Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto... oh the things I'd make them do...But too bad

Double Life

Chapter 1: Encounter

I stood on the rooftop of a nearby building. Looking down, I could see the minuscule cops and their minuscule brains running around. Heh, they were absolutely helpless. All they could do was call for back up. Of course, that was useless and a complete waste of time. They must've thought increasing their little army would somehow catch me. All I can do is laugh. In this lame excuse for a city, my job is child's play. There was no one to stand in my way, or so I thought until now.

In the day, I'm Temari, nothing more, nothing less. My life is simple as a twenty-two year old who owns and works at a bar, The Façade. My friends are my frequent customers and my family consists of two brothers: one with a girlfriend, and one with a boyfriend. I try not to get myself involved with society too much.

If anyone realizes who I am, I'm dead.

When the sun buries itself once again after the radiant hues have long faded, my secret profession makes itself known. Hah, I sounded like a poet just then… c'mon that sounded pathetically cheesy and surreal. Like I have time for dreaming about fantastic shit like unicorns. Anyway, they know me by the name Midnight Tempest. 'They' are namely the government forces. I am a master thief, which does make me quite popular around here. My brothers used to lead this double life as well, until they found their 'purpose' to live and that kind of bullshit. The business at my bar is good, but the thrill in being a thief is much more enjoyable.

Life had been great to me. I had all the money I ever wanted. There just weren't many complications… until he came along. Come to think of it… I don't even know if it was a "he".

Going back, I met him earlier tonight, I had been planning to steal the Blood Pearl. A valuable crimson coloured pearl found in some deep dark place eons ago. Who cares? It was valuable, and that's all I need. I had already knocked the guards unconscious and had disengaged the alarm systems. But, just as I went for my prize, someone flew in. I mean literally, he descended from the ceiling like a rebelling angel. He wore a black mask and wore a top hat. On top of that, he had on really loose-fitting clothes, making it impossible to identify his gender.

He didn't say anything, just stared at me with chocolate brown eyes through his mask. My eyes flickered dangerously, knowing full well that we were after the same thing. Without warning, I ran for the treasure. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him go for it as well. However, he was faster than me. And I thought here I thought I was inhumanly fast…

So it looked like I'd have to resort to violence. I hardly had to bring this up since the cops are, as I had mentioned before, sad. But this time it was different. I reached for the back of my belt, which my two iron fans were clipped on either side. I had managed to be able to cut through the air twice with my fan, knocking my opponent into the wall, and the pearl ten feet up into the air. I was surprised I had been able to control my fan so well since I was pretty rusty with it

Continuing in a fluid motion, I brought the fans up in front of me and swept both of them behind me just as I made a jump dash, giving me an extra speed boost into the air. I reached for the pearl, and I caught it by the fingertips. I decided to take a little risk and loosen up my fingers, letting the jewel slide into my palm. I had been so sure I had won.

But unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. I was hoping knocking him unconscious would at least leave him cold for a while. But unfortunately, I hadn't noticed he had the reflexes of a cat. He had managed to evade my attack, which, to this day no one had accomplished before. Surprise, surprise in this city of couch potatoes…

I had just started to descend when the mysterious character pulled a whip out of nowhere and lashed it onto my ankle, pulling me down. His whip had a vice grip on my ankle, making it impossible for me to free myself. But refusing to give in, I lashed out two blasts of wind with my fan simultaneously. Fortunately, I caught him off guard and managed to bounce off his head, pearl still in hand.

I quickly combined the two fans in my hands to form one big one. I jumped on, this method of travel being faster than running. Just as I had begun to accelerate, however, I heard whooshing sounds behind me, coming for my head. I ducked down and turned around. Sure enough, there he was, throwing series of needles at me, one after another. I had managed to dodge most of them, doing handstands, jumps, twists, and whatnot. It makes me wonder why I didn't go join the circus.

Soon, I got irritated. So I disconnected one of the fans, still standing on the other. I used the fan I was holding to block all needles flying at me, occasionally going into offense mode with small whirlwinds and cutters.

I had not failed to notice the size and vast emptiness save the stand where the pearl was supposed to sit. Not to mention this bastard's endless supply of needles. I was starting to get irritated. You try steering a fan and blocking an endless amount of needles while trying to keep your balance at the same time. One mistake and he would've got me. I don't even want to imagine what the needles could be coated with.

But one mistake was just what I made. I had to let my guard down for one second so I could hop off my fan, throw it outside so I had a sturdy landing, and jump through the window. One second was literally all I needed to accomplish that. But just as my right hand touched my fan, I felt something thin jab into my right arm. Immediately, my arm had become immobile. Heartbeats later, two more needles jabbed into both my legs, paralyzing them both. I winced at the sudden sting, but felt nothing more beyond it.

Just as I thought he was done, I suddenly felt a prick on my left hand, which was still holding my other fan, was placed above the window. So unless his needles were homing needles, then 'Oh shit' would be the right response.

Looking up, I saw what I had feared: two perfectly polished black boots, balancing delicately at the end of my fan. His gracefulness surpasses that of a professional ballerina, which amazes me, considering the vigor in his tactics.

At that point, I felt like a complete fool. Hell, I think anyone would. I had one hand pressed against my fan, one hand against the wall, and both legs suspended in midair. Craning my neck, I looked up to see his face, which was covered by a black mask save his giant smirk. I felt his eyes piercing through me. Unlike the pitying manner I had suspected, but rather in an almost lustful manner. I shivered at that thought, disgusting myself with my own assumptions. I had expected him to say something as well, rubbing victory in my face or something juvenile like that, but to my relief, no words came.

He bent down so he was eye-level to me. He stared right into my eyes. Suddenly slightly panic-stricken, I looked into his dark brown eyes as well, searching for even the slightest signs of sadistic wants. I have never been caught in a situation like this, or even close to this. Perhaps I was paranoid, but as much as I'd hate to admit it, I felt vulnerable. For the first time in my life, I was as vulnerable as a fucking turkey on Thanksgiving Day. That was a horrible analogy, but point is, I'm not paranoid. Fortunately, however, the only thing I saw in his eyes was, oddly enough, admiration.

What he did next however, caught me completely off guard.

Reaching out, he cupped my cheek in his leather-gloved hands. I barely had enough time to react when he suddenly pushed his face forward, connecting both our lips in a chaste kiss. Using this opportunity, I felt him sneak something down the valley of my breasts through my somewhat revealing top. My eyes went wide. Fortunately for him, I still couldn't move or I'll have his face punched inside out.

As he got up, I glared him, hoping if I glared long enough he'll eventually burn into nothingness. But he only smirked that cocky smirk of his again. He then went over to my pockets and retrieved the Blood Pearl, his stupid smirk still plastered on his face.

That was the last thing I saw before he released me of my paralysis somehow, landing face-first on my hand, legs hanging inside the museum.

In a flash, I picked myself up and threw a punch at the figure standing on my fan…the same figure that had already disappeared from sight. I quickly caught myself, because if I didn't, I'd have at least one broken bone and a face full of dirt.

So here I sit right now, in my apartment. Damn, somehow… life just got harder tenfold in one night. I pulled out the item that the pervert left in between my boobs. It was just a simple plastic card about the size of a business card. This one however, was a note.

"Looks like I've won our first battle. Don't worry though, beautiful, we'll meet again. Sooner than either of us may expect." It was written in perfect cursive, in silver ink. I flipped the black card over. On the back, was, written in the same handwriting, the words The Phantom.

The name certainly fitted the mysterious figure. But what did he mean by "sooner than either of us may expect"? I definitely want to see him again and beat his ass through the ground. But my mind kept going back to kiss. It was quick and chaste. The kiss was just that, a kiss. There was nothing more to it, but I can't stop thinking about it. His lips were softer than any other guy I've kissed before. And trust me, I've kissed a lot of guys. Furthermore I did not see even a hint of lust in his eyes before or after he kissed me. Which surprises me because, well, I can't deny the fact that I'm hot.

No, I don't stand in front of the mirror all day and worship myself, but still. I'm considered one of the most attractive around here. Oh, I don't know, top five? I'm actually quite tall, considering I'm half Japanese. Thank god for my European genetics.

But whatever, the last thing I need is someone like him ruining my night's sleep. Tomorrow I have a busy day ahead of me. Sigh, some big party thing tomorrow my brother's boyfriend planned. I don't know what my brother got himself into with that hyper boyfriend of his, but seriously… dragging me in with him? Worst is that my brother would be extremely scary if I just blew it off. Not the "ooga-booga" kind of scary either, but more like the skin your skin and gut your guts kind of scary. Trust me, I was in the hospital for a month last time.

As much as I'd hate to admit it, I went to sleep thinking about the dark figure and his gentle lips.