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

Moments like these were when having a knowledgeable older brother would normally come in pretty handy. Someone to curtail Natsu's optimistic viewpoint of the world so she wouldn't be snookered by such an obvious con. Although given that his street fighting occupation had taken halfway around the world, she was now beginning to start to learn some lessons herself in the school of hard knocks...and man was that a doozy of a knock. A spiraling wobbliness to Natsu's vision from the underhanded sucker punch that at the very least established that this Burger Gai had the strength to back up his half-assed words despite being a wholesale jerk.

"nYot the kindA spaRRin I hAd iN mInd..." Natsu blurted out with her legs quivering slightly before being yanked out of her stupor with a yelp into his meaty bicep plowed right into her chest and bowling her over in a huddled ball, landing embarrassingly enough on the back of her head and shoulders with her supple red-bloomered backside in the air before slumping over to lay on her front side. One of her eye's squinting shut as she started shifting upwards while rubbing the back of her scruffy-haired head from the walloping she was taking here...she much rather preferred how her last match started as opposed to this one.

Indeed, Natsu was learning an extremely invaluable lesson at the moment...that wrestlers could be outright mean bastards when they wanted to be, and he was planning on teaching her that there was no meaner bastard than the former Buriki-One King.

"Pff" He scoffed, as her fall caused her skirt to fall and expose her red bloomers, and admittedly cute butt, rolling his eyes. "If your looking for THAT kind of sparring, child, your welcome to find the speedo idiot, not me."

With that though, he backed up a couple steps and charged in, throwing his leg out, trying to smash the teen as she was rising up with a hard kick to her side!

Natsu appreciated at least having her hand freed from the most painful handshake of her life. The schoolgirl mayhaps thinking twice next time about who she offers the congenial gesture in the future...though in all honesty, she may end up forgetting this lesson once presented with another chance to make friends. Just a result of her optimistic naivety and overall hardheadedness...both traits that her brother chastised her for, and ones that had her on the receiving end of some vicious blows from a dude who saw no qualms with sucker punching or evidently, punting someone while they're still down.

There was enough spiteful impact behind the kick to have the schoolgirl brawler sent rolling over towards the ropes with a flinching groan, shuffling up to her knees but only thanks to the tethered ropes she clamped onto with her right arm. Natsu huffed and wobbled her head about in between emphatically blinking her eyes, trying desperately to get the stars out of her eyes before the Burger-King could make anymore appear. She knew she was still at this douche-bag's mercy, and anymore power punches like that one could have her being kayoed by a jerk she most definitely did not want to end the night staring up at.

That felt good. A bit of personal revenge for the humiliation and mockery he had gotten at the hands of this annoying little girl.

Leaving her crawling against the ropes, Gai turned and raised his arms in triumph, further convinced his victory was at hand, and that this schoolgirls previous victory really was nothing more than the fluke he had claimed it to be. "Burger King you called me! Now ALL shall see that the Biriki-One King is the dominant fighter in this league!"

With that boast out of the way, he turned back to the plucky and annoying schoolgirl against the ropes, walking towards her and arrogantly swatting his hand, aiming to smack her in the head a couple times as a display of his manly dominance!

Much like how uppercutting this Burger master straight to the moon was the unmatched highlight of Natsu's wrestling career...this would have to be it's equivocal lowlight. Shamefully crawling away from the martial arts champion currently gallivanting around and showboating for the audience after having smashed his right fist into her soft face in a walloping that the world never quite stopped spinning from. Natsu clearly still rattled as she tugged herself up thanks to the ropes before having the wherewithal to twist herself about, her slouch against the ropes deepening as she shuttered and groaned with every pelting thwap making clear contact with the blossoming school-girl's cheek. The poised, bullying striker snapping her head to the side with Natsu's arm's sagging front of her as he set about establishing against his "manly dominance" over her...or whatever he wanted to call being an meat-headed jerk.

Manly Dominance was exactly what Gai would call the result of his actions, for that was exactly what he was trying to assert, the type of manly dominance that would have probably made her brother proud...if Gai actually had any idea who Goto was, that is.

"I will not play around with you any longer child!" he exclaimed very loudly, voice booming as the schoolgirl in front of him sagged against the ropes. "You have felt an early taste of my power, and I will allow you this chance, right now, to leave the ring and quit this match while you have the chance. Otherwise, I will use my full strength against you, and teach you proper humility!"

With that boast, he crossed his arms, glaring at Natsu and trying to intimidate her into leaving.

The high-spirited schoolgirl appeared significantly less so after taking Gai's bullying, demoralizing words to heart. Which itself came after taking his barrage of punches straight on the chin, Natsu now hunched over against the ropes with haggard panting and hazy eyesight directed down at her sneakers. This guy was just such an arrogant douche-nozzle, but he was still a martial arts champion. A claim to fame that, like her older brother, probably did indeed make him the better fighter...

...and now here he was offering Natsu the easy, less painful way out. The unaccompanied stroll down wash-out lane via the elongated ramp behind her. All the way back home, and far away from this wrestling arena where guys way more talented, bigger, and stronger than Gai were assuredly waiting in the rafters. She trembled meekly and started massaging her gloved hand against her tender cheek, seemingly contemplating taking Gai up on his offer for a few seconds...before she popped her head up with a perky smile and one question for him. "So hey, you never told me if you got any whoppers when you won. So didya?~...with fries and onion rings and a soda~...OH, didya get one of those paper crowns too?~"

Gai felt he was being quite polite. He felt he was being quite merciful. Kind even, to spare this school child from more of his infamous wrath. Surely she would be a smart child, and see his generous gift for what it was, and take it.

...Instead, she ran her idiotic mouth with more Burger King jokes, getting laughs from the crowd, and starting, much to Gai's chagrin, an impromptu "Bur-Ger-King!" chant, causing his face to redden like a tomato, his rage boiling over.

"...Insolent...ridiculous...frustrating skirt wearing neophyte child! I offered you a chance to be spared my rage, and you throw it in the great Buriki-One King's face!? That does it! No more! Now you shall taste my wrath!" With that, the martial artist...and apparent Power Ranger villain, attacking without thinking, swung his leg out high, aiming a high roundhouse kick right for the teenagers head, trying to put her out immediately!

You'd think that being sucker-punched and hammered by this bloviating windbag may have been discouraging...hell, downright spirit crushing enough to have Natsu start questioning whether she even belonged in the same ring as him. That...just maybe...their first match could have actually legit been a one in a million fluke. And if that were the case...well than...Natsu couldn't have been more pumped. Enthused to the point of blood pumping eagerness to get a second chance at this Burger Fraud who'd been given the same "free hit" Natsu was given last time and then some. But she was still standing...relatively speaking.

Punctuating her brattish teasing with a wink and defiant smile, the sagging schoolgirl remained propped up against the ropes with her arms dangling in front of her...but nevertheless nimbly ducked under the roundhouse kick clearly meant to wallop her into next Tuesday. But there was an old saying about *being wary...uh...don't corner...uh...a cat...*...Natsu couldn't remember what was the exact phrase she was thinking about. So she just clamped onto the ropes after rising back up, shunted her legs inward with a leap, and extended them forward for a booming double kick into the Burger King's pectorals with an upshot up her skirt.

Was Gai REALLY so arrogant as to assume that his attack would just work?

Yes. Yes he was.

But instead of the sight of a completely KOed and unconscious Natsu, like he was hoping to see, he hit nothing but air, his momentum making him spin around, and when he got back into place, he caught just a glimpse of Natu's lovely legs and skimpy red bloomers, before her tennis shoe clad feet smashed into his chest with a double kick, with enough force to make spittle fly from his lips as he was knocked flat onto his back.

He wasn't down for longer than a few seconds, but even when he rose, one hand pressed against his chest, he only got to one knee, wheezing, the wind completely knocked out of him from that damned kick!