Alright! The madness continues! Thanks for the reviews and stuff, and this time, I've only had one Sprite, and it's 12 in the afternoon, so this is probably a lot less hyper-sounding. We are back to our original characters, so yay for that! Here are some reviews, and then we move ONWARD!

Ej- Yeah, I know I liked it! Craziness does help a lot; I guess it can't be all bad. Lol

Pvt Webster- My point is proven, nice of you to catch it! No one's born bad; stuff just makes them that way.

Kitsu- It was almost Rinoa, I just thought that it'd fit better with a different character.

Here we GO!

Chapter 7: Man or Woman?

Rinoa sat up, rubbing her rear end. The bed was painstakingly hard, and she had only got a few hours of sleep. As the numbness subsided, she stood up and looked at herself in the length-mirror. A long white nightgown hung down to her ankles, her hair slightly ruffled from tossing and turning. Sighing, she began to change into her powder-blue dress, but changed her mind. Her thoughts raced as she pulled out some loose pants, a baggy button-up shirt, and her rawhide cowboy hat. Tucking up her hair, she slipped on the shirt and pants, placing the hat on top of her hair. All in all, she did look quite like a man, but anyone who knew her would be able to see through her disguise quickly.

Taking out the bolt, she grabbed her pack and strode out the door. Her thoughts roamed as she caught glimpse of the door she had accidentally barged into the night before. Letting impulse take over, she pushed the door open slightly and found it was unlocked. Inside, she saw…

"Nothing," she said aloud. The room was empty. Feeling a strange disappointment sinking into her stomach, she plodded down the stairs and jumped the last two steps, taking the clerk by surprise.

"AUGH!" he cried, leaping backwards. Rinoa let out a chuckle, purposely trying to make her voice sound lower. "R…r…room number?" he said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Room seven," she said, hoping that he wouldn't remember the young girl who rented out the room.

"Ah, that's…" he counted out on his fingers, obviously not having a head for math. Rinoa placed small golden nuggets on the table, and the man's eyes widened. "Perfect!" he said greedily, using his grubby fingers to sweep up the gold. Being the daughter of a former army general had its benefits, even if it was a tedious and irritating task. The man nodded her out as he began to calculate the ultimate price for the nuggets, eventually having to ask for help from a nearby accountant. The sight of the weary man, holding a small yet old-fashioned abacus, reminded her of her current task. Sighing, she walked out of the room and back into the dusty open of the town. It felt different to be wearing men's clothing, but it made her feel free, far away from the stuffiness of the woman's life. Why had she looked in his room? The thought suddenly entered her mind. What had she been looking for? He was just another guy…

"Watch out, sir!" a voice called, and Rinoa turned her mind from her thoughts and what was in front of her. Her eyes focused just enough to see the blurry brown thing approaching her, feel something smack off her forehead, and see the scenery change quickly into blue. She had walked into the side of a building and fallen flat on her back. Small heels echoed through the ground, and Rinoa stared into the face of a small-looking girl. "Rinoa?" she asked, and was recognized instantly as Selphie.

"Selphie?" Another head popped up beside her; this time blue eyes and blonde hair stood out. "Quistis?" As her eyes focused once more, she sat up, realizing how stupid she must seem.

"What on earth are you doing?" Quistis asked, her 'school-teacher-mode' turned on high. Rinoa let her pull her to her feet, and brush her off.

"I was heading to the bank, and I was thinking, and I rammed into the wall." Selphie stared at her, and looked at the glimpse of silver along her neck. Moving too quickly for eyes to see, in less than a second her necklace was out of her shirt. Selphie gasped as she saw the new addition.

"Squall's ring? Rinoa…. What's going on?" she said, more teasing than serious. Rinoa stuck the necklace back into her shirt. She looked at her two friends and placed her hands on her hips.

"He gave it to me, problem with that?" she said, and stalked into the bank. Unfortunately, her friends decided to follow her.

"Rinoa, I know him, want me to set up a date?" With that, Rinoa whirled around and slapped her friend upside the head.

"Shut up, Selphie!" she whispered furiously, but as they approached the window, a voice began to chastise her.

"Y'know, in this town, it's illegal to hit a girl." Rinoa froze. "Well, since you're such a nice-looking feller, I'll let you off the hook." Rinoa turned to look at the voice and saw Zell, clad in his banker-gear, laughing at them. "Long time, no see, Rinoa," he said. As the four began to chat, they didn't notice a shadow watching them… almost hungrily. It could only hear snippets of the conversation…

"I just want to take out my half of the money Caraway has." Zell frowned.

"Did you run away again?" he asked.

"What's it to you?" she shot back, as a scream rang out. Voices died down, as they stared into the center of the hallway. A circle fanned out around something, and finally Rinoa was able to see. A body, mangled slightly and bloody, was in the center of the bank. As Rinoa stepped closer to see, everyone gasped. Someone, no, something was flying down from the ceiling. Landing on all four paws, a white werewolf stared out amongst the crowd. Everyone was frozen in fear, as the thing grinned at them with bloody teeth. Realizing that he could move freely for a few short seconds, it rose up onto its hind paws and howled, a deathly-frightening sound. Slowly but surely, its head turned towards Selphie as it landed, staring at the girl directly besides Rinoa. Just as it lunged, a blur of yellow and red leapt in front of it, blocking its fangs with a gun. It landed a few feet backwards and stared with frozen eyes at the man who had delayed his kill.

"Come any closer, and your brains are on the floor!" Irvine cried, gun pointed directly in-between the monster's eyes.

Yay, Irvine to Selphie's rescue! No Squall in this chapter, I know, I just thought it'd be good to get some other characters. There MAY -hint hint- be some Irvine/Selphie fluff, but there may not, I kinda make this up as I go along, but this chapter took me 7 hours! Ruuuuning out of ideas, so when you review, I'm open for suggestions!


Seifer- NO, get Chicken-Wuss instead, you stupid werewolf!

greiverwings- AHEM. Again, thanks for reading! -greiverwings