Inside the newly opened Muay Thai dojo were merely two people.
One was a young woman that had an oriental appearance, while the other was a kid with freckles and braces.
He had the stereotypical appearance of a nerd and wore glasses, was skinny, and was also quite short, appearing to be a few years younger than Xavier, while the woman appeared to be of a similar age to Angela.
Entering, even Connor laughed at the sight, and the inside of the dojo was quite spacious and covered in soft floor mats.
There were a few sandbags hanging from the ceiling, as well as one ring in the centre of the hall-like dojo.
The equipment looked pretty decent and Xavier spotted some dumbbells, skipping ropes, and boxing gloves, which was more than enough for him to train, but it was hard to welcome someone who just laughed at you.
"What do you two want?" asked the woman, who appeared to be the owner and teacher of the dojo.
"We just want to train here. How does 20 dollars sound for an hour or two?" asked Xavier, as he offered her the 20 dollar bill Angela had given him.
"No. If you want to book a session with me, then I can teach you with my other student, but if not, leave my dojo," she stated firmly.
Xavier just shrugged and turned to leave, followed by Connor, but before they did, she yelled at them, "Fight me, assholes! You underestimate me just because I am a woman, then let me show you."
Turning around, Xavier had a good idea, and it was the perfect opportunity to strike two birds with one stone.
He would be able to get another member and a base of operations if everything worked out as he envisioned.
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Seeing that she was very heated and appeared to hate being underestimated, Xavier was pretty sure she would agree to almost anything, as long as she got the opportunity to prove herself.
"How about this? I fight you, and if I win, you work for me, and if you win, I work for you," offered Xavier.
Scoffing, she retorted, "Are you crazy, kid? You don't stand a chance. Why don't you get your big friend to fight me instead?"
Connor took a step forward and seemed to be willing to give it a go, which impressed Xavier, and as soon as he did, she prepared herself to face him, but Xavier stopped him.
"She would beat your ass, Connor. You don't know how to fight. Just let me handle her," said Xavier, surprising both of them.
"You think she would beat me up?! Aren't you underestimating me too much?" exclaimed Connor.
Shaking his head, Xavier answered, "You don't know how to fight, and clearly she does. Look at her fists, her stance, and her eyes. She is experienced and knows what she's doing."
Taking off his shoes and stepping onto the training mats that covered most of the dojo, Xavier was interested to see just how capable she was.
His instincts told him not to take her lightly, but her appearance wasn't convincing.
But then, thinking back to Angela, it was the same with her, and she could fight multiple average men quite easily.
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"Do you agree or not?" he asked as he walked toward her.
"Yes, if I lose, I work for you and if you lose, you work for me," she affirmed.
"Then let's begin."
Bursting towards her, Xavier unleashed two rapid punches towards her face and he surprised himself with his speed and strength.
Not only had he almost completely recovered, but he felt as though his body was lighter.
While jogging in the park, he wasn't really exerting himself and just wanted to do some light exercise, but now that he was actually pushing his body, he felt great.
And to his surprise, she had been able to slip both his punches despite how fast they were, and countered with a knee strike to his abdomen, which he managed to block with his arms.
Smiling, he was starting to enjoy himself and he never expected her to be so capable and powerful, with his arms throbbing and him being pushed back quite a lot.
Watching, Connor and the little nerd in the corner of the dojo, were amazed by their single exchange that was like that of two master fighters.
"Your not bad," Xavier commented as he began circling around her.
"Same to you," she responded, as she slowly turned, making sure she was facing Xavier.
Launching himself towards her again, Xavier fainted with a jab, before unleashing a powerful spinning back kick that she wasn't expecting, but was still able to block.
"You kick?"
Xavier didn't bother answering, and followed it up with a snap kick to the head, then a left roundhouse kick to the side.
His rapid kicks had great explosive power, and she had managed to block them all apart from the last kick that caught her off guard.
Getting struck on her right side by the roundhouse kick, she was winded and began gasping for air as she backed away and tried to create some distance between herself and her opponent.
But Xavier didn't give her any time to rest and wasn't holding back in the slightest, as he continued his onslaught of attacks, that she was impressively managing to block.
Waiting for the right opportunity, she found an opening in the split second that it would take Xavier to switch kicks, and went to grab his abdomen.
Xavier saw her clutch coming, but even though his mind and reflexes were fast enough, his body wasn't as she wrapped her arms around him and took him down to the ground.
Although not very confident in wrestling, Xavier wasn't completely helpless as he tussled with her on the ground before escaping her grip and getting up.
"Let's finish this!"