Neo League 526 - #536: Duke vs Nagare

Description: SUDDENLY!! Nagare is proven to be the son of Duke?! Duke is revealed to be FROM THE FUTURE?! Watch, as father and son team up together to fight Godzilla and Rodan across the entire Nile River! And in a sudden twist, Duke admits this description is completely unrelated to the actual fight?! Don't 'De Nile' yourself the chance to read this fantastic log, TODAY! (Winner: Duke)



The deserts of Africa are especially harsh, no matter what part of the continent you may be in. Egypt is no exception.
The only reprieve that can be found from the harsh heat of the desert climates comes from one of the longest rivers in the world -- the Nile. A historically famous river for a plethora of reasons, it holds special value in the country of Egypt, attributing to the very foundation of their ancient and expansive civilization. Stretching through the desert planes, it plays host to a large number of villages and cities established near its banks. And now, it plays host to something entirely different: Ken Master's Neo League.
Workers perspire and gulp down bottle after bottle of water as they set up the cameras around this long stretch of water, expanding farther than the eye can see. Most here aren't accustomed to the horrific, dry heat. For the man known simply as Duke, it's all taken in stride. Standing in the center of the would-be 'arena,' a space cordoned off by the Neo League officials, bordering the thick stretch of water, Duke seems nonplussed by the heat. He's grown accustomed to harsh climates, harsh punishments. It is in these environs that he truly thrives. And so, as the workers gasp and pant, Hell's Executioner smiles as he waits.
It's not a pleasant one.

Nagare is also there. He saw an advertisement for a fight near the Nile River and he chose to actually take the weekend go and see the world and perhaps even bring more fame to Taiyo High. Then again, he has no idea who his opponent is. But that shouldn't matter. Nagare's just going to have to give it the ol' Taiyo spirit.

But when he shows up, it is rather dry. Alike the Neo League officials, Nagare took some bottled water with him as well, drinking it more than usual. He's a fish out of water, and the heat here is just going to benefit that other man, Duke. Getting into place near the river and not too far from Duke, Nagare stops and gives the man a bow.

"Hello! I'm Nagare Namikawa. If I'm not mistaken this is the place for a Neo League, right?" Nagare asks the man in some rather nice pajamas.

Nagare himself is dressed like always. A speedo and a jacket, flippers on his hands and feet. He even wears some goggles. He certainly is a weird one.

Flippers... on his feet... and his hands.
"... Is this supposed to be some sort of -joke-?"
Duke can't help but snort. Nor does he try to stop the dismissive and condescending gesture; a thick black brow rises in tandem with his scoff, giving off the very essence of incredulousness. He takes a single step back, the sole of his polished shoe scraping against the sandy earth.
"I don't care who you are," Hell's Executioner asserts.
"I don't bother to remember the names of people who aren't worth my time."
And that's about the extent of the conversation between himself and Nagare; Duke will refuse to respond from that point on, his gaze instead focusing towards the Nile. A man in swimming gear in the desert. How absurd. Right hand in his pocket, the left clenches and uncleanches into a fist in a calm rhythm, like the beats of a heart. He waits.
"FIGHT!"
Without a word, and without hesitation, Duke is already on the move. Apparently he isn't going to be giving Nagare any quarter, evidenced clearly as he breaks forward with the upchurned spray of sand in his wake. The movements are brutally efficient: one thrust to jam his knee into Nagare's gut to stun him with horrible force, one twist to bring him into a jerking spin, and one sweep to bring his leg up and around in a rotation that will crash his heel into the Taiyo coach's shoulder with force to drive him into the sandy earth. "HRAAAAAAAAAAGH!!" Apparently, Duke doesn't believe in holding back. No matter how ridiculous a person may look.

COMBATSYS: Duke has started a fight here.

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Duke             0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Nagare has joined the fight here.

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Duke             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Nagare


COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Nagare with Light Kick.

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Duke             0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0           Nagare


Now, Nagare's a hardy man. He's very hardy. In fact, he's such a harder swimmer he's going to fight Duke in the desert. But something seems out of place. Duke doesn't take him seriously. And that's too bad.

"No joke sir. I'm the Taiyo High swim coa-" But then Duke snorts and alright seems sort of made fun of. Almost as if the entire thing was a joke. Well it might be Duke. It just might be. "Well you're certainly very rude." Nagare states after the man continues on. It's as if he doesn't care who Nagare is! Well then, he'll just have to make him care.

As 'FIGHT!' is shouted, Nagare doesn't seem to get the picture. "Alright! Lets have a good fi-" And that's where the movements of Duke just catch Nagare oblivious to the assault. The knee jams into his stomach, sending him back a good distance before he heel of the second assault crushes into him, sending him head over flipper into the sand. The coach lays there or a moment before getting back up.

Spitting up sand, and breathing sort of heavily, he shakes his head. "That's terrible form mister. I don't like to believe there are people like you in this world because it's so depressing. But, you have to take the ripples with the tsunami's I'm afraid." And that's when Nagare runs towards Duke, trying to make up the distance. Right before impact, Nagare lifts into the air, water chi bleeding from his sides as he begins to swim through the air, and not just swim, dog paddle on chi at Duke.

Here's your joke.

COMBATSYS: Nagare successfully hits Duke with Dog Paddling.

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Duke             0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0           Nagare


Here's his joke, indeed.
Within the moment of impact, Duke's leg snaps back into the ground with a muted thump. His right hand is still in his pocket as if to simply drive the point home that he doesn't even remotely see Nagare as a threat. "... Hmph."
It's a condescension he pays for. Nagare pulls himself up, and receives a curious glance in response -- as if Duke had simply assumed the man was just -that- weak. But that's clearly not the case. Chi blossoms from the Taiyo swimmer in undulating waves of water and Duke stands his ground. Nagare jumps. He swims.
Through the air.
"What the hell--"
Smack.
Chi and man strike the Southsynd gangster dead on in the chest in a resounding crash of impact. Water ripples around Duke, pulsating across his frame and forcing him to take several steps back. His feet stamp across the ground in bursts of sand and, in tandem, his face contorts into something resembling anger. "You talk a lot, boy," he notes as his lips pull back in a sneer. His right leg lifts, bending at the knee as it ascends into the air.
"You really shouldn't."
The leg descends with a literal BOOM of impact. Shoe digging deep into the sandy ground, violent tremors spawn forth from the point of impact, rippling across the ground like a disturbance on the surface of a lake. Sand sprays up as the trembling earth seeks to unsettle Nagare's footing. Though, this isn't what he should concern himself. The real concern comes from the fact that the sand is beginning to -melt- into glass. The source? A massive wave of fiery chi that blooms from Duke's foot in an ever-expanding circle, burning through the ground with intent to crash into Nagare with an explosive BLAZE of impact.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Nagare with Seismic Impact.

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Duke             0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0           Nagare


Nagare's a joke alright. And Duke's finding that out. It's rather fitting.

But Nagare shouldn't talk a lot. He really shouldn't. After coming down from the swim and into a tuck roll on the sand, granules sticking to him, he turns to see Duke looking at him. He opens his mouth to speak again, only for the gangster to fly into the air... And dig into the ground. The impact blows a wave of fiery chi and debris at Nagare, whose only response is to raise his arms up to stop it all, but in the great deal of things, fails miserably.

The fire washes over Taiyo High's soccer coach as he's flung backwards, rolling and finally striking the ground. He breathes heavily, not really happy with the certain fight as his body sizzles from the fire. "You really... should learn how to be nicer to people." Yes, that's a funny thing. "You'd get more respect." Instead of getting up, he lays on his back.

And starts to pump his own chest, giving himself CPR, water chi washing over his body as he does. He needs to soothe the fire as soon as possible.

Fire licks across the melted sand at Duke's feet as he slowly pulls back. The tremors die the instant that Nagare is blown backwards, those chi-born fires fading as fast as they come -- just as much as the moisture on Duke's clothes is already long gone. Hell's Executioner says little else, but speaks through actions instead. He drops down, his knees bending him into a fighting stance that shows a certain level of... commitment to the fight. Congratulations, Nagare. You've just graduated to slightly less of a joke.
But irritation changes to a slight expression of confusion as Nagare deigns not to get up and fight, but instead... give himself CPR? Duke's brows knit together, staring close. But he knows well enough what this means. He's been around long enough to discern techniques, both offensive and otherwise. "Oh no, you little punk," he growls as he begins an easy stride forward. He makes a dead path for Nagare, long strides calm at first but rapidly progressing into a burst of speed. He swoops down, one large hand extended.
"You're getting -BACK UP-."
Breaking Nagare's peaceful interlude with this growled declaration, Duke seeks to grip him by the face. From there, Hell's Executioner's actions are simple: drag the swimmer across the ground, and then chuck him -straight- into the air like a ragdoll.

COMBATSYS: Nagare endures Duke's Quick Throw.

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Duke             0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1           Nagare


COMBATSYS: Nagare successfully hits Nagare with CPR.

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Duke             0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1           Nagare


Now, Nagare stays down. He stays down nicely. Duke's one hard cookie, that's for sure. Crackling him will be tough. Beating him might be impossible. Still, Nagare's not going to rule out that with Taiyo spirit, he's going to do everything he possibly can to win the sport save cheating.

So when Duke looks committed, Nagare's still on the ground, but rather happy. Commitment is strove for. So Nagare simply does exactly as he can, waiting for the healing to take its course. And it does. But then Duke happens. Duke ALWAYS happens.

As he starts to get up, Duke's arm grabs hold of Nagare's face, and Nagare doesn't even say no. He lets Duke grab a hold and sling him into the air. The healing taking over, the dragging causes a lot of REALLY bad friction that he doesn't want, as you might imagine, but the healing completely negates it as Nagare's hurled into the air.

But once there, he actually swims higher, water chi thrusting him up in an example to Duke that will teach him something. Suddenly, Nagare does a one eighty, turning back towards duke, and coming down for him swiftly in a quick dive at duke.

Which, hit or miss, he'll be diving at the ground. Well. There's one thing for sure. Duke's not the only crazy one here.

COMBATSYS: Duke endures Nagare's Concrete Dive.

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Duke             1/-------/=======|=======\===----\1           Nagare


Swimming through the air.
Duke doesn't even try to make sense of it.
With a grunt, the gangster's hand snaps back to his side in a rush of black fabric. He stands his ground, noting the give in Nagare's body -- the acceptance of the fling. It doesn't speak well of what's to come. No -- it just bodes ill, and that's a feeling that Duke resonates with. It shows as Nagare twists through the air. That knowledge that glimmers in Duke's eyes. That expectance. He's -waiting-. And Nagare may only realize before he can do anything about it.
Like a human missile, Nagare dives. Springboarding through the very air itself, his path cuts through the dry heat and soars down towards Hell's Executioner. But he's ready. He's -prepared-. His muscles are tensing with the sudden stiffening of his frame. His massive hands clench into meaty fists.
And he smiles.
"-Worthless-."
A single word, spat out with disdain, that complements Nagare's crash into the gangster. Yet, while it would floor most people into the melted sand, Duke stands -firm-. In fact, he's already moving forward the moment that Nagare impacts in a flowing surge of muscle and rage. Nagare strikes out, hits clean. But it might come at a cost...
... The cost of Duke's right fist leading forward in a vicious haymaker to swat Nagare into the ground like a fly.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"

COMBATSYS: Nagare dodges Duke's Volcanic Bomb.

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Duke             0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1           Nagare


But Nagare, like any fish, is sometimes hard to actually land a hand on. As Nagare connects, he instantly flops on the ground, preventing any damage further from the dive. As he moves to get up, he can already tell that Duke meant business. He really did. So Nagare had to mean business too.

As if he had flippers, and he does, Nagare bleeds chi in an effort to keep hells executioner away from him. The right hand leading forward completely misses the man by milliseconds, leaving Duke in a more risky position. Or at least Nagare hopes, for once.

But the Swim Coach is all game. He doesn't speak. It's worthless. Instead, as Duke's still moving, Nagare tries to get him, and get him good. Kicking his feet at Duke as he approaches might not be effective. However, kicking his feet so quickly while wearing flippers MAY do something. And it make help that he's doing it while exuding water chi, the chi acting like waves and piling up near his feet where he kicks it.

It's as if a giant puddle had formed there, and now, Duke has to deal with somewhat of a chi tidal wave and finned feet battering him.

A Wild Nagare Uses Splash Attack.

COMBATSYS: Nagare successfully hits Duke with Super Splash Kick.

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Duke             0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0           Nagare


Swing. Duke's fist strikes air with the unpleasant swooshing sound generated by the sheer force of his impact. It couldn't have been anything easy to accomplish, considering the amount of force he put behind the swing; but Nagare has still managed to get out of the way, somehow. He seems nonplussed about this. After all, he still has more where that came from.
What comes next is something he can't properly react to in time. Before he knows it, flipper-clad feet crack into his ribcage with crushing force, berating him with a series of potent blows. They all send him staggering back uniformly. His teeth grit. A trail of blood runs down the corner of his lip.
Duke is the very picture of unpleasant when a surging wave of chi smashes into him, sending him along with the tides.
Drowned out by chi-laden waters, Duke thrashes, his hands rising out from the water's surface. Soon enough, that liquid dissipates as if it had never been there, and once-drenched ground becomes dry anew. And it all leaves one thing:
Duke, barrelling at Nagare, intent on introducing his meaty fist into the swimmer's face with a resounding crack of impact and a hellacious roar of fury.

COMBATSYS: Nagare blocks Duke's Strong Punch.

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Duke             0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Nagare


The strong punch knocks him clear back by the strike. His hands coming up, the fin pads being used to stop the onslaught that Duke holds in his very fists. He was a big man. This means that a lot of force is going to travel through and towards Nagare. Even as he raises the fins to block, he feels himself driven backwards an explosive amount, sending him zipping through the sand a good foot.

"Wow... you really pack a punch." Nagare states, no pun intended. But as he is, Nagare just can't let up. This is for the school and everyone else at Taiyo! He'll try his very hardest to make sure that it doesn't go without aid.

So Nagare actually duck walks right towards Duke, using his hands to 'swim' through the water and towards Hell's executioner. Nagare really shouldn't be fighting. He REALLY shouldn't be, assuming he's doing this. Still, he lashes out with a flipper kick, aiming to beat it on Duke.

COMBATSYS: Duke blocks Nagare's Light Kick.

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Duke             0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Nagare


Explosive power, explosively stopped. The full brunt of Duke's swing never quite makes it, even if Nagare is blown back by the sheer might of the momentum. Fist snapping back, Hell's Executioner gives a heavy frown. His eyes narrow dangerously. This punk is beginning to become more of an annoyance. He -might- have to start taking this fight seriously.
Leaning back on his heels against the hot desert sand, Duke's body is tense in both natural fury and in anticipation. That absurd waddling kick is met with a snarl and a palm; flipper strikes massive hand in a harmless diffusion of force before Nagare's leg is simply -thrust- to the side with Duke's titanic strength. His arm throbs, but it soon fades. The irritation in his eyes does not.
"... Hnn..." Taking a single step backwards, Duke's foot draws across the sand. He makes no movement this time. Instead, he simply bides his time, looking for any openings he can find -- and simultaneously, attempting to catch his breath. His arrogance has cost him today. He'll just have to see towards reversing it.

COMBATSYS: Duke gains composure.

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Duke             0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Nagare


Nagare is a super annoyance. And you'll find out real soon that. Right as you leave him alone. So as Duke actually stands his ground, Nagare think to himself as well. He is taking this fight seriously. For Taiyo High he's going to put everything into this fight, even if it means he's going to have to really put some effort into it. Duke's not going to take a win home that easily.

Being thrust towards the side, Duke leaves Nagare open for a moment. Even two. But as Nagare is open, he uses it, grabbing a water bottle, he begins to chug it down. Drinking the entire thing in a matter of seconds. A water chi guy out in the desert has GOT to keep hydrated.

Afterwards, he poses towards the camera's, holding up the bottle. "Remember! Keep hydrated! It's very important in the desert!" And then he LITTERS.

Nagare's a great role model.

COMBATSYS: Nagare gains composure.

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Duke             0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0           Nagare


Nagare opts not to bring the fight to Duke. That's fine.
He has ways of dealing with that, too.
One foot dragging slowly across the ground, Duke considers Nagare with an almost contemplative stare. He says nothing; no words really need to be said. Nagare deigns to drink water instead of attack Duke, but that just means he's open to assault now. Hell's Executioner takes a single step backwards. He swoops down. And then he punches the glass-covered ground surrounding him.
Makeshift, melted sand shatters in a spray of schrapnel that ascends violently into the air. With a forward -thrust-, Duke snaps out his right, bloodied hand, grasping on larger shard tightly in his grip. His arm rears back, his muscles constricting and applying more pressure. His lips pull back in a sneer.
And then, Duke just hurls the shard at Nagare like a rocket, momentum propelling itself with a target for the young man's shoulder.
That's for littering.

COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Nagare with Thrown Object.

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Duke             0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Nagare


Duke is not special fred. Well, if anything, Nagare is special too, as Duke just punched the ground to produce a glass projectile. So what does Nagare do? Nagare gets beamed with the glass projectile as he turns around, it beaming off his shoulder comically appropriately. "Hey! Ow! You have really have to watch your aim! If I didn't catch that you would have hit the camera man." Sure, Nagare's shoulder is now bleeding. But think of the camera man.

So Nagare takes Duke's challenge. He rushes at the man without a second thought, perhaps to Duke's want, attempting to run right into him. But then Nagare does it again. HE DOES IT AGAIN, probably much to Duke's annoyance.

He begins to swim once more when he's at Duke. But it's different. As he swim through the air, he swims right past duke, arms and feet going, only to turn sharply, trying to flipper Duke right in the face, added by the acidic like water chi that, like water, breaks apart even the strongest rock.

COMBATSYS: Duke endures Nagare's Breast Stroke Kick.

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Duke             0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0           Nagare


"Don't worry," Duke replies.
"I know who I'm aiming for."
Of course, the strike to Nagare's shoulder doesn't stop him. He keeps going, pushing his body past its normal limits. It would appear as if he's going -faster- than he should. And while Hell's Executioner makes note of this, he rather simply opts not to make a move on it -- for now. Instead, his body holds perfectly still. Watching. Waiting.
This time, he's not going to just swim away.
But swim Nagare does, and towards Duke. Even as he swims -past-, Duke is twisting around, moving INTO Nagare's strike. The flipper strikes soundly, cracking Duke's head to the side with the aid of that burning water chi. But... Duke doesn't stop moving. He's -leaping-...
... And seeking to drive a single kick straight into Nagare's jaw.
A straight vertical kick. Delivered with horrifying strength, it'd be more than enough to knock Nagare into the air. Duke ascends with him, twisting in the hot Egyptian skies and swinging his entire right leg up... before bringing it CRASHING down, aiming to thrust his polished shoe in an overhead axe kick that will bring Nagare propelling into the sandy earth. "GRAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"

COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Nagare with Swivel Gun.

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Duke             1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0           Nagare


Duke nails Nagare in the jar as he attempts to swim away. It's a terrible feeling to get kicked in the jar, and Duke kicks him in the jaw. But he can't complain. His jaw is just too bloody! Following that, kicking the man in the chest, Nagare falls flat on his face with a monster like axe kick jabs into his back, bringing him down towards the Nile.

Flipping around like a flounder, Nagare does the only thing he can. Looking down towards the river and bleeding, he reaches for something. Anything. Duke will destroy him if he's unable to actually fight back. And he gets something. It's his!

And so, Nagare pulls out a sword fish that probably doesn't live there BUT WE'LL SAY IT DOES. "Hah. My fishy friend. Fly true!" He states as he turns towards Duke, flinging the large fish needle first towards Duke in response, trying to get back up.

COMBATSYS: Duke overcomes Large Thrown Object from Nagare with Sledgehammer.

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Duke             0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0           Nagare


A swordfish in the Nile!!
IT'S A CONSPIRACY.
The fish is grabbed. Duke doesn't even seem to notice Nagare's floundering attempts to struggle back up with something of use. He simply falls neatly on polished shoes, and straightens out his clothes. Blood stains his goatee just as much as irritability stains his eyes. His fingers twitch. Nagare struggles, dragging himself across the rough sand, as Duke speaks three simple words:
"You can't win."
But Nagare will certainly try. By throwing a fish at Duke, bill first. He doesn't even think. Hell's Executioner turns, and it's then Nagare might see that his hands are alight with intense flames that send ripples through the air from the heat alone. He says nothing. He simply grips his hands together in one single fist, lifts them high...
... And hammerblows the ground.
"HRAAAAAGH!!"
And that's when things explode. A gigantic wall of flames erupts from the sandy earth, instantly incinerating the swordfish into nothing more than ash. And it continues on, unheeded, blazing across the sandy earth and melting it all as it stretches upwards towards the heavens. A towering firestorm easily double Nagare's size, burning towards him, and seeking to do nothing more than burn him alive in Duke's rage.

COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Nagare with Sledgehammer.

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Duke             0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1           Nagare


Nagare... is BLASTED. OH it hurts a good deal. Like you wouldn't BELIEVE.

Mister sword fish doesn't even see it coming. It's incinerated in the ash. Nagare is also lost in the ash, being thrown backwards in an amount of fire you don't even want to deal with. This duke, he's a menace to society. And this Nagare. He's flapping like a fish on the ground over there, burning from the fire chi.

"Ugh..." He lets loose. It hurt. It hurt a lot. But like heck if this man isn't going to do everything possible to defeat Duke. Getting up slowly, he just keeps his eye out for Duke.

"You... you hit hard." Is all Nagare's going to say. Once more, he just gathers himself to try to have a leg up in this fight once more. Duke's not happy fun OR nice. THE ANNOUNCEMENT LIED.

COMBATSYS: Nagare gains composure.

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Duke             0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0           Nagare


Again, Nagare chooses not to advance. With narrowed eyes, Duke considers the young man. He lifts from his crouched position, flames still licking across his fists -- still generating that hateful energy that burns like a perpetual furnace within him. Glass and sand crunches beneath his heels, cracking into beautiful shards that glisten in the sunlight. He snorts.
"You're wasting my time." His leg lifts. It would seem like he's preparing to stomp Nagare like an ant, but the Taiyo student is too far away for that. He should know well enough what this means, though.
SLAM. With one stomp, Duke's shoe crashes into the ground in an upheaval of sand and glass fragments. The strangely beautiful veil does nothing but herald the sudden, violent ruptures across the ground, bursting across the distance and accompanied by the signature wave of roaring flames. It would appear Duke isn't about to let Nagare get off that easily.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"

COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Nagare with Seismic Impact.

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Duke             0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           Nagare


And Nagare... has seen that before! AND HE DOESN'T LIKE IT. Not one bit. OH NO.
And it nails him head on. Oh it stings! But Nagare has no room to complain. Duke is just going to have the 10 bonus on him EVERY ATTACK. Nagare's projectiles are only fish! He's like Aqua Man but dressed more gaylike. Anyways, Duke is destroying Nagare. This is apparent when the sand and glass fragments and fire ruptures towards him and literally upheave the man without a care in the world. Nagare's sunk without a ship, or boat. Whatever it is.

Still, he's still fighting.

"You have to slow down... learn to enjoy things more." Nagare says rather ignorant of the mans evil demeanor as he moves in once more, trying to deliver to duke something different... AGAIN.

Right in Duke's face he tries to kick up and knock Duke's whole body with a flipper slap and drag, with both of them, water chi washing off into duke and into the air, and maybe even across his figure!

If anything Duke will have to deal with knowing that a guy in a SPEEDO fought him tooth and nail.

COMBATSYS: Duke blocks Nagare's Flipper Roundhouse.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Duke             0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0           Nagare


He's still up. He's still fighting.
What is this kid made of?
Really, it's just starting to -irritate- Duke. Dark eyes narrowed, he watches impatiently as Nagare gets up. He spits at the ground, saliva intermingled with blood in a most unpleasant way.
"Our ideas of enjoyment are completely different," he retorts. His right hand lifts, pressing against the scar at his neck. Rough fingertips drag across the surface, and he resolves himself completely.
It's time to end this.
That flipper comes, and Duke greets it with the -thrust- of his forearm forward, crashing harshly into those legs and dispersing the watery chi preemptively. Droplets go spraying in a brief rain across the space between them, drizzling into the sand below and dissipating into nothing. "HUURRAAAAARRRGH!!" And in one smooth movement, he leaps.
It's all incredibly swift: Duke attempts to bury his knee into Nagare's gut, sending him airborne in a sudden and brutal lift. At the same moment, Hell's Executioner will twist in the sky, before swinging his right leg down, SLAMMING it into Nagare's sternum in a stomping kick that will just FLATTEN him into the ground below. Just as simple as that.

COMBATSYS: Duke successfully hits Nagare with Dive Bomber.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /                             ]
Duke             1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1           Nagare


Nagare's not a kid. He's at LEAST 20 years old. He's no longer a teen anymore either. SO HE'S AN ADULT DUKE. Though you might have destroyed him now, yes.

Still, as Duke executes comes at him through his own attack. The knee strikes into his gut, stunning Nagare as the wind is knocked out of him. Fully knocked. It's a horrible experience. And then, it comes. EVEN MORE.

The man is knocked into the air before Duke, airborn, slams him into the ground once more. It's all incredibly painful for Nagare, as you could only imagine. With a grunt and a fleeting hope, Nagare grabs a hold of the stomping kick while some blood manages to find its way out of his mouth and lift it... just enough.

Enough so that Nagare would swim at Duke. Swim at Duke and never give up, and underwater dive IN MID AIR, water chi splashing left and right, but only the head of the Coach being seen as he does, diving RIGHT INTO DUKE.

But at the end, he doesn't roll. He comes to a quick stop on the ground, granules of sand sticking to everywhere over his bleeding, sweaty figure. The first fight he's lost yet.

COMBATSYS: Nagare can no longer fight.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Duke             1/-------/=======|


COMBATSYS: Duke blocks Nagare's Underwater Dash.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Duke             0/-------/-----==|


It's all over. Yet still...
Nagare has to try to be the hero.
An explosion of water. A diving young man, striving with determination to bring Duke down with him. It's all very touching.
It perhaps ruins the moment, then, that Duke laughs right in Nagare's face.
"A loser like you..."
Nagare dives in head-first, where he'll be greeted by two massive forearms swinging down on his cranium like a mac truck. With a deafening crack of muscle meeting skull, the gangster's arms whiplash outward with an ache of pain. The effect is clear. Duke staggers back...
... but Nagare will be sent flying to crash into the sandy deserts face-first.
"... -CAN'T BEAT ME-."
In the aftermath, Duke is left hunched over. He is panting, gasping in air to retrieve his wits. But it's clear who the winner is today -- even if Nagare has proven himself much more than Duke would have ever considered him to be. Hell's Executioner offers no compliments, however.
The winner never succumbs to weaknesses like respect.

COMBATSYS: Duke takes no action.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Duke             0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Duke has ended the fight here.

Log created on 16:46:53 10/21/2007 by Duke, and last modified on 06:23:31 10/23/2007.