Part Fifty-One: Stalker

"I was wondering when you'd see me," she said, her brown eyes lifting to them. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Get out of our fucking way," snarled Arcin.

She looked appalled. "Do you know who I am, Miss Takura?"

"I don't give a flying-fuck-shit who you are," replied Arcin bitterly. "We have a mission to complete, so if you don't mind, just buzz off."

"We should take the twins' bodies back to their village," murmured Yassa. "We can't just leave them."

Kankurou nodded, and the three of them started towards where the twins had been left.

Tetsu sighed and moved into their path. "I hate to do this, but the two of you have to die."

"What?" asked Arcin. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I assure you, I'm not," she replied. "If you would like, I will introduce myself. I'm Takura Tetsu. You are my sisters, yes?"

Yassa stumbled backwards. She hadn't recognized Tetsu, since she hadn't seen her since she had been four. "What the hell?"

"Is that any way for you to speak to me, young lady?"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Arcin, shooting kunai and shuriken at Tetsu. "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DIE!"

Tetsu just shrugged and absorbed the weapons. She looked down at herself and chuckled, as if she found this all very amusing. Which she probably did.

"Kankurou, go after Gaara," said Yassa. "We'll follow you after we return the twins to their village."

Kankurou didn't argue; he nodded and jumped away into the trees, still not sure how he was going to beat the Akatsuki. He decided to return to the Hidden Sand Village and go from there. Maybe he could get some help.

"I thought the two of you might have died last night," said Tetsu in a good-natured tone. She grinned under the bandages around her mouth.

"Why don't you just leave us alone?" asked Arcin. "We've never done shit to you."

"Oh, but you see, that's not true," replied Tetsu. "You three were born. Now, I was going to wait until you found Tara, but I have a feeling I know where she is."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" snapped Arcin. "Look, you can go after her—we don't care right now. Our friend is in danger, and two of them are fucking dead."

"All because you wanted to save poor, little Tara," taunted Tetsu. "Has it ever occurred to you that she doesn't want to be saved? Maybe she wants to become evil, or whatever. As I know, Mr. Uchiha went to Mr. Orochimaru's side to get revenge and kill his older brother. Perhaps it's the same with Tara."

"Tara never even acknowledged that you were still alive," snarled Yassa.

"Ooh, feisty," said Tetsu with a smirk. "As far as I can tell, you're the strongest out of all three of you triplets. It's quite amazing how quickly you've adjusted to your life as a Takura."

Yassa looked at Tetsu with disgust. "If you're a Takura, then I sure as hell am not. C'mon, Arcin, we should get going."

The two of them again attempted to walk around Tetsu, but once more she stood in their way. "I already mentioned that you won't be leaving."

Yassa crossed her arms over her chest and replied, "We don't want to deal with you right now."

"Oh, but I want to deal with you," replied Tetsu. "You see, our trait is very…unique. To have three other children waltzing around with it, not knowing its full potential, is something that I cannot allow."

"Good for you," muttered Arcin.

"If you don't let us through—"

"You'll what?"

Arcin and Yassa exchanged glances and they lifted their hands, "Replacement!"

And just like that, in their places were two logs.

Tetsu raised an eyebrow and smirked. She launched into the trees, knowing where they were going, but by the time she reached where the twins had been, they were gone.