Trial Run [Saga|Shouko]

Iwasaka Shouko had reached a bottleneck. Her stubborn focus on the basics of martial techniques had served her well, her martial talent allowing her to keep up with classmates, despite a quirk that was incapable of being trained. However, she could feel it deeply in her movements. That there was a reason the basics were basics, and that no martial art retained purely the basics! Her foundations were sturdy, but she had nothing built upon them. In the novels she read, this would be no problem- The main character would likely just eat some fruit of knowledge, and life would be okay. But there was no such fruit in real life, and Shouko was no main character!

However, she was not in altogether a bad position. Unlike in the novels, her bottleneck was not a matter of life and death... And if anywhere in the world had the resources necessary to overcome her limits, it was UA! Already, she had sounded out the limits of that bottleneck, sparring with her upperclassman on a regular basis. But it would take more than that to overcome such a barrier, both mental, and physical! Which was why! She had contacted the school's combat instructor!

She had some familiarity with Geist-sensei. he was the one who had approved and aided in her ambitious Brawl project, after all! But even so, she was aware that his methods were... Mildly extreme. Something she should have known far sooner, seeing how many students came out with severe injuries from his events last Sports Festival... But then, she hadn't really paid much mind to the non-combat areas. Tehepero. But still, the ex-villain was known for putting students in danger, and even used a gun on Yumi-senpai in one exercise! The upperclassman didn't seem to realize how dangerous that was, but Shouko did! In short, his retirement didn't hit her where it hurt.

But it did make it a surprise when she received a response from the school's combat division. It seemed the school had been aware of his decision, and had long since made preparations for a newcomer to take his place. As for why they did not wait for the new school year to change over... A student like Shouko could never know. All she knew was that the pro hero Aquitaine was willing to oversee her training, and help her overcome this limit!

Whether it was indoors or outdoors hardly mattered to Shouko- Not at this time of year, anyways! Her lack of functional sweat and the heat retention of her stone meant that the chilly January air was hardly a concern. In the summer, though... It was the opposite case! And so, the stone-clad girl made her way onto the field. The one she was to meet was obvious- Of everyone in the school, the only person whose swordplay was so refined was Tetsuko-senpai! "Nyahaha!" The girl would laugh brightly at the pro's joke. "Good old Geist-sensei. I hope he's doing well, wherever he is! Thanks for coming out to meet me on such short notice, Aquitaine-sensei!"

Aquitaine was a well known hero, and one who would be nearly impossible for Shouko not to recognize- Not her face, nor her style, which had cut down many a villain! "It's an honor to be taught by the Walking Fortress!" Although, rather than a pro hero fan, Shouko was a through and through battle fanatic! And of the pro heroes, Aquitaine was near and dear to her heart- Having a quirk dedicated to healing, yet overcoming this through sheer skill! It was the paragon of what Shouko sought!

"En, that's me!" The other obviously knew her from having agreed to meet. "Right! Eto," Despite having thought a lot about what she needed, Shouko had failed to practice... Explaining it! "En. So, to begin at the start... My quirk's the static type, see? A lot of people treat their quirk as a muscle they can train, because it is... But mine's more like a bone? It's there, it gets stronger... But aside from drinking milk, I'm not able to specifically toughen it up! So, my path as a hero, is martial arts! I created my own style to go with my quirk, and have been training in it ever since... Eto, it's effective!" She added! The style itself was not the problem! She needed to emphasize that fact!

"But, hmm. It's like... En." Phrasing was difficult to find. "Up until now, the style is... Mostly theories held together by basics? Like, center of gravity, where to aim, how to throw or grapple... That sort of thing? But..." Well, she was never one for humbleness. But before a pro hero, even this bit of bragging felt awkward! "When it comes to those basics, it's like... I've hit the level cap, see?" That was her main problem. Her strength up until now came from undeniable basic techniques. But when she maxed out her basics, she had no advanced techniques to train in! She either needed a breakthrough to a new realm of basics, or to gain an understanding of what made a technique more advanced!

"So if I'm going to keep up, I need to update my style! Besides, what's a hero without a special move, right?" The girl's grin was too bright for it to be a joke. Every self respecting hero needed a signature technique or finishing blow! That was her philosophy! "Eto, I know your focus is the sword and not the fist, but... Do you think you could take a look at what I have so far?"

Shouko was naturally confident in what she had to offer! And even moreso in her study of the basic theories of martial arts- She had watched too many fights to not pick up a thing or three! Cracking her knuckles with a broad grin, the girl would hardly waste time! "Nyahaha, okay then! Here I go!" Without further ado, the brunette would begin by... Stripping! Her quirk lay hidden beneath her simple clothes, and so for optimal explanation, she would have to remove the outer garment... Fortunately, the cold never bothered her anyways! En! So, to begin with... Is this! See, my quirk grows a stone cocoon around myself each night, so... To use it, I have to carve it! And this is the form I ended up with!"

The armor was, in a word... Revealing. Armor was hardly the word for it. The carving was clearly the work of an amateur, albeit an experienced one. In the first place, the band of stone which wrapped around her chest was clearly there just to preserve the girl's modesty- With the true focus of the piece being the long stone skirt which fell below her knees... And begged the question of how it had been hidden by the much shorter skirt of her tunic. "Since stone's rigid, I can't wear it as a true armor! I have to cut away where there's any joints that would be impeded by the stone! And what's left is this!" The minimum contact between stone and skin, while still covering a significant amount of her body, and without any chance of just falling off! Shouko was quite proud of the final product!

As a demonstration, she did some simple stretches to show just how little her battle dress impacted her movements- Even her legs had a wide freedom of movement underneath the bell of the skirt. "En, and while the weight does hamper me a bit, because it's all in the skirt, it pulls my center of gravity way down!" The effect of that was obvious. Controlling the center of gravity was a big deal- The lower it was, the more stable! And so having a low center of gravity before taking her stance... How stable would Shouko be when she took a low stance as well?

That was something she would be happy to show! "En, so, the basis of my style is about using that weight in a few different ways! I have it split into four stances, so I'll start by explaining those. First is, Treating the Light as though it were Light!" The name would make more sense as she progressed. As she settled into this stance- The most obvious note to make was her posture. It was extremely light, legs only bent slightly to prevent locking the joint, and resting on the ball of the foot. It was, in a word, light- Despite the heavy stone she wore. And the moves she used exemplified this, engaging significantly in footwork. The girl moved around, throwing out a set of swift and light punches, as well as the occasional kick! "The emphasis of the first stance is mobility! As my lightest form, it's fast and smooth!"

The moment she changed to the second stance would be obvious even if she did not introduce it. Her feet fell flat on the ground, and legs bent nearly to a horse stance- Her center of gravity lower than ever. "The second stance is, treating the Light as though it were Heavy! It emphasizes stability and defense, while holding some of the flexibility of the first stance... Great for countering!" Her demonstration for this set would follow- Her moves distinctly slower, but each having more power. The first form emphasized light punches, strikes and jabs- While the second one utilized more palm blows, and other moves which took advantage of her stability to knock the target back! As she said, it was an excellent choice to use when preparing for an incoming strike!

However, after the second stance came the third stance... or not? "Ah, it'll be more convenient to show my fourth stance before the third! Hmm, maybe I should renumber them." It was her style, she could do what she wanted! But that was a question for another time. "The fourth stance, is treating the Heavy as though it were Light!" As for what she meant by heavy... That would soon become obvious, as what appeared to be cement would suddenly explode forth from her arms, hardening in the blink of an eye into stone clubs which encased her arms. "The main point of this form, is momentum!" But that was easier to show than to tell. The demonstration for this one started off a bit more slowly, the girl swinging her arms, and her entire body moving to match them... But soon it became clear that each swing did not merely end, but was smoothly weaved into the next one, preserving it's momentum! As such, after a mere few swings, she was up to speed, and her movements became increasingly interesting. She would twirl her entire body around, clubs splayed to the side like helicopter blades. She would cartwheel, clubs and legs each striking the ground with force- Or a target's head, if there were to be one in front of her. The clubs weaved up and down as though weightless, explaining the name of the style.

And then, the final stance. "And, last, but not least! The Treating the Heavy as though it were Heavy stance of maximum power! The girl declared, planting her feet as she had for the second stance. By this, it would become obvious how the stances were named- The first heavy/light dichotomy was between the use of her clubs or not, and the second was based on whether her stance had a higher or lower center of gravity! As for the move demonstration of this one... It was simple, and yet effective. Both clubs had reached their peak, pointing skywards... And then slammed downwards, crashing into the ground with a force more immense than any other Shouko had displayed. So immense, in fact, that the clubs could not withstand the attack, and shattered into rubble.

"And that's the basics of my style! But the real power comes from how I switch from stance to stance!" It was a key point she kept forgetting to mention, so people kept thinking she had neglected it! But some of those transitions were visible even in her demonstration, such as how the momentum of the third stance had carried her clubs upwards- And then she had switched the the fourth stance in order to bring them down. The girl smiled happily as she waited for a verdict!