Lucky Strike(Shouko)

Coincidence is a funny thing. Iwasaka Shouko was never the type to be out in the woods on a sunny afternoon. The self-proclaimed battle connoisseur much preferred to be inside. Watching grainy videos of the battles between heroes and villains, obtained through dubious sources. Streaming herself watching said videos on Twatch. Editing her stream and filming new content to post to her uTube channel. Writing up her analyses in unnecessarily long form to post on the battle fanatic forums she is a member of. Truly, she would be more than capable of keeping herself busy.

However, parents meddle, as parents are wont to do, and Shouko found herself ordered to go outside for once. To get some Vitamin D, for once in her life. As a child, the unfortunate teenager could only post an apology to her social media, that she would not be on today, and figure out something else to do. Unknown to her, the choice she made was quite similar to that of another girl.

She went to the woods to train.

After all, she was going to be a student at that hero school when the new semester started! She had watched so many battles, but never having been in one herself, it did feel ever so slightly awkward! As for why the woods- Well, it was close by her house, and the city never offered much in the way of good places to train. Even the boxing gyms tended to frown on people swinging at their punching bags with murderous intent, for some reason!

In any case, she never actually got around to training. As the girl wandered the woods in search of a good tree to beat up, she noticed something flashing, nothing more than a glimpse through the trees. Curiousity piqued, the girl made the obvious choice. Come out, UFO! UMA! Tsuchinoko!

As for why the latter two would make flashing lights, it is better not to question it. However, upon closer examination, what the girl would find was no mysterious creature, but instead another girl, throwing a javelin made of light! However, to one such as Shouko, this was an even more exciting find. A secret training in the depths of the woods! How cool was that! Stifling an exclamation, the girl naturally felt at her waist for her new camera.

Alas, she had not brought it today. After all, who would expect to find something like this. The girl couldn't help but let out a sigh at this turn of events, but even so, crept closer. If she was noticed, of course, she wouldn't be able to keep watching! She crept closer as the other switched to a two handed broadsword and rushed at the tree. But watching from behind, who could get satisfied by that!? Careful steps, the girl strafed around the outside of the clearing in the name of a better view. But how to keep from being seen when she was so close?

Of course, it was no problem for the resourceful Mithra-hime! With nimble movements that would make it hard to believe her clothes covered a stiff stone battle dress, the girl scaled the tree she was hiding behind! From above, she could look to her hearts content. Two sword-style? Two-sword style! A line of drool was wiped away. If only, she could get, just a little- 

CRACK

"Uh-oh."

The weight of the girl and her armor proved too much for the unfortunate limb, and the girl tumbled to the ground. "Ah- Ouchie..." The girl would mumble as she rubbed her sore behind- Although her trusty battle dress had absorbed the worst of the fall. However, that was not the pressing matter at the moment. After all, despite all her precautions, there was no way she hadn't been noticed after that! "Oh, don't mind me! Please, as you were!" The girl would exclaim, an inexplicable gleam in her eye.

No sooner had she spoken, then a javelin of light coursed clear over her head! If she’s been any faster in standing up, this wouldn’t have ended as a joke! And yet, instead of being scared for her life, the twintailed girl had on a rapt expression as she looked up into the construct which rested less than a meter over her head. “Whoa! So cool! What’s it made of? It’s bright like pure light, but crashed through the tree like it was solid… Hmm,” The girl would begin to muse as she reached out for the javelin as naturally as though nothing had happened. “Wao! It is solid! Is this your quirk? It’s so cool!” The girl would blather, ignoring any questions about whether she was alright or not… Although, it seemed that her attitude spoke for itself. Eyes would flash between the javelin, it’s thrower, and the hole it had made in the tree, with an excited gleam.

As for her other question, it would not be ignored in the same way. “Eh? Well, when it comes to training… Isn’t training in the wilderness the epitome of romance!?” It was clear that the romance of which she spoke was closer to the ephemeral ‘man’s romance’ than to any actual romantic endeavor. “And of course I’ve gotta train before the school year starts! Otherwise I’d put a shame to the names of Tetsuko-senpai, Darren-senpai, Feng-senpai, Risaka-senpai, and all the others who fought at the sports festival! Ahh, I can’t wait to see them all in person!” Shouko declared, dropping several names which Relena would naturally be familiar with. “And as I was heading out, I saw these flashing lights… I had to check it out, of course!”

It was a story well lacking in details, and glazing over such facts as what Shouko had been doing in a tree to have fallen out of it in the first place. But her enthusiasm would push past such minor facts as her stalking of a stranger’s training session! And her words had dropped a significant hint- That in the upcoming year, this bizarre brunette would be one of the incoming new students at UA!

“Radiant dawn? Pure sunlight? Whoa, that’s amazing!” Shouko would listen intently as her hand finally wrapped around the shaft of the weapon lodged above her head. It was that, rather than the offered hand, which she would use to pull herself to her feet! Without even pausing to brush off the dirt from her rear end, she was already inspecting the weapon- As though it had not nearly pierced her skull. “Whoa! You can really touch it! That’s so cool! Wait, since it’s sunlight… Will looking directly at it make you go blind?” Shouko mused, although she showed no signs of looking away. In fact, unless the spear was dispelled, it was unlikely she would even look at the person she was talking to. A finger poked at the hole left in the tree, gauging it’s depth, as well as how clean the cut had been. For someone who had narrowly evaded death, she certainly seemed unconcerned.

“Eh? 2-A? You’re a UA student?” Shouko would ask, admiring the light show behind her. Suddenly, she paused… “Whoa, that’s so cool! Forget calling your attacks, you can spell them out! That’s at least ten times cooler. I thought that such a thing was limited to manga!” She exuberantly declared, although her enthusiasm seemed to have stretched in a strange direction. Alas, the ability to stamp ability names in the air was not one which Shouko possessed… Yet. But she wouldn’t give up hope! One day, she too, would merit a freeze frame to show off her special move!

But this was a mere momentary distraction before returning to the subject at hand. “But, 2-A, hmm… Tetsuko-senpai was in class B… Darren-senpai was in C… Risaka-senpai also… Yumi-senpai, B… eto….” Eh, could it be? She couldn’t remember a single student from Class A? Or rather, none of the class A students had stood out enough for her to research their class… Oh, wait, “Ah, right! That’s Rin-senpai’s class! Man, that match was hyped up so much, but Ren was such a disappointment! What number one Chinese student, he was just an arrogant idiot! If that’s what we can expect from Fenghuang, China’s really going to be left in the dirt!” And then, of course, Rin had been matched up against Darren-senpai in the second round. It was only natural that she failed to truly catch Shouko’s interest, despite being heralded as the number one among UA’s inaugural class.