Heya! This is my first fanfiction that I've actually posted online, so be easy on me please! It's a one-shot, and it revolves mainly around Holly and Genki.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot, I guess.

Of Real and Fake

"Give it back, rabbit!" A wolf-like monster shouted with a look that could stop a person cold.

"Not a chance, Tiger!" The rabbit-like monster exclaimed with a taunting look before he swung the piece of meat in front of the blue wolf's face.

"Grr… Hare!" Tiger shouted in frustration before leaping at Hare. Hare was fast, however, and jumped out of the way mere seconds before Tiger landed in the spot where Hare once stood.

It was raining outside, and the travelling group of rebels had decided to camp out under a large rock formation. The group knew their companion, Golem, hated water, and they didn't want to make him uncomfortable if they didn't have to.

The rest of the group watched the scene with Hare and Tiger while a young brunette girl stirred a pot of boiling stew. She smiled as she tasted the broth before looking outside. The rain brought back terrifying and horrific memories for the girl, but they also brought back some good times with her new friends. It didn't erase the sadness, however.

"Hey, Holly, is it almost done? I'm starving!" A yellow eyeball monster complained.

"Ah, Suezo, it's almost done." Holly said with a smile.

"Yeah, Mocchi hungry, too." A pink sweet cake looking monster said while he licked his lips.

Holly smiled at Mocchi and gave the young monster a small spoonful of the stew, and he lapped it up quickly before letting out a satisfied sigh. The group was hungry, as usual, and Holly knew once her stew was done that the scene would get barbaric. The groups' teamwork was getting better, but when it came to food it was everyone for themselves.

"Hey, Holly, need any more firewood? I think I can find some that hasn't been soaked with rain yet." A boy wearing an orange baseball cap said as he sat next to Holly.

"Thank you, Genki, but I think we have enough to last us the day as long as we use it sparingly." Holly replied, but she quickly gave Genki a smile to show her gratitude for the offer.

"How long… will the rain last?" A large rock monster questioned in a low, yet soothing voice.

"I'm sorry, Golem, but judging by the amount of clouds I'd have to say we'll probably be rained in for the whole day." Genki replied as he lay back against a boulder. The warm fire was relieving and the smell of the stew was like a wonderful, yet awful torture.

"I guess we'll just make due then." Hare said with a grin as he sat down by the fire, the incident with Tiger long forgotten. "Hey, Genki?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"You never really gave us the details about how you ended up here. Why not fill us in while the rain has us cooped up in here?" Hare asked, though more so suggested. "It'll kill some time until the stew is done, too."

Genki grinned as the group, now all sitting by the fire, turned their attention toward the energetic boy. He hadn't mentioned how he had gotten there since his first day in the Monster Rancher world, and even then he didn't go into detail on anything.

"Sure! You see, I had won this monster fighting tournament and my prize was a video game called Monster 200X and-"

Genki was cut off when Tiger spoke up. "A video game?" He questioned, unsure what it was. The rest of the group also looked puzzled, and Genki mentally scolded himself for forgetting that this world didn't know what video games were.

"Oh, um… It's hard to explain. You see, video games are human made technology products, I guess I could say. Video games can be played on different game systems. Basically there are lots of interactive games you can play on them. Some of them, mainly role playing games, let you basically have a fake life. You control the characters and generally you have a mission to beat a bad guy and save the world. Stuff like that. All the characters aren't real, so if they die, you can just restart your game from your last save point and they're good as new!" Genki explained as best he could. The monsters nodded and looked absorbed into his story.

"So, I chose to go to the temple to follow Holly and Suezo and I was sucked into the game by a force that I don't know. Holly was on the screen with Suezo, and they were running from Black Dinos. I thought it was just part of the game, but it all turned hectic when we pressed the unlocking button at the same time. Then, I was sent here and my adventure started."

The five monsters began to bombard Genki with questions about his world, but the girl who held the Magic Stone stayed quiet and distant, deep in thought.

The night flew by fast after Genki told stories about his world and the technology there. He went into great depth about video games and how they worked. It took several hours to explain to the group what pixels were, though, without confusing them further.

Genki shifted slightly in his sleep until the warm sun heated his skin, as if welcoming him to wake up and enjoy the day. The boy quickly got up and prepared himself for another adventure. His normal routine was to wake the group up, and it seemed Holly was already awake and cooking breakfast.

"Okay, guys! Wakey, wakey! We're letting the day slide by!" The boy shouted, and the echo caused the monster to wake up (though not in a good mood).

"Ah, Genki! How about you go for a long hike and leave us alone?" Suezo shouted, a vein appearing on his head.

Genki merely laughed if off, as usual, and took his seat next to Holly before the other rebels joined around the fire. The sun was harsh, but it had already dried up most of the rain.

"What a great day, huh Holly?" Genki asked the brunette. He waited a few moments, but the girl didn't reply to him. She looked distant, like a lost child or someone who had seen something terrible. She had bags under her eyes and she was slightly slouched over. Genki couldn't help but get nervous at this point, and he slowly put his hand on her arm. Holly was startled by the touch, and she quickly jerked out of her trance and turned rapidly to the side to face Genki. The boy pulled his hand away instinctively and gave Holly a look of worry.

"Holly, are you okay?" He asked softly.

"Y-yes. Don't worry about me. Thank you, though." Holly replied with a blush from embarrassment, but Genki knew she was hiding something.

Holly dished out the soup, and the rest of the morning went as usual. Once the group was packed and ready, they marched off with their heads held high. Genki smiled down at Mocchi, who was always by his side when travelling. Further down the path, there was an intersection where four roads lead. Genki couldn't help but frown before turning around to consult Holly on what to do. To his surprise, however, she wasn't right behind him like usual. Normally it was always Genki and Mocchi in the lead, followed by Holly and Suezo, then Tiger and Hare, and Golem would follow up on the rear.

"Huh? Where's Holly? And Suezo?" Genki exclaimed, now seeing that the eyeball monster was also absent.

"Don't worry, we're back here." Suezo called out as the group turned around to see the pair behind Golem.

"What are you guys doing?" Tiger asked. He knew how the normal order went, and he knew something wasn't right.

"Ah, nothing. Holly used the Magic Stone and it pointed west." Suezo called back, his voice sounding a bit distraught.

The group ignored the strange behavior of their companions and began to travel west. Within a few minutes, Genki could see Suezo hop up next to his side with a troubled look on his face.

"Suezo, what's going on?" Genki asked his friend with curiosity.

"That's just it. I have no idea. Holly won't tell me what's bothering her and it's really getting to me. I don't know what to do at this point. I've tried several approaches, but she just isn't caving in. She's in such deep thought that it took me a few tries before she even noticed that I told her we needed guidance from the stone." Suezo said with a look of both stress and helplessness.

Genki looked back at Holly to see her still walking at a slow and strained pace. It made Genki feel terrible just seeing her in this state. Something was wrong, and he would find out somehow.

Hours passed, and the group made camp in a small valley. The night was cool, but luckily it wasn't damp. The sun had seen to that.

As usual, Holly made dinner and the rest of the rebels ate like a pack of rabid dogs. Once dinner was cleared and the dishes washed, the group settled down for the night. A few minutes after going to bed, however, Genki heard a rustle from not too far away. When he peaked to see what it was, he could see Holly walking away from camp. She made her way up a large hill and sat at the very top, almost as if she was a wolf getting ready to call to the moon.

Genki slowly left camp and scaled the hill in order to talk to the troubled girl. When he reached the top, he could see Holly sitting with her knees brought up to her chest.

Genki could feel himself stiffen just by looking at her. Holly was always listening to everyone else's troubles, but it seemed like no one listened to her.

"…Holly?"

"Oh! …Genki?"

The two stared at each other for a brief and awkward moment, with only the crickets and the crackling fire in the distance making any sound.

"…Can I sit down?" Genki asked quietly, and Holly gave him a small nod. At seeing this, the boy sat down close to the girl, allowing himself to only look down at the grass. He wouldn't press the matter at hand so he wouldn't distress Holly further, but he would give it a shot.

"Holly… everyone's worried about you, you know? I am, too." Genki said softly.

"I'm sorry, Genki. I don't mean to bother or worry anyone." Holly looked guilty as she turned to her friend. "It's just… hard to explain…"

"Oh… I'll stop bothering you then." Genki said with a frown before standing up to leave. Before he could leave, however, a soft hand gently took his own hand. Genki looked down to see Holly looking up at him with large innocent eyes that froze him on the spot.

"You… can stay… please…" Holly whispered as she looked up at Genki hopefully. The moonlight made her eyes look even glassier, and Genki couldn't find it in himself to leave. He slowly sat back down where he was before and stared up at the stars.

They stayed like this for what seemed like hours; not a word being spoken between them, nor a glance being thrown at the other. Suddenly, Genki could hear Holly clear her throat slightly, and it gave him a spark of hope; hope that Holly would open up to him.

"Genki…?"

The soft whisper of his name caused him to turn his head to face Holly for the first time since he had sat down. She looked like she had been trying to come up with an answer herself, but failed to do so.

"Yes, Holly? I'm here." Genki replied.

"Am…am I real?" She asked suddenly, her voice cracking slightly.

The question was so unusual and unexpected, that Genki couldn't help but gawk at her. So many things flooded into his mind, and he had no idea what to do.

"Uh, can you repeat that?" He asked, thinking he heard wrong.

"Do you… think I'm real?" Holly repeated her voice a little stronger than before.

Genki was confused now. What did she mean by that? Was she real? What kind of a question was that?

"Holly, I don't know what you mean! What do you mean by that!" Genki exclaimed.

Holly looked down at the ground, looking a little hurt. Genki saw how his response wasn't what she had been looking for, and he quickly put his hand on her arm as a form of comfort.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Holly. I didn't mean to react like that. It's just that, I don't know where this is coming from."

Holly sighed slightly and played with the end of her vest nervously, as if she partly didn't want to know the answer.

"Genki… you told us yesterday how you were sucked into your video game and was brought here."

"Yeah… what about it?"

"Well… think about it. You said how video game characters aren't real and how it's like having a fake life. You said that when you first put your disk in that Suezo and I showed up on the screen and you chose to go to the temple. It's true you were sucked in your game, but that's just it. You were sucked into a video game. Genki… am I fake? Am I just made up of pixels?"

Genki didn't know how to react to that. He never really thought of it before. Genki could see Holly was shaking slightly, and he knew his story had made her very distraught.

"If we lose, will you just start over? Will I have to relive my village being destroyed again and again? You said most games have a quest where you beat the villains and save the world. It's just like the mission we're on now…"

He took a moment to think on Holly's words and questions. She had taken this in deeply, and he had to be delicate with the situation, even if he wasn't that good at being gentle. He looked around him for a moment, and a smile came to his lips.

"Holly… do you feel the wind? Do you see the stars? Can you feel the grass under our bodies?"

Holly looked around her before giving him a weak nod.

"How can you get any more real then this? Back in Tokyo, the smog is so thick that I can't even see the stars at night. The buildings are so huge that sometimes the wind is blocked off. There's so much pavement and roads that a lot of the grass has been removed. This world is beautiful and there's no way it can be fake." Genki said with confidence.

Holly listened carefully to every word that came from Genki's mouth.

"And then there's you, Holly."

"…me?"

"Yeah. How could someone like you be fake? You can feel both physically and emotionally, you care about everyone, and you make people around you happy. No way, Holly. You have to be real."

Holly let Genki's argument sink in before she let a smile come to her lips. Genki had a straight forward and simple way of putting things, but that was one of his most appealing qualities. The subject of whether she was real or not had been torturing her, yet Genki eased her thought with just a few sentences.

"Genki…"

"Yeah, Holly…?"

"Thanks for everything."

Before Genki could respond, Holly planted a quick kiss on his cheek, which resulted in both of them turning a bit red.

"…oh! Hahaha! Of course! Anytime!" Genki stuttered nervously with a grin.

For a few more hours, Genki and Holly stayed on top of the hill talking about anything that came to their minds. After that night, things between the two humans were different and they were both more open with each other. Holly wasn't plagued by the thought of being fake anymore, and Genki made sure of it.

Okay guy! That's all I have for you at the moment. Reviews would be wonderful! Thank you very much for reading this. It really means a lot to me. I like helpful criticism and tips, but please don't review of you're just going to flame me.

RockyRoadSmith: signing off! :3