14

Just as champion Marcus had told him, his opponent had the word abuse and violence engraved on his face. Several scars covered the boy's mouth, eyebrows and cheek. These marks were not earned by being a simple pooper; that boy was used to solving things in a hard and forceful way, but he was the one who started the fights.

Taller than Mouse, more robust and better fed, he even dared to laugh when he saw the weak boy he had to beat up; his smug smile announced that he thought the fight was going to be a piece of cake.

As soon as the round began, Rompehuesos launched himself at Mouse, with a wave of chained blows. The little pooper backed away as best he could to avoid him, but the other boy kept pressing.

Marcus was not very interested in the fight; little Mouse had very little chance of surviving if things continued like this; sooner or later he would be cornered against the ropes and then the fight would be over. The former champion was taking a sip of the local's thick black beer when he saw a vicious hook thrown by Rompehuesos.

But this time Mouse did not take a step back, he crouched to dodge and from below and with all the momentum of his small body he launched a counterattack. He missed Rompehuesos who stepped back a little surprised, but with the loss of the initiative he could not avoid the two quick blows from Mouse to the body, who was already turning to gain space and not be cornered.

Bonebreaker was violent, and his attacks didn't follow any pattern, it was inevitable that Mouse would receive some blows while he continued to dodge. But the boy didn't fall, he endured the blows and went back to look for his opportunity to go in and hit. Go in and hit, but in the exchanges he often got the worst of it.

But Marcus now watched the fight with interest. That boy with the small and disadvantaged body had real talent, one thing was to run away, to stay out of range, but even by the way he threw his blows, which were far from good or technically perfect, it was clear that the boy had practiced everything he saw in the cage fights.

The punishment that Mouse received when Bonebreaker caught him with his chaotic and unpredictable attacks was being hard, for Marcus it really was a miracle that the boy had the courage to sometimes get into his opponent's guard to strike him.

Even if he continued like this, he wouldn't last much longer. This wasn't a child like the others, this was a real savage, a born bully, an abuser who loved violence and dominating smaller children with it. The fact that Mouse didn't fall curled up in a corner protecting himself was making him furious.

When the round ended, the judges gave the score in Rompehuesos' favor, which was completely expected. Mouse had several blows to his face and body that hurt him but he could continue. Fang went to get up but Marcus sat him down with a simple gesture.

"Listen to me, kid, that animal always puts his weight on his right leg to hit, no matter how crazy they seem, he always does the same thing, kick that leg continuously when he gets close, that way you will have a chance"

Marcus didn't say anything else, he didn't give any other advice, he didn't even encourage Mouse, it really wasn't up to the champion if the kid survived or if he listened to him or not, he had only done it because he hated bullies, and perhaps because Mouse's talent had moved him, if only he had a stronger body he could have had the makings of a fighter.

The round began and Rompehuesos came out even angrier than before, at the first attack and when he had his right leg forward and all his weight on it to hit Mouse's kick hit him in the thigh, but that didn't stop the bully's attack.

Mouse managed to dodge the first blow, but he was unable to step back in time to avoid a blow to the stomach that nearly made him lose his breath. He took a step back to get out of the distance and delivered another kick to the right leg.

He stumbled backwards as Bonebreaker turned to continue punishing him, but the slippery Mouse was out of range. Bonebreaker's eyes were bloodshot, he would blow the brat's head off no matter what. He came forward again, with the same result, though this time Mouse kicked the inside of his thigh with his left leg, the bully's left jab skimming the weakling's head, even managing to hit Bonebreaker's ribs twice. But the boy's violence made him retreat back out of range.

But Bonebreaker didn't follow immediately this time, he stared at him hatefully for a few seconds, this time he came forward with his left leg, but his blows were slack and weak in comparison, and Mouse didn't miss the opportunity to counter with another body blow and another blow to Bonebreaker's jaw.

Marcus was delighted, that had been a nice uppercut, it didn't knock the other boy down, but in the surprise and the daze Mouse still had time to kick the back leg twice while he spun around the bully.

Bonebreaker went into a rage and threw himself headfirst at Mouse, but as soon as he put his leg down it hurt, it was numb, as soon as he saw the weakling's movement he stopped mid-attack, he didn't dare to get hit in the leg again.

Despite his size Mouse had fought many times with much bigger boys, he wasn't afraid, he just played his cards, now that he didn't have to run away he went on the attack, a series of blows to the body and head hit. They weren't powerful but they were fast. As soon as Bonebreaker tried to lean on his leg to counterattack Mouse kicked him.

Seconds passed, Bonebreaker's punches were no longer as effective, as he did not support his weight as he was used to, and he missed or, if he did hit, they had so little power that Mouse, who was a tough boy, could withstand them while he entered his fast guard, hitting and coming out to start the game again.

The round came to an end, the judges were talking amongst themselves, it was clear that Mouse had hit many more times. One of the judges, however, seemed to doubt, Bonebreaker's first blows had been harder, or so he claimed, it would not be strange if he had interests in the bets. After a few seconds, the majority prevailed and gave Mouse the round. Everything would be decided in the last round.

The champion came closer again, the boy had done well, much better than what could be expected from a weak pooper.

"Be careful this round, if you keep going like this, that idiot knows he will lose, he weighs more than you, he will try to knock you down, I would do that if I were in his situation..."

He didn't say anything else, he didn't give him advice on how to escape, he just warned him. But Mouse was already thinking the same thing that the champion was telling him when he began to see that the kicks were having an effect.

By the time the round resumed, and although he had recovered a little, Rompehuesos was still limping.