BXBX NOVEL Chapter 99 Trust
While heading to Achara\'s dojo after finishing his scouting for the day, Xavier gave Zack a call and told him to meet him at the dojo directly without any small talk, which surprised Zack.
Xavier was almost always relaxed and playful unless he had something serious to say or was about to fight, but now he wasn\'t and seemed to have something on his mind.
Whatever it was, it was unlikely to be good, and Zack was worried that something might have happened, but he was planning on heading to the dojo anyway, so rushed over as quickly as he could.
However, what he found when he arrived at the dojo surprised him.
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Sat on the ground with his hand out, Xavier was trying not to make any facial expressions as Achara stitched up his hand for him.
Around them were the rest, who were laughing and placing bets on whether they thought Xavier could get his hand stitched up without making a face or noise.
"Stop moving, you idiot," Achara scolded.
"Just hurry the fuck up," Xavier urged, struggling to keep his arm from shaking and remain composed.
Those watching laughed and Xavier hadn\'t shown what was on his mind or told them what had happened, which was why it was weird when Zack rushed over to him and worriedly asked him if he was alright.
"Of course I am Zack. You don\'t have to worry about me," Xavier reassured him with a smile before tripping him over.
"Hahaha! You\'re worried about me when you can barely walk by yourself," Xavier joked, trying to keep the jovial atmosphere.
However, Zack, Connor, Achara, Sam and even Karim had caught on.
It was clear that he was slightly on edge and was overcompensating for that by acting happy and positive, but they saw through that and could see that something had happened that had affected him.
And Zack had a pretty good idea of what it could be, with there being similarities between Xavier and Eddie from how extreme their pasts were.
But, seeing that he didn\'t want to speak about it, Zack backed off, but he and the 4 others that Xavier chose as his representatives all wanted to help and support him as much as they could.
Unknowingly, Xavier had ended up needing to rely upon the 5 that he had wanted to support, as he smiled to himself, but this time it was a genuine smile.
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"Thanks, but next time could you hurry it up," Xavier said to Achara, who was the only one proficient in first aid, before letting out a cry.
"That\'s what you get asshole," she taunted after putting rubbing alcohol into his wound and running off.
Getting up and chasing after her, there was a great mood in the dojo, and before he knew it, Xavier was able to ease up and clear his mind from everything that was weighing on him.
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After catching Achara and launching a couple of kicks her way, he was impressed by how easily and swiftly she had been able to dodge them all.
Although they weren\'t serious attacks, they also weren\'t slow or weak in the slightest, and it was clear that she had improved greatly in such a short amount of time.
Which excited Xavier, who wanted to test out just how much everyone had improved.
So, after warming up against Zack and Karim and his crew, he started sparring against the fighters he had recruited that were present.
Some of them were at the firing range nearby practising their aim, and others were training elsewhere, but there were still quite a few of them present, and Xavier sparred them all using the Marital Art they were most proficient in.
That way, it was as fair as it could be, and he could learn from his opponents.
But it still ended up being very one-sided.
And by the end of it, he was drenched in sweat and even more fatigued than he was already after running around all day long, yet he still wanted to fight against Connor, Sam, and Achara.
It was just too tempting, and they had trained during the day, organised their units and sparred against each other, so were also fatigued themselves.
So he sparred them, and with how drained they all were, it wasn\'t a flashy and heated match that relied on their physical capabilities, but one that tested their technique, reflexes and combat process.
And even in such a fight, Connor didn\'t struggle to keep up, which was unbelievable, considering that he could barely throw a punch not long ago.
Then, after facing them all, Xavier\'s training was over, and he was too fatigued to do any more intense physical activity.
He had even decided to skip out on heading to the firing range to practise his shooting himself, not wanting to push himself too much and also knowing he wouldn\'t benefit much from it if he wasn\'t focused.
Instead, he took some time to shower, eat and take a short nap in Achara\'s home that was behind the dojo, and she couldn\'t help but smile to herself as he slept in her bed as if it was his.
Never in her wildest dreams did she think she\'d ever be so close to somebody to let them do as they pleased in her home, let alone in such a short period of time, but she was glad that she met Xavier.
At times it was hard to remember how young he was, but as he slept peacefully and rested as much as he could, it was clear that he was still a youth, which made her want to work even harder.
Xavier was working so hard and capable despite his age, and if she didn\'t want to get shown up even more and struggle to live up to his expectations, she had to keep pushing her limits.
But while she was thinking that she had to put in even more effort, a realisation was sinking in with Xavier even more than it already had.
It was the realisation that, despite the burden he took on himself, there was only so much one person could do, and that became more and more evident every single day.
However, thankfully, while resting, his mind was clear, and he slept deeply for the first time since acquiring the Gangster Instincts, as they\'d always keep him on edge and make it hard for him to rest his mind.
Which went to show just how much he trusted and believed in those in the Outlaw Gang...
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An hour to two passed since he had fallen asleep and, of course, Xavier was sore, and his hand was also stinging after grabbing onto a knife, but he felt refreshed and ready to go.
As not to waste any time, he prepared himself to leave and was thankful to find some clothes prepared for him. But, since they were the clothes he had previously worn to the fight club, it was clear they figured out how he was planning to make money.
And as he left Achara\'s home, waiting for him were Connor, Zack, Achara, and Karim, who seemed to have all reached a mutual understanding and respected each other after adjusting to their positions and realising each other\'s value and potential.
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While Xavier was asleep, they had sent all those under their care home to rest well and had a private meeting between the 5 of them where they all got a better idea of where each other was and what was going on.
And after doing so, they all caught on to what Xavier\'s grand plan for the Outlaw Gang was, or at least had a better idea of how he planned on structuring everything.
Even though he had already mentioned it to them, it was hard to imagine, and with Zack leading the meeting, which was surprising, they all gathered a lot of information.
Karim was spreading his connections and roots throughout the Wolf Gang\'s affiliate gangs that also acted as their distributors, and had also been gathering people to create his own future distribution line.
Zack told them about some of the stuff that he was doing, and Karim felt as though he had been shown up, but instead of showing jealousy or annoyance, he simply stated that he would work harder and be more driven.
As for Sam, Connor and Achara, they had all done pretty similar things and had organised their units and gotten to know them, helped them to train and got them to all go to a shooting range, which they had also done.
And after reporting to each other, they decided that they would do so every day, and try to bear more responsibility so that Xavier wouldn\'t have to.
That was the reason that Xavier had put them in such positions, and they were planning on fulfilling their part, but they also now had the option of leaning on each other.
At that moment, they were all peers and had senior positions in the Outlaw Gang, so couldn\'t allow petty grievances, age or anything else to get in the way of the gang\'s growth.
So they all made it clear that they trusted and supported each other.
And with that, they concluded their gathering, then waited for Xavier to wake up, before surrounding him as soon as he left Achara\'s living quarters.