New perspective to give Kairi's mind a rest.  Hehe, enjoy!

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Raspberry Heaven

'Memory Bank: Bail Me Out'

            Yuffie's apartment looked nothing like it had the first day of her arrival.  Though there was still a tower of cardboard boxes she'd just never really gotten around to unpacking --"Who's needs good china?  Hah!  Not me!"-- and the curtains for her living room still had yet to be hung up, her living space looked... very well-lived in. 

            And it certainly was.

            As always, Yuffie wandered through her door some time shortly before seven-thirty, closing the door quietly behind her.  She knew that Lulu would be asleep next door and would throw a complete fit if anyone or anything cost her even a moment's beauty sleep.  Not that the older woman really needed it in the first place, or anything...

            However, tonight was different from most nights if only because Yuffie was worried.  She was nervous, skittish, anxious...  Something akin to a large tossed salad of rotten emotions that were just plain bothersome.  That wouldn't make a very good salad then, would it?

            "Thaaat was not smart.  That.  Was not.  Smart."  Clutching at her blond streaked black hair, Yuffie began pacing back and forth through her apartment, weaving around scattered furniture and various boxes of random junk.  "Eyyaaagh, if I were back home, I wouldn't care!"  That was partially true, Yuffie supposed, though some deeper part of herself couldn't help but snicker and eagerly remind her that it'd happened before. 

            Hours slowly began to trickle by and at some point Yuffie managed to microwave herself a bowl of instant macaroni and cheese.  Granted, she overcooked it, but Yuffie had never really been a brilliant chef anyway.  Besides, the macaroni could've been undercooked.  That would've been simply... tragic.

            Hehe.  Well at least my old self isn't totally gone!  Staring at the steaming pile of supposedly-edible orange goo in front of her, Yuffie's mind easily began to wander.  And the further and further it wandered, the further back in her memory it tended to lead itself until it was happily guiding Yuffie through the past that too few knew about.  Was it terribly scarring and depressing?  Certainly not.  If anything, Yuffie guessed that was the problem right there.

-------

            "You're Yuffie, right?"  Arms folded behind her back, Rinoa bent down slightly so as to get a better look at the girl seated on the floor.  In return Yuffie looked up at her, scampering back into her little mental file cabinet and putting together the pieces she knew about Rinoa in a flash. 

            Old girlfriend of some guy named Squall.  Seifer too, actually.  Possibly a tramp.  Interesting?  Possibly that too, if only because she was the only other female within a ten mile radius.  No, scratch that.  It was a stupid thought.

            "The one and only!  And yeah, yeah, you're Rinoa.  I wasn't asleep when Seifer introduced you, ya know.  Nice to meet you."  Shooting the girl towering above her a brilliant flash of a grin, Yuffie happily settled herself against the wooden wall of the old house.  Only Seifer and Zell hung around the place at this house and Yuffie couldn't help but idly wonder why Rinoa was still here.  She was new.  Shouldn't she be leaving or something?

            Wait, no.  She was probably waiting on Seifer.  Tramp.

            "Well, I wasn't sure."  Rinoa smiled warmly down at Yuffie, black wisps of hair falling from their place tucked neatly behind her small ears.  Okay, she was cute.  Yuffie would give her that.  But hell, Yuffie was cute.  This chick was just...  Eh.  Strange.  Still.  Tramp!!  "Can I sit with you or are you all 'I'll bite your head off if you touch me' too?"

            "Huh?"

            "Thanks."  Without further question, Rinoa made herself comfortable next to Yuffie, closer than really necessary, she noticed.  "So how long have you been with them?"

            "Me?  Original member."  A proud smirk stretched lazily across Yuffie's face. 

            "Ohh.  Wow.  So are you like... special or something?"

            Great.  Way to go and just stick your nose where it doesn't belong, girl.  Yuffie's pride instantly took a good hard punch to the gut from Rinoa's question as Yuffie frowned slightly and scratched her knee absentmindedly, thinking and talking, but not bothering to have the two actions intertwine with one another.  "Erm.  No.  Seifer's the head honcho, as you know.  Zell's... well, he's Zell.  Irvine's probably second-in-command, if you could call it that..."

            Rolling her eyes, Rinoa laughed lightly and leaned in towards Yuffie, lowering her voice as she spoke again.  "Well I know that.  But what about you?"

            Personal bubble, personal bubble!  Sheesh, she really is sort of... 'needy.'  Perhaps if the somewhat-sticky aura that Rinoa seemed to radiate wasn't there, Yuffie would've gone all out with the flirt, flatter, and floor routine.  Floor.  Heh.  Wrestle on the bedroom floor, always leave me wanting more!

            "You already know who I am!"  Yuffie stuck out her tongue, causing Rinoa to giggle again, though the other girl didn't back away as Yuffie had hoped.  Come on, how childish did she have to act to make Rinoa scamper off?  Only trouble would come to whoever dared to lay a paw on Squall or Seifer's girl.  ...Even though Yuffie was almost positive that Rinoa was dating neither of them that week.

            Erk.  It was always switching back and forth, on and off.  Too hard to keep track of, too much hassle, too much of a pain in the ass.  Yuffie had thought both of those guys were gay anyway, so either her gaydar was seriously awry or Rinoa was really something else.  Professional Easer of Sexual Tension, maybe?  Not the best title the world had to offer...

            "Come on, Yuffie, I'm serious!"  Drawing her glossy bottom lip out into a pout that was nothing short of adorable, Rinoa gazed mournfully over at the girl beside her, knowing that she was perfectly capable of plucking anyone's heartstrings with that look.  "Don't you like me?"

            Purposefully averting her gaze, Yuffie quickly tried to collect her scattered thoughts.  O-kay, so Seifer's little toy is definitely coming onto me.  Good?  ...Eh, not so much so.  Screw that.  This is really bad.  Shit.  It was hard to be your usual perky self when you were trying to make sure you weren't going to lose your head by talking to some girl next to you.  Especially Rinoa.

            "I hardly know you!"

            "Nuh-uh!  Seifer introduced me to everyone like... two hours ago.  We definitely know each other." 

            Well, when in doubt, there was always one thing Yuffie was able to fall back on.  Switching topics... now.  "So did you knit that duster yourself?" she asked, pointing to the light blue garment Rinoa wore over a pair of black shorts and a tank top.  Of course, Yuffie wasn't going to mention that the other girl looked great in it.  ...Rinoa probably already knew that anyway.

            "Yeah!  You like it?"  Hopping up from her seat beside Yuffie, Rinoa gleefully spun around in front of her, always eager to model off her favorite piece of clothing.  "I can make you one too, if you want one!"  Grinning, Rinoa confirmed Yuffie's prediction.  Pearly white teeth, virtually perfect.  Hmph.  She probably had braces in the third grade or something.  No way in hell was anyone born with teeth that perfect.

            Yuffie nodded energetically.  Well, she did like the duster.  That sure wasn't a lie.  But she liked the duster on Rinoa.  Big long things that actually covered skin weren't much to Yuffie's liking when she had to wear them though.  But this girl didn't need to know that.  If it would just get her to shut up and go away...

            "Hey, wanna go get ice cream or something?"  Rinoa crouched down in front of Yuffie, looking at her adoringly.  Where the hell did that come from?!  GAH!  What a little skank!  "It's getting late and I'm really hungry..."

            "Listen, Rinoa!  Maybe you don't get it or something, but I can't go screwing around with Seifer's stupid little girlfriend!"

            "...Huh?"

            "YOU!"

            Innocent wide eyes.  "Screw around with?"

            "Well I am gay, dammit!"
            That giggleagain!  "Hehehe, I know that."

            "Nyaaah...  You're driving me crazy!  Go awaaay," Yuffie pleaded desperately.  All attempts at acting her age or even the slightest bit mature were long gone.  Obviously, they weren't working at all.  So Yuffie clamped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut tight, determined to block out absolutely everything about the girl in front of her.  And she'd stay that way until Rinoa just gave up and left, darn it all.

            And so Yuffie sat like that.  She had no idea how much time was passed as she remained there, curled in a protective ball and efficiently blocking out all sight and sound from the world around her.  Floorboards shifted slightly beneath her and Yuffie swore she felt the closing of the front door even from her position on the floor.  Just a few more minutes to be safe...  Really, Yuffie was quite proud of herself for remaining so still for so long.  Must have been a new record.

            Peeling her hands away from her eyes, Yuffie was startled to find that the house was dark.  It seemed as though several hours had actually passed and Yuffie's body was slowly starting to register that fact as she also came to notice that she'd long since long the feeing in her feet.  Great.  Just great.  And all because of some obnoxious little--

            "Finally returned to the world of the living?"  That voice nearly had Yuffie shrieking and flying through the roof, but instead she just settled for a choked yelp before falling over completely onto the floor, gawking at Rinoa who stood above her, arms folded across her chest.  Though Yuffie couldn't see her that clearly in the dark, she was almost positive that there was some sort of wicked grin of triumph on Rinoa's face.

            "And you thought you could get rid of me that easily!  I'm hurt."

            "Will you just go away?!" 

           "Yuff-iiiieeee.  Why don't you like me?"  Thankfully, Yuffie couldn't see that pout so it had almost no effect on her. 

            "Because I like having all my limbs attached and functioning perfectly, thank you very much!"

            "I'm single, ya know."

            "...Maybe you're delusional and you just think you're single."

            "That's mean!  You just don't want to have ice cream with me, right?"  An audible sniffle was carried through the following silence, straight to Yuffie's ears.  "I thought you were nice."

            "Okay, okay!  Just shut up!  We'll go get some smoothies or something!"
            "I said ice cream."  Yuffie felt Rinoa's hands blindly reach down into the darkness and grasp firmly onto her wrist, tugging Yuffie to her feet.  "I know your favorite flavor, too!"

            "Wha??"

           A grin.  Yuffie knew it was there even as the two of them stumbled through the darkness of the abandoned old house, searching for the front door.  "I asked Seifer what your favorite flavor of ice cream was.  Chocolate chip cookie dough, right?"

            "You're weird."

            "You too."

-------

            Yuffie smiled down at the now cold bowl of macaroni in front of her.  Memories spilled out in fragments after that, for hours had long since continued to drift past her and Yuffie was growing to tired to piece the shards together. 

-------

            "So where do you sleep then?"

            Yuffie blinked at Rinoa.  Weird question.  Weird girl.  "...Wherever.  Usually I just crash back at our joint, just because.  Sometimes I stay with my parents."

            Rinoa nodded.  Silence.  Not awkward.  Just... silence.

            "You?"

            "Hm?"           

            "What about you?"

            "Oh.  ...Around."

            "...Oh."

-------

            "Come on, Rinoa!  I told you the water's fine!"

            "But it's cold!  Are you crazy?!"

            "Hell yeah!"

            "Yuff-ie!  Stop splashing me!"  Shrieks of laughter and a spout of giggles.  They sounded like a couple of kids at a swimming pool or something.  Not that they cared.

-------

            But there were memories that weren't as fun and happy.  There weren't many of them, of course, because between Yuffie and Rinoa there wasn't much room for arguing or pointless fights.  There were no break-ups, there was no final showdown.  No scars from some mindless adolescent war.

            Rinsing out her bowl, Yuffie blinked owlishly at the darkness around her.  Huh.  She still hadn't turned on the lights apparently.  Rather than walking across the room to do so, Yuffie simply shrugged it off and meandered over towards her bedroom instead.  It only took a few minutes for her to change into a comfy oversized t-shirt and brush her teeth, leaving Yuffie only too happy to finally slip beneath the sheets of her bed.

            Apparently though, Rinoa wasn't done with her mind yet.

-------

            "Seifer's leaving, Yuffie."

            "Yeah... I know.  We're all saying goodbye to him tomorrow.  Can you not make it or something?"

            "No, it's not that..."

            "...So?"

            "I'm going with him."  A sigh.  A smile.  It tried to make itself cheerful, comforting, and reassuring all at the same time, but instead it simply came off as being small and confused.  Just like Rinoa herself.  The perfect girl who was not so perfect after all.

-------

            "Don't you get it, Yuffie?  I'm really, really sorry.  But please...  I don't want to have this conversation over a phone!"

            "It's not my fault your hundreds of miles away, ya know."

            "Yuffie, stop calling.  Please.  I love you, but..."

            "I don't understand!  I told you already, I'm willing to do it!  I can make it down there with no problem and we'll all be together again and--"

            "Change doesn't always change."

-------

            If knowing Leon had had one effect on Yuffie, it would have had to be for the better.  Rather than breaking down or anything, Yuffie was simply able to take it in stride and move on.  Rinoa didn't need to know that they were all on Destiny Islands now.  Hell, Rinoa didn't have to know anything anymore.  She was just another name in the catacombs of memory, just another dusty file in the back of Yuffie's head that was occasionally reopened every once in a blue moon.

            Why, of all people, had Seifer been chosen over Yuffie?  I thought she was over him.  But no, Yuffie had assured herself that she was long since over all that and she was determined to close those doors. 

            ...But not all of them.

            So.  If Rinoa were in my situation, what would she do?  Simple answer.  Rinoa wouldn't have cared.  Rinoa would've gone right on ahead flirting madly with Kairi much like she flirted with anything that walked upright on two legs.  Male, female, who cared?  Anything was fair game up until the point when she decided to take on Yuffie.  Then it was just... different.

            Argh!  I have to stop thinking.  It just screws me over.  But there was still truth to her thoughts that wouldn't go away.  Rinoa, master of emotion and getting what she wanted...  Rinoa wouldn't let some stupid hand-hold faze her in the least.  So why should Yuffie?  Hell, she was Yuffie after all!  There wasn't a single person she ever met who didn't like her! 

            Eyes snapping open, Yuffie sat bolt upright in bed, head spinning from the sudden motion that had snapped her out of her half-asleep stupor.  Hah!  That was totally right!  Yuffie was Yuffie and as long as she was Yuffie (which would be forever, as far as she knew), there was no need to go around like some lovesick puppy!  Instinctively, Yuffie's hand plucked the phone off of her bedside table, fingers dancing across the keypad nimbly.

            One ring, two rings... three... four...

            "He...llo?"  Aerith muffled a small yawn on the other side of the phone.

            "Aerith!  Rinoa isn't a total bitch!"

            "...That's nice, Yuffie?"

            "I know!  Because... because... I'm... so totally in control!"

            "Really?  Oh.  That's... good..."

            "I mean, you know, I was having those crazy flashbacks again, and it's because of Rinoa that I did anything at all!  Oh, well, by that, I mean holding Kairi's hand.  I know, I know, you probably think it's stupid or whatever.  It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, okay?  Gimme a break.  But it was so worth it!"

            Aerith blinked sleepily at the clock, trying in vain to force herself to stay awake.  Though she couldn't quite make sense of Yuffie's words in her sleepy stupor, there was no reason Yuffie would call at two in the morning unless it was really important... right?

            "--but I've given up on that, you know?  Rinoa made her decision and I'm okay with that.  Besides, she was always giving me weird answers that I couldn't figure out.  I mean, what exactly does it mean if someone says 'change doesn't always change?'  What kind of--"

            It was slowly becoming obvious to Aerith that she was losing the battle to keep her eyes open.  Her blinking turned slow and sluggish and eventually ceased all together, eyelids coming to rest, covering sleeping green orbs with ease as Yuffie babbled on endlessly into Aerith's ear.

            "--stupid of me to come down here in the first place, I know.  Especially for my stupid, stupid reasons, but I'm glad I did!"  Suddenly letting out a tired yawn, Yuffie covered her mouth lazily with the back of her free hand, the other still clutching the receiver to her ear as she talked eagerly into it.  "Sorry, Aerith.  Just a bit tired.  Hey, it's pretty late, I'll see you at work, m'kay?"

            "..."

            "...Aerith?  You there?"  Yuffie shrugged, even though she was well aware that her friend wouldn't be able to see the gesture.  "Okay, I'm off.  Good night!"

-------

            "Yuffie!  Come here a sec!"

            "Huh?  What is it?"   

            "Look!  I made it!"  Rinoa proudly held up a small bracelet made up of tightly woven hemp, glass beads intertwined with the fibers in a vast array of colors.  "Do you like it?"

-------

            "Morning, Kairi!" Yuffie exclaimed, waving cheerfully to the younger girl as the bells tied to the front doors of the restaurant jingled merrily, signaling her entrance.  Eyes widened slightly in surprise, Kairi blinked at Yuffie several times before deciding that everything was honestly okay and smiling in return.

            Aprons were donned, jokes were made, laughter shared, all before the opening of the Polar Eclipse and the inflow of customers ready for lunch on a warm day, the island sun pumping out all it had to offer for the month of July.  Tips were collected, sandwiches sliced, and Cloud actually whipped up two Mako Poisonings for a cute bouncy brunette and her smiling blond boyfriend out front.  Special discount, of course, for being friends of the waitress.

            And at the end of the day, the aprons were hung up, the sales were tallied up, tables wiped down, floors swept, chairs stacked, dishes run through the dishwasher, and music blared into the rather barren restaurant to keep its clean-up crew in good spirits.  If Kairi had still been nervous about what had happened the day before, she was doing an amazingly good job of not showing it.

            And seeing as she really didn't do a very good job of concealing any of her feelings, Yuffie came to the conclusion that it was all clear and safe at that point, ready and waiting for her to make the next move.  It didn't have to be right then, though.  Kairi wasn't Yuffie or Rinoa.  She was Kairi.  And Kairi being Kairi was as solid a fact as Yuffie being Yuffie.  That was that and that was all there was to it.

-------

            "Yuffie!  Hurry up!"  Rinoa tore through the woods, her sneakers crunching over dead leaves and fallen twigs as she wound her way around the trees, guiding both her and Yuffie to a large clearing; a meadow situated in the middle of the forest.  Gulping in a deep breath of fresh air, Rinoa then let out a happy sigh before leading Yuffie over towards an old broken down truck that sat on the far end of the meadow.

            There was already a large crowd of boys gathering there, just as they always did every week for their blitzball practice.  And just as they always showed up to practice, Rinoa showed up to watch them.  Maybe for her it was like going to church.  Once a week, go brush up on your morals and listen to sermons and keep yourself in check.  Once a week, go ogle the boys and keep yourself in check. 

            Surely they fell in somewhere along the same league for her.

            "Aww, Yuffie.  Even you have to admit some of them are pretty hot, right?  Don't you like watching them?"  Autumn breezes played tricks with Yuffie's mind, tugging and pulling gently at the ever-stubborn strands of Rinoa's hair that refused to obey her wishes and had slipped free from her ponytail. 

            Reaching out with one hand, using the other to pull herself up onto the hood of the broken down truck beside Rinoa, Yuffie tucked the ebony lock gingerly behind Rinoa's ear and grinned her broadest and her brightest.  "You watch them, I'll watch you... We'll call it fair then, m'kay?"

            "Hehe!  Okay!"  Brilliant grin, pearly white teeth.  Still perfect.  And Yuffie had even asked about braces earlier on.  Rinoa had simply laughed and said that she'd never had them in her entire life.

            But the two spent one afternoon after another out there, Rinoa watching the boys and Yuffie focused on Rinoa.  There was no way for her to go without being watched, and as expected she always gained attention from those she seemed to take 'special interest' in.  They would smirk, wave, and proceed to show off.  Rinoa would laugh, smile, and clap wildly.  The perfect audience with perfect teeth. 

            Winter was filled with crackling fireplaces and random gifts from Rinoa, all of them knitted and all of them extra-warm for the cold season that always seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of them.  And when spring came it was always the same.

            "Come on, Yuffie, time to go!  The field's full of nice fresh boys!  We don't wanna be late!"

            "Hurry up, Yuffie!  Let's go!"

            "Faster, faster, come on!"

            Yuffie could never say no simply because she could never say no to Rinoa.  Had any other person been stupid enough to drag her with them to go scouting for boys, Yuffie would've laughed in their faces until her sides ached.  But it was only Rinoa who asked.  And it was only Rinoa who would eagerly slip her hand into Yuffie's, swinging their arms back and forth while they walked.

            And of course, only Rinoa could give Yuffie that pleading look, that sweet smile with those teeth.  She'd confided in Yuffie of course, because for a long while, there was no one closer to Rinoa than Yuffie and there was no one closer to Yuffie than Rinoa. 

            "I've never had braces, no."

            "Maaan, you're so lucky.  That's not fair at all."

            "I do bleach my teeth though."

            "...Oh."

            Not-so-perfect Rinoa with her not-so-perfect teeth suddenly began monitoring the hallways of Yuffie's mind day and night, whether Yuffie was willing to admit it herself or not.

.......................................................

            Somewhat shorter than normal, yes... Sorry about that.  But I'm starting to smell plot.  Lots of it, too.  Up until, oh, just several hours ago, this fic didn't have much in the way of plot going for it.  And for those of you lost and confused-- awesome.  I've done my job.

            Oh, eh, umm...  Yeah.  If you don't like the lack of yaoi in this chapter, I'm sorry.  There will be an entire chapter centered around Leon eventually, don't you worry.  It'll help you piece this crazy plot together, too.  I promise.

...But for those of you who didn't mind it... Yay. 

Ori