AN: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, only my OC's…wait I don't have any OC's, they're all my co-authors *sigh*. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

AN: This takes place not long after Sasuke has killed Orochimaru, but I do warn, this doesn't follow EXACT plot lines, basic plot will happen, but it goes AU…or AP for Alternate Plot, since I'm keeping it in the same Naruto world. Not only is this Romance/Adventure, it also has Mystery and Suspense… and maybe a tiny bit Humor. This also has several pairings other than the main ones listed. R&R please.

Masked Affections

A Naruto FanFiction

Chapter 1: The Masked Lady

It was late fall in Konoha, and the harvest festival was in full swing, some of Suna's residents were visiting, and for once, peace was abundant.

Kakashi talks to Jiraiya about his famous book series, Icha Icha, Naruto eats several samples of Ichiraku ramen, and a pair of Hyuga eyes watch him nervously from a few yards away. Gaara and Temari walk around taking in the sights, though it seems Temari only takes in the sight of Shikamaru standing against a post, looking bored.

"CHA!" shouts Sakura as she wins yet another prize at the 'Test Your Strength' game, "I win again!" Gaara blinks and turns from Sakura's excited celebration, only to notice a person he had never seen before in either Konoha or Suna. The small glimpse that he was allowed revealed an about six foot tall woman with shoulder length lavender hair, and out of genuine curiosity and perhaps the fact she could be missing-nin, Gaara moved to follow her.

It didn't take long before she quickened her pace and began weaving through the crowd, apparently noticing Gaara's presence. She turns down an alleyway and hides in the shadows, but Gaara is not fooled.

"So why do you hide in the shadows?" Gaara inquires, all the more suspicious of her.

"Well that's simple really. You were following me and I am pretending to hide to see if you will give up." She scoffs, still hidden in the depths of the shadows, "So what do you want? I have a show to be getting to."

"I was curious to what you were doing. You are unfamiliar to me." He states simply, eyes narrowed, searching to find a face on the mysterious woman.

"Well that is obvious. Most people don't really know me anyways. I really do have to go." She pauses, and then sighs in frustration, "So can you go now, or are you going to stalk me all night?"

"I wasn't meaning to stalk you, I am sorry Miss." Gaara turns and leaves, his thoughts still bent on who she was and what she might have been doing.

When he returns to Temari's side, even she notices his preoccupation, "Is everything okay Gaara?" He simply nods in response. An announcer tells everyone to move towards a small open square where a band is soon scheduled to play.

Temari soon spots Shikamaru in the front left of the audience, looking bored out of his mind. She sneaks up behind him and whacks him on the back of his head playfully. "Ow….what did you do that for?"

"I'm saying hello Shikamaru." She grins.

"Hello troublesome woman." He frowns and turns to Gaara, "Hello Kazekage."

Sakura soon appears, dragging Kakashi along behind her. "Hey Gaara, Temari, Shikamaru, how are you?

Gaara only answers with silence, Shikamaru a sigh, while Temari smiles, "Hi Sakura, we're doing well."

"I wonder who they have singing tonight." Sakura ponders aloud.

"No idea." Temari shrugs.

"I could have gotten an autographed copy of the new Icha Icha book…." Kakashi grumbles.

Sakura hits him across his head, "You will be okay without those books. You can get it later; I want to see the singers."

"Oh fine..." Kakashi sighs. Shikamaru hides his laughter quickly, making it seem like he was simply coughing, but Temari isn't fooled.

"Find something funny for once Mister Lazy?" Temari teases him.

He smirks, "Well it's funny that Kakashi is getting whipped already, and they aren't even dating yet."

"What?" Kakashi shouts, obviously stunned. "I am not whipped!" He flails around, protesting furiously. Gaara blinks blankly at his antics and Temari giggles.

"Well you didn't deny the dating part, so it must be true, you plan on dating her…" He smiles widely. Sakura meanwhile is too busy looking at a paper, somehow not noticing the commotion.

"Did I miss anything?" Naruto pants as he rushes over as depression lines hang heavy over Kakashi's head.

"Yah Kakashi's being whipped by Sakura, and the rest of us are waiting to see the singers."

Hinata wonders over, blushing. "H…h…hi Naruto-kun."

"Oh hey Hinata." Hinata blushes at his response and he turns to Kakashi and makes an 'ew' face, "Kakashi-sensei you're with Sakura…ew." Lucky enough, Sakura was still off in her own world, while Kakashi blushes furiously.

"I'm not the only one whipped…" Kakashi grumbles, looking at Shikamaru with a hint of contempt. Shikamaru just glares and looks away, and Kakashi's eyes crinkle in an unseen triumphant smile.

The lights around dim, and the announcer appears on the stage, "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Harvest Festival of Konoha." Nearly everyone cheers and applauds, expect Gaara. "Up first is the mysterious young singer from far away… the Masked Lady!" The crowd cheers again as the woman appears on stage. Gaara's eyes narrow. It's the same girl from earlier, in a lavender leather shirt, cut around the middle, matching pants and heeled boots. Her face is yet again obscured, but this time with a white masquerade that covers all but her bright red lips and two holes for her dark emerald green eyes. Gaara notices a ninja headband around her arm, but cannot see the symbol on it.

"Tonight…I am pleased to sing for you." Her lips turn into a small smile, and she sings for a bit. Soon she finishes and another singer gets on, but Gaara quickly follows the 'Masked Lady'.

He finds her, in a small end of an alleyway, cornered by none other than an ANBU from another village. "I finally found you Masked Lady. You will go back to the village and face judgment, if not then I'll kill you…right here."

She puts her hands on her hips, "Like I'm going with you." The ANBU pulls out a kunai and places it to her thin neck, his mask ominous in the pale moonlight.

"Don't test me." He warns, a small trickle of blood dropping from her neck at the pressure from his kunai.

"I'd leave her alone if I were you." Gaara steps in and the ANBU turns to him, emotionless and deadly.

AN: What will happen next? When the time comes, I'll explain some things, such as title and plot twists, don't worry. I hope you like it so far. I hope to get another chapter up soon, so I hope you stay tuned for the next installment of Masked Affections!