Random one-shot.

I just got back from Abilene and I didn't feel like writing for Breakaway because it's too intense...I need to let my words flow without thinking about the plot for awhile. I'm really really tired.

Also I can't write humour right now so I have no idea how this will turn out -_-'

Spinoff Breakaway.

Listening to:

Mika's song, by Yiruma, from the album Piano Museum, and Released, by Ryan Stewart, on the album Equanimity

Also I'll Smile, by Denise Young, on the album Something You Dream Of

There was a crack in the sidewalk where little clovers grew out, pushing valiantly against the concrete surrounding them. They held out bravely against the odds, reaching up to the sun in a fascinating show of strength.

How could one such obscure plant reach up and bare its leaves to the world when nature had other plans? How could such a small and strengthless bud as a clover reach out to touch the rays of the sun?

A mature adult could have wondered it, surely would have.

But they were not here.

The only one who was here was a little boy with spiked teal hair, crouching at the edge of the sidewalk crack and gazing at the little tiny field of clovers, lost in his own world for a moment.

Perhaps there were very very small men who lived amongst the stalks of the clovers, who shot their bows and danced around little fires and stole from the rich to feed the poor. Men who were so very small that they had not yet discovered the world of technology, and the clover stems rose like tree trunks high above their heads. Just like Noelle had told him at the orphanage that Robin Hood and his band of merry men lived in the Sherwood forest and fought for justice every day of their lives.

He swore that someday he would become like them, that he would perhaps sink to the background of the blading world, but he would always strive for the top, no matter what. And even if he didn't make it, perhaps he would act as an aid to somebody who could.

Nicole Thornsley, though blind, knew where the little boy was. She knew what he could see. She could sense it.

And Nicole knew that someday this boy would stand beside somebody who would make it higher than anybody could dream of; even if he never held that position himself, he had a good heart, and it would always act as an asset.

She knew not how yet, but she only knew that from hearing his voice, filled with light, honour, and courage, and hearing his footsteps on the ground, each filled to its brim with valiancy and meaning, he would grow to be somebody someday.

"One day Robin Hood led his band of merry men out to the depths of Sherwood forest to look for something to eat. Sherwood forest did not run often with deer nor rabbits, and all that they could hope for was perhaps a squirrel and some roots to pass their hunger on for a while longer. For every bit of food they gained outside of what they found was given to those who truly needed it and had nobody to get it for them.

"But lo, and behold, today was their lucky day! For a deer raced across the path at the very moment that Robin Hood himself turned and - with his quick thinking and great skill - he shot his last arrow as hard as he could.

"Things seemed to slow to him as the deer leapt the path, and then the arrow pierced its side and it fell from its flight.

"The men cried out. Oh, we'll feast tonight on this meat, they said. But Robin Hood said no, for when gifted with such wonderful bounty, one must always share it with others.

"They brought it to the widow Mertague who lived on the edge of the woods, to feed to her 10 children, for she needed it more than they did."

Only one little boy remained awake at the end of the story, resting his hands on her knees.

"Mrs. Thornsley, I still can't sleep."

So Nicole took him into her arms and sang to him.

"Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men
Feared by the bad, loved by the good
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood

He called the greatest archers to a tavern on the green
They vowed to help the people of the King
They handled all the trouble on the English country scene
And still found plenty of time to sing

He came to Sherwood Forest with a feather in his cap
A fighter never looking for a fight
His bow was always ready and he kept his arrows sharp
He used them to fight for what was right."

The boy murmured as he drifted off to sleep: "Someday I will be just like Robin Hood..."

Nicole smiled and lay him down. "I am sure you will, my dear boy. I am sure that you will."

Kyouya woke from the dream and gasped softly at the sudden memory.

That memory had eluded him in his years of wandering; he had tried to retain every memory from the orphanage, swearing that he would go back someday as he had promised himself.

And yet he hadn't, and might not.

He surveyed the unfamiliar room. He lay in a small bed in the basement of a repair shop, with his arms bandaged and almost no recalling of how he had gotten here.

Then he remembered. He had battled with Gingka Hagane under the influence of the DNA and was in the basement of Madoka's workshop.

Then with a jolt, another memory from the orphanage came to him;

Clovers.

Clovers had grown up through the crack in the sidewalk, and he had been there.

Now he remembered how the clovers had been so brave to stand up to the harsh landscape of the concrete, reaching for the sun no matter what the cost.

The self same sun now rose above the windowsill nearby, and he gazed at it dreamily. What had happened to his childish innocence after all these years? Where was the person he had once been inside, so full of imagination and noble purpose?

People can change.

Nicole had told him this a long time ago, when he had been pushed down by the bigger boys in the courtyard. People can change if you give them a chance.

Give yourself a chance. If they don't change to be nicer, someday you will change to be stronger and use your strength for a greater purpose than they are. You will help others rather than hold them down.

What had happened to that proverb? What had happened to all the other proverbs he'd been certain to live by ever since he was a small child?

He'd not deserved to be taken in by such a caring orphanage; many were positively feral. He'd not deserved to be treated to such helpful wisdom from a wonderful woman such as Nicole. And yet he'd gotten those gifts and more.

Maybe people could change. Maybe it was time to give himself a chance. An opening.

"Someday I'll be just like Robin Hood, Mrs. Thornsley."

"I'm sure you will. I am very sure."