Your Girlfriend Calls Me Daddy-Chapter 96 - 97 | Two Perfect Shots Under Pressure

The whistle Boone held was one of those coach ones, silver and too loud for the space. He put it to his lips.

"If I see anyone half-assing it, you’re running laps until you puke. Clear?"

"Clear."

The word came out flat from twenty different throats at once. Nobody wanted to find out if he was serious. He probably was.

"Good." Boone pointed toward three separate corners of the training floor. "Team One, Station Alpha. Team Two, Station Beta. Team Three, Station Gamma. Move."

We walked toward Beta. It was a cordoned-off square in the far corner of the gym, marked with orange cones and caution tape that looked more decorative than functional. Inside the boundary were training dummies in various states of wear, an obstacle course made of foam blocks and metal bars, and a miniature building facade that looked like someone had built a two-story apartment out of plywood and prayer.

Reeves stood next to it with a tablet in one hand. She didn’t look up when we got close.

"Scenario," she said. Her voice was brisk, clinical. "Hostage situation. Three civilians trapped on the second floor. Four hostiles between you and the extraction point. Timer starts when I blow this whistle. You have five minutes. Go."

The whistle cut through the air.

Noel moved before the sound finished. "Usagi, I need sight lines. Rome, cover formation. I’m going astral to scout the upper floor."

"Wait."

She stopped mid-step and turned to look at me. Her expression was already halfway to annoyance.

"We don’t have time to wait."

"You don’t have time to leave your body unguarded in the middle of a training exercise either."

"If you go astral right now, your body’s exposed to the entire gym. Everyone will see."

She hesitated. Good. She was thinking.

"Fine. Usagi, gum shots to neutralize the front two hostiles. Rome, you take point. I’ll flank from ground level and assess as we move."

Better.

Usagi fired off two quick shots of pink gum. They sailed through the air and splattered against the training dummies marking our targets. Both stuck, pinning the dummies’ arms to their sides.

I moved forward, using Rubber Body to extend my arm and grab one of the dummies by the throat. Pulled it down hard. The thing crashed into the mat.

Noel came from the side, moving fast and low. She swept the second dummy’s legs and it toppled. Two down.

"Second floor," Reeves called from the sidelines. "Civilians in the east room. Two hostiles guarding the stairs."

Usagi repositioned, squinted at the layout, then shook her head. "I can’t get a clean shot from down here. The angle’s wrong."

"Then change the angle."

I grabbed her by the waist and threw her.

"WHAT ARE YOU—"

She sailed through the air, her tail spinning like a broken propeller, and landed on the first-floor awning with a thud that made the training prop shake. I heard Reeves make a sound somewhere between a cough and a laugh.

Usagi wobbled, arms out for balance, then straightened. "Okay. Okay! I’ve got it."

Two more gum shots fired from elevation. Both landed clean. The training dummies marking the stair guards went down with a satisfying double thump.

"Civilians," Noel said, already moving toward the stairs. "Rome, you’re fastest. Go."

I stretched my legs and bounded up to the second floor in three steps. Rubber Body made the joints bend wrong but absorb the impact. Weird feeling. Useful though.

Three training dummies marked CIVILIAN sat in the corner. I grabbed all three, tucked them under my arms, and jumped back down. Landed hard but didn’t break anything.

"Extraction point," I said.

We hauled the dummies to the marked zone just as the timer hit four minutes thirty.

Reeves nodded. "Adequate. Could be tighter on the communication. Stark, you hesitated on the opening play. Honjō, good adaptability once repositioned. D’Angelo, throwing your teammate was reckless but effective. Next rotation in ten."

We moved off the mat. Noel was already reviewing her notes. Usagi looked like she was still processing being thrown fifteen feet.

"Sorry," I told her.

"No, that was—" She took a breath. "That was actually kind of smart. I couldn’t hit anything from ground level."

"You did good up there."

Her face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Two perfect shots under pressure. That’s solid."

She smiled so wide it looked like it hurt. Noel glanced over, saw the smile, and something in her expression shifted. Not quite softer. But less sharp.

We ran through three more scenarios. Each one got smoother. Noel stopped trying to micromanage every move. Usagi stopped apologizing every time she missed a shot. I stopped throwing people without warning them first.

By the end of the session, we actually looked like a team.

Reeves confirmed it. "Improvement noted. Keep this energy tomorrow and you’ll place top three easy."

Top three. That would put me in the rankings. Get me visibility. Keep my father off my back.

And complete the quest.

After training ended, Cheon found me near the water fountain. Her hair was still pulled back from her own drills, and she looked tired but satisfied.

"You did well," she said.

"Thanks, coach."

"I’m serious. Your team looked functional today."

"Miracles do happen."

She smiled. Small, but genuine. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

"Good."

"Good?"

"You should be sore. Normal people would be hospitalized after last night."

I pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "You complaining?"

"Yes."

"Liar."

Her face went pink again. "I need to get to class."

"See you at lunch?"

"If I can walk by then."

She left before I could respond. Mera appeared from nowhere and slung an arm around my shoulders.

"She’s gonna pass out in Delacroix’s class," Mera observed.

"Probably."

We headed toward Building C together. The hallways were packed with students moving between classes. I caught more than a few stares aimed at my neck. Someone whistled. Someone else laughed.

Let them talk.

I had bigger things to worry about. Battle Trials tomorrow. A team that might actually work. A quest timer counting down.

And two girlfriends who were absolutely going to kill me if I suggested another round tonight.