AUTHORS NOTE: Yes, the lyrics to Rebirthing by Skillet inspired this. Thus this chapter is a song-chapter. Kind of. Not really.

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Chapter 4

It took Yuuki two days to master crutches. Or, crutch.

In just one day, stairs had become her greatest enemy.

On the third day she had to teach a class of beginners riding. She didn't want to, seeing as she couldn't ride herself and it was beginning to get very cold.

The young students had all tacked and mounted by the time she stumbled into the ring.

"Afternoon Yuuki sempai!" they chorused joyously.

Yuuki buried her free hand into the warmth of her coat and pulled the other deep into the cloth of the sling. She asked them to trot around the ring and not stop until she told them to.

Mr Hung was standing on the railing behind her, watching eagerly, along with various parents.

Much to Yuuki's silent annoyance, numerous students were also there.

Her title of Olympian had spread and people became interested, they wanted to talk about Beijing 2008 and the newspaper club had even written a whole page on her achievements. Which, didn't actually fit a while page, but the pictures helped.

The riders were a mess. Just like the other riders in her beginner group when she had begun. She had been the only one seemingly born to sit in a saddle. Yuuki remembered the lesson that day. The instructor had been injured, just like she was. And annoyed at the messy ranks. The same.

She had also been quiet, polite and rather introverted until it came to doing her job right.

She had been Yuuki's mother.

"Stop!" Yuuki yelled across the ring "Line up in the middle of the arena"

She hobbled forward and stood a few meters in front of where she had asked them to pull up.

After three minutes, a line was formed and the students stared expectantly down.

"Dismount" her voice was hard.

Yuuki was sick of watching the girl who had put her in her state ride around in such an unruly manner along with her peers. If they were going to ride, they were going to do it right. No more polite nature, her shyness had turned into a quiet, stern nature.

The kids dropped to the ground uncertainly.

"Line up in front of your horses"

They did so.

Yuuki scrutinised them as her first instructor had done her. She was giving them the hardest lesson she had ever received.

"If you want to ride well, then you're going to have to learn to behave well. Walking, talking, etiquette"

A parent called out "They already know that"

Yuuki ignored him and turned to the first student in the line. He was around ten years of age and dressed casually in jeans with unpolished brown boots. His shirt wasn't ironed and his helmet didn't fit properly.

"Look after your boots, shining them doesn't just make them look nice. We ride in jodhpurs and our helmets fit. Iron your shirt. Your posture is good though"

The girl next to him stared, shocked, at her instructor as her turn came.

"Please, tie your hair when you ride. Your dress is correct, but you're not wearing it right. Stand straight"

This continued until the fifth student when Yuuki paused and moved back a bit to address them all.

"If you cannot look after yourselves, present yourselves correctly and move with precision, then you cannot be expected to do the same with your horses. Horse riding is not a hobby, it is a sport. It is hard. It hurts. A few of you once told me that you aspired to be like me. When I was your age I had already competed in district levels and won. Why? Because I wore my riding clothes like a uniform, I spoke as if I was addressing the president, I stood like a beanpole and" she paused "I wanted it"

She didn't elaborate on why, Yuuki could feel a desperation she couldn't explain rising within her.

She wanted to ride. Badly. Without riding, she didn't know what she was. She didn't want to teach others, she wanted to do it herself. But if she was going to teach to stay here, then she was going to teach. Yuuki didn't want to leave Ouran now. The girl had developed a strange friendship with the odd blonde boy who sat next to her and was contemplating attending a club. It was more than she had ever found at home.

Even though her social skills were off, she had been bred with etiquette in order to ride like a pro, taught to stand, walk, talk and move in order to carry it across in all areas of life. She was a nobleman's daughter. And she had failed at everything besides her riding. It was the world to her and if others couldn't do it right, they were abusing that world. They were tarnishing the very essence of the gold she had won for her country.

"Dismissed" Yuuki turned away from the students and limped towards the gate.

Mr Hung opened it for her and let the girl hobble through.

Various parents and students whispered amongst themselves, questioning the mysterious actions of the girl.

A parent called out after her "What is your problem?"

Yuuki looked over her shoulder and then continued, unlocking her horse's stall and letting herself inside the warm chamber.

"Hey pretty thing" she cooed as Zero turned from his feed bin to her and stuck his nose into her belly.

"Don't do that" She dug into the pocket he was going at and pulled out a small box of sugar cubes "I can't balance properly"

Yuuki liked the feel of his nose in her palm, he wasn't listening and she didn't really mind.

I lie here paralytic inside this soul, Screaming for you till my throat is numb, I wanna break out
I need a way out, I don't believe that it's gotta be this way.
The worst is the waiting
In this Womb I'm suffocating

Zero nickered softly at his owner as she let a tear out. She had been cut off from her only vice and it was freaking her out. She didn't know what to do to be happy anymore. She didn't know how to achieve when her only achievement was off limits.

I lie here lifeless in this cocoon, Shedding my skin cause I'm ready to
I wanna break out. I need a way out. I don't believe that it's gotta be this way

Yuuki pressed herself against Zero, feeling him warm next to her.

"What's dad going to do? He's going to kill me" she whispered into his shoulder

"He sent me here to get better at...stuff...like business, I guess hey boy? I don't know...I was never good at stuff. I never...tried...other stuff"

It was the truth, she had never tried anything but that which she was already good at. Thus, everything else caused her no effort and she never did well at it.

Zero twisted his head around to snuffle in the back pocket of her jeans, seeking more treats.

Yuuki laughed softly and pushed his head away.

There was a knock at the door. Someone was standing in the half entrance.

Yuuki turned, wiping the moisture off her face as she did so.

Kyoya was standing there, clipboard ever at the ready.

"That was a very bold act" he said, same calculating voice

Yuuki leaned away from her horse "It was a very stupid thing to do. No emotion in business right?"

She figured he would know the rule.

"Apparently" he pushed his glasses up, a ghost of a smile flicking across his face "Can I come in?"

"Um, yeah" Yuuki shoved Zero's rump slightly to create some room in the stall

"This is the horse you took to Beijing?" he talked about Zero as if he was a product

Yuuki ran her free hand through her hair "He is"

"Breed?"

"Warm blood"

"Dutch?"

"How did you know?"

"Research" Kyoya said that he had been looking into her bio with such ease

Yuuki put a hand on Zero's neck "I didn't get a chance to thank you...for...Saturday"

The man pushed his glasses up again "Don't mention it" pause "I actually came because my brother wanted to know how your head felt"

"Oh" the girl dropped her gaze from his face "Its fine, I've had worse"

"Really?" he actually seemed interested

"Yeah"

"Falling off a local pastime?"

Yuuki laughed softly "They say you're not an experienced rider until you come off ten times"

"How many have you fallen?"

She had to think for a moment "Six, including Saturday"

Kyoya smiled for real this time, an act that set Yuuki on edge slightly, it seemed abnormal; almost manipulating.

"Just four more then"

"So help me, no"

Ootori was surprised "Don't you want to be experienced?"

Yuuki smiled softly as Zero tried to eat her pocket again "I don't know who 'they' are, but experience isn't measured by falling. 'They' have obviously never fallen off"

"What's he doing?" Kyoya motioned at Zero

Yuuki pulled the box of sugar cubes out, still half full "He wants these"

The horses nose followed the box out of the pocket and into the air.

The girl opened it and took a cube out "You want to give him one?"

"Um" Kyoya seemed uneasy

"It's really not that bad" Yuuki gently took his wrist and turned his palm up, putting the sugar in it before he could say no.

When it came to horses, she believed that everyone should experience the bond between the massive animal and a fragile human.

"Keep your hand flat"

Zero didn't waste any time in pressing his nose to Kyoya's hand and eating the sugar off it.

"Okay, why?" he asked, obviously unnerved and not liking being so.

"He'll bite you my mistake"

"Personal experience?"

Yuuki held up her right hand, there was a thin white line along the base of her little finger from where she had fed Zero and not been paying attention.

Kyoya looked uneasy. The girl reached into the tack room and handed him a cloth to wipe the moisture off his hand.

Ootori was interested in the little side room and he pushed past the girl and flicked on the light.

Four different type of saddle lined the wall, different coloured saddle blankets sat under them and polished bridles hung from hooks near the door. There was also an array of brushes, picks, a few bottles of shampoo.

"This is all his?"

"Um, yeah. Stock saddle, English all purpose, dressage and jumping" she pointed at the various pieces of equipment "The bridles all have different bits, I like using the snaffle but sometimes we don't use one at all when training, stops him from being turned by just his head and getting a hard mouth."

"Why can't you ride in one saddle?" Kyoya's 'need to know about everything' persona was coming out

Yuuki pointed out the differences in saddle and the what each was used for, surprised that he wasn't bored by it all.

"Side saddle?" he enquired, never using more words than necessary.

The girl leant against the door, taking the weight off her crutch as it was digging into her underarm "I've...tried" she smiled remembering a private moment

"Tried?" Kyoya put down a bottle he was examining

"Co-ordination is not my greatest attribute, it's up there, but it's not amazing"

"Fourth time you fell off?" he guessed

"Third" she corrected "Christmas fair"

"Oh" Kyoya pretended not to be interested in the rest of the story

Yuuki looked at the clock above the door in the tack room and left her crutch against the wall. There wasn't enough space in the room for both of them and a piece of medical equipment.

She hopped on one leg over to a line of brushes and picked one up and blew it before putting it back, perfectly in line with the others.

"Sorry" she said, turning back to Kyoya "I like things ordered and neat...ish"

"Neat-ish?"

"My closed can be described as 'organised chaos' but it works for me. The rest is pretty good though"

"Your closet?" Yuuki wondered why he was asking so many questions

"I guess I'm just another rich girl after all" She made her way back to the door and exited back into the stall.

Kyoya followed.

It was early evening outside and raining softly. The pair let themselves out into the yard and moved undercover to the entrance. Yuuki began to venture into the weather to her dorm but felt a hand on her shoulder before she could.

She flinched, wrong shoulder.

Kyoya apologised but nodded towards a man holding a black umbrella walking from a car in the courtyard.

He took it and held it above himself and Yuuki as the man disappeared back through the rain.

"Um...You'll find that I go about three times slower now" Yuuki said as they reached the middle of the courtyard "I don't mind the rain"

"I don't mind helping" something in his tone suggested that maybe he did just a bit.

When they reached the dorm Kyoya popped the umbrella down as Yuuki started her climb up the stairs. He followed.

"I'm fine Kyoya" she said, not wanting to displace anyone for herself.

"Your moving one mile an hour, up stairs, on wet crutches after self admittedly having some issues with co-ordination"

Yuuki was surprised at how much he had payed attention and wondered about the Ootori boy. She wasn't prepared to tell him the intimate details of her life so she wouldn't ask about his.

Her room was on the third floor and it took twenty minutes to reach in her disabled state.

"Isn't there a lower room?" Kyoya asked

"All full, and none of them very nice" was the reply above the click of the lock.

The man pushed his glasses up as the girl left her walking aid just inside the door and hopped through her room on one leg.

He seemed slightly amused "There must be an easier way" he remarked

"Invent a comfortable set of crutches and there will be" there was a note on the fridge

Your dinner could not be made this evening as the chef is unwell.

He suggested this though.

Very sorry Miss Cunxin.

There was a number attached to an advertisement for a gourmet restaurant that delivered.

Instead of going for the phone Yuuki went into the fridge.

Kyoya read the discarded piece of paper and eyed the girl as she moved to a cupboard, giving up on the fridge.

"You could just call the number" he said

Yuuki surfaced with two ramen cups "You want one?"

"Commoner food?"

She shrugged "When in Rome..."

"You're in Ouran"

"And there are more stairs in here than there should be. Why do something if you end up losing more than you get. Pick a flavour."

She never said more than she really needed to people she didn't really know. There was no way she was hobbling up and down the stairs just to get dinner and having it cold when she got upstairs.

Yuuki boiled the kettle.

"You are very strange" Kyoya said heading for the door, obviously not staying

"And Tamaki calls you mother" Yuuki leant against the kitchen counter and looked at him "I feel very sorry for your biological children"

Kyoya smiled; again it was slightly menacing and threw the girl off a bit.

"Good night Yuuki"