All The Little Flaws I Have Denied
by: startscribbling12

"You know, leaning your head against the window will give you a headache." Kairi told me. I watched the buildings pass by the windows in a blur of monotone colors. "Can you slow down a bit? It's bumpy." Kairi leaned up to the taxi driver. My head was constantly hitting the window whenever we would hit a bump or two. The stops were abrupt. It was noisy. The people on the street didn't seem to understand the meaning to waiting.

My eyes leaned over to the girl sitting next to me. Kairi, my closest cousin, had her dark hair pulled up in a clip with her bangs messily falling into her face. She was digging through her purse like she had her life in it. Her eye makeup was dark. Very dark. She turned to me, smiling happily. My blank expression didn't change when she looked at me.

"Don't worry. Algonquin is a nice city. I'll help you get back up to speed with the world." She said, turning her attention to something off in space. "Besides, it steams my broccoli that those idiots never let you out to visit!"

By those idiots, she means the doctors at Livingston. I had been living at Livingston for six years, since I was twelve. The place itself was plain. All white. I spent most of my time in the white room, drawing at a desk or listening to the outside world. It was rare that patients at Livingston were allowed to watch TV, but when we were allowed, the Raines Dynasty always seemed to be on the television. I didn't enjoy watching them much. The staff didn't like us watching them too much either. They said it would mess us up more than we already were.

I don't remember too much on how I was admitted to Livingston, nor do I remember much about my family besides Kairi. She was the only one who ever visited me. I just remember my life at the facility, not much other than that. Going out into the city is a new experience for me, and I don't really want to experience it.

"Nami—you should do something about your hair. It's so long, but nothing is being done with it." Kairi ran her hand through my long, wavy, blond locks. All of it was pushed over to my right side, falling messily around my shoulder. I looked at her and looked away.

"Ma'am, we are here." The taxi driver said to my cousin. She thanked him properly and the two of us got out of the car, pulling my bags out of the trunk. I didn't have much; just some clothes and other things. She lived in a small condo on Sundance Ave, near the plaza. She figured she would move there so it was an interesting sight for me when I came to live with her. It was a few flights to get up to her actual condo, but it wasn't too much of a walk.

"You know we can go grab some dinner once we are done here." Kairi told me as we walked inside. She was carrying my bags into the guest room across from her room. "Did they feed you in there? You are as thin as a stick."

I took in the look of the place. It was modern, not many paintings or artwork. The front room had a nice view of the plaza, which had a fountain which lit up at night. Kairi handed me a leather coat to wear as she slipped on some comfortable shoes. I assumed we were going to be walking to the place instead of taking a car. She noticed the slight bewildered look on my face.

"It's not—practical—to take cars around this time of night." She was putting all her items in a zip up purse. "The Raines Dynasty tends to run the city nightlife. Who knows who you will run into in a car?" She shivered at the thought.

Kairi took my arm and led me out to the bustling streets of the city. We walked down the sidewalks where I passed many different people. There were people from all different types of backgrounds. Some were homeless, wearing mismatching clothing or even garbage to keep warm. I wanted to offer them my coat or something. The blank look on my face made it seem like I didn't care at all, though. There were some high class people too, wearing their expensive clothes and walking around ready to get mugged. To be honest, I could also pick out who was working for the Raines as well. They didn't do a hood job at hiding in the crowd for an organization that was high up on the 'wanted' list.

The police didn't bother them though.

Kairi leaned close to me with a smile on her face. "We are going to eat at this café. We went here once as kids, remember?" I looked at her and shook my head. "Well you used to love the food here." Upon walking inside, the lights were dim, and the chatter was low. Kairi told me to sit down in a booth while she went up and ordered a small dinner for the both of us. The smell of coffee was familiar. There was a faint memory of me breaking a coffee cup and getting scolded.

I slowly pulled the jacket off and hung it on the back of the chair. My wrists were covered in homemade bracelets that I and Kairi had made together over the years. At first they were for decoration and fashion; now they are for covering the scars on my arms. I have a total of forty seven colored bracelets. It was a way for me to forget my pain.

"It might take a while; they have to defrost the steaks." Kairi said, smiling out to the city. "Tomorrow night, do you want to do something? Maybe see a jazz concert? Go dancing?" She looked at me for an answer, but I didn't give her one. I just looked at her. Sighing, she rested her hand in her chin.

It had been a while since I had spoken more than a word. I don't really remember what my own voice sounded like. There was no one to talk to at Livingston, and because of that, I never really talked to Kairi either. When I was younger, whenever I seemed to speak out or voice my opinions, I remember being shut down or yelled at.

A large bang shot me out of my thoughts and I turned towards the window. A boy on a skateboard and fallen off and hit the window, falling onto the sidewalk. His plaid winter coat was disheveled and his trooper trapper hat pushed his brown, layered bangs down over his bright blue eyes. The box he was holding was now on the ground in front of him.

"Dammit!" The glass muffled his voice, but it was still audible.

"Sora!" Kairi said, banging her small fist against the window. He turned up and his face changed to a bright cherry red when he saw her. She stood up and walked outside, helping the boy called Sora up from the ground. They exchanged some words before she convinced him to come in and sit with us. His eyes were wide with curiosity when he saw me. I just returned his look with a blank one and had a sip of my water on the table. The brunette placed the box next to the chair and sat down after Kairi slid in.

"Sora, this is my cousin I was telling you about. Namine, this is Sora. I graduated high school with him." He held out his hand to shake mine and I just stared at it.

"Nice to meet you!" He kept a smile on his face as he withdrew his hand from my rejection. "Welcome to Algonquin!"

Kairi turned her head to Sora. "Why are you carrying around the box?"

"Oh, this was a delivery I have to make in a few hours, so I thought I would get it done early." He shrugged. "I was planning on going to the plaza once I finished up work."

"Delivery? Don't you work for—" Sora silenced her.

"I make deliveries." She raised an eyebrow but nodded in confirmation.

The food arrived not that much later and Sora didn't take the time to eat with us. He bid us both farewell and continued on his journey down the city. Most of the dinner was in silence. I'm sure Kairi wasn't up for a one sided conversation. It wasn't until the television was turned on that a topic was brought up.

"You know, I can't believe the Raines Dynasty is being torn." She said, sipping her soup. "There is going to be a civil war sooner or later, and a state emergency will be declared. Those guys are ruthless, you know. I wonder which side I'll take? By the time that it breaks out, it will be too late to leave the city."

If there was a civil war, I'm sure there would be mass panic. Most city people here do not know how to defend themselves. Survival isn't something they know well. They would probably take sides with the person with the most weapons or highest chance of winning. I wonder why it's being torn anyway.

"You ready?" Kairi asked me. I nodded and followed her out of the café unto the snowy street. There was a slight snow coming down and against the city lights, it looked beautiful.

I had never seen real snow before.

"Pretty, huh? Let's go to the plaza. It's even prettier." She took my hand and led me down a few blocks of the city. It wasn't far from the plaza, but a farther walk than the condo. It was late, so the fountain was lit up, water spurting up from the center. There were no children running around. It was adults, all sitting in benches. There were a couple of people secluded from the amazement and beauty of the rest of the people. Those two were clad in dark outfits, standing with arms crossed. Kairi noticed my curiosity.

"Don't mind them." Kairi scoffed. "They are Raines' bodyguards." They didn't look like any other business men.

My cousin led me to the edge of the fountain where we sat. I dipped my fingers in the cold water while Kairi wrote our names in snow. The colors of the lights changed now and then, so it was always interesting to wonder which one was going to come next. I sat facing the water as Kairi had her back to it.

"I'll help you find a place to spend your days tomorrow. I still have a job to attend and I don't know if you want to be alone. A friend of mine owns an art studio. Maybe you could spend time there?" She kicked the snow with her boots. I began to tune her out as I looked at the designs of lights. As the water parted, sinking down before it would shoot up again, I could make out a boy looking at me from the other side of the fountain. His blond hair was covered in snow as he looked at me. Although his attention was on me, he seemed to be speaking to someone else. It was another blond. He had a wild grin as he spoke to the blond who was looking at me. The one standing would wave his arms in the air when he made a loud comment, or he would pace. The two men in suits seemed unhappy with the loudness of the blonds on the other side of the fountain.

Kairi turned her attention to the noise and scrunched up her nose. "Come on, it's late. We should go." She took my arm and linked hers with mine as she led me in the direction of the condo. I turned my head around, and sure enough the boy was watching me leave. "Don't pay attention to him. That's Cid Raines son, Roxas. He's the heir to the Raines Dynasty. He thinks it gives him so much power, so he's really cocky; or so I've heard. I don't like that he's apart of that group, but I guess it's a family thing. I don't know what they do, but if the police don't like them, then neither do I!"

I glanced back at him one more time and he was gone. The other boy too. The only thing left was the picture that I had burned into my mind. His blond bangs falling just before his eyebrows, his blue eyes distant, but existent. The small smile he would give to his friend whenever there was something said. The slight pout he had to his bottom lip. The snow falling into his hair, piling on until he shook it off.

"Don't worry about him. He will have no impact on your life. There is nothing interesting about him. He's basically apart of the mafia. Don't give him the time of day."

I couldn't help but think otherwise. Only because I believe everyone is complex.

We all have a story to tell, whether we whisper or yell.

And I wondered what his was.

Hellohello! :D How is everyone doing on this fine evening of February 6th, 2011? Well, this is basically me trying to get back into the flow of writing. I want to hold you over until I figure out how to rewrite a chapter of Across the Line or even continue it. I have my reasons for not writing it since, what October or something?

So this is my first story of the new year. I am estimating a chapter total over 15. I am going to adding action into this story, so that will be a toughie. I would enjoy criticism and/or ideas that you may have. If you are wondering about Namine and her being in Livingston and such, it will all explained throughout the story. There will be elements of Final Fantasy in this story. I also warn you there will be elements of crime/war/sex/and self destruction.

Also, If you are reading this and you are a new reader to any of my stories, thank you so much for stopping by, reading my things, and reviewing/favoriting! It means more than you think, even though I am not the type of person to reply to reviews unless they ask specific questions.

If you are an old reader, thank you so much coming back and reading after I practically died. I know, I was stupid and I didn't write and when I did, the quality was not what I had hoped. I hope you stick around and cheer me on!

Read, Review.

P.S Visit my Tumblr: startscribbling12 . tumblr. Com (without spaces, etc)
I will be posting updates on my chapter status there instead of author notes that take up chapter spaces. So if there is a delay, read that and understand what is going on in my life at that moment. There will be chapter announcements and previews as well!