Author Notes:
+ I do not own Medabots, only my own characters.

Narrow Escape

"Kenro, let's go get you a Medabot!"
"Hold up, Hana. Can't I see how this Robattle turns out?" he asked, his eyes still on the Robattle in the schoolyard. Classes were now over, and two of his classmates were in the midst of a Robattle.

"Are they at it again? They fight just like their Medabots," Hana remarked.

"You mean like cat and dog? You bet," Kenro grinned; Nerai's Peppercat was having fun running in circles around Inao's shooting Cyandog.

"Cyandog has pretty good firing capabilities, but Peppercat's fast too. My bets are on Peppercat," Kenro added, watching Peppercat inch closer to Cyandog with each loop.

"Then that's probably going to happen," Hana said, dragging Kenro away forcefully. "Most of your predictions come true, anyway."

Kenro sighed, consigning himself to being taken away. "That's 'most', Hana. I wanted to stay to see if it would actually come true."

Relentless, she replied, "You can always ask afterwards. Personally, I'm surprised that there wasn't an uproar when I mentioned your Robattle this morning. Guess no one really believes that the guy without even a medal to insert would have a Medabot, let alone a rogue."

"Rokusho's not a rogue," he muttered under his breath. Kenro was barely able to focus today with the Robattle fresh in his mind. Rokusho seemed to know what Kenro was thinking and reacted so quickly and fluidly. If he was to own a Medabot, Kenro wanted to have one like Rokusho: strong, fast, and smart.

His thoughts were interrupted as Hana brought them to the front of a Medabots store. "Hi, Jeremy," Hana greeted the clerk. "Did my shipment come yet?"

"It should already be at your house," Jeremy replied. He was young with green eyes and blonde hair. "Who's your friend?"

"Kenro here is looking to get a Medabot," she replied only to find that he wasn't by her side anymore. Kenro was by the shelves, looking over the different models. He was deep in thought, examining each one carefully.

"Looking for any one in particular?" Jeremy asked, noticing his new customer's furrowed brow. He could tell that Kenro was going to be a choosy person when it came to Medabots.

Kenro turned in surprise for the second it took for the question to sink in. "Are there any Kuwagata models?" he asked. He watched enough Robattles to just know the different Medabot models.

Jeremy turned to the catalog list next to the cash-register and flipped through a few pages. "No, I don't think we have any. That's a pretty rare model; Kuwagatas haven't been made for a long time. There aren't any in storage either; I just checked this morning. Sorry about that."
"No problem," Kenro said, sounding a bit disappointed at the news and distracted as he looked over the shelved models some more.

"Hey you!"

He then turned to the shout and the loud bang that came next. A muscular man in a leather jacket stood in the doorway with metal rings on his fingers. Based on the three figures cowering behind him, the big guy seemed to be the boss of the Rockers from this morning. Grinning with a gold-capped incisor at Kenro, he said, "My boys here said you beat them this morning. Strange since you're right here actually looking to buy a Medabot." Everyone else in the store was tense, wondering what was going to happen.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to trash the store," he assured Jeremy. "Meet me in the alley three stores down in half an hour. I wanna Robattle you to see how you managed to beat these guys. We'll discuss terms then. Big Joe likes a good Robattle." With a hearty laugh, Big Joe left the store with his three lackeys, leaving Jeremy, Hana, and Kenro bewildered and grim.

"Joe doesn't lose too often. I'll help pick you out a Medabot," Jeremy offered, skimming through the catalog.

"No thanks," Kenro said, hurrying the store.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hana demanded, following Kenro out. "Jeremy knows this guy's Medabot, and you refuse his help?"

"I have other plans in mind," he replied, still looking around.

"Look, I know you like Rokusho, but he's off doing his own thing. You can't rely on him to be here every time you're in trouble." Hana stood in front of Kenro and looked him in the eye. "You might have half an hour, but you're not going to find him. He could be out of town by now." Her eyes weren't as angry as they were hurt from his rushing out the store, trying to reason with Kenro.

He sighed. "You might be right, but I have half an hour. I won't go looking for Rokusho, but I don't want to just buy a Medabot because it happens to be a good match."

Satisfied, Hana backed off a bit. "You sure you even want to accept that guy's challenge?"

"I don't show up, he looks at me like a coward, and I'll have even more trouble."
"I'll help Jeremy find a good 'bot for you," Hana decided, running back to the store.

Now what? Kenro thought to himself as he walked down the street.

"You seem to be looking for something hard to find."

He turned towards the old man who spoke. "Were you speaking to me?"

"It's often easier to find something by not looking for it than it is to look for it. What you are looking for will come you to eventually whether you expect it or not," the old man continued. "So, would you like to buy a chick?"

Kenro looked down at the box of cute yellow chicks. "Thank you, but I have to be somewhere," he laughed, running off.

"There goes a potential customer," the old man sighed, looking down at the peeping chicks.

------------------------------
"How did you even listen to that guy?"

"It made sense to me."

Hana sighed; Kenro returned to say that a new Medabot wasn't necessary for this Robattle. Did he really believe that Rokusho would just show up when Kenro wanted him to? Kenro was having similar doubts. Was he just being selfish in hoping for Rokusho to come? Whatever the case was, the two of them entered the alley where Big Joe and his Megaphant waited.

"So you decided to show up after all," Big Joe grinned, looking ready to Robattle. "Let's see your new Medabot."

Kenro's jaw clenched. He could say whatever he wanted, but it was up to Rokusho to show up.

"I'm right here, Kenro," Rokusho said, jumping from the fire escape in his cloak.

"This it, boys? This bug squished the three of you together?" Joe asked the Rockers. "Either he's good, or you're a bunch of wimps." Turning towards Kenro, he said, "We'll have a submission Robattle; the winner takes one of the loser's Medaparts. However, I'm going to up the stakes a bit. You win, me and the boys leave town. I win, you better be prepared to get a new Medabot."

Kenro's eyes widened. Could he risk Rokusho in this battle?

"We accept," Rokusho said confidently.

"You sure, Rokusho?" the neophyte Medafighter asked worriedly.

"You should have some faith in me but more so in yourself," the Kuwagata Medabot told Kenro.

"Then it's agreed!" Everyone turned to the person who exited a trash can with a suit on. The man took the suit off to reveal a referee's uniform. "This will be a submission Robattle. The first Medabot to cease functioning loses, and the loser must submit one Medapart to the winner, for keeps. I, Mr. Referee, shall act as referee so no one gets hurt."

Who the heck is this guy? Kenro thought to himself, bewildered by the sudden appearance.

Without time for another thought, Mr. Referee announced, "Medafighters ready? Medabots, Robattle!"

Megaphant didn't miss a beat as it charged down the narrow corridor. There was hardly any space to move around it in the alleyway with Megaphant's large size, Kenro realized. The iron ball could do a lot of damage, and the armor would be tough to penetrate.

No time to dwell. "Get around for a slash, Rokusho," Kenro shouted as Megaphant got closer. His partner utilized his speed to run up the wall and around Megaphant, swinging his Chanbara Sword to the back of the opponent's tread-wheels. Barely a scratch was made before Megaphant began to reverse itself. Rokusho was rammed hard, rolling on the ground when he landed.

[Head: 10% damaged; Legs: 20% damaged]

Rokusho ran along the wall again to face Megaphant, ignoring most of the damage he took. "Let's try a Hammer Fist," Kenro said next. Rokusho responded rapidly, dashing towards Megaphant with his left arm ready. Big Joe grinned at the incoming attack, waiting to see the result. Rokusho's Hammer Fist impacted Megaphant's Right Guard with a resounding smash, but Megaphant wasn't too worried.

"Kenro, this is an upgraded model with stronger armor," Hana told him, shocked by the lack effect. Megaphant's Right Guard was barely damaged, but Rokusho's arm was in bad condition.

[Left Arm: 60% damaged]

"Nice try, kid, but a frontal assault isn't going to help you here," Joe chuckled. Megaphant's Iron Ball came crashing down as Rokusho tried to put some distance from his adversary, but Megaphant's attack did its damage to Rokusho's legs next.

[Legs: 90% damaged]

Rokusho was on one knee, unable to stand steadily. "Finish him, Megaphant!" Big Joe yelled, his Medabot swinging its head back for a final blow.

"We'll need to make a sacrifice, but we can counterattack that," Kenro said, determined not to lose like this. Rokusho seemed understand and shifted his position slightly. "Hammer it back!" As Megaphant's Iron Ball swung down, Rokusho stood and swung upward with his Hammer Fist, contacting with the Iron Ball and having it swing backwards enough to collide with Megaphant's head. A web of cracks appeared on Megaphant's forehead, the sight of it dropping Joe's jaw as well as the other Rockers.

Rokusho fell back on his knee, his left arm hanging uselessly. Megaphant reversed, leaving Kenro and Hana unsure of what would come next.

"That's enough, Megaphant," Joe announced to everyone's surprise. "That was pretty risky, kid, but you did well with reversing Mega's Iron Ball. If your fist was in better condition, I think you would've done more damage to Mega's head than just these cracks. Your 'bot looks like he had enough in him to smash his sword to Mega's head afterwards." Smiling, he continued, "You proved that you really did beat this pack of wimps, and as promised we'll leave town."
"But boss-"

"Come on, boys." With that said, Big Joe and the Rockers left the alleyway, Megaphant rolling along behind them.

Kenro ran over to Rokusho. "I'm really sorry."

"Sorry for what? You made quite the improvisation to use the Iron Ball against him," Rokusho replied, still on his knee.

"If I did better-"

"You used what strategy you had to win and managed to keep me generally intact," Rokusho interrupted. "I may be in worse shape than I was before, but you should congratulate yourself for at least trying to use the terrain and your opponent's attributes to your advantage."

Hana stood by, holding the Right Guard Big Joe left behind. Looking at it, she smiled at the very slight crack left behind from Rokusho's first attack.

"The Medabot has a point, Kenro."

All three looked up to see Nerai and Inao standing just outside of the alleyway. "You really are a good Medafighter," Inao complimented, Cyandog standing behind him with a thumbs-up. "We're pretty sure that you only fight when you need to, so we won't pester you with a Robattle," Nerai added, winking at Kenro.

"How'd your battle go, anyway?" Kenro asked the two.

"I lost," Inao muttered sourly.

"Peppercat got in and brought Cyandog down headfirst," Nerai giggled, the joy of her victory apparent by the glint in her eyes. "Anyway, we should probably get your 'bot some help."

"Hana, you have a spare repair kit I can use?" Kenro asked her.

"Sure thing. We'll stop by my place to pick it up," she replied, still holding the Medapart.

"You mind staying at my place for a while, Rokusho?"

"I suppose. I don't have anywhere to go," the Medabot replied.

"Then it's settled," Kenro announced, picking up Rokusho's cloak before putting its owner on his shoulders. "Let's get going."

"Have fun guys. Nerai and I need to get to our own places," Inao said, waving goodbye to the two.

Kenro and Hana headed towards Kenro's house after Hana checked her package and picked up the repair kit, still carrying Kenro's new Medapart. Today was quite the adventure with Kenro having his first two Robattles and winning both. If only they knew how many more were in store for them.

[Robattle vs Megaphant: Won

Medapart Earned: Right Guard]

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End Notes:

+ I decided to introduce Mr. Referee and the chick salesman into this chapter for a few reasons.

Medabots just wouldn't be the same without them.

Kenro can always use a word of wisdom, and there can always be some attempt at humor through Mr. Referee's many entrances.

+ Inao: Wears a blue t-shirt under unbuttoned his school uniform. Tall with light brown hair. Captain of the soccer team. Medabot: Cyandog

+ Nerai: An attractive girl with long hair (darker brown than Inao's). Member of the track team. Medabot: Peppercat

+ I wanted to be realistic about Robattles in terms of damage and visible effects thus the cracks on Megaphant's head. If unwanted, I'll take it out and stick with percent damage values.