The Arisawas vs. The Rodriguezes - World Warriors

"Guh!"

Goto's retaliatory attack only delayed Army as another punch hit him and dazed him enough that he was hefted up to the top turnbuckle. Grunting, he tried his best to keep Army from ascending with another quick forearm. Hopefully if he could build momentum, then he might be able to knock Army off before something bad happened.

Army's plan - as much as you could consider something he thought up in less than three seconds a ‘plan’ was to get Goto up, then drop him hard with a DDT from high-altitude, mabye take him straight out.

He was about to go for it, too, when Goto’s errant blow crashed against his jaw and knocked him for a loop. Not a long loop. Not a hard loop. But just enough of a loop to make him stumble away from Goto for a precious moment while he recouped.

Goto shook his head as his blow made Army stumble away. The martial artist knew that the top of the turnbuckle was a bad place to be no matter what the position was. Gabbing the top ropes, Goto steadied his position and tried to fling his legs straight out and kick Army in the chest while he pushed himself off the top ropes. Hopefully that would get the male Rodriguez away from him long enough to get away from the corner unmolested.

Driving her knee deeper and deeper into Carmen's tenderized abdomen, Natsu tried her best to make sure her strikes never lost their luster despite the exhaustive toll this match had taken on her. Her tensed muscles ached and the adrenaline of the moment helped her cope with the pain. But sparing a quick glimpse to the cheering audience did brighten up her spirits somewhat. Their growing support did make her feel more welcome than Carmen's deadpan seriousness. She flashed them a bright smile, earning a few more cheers before she reared back for another knee strike...that she was having a difficult time pulling back from.

"Uh-oh..." Natsu yelped when she was pulled forward with one arm draping over Carmen's shoulder. Being cradled in Carmen's arms like this while balancing on one leg was already an embarrassing position to be held in, but one that the schoolgirl wouldn't have to experience for long being deftly hoisted up and over to a sickeningly loud impact on the practically concrete floor. Natsu curved her spine with her mouth agape in wordless pain before rolling to her front, scrunching her face and whimpering into the mat while massaging her lower spine. This being most likely the worst pain she had experienced in this match...so far.

Okay, so Goto had rocked Army a bit with the punch. No problem. He could recoup easy enough, all he had to do was turn around and come right back at the barefoot fighter with-

Army spun towards his opponent just in time to be greeted by his feet, as they smacked him square in the face. He was a big dude, but so was Goto, and the blow had more than enough force to send him off his feet, with his back hitting the mat a scant second later.

Ironically enough, he touched down about the same time as Natsu did on the outside, as she was flung away with the t-bone suplex. Carmen fell along with her and laid there for a moment, cradled her aching breadbasket. Natsu was small, but those knees had added up, and the end result was a thoroughly aching midsection for the 24/7 Champion.

This did nothing to heighten Carmen’s mood.

Natsu kept pushing it. Even when Carmen gave her a clear out, she just kept pushing and pushing. There was no doubt in her mind that, if she got up and tried to walk away again, the spritely girl would just attack her from behind once more.

Carmen rolled to her feet and gingerly stood up. With one hand she kept rubbing her stomach, wincing as her muscles churned, with the other she reacehd down and yanked at Natsu’s hair, pulling the schoolgirl up to her feet.

Sprawled out at ringside with nagging back pains and an ill-tempered Tension champion looming over her, Natsu was sorely tempted to heed Carmen's not so friendly advice. To stay down if she knew what was good for her. It was a damn shame that the schoolgirl tended to do the opposite of whatever she was told, especially by someone who was pummeling her all over the place and seemed deadset on keeping her down.

Shuffling up to her hands and knees, Natsu groaned from the tugging grip on her scalp aiding her the rest of the way. The exhausted schoolgirl leaned heavily into Carmen during the unsteady ascension, clasping onto Carmen's toned thighs and the waist of her black pants while she kept her head lowered. Inspiring yet also foreboding imagery that earned a few encouraging claps form the nearby audience members.

Once back on her feet but still hunched over, Natsu would scrounge up the resistance for a few scattered punches to Carmen's tender abs. But the strikes were noticeably weakened and infrequent...

Goto only heard the impact. He had no idea what was going on outside the ring, but when he glanced, he saw Natsu laid out. His eyes widened as he watched Carmen bitterly yank her by the hair. His could feel his heart beating and he could feel the word in his head, scolding him for not taking better care of his baby sister.

"Natsu-chan!" He managed, and was torn between helping her and finishing his duties in the ring. He gripped the ropes and glanced back at Army. He was glad that Natsu still had the will to fight back but...

Goto gripped the ropes and leaned forward. "Oi!" He barked. "Let her go and go back to your corner!" He shouted.

For a moment, Carmen thought Natsu was finally getting the message, as she was pulled up back to her feet. The punches to her stomach proved otherwise. They were weak, more annoying than anything, and a sure sign that the younger fighter still had a lot to learn. Carmen would have to do the teaching.

She grabbed Natsu by the wrist, stopping one of the nascent punches before it could pick up any steam, and the only thing that gave her pause was the call from the ring - of course, Goto had to have a say about it, and he had to have it in his usual bossy manner.

The tone. The look. The way he spoke to her like she was a child instead of the oldest and most decorated fighter in this entire match. Every bit of it rubbed her just the wrong way, and she showed her displeasure when she glared back at him.

”Okay.”

Carmen did let Natsu go, just like Goto asked. Granted, she accomplished this by spinning around and sending the schoolgirl over the announcer’s table with an irish whip. But she did let her go for it.

*...nngh...that's not good...* Natsu hazily thought to herself when she felt Carmen snatch her wrist in mid-swing, impeding her already impotent offense dead in it's tracks. The gaping disparity between their skill levels probably wasn't any more evident than in this one moment. The chipper schoolgirl sagging limply in her decidedly former idol's clutches, seemingly incapable of making any actual headway against the Tension champion.

Natsu groaned sheepishly when she overheard Goto pleading for leniency on her behalf, hating the fact that her brother had to see her in this state. None of this was really bolstering her argument that she could make it in Tension on her own.

"Wahoa!!" Tumbling around on wobbly legs from being flung around in a circle, Natsu let out a startled yell from being chucked over the announcer's table before crashing down in flurry of scattered papers and collapsed office chairs. Natsu's supple form remained spreadeagled and motionless aside from her heaving chest, all the while the vast majority of the audience unilaterally voiced their displeasure and in one simple action irrevocably turned on the Rodriquez's cause in this match.

Goto inhaled sharply as Carmen tossed his sister like she was a rag doll. The urge to deal with Carmen's insulting ways nearly pushed him out of the ring, but he took a deep breath and reminded himself how there was definitely one way to stop this. Quickly turning around, he looked to survey the younger Rodriguez and see what he had to work with.