Description: The Tyrant Rugal Bernstein is back and business! And after telling the Neo League owners, the Masters that to find him a fight... they did! And dropped him in the ocean full of NAGARES. Will Rugal defeat the Nagare's on their home turf, or will it be NAGARE 2: THE RETURN OF JA- FLIPPERS!? (Winner: Rugal)
While Rugal had been a rising factor in the Season 2 of Neo League for a while, after a certain point he fell of the radar. Some in the fighting world might know of the 'R' assault on the Suiryuu during the weeks of Jinchuu. Fewer would know of how Rugal's role in that sequence culminated. The living focal point of a gigantic chi bomb as the Ryouhara, as the final option, detonated over half their ship to take the tyrant down and bring an end to the invasion.
And for several weeks, the man was not heard from again. Rumors abounded that the crimelord was dead. His son, Adelheid, was running 'R' for better or for worse and the other factions seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief as one of the fighting titans of the world seemed to have passed on at last.
Sadly, he lived. His recovery wasn't instant by any means. For over a week he was hooked up to machines just to survive. But he got better. Days of brutal training, body building, exercise... starting gradually then working his way up... Until eventually his body, fueled by an indominatable drive to survive longer, had at last recovered. That isn't to say that he stepped out of the shadows immediately. For some time he has been quiet, biding his time. But the desire to test his renewed strength against others could not be restrained forever.
Back to the Neo League where Rugal Bernstein indicated his availability for a match. Any fight, any opponent, the more grueling the better. He had to know that he was back on his feet. To remove any question of lost power. To prove to the world he was back. The league officials took his request and... well, it remains to be seen if they were honoring it or not. The fight is staged on a platform floating in the middle of the ocean. At least, that's how it seemed at first.
Dressed in his red-brown suit, the tyrant of 'R" stepped foot onto the platform, getting out of his helicopter, a black scarf around his neck touseled in the wind. The platform housed cameras on long cranes that could be remote controled, but was otherwise empty. Just a plan, giant surface. Interesting... who might he be fighting out here in the middle of no where?
His helicopter takes off to rise up into a hovering pattern and Rugal moves toward the center of the platform, expensive dress shoes clacking against the surface. Curious... Turning around in a circle, the man looks for his opponent. If no one shows he is NOT going to be a happy camper.
It's then that the unthinkable happens. The center of the platform drops down - a gigantic trap door, releasing Rugal to free fall to the ocean some thirty feet below. Splashing down in the water the man surfaces, expression already enraged as he glares back up at the platform with a single human eye. Very funny. Very funny indeed. It will be even funnier when he finds out which official came up with this idea and sends a squad of assassins out to murder him and his entire family. That's when Rugal will get HIS laugh.
Drenched but still dressed to the gills, the man starts to swim toward one of the legs of the platform, clearly intending to climb back up to the top. Then he'll signal his chopper to pick him up. Then he will put 'Killing a few league officials' next on his To Do list.
Now, the story of Rugal falling from grace, only to crawl himself up from the bowels of hell to survive, and not just that, return to his strength, was a rather powerful one. It is terrible that the League has such a sense of humor when it comes to staging such fights. Such fights like this is what drives many mad for even the pitting of such foes against each other.
The platform fight is what Rugal wanted. But for Nagare, the platform would have been an encumberance. In the water, he's much faster, much more agile, and you could only imagine how much bonus a swimmer could get. Even as Rugal found himself angry and at the point of breaking, it wouldn't get any better from here on. A man who had no idea who he was save for a passing thought, Nagare began to swim about Rugal, a small fin of a shark actually sticking out of the water, sticking between Rugal and the legs of the platform.
Without a moments notice, the 'shark' begins to swim about Rugal. Is some one trying to assassinate Rugal so quickly after his recovering? Are the Masters a sick, twisted group? Well, in some ways more than others. Popping up behind Rugal with a splash, the swimmer's head became visable as he floated.
"So you must be my opponent!" Nagare states, moving to remove the shark fin he had worn previously, just for laughs. "Nagare Namikawa. A pleasure to meet you!" The man states with a smile. "Don't worry, you haven't kept me waiting. I got here an hour early to make sure I was ready. About four hundred laps about this arena. I had to guess but I think it still counts!"
A swimmer. They set Rugal up to fight a swimmer in the water. Did they really find this funny? Well... yes. The funnier part, however, Rugal will find out when the swimmer doesn't automatically fold under his feverous assault. Well, presumably.
Just treading water, Nagare looks towards Rugal. "May the best man win!"
Out of his element, this is nothing like what Rugal had in mind. He becomes aware that he's not alone just as his arm reaches up to grab hold of the floating piller holding the platform aloft. Just a simple of matter of climbing out now and- Wait, what's that? Glancing to the side, his human eye narrows at the fin. It looks like he might have to punch a shark's head in before he starts climbing out...
But the movements aren't exactly those of a shark and his instincts tell him this is something else entirely. A suspicion backed up when a head pops up out of the water. The Taiyo High swim coach greets Bernstein and introduces himself as his opponent and the man scowls, free hand clenching tightly beneath the cool water. He doesn't look pleased about this at all but his mind is starting to put together the caper. This is their cute idea of leveling the playing field, hmn? Well, he'll show them how ridiculous THAT idea is!
"Mister Namikawa, is it," the man's voice is deep, a low growl as he releases his hold from the platform's support leg. He won't be climbing out just yet, it appears. Oh no, he has unfinished business down here first. "If that is so, then by all means... Test yourself against the might of Rugal Bernstein and see the gap that exists between us!" He's sopping wet and treading water. That probably would have come across a lot scarier if he was on dry ground.
COMBATSYS: Rugal has started a fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Nagare has joined the fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Nagare
COMBATSYS: Rugal takes no action.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Nagare
Nagare looks directly towards Bernstein. He's dripping wet, and definitely not in any clothes to really fight in the water. All those clothes will just slow him down here! Maybe he did that on purpose? Nagare will see sooner or later. It's just a shame everything is ruined, not that Nagare is really thinking that, ho ho.
However, Rugal doesn't give a smile and a wave. He doesn't offer up anything. He looks very, very disatisfied with the circumstances and Nagare can't help but feel like he's part of the reason why Rugal is giving him that look. Perhaps he has an unfair advantage over the man and resentment is kicking in. The swimmer can't help but feel some sort of empathy, given that the league loves doing this to him. First Duke, then Geese, and now Rugal? Well, it's a good thing Nagare's not heard of them much!
Well, until after he fights them. Then he does research. As Rugal treads water and gives his speech, Nagare doesn't laugh, he does however smile. Rugal did very well for a speech in the water. Maybe Nagare can give the man a lesson or two about how to tread water like a real villain. He's doing very well forhimself, given the circumstances though.
"I'm ready when you are, then, Mr. Bernstein!" Nagare states as he begins to swim towards Rugal, a quick pace, accented by how hard Nagare plows through the water. It almost seems like he just started before he stops, laying backwards before he begins to kick hard towards Rugal's chest, water chi, water, and flippers striking out at full strength and speed. It seems his style is just as effective in water, as out! Who would have thought.
COMBATSYS: Nagare successfully hits Rugal with Splash Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Rugal 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Nagare
First things first. Show the pesky swimmer he can't even hope to harm the crimelord with a decisive show of being too damn hard to budge, even in the water! That's a lot easier to do when feet are well grounded on terra firma than treading water in the middle of the ocean. The crimelord makes no attempt to defend himself as Nagare's feet come pounding against his chest. Simple kicks from a swimmer... hopeless.
But of course there's a catch. It isn't just with physical strikes he aims to get the man's attention but with water chi which, frankly, is PRETTY DARN HARD TO NOTICE WITH ALL THIS WATER OUT HERE!!
Caught off guard by the secondary nature to the attack, Rugal takes it in the gut hard, driven back a little ways through the water, his back slamming against the buoyant platform pillar with a bit of a crunch, provoking a soft growl from the already ill-tempered man. "Bold." Wasting no time, he lunges forward off the support to close distance in return.
Flipping forward in the water the man strikes out with both of his legs, attempting to drive them right back into Nagare's chest just to give the coach a sense of what he's up against her. Maybe he'll give up early and put a quick end to this little charade. "RAH!"
COMBATSYS: Nagare interrupts Medium Kick from Rugal with Breast Stroke Kick.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Nagare
Now, one could only imagine what Nagare would do next after that. Rugal's already been caught off guard once. The tyrant strikes the side and Nagare only watches. "Ohhh. Sorry." He apologizes, but the man doesn't look very harmed. Annoyed, yes, but not entirely harmed. Nagare blinks, only to watch the man lurch after him. Throwing himself back to attempt to slow the man's attack, he knows it's only a matter of time.
Throwing his hands backwards, he does the one thing he knows how to do best. And that is swim. But as Rugal flips forward, Nagare's already powering himself with his swimming style, pushing away from the man only to be slammed by the dual feet. But he doesn't stop, even as he bobs beneath the water, he powers as the feet crush his chest.
And Rugal, he ends up eating MORE flipper and waterchi, right to the chest after the strike. More battering against the man who could only be called a rock. It seems no matter how much of a joke Nagare is, he has some skill. And that's in the water. "Hah..." He lets out, "Alright, your turn again."
Rugal drops Naked Pictures of Heidern.
The swimmer was /supposed/ to crumple in agony from the brutal kick. Of course, the kick wasn't really anywhere near as fast as it was supposed to be. Something to do with trying to fight against all that water weighing down his clothes, no doubt. Instead Nagare strikes back, trading hit for hit as the waves crash up around the two men.
Knocked back a little from the impact of both kicks and chi, Bernstein doesn't look amused at all. Though that might have to do with his longer hair hanging down over his face as he bobs his head back up out of the ocean, teeth clenced tightly.
"Four hundred laps, you say. You must have quite the stamina to endure that much rigorous exercise..." His mouth curls into a smirk as he treads water for a moment, spitting some of the seawater to the side. "That's good, because you're going to need that kind of regimen to get back into fighting condition when I'm done breaking you!" Someone is cranky today!
Just trying to GET to Nagare is a pain as the man performs a single powerful breast stroke to close distance before righting himself and slamming out with a solid, crushing fist toward Nagare's stomach with his right hand. His left hand slams forward, two fingers extended as he aims to jam the coach dead center just beneath his rib cage, targeting a nerve cluster. Numbing it at all might make some headway in slowing down the swimmer a little.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Nagare with Medium Punch.
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Rugal 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Nagare
Nagare's a fast one in the water, but Rugal is just a monster. As Rugal gets back up, surfacing to face Nagare once more, the swimmer seems to have him on the run. But that isn't the case. Instead, Rugal's got Nagare, but Nagare just doesn't know it. "Yeah! Four hundred laps." Nagare answers, only to listen to the second notion that Rugal gives him. "Breaking me? I'm not a toy sir!" Nagare states.
But Rugal doesn't listen! Powering into the man's stomach with the fist, Nagare gets powered backwards, bubbles exploding into the water and around as he lurches backward to try to soften the blow, the hand flippers manuevering himself but failing miserably as the second hand comes, slamming the two fingers into the nerve cluster below the ribcage. Nagare floats back after that, coughing brutally as he looks towards Rugal. Wow, the man really doesn't mess around.
Well two can play at the game. Looking towards Rugal, he keeps his eye on the man. "I'm glad!" he states before taking a deep breath and disappearing beneath the churning waves that rock back and forth with Rugal.
If Rugal is paying attention, he can see fin or two appear out from beneath the water, a figure like a swimmers aimed towards Rugal's chest. Nagare was tackling Rugal head first under water, attempting to ram straight into and past in a run away swimmer and tyrant accident!
COMBATSYS: Nagare successfully hits Rugal with Underwater Dash.
- Power hit! -
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Rugal 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Nagare
The two punches delivered, Rugal smirks, looking quite confident as he slams the man backward in his own element. Back to treading water as the waves pick up a little. Then Nagare dives below the surface, attempting to come at the crimelord from another angle perhaps? The tyrant doesn't seem too worried, glancing down through the obscurring waves to try and get a feel for where Nagare will be coming for next.
When the fins crest, the man focuses on the Taiyo coach, bringing his arms up to attempt to knock aside the high powered human torpedo in a speedo, but it looks like there's going to be an accident out here at sea as Nagare successfully crashes through the veteran fighter's attempt to defend himself, driving him back against the support pillar again. Okay, so trying to weather out attacks in the water is hella impossible! Rugal begins to consider incorporating training in these conditions into his routines in the future. Just in case, you know, he runs into Heidern in the middle of the Atlantic or something. One never knows!
A lesser opponent might have been completely destroyed by the powerful strikes, but Bernstein just growls, getting more angry by the second. While his left arm continues to be used to tread water, his right arm lowers below the surface. A glimmer of something bright might be visible in his right fist as the man collects an incredible amount of chi in the palm of his hand. "I've never heard of you before, Mister Namikawa, but your skills in this environment are impressive..."
There are ways of dealing with this disadvantageous environment though, the man muses. No longer interested in chasing him through the water, the man swings his right arm forward, sending a broiling pulse of chi slaming through the water back through Nagare. Time to let the chi do the walking... and the talking!
COMBATSYS: Nagare dodges Rugal's Reppuken.
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Rugal 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Nagare
Nagare always trains under these conditions. It's pretty much the reason why he's able to exist in such conditions and even hold his own against Rugal for this long, even if it might be a fluke, the tyrant may definitely want to go over such training excersizes in the future, as Nagare isn't one to fight on land himself... but once you put him in the water, he's a rabid pirhanna!
Except he's not trying to take a chunk out of Rugal, really. Rugal's just lucky Heidern isn't watching this. Then he definitely may challenge Rugal to a water match! "Thank you sir!" Nagare states as the glimmer becomes more than such to his vision. He's seen that before, and whatever it is, he's not too big on staying in the way of it. As it fires off, Nagare attempts something. Kicking wildly, Nagare swims up!
Up? Up. Right into the air, dripping of water chi and water as he fully escapes the water, swimming through the air for moments before diving back down into the water once more, landing not too far from Rugal, perhaps even splashing him as he renters the water. "You're very good yourself!" Nagare says as he turns about to face Rugal.
Now, there wasn't anything special about the next onslaught. It was Nagare lurching towards Rugal in a quick kick, attempting to slam flipper chops of his hands into each side of the tyrant underwater, since his biggest is advantage is sticking to his element!
COMBATSYS: Rugal interrupts Strong Punch from Nagare with Genocide Cutter EX.
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Rugal 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Nagare
Nagare's control over chi is nothing short of remarkable. The man takes to the air in order to avoid the projectile that literally sears a tunnel through the ocean as it tears toward him, allowing the water to collapse back in behind it. But the swimmer isn't as water bound as Rugal had expected, making it up over the Reppuken in time to avoid getting blasted out of the water.
Remarkable. He swims through the air via chi manipulation as well? "Hahahaha!" That might not be the reaction he was expecting from the previously furious tyrant. Rugal can't help but laugh as he continues to tread water. "Good show!" He's seen a lot of things in his life, but he's never seen /this/ before.
But being amused doesn't mean he isn't going to lash back the second he sees his opportunity. Out of the water Nagare's trajectory is easier for the tyrant to follow and predict. And when that happens Rugal gets /dangerous/.
As Nagare splashes down, the drenched crimelord retaliates, swinging his right leg up with a crecent kick against Nagare's chest, a scythe-like trail of scalding, piercing chi moving in behind his leg as he rises up out of the water, driving Nagare upward as well. "Genocide-" His left leg swings in next with a crushing follow up strike to the back, sending him up even further. "-CUTTER!"
The two hover in the air for a moment, spraying water falling down around the two of them... But unlike Nagare, Rugal can't 'swim' through the air so upon reaching the apex of the momentum he drops back down toward the ocean himself.
Nagare finds out post haste that an angry Rugal, or at least annoyed Rugal, is a very powerful foe indeed. As the man lashes out at Nagare, Nagare's only chance is to fight against it. And he does, to a point. But it takes him. It's almost all consuming. His strikes never even make it. Withing a moment, he sees it, and not the ocean blue, Genocide cutter... blue. With water being burned up in the powerful chi strike.
Nagare doesn't even feel his attack strike as Rugal crushes through him like paper. Ripping into him dangerously. Nagare barely is able to keep afloat as he strikes the water with a splash, rocking back and forth as he attempts to get back on the ball.
But with a strike that powerful to your chest, you too might let the world pass you by for a moment. Knowing fully well to drown in water would be bad a bad way for the teacher to lose here, Nagare swims back up towards the surface.
Splashing up and out, Nagare spits water out into the sea, looking straight at Rugal. "Wow... you must be someone. That almost hurt as much as that other guy I fought the other day. I think he called himself Gease." Well, it sure wasn't Howard the duck.
Still in this to a degree, Nagare swims towards Rugal. Swims like you can only believe as he attempts a few extra shots, even when he's beginning to bleed a bit. The first shot is a simple fin kick with his left leg, the right leg following through to flipper Rugal's chin... if the tyrant could even stand for that.
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Nagare's Light Kick.
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Rugal 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Nagare
So he truly doesn't know who he's up against. Rugal has been getting too much of that as of late. A masked shogun of Mad Gear and his ally tore down a building of his building and they didn't even know who they were messing with!! The downside of spending so much time brooding on some old carrier, one supposes. But now to ease up a little bit... the man sloughs off his suit coat while Nagare recovers from the brutal impact, letting him get his bearings without any aggression. It seems he's come to think differently of the swimming fighter now.
"Heh. If only you knew," the man smirks, shaking his head once to get some of his long, blond hair out of his face, the dark pool of technology that is his right cybernetic eye glimmering to life with a pin-thin red light. Good thing it's water proof!
Nagare comes at him again and the man responds with defense, starting to adapt to the nature of fighting in the water. He isn't a genius combatant for no reason after all. Both hands come up to intersect Nagare's flipper-clad limbs, allowing himself to be pushed back in order to nearly completely mitigate the impact.
"And now, my fine finned friend, I'm afraid it's time for this little battle to come to an end!" Ducking below the water, Rugal slams himself forward at Nagare, mimicking the swimming headbutt the Taiyo coach hit him with earlier, attempting to drive the strength out of him with a Bernstein Torpedo<TM> to the chest!
COMBATSYS: Nagare endures Rugal's Fierce Punch.
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Rugal 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Nagare
The Bernstein torpedo works to Burnsteins advantage! Pow! Nagare isn't really sure what's going to happen after he's thrown backwards. But as he watches Rugal, he can already tell that the man is going to try to turn this all on the man's head! And he really does, as Rugal pushes against Nagare and slams into him, Nagare just holds on for the ride. Not yet.
As he's smashed against the leg of the stage up above, Nagare can feel the crushing force on his chest. Maybe. Maybe he can make it out of this one. He's not sure, but he's going to try. Fighting Rugal, he's just trying to make his last action count. "Not yet!" That's the spirit of Taiyo High. Play hard. Fight hard. Something like that. Nagare's head is swimming.
Finally, managing to grab the leg and hold himself, Nagare, for a single action, begins to kick. Hard. Really really really hard. The flippers might dent Rugal's face, but the water might chisel through his defenses. At least that's what Nagare is hoping for.
After that, the coach is down for the count. A dead fish.
Or is he?
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Nagare's Super Splash Kick.
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Rugal 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Nagare
The two crash against the support beam with Nagare trapped between it and the assaulting Bernstein. The impact results in Rugal backing off just a little, a bit dazed as his swimming headbutt ended so abruptly. That wasn't really the intent!
But backing off just enough buys him the split second necessary to raise his defenses. Flipper clad feet start slamming against his arms, driving the tyrant of 'R' backward in the water off of Nagare. The watery chi splashing through the waves impacts him as well, slipping in around his powerful arms to pack a bit of a punch, but Rugal ends up being able to survive the attack markedly well even if his arms are battered from the process.
At least Nagare is down and out... Except no, the man is still continuing! "You fought well," Rugal mutters as he launches himself forward through the water again, one bare arm rising out of the cresting wave to make a grasp toward Nagare's neck. "And for that you have my gratitude..." If he gets that hold he'll heft Nagare up a little, slamming his back against the piller. "But this battle is OVER!" His left arm slams forward, attempting to drive a knuckled fist into Nagare's stomach.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Nagare with Scorpion Blow.
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Rugal 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\0 Nagare
Nagare's final strike!... did nothing but send Rugal into a monsterous RAGE. Or at least, a monsterous 'I will end you now' rage. Okay, not a rage at all. But what R wants, R gets. And R totally got this. As Nagare begin to fall from the assaulting Rugal, he kicks, and he kicks, and he kicks. But Rugal pushes through without fault. Like he learned to fight the water.
Which means poor Nagare's about to feel the hurting. And he sure does as Rugal launches forward, grabbing a hold of Nagare's neck before being slammed into the pillar. That was that all right. As soon as his face is slammed, blood drips from his face, and the fist slamming into his stomach doesn't help any more.
Nagare was already on the edge, and here, he goes out like a light.
Nagare lost in his home element?! Unpossible!
Well, he's swimming with the fishes now! Which... is no different than the rest. "Ughh..." He mumbles.
Rugal sure put him over that pain thresh hold.
COMBATSYS: Nagare takes no action.
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Rugal 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Nagare can no longer fight.
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Rugal 1/---====/=======|
The crushing blow is delivered as Rugal slams Nagare's back against the buoyant support beam holding the platform that Bernstein /thought/ was to be the fighting stage afloat. It's all the coach can take. Considering the odds he fought well, but there's nothing left in him.
The man goes weak, no longer able to fight, and Rugal chuckles. "Interesting talents and a style I haven't seen before..." Always nice to have a first like that. When one has fought as much as Rugal has, it's rare to get truly /surprised/. His opponent finished, Rugal hefts him over his shoulder, freeing his powerful arms to climb the piller at long last to make it up to the platform above.
The brave swimming coach is laid down to recover there as Bernstein walks over to the edge, water pouring off of him and out of his shoes with every step. "Heh." the man grunts, looking upward as his chopper swings back around to pick him up. Flexing his right arm, he pats his bicep with his left hand, smirking to himself. He's still got it, it seems. His health is better. Time to take back 'R' from his son and resume his conquests. Now it's just a matter of getting that leaky boat of his fixed!
COMBATSYS: Rugal has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:32:07 12/05/2007 by Nagare, and last modified on 10:57:24 12/08/2007.