Third Person POV
Uzumaki felt her body tremble at that moment. Not from the pain of her wounds and broken ribs, which she hadn't even been aware of until then, or even from the absurd cold of the place, combined with being soaked.
No...
She was trembling because of the place she most feared returning to, being back in that laboratory: The combat room. The place where her hands were stained with blood and numerous children perished before her, and by her own hand.
Amaya heard slow footsteps approaching where she was and immediately the girl activated her Sharingan, so great was her state of panic. The environment and her intuition that whoever was approaching was an enemy had put her on high alert.
– Test number 170233... – A drawn-out male voice spoke, and the redhead turned her eyes in his direction.
That voice..., she thought. It's Koji's voice! But..., the redhead paused for a moment, worried. I've heard it before, here, in this room. And she felt the air leave her lungs for a second. It can't be, he is...!
The man finally stepped into the girl's field of view. She didn't hesitate to analyze him, even though she was still cornered in that room with her vision blurry from missing her glasses.
He was still wearing the clothes and mask that once belonged to the Ne Anbu, Koji, and still partly maintained the appearance of the dead young man.
But Amaya realized something about the man before her was wrong, or rather, masked...
She had vague memories of him, but remembered his golden eyes, as well as the long black hair and the drawn-out voice.
But she didn't have only those memories. Memories of Sukea permeated her mind, showing the boy struggling to observe a similar man, but one with skin of an extremely light tone, white as paper. And their statures were slightly different, the man from the laboratory being taller.
It's the same person who managed our tests here..., Uzumaki concluded with her racing thoughts. It's the same voice, both from the tests and from the day they tried to kill me... He is one of my creators!
– Welcome back home – The man greeted her vilely, also analyzing her without needing to disguise it.
The fake Anbu finally allowed himself to admire the girl's eyes, where the objective of his creations from that laboratory was perfectly displayed before him.
The girl tried to remain as calm as possible in front of that individual because she knew she needed to think hard against him or she wouldn't get out of there alive.
– So you really did deactivate the maze traps... – She finally said, serious, her eyes fixed on the man – You must have enjoyed our reactions all this time – He smiled under his mask.
– I savored every second – The girl clenched her jaw.
The redhead got to her feet, seemingly unconcerned. But it wasn't as if she really was, at least not in front of her creator. The man didn't move when the girl stood up. He knew she wouldn't attack him, at least not at that moment. His creation was a natural observer and analyst.
– Won't you ask if your dear companions are alright? – The man provoked her – Or even alive?
Uzumaki allowed a twitch of her lips, forming something like a faint smile. She knew what he was trying to do to her.
– I don't need to worry about them, I know they're fine – She stated in the most contained way she could – And I also know you didn't do anything to them, otherwise you'd be using them against me right now – The man smiled wider under his mask – After all, your target has always been me, am I right?
If Kakashi and Shisui were here, the redhead thought, he would be using them as a way to threaten me so he could have me. And if the two aren't here, with him, they are safe. Anywhere in this damn laboratory is better than being near this monster...
– Indeed, my business has always been with you – The man explained calmly, but without ceasing to sound sadistic.
– Who are you? – Amaya asked, but corrected herself immediately – Or rather, what are you? I know this appearance isn't your real one.
And the smile on the man's face intensified with delight at the perceptiveness of his experiment – it was a realization for him to have first-hand access to such perfection in one of his creations.
– You won't need to know... – He replied simply – Since you're coming with me, 122.
And the fake Anbu rushed towards the girl quickly with the weapon that once belonged to the real Koji.
– My name is Amaya, and I will never let you use me again!
At the same moment he lunged, the redhead drew her own wakizashi to defend against the first blow aimed at her.
They exchanged blows, but they were evenly matched. The man savored the moment again, noting that the girl still used the same weapon she was familiar with in the laboratory.
– Does this bring back memories? – He questioned her as they continued to clash blades – This room, these weapons, fighting to the death...
The girl shuddered at the memories that, against her will, were invoked. Anger was beginning to give way to fear, so great was her disgust for the man before her.
They crossed swords again and the girl kept holding the wakizashi with only one hand. With her free hand, she quickly formed some hand seals, which didn't go unnoticed by the man.
Jutsus with only one hand?, he wondered. And to think she was hiding this until recently... But I won't let her move! The man tried to grab the girl, also using only one hand to hold his tantō.
But unlike what he expected, the redhead didn't try to duck to use an earth-style jutsu. She stomped one of her feet on the floor, causing several walls to rise between them.
The two moved away from each other and the wall in front of them. The redhead began to form, now with both hands, more seals for her next jutsu. And the fake Anbu didn't waste time either, using lightning style to break the wall the girl had raised in front of him.
When he passed through the earth wall, the man immediately had to resort to another jutsu, as a huge fireball was advancing towards him. A water-style jutsu from him extinguished the flames and covered the area in mist.
He tried to find where the girl was, but there were still some earth walls standing, giving the redhead the advantage to hide. But he could still find her. He smiled at that.
Amaya tried to control her breathing so it wouldn't be loud. Her heart was racing and she was completely alert to her surroundings. She was being hunted and her predator wouldn't give up on her.
Uzumaki concentrated, trying to hear any sound produced by the man, but she couldn't find anything. It wasn't normal, since her hearing picked up even the most subtle sounds. However, the redhead could feel him.
The first kunai was thrown in the direction where she sensed him, making the man dodge. He wondered how she could know where he was, given the lack of visibility, both for the girl herself and from the mist in the environment.
Her creator knew the redhead wasn't guiding herself solely by sound, as he had been careful not to let her hear him, he knew better than anyone about her incredible auditory capacity.
The girl continued trying to hit the man with kunai, always keeping her distance from him. And the fake Anbu was starting to get annoyed.
He rushed to where she was, letting himself be hit by the kunai and shuriken she threw at him. Just as he was about to reach her, the girl vanished before him. The Hiraishin..., he noted. It seems the thrown kunai weren't just to try and hit me...
What bothered the man most at that moment wasn't failing to capture the redhead yet, but how she could know where he was, and with total precision.
After teleporting, Amaya leaned against one of the few earth walls still intact in the room. The closer I am to him..., she thought tiredly. The stronger the sensation... His bloodlust...
– I admit you're fast and extremely quiet, almost as much as a snake... – The man said suddenly – But your humanity still gives you away.
The girl furrowed her brow at such an announcement. But her confusion lasted only a moment as she understood he was finding her by sound, just like she was. And her heart was beating fast, from all the action and from fear.
She allowed herself to close her eyes and breathe calmly. She needed to calm down, both physically and mentally. While doing this, she joined her hands, forming a single seal to create a Shadow Clone.
Without saying a word to her, the clone moved away from where the girl was, silently, and stayed low. It was good to have it there as a precaution against the enemy she faced.
And having stopped for those few seconds, the redhead noticed how tired she was, as well as how little chakra she had left. She hadn't rested properly since returning from her war mission, had spent what little chakra she had left inside the laboratory, and was now using the little that remained to fight her creator.
She was close to her limit.
The girl went to grip a few more kunai, but a dryness rose in her throat, making her cough uncontrollably. Blood trickled from her mouth in the process.
And that betrayed her location to her predator.
The man stretched out his own arms, without leaving the spot he was in, advancing towards the girl. The limbs wrapped around the redhead's waist, trapping her.
The girl didn't even have time to react to try and free herself from the grip. The fake Anbu pulled her from where she was and quickly dragged her towards one of the walls still intact in the room.
Kakashi Hatake POV
We clearly obeyed, against our will, Amaya's order and followed the smell of ether through the maze. The whole place kept collapsing and I couldn't help but worry about the redhead's situation.
The Uchiha and I managed to find a door that would possibly lead us out of that place. After passing through it, we locked it. It was like a hatch, so it should hold back all the water on the other side.
We found ourselves in more corridors again, but this time we didn't have Amaya to guide us or even warn us about the traps. Both Shisui and I went on full alert, with our swords in hand.
We walked for almost twenty minutes and passed many traps. We managed to avoid some completely, but others ended up wounding us. It was nothing too serious, but they were still injuries.
The smell of ether was our only guide. At least until we heard low sounds, similar to the clashing of sword blades and jutsus colliding. I looked at the Uchiha for a moment, noticing we shared the same bad feeling and thought.
We started running again, heading towards the sounds and the increasingly strong smell of ether.
A simple door stood before us and we quickly crossed it, finding ourselves in some kind of observation room. But what caught our attention was the large mirror covering one of its walls, showing the view of another room.
A room where we saw Amaya.
And Koji.
Both, clearly, fighting each other.
And at the same moment we noticed it, the man stretched out his arms in a superhuman way towards Amaya, trapping her. He pulled her back from where the redhead was possibly hiding from him and lifted her into the air.
It was all so fast, but before my eyes it seemed like an eternity. The man slammed the redhead, still trapped in his arms, into one of the intact walls of the room.
The force of the impact was so great that the part where Amaya's body hit it was destroyed instantly.
– Amaya! – Shisui and I shouted.