The Mask Maker

Even Beasts

The autumn leaves crinkled under Light Morai's feet as she ran through the forest. She was dodging every obstacle with precision and great skill, giving herself just enough space as she jumped over twisted tree roots sticking out of the ground and dodged tree branches reaching out to stop her. She had traded in her usual robe for an outfit similar to the real Morai's, opting for loose pants and a halter top as well as a shawl that draped over her shoulders. They were adorned with the same eye pattern that covered her robe.

Light Morai's lack of natural eyesight gave her an ability that Shadow Morai could not possess, and one that her real world counterpart could not truly master. Learning the ability was only the first step. Light Morai, before she collided with Shadow Morai, spent countless hours learning how to make the sight of others her own. She had to tap into the sight of another, find herself, and learn how to orient herself and act accordingly. Sometimes it was like looking into a mirror, other times she could only see from an arial view. Still, she kept practicing and learning. It was a dangerous feat, too. One time, in the beginning of her journey, she misjudged her surroundings and fell into a large lake. The bird Pokémon she was using for sight had already flown over the lake, leaving her completely in the dark. She had to swim and swim until she found the edge of the lake. She had many experiences like this, but she did not give up. By the time she had her first fight with Shadow Morai, the dream counterpart had mastered this ability to the point where it was as familiar to her as regular sight was to anyone else. She liked to have her Espurr—which was just like the one the real Morai had—sit on her shoulder, providing her a perspective similar to normal sight. She didn't want to rely too much on it, however, and often trained without it. 

The most dangerous obstacle Light Morai had to face in this forest was her training partner. Shadow Morai was tasked with keeping her counterpart from reaching the destination. She showed no mercy to Light Morai, either, as she knew it would only be doing her a disservice. Shadow Morai had witnessed her opposite's prowess many times, including losing to her in combat the first time they met. She had given it her all ever since. So, in her own true fashion, she gave chase with ruthless intensity, like a predator hunting down prey, the red eyes of her mask glowing in the shade of the trees. 

Shadow Morai gained just enough speed to leap from a tree and attack from the side. Light Morai dodged at the last minute, but her opponent grabbed her arm and pulled her forward into a side kick, her sharp nails digging into Light Morai's skin. She stumbled backward then steadied herself. A sparring match was about to take place. Light Morai was intent on taking it to the ground to make use of her grappling skills, while Shadow Morai was determined to stay upright and deliver devastating strikes. In this case, however, instead of fighting until one of them was too broken to continue, their rules were that whoever had their mask removed first was the loser. 

Shadow Morai feigned a rear kick by overstepping to the left then switching at the last moment to kick with her lead leg. Her opponent slid out of the way just enough to get clipped by her foot. Leaves that had been kicked up into the air by their movements slowly returned to the ground. Shadow Morai closed in and began to bombard her counterpart with never-ending attacks. Light Morai struggled to defend them all until a split-second opportunity presented itself. The next time Shadow Morai extended her arm to punch, Light Morai grabbed her vest with her right hand then turned around, wrapping her left arm around Shadow Morai's arm. She then pulled her over her shoulder, causing both of them to roll to the ground. Shadow Morai ended up underneath Light Morai, so she wrapped her legs around her opponent and tried to hook her arm around Light Morai's neck.

The struggled against each other, Shadow Morai making use of what grappling knowledge she had, trying to get her arm completely in front of Light Morai's neck so she could remove the mask with her other hand. She finally succeeded and clipped the mask to her belt. Light Morai nodded in recognition of her defeat.