level. Matter-of-fact. "Money. Influence. Protection. In exchange for throwing today’s assessment. Making us fail on purpose so I’d transfer to her squad."

Belle’s head snapped toward me. Naomi’s eyes went wide. Even Jordan sat up.

"He turned her down," Misato continued. "Which means Blair’s pissed. Which means today’s going to be interesting."

"How interesting?" Belle’s tone sharpened.

"She’s probably planning to sabotage us during the gate run. Or after. Haven’t figured out her angle yet." Misato looked directly at me. "Want to explain your brilliant solution?"

All eyes locked on me.

Great.

"I made a counter offer," I said. Simple. Direct. "If we finish top five by winter evaluation, Misato stays with us. If we don’t, Misato goes to Blair’s squad and I leave the academy."

The silence that followed could’ve crushed diamonds.

"You bet the entire semester." Belle’s voice went flat. "On us."

"Yeah."

"We’re ranked seventh." Naomi finally spoke. Her voice came quiet but steady. "Out of ten Obsidian squads."

"I’m aware."

"And you wagered your entire future on whether we can climb two spots in ten weeks." Belle laughed. The sound had sharp edges. "Are you actually insane or just really stupid?"

"Could be both." I shrugged. "But Blair disrespected me. Tried to buy my loyalty like I’m some broke fat ass who’d sell out for cash."

"You are a broke fat ass," Jordan pointed out helpfully.

"Wow thanks man, but I have pride." I met each of their eyes in turn. "Blair thinks lottery kids fold when pressure hits. That we’re all desperate enough to compromise. Maybe most are. I’m not."

"This isn’t about pride." Naomi’s hands clenched at her sides. "This is about you making decisions that affect all of us without asking first."

"You’re right. I should’ve consulted the team before accepting." I kept my voice even. "But Blair gave me thirty seconds to respond. And if I’d said no without a counter, she would’ve come at me harder. This way she’s invested in the outcome. She wants to see us fail now."

"So you painted a target on our backs." Belle shook her head. "Brilliant strategy."

"The target was already there the second Misato got assigned to us instead of Blair." I looked at our coach. "Right?"

Misato’s jaw worked. She nodded once.

"Blair never wanted me here," Misato said quietly. "She thinks I belong with her. That I’m hers by default." Her green eyes stayed fixed on the grass. "Monroe just made the situation explicit."

"And now we’re all stuck in it." Belle’s arms crossed. "Perfect."

"Look." I stepped forward. "I get that I fucked up. With the buff situation. With not being transparent about how everything works. With making unilateral decisions that affect the squad."

"Wow. Self-awareness." Belle’s sarcasm could’ve stripped paint. "Revolutionary."

"But we can actually do this." I gestured at all of us. "We cleared that D-rank scenario with an A rating. First try. Most first-year squads can’t touch B-rank until month two."

"That was a simulation," Naomi countered. "Not a real gate."

"Same mechanics. Same tactics. Same formation." I looked at her directly. "You trust Garrett’s assessment?"

She hesitated. Nodded.

"He said we moved well together. That our coordination was solid for week one." I turned to Belle. "Your detection during that run was perfect. You called every flank before it materialized."

Belle’s expression softened. Just slightly.

"Jordan’s shadows held five Crawlers at once." I looked at our resident genius who was actively trying to disappear into the grass. "That’s A-rank control for a first-year."

Jordan’s hand came up in a thumbs up without lifting his head.

"And Naomi." I faced her. "Your Wave Motion cleared half the enemies solo. Without the buff. Just your base power."

Her cheeks went pink. She looked away.

"We’re not weak," I said. "We’re inexperienced. There’s a difference."

Misato watched me with an unreadable expression.

"Pretty speech," she said finally. "Doesn’t change Friday."

"No. But it means Friday’s possible." I rolled my shoulders. Everything popped. "We just have to not die stupidly."

"Bar’s so low it’s underground," Belle muttered.

Naomi smiled despite herself. Caught it happening. Covered her mouth.

The corner of my lips pulled up.

"Alright Foxes." Misato’s voice shifted back to command mode. "Weapons check in fifteen. Then breakfast. Gate entry at 0900 sharp. Anyone late gets left behind and marked as failure."

We broke formation.

Belle started toward the path back to campus. Stopped. Turned halfway.

"For the record?" She looked at me. "I still think you’re an idiot."

"Noted."

"But if we’re doing this, we’re doing it right." She jerked her chin toward the field. "Tonight. After the gate. You finish what you started."

"Deal."

She walked off without waiting for more.

Naomi stood near the tree line. I moved toward her.

"Don’t," she said before I got within ten feet.

I stopped.

"I’m not ready to talk yet." Her voice stayed gentle. Patient. That somehow made it worse. "I know you need to do this. I know you’re dying without essence. I understand the situation logically."

"But?"

"But understanding doesn’t make it easy." She finally looked at me. "I watched you touch her. Heard you with her. Saw the way you looked at Belle when you thought I wasn’t paying attention."

"Naomi—"

"I’m not angry." She cut me off. "I’m hurt. There’s a difference."

I had nothing.

She walked past me. Paused when we were shoulder to shoulder.

"Friday’s about the squad," she said quietly. "Not us. We focus on surviving the gate. Everything else waits until after."

"Okay."

She kept walking.

I stood there like an asshole while my girlfriend who wasn’t really my girlfriend anymore walked away because I’d prioritized extracting Bronze milk over maintaining the relationship properly.

Jordan appeared at my elbow.

"You’re bad at this," he observed.

"Thanks. Super helpful."

"No like. Really bad." He yawned so wide his jaw cracked. "Naomi’s a good person. Belle’s pragmatic but fair. And you somehow managed to piss off both of them simultaneously."

"I’m aware."

"Just making sure." He patted my shoulder. "For what it’s worth? That speech about us not being weak was pretty decent. Almost made me want to care about Friday."

"High praise from you."

"Don’t get used to it." He started toward the armory. "Come on. Weapons check. Then food. Then probably death."

"You’re really selling this experience."

"I aim to please."