Showdown '19: Pre-Show: Pre Show Match: Natsuko Arisawa vs Gai Tendo

Gai Tendo...was in a bad mood.

Shocking, isn't it?

This was Showdown, Tensions biggest event of the entire year...and he was on the goddamn pre-show. It was bullshit. Sure, he hadn't had the best record lately, but that was because his opponents were fools and cheaters!

When he first learned he was not on the Showdown card, at all, he complained right to the head of management, Erica Fairchild herself, demanding that he be allowed to show his skills on the biggest stage Tension had to offer.

Bitch had LAUGHED at him. How dare...

She claimed he was "too arrogant for his own good" and "a fool", but in the end, she declared that he could be on the pre-show, (infuriating as that was) and could get a rematch against that brat Natsu, and that she'd be "closely watching to see who deserved further opportunities," whatever the hell that meant.

So now, here he was, music playing, adjusting his gloves as he came down the ramp, glaring at the various jeers and insults thrown his way, and entered the ring.

Once in the ring, he shadow boxed, patiently awaiting the rematch, eager to crush the schoolgirl and redeem his embarrassing loss.

Natsu Arisawa...was in the best goddamn mood of her life!!!~~~

I mean, how could she not be considering how flawlessly EPIC her last match turned out? Time-keepers and wrestling historians were still getting their facts straight as to whether her one hitter-quitter of a match was the fastest match in Tension wrestling history, but the freaking fact that she was even available for consideration was a dream upon dreams for her. Especially considering that just a few weeks ago she was on bottom of the social/professional hierarchy around here. But now...psh....she was getting calls from the Tension GM congratulating on her "fine performance", and even from her wandering brother who called home to shower herself with some begrudging praise in between his own scheduled fights. Actually...he last said he was boarding a plane to Russia to fight a seven foot, four-hundred pound guy who used to wrestle bears for a living...Natsu thinking that her brother was just jerking her chain with that one.

But whatever!!! Natsu was too hyped for her upcoming match to worry about any of that. The fancy Tension GM making good on their verbal contract in the end as the flowery schoolgirl eagerly awaited the signal for her to make her entrance from the gorilla position at her first ever PPV event. For now doing leg stretches and not being bummed in the slightest that this was just going to be a dark match against, well...the same guy she just knocked the fudge out. She was still working her way up the ladder...and this was the perfect way to quell any doubts as to whether Natsu had just scored a lucky shot or something. She had a peppy spring to her step as she jogged out from behind the curtain to her youthful, rebellious, and rocking theme. The school-girl brawler wearing the same attire from her last match, but now skipping cutely down the ramp with a waving smile towards those occupying the half-empty stadium, than rolling underneath the bottom rope. She wiggled her fingers to greet Gai Tendo across the ring before approaching it's middle for an incredibly familiar scenario...almost like this just happened.

"So...have ya got the stick out your butt now, "Mr. Greatest fighter in the world". I hope so. So what say we start over and try and be pals~...Now...if you promise to behave yourself, than I promise not to call you Burger King-whoops, I just did it didn't I?" Natsu looking gobsmacked at her own cute mistake, scratching her cheek with an index finger with an innocent chuckle.

Of course she'd call him the Burger King again. More insolence and disrespect. Such was the attitude of the young. But this time, Gai Tendo did not take the bait, not willing to risk getting KOed yet again, though the crowd was different story, yelling at him to rush her agian, clearly enjoying have seen the cute schoolgirl one shot him before and wanting to see it again.

Instead, he scowled, and pointed his finger at her, speaking clearly, anger still in his tone. "Oh no, we will not be friends, I can assure you of that. I underestimated you last time, and for that mistake, you humiliated me! I will not be a punch line, and I will avenge myself, by defeating you, insolent child, and teaching you to respect your betters!"

With his bold declaration made, he put his hands up in his classic Biriki-One fighting style, waiting for the bell to ring so he could begin this fight in earnest. This time, he would play it differently, he would win, and he would get the GMs favor, not this little punk!

...oh, phooey. There goes Natsu's intentions of mending fences with the hot tempered red-head before they started putting up their dukes. Ah, well. She knew it was a long-shot anyway. Especially considering what an arrogant knucklehead this guy seemed to be, and this was before he was one-hit kayoed in front of the entire world by the youthful, high-spirited schoolgirl making a name for herself at the expense of his own. No doubt a humdinger of a blow to his machismo-laden pride. So while his scathing retort did make her balk, it didn't come off as terribly huge surprise as she stood stiffened straight and at attention while briefly staring cross-eyed at the index finger pointed straight at her and inches away from her nose.

"...mfh...*snort*...*giggle*...TEEHEEAHAHA!!!!" Natsu's repressed snorts and bitten lips could only stifle her jubilant guffaws for so long before the tomboy bellowed out a knee slapping laugh. A few seconds being taken before steadying her breathing and wiping away a tear. "...Ah...G-Get it!? Punch-line!!! Because I walloped you good last time!!!...Ahhaha...Ah, man...priceless...alright I'm ready now." Once her giggle fit had passed, Natsu established her own family-trained fighting stance. Still smiling, but bouncing on the balls of her feet, fists clenched, arms bent with more of a sideways angle to her stance and a fiery competitiveness to her chestnut brown eyes as she motioned towards Gai to the chiming of the ring bell.

The former Biriki One King scowled as Natsu in no way took his response seriously, quickly making a joke out of the entire thing, once again making him into a punc...a bad joke.

His incredibly quick temper once again threatened to come over him, and he cletched his fists, grinding his teeth while mentally chiding himself to calm down. It wouldn't do to just rush in again and risk getting KOed yet again.

So he stayed calm, backing up back to his corner and shadow boxing until the bell rang. Once he did, he would slowly come out, hands raised in a grappling stance, watching the skirted schoolgirl as their rematch started, carefullly approaching, shooting a leg out to try and kick at her leg, test her reflexes!

Natsu was sure that if circumstances were a teeny bit different, Gai would have found the little linguistic gaffe to be just as gosh-darned hilarious. She would have thanked him for the good laugh, but it didn't look like he was going to answering back with anything that didn't involve four-letter words. So Natsu steeled herself for the rematch to come with a solid adoption of her families honed fighting stance and a clenching squeeze of her red-gloved fists.

The chipper school-girl was a bundle of energy as she hopped about on her sneakered feet, reflexively snapping her opposite leg towards Gai's to block his kick with a cutely competitive smile. "Nice kick. Hey I know you don't wanna be friends...but whaddya say to friendly rivals? Maybe we can be sparring partners...Help eachother get better and junk~..." Natsu innocently offered while still shifting about on her feet, the naivety and youthful exuberance in her eyes shining through brightly.

She blocked him. Good reflexes, he'd have to at least give the brat that, loathe as he was to give her anything other than a firm punch to the face, as she deserved for being a lesser fighter who, in his mind, cheap shotted him to defeat him...no matter if everyone else said differently.

He had been about to throw another kick...but her words stopped him. "Friendly rivals" she wanted to be? Sparring partners? How utterly insulting, as if this rookie schoolgirl was actually on his level. Still...it gave him an idea.

"Hmmmm...Sparring partners huh?" He said, his voice actually lowering to non-yelling for once. "You know...now that I'm thinking about it...Why not. You obviously have some skill. Could be fun. Here...shake on it." he said, holding out his hand...though what she didn't know, is that once she reached out in kind, the devious bastard planned on grabbing her hand and pulling her in towards him so he could sock her right in the face!

Natsu had indeed been perusing the Tension locker rooms in an unwavering, single-minded quest for a sparring partner to exchange fisticuffs and phone numbers with. Not having her older brother around to hone her fighting/grappling skills against meant she was kinda SOL in that regard, and this Burger Gai, for all of his prickly pigheadedness, at the very least looked like he he had the fighting expertise to back up his arrogant blustering. He had to have if he came out on top over all of the other fast-food mascots...and besides, you never know, people might change!!! At least these were what Natsu's gullible thought processes were when Gai appeared to be doing just that, offering her an "All's Forgiven" type handshake. Which she accepted with delighted enthusiasm and not a moment's hesitation!!!

"Alright, that's super!!! S'like my brother says, steel sharpens steel, and one friend sharpens another....*giggle*...dunno why everyone was tryin to warn me about yo-" One blurring whir put an end to Natsu's chipper joyfulness and her overall sense of balance the instant Gai's punch clocked her in the cheek, spinning her head to the side with spittle flying in that general direction as well. A booming straight that connected cleanly, but everything else about the sneak attack was dirty. Hence why the audience started letting the boo-birds fly all around the stadium. Poor Natsu remarkably staying vertical, but with weak-kneed unsteadiness and only thanks to the backstabbing handshake still keeping her upright.

Heh, like taking candy from a baby...

or...like...giving candy to a baby, but then punching that baby...in the face?

...who punched a baby? On second thought, forget that metaphor. The point was, Natsu was a dumb schoolgirl, and Gai just decked her in the face, and it felt good.

...He didn't punch babies.

Teenagers on the other hand, were fair game, and with Natsu currently stumbling on her feet, he went to take full advantage, giving Natsu a shove, pushing her as far away from him as her body could by while he was still holding onto her hand...and then pulled her in towards him, swinging his free arm out to smash it into her chest with a strong short range lariat!

"What's wrong sparring partner? Was that too rough for a little girl like you?" he said, voice dripping with arrogance and sarcasm. "There's a boy here around your age, walks around in a speedo and humps girls. Maybe he'd be more your speed rather than my level of...sparring..."