"Come on, Arthur, keep going! Keep attacking! You're showing full potential right now! Keep it up and victory will be yours!"
Sharkbite's shouts of encouragement echoed in the boxing gym as Arthur continued to punch swiftly and fiercely at him. Everytime the aardvark's sparring gloves connected with the rabbit's focus mitts, both boys could feel the intensity of each blow. This pleased Sharkbite immensely and Arthur had never felt so alive in all of his young life. Although it cost him a great amount of energy to endure the lesson- the sweat on his forehead and his loud panting made that clear to anyone who would notice it -, Arthur was hyper and displayed no sign of wanting to stop. Considering that he was a couple steps away from becoming a true boxer and that the tournament was three days away, the young aardvark was determined to make sure he was one hundred percent ready to fight his future opponents.
What delighted Sharkbite the most was how stunning Arthur's moves were. Even though he had full confidence in his little pupil, he was a bit anxious at first to enter an 8-year old in a boxing tournament, especially if he was to face other kids who were professionals. However, Sharkbite was right to dismiss his fears as soon as he saw how fast Arthur was able to learn the three main categories of boxing techniques: stances, punches, and defences. Not only that, the rabbit was astonished by how the aardvark would act during certain parts of the day's lesson. When Sharkbite was instructing him how to execute a new move perfectly, Arthur was quiet and his eyes followed his instructor's fists and arms, taking as many mental notes as possible so he knew exactly what to do in the ring. When he was ordered to duplicate each technique, it seemed that Arthur had built up a great quantity of energy and strength during the short lecture and he attacked like a savage but intelligent beast. What was even more remarkable was that Sharkbite would frequently change the position of his focus mitts and Arthur would hit the palm of the gloves without any difficulty. At that moment, it was clear to anyone watching that 8-year old Arthur Read, against all odds, had been molded into a tough, smart, and fearless boxer.
Off to the side where the heavy bags were, Austin and Kyle stood alongside one another and eyed Sharkbite and Arthur in disapprobation. Neither of the young muscular men could believe that a person Arthur's age could have gotten as far into his training as he did. At the same time, they disapproved everything that had happened so far; they hated how Sharkbite could bring a child under the age of ten into a boxing gym and teach him the hazardous sport; they were disgusted that Sharkbite only cared about the positives of training a kid how to fight and not the harmful effects that it would have on his mind; and above all else, they couldn't understand how Sharkbite could get away with all this. Austin and Kyle knew that the minimum age for someone to compete in boxing was eleven. Arthur was three years underage. They had heard from Derek that Sharkbite had entered Arthur in the tournament eight days ago and that they had set up a wager on the aardvark. It was unknown at the moment if Arthur would win or lose but, as they could see, he did not appear in the position to lose or back down.
Kyle turned his head away from the scene and said to Austin: "This is a tragedy waiting to happen, isn't it?"
Austin, who was still watching Arthur and Sharkbite, nodded. "That kid is gonna be torn limb from limb," he replied.
"Do you think Mark will realize his mistake before it's too late?" Kyle asked.
"I'm praying to God that he does," Austin responded. "Otherwise, Mark will be facing manslaughter charges."
"Will that be the case in court?"
"I'm not sure but, if I was Mark, I'd stop this whole fiasco and pull Arthur the hell out of the ring."
They then heard Sharkbite say, "Okay, Arthur, you can stop," and the punching ceased. Austin and Kyle gazed back at the boys in the boxing ring and saw Arthur hunched over as he quietly panted. Sharkbite handed him a towel and he said, "Nice job. Take five."
Arthur nodded and both he and Sharkbite left the boxing ring. Arthur crawled under the ropes to get out while Sharkbite climbed over the ropes. While the aardvark went to get a drink of water, the rabbit took off his focus mitts and placed them on a nearby stool. He then rubbed his hands in a towel so they wouldn't be too moist.
Austin and Kyle took the opportunity to confront Sharkbite and get him to see the error in his vision. They removed their bag gloves and marched towards the rabbit. Sharkbite noticed them approaching and stood up straight. "What overused complaint do you guys have now?" he inquired after emitting a grunt.
Kyle crossed his arms. "You really think you can get away with this, Fumbine?" he questioned angrily. "Do you honestly think that that little kid is going to get you anywhere?!"
"Would you relax?!" Sharkbite retorted. "You don't have to worry about him! I've got everything under control!"
"Bullshit!" Austin yelled. "You're literally throwing him off a cliff by teaching him how to box!"
Sharkbite quietly growled to himself. He then asked, "And your point is?"
"Our point is that kid could get himself killed!" Austin stated.
"No he won't," said Sharkbite. "Didn't either of you see him earlier? He was attacking me like a lion! He's learning faster than I thought he would!"
"That still doesn't mean he'll win the tournament!" Kyle argued.
"Of course he'll win, don't be an ass!" Sharkbite roared.
Austin and Kyle were ready to jump onto Sharkbite and knock him unconscious- they had already had enough of him refusing to listen to reason. Instead of allowing their feral emotions to control them, the dog and rat decided to carry on with fighting verbally.
After a quick deep breath, Austin calmly spoke to Sharkbite. "Look, Mark, Kyle and I know that you want to have a powerful boxer to show off to the world- we believe you also want a share of the money he'll make -, but for God's sake, please listen to us: there's a high chance that this won't work."
"You always say and think negatively," Sharkbite snorted. "Haven't you ever thought about the positives?"
"We've tried to come up with reasons why training a kid to box is a good thing," Kyle said. "Although it's good that the kid will know how to defend himself, sending him into a boxing ring to go up against others is a terrible idea."
Sharkbite snorted again.
"Seriously, Mark, Arthur could get killed out there," said Austin.
"Oh, stop exaggerating!" Sharkbite replied. "There's no way Arthur could wind up dead. He's a pro!"
At that moment, Arthur returned from the water fountain and joined the group.
"Well, he's good from what we saw earlier," Austin told Sharkbite; "but can he really prove it?"
"Of course I can!" Arthur said. "No matter who it is, I'll never back down!"
Sharkbite smirked at Austin and Kyle, who glanced at each other and then back to him and Arthur. "Alright, Mark," Kyle said to Sharkbite; "if you and your little fighter want to prove a point, you're gonna need someone to go against him."
Sharkbite nodded as his grin expanded. He narrowed his eyes as he stared directly at Austin and Kyle with a sinister smile.
The dog and rat instantly knew what insane idea the rabbit had come up with. "You madman!" Kyle yelled at Sharkbite. "There is no way in hell that Austin or I would ever fight against a kid!"
"Oh, come on, guys, it won't be so bad," Sharkbite replied coolly. "Like I said, Arthur here is fantastic, and I promise he'll go easy on you."
"Intimidation won't work on us!" Kyle snarled. "You know that, don't you?!"
"Are either of you gonna fight Arthur or what?!" Sharkbite demanded.
At last, Austin lost full control of his temper. He took one step towards Sharkbite and pounded one fist against his chest. Sharkbite staggered back and his back collided into the side of the boxing ring. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" Austin shouted at the top of his voice.
As Austin stood over the rabbit with an incensed look on his face, Sharkbite slowly stepped towards him. In spite of him being harshly pushed away by means of a punch, the rabbit's mouth was still curled into a smile and his eyes still held the same menacing glare a villain would give to a hero. Austin and Kyle, even when they continued to return the glare, grew more afraid by the second, the level of fear gradually increasing and it caused their tenacious stare to lessen with each passing second.
Sharkbite stared directly at Austin and said in a malevolent voice: "You seem very angry, Austin; almost like you want to kill me. I think we can make this work."
Despite the vexation he felt because of the rabbit's pestering, Austin quickly comprehended what Sharkbite was referring to. "You're not thinking what I think you're think, are you?!" he asked angrily and hastily.
"Oh, I am," Sharkbite replied.
"Forget it, Mark, I am not fighting a little kid!" Austin yelled, shaking his head violently.
"Oh, yes you are!" Sharkbite shouted in a voice both enthusiastic and maniacal. He spun his head to the aardvark. "Arthur, get in the ring!" he ordered.
"You got it, Sharkbite!" Arthur replied.
Arthur ecstatically made his way back into the boxing ring and Sharkbite closely followed him. Austin went in the opposite direction to fetch a pair of sparring gloves for himself. Just like Sharkbite with Arthur, Kyle accompanied his friend after finding a clean mouth-guard for him to use.
"Mark has finally gone off the deep end!" Austin quietly growled to Kyle as he slid on the sparring gloves he found. "His time in the joint will be a simulation of his afterlife in Hell!"
"Take it easy, Austin," Kyle said. "There's still a good chance that we can still get Mark to see reality. All you got to do is knock Arthur down a few times until he gives up and-"
"Kyle, are you nuts?!" Austin inquired through clenched teeth. "Fighting Arthur is what Mark wants! He wants to prove that he is a good boxer!"
"I know," Kyle responded; "but still, we must show Mark that his vision of the future is wrong."
Austin growled and thought for a moment. He was aware that Kyle was on his side of the argument about Arthur being trained to fight other kids and that they would stop at nothing until they fully got their point across to Sharkbite. Austin never imagined that it would mean he would have to fight the 8-year old aardvark the rabbit was training. As he had stated a few seconds ago, that was what Sharkbite wanted him to do. He couldn't comprehend why the rabbit would want this. The idea of a teenager fighting against a child who was more than five years younger than him was entirely fiendish, and Austin and Kyle were absolutely not oblivious to the opinion- they openly and passionately opposed Sharkbite's plan to get rich by using an 8-year old who was willing to get himself hurt, the thought itself was both uncanny and concerning for there would never be a child that age who would like the notion of gaining wealth and fame by boxing. But somehow, Arthur was that particular child, and it was made the objective of Austin and Kyle to stop him before it was too late. In order to do so however, the aardvark's beliefs and emotions towards his instructor's vision of the future had to be degraded by all means.
Austin sighed and looked back up at Kyle. "You're right," he said. "We have to stop Mark and Arthur before the worst happens to them, but I don't like the idea of fighting against Arthur."
"Look, I don't want to fight him either," Kyle told his friend; "but one of us has to do it to show Mark he's wrong, and he chose you."
Austin gave Kyle a look of severe disfavor. The rat acknowledged the dog's objection but said to him: "You don't have to be so harsh on Arthur. All you have to do is be a little bit more stronger than him. It should be completely easy, so there's no need to worry."
"I still don't like having to do this," Austin replied.
"Let's just stop Mark as soon as we can," Kyle said before gently ushering Austin to the boxing ring.
Austin popped the mouth-guard into his mouth and slid himself under the ropes while Kyle stood on the steps that elevated him so he would be on level with the platform. Arthur, who wasn't wearing his glasses, and Sharkbite were on the opposite side of the ring, patiently waiting for the dog and rat to arrive. As soon as Austin stood up on his own two feet, he and Arthur approached each other and stopped when they were at a distance of two feet. Sharkbite still had on an ominous smirk which unnerved Kyle. Austin did his best not to notice, but he did and was just as agitated as his friend.
"Alright," Sharkbite said loudly; "are we ready to begin?"
Arthur and Austin replied by nodding.
"Remember, guys," Kyle told the dog and aardvark; "this is going to be a clean fight! That means there will be no headbutting, no spitting, no biting, no kicking, and no hitting below the belt! I'm hoping that you'll remember that, Arthur!"
"Don't test him, Kyle!" Sharkbite snapped. "He knows what he can and can't do in the ring!"
"We'll see about that," Kyle responded. "We'll see just how good your little-"
"SHUT UP!" Sharkbite roared. "LET'S GET IT ON!"
Austin and Arthur steadily raised their glove-covered fists up to their chests and sharply gazed at one another, awaiting for the first boxer to strike and to ignite the fight. Both boys knew that no matter what, they had to keep an eye on the opposing boxer. If either of them looked away for even half a second, it would give their opponent the opportunity to deliver a fierce blow to the side of their face. They were on full alert, but both competitors were becoming immensely impatient.
Sharkbite, who was now as irritated as Arthur and Austin, finally snapped. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" he yelled. "FIGHT!"
Arthur instantly complied and his fist struck Austin below the left side of his ribcage. Austin staggered back and emitted a groan which sounded more like a vicious growl. This forced him to attack the aardvark with a jab, but Arthur managed to block the blow with his arm.
For the next three minutes, Arthur and Austin were locked in a fierce battle. Both boxers did not stop fighting as they knew that it was over until one of them was on the ground and the other was standing in victory. Austin and Kyle were sure that it would be easy only because of the size difference between Austin and Arthur; they thought that they would be successful in showing Sharkbite that it would impossible for Arthur to fight against other boxers. Instead, Austin found himself in a strenuous fight with his 8-year old competitor and he, the taller and stronger fighter, was losing.
From his position on the bottom left corner of the ring, Kyle watched as Austin was ferociously pounded over and over again by a savage Arthur. The rat was horrified at the sight. It wasn't that his friend was getting beaten up by a kid; the reason for Kyle's shock was the realization that Sharkbite had completely transformed a young, good-natured boy into an uncaring, violent boxer. He and Austin wanted so much to avoid this, but now that Arthur was battering Austin with the force of a heartless brute, Kyle sensed utter failure within him.
Sharkbite watched the fight with great satisfaction. The long week of exercise and lectures had finally paid off. It was incredible that Arthur was able to learn everything about boxing without any trouble, and now that his little pupil was demonstrating how intelligent, swift, and unconquerable he had become over the course of his training, Sharkbite couldn't be more prouder in his life than all of the wonderful events that occurred in the space of seventeen years. Seeing Arthur take on Austin both professionally and passionately gave him the amount of pleasure as he would if he became the King of the World. It was the level of happiness every man, woman, and child wished they could achieve at least once and cherish it forever.
In the final moment, Austin managed to knock Arthur onto the floor and he did all he could to pin the aardvark down and end the fight. He was almost successful but Arthur delivered the final blow straight into the center of Austin's chest. The dog clutched his chest and fell to his left; then he flopped onto his back and spat out his mouthguard to gasp for air. Sharkbite slowly counted to ten. When Austin failed to get back up, the brutal fight was over. Arthur had won.
Kyle rushed to his friend while Sharkbite walked coolly to Arthur with a towel in one hand and his glasses in the other. "Well done, Arthur," Sharkbite said with pride, handing Arthur the towel. "You proved to me and these goofballs that you have all it takes to be one of the best boxers in the world."
Arthur took out his mouthguard and replied, "I always knew I could from the start. I've never felt so great in my life!"
"And not a scratch on you," Sharkbite remarked as he surveyed Arthur's face, clean of any bruise or swelling. "That's really impressive."
"You can say that again," Arthur said as he rubbed the towel against his forehead. "I never knew I had it in me until I started boxing."
"Totally true," Sharkbite replied. He gave Arthur his glasses and then turned to Austin and Kyle. Austin moaned as Kyle wiped the sweat and blood off of his face for him as he was immensely weak from the fight. "So, what do you bitches have to say for yourselves, huh?" Sharkbite asked smugly.
Kyle looked up at Sharkbite with abhorrence in his eyes. He was just about ready to murder the rabbit right there and then. Despite his urge to fulfill his great desire, Austin spoke up before he could act. "What can I even say?!" the dog growled. "Can't you see what you've done?!"
"I've done nothing wrong," Sharkbite responded. "If there was anyone who did something wrong, it would be you and Kyle who talked trash about Arthur."
"That's the point!" Austin snapped. "You turned Arthur into a monster and you don't seem to care about it!"
Sharkbite only rolled his eyes.
"You just don't care, do you, Mark?!" Kyle snarled. "Haven't you given a second thought about how this could affect him in the future?! Well, do you?!"
"Sharkbite's done nothing wrong to me!" Arthur said in his instructor's defense. "He's helping me make a new name for myself! I'm gonna start life in a new direction, and no one's going to stop me or Sharkbite!"
"You shouldn't be around this guy, Arthur!" Kyle yelled. "He's sending you the wrong message! You may think that fighting is going to give you fame and fortune, but it won't! Just think about what your friends will think! More importantly, what will your parents say!"
Arthur's fists and teeth clenched tightly, trying to keep the rage back. When he was able to reduce the anger inside him, the aardvark growled, "I don't need them to boss me around!"
"They won't boss you around!" Kyle stated sternly. "They care about you! All of them!"
"I have no one to care about!" Arthur snapped, stepping toward Austin and Kyle. "Everyone in my life hates me! Weeks ago, my sister broke my model airplane and she blamed me for it! What I did was right but they all took her side! Sharkbite gave me a chance to put it all in the past and that's the solution I'm going for!"
Kyle wanted to continue the argument, but Arthur's statement about why he was listening to Sharkbite forced him into silence. The recognition of complete failure dominated his belief that he and Austin could help Arthur realize that boxing was not the best thing to do in life, and now, it was evident that there was nothing else he or his defeated friend could do to stop him from entering the boxing tournament.
"Listen to yourself, kid," Austin said quietly and sternly, staring directly at Arthur. "You just told us that you're willing to get yourself killed. You're only thinking about yourself! You're asking for-"
Austin couldn't finish. Sharkbite stepped forward and brutally slapped the dog. "You just keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you!" he spat. "Words are more effective than punches, so if you have nothing good to say, you will stay quiet unless you want your ass kicked a second time!"
Austin and Kyle did not utter a single word. Instead, Kyle helped his battered pal up and they exited the ring. Sharkbite, satisfied that the fighting was over, motioned for Arthur to follow him out of the ring and up the stairs. Arthur obeyed after removing his sparring gloves.
Once they were fully changed and out of the locker room, Arthur and Sharkbite departed from the boxing gym and headed home. No words were spoken to Derek as he was busy on the phone, but they joke to each other outside that the bear was gazing through a pornographic magazine while he was speaking to the person on the other end. "He really needs to stop looking at photos of undressed women," Sharkbite said. "And that's something you need to remember in your later years, Arthur: a dirty mind will lead you down the wrong path."
Arthur nodded and parted ways from Sharkbite. Once he was home, he would take a much-needed shower and get an immediate start on his homework. He was going to make sure that no one- not his parents or his friends -would stand in his way of becoming the best boxer in the state, if not the entire world, and, if it was necessary, he would use the new techniques he learned from Sharkbite to put them in their proper place.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would like to acknowledge something as I end this chapter. There were two comments I received from the same person (whose name I shall not mention) who stated that the way I characterized Arthur was a "huge mistake". I want to make it clear that this story was created to display the negative effect of violence on children, as is seen with Arthur agreeing to go through boxing lessons with someone he barely knows. I understand that sometimes a fanfic author would do some things that fans would passionately disapprove of, but this is a story where certain elements of a character have to be changed, whether slightly or majorly, for the point the author's trying to prove. Please understand that the purpose of my story is to provide a valid lesson on using violence against others; and, most importantly, I would like the person to know that the best way to release their feelings through the Internet is to think before typing. I won't say much since I found out who they were, but I will say that it's important to learn from their mistakes.