The Mask Maker

Damaged

This was going to be much harder than she thought. 

After a few minutes, Morai was running at a steady pace, albeit with some trips and stumbling along the way. Suddenly, she heard footsteps far behind her. She instinctively turned her head but saw nothing, of course. The sound kept getting closer and closer, until...

Something swung under Morai's leg and sent her falling to the ground. She managed to roll forward to keep from hitting the ground face first, and she quickly stood back up. She kept switching perspectives, but they didn't enable her to see everything around her, giving her several dangerous blind spots. 

The trainer's heart began to beat faster and a sinking sense of dread formed in her stomach. She stood, ready to fight, but nothing attacked. There was nothing but silence. Slowly and hesitantly, Morai began to move at a light pace. It wasn't long until she was tripped up again. She jumped up, preparing yet again for an attack of some kind, but it never came. Again, all was silent save for the wind rustling through the trees. 

Part of Morai didn't want to move. She could defend herself under normal circumstances, but her ability to see was greatly impaired. She was a sitting Psyduck and she was being toyed with. 

Again, Morai began to move forward, this time even more hesitantly, more unsure. She was almost walking, giving herself enough time to try and see more of her surroundings, but there were some places around her that she just couldn't see. The sound of footsteps crushing leaves behind her made her jump a little and break out into a run. Morai ran as fast as she could, not caring about sight anymore, but moving forward, hoping that the other side of the forest would appear sooner. She nearly fell over the roots of a tree that jutted out of the ground and she constantly held her hand out to avoid smacking directly into a tree. 

The sounds behind her became louder and louder until finally Morai felt a swoosh right by her. Fed up, she ripped her blindfold off and looked to her side. She was just in time to see Shadow Morai's knee right before it hit her directly in the face. 

The trainer was thrown violently backward. She was too stunned to try and stop herself from falling hard to the ground. Everything went black for a few moments until she opened her eyes to see a blurry yet smiling version of her. 

Shadow Morai was laughing, the big vulpine smile of hers nearly reaching the corners of her eyes. 

"I wish you could have seen your face!" she said as she leaned back in laughter. "You were so surprised!"

Morai struggled to her hands and knees. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her. All she could feel was the pain radiating through her jaw, her head, and down to her neck.

"What is wrong with you?!" she yelled. Her counterpart just chuckled and walked toward her, kneeling down to just above her level, looking at her bleeding nose. 

"What, I can't be violent just for the sake of it? It's not everyday I get to give someone a flying knee to the face. If the opportunity presents itself, I'm going to take it," Shadow Morai said.

Morai gritted her teeth and stumbled to her feet. Adrenaline had kicked in, dulling her pain, and her anger gave her energy. Still, she couldn't think straight, and the small amount of clarity the adrenaline offered didn't help. She swung at her counterpart but the trainer simply stepped backward, not even bothering to put her hands up, and chuckled. 

"Oh, that's cute. Would you like to try again?" 

Morai yelled as she stepped forward and swung again, but Shadow Morai only smiled, grabbed her outstretched hand, and struck her in the face again, letting go of her arm as she stumbled backward to the ground.