Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters. i also borrowed the title from the title of a song XD

Authors note: Hey, remeber moi? i used to be leontillybalambgirl but now i have a new name and also a new story to run along side my current one Forbidden Whispers. This is a little different to my others, but i hope you will enjoy it, if you give it a read, let me know what you think. I'm going on vacay in a week so i may not update for 2 weeks, but if you guys like it.i'll defintely carry it on. thanks you guys! (ps this is the second time i have updated this, there was some problems with the text format in the other , sorry guys X) enjoy!

-Method and madness-

"Police have warned that the killer will strike again and that citizens should be especially careful around the city."

Rinoa shut off the TV. She didn't want to hear anymore. She already felt sick.

"It's terrible" She said, clutching her arms to her chest.

"It's all over the papers too." her roommate, Selphie said, holding up a paper with the headline "Serial Killer case sickens police" blazoned across the front.

"It has been for months" Rinoa said quietly, "it never ends"

This particular issue had terrified Rinoa since it had all began. She had tried to ignore all the news reports, and all the frightened whispers in the town, but she just couldn't. Everywhere she went, it was all she heard about. It made her increasingly reluctant to actually leave her house. She wasn't one of those "it won't happen to me" types of people; she always feared for the worst. She was heeding all the safety advice she had been given a few years back as a teenager. The usual things: stick to main roads, stay in lit areas, avoid walking alone. At the time she had dismissed the advice; to a 16 year old it simply meant nothing. Back then she was more interested in living the typical teenage life, partying, going out with friends and that 'bad boy' type boyfriend. But now common sense had returned to her and she was thankful for those little pieces of advice. It was the only safety net she had; as the news kept saying, there was no method to the madness and anyone could be next.

And Rinoa had that thought echoing in her head every single day.

Of course, she knew she could not stay in her house all the time, she had things to do, she had a life. That particular day she had some shopping to do, but she wasn't walking anywhere alone, so she called a Taxi from pretty much right outside her doorstep.

While she wanted to be cautious, she knew she had to dismiss some of her more ridiculous ideas such as 'what if the driver is the killer' or 'what if it's secretly someone I know'. Sitting back in her seat and trying to relax, she managed to fill her head with some more pleasant thoughts, until she heard the start of the news report over the radio. The driver, obviously interested, mumbled something and turned the volume up. Rinoa had no choice but to listen.

"The criminal now known as the Masquerade killer for the incredible ability to conceal their identity will strike again soon, according to police. At each and every previous crime scene, clues have been left that only made sense after the next murder was committed. However, intelligence experts believe that one clue found at last week's crime scene may have eluded to today's date and are advising extreme caution. If you know anything that you think may be helpful please contact the police. At the moment, little is known about the killer's appearance except that they are believed to wear a dark hooded jacket or robe. With little to work on, police currently have no suspects, but are assuring citizens they will get to the bottom of this case. At the moment there is thought to be no link between the 5 victims in Timber or the previous 14 across the world believed to be the work of the same person. Stay tuned to T.Q.T Radio for any breaking news updates."

"It's just awful isn't it." the taxi driver said, shaking his head "I'm glad my daughters moved out of this city, I am."

"I can see why." Rinoa said faintly. That report had chilled her to the bone. She was so distracted she hadn't even noticed that the car had stopped at her destination. She flinched as she looked out of the window, it was day time at least, but the sky was dull and gloomy, darkness already starting to set in.

"That'll be 4.50 love, and you keep yourself safe out there."

Rinoa handed the driver his money and forced herself to go about her business as usual. She tried to distract herself with some shopping in the sales and managed to sucseed for a few hours, until suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, hysteria spread through the shop and people began heading outside. Following the crowd, Rinoa, like everyone else, stopped dead when she saw what was in front of her. The police had been right…the killer had planned to strike that day…and they had succeeded. The death was equally as obscure, vulgar and demented as the rest of them had been and Rinoa had to instantly look away.

A few officers were beginning to arrive at the scene, one of the first being a tall, elegant yet stern looking young woman. Her blonde hair was pulled back tightly and her glasses added to her strict image, along with her neatly tailored suit. "Ladies and Gentlemen" she called, with a surprisingly loud voice "I understand how difficult this is, and it is indeed very upsetting."

Rinoa didn't doubt the woman's sincerity, yet her hardened expression and the look in her eyes gave away that she was used to this. "Your assistance will be vital to us. We would like to speak with you all individually, find out what you saw, ask some questions and answer any too. I am Chief inspector Trepe, this is my colleague, Officer Dincht" she said, gesturing to the short blonde man next to her. "Others will be arriving shortly, until then please be patient."

But Rinoa didn't want to stay, she wanted to get as far away as possible. It was dark now, she just wanted to get home. She didn't want to talk to this Trepe woman, she wanted to see someone close; she wanted comfort. She had to see Seifer. She and Seifer had been together two years now, and he had always been able to calm her down, get rid of her troubles. They had met at 19, a particularly bad time for Rinoa for various reasons. He had even followed her to Timber after they got together. Rinoa didn't see him as much as she would like lately, because of his work, but she knew she needed to see him now. His house was not too far from there, and surely nobody would notice one person missing from the crowd.

But there were numerous police cars up and down the main street and Inspector Trepe pacing back and forth talking on a cell phone. She couldn't slip away without being noticed. Looking around, she saw a slightly deserted street to her left and started slowly backing out of the crowd. After getting a few paces away and not really paying attention to her surroundings, she felt herself bump into someone.

Not looking up at the person and instead bending down to pick up what she had dropped, she heard the person above her laugh. That unsettled her a little. Reaching out to pick up her now broken makeup mirror, she caught a glimpse of the person above her in one of the broken shards. She didn't see their face…but they were wearing a black hooded long jacket, and were still laughing.

No. it couldn't be……

By the time she had overcome her fear the person was gone. She gathered up her things and ran as quickly as she could in the direction of Seifer's house. Tears were falling increasingly fast as she ran and she was trembling with fear.

She tried to reason with herself that it was nothing, she was making herself see things…but it wasn't working. She reached Seifer's house and hastily jammed her key into the lock, forcing the door open and then closing and locking it behind her. The familiar sight inside the house made her feel safer. She was fine, she was safe, it was going to be okay. Everything would be fine now she was going to see Seifer. But she got no response to calling his name even though he was in the house as all the lights were on. Figuring he may be upstairs Rinoa headed up still shaking and pushed open the bedroom door.

"oh my god" she yelled, the moment she did.

Seifer was lying in bed with some random, half dressed blonde woman on top of him.

"Oh my gosh" the woman gasped.

"Rinoa" Seifer said in alarm.

Rinoa didn't say anything. She just shut the door behind her and ran down the hallway, heading for the stairs. About a quarter of the way down her towering stiletto heels caused her to trip and she landed at the bottom with a thud. Ignoring the pain she pushed herself up, she just had to get out of there. How could he do that to her? She thought he loved her. But he betrayed her, with some stupid, fake Barbie-doll look alike type, the type he used to claim to hate. Rinoa flung open the door and slammed it loudly behind her. She headed out of the street and around the corner to call for a taxi to get her home.

But as she did she saw that she had much bigger problems than Seifer's betrayal. Leaning in a freakishly relaxed manner against a car parked across the street was the figure of a person, a person wearing a long, hooded jacket, their face covered. Instantly, Rinoa was terrified. The person raised a gloved hand and waved slowly at her.

The instinct to run kicked in and she ran tearfully down the street, too afraid to scream. Taking one glance behind her as she ran, she saw the person was gone. But she doubted that was the end of it. Her life was over in more than one way.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well, thankf for reading and be sure to give me some feedback about what you liked (and didnt like if you want) thanks again, love you all