Disclaimer:I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or its franchise, in any way possible. All characters and mentioned names belong to Square Enix.

01 : Bland

"So! Did we do good?"

Yuffie Kisaragi looked up and watched the ceiling fan rotate as she chewed the forked piece she took from the sponge cake Tifa and her had just baked, with a frown on her face. Tifa, meanwhile, had a puppy-eyed look as she waited for the ninja's response, hands clasped together in anticipation.

"Well?"

"Mmm." Yuffie bobbed her head left and right, slick sounds made by her tongue in tasting. "... … … … Tastes ba—I mean bland! Bland. BLAAAND. Yup! Just lacks a bit more sweetness…"

Tifa stared. "Yuffie. Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying!" Yuffie shook her head. "I said, it tastes bland." After that, she nodded. "Just needs a bit more sugar."

It wasn't like Tifa didn't notice. Tifa whined as her shoulders slumped and her head hung low, and she shook it in dismay. "No… nonononono—NO!" The fighter sighed audibly and slapped either side of her head gently, looking at the cake. "Ahhh…!"

"Hey, stop that!" Yuffie reached over and batted her hands away, scowling. "Don't do that! Erm… eh, Tifa… we can always try again!" She smiled, hoping it would cheer Tifa up.

Tifa just stared at her. "What did you say?" To her, it was an unbelievable statement. She was extremely frustrated right now. "Did you say I could just… try again?"

"Well… yeah!" Yuffie cheerfully said. "I mean, we just need to look over the instructions, make sure everything's perfectly measured…"

A pause flew by. Like a tumbleweed just rolled.

"… … … … TRY AGAIN?"

Yuffie blinked. "There's no harm in it, right?"

"IT MEANS I'LL HAVE TO BUY INGREDIENTS AGAIN! Oh my Gaea, I give UP! This is the fourth time!"

Well… the ninja didn't know what to do anymore. But she knew how important this was to Tifa – Cloud's birthday was coming up tomorrow and she wanted to do something really special for him. She wanted to take back what she said but Tifa did tell her to be honest, right? Tifa, meanwhile, snorted and paced the wooden floor, hands becoming animated as she explained. Yuffie frowned while Tifa yelled in the bar. Oh, everyone knew what would happen once Tifa became frustrated… and Yuffie felt extremely unlucky she was seeing it. She wanted to just slink away.

"It means I'll have to WASTE money on just a simple cake I could just buy outside, it means I'll be spending CLOUD'S money, it means the kitchen will be a mess, it means it'll take AGES before I perfect this recipe, it means… it means…" Tifa scowled. "It means EVERYTHING right now!"

"Tifa, calm down!" Yuffie stuffed half the slice of her cake in her mouth, her voice muffled. "Well, it wasn't too bland; it just lacks sugar! A-and, more strawberries! The sponge is just a bit too – light? … That's why it doesn't have much taste—"

Tifa raised her hands as she scowled furiously. "OKAYSTOPIDON'TWANNAHEARIT." She sighed again, hands on her hips, as she eyed the cake.

The cake was fine, if anyone wondered. Or at least just looked it. It was a dandy-looking, strawberry shortcake, its pristine cream or frosting was perfectly swirled and the strawberries finely aligned. It didn't look horrible, or at least from afar, it didn't seem to taste too horrible. When Yuffie sabotaged another bite of the cake into her mouth she stared at it. In fact when she chewed again and felt around for how it exactly tasted, she realized it wasn't so bad after all. She wanted to take back what she said but she felt she might say something to trigger Tifa's limit break.

Just before the ninja could speak up again, Tifa huffed and said, "I'll be upstairs!" and marched up. A shutting bang of the door followed.

So Yuffie was left at the bar now, with a fairly big cake in front of her, and no one to share it with. Everyone else they knew was out – Cid was in Rocket Town again, helping the town create a rocket monument, Barret was busy delivering oil, Cloud was doing deliveries, Denzel and Marlene were in school, and … … … well, she didn't know where Vincent was, to be honest. Maybe in Kalm?

"Blaaaaaaaaaaargh."

Yuffie leaned down sharply and lowered her head onto the bar top, a resonating thud emanating. She didn't know how much it would hurt until her forehead hit.

"… … … … … OWW."

Talk about a headdesk!

Vincent Valentine hunched over on the edge of his bed, and analyzed the last diskette in his hands. The first 4 were already obliterated.

Everything was over now; things were calm and stable, apparently. He didn't know why he asked for the diskettes from Reeve and had a certain idea in his mind; in fact maybe it was a better idea to let Reeve do it. But he felt only he could banish the demons in his life, and … … … maybe doing this was the first step in eliminating those demons.

He stared at his phone for a moment. Usually, any from his friends called and/or left a message, but it seemed like today was a very empty day for that. He was like Cloud, though; he wasn't one to answer any calls unless he felt it was of any importance, or if he was informed that if a specific person called, he had to answer it (like Shelke's informative calls). As crimson eyes focused on the diskette in his hands again, and the fire in the steel bin nearby, he softened and reached out to toss the last Omega Report in the flame.

But, his phone gave off a well-known ringtone, at least to him. When he slid it off the night table and into his hands, he flipped it open – it was a message from Tifa, saying: "I give up!"

Vincent blinked at the message, wanting to reply, but suddenly remembered it would be Cloud's birthday tomorrow. He didn't know what Tifa had been up to lately, no one ever said, but he figured she was doing something special for him since Cloud meant so much to her. He felt like getting a gift for Cloud too. Vincent pondered on visiting 7th, and while looking at the fire in the steel bin, decided to wait until it died out. And then he could leave.