[Freja Helt]

How long had it been since Sho saved her? Somehow it felt like it had been years since she found herself getting targeted by some less than reputable types, only for the mysterious stranger to step in and make short work of them. Freja admired that part about him, committing herself to training harder to becoming a hero and becoming better at using her new weapon BBB. How much stronger had she gotten? She could probably measure it in many different ways, but the one she chose was the one where she hopefully got to see Sho again.

By visiting his dojo.

Was it actually his dojo, though? She wasn't sure. She figured since he was so strong and affiliated to the place that surely he was one of the masters. Not that she had any clue how it worked. As evident by the fact that she was bringing BBB with her. She didn't know if she would be allowed to carry gear weaponry, but the truth was now that she had it she was both excited for every chance she got to use it, but also felt a lot safer with it by her side.

Having tied her hair back in a high ponytail, Freja had opted for wearing some athletic gym wear that didn't show off that she was from UA. She hoped she would just be able to pass off as another, ordinary woman for the day. Not a fancy hero student, not someone that should draw the attention of others, just another practitioner of martial arts.

As she entered, Freja left her shoes by the entrance and looked around. ''Hello? I was told-'' she hesitated, what would be the best word choice? ''Is Sho here?''

Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin [break]
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As Freja would enter the dojo she would be greeted by a woman in her mid 50's. She had fairly pronounced wrinkles and stood at a meager 5'2. She was dressed in very traditional garb and gave a slight bow to the much taller girl when she entered. "Welcome!" she greeted heartedly gesturing to the mat in front of Freja "Please take off your shoes and yo-" she paused when Freja said the name Sho "Oh Sho-chan! He's my son!" a facade drummed up by the two of them as the woman who was not actually Sho's mother had an unsavory past as well and it was mutually beneficial to the both of them. "Please follow me!" she gave a bow and would lead Freja through a hallway until they reached a door and she pushed it open "Sho dear! You have a guest." she would give one last bow and leave Freja at the door before heading back to the front.
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The room in front of her was very traditional and what one would expect for a dojo. In the middle of the room was Sho holding a bokken in each hand. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he swung once again at the Kage-Ryu Master Kensuke. Kensuke was an elderly man of relatively tall height with a very muscular build and tan skin. Two of his most distinguishing traits are his round glasses and facial hair, which is arranged embattled across his lower jaw alongside a scar on his right eye. He would block the blows Sho threw at him just barely able to parry a sudden strike from his second hand. "Oh. Sho I'll give you the floor" he put his own wooden sword away "Train this new one well." he said patting Sho on the shoulder and giving a slight nod to Freja. Sho smiled slightly giving a slight bow "Thank you Kensuke-san" he would watch as his master exited the room before turning his attention to Freja "Hello Freja. Good to see you again" when he had stepped in to help Freja out last time they talked briefly to which he discovered that unfortunately, she tended to get herself into situations like that all the time. He looked her up and down for a moment before commenting on the different bat she was carrying "I see you have a new tool. Did you come here to test it?" he gestured to his own weapon implying that he would put it to the test if that's what she wanted.
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[Freja Helt]

Freja immediately bowed her head at the elderly woman. ''..Thank you!'' She was already out of her shoes in second, pleasantly surprised that the woman knew the name Sho. She couldn't imagine the embarrassment if she had somehow gotten the wrong place and they had never even heard of him. ''Oh, great!- WAIT, s-son?! You're his..'' Sho's mom?! She worked here too? Well, it wasn't unthinkable, maybe it was just a family that was really enthusiastic about martial arts. ''Yes ma'am!''

Now the second point of her anxiety. Was Sho even going to recognize her? He wasn't exactly a hero as far as she was aware, but it wouldn't surprise her if she learned he had saved more people. Coupled with the dojo, he was probably used to seeing a lot of faces, all a lot more memorable than her own. She smiled at Sho's 'mom', but could feel her anxiety growing as she stood there and waited. What if it was another Sho entirely?! Maybe coming out here was a mistake after all, maybe she should just have stayed on campus and trained by herself. She blinked her eyes as she noticed the people training in the room, taking very small and meager steps further in, still not entirely sure if she should have come here.

Between Kensuke and Sho, fighting at a dojo seemed so... Refined and stylish? Freja had learned to fight on the street, so there was little in the way of form and technique, at least not in the same way that these guys were displaying it. Train this new one well? She smiled nervously as Kensuke gave her a nod. Then her eyes wandered back to Sho and a wave of happiness she couldn't even describe washed over her. ''S-Sho!! How are you? It's great to see you again!'' She looked down at her bat, then back to him. ''Mhm! If it's allowed, I've been practicing on my own, but I feel like I'm getting nowhere with it.''

Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Sho hadn't gotten a clear look at Freja from their previous encounters as she had the snot kicked out of her and was on the ground. She was a lot taller than he remembered, first noticing this when she followed his "mother" and then upon his approach when he realized they were about eye to eye. She also seemed highly uncomfortable being here, which Sho would take as a good sign. His teacher always told him that 'to take up a weapon in ignorance and you have already failed,' which Sho did follow in both of his lives. He was prepared to use the blade to help, and he was prepared to die whenever he took it up. Freja may not have looked like she was ready to die at this moment, but she had a death wish, given her decision to dish out vigilante justice.
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Cupping his chin and leaning closer to look at the weapon, this was modified somehow; he just wasn't smart enough to figure out what. He knew mostly about weapons...and music, but that was neither here nor there. "I can't see why not. It's similar to a wooden sword." he reassured her before adding, "Oh, but my sensei will kill me if that does property damage. So, if it's special, please only use it as a bat." he gestured for her to follow him taking a few steps until they were closer to the center of the room before facing her "May I see your form? A demonstration on how you would fight with your weapon." he hoped it wasn't too much to ask already and that Freja felt confident enough to give it her all. After all, next they would do a little sparring once he could get a feel for her skill level.

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Freja Helt [break]
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[Freja Helt]

She felt relieved when he okayed her using her bat for practice. ''Of course! I wouldn't do anything to disrespect your sensei.'' She bowed her head politely. So no grappling hook surprises, but even just being able to hold her bat was better than having to substitute it for something like a wooden sword. It was hard to explain, even though she was good at fighting with a lot of different blunt weapons, when it came down to it, none of them felt as right as her own. Like other weapons threw off her balance ever so slightly.

Following him to the center of the room she brandished her bat. ''..Sure.'' She thought back to how Farrin posed for his boxing style. Her pose was fairly standard but once she started swinging at the air and built up momentum, it was clear that Freja's method of fighting was efficient and technical, and yet it wasn't very professional. It was obvious where this type of fighting had been fostered. It was on the streets of the city, fighting gangs and whoever else came her way ever since her early to mid teens. Some pro heroes might even find it appalling if they didn't look past her style and see her potential. The stigma went as far as her weapon of choice, the bat. A weapon already carrying a lot of negative connotations. Still, at the end of the day it was her weapon of choice.

Without having used her weapon's hidden mechanism she ended by striking a brief pose, panting lightly. ''Like that?'' She smirked up at Sho.

Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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While he didn't see any of Freja's moves during their last meeting, he did have a good sense of the physical abilities of those around him. Freja had an aptitude for combat, but there wasn't much rhyme or reason to her strikes. He was sure they'd be effective against the untrained, but anyone with formal martial arts would be able to see and subsequently take advantage of her openings. He cupped his chin as his eyes narrowed, focusing on her movements to see where he could offer some pointers.
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"Hmm...if I had to give it a grade, I'd give it a C." he didn't want to dash Freja's hopes, but he couldn't lie to her, especially if she intended to be stronger. He would move next to her and hold his wooden sword in one hand, wielding it as she did. "When it comes to technique, it's all about foot position, body weight shifting, and follow through." he would demonstrate by planting his feet and using a reverse grip on his sword, letting it hang loosely. When he swung forward, he would bring down his foot hard, and his grip would tighten to the maximum with the force of his swing, causing a gust to fly forward a few feet before it would break apart. "You want to maximize the impact of your strike at the moment it would connect. Otherwise, you're wasting energy." he would move a few feet from her and face her with his wooden sword in a classic dueling stance "Ready to try?"
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Freja Helt [break]
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[Freja Helt]

She felt confident in herself for maybe the first time in her life, so she couldn't help but be a little hurt when her best grading amounted to a C. However, rather than get upset at all the stuff she was lacking she wanted to try and turn that into motivation. Sho was here to help her after all, not belittle her. ''R-Right..'' She looked at his weapon, his position and how he was shifting his weight around as he demonstrated. ''I see. That's a lot to remember while you're in the middle of a fight.'' She smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.

She never thought so much thinking could go into bonking people on the head. ''Yeah, here I come.'' She held her bat up in both hands and took a deep breath. Positioning, shifting and follow through. Normally she would just throw herself into the fight recklessly, like that time her and Emilia were sparring and she ended up just flailing in desperation at the poor girl. However, this time she took his advice to heart and while she wasn't a genius who learned it all in one go, she did try out what he showed her, focusing most of her energy into the perceived impact as she aimed for his right shoulder, rather than burning it all on the swing itself. Whether she hit or not, she followed up with another swing to his left side. To someone of his skill this was probably trivial. Trivial but crucial if she wanted to become stronger.

Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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It was easy enough to see that Freja was a bit discouraged by his assessment. When he was in training over a decade ago, it was commonplace to be given letter grades that didn't sit well with him. Ultimately, this led him to try and improve as much as he did. He figured that even if it felt discouraging, this would ultimately give Freja the drive to do the same. "Once you do it a few times, it becomes natural. As natural as taking air into your lungs." whenever he took up a blade, whether it was for the side of good or the side of evil it became an extension of himself which is something he wasn't sure Freja could understand at this point. She had skill and plenty of potential, but her swings had a lingering air of rigidity.
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Digging his heels in, he would grip the sword in his hands and parry the first strike smiling to himself as Freja was quicker on the uptake than anticipated. From her strike, he could feel that she wasn't putting all of her force into it, and this was confirmed when she pivoted and aimed a strike at his left. For this one, it was an excellent chance to show her what the second lesson would be as he took advantage of her lessened impact strike and deflected this one with force enough to disarm her if she wasn't careful. He would then step forward with the wooden sword moving into a position inches away from Freja's neck "Lesson two. You're open for a counterattack if you're not putting your whole strength into your swing at the right moment."
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Freja Helt [break]
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[Freja Helt]

Great. It was the simplest solution, but she absolutely hated that it was the solution he gave. Mastering it through repetition. It was a tale as old as time when it came to any form of martial arts or fighting, but also more boring than watching paint dry. Still, if that was what it took to improve, could she really complain that the solution was so ‘easy’?

At the moment her bat collided with his sword in her first strike, for that brief second, she was shocked how calm and steady his blade was. She wasn’t even close to throwing him off balance or anything of the sort. Not that it mattered, the real power was hidden in her second attack which- wait her bat just slipped out of her hands. She grimaced as she looked down and saw Sho’s blade inches from her neck, before looking up at him with an embarrassed smile. “..Just like that, huh?” It was clear she had never fought anyone of his skill before, not in a real life or death situation anyway. She would have never stood a chance. “My arms get tired if I swing with all my strength too much.” She walked over and meekly picked up her bat. “But there’s no slacking off in a fight I guess.” She chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. She had fought with a bat for years, but she was only just now starting to realize how much she had left to learn. When she was younger, she was able to overwhelm others out of surprise and desperation. She never thought she would be one to learn techniques like this.

Only just now had Sho made her realize how important it was.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how many years have you practiced with a sword?” Sho could be naturally talented and all that, but she hoped to gauge where she was at through their differences in years with their weapons. Which was a dumb way to measure difference in skill with different weapons, but if Freja knew how to do everything perfectly her story wouldn’t be nearly as long as it would inevitably become. “Can I try again?”

Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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Even if Freja had "failed," she didn't seem too discouraged. Sho had worked with many people over the years, some from other dojos and others who just wanted to learn how to fight with a sword. Whatever Freja's actual reason for taking him up on his offer it was clear that she had the conviction to do so.
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Her question was surprising, to say the least, as Sho wasn't asked too much about his personal life and history. He was a fairly private person who lived as a minimalist even with his place being a one-bedroom apartment. "I've been training in kendo since I was 12. So about 9 years. In fact I started right here at this dojo." he would point in the direction of the old man who had left when Freja showed up. "I was trained by the man you just met. Then I traveled all over Japan, refining my skills." he didn't exactly lie when you considered that refining his skills mostly meant assassinations, but that was something he wasn't going to share with a UAU student. "We can continue if you'd like. What would you like to learn? Many aspects of kendo can be applied to other weapons. It's better if we start with something you struggle with."
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[Freja Helt]

''Really?'' Wow, Sho had trained a crazy long time to get to where he was at. No wonder she was completely outclassed. ''I didn't know you had such a long history with this place.'' She looked around for a moment, almost getting caught up in her own daydreams before she turned to Sho and bowed her head. ''Yes! Just one more round.'' She insisted as politely as she could.

''Is that so?'' She looked down at her bat, ''there's a lot of areas where I struggle. We already tackled one of them so I'm sure I can take that with me into my own routine once I go back to the school.'' She blinked her eyes as she tried to recall anything else she might be struggling on. ''I fight using my environment.'' She looked back up at Sho. ''It's probably no surprise, but most people I fight are stronger than me. Whether it's speed, or just raw power. I can't win an exchange in either. Even if I can, my opponents often have a quirk to utilize too.'' She put the bat over her shoulder as she continued. ''Is that compatible with kendo, or is it a bad idea? I was taught that if I only stare at my opponent during a fight, and not my surroundings, I'm guaranteed to lose.'' Whether it actually worked was a whole 'nother story. It felt like Freja had taken loss after loss ever since coming to Japan. ''Other than that, I have technical skill, but my body often can't keep up with my brain.'' She gave the side of her head a soft knock with her knuckles. ''Like, I think faster than I can act and if something goes wrong in my plans it throws me off.''

Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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"You certainly have the right attitude for this type of training." smiling at her over her enthusiasm "Yes, I've been here for a long time. It takes a while to get the hang of the technique. Power is useless if you can't use it properly." This was doubly true for untrained criminals who either threw their weight around or believed with enough numbers they could do anything. He had first-hand experience with how subpar these criminals would usually be; he rarely needed to use his quirk offensively in the field. Once they realized bullets weren't effective, they would usually lose their drive to fight.
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"Hm." he pondered the thought as it wasn't too far off from how he felt when he first started training almost a decade ago. "Whenever I've taught or trained with someone who had the same problem, it was because they relied too much on their sight." he would demonstrate what he meant by shutting his eyes and taking a few steps back. "Fighting is just as much perception as it is instinct. If you don't rely on both or know how to swap between them you're either going to hesitate or get reckless." he would steady his blade facing Freja. "Whenever you're ready, I'll show you what I mean." the intention was to show Freja what it was like to fight without being slowed down by eyesight. It is a skill that can be used for any martial arts, and the best way to speed up your actions is by relying on feeling.
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Freja Helt [break]
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[Freja Helt]

She couldn’t help but feel a little proud of herself when he complimented her attitude. She might not be the strongest, but she was far from a lost cause! “Even with a quirk that increases power?” Freja was more of a technical fighter, if she had to classify herself. She certainly wasn’t all about power, and she had lost to ‘power people’ before. Like someone like Emi would wipe the floor with her. Not that Emi was just power and muscle, her friend was much more than that! Case in point, exactly why Freja would lose in a match up against her.

Relied too much on their sight? Well, yeah of course, unless you had a quirk or were accustomed to not seeing, you kind of needed your eyes to navigate your surroundings. Especially something as intense as a fight. “Eh?” She blinked her eyes, “Huh?! Without looking? You can do something like that?” She was doubtful, but if anyone could it was probably someone like Sho, she had already seen him dispatch criminals before. “Then, here I come!” Rather than attack him with an overhead strike, Freja was cautious, nervous because she knew Sho would probably pull some crazy move, so instead she tried to feint him and aim low just above his hip.

Shō Matsui

[Shō Matsui]

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"Of course. The technique will always overcome power." he nodded, adjusting his wooden sword's grip. From his training, he learned pretty early on that keeping a loose grip and being light on your feet was the only way to defend whenever your senses were compromised. He had enough experience in the field with flashbangs or operating in pitch-black conditions that was something he was forced to learn in order to be effective. His teacher had reveled in the idea years ago when Sho had first come to him about it, as it was something he rarely got to teach. A few thousand bruises later Sho had learned enough that he felt comfortable teaching Freja.
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"Yes, and you should be able to as well with enough training." with that he would fall silent his body tensing up as he opened his other senses. The footsteps gave Sho an idea of how far she was from him and her pace. When the feint came he would bring his blade up to counter, and then she swept low. Instead of blocking, he would leap off the ground to avoid the strike and then bring his sword to Freja's neck. "Takes some getting used to, but I think you'd be capable." he smiled, opening his eyes and lowering his blade. "I think that's all I have time for unfortunately, I have another obligation." he would put the wooden sword away and place a hand on Freja's shoulder to reassure her "If you ever need more training you're always welcome at the dojo. Plus if you want to branch out, I could teach you how to use a real blade."
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Freja Helt[break]
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[Freja Helt]

Blind sense seemed like absolute witchcraft to her. She got the basics of how it worked, how you could listen for footsteps, or maybe even your opponents breathing depending on the environment, but that was about it. Unless it was your quirk or something, Freja just didn't get how it could be trained so efficiently... Maybe that was just a testament as to how much she relied on her eyes. In fact, now that she thought about it, she had absolutely no counter to being blinded. Maybe she should look into that.

For now she was happy to have Sho demonstrate just how useful it could be. Thinking her feint might have a chance at throwing him off his game, she was sorely mistaken when she suddenly found his blade back at her throat, causing her to stop nervously and swallow as her eyes went wide. It happened so fast she barely even registered it! Was she too focused on her offense and not on her defense? She wanted to see how good she was, and hopefully learn something from Sho in the process, but she had a feeling that all she was going to leave with today was more questions than answers. ''E-Even I can learn that?'' Phew, she should really consider it. As a quirkless, she had to rely on any and every little advantage she could get. If she couldn't obtain a quirk, then why not learn to fight with her eyes closed. Sure, it was situational, but her ingenuity was pretty much all she had to rely on when she couldn't overcome someone with sheer power alone. ''I'll try it! I think it could really help me elevate my game.'' It was hard to hide the excitement in her smile, she was more apprehensive at the thought of learning how to handle a sword. ''I see! Thank you for teaching me today, sensei.'' She bowed her head politely. ''I appreciate the offer but, blades kind of freak me out, they require so much control and in my field of work it wouldn't look good if I end up cutting someone down.'' She smiled sheepishly. Maybe a knife would do? Having some kind of a back-up weapon certainly couldn't hurt, since she had already experienced getting disarmed during a fight and paying dearly for it several times over. ''I'm gonna train for a bit on my own, then I'll be back to learn more from you.'' She put her hands together and bowed again before leaving. ''Thank you for your time!''

Shō Matsui