The moonlight broke through the clouds, and cast its ethereal glow on the village of Sunagakure. There were two figures moving seamlessly together in the dark shadows cast from Suna's large buildings, taking leaps and bounds without an ounce of predictability. One figure had a cool, upper hand style to its movements as it easily scaled each and every obstacle in its path, while the other was jerking here and there with a desperate, frantic rhythm, like the mouse getting the best of the cat. The calm and collected figure was leading the other farther and farther away from the heart of suna, out more into the suburbs.

It was a dance of death that Sato knew well, and one that she knew all the steps to. Her hands were clasped neatly behind her back as she sidestepped first this way then that, flawlessly avoiding kunai thrusts from her assailant. Her feet were sure with every bound they took. Each foothold was secure. Although she had never been to Suna before in her life, she was now traversing its pathways like a native.

"Oops!" Sato said sweetly to her lunging pursuer as the kunai barley brushed the flapping hem of her shirt, "Almost got me there!"

She launched herself in the air once more, spun around, and landed a roundhouse kick to the side of the sand genins head.

He gave a weak cry, and pummeled to the earth. Sato gave a loud and raucous laugh of spite as she followed her prey to the ground.

The stocky, well-built genin slammed into the ground hard, but rolled twice and was up in a flash before Sato could even fix her hair. He was one genin that refused to lie down and die-all the others had been painfully easy to slay. At least this was a challenge.

He had no real special attributes to him, justu wise. Just a maddening ability to dodge every shuriken and kunai she sent his way.

She fell gracefully into a battle ready position as he pulled from his belt another handful of throwing knives. She hadn't really been trying. All night she hadn't once used her Tasogare powers, instead killing with her natural stamina and strength. This battle, however, had gone on long enough. The genin had fought hard and long. He deserved to go out with a bang, and with something special.

"Kagerichu no jutsu! Art of the Shadowblades! TASOGARE FORM!"

The rune scars up and down Sato's arms glowed with a fierce red light as the girl called her devastating powers to bear. All she had time to see was the shocked and surprised look on her quarry's face before he was enveloped in a sea of ripping, cutting shadows.

Sato dusted off her hands, "A good nights work, eh, Kuro?"

"He fought well." Makuro commented openly, stepping out from the shadows in one bound, "An honorable opponent."

"Psssh.." Sato tossed her head, "Hardly."

Makuro frowned, "You couldn't hit him with a knife."

"He couldn't touch me!" Sato shot back, "I wasn't really trying, Kuro, in case you weren't watching closely."

Makuro had been watching closely, and once more was impressed and intimidated by the sheer amount of power in the young girl. She had killed most of the genin cells on her own while her stoic cell member watched blankly. Even now there wasn't a trace left of the ninja she had been sparring with not five minutes beforehand. The most astonishing thing was that Sato had pulled off this feat without once breaking a sweat, loosing her cool, or even using her arsenal of devastating Tasogare Attacks, save for that last move there.

Sato smiled. She was in a very good mood, "I'd say our work here is done, eh Makuro?"

"Don't move." Makuro whispered softly, his entire body going rigid. His linen covered mouth barley moved, and his voice suddenly dripped with urgency," For gosh sakes Sato, don't more or breathe."

"What?" Sato followed her friend's gaze, and stopped short, "Oh crap."

Gaara of the sand stood above them, perched on a telephone pole. His silhouette was ghastly and grim against the white backdrop of the full moon. The two Yoru genin could feel the heat from the young man's gaze as he glared down on them with a powerful force.

"Why are you killing them…?" He whispered in that strange, guttural voice.

Sato felt chills running up and down her spine, unbidden. She had heard all about this demon in her own village, but never thought that she would be meeting him face to face like this. She certainly never thought that he would be this bone-numbingly terrifying. What was in that gourd?

Sato cocked her head, and did her best to play tough. She returned Gaara's look of death, and said in her best flippant voice, "Sorry about for your friends there, mate, but they had to go. We're making way for something bigger to come through.."

"Sato, you idiot! Don't!" Makuro hissed, seizing his friend on the arm, and holding her tight, "We can't mess with him! Every taunt you make to that guy is a nail in our coffins.."

"Why are you killing them?" Gaara repeated, and he shifted position slightly. Both Kuro and Sato made sudden defensive moves. They were both on edge with this new stranger.

The sand genin's eyes narrowed, and he continued, "Its my job to kill them..to kill them all…."
"Sorry about that too, then!" The rune scars on Sato's arms were starting to glow a faint red, indicating that the young Tasogare was ready to spring into battle. Kuro sent his friend an urgent glare, and whispered fiercely into her ear-

"Are you retarded? We can't afford to mess with this guy right now, Sato! You can crush him during the chunin exams for all I care, but right now we just need to get out of here alive, and if you keep egging him on, that's not going to happen!!!"

Sato looked at Kuro levelly, "You don't think I can handle him?'

"This isn't about pride or proving anything, you fool!" Makuro snarled. He looked really and truly streamed, the very picture of frusteration, "I'm asking you…no, I'm begging you not to get into a fight with Gaara of the sand! Not here, not now! Save it.!!"

Sato raised her head again, and caught Gaara's mad gaze. Makuro was no coward-if he felt it was necessary, he would have thrown himself at this new genin, but on the other hand if he felt it was not absolutely required, he wouldn't. Maybe there was a grain of truth to Kuro;s words. She would save it to the chunin's, and hope that she got paired up with this guy. Common sense won out in Satora's inner battle. She nodded slightly, and said, "Until next time, freak-"

Kaa---ZAAAM!!!!

Both of the genin disappeared. Sato had used her Shadow art of hiding. Gaara didn't seem to care all that much.