After repeatedly kicking Donto back into the hardwood, Max watched as the senior finally went still. Donto was utterly worn out, his chest heaving as he stared blankly at the high rafters of the athletic hall. Every muscle in his body had revolted, refusing to grant him the strength to stand up even one more time.
But as Max looked down at him, he realized it wasn't just the physical exhaustion pinning Donto to the floor. It was the fact that his will had finally snapped. For a man who had spent his entire life believing he was the protagonist of the world, being treated like a nuisance to be swatted away had done something permanent to his psyche.
"Max... do you really think that situations like this are dealt with just with our fists?" Donto rasped, a thin trail of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. "So what if you can beat me up? So what if you took out all the seniors? Does that change anything in the real world? Does it change the operation we have going on?"
