Bleed For The Banished King

Music rang through Chaweng Stadium. Darkness stirred in the stands — crowd heads bobbing around the ring. Finan's opponent, a fighter dubbed the "Black Viper" was performing his wai kur ram muay: a traditional dance to honor one's trainers and family before the fight began. While he was performing the slow, deliberate dance, the high pitched sarama music reached an emphatic climax, tingling along as Pi Ketchup bestowed the Mongkon headband upon Finan. 

This was Finan's 15th fight. 

He went 4-4 on his first 8. On the ninth, his style drastically changed. As a result, he won that fight by knockout, and the next five fights by TKO. His name was becoming known. Ketchup might've called him monkey, but the others knew him by the fighting moniker "Crazed Ape". Barely a difference between the nicknames, in retrospect, but Finan felt as though that fighting nickname gave him some… edge. Something to live up to. 

Ketchup slapped his face lightly. "Pay attention." 

Finan nodded. The sarama ended just then. The announcer began to crow. 

"He's fast. Faster than anyone you've fought before. And, like you, he's on a winning streak. Except, unlike you, he's never lost. You're a journeyman for him," Ketchup spoke in Thai, wearing a sneer looking towards the other corner's group. "Him and his team," he spat. Ketchup always got like that before a fight: all hate and fury. It was a quality pretty unique to him. Muay Thai was all about respect and honor. Ketchup didn't follow the norm. 

"When you start," he began now in English, "Go body, head. Hear me? Body, head! Keep it simple. Open him up, don't just headhunt." 

Finan nodded. Ketchup was right to tell him that much. During fights, Finan had a bad tendency to focus on chinning his opponents rather than diversifying his shots. Throughout this camp, he'd done his level best to get rid of that habit. But there was no real way to simulate… this. Sparring could never fully capture the mounting explosion that was a real fight: the adrenaline dump before entering the ring, the sweat from nerves, the feeling of everyone else watching you until that bell rings and it's just you and your opponent. You and your monster to kill. It makes everything so simple, so easy. Finan dreaded the buildup and rejoiced the match. 

"AND NOOWWWWW" the announcer screamed in Thai. He read off the attributes of each fighter. Finan O'Brady, 13 fights, 4 losses. Dam, "The Black Viper", 17 fights, 17 wins. 14 wins by knockout. 

The referee brought both fighters to the center. Finan stared into Dam's dark eyes, not affecting any emotion. Dam, on the other hand, was smiling. Sticking his tongue out playfully. The ref quickly spouted out the usual rules—keep it clean, no groin kicks, no glove grabbing, no hitting to the back of the head etc etc. Finan tuned it out. Dam was the first Thai opponent he was facing that had a height advantage on him. About a head taller. He looked more muscled out too. But Finan didn't really mind that — muscles didn't make fights. Technique and power did. 

They were ushered back to their corners. The lights dimmed, and a bright spotlight gleamed from above, shining the ring in a radiant glow. 

The ref asked if both fighters were ready. Then, with a bell, the fight began. 

Finan edged forward slowly, bouncing on his front foot and keeping most of his weight on his back leg. Dam trudged towards him with a more balanced stance. Briefly, they touched gloves and reset. Cautiously, Finan threw a probing jab to gauge range. Dam slipped back, dodging the edge of Finan's glove. Then, with surprising initiative, Dam ripped a counter hook, aiming it directly at Finan's ribs. The speed of his twist was astonishing. 

Finan barely had time to block. Lowering his elbow to his ribs, he took the brunt of the blow on his arm. 

And stumbled left. 

He blinked. 'Damn. He certainly has knockout power.' 

Finan tried keeping to the plan — gauging Dam in the first round. He shifted to Dam's left angle and threw a sweeping hook. Dam ducked the hook, came back up with an elbow. It struck home, slicing into Finan's face. He stumbled back. Vaguely, he could hear his coach yelling. Blood trickled down a gash above his eye. 

Dam smiled. 

'This is going to be a long round.' And, Finan was right. Dam pushed off his back foot, sliding forward before unleashing an onslaught of strikes. Finan shelled up, rolling and weaving while throwing the occasional counter. But Dam was getting more hits in, punching the head off of Finan. Eventually, he was against the ropes. Dam raised his body high and wrought down an ax elbow aimed at Finan's head. 

Finan teeped, kicking forward with his front leg. The pushkick actually landed, his foot jabbing into Dam's chest before the bastard could get the elbow down. Now it was the Black Viper's turn to stumble back. 

But before Finan could capitalize, the bell rang and the ref got in between both fighters. 

Dam smiled like a child shoving candy into his mouth. 

"Sit sit," Pi Ketchup said, and Finan sat on that red stool, dripping blood and sweat all over. Someone— Nung he realized — patted the blood down while another trainee gave him water to sip on. "Listen. You saw that at the end, right? He's like you monkey. When he's countering, his technique is beautiful. But on the offense? He gets sloppy. Use that, okay?" Ketchup said in Thai. Finan nodded and the short minute of rest was up. 

Back into hell he went. 

As soon as the bell rang Dam was upon him, ripping two hooks like a peak-a-boo fighter. Finan blocked the first one, but the second got him right in the hip. He winced, throwing a reflexive teep. Dam shuffled right, catching the kick with one arm and lifting Finan's leg. Finan tried to stomp down. Too slow. Dam brought his other leg 'round and swept Finan, taking his other leg out. He fell to his back. 

The ref broke them up, allowing Finan to stand. His left leg was already swollen from that kick. 

When he allowed them to go at it once more, Finan decided to forget the fear. It was holding him back. He wanted to kill this bastard. So, he went forward, mirroring Dam's pressure. 

The two exchanged wild blows. Elbows, knees, teeps, low kicks. It was as if both fighters agreed that defense was just an optional facet of the sport. Finan delivered a slashing elbow to Dam's face, actually scoring a cut. The viper was bleeding from the cheek. Dam responded with a teep and a driving switch kick, nearly crumpling Finan had he not just barely checked the damn thing. It still hurt like a bastard. 

He could faintly hear the crowd roaring in excitement. 

And he found himself smiling. 

Then, he found himself falling. 

A ten count was given. He was stunned, didn't understand what the hell just happened. But, remembering his training, he went to one knee and breathed. Dam must've hit him with some head kick or hook because his vision was hazy. The bleeding above his left eye was nearly unbearable now. 

On the eighth second, Finan stood up. The ref held up his gloves, asking him if he was still fit to continue. Finan nodded. 

The ref allowed both of them fight once more. 

Before another exchange could begin, the bell rang again. 

Dam yelled something in Thai. Finan didn't understand it, however Pi Ketchup seemed to. His coach was livid at the comment. When Finan sat, he expected water. Instead, he got a hard slap followed by a backhand. 

"WAKE UP MONKEY!" Ketchup said, bearing his teeth. "Listen to me. Do you know what you did last round?"

Finan nodded. "I didn't listen to you." 

Ketchup jabbed a finger into Finan's chest as Nung wiped the blood off his eye. "That's right. Listen now. Don't play his game," Ketchup ordered, wagging his finger. His Thai was rapid, furious. "He'll win when you fight like that. Play your game. Wait. I know you hate doing that, but wait." 

"Sabai Finan, sabai," Nung echoed.

"Nung is right, relax!" Ketchup said in English. 

"Ready?" the ref asked. Finan's corner left the ring and Ketchup repeated that word. Sabai. Relax. 

But how could Finan relax? He could only think now of his father's impending visit, of his ex-girlfriend becoming 'hysterical', of running away from it all like he once did. 

Then, a flash of some memory appeared. The skyscraper. Philly, shining in the gloom. The wind howling. His mother and father, together, laughing, eating. And little ol' him, sitting with them, happiest kid in the world. 

When the bell rang, he aopted the Thai march once more, bobbing up and down. This was the last round. He had definitely lost the other two. He needed to win by knockout or technical knockout. Yet, he didn't feel the pressure for once. 'Nah. What pressure? After all, this is the sport I love. This is the life I chose.' 

'I am a fighter.' 

Dam came forward. Onslaught began anew, with hooks and elbows. Finan shelled, taking them, rolling, waiting. An old boxing lesson came back to him as Dam pushed him back. 'Slip, slip, shift, uppercut.' 

Dam threw a jab, Fin slipped, cross, another slip, Dam circled with an elbow, Finan shifted off his front foot, pivoting to create an angle. He took some of the elbow to the face, but he didn't really care. 

He bent down and reached for the skies with a perfect uppercut. 

Dam took it straight to the chin, head bouncing up and back. The viper stumbled against the ropes. Before he could recover, Finan grabbed his neck for a clinch and threw a knee to his head. Finan swore that he could hear Dam's nose break. He threw another knee. That was enough. 

Dam fell, face first to the canvas, spattering blood on the white. 

Finan looked down at the slain viper in shock. 'That… that was it? Really? I… did it?' 

Before he could say or really process anything someone hugged him from behind and lifted him up. It was Nung, raising him above his head as the lights spun and revealed the screaming crowd and the announcers roared their shock and Dam's corner rushed to get him checked. 

Through some miracle, Finan had weathered the storm, and knocked out one of the best prospects in their league. 

He cracked a smile. 

Pi Ketchup and Nung were embracing him, lifting him up and yelling with joy "SABAI SABAI MONKEY!" 

Their laughter carried over to him and he couldn't help but yelling out the word "SABAI SABAI!"