DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or any of their characters.

"Rikku, I don't know about this..." Serenity told Rikku and Yuffie as she turned to examine herself in the mirror. The uniform skirt was shorter than she'd liked. "Stop being so modest, Cuz!" Rikku assured her, patting her on the arm. It's the required uniform, anyway. You don't really have a choice!" She giggled and paid the cashier as Serenity groaned and dressed back into her casual clothing.

...

"Guys, where are we going?" Serenity curiously asked as the three of them walked past Rikku's house, trying to keep up with the fast pace of the two energetic girls leading her. "You ask too many questions, Cuz." Rikku snickered as she elbowed her younger cousin softly in the side.

Serenity shoved her back, playfully. "Well, I wouldn't have to ask questions if I always knew what to expect from you guys, right?" Rikku answered the question with a shrug.

"I'm taking you to meet Vinny!" Yuffie excitedly exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Vinny? He's a friend of yours?" Serenity curiously asked, her head cocked slightly to the left. "Only my best!" When Rikku sent Yuffie a fearsome glare, she corrected herself, giggling nervously. "After Rikku, of course!"

"That's what I thought."

...

Yuffie walked up the steps of what Serenity suspected to be Vinny's house and knocked loudly on the door. "Open up!" The energetic girl sang as she cocked her hip to the side.

Rikku leaned in to whisper in Serenity's ear so Yuffie wouldn't hear. "Just so you know, Vincent takes some getting used to. He can be a real grump!" Serenity turns to question her. "Vincent? I thought his name was Vinny?"

"No, that's just the nickname Yuff gave him. He absolutely hates it!"

'Well, I'm glad I found that out before making any embarrassing mistakes,' Serenity thought quietly to herself.

When the door opened to reveal a boy who looked to be about Rikku and Yuffie's age, Serenity noticed that he was definitely different than any of the other people she had met. The long, midnight black hair that framed his face was held back by a blood red cloth headband. His eyes were a deep crimson, matching the cape that he wore on his back. On his left hand, he wore a golden gauntlet.

'What an odd choice of apparel.' Serenity quietly studied the boy standing at the door, intrigued.

He was certainly mysterious.

"Yuffie." He gave the shorter girl standing at his door a single nod before she pulled him in for a tight hug. Turning to face the two girls behind her, she quickly gestured to Serenity. "Vinny, this is Rikku's cousin, Serenity! She'll be starting school with us on Monday!" Serenity noticed with amusement that Yuffie sort of sounded like a proud mother.

"She's a grade under us, though!" Rikku quickly added, patting Serenity's back so hard that she was sent forward a step. "It's Vincent," he muttered, shooting Yuffie a scowl. Yuffie shrugged her shoulders and skipped down the steps to join Rikku and Serenity.

Serenity smiled politely at Vincent, reaching out her hand to offer a handshake. "It's nice to meet you." He reached out his right hand to grasp hers, firmly shaking it. "Likewise."

"Well, we just wanted to make introductions! We're gonna head out. See you around, Vinny!" Yuffie called out to Vincent, wrapping her arm through Serenity's and leading her back down the sidewalk in the direction of Rikku's house.

"That's not my name!" Serenity heard Vincent call from behind them. She laughed as Yuffie rolled her eyes.

...

"You know, there's still a ton of people you haven't met yet!" Rikku voiced as the three girls sat around the dinner table that night. "Really?" Serenity asked, her mouth full of pizza.

"Mhm! You'll just have to wait until Monday to meet them all!" Yuffie winked, shoving the rest of the pizza slice that she held into her mouth. "Everyone seems really nice around here."

Serenity knew that something was up when they quieted and sent each other a knowing glance. She cocked her head. "Am I missing something?" Serenity asked as the two girls turned back to look at her. Rikku sighed and crossed her arms. "Not everyone here is nice, no matter how much it may seem like it..."

"Care to give me a name? I'll try to steer clear of them." Serenity asked, anxiously awaiting the answer. "Kairi." The two energetic girls said in unison, rolling their eyes in exasperation. Serenity snickered, despite the fact that she was slightly nervous. "That bad, huh?" Yuffie frantically nodded her head. "She's one of those girls that thinks the world revolves around them and that everyone should worship the ground she walks on."

Serenity knowingly nodded her head. "Ooooh. One of those." Yuffie gave an annoyed grunt as she led the way into the living room, where the three girls collapsed on the couch. "And as if one Kairi wasn't enough, she has little minions that follow her around everywhere she goes. They're like parasites!" Serenity giggled at the analogy.

"Poor Sora," Rikku softly muttered, just loud enough so that Serenity could hear. Yuffie had wandered off to find a movie for the three of them to watch. Serenity cocked her head curiously in her older cousin's direction. "Sora?"

"Oh, Sora's a boy in your grade!" Rikku answered, hopping up from her seat to flip off the lights. "Anyway, Kairi is convinced that Sora is in love with her for some reason. He really just wants her to back off, but Sora isn't the type to be rude to anyone." Rikku added, returning to her spot on the couch.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, placing herself back on the couch. "Kairi is convinced that every boy in the school is in love with her. She still thinks that she has a chance with Zack." Yuffie half scoffed, half laughed as she reached for the remote and flipped the movie on.

Serenity was convinced that her head was about to explode from information overload. There were so many names, so much information to take in.

She wasn't sure if she could do it in one sit-down.

The raven-haired girl snickered as she turned to face the television screen. "Really, Yuffie?" Serenity turned to smirk at her friend that sat to her right. "What?" She innocently asked, meeting Serenity's gaze. Serenity smiled contentedly, and turned back to face the screen. "Nothing."

The three girls watched "Titanic" for a while before Serenity drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Alternate Scene:

Vincent Valentine

Vincent unbuckled his gauntlet from his left hand, placing it on the table in front of him. It had been a while since he had taken the time to polish it. Vincent picked up the polishing cloth, but was interrupted when the phone rang. He glanced at the clock.

1:30 A.M. 'Who would be calling this late?' Vincent thought to himself as he rose from his seat. Then he sighed, knowingly.

Yuffie.

He walked over and picked up the receiver, silencing the ringing. "Hello?" He asked, tiredly. "Vinny!" Yuffie yelled into the phone.

Vincent winced and temporarily pulled the phone away from his ear. After a second, he placed it softly back to his ear. "Yes, Yuffie?"

She giggled softly. "So, Serenity... What do you think about her?" Vincent sighed in irritation. He knew this was coming, he could tell by the way Yuffie had been acting earlier. "You called me at 1:30 in the morning to ask me this?" Vincent asked as he moved to stand next to the window.

"The Great Ninja Yuffie never sleeps!" Yuffie exclaimed, making Vincent smirk slightly in amusement. "And neither do vampires, so 'fess up!" She added, quickly wiping the smirk off of his face.

"I'm not a vampire! And I barely know her, Yuffie." He grew curious when she giggled at his statement. "But you won't 'barely know her' for very long!" She sang into the phone.

"It's late, Yuffie. Get some rest." Vincent replied, changing the subject. "Vinny! You can't change the subject!" She whined.

"It's Vincent," he relied before quickly hanging the phone up. He placed himself back at the table and resumed what he had been doing before Yuffie had called.

His mind wandered as he worked on his gauntlet. Vincent wasn't one to admit that he thought a girl was attractive, even if he did think that way. It wasn't the way he was.

The shrill sound of the phone ringing interrupted his thoughts, making him smirk.

Yuffie was persistent, wasn't she?

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed! :) Let me know if you guys have any ideas or comments, I'm always happy to hear them! I appreciate feedback a lot, and it really motivates me! This chapter is short, but the next chapter is really long!