Bella King vs. Prayuth Sakda - Lights, Camera, Action

[BlackAkuma]

Match Type: Back Alley Brawl
Match Stipulations: Takes place in a back alley behind the LAW arena. No Disqualifications, No Count-Out, Knockouts Only

***

Prayuth had to give the LAW crew props where they were due - they knew how to set up a good scene. This was the perfect recreation of the famous final fight scene in the Redeemer. Down to the last, minute detail.

Even as Prayuth stood at the far end of the alley, years removed from his smash hit, he could picture it all in his head. After dismantling the criminal underworld of Bangkok one punch and kick at a time, he'd finally tracked down his rival, Malee - his former friend and fellow cop, the man who betrayed him, the man who led to his family being killed - and cornered him here. A dank, dim alley strewn with trash and dumpsters, with layers of peeling graffiti on the walls. With a chain-link fence at the far end, there was only one way out for the traitor: through him. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Good times. Pray choreographed that fight scene himself, damn proud of it, should’ve gotten an award. He still had a photographic memory of it, too, one that allowed him to see what a stellar job the LAW team had done. The trashcans were set up right, the dumpster was in the perfect place, he swore that the rust of the fence was in all the proper places. Only one thing was off, really, and that couldn't be helped.

”Pray-chan! We love you!”

”Can I get a selfie?”

”I just wanted to say how much of an inspiration you are to aspiring Asian actors across the world, and-”

The crowd. As this was an official LAW match, it needed fans, and a handful of them were allowed to watch the fight on the opposite end of the alley, provided they all stayed behind the red line. There were cameras hidden around the place, too, in key locations, nearly impossible to spot if you didn’t know where to look. Pray, as it turned out, did know where to look, and he made sure to stick to all the right positions as he hung around the crowd, signing autographs and taking selfies.

Prayuth

The women in particular seemed to love his look, dying his hair white to match his character from the movie. It had never been a style he cared much for, a little too anime-ish for his tastes, but the Japanese went crazy for it. Go figure. ”Konnichiwa, konnichiwa, arigato, konnichiwa-”

He was halfway through signing a DVD cover for the movie - a bootleg, he was 90% sure - when his phone vibrated. He threw a peace sign to his fans, stepped back, and pulled it out of his pocket without even bothering to see who it was. He already knew. ”Heeeeeeeey, Aika. What’s up, babe?”

A sigh came from the other end, one that he’d gotten used to hearing ever since he came to Japan and signed her on as his agent. ”We’ve talked about the ‘babe’ thing. It’s nowhere near as cute as you think it is.” The sound of ruffling papers filled the receiver. ”I’m just calling to check on you. You’re at the match location, everything looks good?”

”Fine like cherry wine! I just…oh, hold up, one second.” One of his fans, a particularly busty blonde, had lifted up her shirt and wanted him to sign her chest. Couldn't ignore that opportunity. ”Yeah, this is great stuff, all over. You did well setting this up, I cannot lie.”

”Well, I’m glad you approve. Just remember, it’ll all be for nothing if you don’t win the match, so…”

”I intend to, that's the plan.” Pray scribbled his name across the blonde’s chest, gave her a wild wink, and stepped back. ”Don’t worry, I’ve taken down bigger guys.”

A long pause came from the other side, and Pray swore he could’ve heard the sound of gears turning. ”Bigger…guys?”

The tone took him off guard, but a commotion in the crowd drew his attention before he could inquire further. Seemed like his opponent was here…

[pikazard]

A Back Alley Brawl.

This kind of location for a fight gave Bella King a not unsubstantial amount of nostalgia even if not all the memories it brought were all that pleasant, as it made her think of her younger years as a street fighter, going around picking fights for a cheap thrill. Long before she had started fighting in a ring dirty back alleys like this one had been her arena, so it was quite amusing to Bella to be fighting in such familiar surroundings in only her second LAW outing. What the redhead also considered quite noteworthy about this match was the fact that she was already up against a member of LAWs Male division. She knew that her title of 'King' would get the attention of the men of LAW and that she'd be facing one sooner or later, but the fact that it had already happened a mere few weeks after her debut certainly intrigued her.

Not to mention that, in spite of Bella's very limited wrestling knowledge, her opponent was someone she was familiar with: Prayuth Sakda. Bella wasn't a fangirl of his or anything but she'd seen a few of his movies, she didn't care much for his acting but she could appreciate that unlike most actors he actually had moves and his fight scenes were well choreographed because of it. And now she was going to get a chance to see those moves of his in person and see if they measured up to Bella's Karate. Bella wasn't holding her breath.

Bella would walk in to the alley with a swagger to her step and a sway to her hips, causing a commotion of her own as she walked by the fans. She wasn't as famous as Pray by a long shot, but seeing a woman as good looking as the King in a tight leotard was just as exciting as seeing a celebrity in the flesh. If this were a real street fight she would be wearing something much more practical of course, but as this was still an official LAW match she had to look her best, not that she minded as she loved the attention.

Bella

Bella would hear Pray before she actually saw his face, realising from his words that he thought his opponent was a man rather than a woman. For a moment the redhead was surprised, but after a second a grin found it's way onto her face as she spoke up to get his attention "As have I, quite frequently in fact..." Bella would give the man a moment to realise that the voice he was hearing was a woman's British accent rather than the deep manly growl he was likely expecting before she continued "...so I hope you don't disappoint me"

[BlackAkuma]

Pray popped up at the voice behind him and spun about to see - well, not some hulking brute with a leopard mask on. Pretty much the polar opposite of that. A woman in good shape, about the same height and build as himself, give or take a few inches. Good muscles, and she was showing them off, too, wearing this black one-piece that did wonders for her body, put her thighs and amazing chest on display. The boots were a good touch, too. The laced-up wrestling boots…

…hm.

With the woman’s words and Aika’s confusion, the dots were being connected. He shifted his jaw about as he looked her over, still holding the phone next to his ear. ”So, I’m guessing LAW’s got more than one King, huh? That’s new.”

”It wouldn’t be if you paid attention to my emails.” Aika’s exasperated groan tickled his ear. ”Bella King. ‘The King’, they call her. You two kids have fun.”

Click. She was gone.

”Right.” He kept his eyes locked on ‘Bella’ as he brought the phone down, briefly pausing to whistle at the guards and pass it off to him for safekeeping. ”Well, that works for me. Didn’t expect to be mixing it up out of the gate, but whatever. I’m equal opportunity.”

He rolled his shoulders and started walking, casually strutting around the alley, circling her. It would’ve been smart to attack right away, but not cinematic. Needed to build some tension first. Set the stage. Draw the viewers in. The crowd was getting hype, with cheers and chants for both of them growing louder. ”And don’t worry.” He wagged his finger. “You’ve fought bigger, sure. But not better.”

[pikazard]

It wasn't lost on Bella that the first thing Pray did upon seeing her was to look her up and down, whether it was to size her up or check her out wasn't clear to her but she didn't seem to mind either way as a smile crept up her face. Once Pray finished his phone call and finally addressed her Bella would chuckle at how well he took the change in his stride "How very modern of you. Though if you change your mind you can feel free to lie down and give me the win"

Despite her joke she would meet Pray's eyes with a look that betrayed her fighting spirit, meeting the man's pace as she joined him in his circle around the alleyway. Together the two of them did a good job of building up tension but all the tension in the world didn't matter if it didn't have a good pay-off, and Bella intended to do just that and gain the initiative while she was at it "Better? We'll see about that"

In one moment Bella was in a relaxed stance with seemingly no tension, the next she was lashing out with a low kick aimed at Pray's leg. That one blow alone wouldn't exactly take Pray out but if it hit with the element of surprise then it would likely disrupt his balance pretty significantly, if this was the case then Bella's follow up would come immediately; an elbow swinging up like a scythe at Pray's cheek!

[BlackAkuma]

He’d only known Bella briefly, but he already liked what he saw. And he wasn’t talking about her looks.

Not just her looks.

In Thailand and Hollywood, he’d gotten good at reading people and seeing how they ticked. Some people just oozed confidence, knew who they were and where they wanted to be in life, and that was precisely what he got from Bella - not too surprising for a woman who went around with the nickname of ‘King’, but there you go. Fit, strong, with an attitude to push it along. If the wrestling thing didn’t work out, he knew a few producers who could find a place for her.

But this wasn’t an audition, it was a fight, and she’d need the goods to make it worthwhile. So, did she? If the kick she cracked him in the leg with was any indication, then yes. Fuck, yes.

It came in fast, launched without hesitation, going from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat. If he’d been in his stance, he might have been able to avoid it, but she caught him flatfooted and nearly dropped him on his ass. He raised his arm, barely blocking the elbow that would’ve made that happen. So much for tension-building.

Pray made a half-laugh, half-grunt noise as instinct took over and fight mode kicked in. Instead of retreating, his feet came down in a solid stance to stabilize him. From there, he threw a quick jab to grab her attention before hurling himself forward with a rising knee aimed at her chest, trying to drive her back and create some space.

Oh, and he had to say something cool along with it, a little in-fight banter. ”Not happening!” There we go.

[pikazard]

With a start so sudden that the crowd hadn't processed it was happening until Pray's retaliation the match would begin with Pray showcasing his quick reflexes and blocking the elbow that would have knocked him over. Before Bella could follow up she would be met with a jab to her cheek that convinced her to cease her attack and would have a knee thrown at her that demanded she give the man some space, which she did by leaping back out of it's range. The blow hadn't landed but it had done it's job of forcing Bella's retreat.

Bella quickly went into her stance, which Pray would likely recognise as a Karate stance, and would step in again and start throwing out some kicks aimed vaguely towards his torso. She didn't care too much about if they hit she just wanted to take advantage of the length of her legs to keep Pray at bay, knowing that as a Muay Tai fighter his most dangerous techniques were knees and elbows so she aimed to dissuade him from getting close enough to utilise them.

She would do this in the hopes of frustrating Pray into rushing at her recklessly, and if he did as she planned then she would suddenly switch things up by throwing a hook punch as he got close.

[BlackAkuma]

The knee that Pray threw out wasn’t just any old knee. It was one of his mainstays, his best attacks. He’d gotten round one knockouts with it - on rare occasions, mind you, but it could happen and would’ve happened here if Bella hadn't been on her Ps and Qs. It would’ve sucked for the theatricality of things, but he could live with that. Maybe play it off like an Indiana Jones moment.

That turned out not to be the case, though, as she moved back and went into her fighting stance - Karate? He whistled at the sight of it and clicked his tongue as she moved in again, coming at him with a barrage of kicks. ”Little old school-” He grunted as a particularly stiff one slammed into his arm and left it numb. ”-but I like it.”

She was trying to keep him at bay, using her range to put him on the backfoot. It worked for a moment, too, as he found himself retreating a couple of steps, but he wasn’t willing to do that all day. Pray wanted in, and he was getting in, even if it meant taking a hit.

Which, yeah, was exactly what happened. He came barreling in, fists raised, and he was greeted with a stiff hook to the face, right on the side of his temple. It rocked his equilibrium and made him stumble to the side, but only for a moment - hits like that were old hat for him. Muay Thai wasn’t the right style if you had a problem being hit, after all.

He came in, reached out, and tried to pull Bella into a clinch, looking to pull her into a stiff knee aimed at her stomach.

[pikazard]

It was going great so far. Bella had her thespian foe on the backfoot with a barrage of kicks, and though she hadn't landed any solid blows through his guard she knew she was chipping away at his defences. Pray likely realised this too which was why he would abandon defence altogether and charge recklessly at Bella, putting a smile on the redhead's lips as he fell for her trap and charged right into the path of her punch! The same smile would waver as Pray took her hit like a champ and powered through it, and it would be wiped from her face completely as she got dragged into a clinch. Bella was no Muay Thai expert, but she knew enough to know that this was a bad place to be in "Shi-"

"GUUUAAAAAAGH!!!!"

Before she was able to finish her expletive Pray would bury his knee into Bella's stomach like a lance, hitting with enough force that Bella was lifted off her feet and would have been thrown backwards if she wasn't being clinched. Instead her slim frame would contort around Pray's knee, her torso folding into the attack as her mouth hung open dumbly in agony, some spittle flying from her mouth onto the ground. After taking a hit like that Bella didn't have her senses completely about her, and would instead act out of complete instinct and wrap her arms around Pray's thighs while leaning into his waist to try and prevent him from throwing another knee.

[BlackAkuma]

”Language.” Prayuth clicked his tongue as Bella hollered. ”PG-13.”

Not that a little profanity was anywhere near the top of Pray’s priority list at the moment. His sponsors might get iffy if they dropped too many S and F-Bombs, but overall? It wouldn’t be a problem as long as the action was good, and so far, things were promising. Any doubts about Bella being able to take what he could dish out were erased when he landed that. That was no soft shot, he’d taken down men twice her size with that kind of blow, but she kept on hanging on. It was only the start, of course, but a promising one.

She had good reflexes, though, smart enough to catch his leg before he could follow up with another knee. ”Not bad, not bad.” He kept her in close and maintained his balance. ”Only got two limbs, though - I got six more!”

Good line, there. He’d have to sneak that one into his next film.

He showed her exactly what he meant in the next moment, as he lifted up, raised his arms high, and proceeded to bring both of his elbows down on her skull at once, trying to hammer her with one of the more powerful blows in his arsenal.

[pikazard]

Bella didn't know why Pray cared about keeping things PG-13 considering that this was a LAW match, which meant the two of them were entitled to make things go far from PG if they really wanted to, but she was hardly in a position to stop to criticize the man's logic considering how badly she was at a disadvantage right now. After the blow to the stomach had rearranged her insides Bella would grab Pray's legs to keep him from throwing any more knees, but thanks to his Muay Thai he wasn't just dangerous with his knees which he would prove with a pair of raised elbows that swung down like sickles.

Bella saw the attack coming but could do little to avoid it, instead she would push into his legs with her shoulders in the hopes of disrupting his balance and making him lurch forward, meaning his aim would be off and his elbows would strike her shoulders instead. If she was successful she would have avoided a knockout blow, but she would still fall down onto her hands knees with a grunt. She might not have been taken out right there but she was in trouble, she was extremely vulnerable in this position as Pray had a multitude of moves he could use to take advantage of her weakness, whereas Bella's Karate relied on her being in a strong stance and couldn't do much of anything from down here.

Well, not much of anything in a fair fist fight anyway.

Bella was not limited to just Karate though, and would reach by for the nearest weapon she could find; a wooden plank. She would then quickly rise to a knee and swing it in an arc directed towards Pray's ribs! They may both have been martial artists, but this was a Back-Alley Brawl and Bella had no qualms about fighting dirty if it gave her an advantage!