The Mask Maker

Welcome to the Battle Subway!

Nanu stood in the doorway of the safe house, his Alolan Persian by his side. He had a smirk on his face, perhaps because the criminal who evaded his arrest had finally been caught and he didn't have to catch her himself to feel the satisfaction that came from it. 

"Officer Nanu," Morai said quietly. "I've been wondering about you, you know. I meant to find you again, but—"

"Oh, don't bother with a heartfelt apology. I've heard too many of those from criminals after they've been caught. Facing the consequences of your actions just seems to put you in that mood," Nanu interjected. 

Morai paused for moment but didn't bother to continue. She figured that whatever she was going to say would have no value to the jaded police officer. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked instead. 

"I've kept an eye out for you in Alola ever since you escaped that day. I had Guzma and his posse do the same, but no one ever spotted you. Now, months later, after learning of your arrest, I wanted to see what time had done."

I'm an international criminal and I talk to myself  in my dreams, the trainer thought.

"Do you think justice is being delivered to me as it should?" Morai asked. She was getting into the habit of talking to people like Nanu and Looker as friends, because she already knew them as her unmasked self. Doing that too much would make them suspicious. 

The officer shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. 

"Justice ain't that simple, kid. You of all people should know because you flaunted that fact when you were out hypnotizing people. You were acting according to your own sense of justice, which just so happened to be out of line with the law. Besides, from what I know, you were serving your time well before you were captured." 

"That's...surprising to hear from a police officer tasked with upholding the law. And a Kahuna, no less," Morai replied. 

"Heh, take one look at Tapu Bulu and you'll see why it chose me as the Kahuna. I use underhanded tactics to win battles and most of the time they're unnecessary because my strength alone is enough to win. I keep Team Skull in check and make sure my island isn't actively being destroyed. Looker, on the other hand, has tasked himself with protecting the whole damn world." 

Nanu had a point, or multiple points, really. He was basically Tapu Bulu in human form. It's lazy, but has the means to crush anyone that threatens what little it cares about. 

"Well, I should get going. I suppose our paths won't cross for a long time, unless they give you vacation days." 

Nanu smirked at the thought. He left from the direction he came, but not before stopping and looking back toward the trainer. 

"Good luck out there, Champion." 

It took a moment for Morai to register what he had said. 

"Wait! How did you—"

"Because I'm not stupid," the Kahuna said. "Don't worry, I'm good at keeping secrets." 

With that, Nanu was gone, and after a minute of Morai sitting dumbfounded on the floor the original guards returned. 

"We've got Malasadas for breakfast and we're leaving in 2 hours. This was also left for you."

One of them—Morai still didn't know who was who—handed her a package. She opened it and found a custom made Depot Agent uniform, the one that Petrel had been tasked with designing. 

Morai stood in front of a mirror, tying her tie, or at least trying to. It had been a while since she had worn one as a part of her original outfit. She glanced at the clock and gave up, pulling it off of her neck and pocketing it. Otherwise, the uniform fit her perfectly. It kept the original color scheme—olive green, gold, and black—but other aspects had been changed to better suit a female who needed room to fight if need be. Instead of a suit jacket, which restricted the arms, Morai's uniform had a double-breasted waistcoat with gold buttons. The slacks were already loose, so they remained the same, as did the black shoes.