Chapter I

Clean, white walls, light blue tile floor and speckled ceiling tiles alternated with large panel lights constituted the empty hallway. The occasional painting or photograph hung on the walls to break up the monotony, and closed wooden doors hid rooms and other halls beyond. A tall, slim woman with blond hair and odd, greenish-blue eyes walked down the hall, her high heels clicking softly on the hard floor. Trailing behind her walked a young girl with white blond hair and skin as pale as snow. Her wide eyes were a clear, crystalline blue.

"Such a plain place," the woman commented, talking to no one in particular. The girl made no sign that she'd heard, simply following along in silence. Pausing at a split in the hallway, the woman looked both ways before turning left, and stopped a few moments later in front of a door set with a foggy glass window. A small bronze plate declared that the room beyond was the building's main office. The woman glanced back at the child following her and frowned to see her still several feet behind.

"Hurry up, Namine. I don't have all day, you know." Her tone was slightly irritated.

Nodding, the girl quickened her pace and stood close to the woman, reaching out a tiny hand to hold onto the woman's pant leg. The woman rolled her eyes, looking like she wanted to shake the girl off, but resisted and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called. The woman straightened her clothes before opening the door.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Saix Tsuki," she said politely, stepping into the room with the girl close behind.

"You must be Larxene." A man with long blue hair stood from his place at his desk and extended a hand for Larxene to shake. She accepted, smiling and carefully avoiding staring at the large x-shaped scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose.

"Yes. I'm here with my niece, Namine." With one slim-fingered hand, she gestured to the girl.

"Hello, Namine," the scarred man greeted her, signing it at the same time. He smiled down at her. "My name is Saix."

Shy, Namine looked up at him for a moment before setting her gaze on her shoes, returning the sign without making eye contact.

Impatient, Larxene adjusted her purse strap. "Is someone coming to get her? I need to get back to work."

"Oh, yes," Saix replied, focusing on the woman again. "Our ward father, Lexeaus, will be here soon. He will take her to join the other children. They're in group therapy at the moment."

"Perfect." She turned and looked down at the girl. "Don't cause any trouble, Namine. I won't put up with bad behavior."

Nodding to show she'd heard, Namine looked up at her aunt with a hopeful expression. Larxene didn't seem to realize that the girl wanted something and turned back to Saix. "When do I need to be here to pick her up?"

"Whenever is convenient for you. We are fully equipped to care for Namine while she is here, so if you are not able to pick her up at the end of her sessions she can stay until you are available." As he finished speaking the door opened, drawing Saix' attention. Larxene and Namine also looked to see a tall, broad shouldered man with short, spiky brown hair and a very square jaw enter the office. "Lexeaus," Saix greeted him, "I would like you to meet Larxene Inazuma and her niece, Namine."

The man nodded. "Nice to meet you, Ma'am."

Larxene's eyebrows rose and she pressed her lips together, clearly offended at having been called "ma'am." She was rather proud of her appearance and didn't think she looked nearly old enough to be referred to as "ma'am." Lexeaus, however, completely ignored her reaction and instead held out his hand to Namine.

"Come along, Miss Namine. I'll take you to the others." He smiled, and the girl shyly put her hand in his. "The children are really looking forward to meeting you." With a nod to Saix, the square-jawed man led Namine out of the office and down the hall.

"I'll be back for her in a few hours," Larxene told Saix absently, checking the time on her watch.

He caught onto her impatience to leave. "Have a nice day, miss."

Not bothering to reply, the woman turned on her heel and left the office, the door swinging shut behind her. With a sigh, Saix returned to his desk and went back to his work, though he couldn't help but think that if the woman would bother to show her niece a little affection, the child might recover without the help of therapy.

XXX

It was quiet in the play room, though that was not unusual. With a fond smile, Dr. Marluxia Shizen watched the children under his care interact and play with each other. They spoke without words, their small hands little more than flurries of movement as they communicated through sign language. In the background, a violin played slow, sweet music to encourage a calm and peaceful atmosphere. The CD was one of the doctor's favorites.

At a knock, the pink-haired doctor got up and went to the door, aware that six pairs of eyes watched his every move. It was unusual for anyone to come to the play room during their sessions, and Marluxia was well aware that the change made the children nervous. He smiled to show that nothing was wrong and opened the door.

"Hello, Lexeaus. I presume our new client has arrived?"

The sound of the ward father's name had the children crowding behind Marluxia. They waved at him, all signing at once in an attempt to tell him about what they had been doing since they last saw him. Smiling, Marluxia looked down at them.

"Go to your places, children," he commanded gently, signing as well as speaking. "We have a new friend, so I want you all on your best behavior to meet her." All of the children but one quickly nodded and went to their designated cushions and sat, waiting patiently.

Marluxia kneeled to make himself eye-level with the remaining child. "Go on, Kairi. You'll meet her along with everyone else." Obviously reluctant, the girl nodded, but didn't go sit with the others. Instead, she went to the corner of the room, grabbed a light blue cushion out of the pile there and began dragging it over towards the others. Two of the other children, boys who could have been brothers, hurried to help her, and the three of them quickly had the cushion in place besides Kairi's light pink one. Their task complete, they settled onto their cushions to wait, the boys signing to each other excitedly.

Still kneeling, Marluxia turned and found himself face-to-face with the palest child he'd ever seen. She must be albino, he thought to himself, studying the white blonde hair and blue eyes. No child is naturally that fair.

"Welcome," he signed, choosing not to speak. "What is your name?"

"Namine," the child spelled out, her movements shy as if she was unsure of herself.

"You have a lovely name," he complimented, and she blushed lightly, the pink a beautiful contrast to her snowy skin. Marluxia offered his hand, and the shy girl released her grip on Lexeaus' thumb and let the pink-haired man gently pull her through the doorway. "Thank you for bringing her, Lexeaus."

"My pleasure, Doctor. Have fun with your new friends, Namine." The man waved and left as Marluxia closed the door. He led Namine over to the circle where the other children waited and sat her down on the blue cushion Kairi had chosen for her, then settled onto his own dark purple cushion.

"Everyone," he signed, speaking as well, "this is Namine. She's going to join us for our sessions." The children waved, some smiling at her while others simply stared or didn't look at all.

"Namine, I would like you to meet Sora," he pointed at the child on his left, a boy with spiky brown hair and deep blue eyes, who waved. "Roxas." A blond, spiky-haired, blue-eyed boy sitting to the right of Sora. "Axel." Another boy, though with incredibly spiky red hair and deep green eyes on Roxas' other side. He didn't look at Namine or make any indication that he was being mentioned. "Zexion." Dark blue hair covered most of the boy's face, though one eye the exact color of his hair was visible over the book he held. "Demyx." The boy beside Zexion smiled shyly and waved when he was pointed to, his blond hair styled into a mullet that looked oddly good on him. "And Kairi." Smiling, the girl sitting on Namine's right signed that she was glad to meet her. She had straight, pinkish-red hair and blue eyes even brighter than Sora's.

Her eyes glued to the floor, Namine signed a shy, "Hello."

"Kairi, why don't you show Namine where the toys are?" Marluxia suggested, knowing full well that the redhead would happily mother the shy blond to no end.

Nodding, Kairi took Namine's hand and stood, leading her over to where the toys were kept and showing her where everything was. The other children watched in silence, observing this newcomer with cautious interest. Smiling, the pink-haired doctor clapped quietly to gain their attention, then signed for them to go play.

Sora and Roxas immediately joined Kairi and Namine, signing and smiling and determined to get the new girl to like them. The four children began a game of what could only be described as house as Demyx asked if he could join them. They added him to their game and continued playing, the four friends doing their best to make Namine feel welcome.

Utterly silent, Zexion got up from his cushion and went to the large, plush lounge chair in the corner. He carefully set his book on the seat then climbed up after it, settled comfortably, and began to read once again. It was one of his favorite books; the pages were worn and familiar under his fingers as he carefully turned each one, immersing himself in the story of a sorcerer and his companions on their adventures. He knew most of it by heart, having read it countless times, but he was never bored with it. The book was the only thing that helped him remember his parents' voices.

Green eyes intent, Axel watched the other children playing from where he still sat on his red cushion. They were the closest things he had to friends. Part of him longed to join them, and he knew they would welcome him into their game and that it would make the doctor happy, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was too dangerous; he couldn't get close to anyone. What if they got hurt? What if he lost them, too? No. He wasn't going to risk it. He wouldn't. No matter what.

The red-haired boy could feel Marluxia's sad gaze on him as he went and sat by himself, away from the others. Even Zexion was closer to the game of house than he was, and the blue-haired boy had never participated in the younger children's games. Axel turned his back on the room and pulled a tiny lighter from under the toy bin where he'd hidden it. The tiny flame burst to life as he clicked it, and his hands began to tremble just slightly, making the flame waver. He stared at it, watching every flicker, memorizing the colors and shape.

After only a few short moments, he released the little lever and the flame went out, though the shape of the flame was burned into his eyes. Quickly, he slipped the lighter back under the toy bin. He wanted to watch the fire for longer, but if he did then the doctor might catch him, and then he'd be in big trouble. So he turned away from his hiding place and began putting a puzzle together where the doctor would see, trying to look like he was genuinely enjoying himself. Dr. Marluxia smiled when he saw the oldest child in the group settling down and moved to sit at his desk and work.

Papers in neat stacks were waiting for him to organize and put away into files, and there were several documents he needed to read through and sign. With a quiet sigh, the pink-haired doctor began to work, looking over each paper carefully to make sure he put it in the right folder. He wished he could use the time to play with the children, as he was meant to, but paperwork seemed to be using his desk as a breeding ground. Lately, each day brought more papers, though he knew the ones he was currently dealing with had to do with Namine's addition to the group.

Glancing up at the five children pretending to be a family, Marluxia smiled to himself, glad that the tiny blond was fitting in. She was very shy, though Kairi was definitely doing her best to overcome that. Fond memories of the redheaded girl replaced Marluxia's thoughts of paper work as he remembered when he'd first met Kairi.

She'd been shy then, too, and just four years old. Marluxia taught her most of the sign language she knew and for a while it was just the two of them in that big play room, practicing her signs. The early days had been hard for both of them. He remembered how she'd used a little marker board to practice her handwriting and to learn new words, and how she would get upset with herself if she couldn't quite grasp what he was telling her and would go work on something else for a while before trying again. But never once in the three years since he'd met her had she ever thrown a tantrum. His Kairi was much too level-headed for something so childish, and he was glad for it.

Marluxia was used to working with children who screamed, threw things, cried, even cursed, but that would never be the case with these children. Working with Kairi had been a completely new experience for him, and each new child brought new challenges. Sometimes he wondered what exactly had made him accept the job offer at Fuseiai's Home for Troubled Youths, but he never regretted it, nor would he ever. The children were his family, and he was theirs.

And Kairi, naturally, held an especially soft spot in the nostalgic doctor's heart. When she smiled, he could practically hear the clear, tinkling giggle trapped behind her tongue. Ever since that first smile, he'd been working towards the day when she would finally laugh, and his determination grew with every child placed under his care. With the arrival of Zexion, the second child to spend time in the play room, Kairi had taken it upon herself to help the doctor and was as much a mother to the others as she was a friend. He marveled at her maternal instincts, considering there were no female employees at the orphanage and Kairi had lived there ever since the shipwreck that made her an orphan. There was no explanation of where she got her knowledge from, other than vague memories of her own parents. Marluxia hoped mothering the others was Kairi's way of remembering her parents and that it would help her to heal.

Suddenly remembering himself, Dr. Marluxia shook his head and turned his attention back to the paperwork before him. Nostalgia had been creeping up on him a lot the past few weeks, to his minor annoyance. At least it only happened when he wasn't actively interacting with the children or at home.

He signed a form and put it in the new folder he'd made for Namine then checked the time. Lexeaus would be back soon to take the children to dinner and to fetch Namine and take her to be picked up by her aunt. Unless he went to visit them before he left for the day, this was the last time he was going to see them until tomorrow.

The paperwork can wait, he decided, and went to play with Kairi, Namine, Roxas, Sora and Demyx. They enthusiastically created a character for him in their game, and Marluxia gladly played his part. This, playing with the children, was the best part of his job.

XXX

Cars rushed by, painfully loud to Namine's extra-sensitive ears. In the tree behind the bench she sat on, a bird was chirping. Looking up, she spotted the bird, an ordinary robin, and smiled ever so slightly. The bird cocked its head, peering at her, chirped once, then flew away. Namine watched it go, her smile fading as it disappeared into the distance.

I want to fly away, too, she thought wistfully, kicking her feet because they didn't reach the ground. I want to fly away and never be sad again.

She watched one of the cars, a flashy red sports car, separate from the stream of traffic and pull into the orphanage's driveway. It stopped by the sidewalk and honked, and Namine hopped down from the bench. Reluctant, her short legs slowly carried her to the car and she got in, fastening her seatbelt as the car sped away from the big brick building. Namine didn't look at her aunt, nor did she attempt to communicate with the woman in any way.

The miles passed in silence as the pale girl watched out the window, still imaging that she was bird and could fly away and never be sad again.

XXX

Author's Note:

Yay a new fanfiction! Surprisingly, I came up with this baby while mopping the floor at my old job. I just didn't have time to write it back then. Now I have a new job and lots of time to write! Huzzah! So, I'd love to know what you think! What you liked, what you didn't like, what you think should happen in the future! Anything at all! Hope you liked it!