My Monster Rancher fanfiction project called "Delusions of the Heart" now has reached 10 reviews, which is super amazing and I never thought it would ever get that many. Because of this, I wanted to say… THANK YOU GUYS! This is dedicated to my amazing reviewers archsage328, Mandy, ripitupgenki, Butterflygirl1234, and Dark Scimitar. Thanks again so much! This isn't much of a story, but I had this idea for a little while now so I hope you enjoy! The first chapter seems serious, but it will become a comedy in the next chapter.

This is set sometime between Grey Wolf's defeat and Naga's defeat.

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.

For Granted

Chapter 1. The Predicament

"The Magic Stone is pointing straight ahead of us again."

"Are you serious, Holly? We've been marching around this bug infested forest for ages now!"

"Cut it out, Suezo. You're only making things worse."

"Shut up, Genki! I have the right to complain when I want to!"

The group of rebels consisting of a human boy, a human girl, a Suezo, a Mocchi, a Tiger, a Hare, and a Golem had been walking around the dense forest for several hours now without taking any breaks. They wanted to make it to the next town before night fall, but at the rate they were going that wasn't going to happen. Camping outside had become more and more dangerous ever since the defeat of Pixie, for the Baddies now had made them moving targets. Anyone who could bring the girl who wielded the Magic Stone back to Moo alive would be awarded handsomely, and anyone who could kill the rest of the rebels would become one of Moo's new generals.

"The sun… is setting. We should make… camp soon." Golem said with a frown as the other rebels adverted their attention to the setting sun. All hopes of making it to the next town had been shattered, and Genki gave out a huff of slight aggravation before putting on a grin.

"Ah, it's no big deal! We get to spend another night under the stars! I see no problem with that." The young boy said with a positive attitude that most of the other group members didn't share.

"Yeah, chi! Mocchi like seeing the stars, chi!" The young sweet cake-looking monster said with a giggle as he jumped onto Genki's back.

Holly smiled at Genki as he brightened the mood, but suddenly she felt her throat restrict. She quickly brought her arm up to her mouth before a strained cough was released from the girl. Several more coughs followed the first before Holly's lungs decided to give the poor girl a break and the coughing stopped. She looked a bit worn and weary, but the brunette didn't complain.

"Holly! Are you okay?" Suezo asked with concern as he hopped to his partner's side.

"Oh! I'm fine. It's probably just from the pollen." Holly waved it off as she gave the eyeball monster a comforting pat on the head before she began to unpack her sleeping gear.

It had been like this since the day before, but Holly didn't want to worry the rest of the group. She would wake up at night with sudden coughing fits that felt like they would never end, but as suddenly as they came they would disappear. Because she stayed up late from the coughing, Holly was running on nearly no sleep at all. It frustrated the girl greatly, but she would endure it if that meant getting to their next destination without running into any Baddies. If she were to tell the other rebels, they would surely stop their journey to wait until she was better, but this would also make them sitting ducks for Moo's men.

"If we get up early enough, we may make it to the next town by tomorrow night if we do what we did today and take no breaks." Tiger said with a stern look as he watched Genki and Mocchi play happily as if there was no danger in the world.

"True, but we also need rest. We haven't had a break all day so our bodies are worn out. We need time to sleep as much as we need tonight and have a break or two tomorrow." Hare countered with a nod as he circled the wolf-like monster with his arms crossed.

"If we go by your plan, though, we won't get to the next town for about two days!" Tiger snarled. "In case you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a forest which is probably crawling with Baddies. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"You make valid points, Tiger, but let's not forget about the rest of the team. If we were to run into Baddies and we went by your plan, we'd be way too tired to fight! It's true that the forest is dangerous, but keeping well rested is the key to winning battles. You can't be selfish about this!"

"What? Selfish? You're the most selfish monster I've ever met! You'd sell us to Moo if he gave you a few gold coins!"

"I would not! I'm not the one who almost got Holly killed because you were so selfish that you were going to walk off on us and because of that, Holly got shot by that Black Worm! That was your fault!"

"You take that back!"

"Make me!"

"Please, that's enough!"

Holly stepped in between the feuding monsters and placed a hand on each one of their shoulders. Her eyes met with both of the rebels, before both of them slowly backed away from one another. Holly was the peacemaker of the group and everyone seemed to listen to her when she asked for a fight to end. She tended to break up more fights then a bartender.

After several minutes of preparation, Holly began to cook one of her wondrous stews. Their luck had been in their favor when Tiger sniffed out a small creek that had been several yards away from the camp site. The aroma of the broth filled the air as the hungry rebels swarmed around Holly like mice waiting for crumbs. The minute the girl announced the stew was done, that rest of the group lunged at the soup like savages as they began to fight and curse. Holly watched the scene as sweat drops formed on the back of her head. They may have beaten three of the four Big Bad Four members, but they had a long way to go on their teamwork.

After dinner (in which Hare had managed to save Holly a bowl of stew and Holly had graciously taken it even though she wasn't sure how sanitary it was at that point), Holly took all seven of the soup dishes and the rest of the cooking gear before she headed down to the creek. She scrubbed the dished in circular motions before rinsing each individual bowl. It had been this routine ever since she started her journey to find the Phoenix. She would cook, clean, and guide the group everyday without hesitation.

Holly made her way back to camp, where the rest of the rebels were already sleeping, before she put the dishes away and slid into her own sleeping bag. Her head was pounding and her entire body felt like she was in an ice box. The brunette gave a small cough and a shiver before falling into a restless slumber.

The sun beams peaking through some of the gaps in the trees shone brightly onto Genki's body as he slowly opened his eyes and let out a yawn. Now fully energized from a full night of rest, the young boy jumped to his feet and put on a huge grin. It was a beautiful morning and there weren't any signs of the Baddies, which was cause for inner celebration. Before Genki could wake up the others, his attention went toward the fire pit they had made the night before. Every morning, Holly was the first person awake. By the time Genki would wake up, Holly would already have breakfast almost finished cooking. This morning was different, however, because Holly wasn't there sitting next to a steady fire with breakfast being made. The young boy looked around with a confused look before his eyes fell on the girl he was looking for. Holly was still in her sleeping bag, but what made it more unusual was the fact she was shivering when it was rather warm out.

"Um, Holly?" Genki whispered as he knelt down next to the brunette and shook her body gently. The girl moaned slightly before she let out a ragged cough. Another strained cough followed the first before Holly shivered violently and turned away from Genki, her hand trembling as she pulled her sleeping bag up to her neck before she lay still. Startled by what had just occurred, Genki scrambled to the sleeping form of Hare before he shook the rabbit monster awake.

"…wha? What's goin' on?" Hare slurred tiredly as his eyes adjusted to the light of the morning. His eyes met with those of Genki's before a frown formed on his face. "What was that for, Genki? Some of us actually like to sleep in a little!"

"Hare! Something's wrong with Holly! I think she's sick!" Genki exclaimed with concern as he pointed to the young girl who was currently sleeping.

Hare looked at the concerned Genki before letting out a defeated sigh. He was tired from the long journey yesterday, but he also wanted to see what Genki was talking about. The rabbit monster stood up before stretching his legs and headed over to Holly's side. Hare looked down at Holly before putting his hand on her forehead with care, so not to wake up the girl and have an awkward situation occur. His eyes widened as he turned to face an extremely worried Genki, who was now leaning over his shoulder.

"Her temperature is really high. It feels like she has a fever. Her skin is also paler." Hare said with concern as he brought his head down to the girl's chest to listen to her breathing. Genki looked at Hare with a look that screamed 'you're-being-a-pervert', but Hare quickly brought his head away from the girl and faced Genki again.

"Her breathing sounds a little labored and ragged. I think she has fluid in her lungs."

"…huh?"

Hare sighed and shook his head before turning back to the young boy. "I mean you're right and that she's sick. Simple enough for you?"

"Uh, yeah. So what do we do?"

"I'm no doctor, but the best thing to do is to let her rest and to make sure she takes in a lot of fluids. There's not much more we can do." Hare said sadly with a frown as he brushed away a few stray strands of hair from Holly's pale face.

After several minutes, the other rebels began to slowly wake up. Tiger immediately noticed the strange behavior of his comrades as he made his way over to Genki's side. His eyes shone with slight confusion as he noticed both Genki and Hare staring down at Holly with looks of intensity.

"…what are you two doing?" The wolf-like monster asked with a tone of suspicion.

"It's not what it looks like, I swear." Hare stated with sweat marks on the back of his head as he took a step back from the sleeping girl before turning to face Tiger. "Holly's sick, Tiger. She's feverish and she isn't breathing normally."

The moment Tiger heard the words 'Holly' and 'sick' in the same sentence, his entire body tensed up. Images from when Holly was poisoned from the Black Worm because of his poor decision filled the wolf monster's mind as he made his way over to Holly's side. What Hare said was true, and Tiger could sense Holly's discomfort just by looking at her.

"Hey guys! Where's the grub? Did you eat without me?" The shout from Suezo broke through the silence that hung over the group as he made his way over to the other rebels. At the mere sight of the group hovering over the sleeping form of Holly, a vein appeared on the back of the monster's head as he singled out Genki and smacked the boy over the head with his tongue.

"ALL OF YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!"

"Stop, Suezo! It's not like that at all!" Hare exclaimed as he helped a rather dazed Genki back to his feet.

"What is… going on?" Golem asked as he made his way over to the ruckus that had ensued in the camp site. Everyday, something interesting seemed to happen with this group.

"Stop yelling, Suezo! Holly's sick and she needs rest!" Hare exclaimed with a pleading look as he watched Holly stir slightly from all the noise, but she merely turned over before lying still once again.

"WHAT? HOLLY'S SICK?" Suezo screamed in shock as Hare grabbed the monster by his lips and shut them together quickly as a vein formed on his head.

"Do you want to wake up the whole forest? Yes, she's sick! Now calm down and let her rest!" Tiger snapped as he paced back and forth trying to think of a way to make the situation better.

"Holly's sick, chi?" Mocchi whispered with a tearful look as he crawled up next to the ill brunette before taking her hand in his tiny one. "Will she be okay, chi?"

"Of course. It's probably just a passing cold or something. She'll be fine." Hare said with a sad smile as he watched the young monster perk up a little from the encouragement.

"Why don't we just carry her to the next town? I'm sure there's a doctor there." Tiger said with a nod, but Hare quickly replied.

"If we knew where we were, that would be the best idea, but we don't know exactly where the next town is. If we were to leave this spot and try to make it to the next town, we'd risk not only getting lost, but also we're not sure of we'd have a water source. Holly needs to take in as much water as she can while she's sick and if we end up in a part of the forest without the creek, Holly could dehydrate." Hare said solemnly as he looked down at the ground.

Genki suddenly turned to the group with a look of determination as he pumped his fist up into the air and brought it down into a peace sign. The rest of the group didn't know what he was up to, so they just watched him with confusion and slight entertainment.

"You guys know what we have to do, right?" The orange cap-wearing boy said with a smile.

"Uh, not really." Tiger replied gruffly.

"We need to take care of Holly like her personal doctors!" Genki announces as the other rebel's faces (except Tiger) lit up at the suggestion.

"Great idea! With the six of us taking care of her, Holly will be better in no time!" Hare exclaimed with a laugh and a wink.

"Yeah! We'll cook and clean and other stuff like that! It'll be fun, guys!" Genki said with a grin as he looked over at Holly. "Don't worry, Holly, you'll be safe in our hands!"

"This will be… interesting…" Tiger sweated as he watched Genki and Mocchi run around raving about being doctors like animals that just escaped the zoo.

Okay! This is a mini story, so it will be probably about 3-6 chapters, depending on if I have the time or patients (I have final exams next week, so I need to study!). Thanks for reading guys! This chapter seemed rather serious, but the next ones will be more humorous. Also, the reference of Holly getting poisoned by a Black Worm is from the episode "Run, Tiger, Run!". It's really intense, but the American version blocked off the part where Holly actually gets hit by the poison dart because she bleeds a little. Lame. Anyways, I think that's about it.

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3