The Duality Hashira MHA x KNY

Chapter 7: Two Halves of One Whole

"Okay... let's get started," Shoto said to himself as he walked into the training area in Tengen's estate. He grabbed the two practice swords he used a few hours earlier, as he was familiar with the weight. He walked to the middle of the room, giving himself as much space as he could. "Two halves of one whole, two swords as one weapon."

He looked down at the swords in his hands, thinking about the movements Tengen made during their spar earlier. The way Tengen used his dual blades was basically creating a double-sided sword, they were literally attached together by a chain at their ends. It did allow him to rapidly spin them and release multiple fast attacks at once, along with helping his enhanced sense of hearing too. The way he uses them like nunchucks also hints that he might've been something like a shinobi in his past, and considering how similar the environment is compared to pre-quirk Japan it might've been possible. It would also explain why he's quite flexible, which is why Sound Breathing works so well for him. 

Shoto didn't want that though, it didn't benefit him much as he remembers Kyojuro and Giyu sparring once and seeing how their breathing techniques worked... in a basic way that is. Creating multiple fast attacks is possible in both cases, but they didn't use the spinning momentum Tengen and his Sound Breathing uses. Shoto had to keep in mind that he was planning on working with both breathing techniques, not just one of them. Learning how both techniques can interact with each other is going to be key in figuring out his dual-wielding style.

The problem is... he didn't know where to start.

All he had to go off of was Tengen's demonstration of dual-wielding, and Kyojuro's and Giyu's sparring match. Fire and Water, working with that wasn't much to go off of, especially because his quirk wasn't exactly that either. Shoto's eyes widened at that realization, he didn't need to fit for Flame and Water Breathing, he needed it to match the way he used his quirk. He went into deep thought and analysis, placing his hand on his chin as best he could with a sword in his hand, just like his analytical best friend Izuku Midoriya when he was deconstructing the techniques of his classmates. The thought of him turning into his best friend at that moment made him chuckle a little before he went into his own analysis of his quirk. 

His cryokinesis, definitely can use it as a speed and mobility booster, as he uses his ice from his feet quite often. It's good at restraining his opponents too, as the ice he creates can easily rip off an entire layer of skin if his restrained enemy tries to escape, and give them a good bit of frostbite if they're encased in ice long enough. Although it's powerful, it's not an ability that's used as a speed and power booster that Sound Breathing is, or even as a mobility aid like Water Breathing. Both use rotations to gain power as the battle goes on, but his ice isn't like that, it releases power in one go and only weakens him as he keeps using it. 

His pyrokinesis was built off of how his father used it, brute force that punches and burns everything in its way. Shoto's fire wasn't something he used for mobility much, but he is capable of using his fire beneath his feet to make him airborne without his ice. Even so, his fire is used like his ice, using one-shot attacks that would weaken if they're used back to back. Again, Sound Breathing didn't work like that, using momentum to make stronger and faster attacks. 

He started realizing that he was referencing Sound Breathing a lot, even though it wasn't something he was going to use at all. It might've been his only point of reference when it came to dual-wielding, but it wasn't a good example of what he wanted. When he got his mind off of Sound Breathing, he saw the base of his fighting style was using brute force and one-shot attacks that weaken the longer he used them. Using that as a common point of his quirk, he tried to figure out how it can translate to swords and breathing techniques.

Flame Breathing: most of its techniques and forms were powerful singular strikes that burned their opponents, a lot like Shoto's quirk overall. It was probably the closest technique he knew that aligned with his quirk, it only had one problem: most of the known users don't dual-wield. Figuring out how to mimic Flame Breathing into dual-wielding with Kyojuro was gonna be hard, but he needed to know so he could develop his sword technique better. He caught himself thinking solely on one part of the equation, facepalming to get himself to focus on the other part of the problem as well.