6

When Mouse entered the venue he was impressed, the venue was a large room, with up to three levels or heights that gave onto a central patio, in the basement where he entered there was a kind of large cage in the center with metal nets that closed it, it must have been about ten meters from one side to the other and had a geometric shape with up to eight sides.

The public, which were mostly adults, were on levels two and three, although it seemed that inside there were also some small stands, everyone was crowded around the railing trying to see what was happening on the lowest level where the fights would take place. On one side of the ring there was a table with several adults, and inside the octagon another man with a serious look. On the other side with drinks, and several waitresses, some better dressed adults, with a better appearance, without as much ugliness on their faces as on the upper floors were comfortably seated at tables.

Only a part of the spectators on the first floor had an angle to see the little Mouse, many murmurs came from that side of the enclosure.

Fang accompanied the child to the door of the cage, with a gesture he indicated that he should enter.

"Stay there until that man takes you down"

Mouse entered with his eyes open looking at the upper levels where comments about his size, his ears or his ugliness became noticeable. The man in the center of the cage took a paper that Fang hit him through the metal mesh of the cage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in this evening of wrestling and to whet your appetite we will have a fight between two poop cleaners, and now in the center of the Ring, the challenger, from sector Z34, the fighter Mouse!"

The public began to boo and complain about putting such a weak child in the center of the ring, among the "VIPs" laughter and ironic comments could be heard.

Mouse was taken out of the cage by the referee and brought to the table.

After a minute without speaking, a young adult came down with a piece of paper, which he passed to one of the men sitting there.

"Do you know the rules, boy?"

Mouse only dared to nod, he was not used to talking to adults.

"Right now the best have gone up, they are five to one against you, do you want to bet on yourself, boy?"

"Yes..."

The men looked at each other with compassion.

"How much do you want to bet?"

"Five hundred shillings..."

The men looked at each other, what hardships would a nine-year-old pooper have gone through to have that amount saved?

"Boy, are you sure? Look, this is no child's joke."

At that moment his rival had just arrived, Mouse looked at him from afar, he was taller than him although not as much as a torch, although he was broader in the shoulders, stronger in theory and with a brute face. However, Mouse could see the state of that boy, the skinny legs, the long but tired arms, and above all the swollen belly. Surely that boy would have gorged himself on food more than once with his winnings from the last fight.

"I'm sure, it's more like seven hundred shillings for me..."

The men at the table looked at each other, it was a high amount even for adults, but in the end they noted down the bet while the referee or speaker announced their contender.

"And from sector O03 our winner of the last evening, the indestructible Suckerbuckets"

The public responded enthusiastically, the boy had given a good show with a clear victory the night before. When Mouse heard the numbering of the other boy's sector, he was aware of how big the space station must really be.

Through the tunnels, the children could reach other sectors if they knew the way, but they did not normally do so because their cleaning sectors that popped up in the system in their heads always marked tunnels in the same area. No one among the poop cleaners was really aware of where they lived, their world was a series of tunnels full of shit that had to be cleaned on a regular basis.

Mouse climbed into the center of the ring, the referee looked at the two boys.

"I warn you, no biting, and if I give an order you follow it, or I will take out the baton"

The two boys looked at each other from both sides of the fighting area, the door of the cage closed, and the referee blew his whistle to start the fight. The boy called Suckerbuckets threw himself headfirst, charging with all the energy he could. Mouse barely dodged the arcing punch, that guy despite his impetus was not a rookie.

Being smaller, more agile and faster Mouse had no problems dodging Suckerbuckets' obvious attacks, but the problem was that he could not get close enough to hit him, his experience in fights and beatings made his opponent react every time he tried to advance.

The seconds ticked by with Suckerbuckets on the offensive and Mouse dodging without being able to land a punch, the crowd was starting to get impatient, and so was the other boy.

"Stop running away scum, accept your end"

Mouse didn't fall for the provocations, however when the other boy threw a clumsy straight kick leaving his entire right side exposed, the little Mouse tried to hit him, but it had only been a feint, with all his weight Suckerbuckets threw himself on top of him, he didn't knock him down with technique but with brute force.

Mouse's back clearly touched the ground and the referees raised a first sign, but while this was happening the boy's small body slipped under his opponent, escaping the disadvantageous situation. He managed to land a weak kick on Suckerbuckets' ass, gaining the distance again.

The crowd started to laugh, the scene of a bigger boy being trolled and kicked in the ass by a little guy, although it wasn't violent, was really comical. Before the other could get up and get his bearings, Mouse had already landed three quick punches to the other boy's kidneys.

There was less than a minute left in the round, however, as Suckerbuckets' gasps became more evident, Mouse was fresh. But he still had the same problem, he couldn't close the gap.

The dynamic started again with the bigger boy punching like crazy while Mouse moved around the ring, however a vicious punch to Suckerbuckets' stomach had to be blocked with both hands by Mouse. With his guard open, he couldn't even retreat before a direct punch hit him in the face, knocking him to the canvas.

The referee began to count, the punch had hurt, there were thirty-five seconds left in the round, it was the second time Mouse had fallen, if there was a third time he would lose. The blow had hurt him, but it was neither the first nor the last he would receive, he could have gotten up earlier, but he used up the seconds. The fewer opportunities Suckerbuckets had to knock him down again, the better.

But a fight is a two-person thing, and just as Mouse was thinking about using up the seconds to finish the Round, the other pooper saw that he had the third knockdown within his reach. He only had to put pressure on the dwarf in the seconds that remained of the round and make him fall again.

The rain of blows began, incessant and merciless, Mouse could not help but move back to avoid them, but in the end his back touched the metal fence, he tried to slip to one side, but a slap brought him back to the center. The continuous blows to the body, arms and head hurt, Mouse could only cover himself. A kick threw him back and stole his air, while a blow opened an ugly cut on his lip. Another blow, another one and Suckerbuckets didn't stop, but even though he was beaten, the dwarf didn't fall. Desperate, he gave him a blow from above, hitting him more with his arm than with his fist, but Mouse put one knee on the ground.

The public roared at the beating, he just had to fight him back, Suckerbuckets panted from exhaustion but raised his fist ready to finish off that skinny and slippery child. But at that moment, the referee declared the end of the first round.

There was no doubt that it was Suckerbuckets who had won. Fang looked sadly at his client. However, when he raised his head, he saw him smile. A malignant and determined smile.

It wasn't a question of unhealthy confidence, it was just a question of seeing how, despite who had won the Round, what the status of each one was, Mouse wasn't confident, he just knew that now he had his chance.