Angel in Disguise
Chapter 5: The Night before Christmas

Disclaimer: The characters mentioned here came from Squaresoft (now SquareEnix).

Author's Note: Here's what I've promised… Hope this fic will make your Christmas merry.

Caraway's Office

"You and Seifer will be facing for a duel. I want to see if you can beat our finest SeeD. I'm expecting a good match next week so don't let me down lad." Caraway said enthusiastically.

"…………" was all the lad can say.

Noticing his SeeD's motionlessness, the old man across him said "Oh I'm sure he will" Cid said, "He's our finest SeeD"

"Deling's Gunblade specialist vs. Balamb's Gunblade specialist…hmm I hope you're right about that Cid, I'm still putting my bet on my SeeD" Caraway said smirking.

"How 'bout this coming week, Caraway? so your SeeD can prepare for the coming battle of the titans he he he.." Cid replied.

"Next week? Ohh there's no need to wait that long my friend; I want to have a new commander by tomorrow morning!" He said to Cid. "Is that ok with you, lad?"

"No problem" he said plainly.

"But you better ask your SeeD about it…he might want to pump some more levels to beat my SeeD" Cid boastfully said to his comrade.

"Is this some kind of a game to them? I feel like a rooster in a Derby" The SeeD said under his breath.

"I'm going to call on Seifer now to tell him about the coming match tomorrow" The gray haired man exclaimed.

Rinoa's Room

Balcony

"How long will I stay like this here? How many minutes more til I die? Til I see my mother? Dad I'm so sorry….I… I wish you can forgive me ….this is the only way I can think of. Oh GOD please let me be with my mom…I want to see her…I want to be in heaven with her!."

All of a sudden, she heard a cracking sound and felt the gravity pulling her down. "W-What is happening? Am I dead? Am I going to heaven? Uh why am I going down? um Heaven was supposed to be up there…oh no…" The cord seems to snap out of its plug and she fell directly into the …yep you know where…and yeah her head first! "Ewwww…ughhh. Where the heck am I? ewww smells like my pet ….." Rinoa struggled to change her position.

In the meantime….

Behind the Mansion's wall

"He he he …no one can help you now old man! So you can scream as loud as you can…no one can hear you from here" A lad about late 20's threatens the crippled man with a knife.

"Yeah so give us all yer money!" another man (same age) with a baseball bat said.

"I told you, I have no money…100 gils is all I've got." The man said calmly. "I came here to see someone…so please take this and leave me alone" He said offering the small amount of money.

"WE know you're lying, you're the right hand of…"

Back to Rinoa….

"What's going on out there? I can hear someone talking …." She struggled from side to side and soon the 'container' that she's in fell into the other side and rolled "ahhhhhhh!!!!"

"So if you don't want to get hurt just give us your money!!!" the lad with a baseball bat demanded.

"I said, I have no money to lend you except for this!" the black man exclaimed.

"Then take this!" The other lad starts to attack the crippled man but he was …

"AHHHHHH!!!"

"Huh? W-What was that man! " The lad said nervously, while observing the rolling thing.

"Uh it's too dark to see man, I can't figure out what the heck was that thing….um but whatever is it …….it's rolling towards us! AHHHH!!!" The other lad shouted.

Both thugs run as fast as their feet can take them. But the 'unidentified rolling object rolled over them sending the two thugs flat on the ground.

The crippled man watches as the container continues to roll down the street (miraculously dodging the vehicles from both lanes) and bumps into the wall just across the street.

"Is that …a garbage can?" He said to himself. The man decided to have a closer look.

The man carefully observes the garbage can as it moves from left to right. "What's going on?" he asked himself. Out of the blue, a foot pops out of it, of course this startled the man. "WHAT THE?" he yelled. He was about to run when…..

"AHHH!! I thought I was going to roll like that forever!!" the mysterious figure (welp Rinoa) said while struggling out of the container. She was covered with different kinds of rubbish that no one can recognize her.

"Whoa what are you?" the crippled man said to her, still looking at 'moving pile of rubbish' in front of him. "Are you even…a human?"

Rinoa manages to take out some of the rubbish off her. "Huh? What are you talking about! Of course I'm a human!" she said while brushing off some of the rubbish. "See!"

"Yes you're almost human now" the crippled man said with a smile on his face. "By the way, thank you for saving me young lad" he said bowing at her.

"Lad?" Rinoa said. She was about to scratch her head and felt something on it. "Oh what's this…a bowl on my head?"

"Yes lad" the man said a bit confused. "Ha ha ha! Just go on and look at yourself at that piece of broken window. Maybe you're still dizzy "

Rinoa looked at the said mirror and was shocked to see her 'new appearance'. A large basin was on her head, some rubbish still clings to her body and the most shocking thing is…she got a ………mustache? Well, it looks like one....but it's really itchy.

"See! That's what you look like lad" The crippled man said.

"Oh my! Yeah he's right, I look ugly! Hmm…oh no…if I'm not mistaken, he's Mr. Kiros, right-hand of Mr. Cid Kramer! If he found out that I'm Rinoa ….I'll be dead meat for sure. I'll bet he's going to drag me back to the mansion and tell my dad about this. Uh what am I going to do? She pauses for a while and look back to the crippled man.

"Well? I guess you've get back to your senses young lad. Oh by the way, how rude of me not to introduce myself to my rescuer….I'm …"

"Mr. Kiros?" Rinoa said, cutting off his dialogue.

"Oh I didn't know that I'm that popular!" Kiros said smiling. "And you lad?"

Hmm…come on Rinoa think! What am I going to say? She pauses for a while to think, "On the other hand I can …" Rinoa smiles mischievously.

Kiros was still staring at her, waiting for her to talk. "Well?"

"Uh …I'm …uh…" Rinoa said as she doesn't know what to say. "If I say I'm just hanging around…and I'm on my way home then he'll surely ask me to accompany me home and thank my parents…ohhh "

Kiros just smiled at her and said "Want me to accompany you home? Well that is after I meet our Headmaster.

"Gosh…I knew it! Ohh um…" She said to herself, "Uh no!"

"NO?" he replied, puzzled with her answer.

"Um… I mean uh …I don't have any home, my parents left me when I was just five and .....I ah….you know" She said lying to the crippled man.

"I see…." Kiros said tapping Rinoa's back "…I understand your hardships" Kiros can't help but feel sorry for the 'kid'. "Ok …I'm not going to ask you all 'bout it"

"Whew! What a relief!" Rinoa said to herself.

"Uh w-what are you doing inside that container?" he questioned her.

"Great! I need to lie again!" she said then pauses again to think "I ….um…was …looking for ah….food at the …….garbage…..and uh saw you……and um ….I guess you know what happened next" she added.

"Ohhh …I'm so sorry if I put you with all that trouble" he said bowing to her.

"Ohh no Sir! Don't be sorry. Your life is more important than my stomach!" she said scratching her head (with the basin still on her head)

"Then please may I know who's this brave soul whom I owe my life for eternity? Kiros said still bowing.

"M-My…. name?" she said nervously "A name? uh yeah I've got to have a name"

Author's Note: Hmm a masculine name for Rinoa? Wonder what will that be?…got any ideas folks? Please do wait for the next chapter for that.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!