Welcome Home, Zuru

        Zuru shook his head slowly and so slightly as he sat at his desk. He didn't get a good nights sleep last night. Stupid Kam and his need toget him out of his grand plan of Kilobot domination. Well, at least his friends might cheer him up….

            " Metabee, give it back!!" Ikki roared while chasing the yellow Medabot in the room. " No way! You've pushed the big button this time, buddy!" Metabee said while standing on a desk near Zuru.

     " Metabee! Get down from ther and get out of school! You know Mountain will kill us if he sees you!"

 " Well, that will be worth it!"

   " METABEE!"

        Zuru sweatdroped. This wasn't what he had in mind at all…

  " Look, I told you, it wasn't my fault! Your special ordered parts got totaled in a car accident on the truck." Zuru's eyes widened. " Oh man…" he muttered. Him and Banjo were fighting in the street last night and made a large truck crash.

    " I don't care! I want those part now!!"

 " Metabeeeee!!"

    " Um…" Zuru blinked. " What kind of parts were these?" he asked.

 " Some parts out of the Meda-World catalog," Ikki said.

  " Oh, I got some parts a few weeks ago…you could borrow some if you want…" Metabee's eyes lit up. " Really?"

 " Um, sure." Metabee jumped off the table and shook Zuru's hand in gratitude. " I love ya man!"

  " I didn't know you leaned that way, Metabee…" Ikki said out of the corner of his mouth. Metabee turned to glare at him. " We shall discuss this when you get home from school Mister!" Metabee said in a mother scolding way, then walked out of the classroom.

   " That was, um, interesting…" Zuru commented quietly. " Ah, you'd think he actually a girl with his mood swings!" Zuru laughed a bit dryly at that.

  " You know, I heard that you were behind the truck accident last night," Ikki said sourly. " I'd hurt you if you weren't my friend…"

   " Ikki, don't you think you're jumping to conclusions?" Zuru said while pulling out his notebook from his bag. " I mean, it was an accident…"

  " Ah, I wouldn't bet on that." Ikki plopped down in the seat next to Zuru. "You're always up to something!" Zuru inwardly sighed and slightly looked down, making the sunlight reflect off of his glasses. " Yup, I'm always up to something…" Ikki chuckled, then slapped Zuru on the arm.

  " You know, you seem to change personalities when you become the Mystery Medafighter," Ikki commented while leaning back in his chair. " But you know, I prefer being with the normal Zuru Zora." Zuru looked up. " Probably 'cuz you're the nice guy of your two identities!"

      Later that day, Zuru walked home by himself, pondering about what Ikki said that morning. " Am I …really that terrible?" he asked himself. " Why does everyone hate me when I'm the Mystery Medafighter? I'm just trying to get rid of Kilobots…" He sighed while stopping in front of his house. He remembered when his mother would always bake him cookies after school when he was still little. Chocolate chip with little bits of peanuts melted in with them. Those were his favorites!

   But now, since his father was so neglective and into his work, his mother started having fits and drinking. He swallowed. She wasn't too violent when she was drunk, but you better just avoid her all together or she'll do something bad if you accidentally say something or do something wrong.

   His father was the one you had to look out for the most though. These were some of the reasons why he didn't let his friends go to his house. It was too scary to think of what would happen.

   He went up to the porch, and quietly opened the door, then shut it behind him. His mom was more than likely asleep from a hangover.

  " Hi mom how was your day? Oh, mine? It was great. My friend actually hates me even though he doesn't know it's me he hates. Not to mention that I'm tired of this…" he said as though someone was there in the living room. He took a deep breath and shook his head, then quietly walked upstairs to his room.

   " Master!" Roks greeted. " Shh! Mom might hear you," Zuru whispered.

 " Oh, sorry. How was your day?" he asked as Zuru put his things on his desk. " As well as it can be expected…"

  " Then it wasn't that good then." Zuru sat on his bed. " Roks…I'm growing tired of all this…so tired…" He rubbed his temples. He lied on his back as Gorom2 took his book bag and put it away for the weekend. " I wish this was just a bad dream…"
   Roks put a hand on Zuru's arm. " It'll be alright," he said softly. " You'll see. Things will get better." Zuru looked at his Medabot with slight smile. " Roks…"

 They then herd glass breaking downstairs followed by some yelling. Zuru sat up. " Oh man…"

   " Will you just leave me alone, bitch?! I've had a long day!"

" You always have a damn long day! When the hell are you just going to quit?!"

" And stay around a spastic idiot like you more? Go to hell!"

   There was then some more glass breaking as well as a few thumps.

" I want a divorce!"

 " Fine, but I get Zuru!"

" WHAT?!" Zuru flinched.

 " You heard, woman!"

" I gave birth to that boy, and I'M going to keep him!"

" I wouldn't give a damn if a whore gave birth to him! No, wait, a whore did!"

     Zuru wrapped his arms around himself while biting his lower lip. A divorce?  Oh god, what would happen to him?

 " Master?" Gorom2 hovered close to the shaking boy. He looked up, looking scared. " A…divorce?" Even if he did hate his father, the memories of what he used to be still clung to his mind that he couldn't think of having his father out of his life for good. The same with his mother. It was any kids' worst nightmare.

    " I'm sure they don't mean it," Roks said quickly. The phone then started to ring. Zuru quickly lunged for the phone on his desk before it made a second ring. Hopefully his parents were too busy to notice it rung.

   " Um, hello?"

  " Zuru, hey!" Came Ikki's voice. Zuru swallowed. " Hi, Ikki. What's up?"

 " Nothing much. I just wanted to know if--"

    " You're so incompetent! I don't know why I married you in the first place!"

 " –What was that?"

" Um…what was what?"

    " Well you won't have to worry about that after the divorce!!"

" That!"

" Oh…um…that's the TV…."

" Doesn't seem like a nice show."

 " I'd change it but, uh, I can't find the remote…"

   " I'll god damn kill you if you get custody over Zuru!"

 " Zuru? What's going on there?"

 " Er…"

  " He's MY SON!!"
" No, he's mine!!"

 " I can do whatever the hell I want with him!"

" As if!!"

" Zuru, are your parents arguing?"

 " I…uhh…."

 " What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

 There was a smash from downstairs.

 " I decided that I don't want any trace of this relationship! And that means getting rid of Zuru!"

  Zuru gasped. " Oh god!"

 " Zuru?! That's it! I'm coming over there!"

 " No, Ikki!"

 But Ikki already hung up. Zuru started to shake violently as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. " Roks, Gorom2, hide..!" Zuru whispered. " No, Master!" Roks said. " Go! They'll kill you too!" the Medabot shook his head. " We're not leaving you."

   The door then slammed open. His mother's hair was matted over her face messily as her eyes shone in drunken rage. Her pale hands grasped a large kitchen knife. " Zuru, come here…" she hissed through her teeth. Zuru whimpered while backing away. Roks and Gorom2 stood in her way. She looked at Roks. " The hell did this thing come from?!" She sputtered.

   " I'm sorry, but I will not allow you to harm Zuru," Roks sternly stated. She laughed harshly. " Out of my way!" She then lunged towards Zuru, but Gorom2 knocked her into the other side of the room. " Master, get out of here, now!" Roks said. " But…"

  " We'll catch up with you later, just go!" Gorom2 was pinning down the enraged woman while Roks was guarding Zuru's back as he slowly walked to the door. Roks turned to him, eyes full of concern. " Go, please." Zuru stared at him for a moment, then nodded. He ran downstairs, past his father who yelled at him, and out the front door.

   " Zuru!" Ikki called from across the street as he and Metabee came over to his house. Zuru ran over to them, then stood there, shaking violently with wide scared eyes. " Zuru?" Ikki put a hand on the other boy's shoulder. Zuru flinched. " Zuru…what the hell did they do to you?" Zuru looked up at Ikki, choking back a sob.

  " C'mon, let's get him outta here," Metabee said. Ikki nodded, then put an arm around Zuru's shoulders and led him away from his house. Zuru started to turn his head to look back, but then Ikki said, " Don't look back Zuru…" Zuru hesitated, then decided to listen to Ikki. He might take one look and run back inside to see of his Medabots were okay. He sniffled at the thought of what they were left in. He then started to cry as Ikki and Metabee guided them back to their house.

    When they got there, Ikki had managed to calm him down a bit. Metabee went to tell him mom what had happened as Ikki led Zuru to the guest bedroom.

 " You should get some sleep," Ikki said while tucking his friend under the covers. " If you need anything, just call, kay?" Zuru nodded. Ikki smiled. He then turned off the light, and quietly left.

     " Welcome home, Zuru…" Zuru muttered to himself like he did back when he got home from school. " Welcome home…"