Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At the signal, Magnus dashed at Ben with the same speed he used against Jack. He closed the distance between the two in moments and swung his fist, aiming at Ben's face, but the brunet dodged at the last moment and countered with a hook, but Magnus blocked it with his forearm.

The two clashed glares as both applied strengths trying to get an upper hand on the other, causing Ben to grunt slightly as he could feel Magnus slowly gaining footing and also did Magnus making him smirk but it was short-lived as Ben landed a hard kick on his midsection making him lose focus.

Ben took this chance and grabbed Magnus's wrist and tried to do the same he did to Martin, but Magnus's arm wouldn't budge before Ben could change tactics Magnus took the chance to hit Ben's heel with enough to make him fall but also let go of Magnus's arm.

He tried to stomp on Ben's stomach, but the brunet rolled out of the way and got up looking at Magnus.

"What? Did you expect the fight to be easy?" Magnus asked, dropping his stance and smirking slightly at Ben, who replied with silence, not bothered to reply to dark hair.

"What don't you have a comeback? Are you just able to speak when those other two losers are next to you?" he asked, still getting silence as a reply.

Magnus tsked and went straight towards Ben, who returned to his stance.

When he reached Ben, Magnus went to deliver a right hook, but to his surprise, Ben blocked it with his forearm.

Before he could change his tactic, Ben delivered a hard haymaker on Magnus's jaw, sending a slight sting through the boy's mouth enough to distract him and then another one, this time sending him backwards.

Ben went on a full offensive tirade by delivering strikes after strikes with all he got some landing and others missing.

Magnus grunted as he dodged one of the many attacks, and tried to counter with a hook of his own only for Ben to duck and uppercut him with enough force to give an opening that Ben used by kick stomping Magnus's chest sending him to the ground.

Ben was quick to get on top of Magnus and delivered a punch strong enough to make a loud crunch when it connected, sending his head knocking against the ground.

He tightened his fists as he went on unloading strike after strike, causing his gloves to tear and leave a few bruises on Magnus's face.

He was so focused on unloading strike after strike; he didn't see the heavy right hook from Magnus that packed enough force to make Ben fall off him.

"Shit!" Ben thought as he felt a burning and stinging sensation on his cheek. Touching it, he came into contact with blood. "The hell, my punches barely grazed him," he thought, but he had little time to think as he quickly had to roll once again to avoid being stomped by Magnus.

"Those hits weren't surprising, but what should I expect?" Magnus asked, rubbing his jaw slightly. "I should probably finish this off quickly. I don't want to go home late just because of you," he said as he took off his gloves.

Magnus looked at his hands as white bone fragments started coating his hands and arms, completely casing them in a bone-like cast.

"Still think you can win?" he asked as several fragments started growing on his forehead, chin, and cheek and joined into the form of head protection gear.

Ben cleaned the blood from his cheek and got back into a fight stance, only making Magnus chuckle.

"And I thought you were smart," he said cracking the ground as he dashed towards Ben, at a speed that give near no time for Ben to counter with his forearm but he quickly regrets it as pain surged through Ben's entire arm as he could feel something cracking from the attack.

"Grud!" he thought, trying to back away, but Magnus cut those plans by throwing another punch, this time hitting Ben's chest, sending him further back.

Magnus charged by striking Ben's face with another haymaker, causing a loud crunch sending Ben to the ground.

He quickly got on top of Ben and started delivering strike after strikes while Ben covered his face, blocking as many as he could, but it only made his forearms get bruised and riddled with gashes as each strike weaken his defense.

Ben kept his defense, trying to protect his face, but eventually, Magnus broke it and delivered a powerful punch, making a light gash on Ben's forehead.

"I was merciful to you, freak, but no. You only want the hard way," he said, grabbing Ben by his shirt and delivered another punch, busting Ben's lips.

"Shit, I have to think of something," Ben grunted as he tried to come up with a plan, as Magnus delivered another punch, this time making Ben's vision blurry.

"You are nothing but a goddamn waste of space!" Magnus barked at his face and delivered another heavy strike, making Ben world spin.

"So much for you being a challenge you should've given up, or better yet, just off yourself," he muttered, about to land another strike but he was surprised with Ben headbutting his chin with enough force causing a slight crack and send Magnus off of him.

Ben grunted as he turned on his stomach and flinched slightly as he could feel his head throbbing slightly. "Not my best idea," he thought, as he felt some blood go down his face making him grunt slightly as he slowly started getting up.

"Hell, my jaw is killing me," Magnus thought as forcefully snapped his jaw straight and the cracks on his jaw disappeared and he got up at the same time as Ben, but before he could react to the attack, Ben went on the offensive by delivering a punch hard on Magnus's face with enough force to send him stumbling back.

"The hell," he thought, trying to regain his footing only for Ben to deliver a powerful right hook, causing Ben's finger to crack but also did the protection, but only slightly.

Magnus grunted as he tried to counter with his own punch, but Ben moved out of the way to strike him in the gut with enough force to knock out the wind and send Magnus skidding back.

"Okay, what the fuck!?" he thought, coughing slightly as he looked at Ben, who looked at him with a glare.

"You really talk too much," he said, spitting some blood on the ground.

"I'm tired of hearing your delusions of superiority because you think your powers make you better than me," he said, clenching his fists. "We both know who's the inferior person between us, and it isn't me."

"Try repeating that after I break your jaw!" Magnus yelled and dashed at Ben with pure malicious intent. He tried to strike Ben with a hook, but his opponent was faster in his dodge.

They were in a match. As with each attack Magnus delivered, Ben dodged or blocked the attacks as the longer this went on, the more Magnus felt his anger and hatred towards the brunet grow. Both participants were pushing themselves to their limit as one tried to land a possible decisive blow, while the other kept his distance to find an opening.

"He can't be able to match me! I'm far way better than he'll ever be!" Magnus thought as he tried to elbow Ben in the face, but he dodged and, taking his chance, punched Magnus's elbow, causing slight cracks on the cast protecting him.

"Stay the hell still!" he yelled, trying to hit Ben away, but like before, he dodged and jumped back, giving some space between them.

Magnus was breathing heavily and glaring at Ben while the brunet was in the same situation keeping pace with Magnus and continually changing from defense to attack was also taking a toll on his body.

"Damn it, didn't think fighting him would be like this," he thought as he flinched with a slight tsk, as the moment of rest allowed him to register the enormous pain coming from both his arms.

"Damn it, I'm surprised I can still move them," he thought. "I just have to push through; I just have to handle it for some more time," he thought, clenching his fists, causing even more pain to go through his body.

Magnus, meanwhile, was mostly angry, and the source of his rage was looking at him with a look that only made his blood boil.

"He's looking at me like if we were equals," he tightens his fists. The fact he could match him in speed, block his attacks and cause cracks in his armor were all factors adding to the growth of his hatred.

Both Ben and Magnus got back, standing up straight and keeping their eyes on each other, and with that, they once again went back to trading hits.

Ben grunted as he kept on the defensive, this time avoiding blocking as many attacks as he could, something that Magnus noticed and tried to take advantage of.

Magnus failed another attempt to strike Ben, attempting to capitalize on it trying to land a punch on Magnus's face with landed but it backfired quickly as Magnus head-butted Ben's hand instantly breaking it sending shock waves of pain into Ben making the teen yell in pain.

Smirking wickedly, Magnus took advantage by grabbing Ben's arm and punching the elbow joint making Ben's cries of pain even louder making Magnus's smirk turn into a full grin.

He was about to twist Ben's arm but the brunet counter by stomping on Magnus's knee as hard as he could, making a loud snap, as Ben broke through it with little resistance making Magnus let out his own yell of pain.

He tried to use Ben to keep his balance but the brunet wouldn't have it, and delivered another stomp kick on Magnus's gut, sending the teen back falling on his back while Ben backed away cradling his broken arm.

"Shit," he hissed, cradling his arm and flinching as even the slightest movement sent waves of pain. "This is far worse than the last time," he gritted his teeth as he could feel the adrenaline pumping into his veins, lessening the pain slightly and making him stand up. "I just have to finish this, quick…"

Taking a deep breath, Ben gritted his teeth as he forced moving his arm, causing horrible pain through his body and it only got worse when he tried to make a fist as best as he could with a broken hand.

"Motherfucker!" Magnus yelled as he cradled his broken knee. The pain was already unbearable, but getting it healed only made it worse. "I'm almost out of calcium, again," he thought as his knee snapped back in place, but the pain was still there.

Even moving it was shooting pain through his entire body. "Those supplements were worthless," he thought, dropping most of the remaining calcium to strengthen his knee.

He grunted as he stood up, looking at Ben with hate written all over his glare. "By far, you've been my most annoying opponent."

Ben gave him a bloody smile. "That's good to hear. You've been the biggest and worse dickhead I've ever fought."

"I need to finish this before he lands me with another kick like that," Magnus thought, grunting as he dashed at Ben, who did the same.

Ben backed his right fist, making Magnus do the same, and when close enough, Magnus threw his fist first but Ben didn't, instead, he dodge by sidestepping to Magnus's right and stomped kicked Magnus's knee once again.

"Fuck!" The pain went through Magnus's entire body enough to make the teen stumble but avoid falling by using his hand to avoid him from kissing the ground.

"You damn!…" he started, but was interrupted by Ben stomp kicking his face, shattering the protective gear, and breaking the teen's nose. Sending the teen skidding back, giving a suitable distance between the two.

"That worked better, than I thought," Ben thought, grunting slightly after as the adrenaline started leaving his body causing the full effect of the last few minutes to hit him all at once making him fall to his knees and having to use both arms to keep himself from falling.

He panted heavily, looking at his hands. His right was in such poor condition that moving a single inch made him flinch, while his left arm was in a far better condition.

"Never thought I would be in this kind of situation," he spat some blood on the ground. "How didn't I lose a tooth by now?" he thought as the copper taste in his mouth was annoying him.

Magnus groaned loudly as his head was throbbing in pain and spun. "That bastard," he thought, as he caressed it but soon cursed when he felt blood on his hand coming from the wound on his forehead.

"That freak, he is humiliating me," Magnus thought as he forced himself to snap his nose back in place.

He grunted loudly, as he got up but quickly regret as the spinning only got worse. "Yup, I probably have a concussion," he thought, looking at his opponent, who was slowly getting up. "Ah, for fuck's sake, just stay down!" he yelled.

"Sorry, I can't really do that now," Ben said, standing up but stumbling slightly before he could regain his footing. "You can give up and end this for both of us?" Ben suggested, making Magnus's head hurt even more.

It took a few seconds for his world to lessen the spin, but he took a deep breath, narrowing his eyes on Ben.

"I will not lose to a freak like you!" Magnus bellowed and ran towards Ben with the full intent of ending the fight with a fist tighten.

While Ben did the same, tightening his fist, making him flinch slightly as more stings ran through his body. "Too bad," he muttered as Magnus got closer and aimed to strike his face.

Magnus threw his punch, expecting to hit his opponent and win, but that reality came crashing down as Ben avoided the attack, leaving a large opening for him.

"I'm too far to lose now," was the last thing Magnus heard before his world went dark.

Ben slammed his fist with the rest of the strength he had, sending Magnus skidding to his right.

He stumbled forward, almost falling, but regained his footing. "This was too much," he thought as Simon checked on Magnus.

Simon used the cameras once again to check and after 5 seconds of waiting for Magnus to give any sign that he was still conscious or might get up.

"Win by knock out. The winner of the fight and Winner of WHS's 31st Iron Will tournament Ben Minogashita!" he announced as sirens went off as the crowd barely reacted with only a few cheering or clapping.

"Finally," Ben muttered, falling forward as his body give out. "I'm finally done with this," he mussed before his own world went dark.

"FUCK YEAH, I TOLD YOU HE WOULD WIN!" Maya screamed into Caroline's face with a large enough smile. It would probably split her face while Caroline had a smaller one that she couldn't hide.

"In such a turn of event, Ben Minogashita defeated the two-time winner in a fight neither of them wanted to give up. This wasn't as flashy as against Sharp but for sure an amazing fight on the behalf of both." Caroline said while Maya was still celebrating.

"Thank you for coming and watching. This has been Caroline Baker and Madeline Reyna as your announcer and co-announcer," she said, turning off their mics.

She let out a heavy sigh. "Thank goodness. I didn't think that Ben would be resilient," she said with a smile. "But I'm glad he won."

"I told you he would beat that overconfident prick," Maya said, still with a smile. "Come on, we have to find Martin and Jack. We have to pick somewhere to go before Ben wakes up," she said, already leaving the blonde behind.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Martin yelled as he looked smugly at Magnus's friends, who looked shocked at the results.

"And you were saying?" Jack questioned, glancing at the two. "What do your odds say now?" he got up as did Martin. "Now, if you excuse us, we have to find the others and go celebrate. Good luck in telling Magnus he lost to Ben."

"Oh, and by the way, hope you don't miss the money you betted on Bonehead," Martin chuckled as he and Jack left the booth, heading off to find their other two friends.

Ken rubbed his eyes. "Hell, he won't be happy… He'll probably invent a new level of pissed," he said with a heavy sigh.

"Understatement of the year," Fred grumbled as he got up. "We should probably get him something for him to unload his rage on?" he suggested, getting a nod from Ken.

"I'm just glad he doesn't have explosions powers or something like that," Ken muttered.

"Jerry's Pizza Plaza!" Caroline yelled at Martin, who tsked and shook his head.

"No, Burger Town! You only want to go to that place because of the spicy food," Martin snapped back, making her pout.

"And? I, Maya, and Ben love spicy food. How are you even afraid of it?!" she shouted, making Martin look offended. Meanwhile, Maya was rubbing her temple while muttering something.

"Remember, they are your friends, they are your friends," she kept muttering under her breath while Jack seemed unphased by the constant shouting between the two.

The four were sat in the nearly empty stand seats, as Caroline and Martin argued, getting the attention of a few students still there.

"Can we just vote? And stop screaming like chickens?!" Maya snapped at the two, who looked at her and nodded. "I also prefer Jerry's pizza," she said, making Martin groan.

"I hate you two so much," he muttered as he looked at Jack, who was sitting next to Maya. "Mind asking Jack his opinion?"

"Sure," she said, elbowing him, getting his attention.

"You could've called me some other way," Jack complained as he took off his earplug, making Maya look at them.

"You had those this whole time?"

"Yeah, they aren't only useful to ignore Magnus's tirades, but also whenever Martin gets in a shouting match with Carry, over there."

He said, making Caroline puff her cheek while Maya groaned. "I would throw you from here, but you have a good point," she muttered.

"Anyway, what was the argument this time?"

"A vote between Burger Town and Jerry's Pizza Plaza," Maya explained, making Jack shrug.

"I'm in the mood for some pizza, so Jerry's it is," Jack answered, making Martin look at him with narrowed eyes.

"Traitor," he muttered, crossing his arms while Caroline smiled at her victory.

Jack was about to reply, but he stopped hearing his name being called. He looked at the source to see some of his classmates. "Hey there guys, thought you would be gone by now ."

"Actually, we were about to leave. Saw you here and wanted to give a quick hi to the class rep," one of them said, making Jack chuckle slightly. "Especially after that fight, you had with Magnus. Sucks that you didn't win."

"Ah, thanks, and not an issue. I can't win them all, I guess."

"Yeah, but seriously compared to your match, the final was a bust man. Don't know how that guy beat you if Minogashita beat him," said another one, making Jack sigh slightly.

"Guess it was just a matching issue or something," Jack said. "But that's not something that's going to keep me down."

"Well, that's good, cause the final seemed kind of rigged," another one said, catching the attention of the trio and especially of Maya.

"Yeah, and that's your cue for you to leave," Jack said. "I know that the last match wasn't flashy, but dude calling it rigged? That's some shit that Magnus would say," he added, making them back away slightly.

"Geez, sorry," the guy said, as he and his classmates walked away, making Jack sigh once again, leaning in his seat. "Guess this was bound to happen?"

"Pretty much," Caroline answered. "And it will probably get worse on Monday."

"What are the chances of this getting outside of the school and into the news?"

"high, if I were to guess, it will probably rupture on Tuesday," Caroline said rubbing her temple. "And by how people reacted here, it will not be pretty."

"You guys are being such downers, don't you think things might go better than we expect," Martin said for once, not in his usual joyful tone. "I hate to say it, but maybe this time because of Ben's parents. People won't react like that."

"That's wishful thinking, Martin," Maya said, crossing her arms. "If that was the case, Magnus would be scared shitless to just breath the wrong way near Ben. And with how they are, they probably won't even care."

"So it's going to be the same as our first year?" Caroline asked.

"Possibly worse, but who knows, maybe Martin is right and I'm just being pessimistic?" she said. "Maybe even if it happens, Ben won't get bothered by it now."

"And if he does?"

"There's where we come in," Jack said getting up and grabbing his backpack. "I just hope it won't be a too serious case," he said making Maya chuckle.

"I think you forgot who we are talking about," Maya joked, getting up as the other two followed. "So do you think, he woke up by now?"

"Possibly, let's see. Maybe he's already dressed up and waiting for us," Jack commented as they started walking towards the infirmary.

"Finally, this is over," Ben thought as he finished getting dressed in his tracksuit but flinching slightly. "I should really take it easy," he thought as he grabbed his backpack, but before he could strap it on, he heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened as Simon walked in with a wave. "First thing to tell you is that I told you so," he said with a smile closing the door. "It wasn't as flashy as the others but you did it," he said making Ben smile slightly.

"I just wish it wasn't that hard just to finish this thing," the brunet said strapping his bag on his back.

Simon chuckled slightly as he pulled a case from his coat. It held two medals one being gold and the other silver. "I know, but either way. You should be proud of your victory," he said opening the case.

Ben looked at the medal with a slight smile as he grabbed it from the case. He admired the gold medal as tears started forming on the edge of his eyes. "Thank you," he muttered looking at Simon. "Honestly thanks for the outside training you helped me with."

"No worries kid, I'm your teacher, and It's my job to help the future generation as best as I can," he said making Ben rub the tears away and nod slightly.

"But still thanks," Ben said, getting a nod from the older man.

"You're welcome. Now go ahead and celebrate with your friends," the man said leaving the room.

Ben smiled and sniffled slightly. "I can't believe, I actually won… They are going to be so proud of me," he thought as he looked at the medal showing a reflection of himself.

He pocketed the medal in his backpack and headed to the exit.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw his friends waiting for him all with ear-to-ear grins making Ben unconsciously match them.

"I guess you were waiting for me?" he asked.

"Nope, we just wanted to see if you cried when you got your medal," Martin said, going beside him and pulling him into a one-arm hug causing Ben to flinch. "Ah, sorry about that," he said backing away from the brunet.

"It's alright," Ben said, rubbing his shoulder slightly. "I'm just sore," he added giving him a grin. "I guess, you are going to tell me that you told me so?"

"Well, I told you that you were going to win," he said making Ben chuckle slightly.

"I tore up a bit, but that's it," he answered as he looked at the other. "And yeah, you did. Well, all of you did actually," he said with a sigh.

"You guys believed in me while I thought I was going to fail horribly. Thanks, guys, it really meant a lot of all of your support."

"Nothing to thank us for, Ben. We are ourselves worse critics most of the time. And besides, what are friends for? It's not just to share the fun."

"But I kept repeating over and over about it."

"Yeah, it got repetitive but we understand where you are coming from, and besides we all have our own repetitive habits," Martin said, glancing at Caroline, who whistling innocently.

"It was worth it. You did what we all wanted to happen, knocking out that bonehead. He probably gonna wake up extremely pissed," Martin chuckled. "I would pay to see his reaction."

"Okay enough of you two, I wanna hear what Ben's "best friend" has to say," Caroline interjected with a smile, making Maya look at her slightly annoyed.

"Oops, sorry. We almost forgot, we don't want to interrupt the two," Martin said. "Here's all yours."

"Gee thanks Fire breath," Maya said, looking at Ben. "If those two don't throw a parade for you, I'm going to paint bomb their garden again,"

"Just avoid the roses this time. Last time, my mom went ballistic over them."

"I can't and won't promise anything," Maya said. "We should probably get going. I already booked Jerry's Pizza Plaza for us while you were out."

"Good, I'm hungry," Ben said as they started walking. "And who's going to pay for it?" he asked, making Maya laugh wickedly.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I got it all covered," she answered. "Let's just worry how many boxes we are going to eat!" she shouted, getting cheers from the group, minus Jack, who only sighed heavily.

"Why am I friends with such loud people?" he muttered to himself as they went to the exit.

"I lost to him." that was the thought echoing through Magnus's head as he stared at the ceiling. "I lost to that freak," he replayed in the fight in his head, especially those last moments where he thought he had the victory only for it to be stolen from.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't reply to the knock on the door.

"No way in hell, I lost to him," he thought, tightening his fists. "I couldn't have lost to him. He is a powerless, weak breed different from me," he thought, sitting up as the door opened.

"Oh, you are awake. How are you feeling?" Simon asked, getting the teen's attention as he walked in the room while Magnus took a deep breath.

"I lost. How do you think I feel?" he said, making Simon frown slightly. "If it was with Jack, I would at least accept it, but I lost to him. I lost to that…" Magnus cut himself off before he called Ben that.

"That what?" Simon asked with the frown still on. "Ozzein, I hope you weren't about to call your schoolmate by a slur?" he questioned, making Magnus internally curse.

"I wasn't," he said. "You know, I'm not the kind to use slurs to make someone feel inferior."

"I see, then the complaints from other students that you've not only called Minogashita by a slur, but you also that you've been causing conflicts with others without provocation on their behalf."

Magnus tightened his fists tighter. "Those are lies. I'll admit that I get angry easily, but I haven't done something that extreme."

"Then the times you've attacked or tried to cause conflict with Minogashita and others are lies, too?"

The teen stayed silent and closed his eyes unsure, what to say that could convince his teacher.

"Ozzein, you might have a lot of potential but this behavior is not hero-like, and will not be tolerated here. I'll have to call your parents and tell them about this behavior," he said, making him widen his eyes.

"Please don't, anything but that," he begged, looking at the man who looked surprised at the teen's reaction. "I know that. I've done shitty things, but please don't tell my parents about this. I'll do anything!"

Simon frowned slightly and contemplated that idea, but ended up shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Ozzein, but your behavior is something that worries me," he said as Magnus slumped his shoulder, looking down.

The older man sighed slightly and placed a hand on Magnus's shoulder. "Ozzein, you are a bright kid who could be something great but you have to understand and have some sympathy and empathy with others if you want to stay alive and liked in this career," he said but the teen didn't reply.

He placed the case on Magnus's lap. "You have the makings of a great hero, but you have to change that behavior," he said, getting up and leaving the teen alone.

Magnus looked at the medal in the case. He tightened his fists. He hated the medal, the same color as the one yesterday, silver. Second place. The medal for the first loser.

He grabbed the medal and started tightening his grip on it. "I couldn't have lost to a fucking Geneless freak like him!" he threw it against the wall, making a clinking sound to fill the dead silent room.

Magnus got up from his bed and got dressed. "This won't end like this; I didn't train and study my ass off to lose to a Geneless elitist freak. Who shouldn't be part of this fucking school!"

He grabbed his stuff and left the infirmary not bothered or even interested in picking up his medal. "I'll show that freak his place."