A World Away

by ripitupgenki

Years after Mu's defeated the courageous seven have settled into their new lives. What happens when Genki hides a deep secret from the rest. How will the others react? How will they deal with his world and his problems when he finally tells them? Warning: Lots of drama and dark themes. Main pairing is GxH & TxGR; there will be HxGR and GxGR as well throughout this story.

4. Bonds

AAN: We will see how long these get. A lot of my chapters seem to be over 20 pages now. This one is going to be really big. I hope you all are enjoying the journey so far. There will be a little Genki/Granity/Holly relationship but it's for a purpose. This is primarily a Genki/Holly fic. I did go back and change some numbers for Genki's income in the first chapter. It was set way too low for what I wanted to do.

---

Bonds

Genki then began to show her how he powered everything up. He moved slower than he normally would so that she could see what he was doing. Once he was set Holly noticed the screen change to show the others getting their side ready. "I can limitedly see when you guys are ready, which is how I time things. In order for it to open and let you through this side I need to time my button press with whoever is at the shrine control." He showed her the button on his controller, "as long as I'm close the gate with open just fine."

"How does it open on the way back for you though?"

"Not entirely sure but I have a few theories." He saw Hare press the large button and he pressed his controller button. "Move back unless you want to be tackled." Holly saw the screen change and soon Granity came tumbling out. She looked around confused, and then spotted Holly who had come to make sure she was ok.

"You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Genki set the controller down,

"No one else is popping a crossed right?"

"No." Granity shook her head. Holly saw him flip off the console just then,

"Just making sure, I don't want to sever the connection with someone in the portal by accident." He saw the girls look at him with concern for a moment before nodding.

"Granity… looks like the portal changed you a little." Granity stood and looked herself over.

"I guess it did…"

"My theory seems to be holding. You should revert back to your true form once you jump back across." Genki smiled, he then indicated to the girls to follow. Granity did looking around while he led them into the living room to sit. He knew Granity would like to chat about specific things so he indented to let that come first.

"Genki… your home if very nice." Granity said at length, still in a little shock.

"Thank you Granity. Feel free to visit whenever you like." She smiled to him, and then glanced to Holly.

"I trust you got the blade sorted out?"

"Yes, Akame said it'd be finished in a few days. Genki is letting me borrow one of his blades in the meantime just in case." Granity smiled at this,

"Thank you for helping so much Genki." He nodded and returned her smile.

"Any time Granity." He paused a moment, "I take it you have something sensitive to talk to me about?" he inquired wondering if it was simply her asking for him to be her trainer or something more.

"I do yes, Holly you can stay don't worry. I don't mind you knowing." she glanced to the woman in question receiving a smile from her, she returned her attention back to Genki who looked on with mild interest. "I'm not sure how to say this so I'll just be blunt, I would like you to be my trainer alongside Holly. I need a male trainer to help me through some things." Genki looked mildly surprised, his eyes holding some concern in them as well.

"Granity I have no problem being your second trainer if that's what you want. I would be happy to help you, just keep in mind you will always be my friend first. Just like I do with Mocchi." his voice was soft and even. She smiled,

"I know that's why I want you. You have always been different Genki and that is something I very much appreciate." She paused a moment, "Holly, did you tell him anything about our relationship?" She glanced over at her female trainer now. Holly nodded,

"Yes, I told him that you wanted me as your trainer and that I helped you through some things emotionally using my powers." Granity raised a brow at her, Holly smiled sheepishly in return. "I also mentioned that you and I have bonded." her voice softer now, Granity smirked.

"Holly, I'm not upset if that's what you think."

"I thought you might not like my sharing that."

"I figured you'd tell him, and I trust him like I do you." Granity turned her attention back to Genki. "I do need to ask you, do you know what bonding with a monster actually means?" Genki tilted his head,

"I can hazard a guess."

"Which is?"

"From what I gleaned during my conversation with Holly it's a bond of both heart and soul, a type of full trust between trainer and monster." Granity smiled to him,

"That's pretty good for a guess." He chuckled,

"I do try to pay attention during conversations."

"It is indeed a bond of the heart and soul but it can also physical. It's very rare that a human and monster bond physically but it does happen. It doesn't have to lead to sex mind you, but it is about being comfortable together; being able to share touches without worry. This type of bond can never be forced but once it's in place both trainer and monster can feel it within them, it makes both stronger." Genki nodded, though he noticed Holly blushing out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you looking for that type of bond with me Granity?" Genki asked, keeping his voice soft and even. He doubted he could scare Granity off but he wanted her to feel comfortable nonetheless.

"I am yes. Genki, do you have any idea what my last trainer did to me?" He could see the discomfort in her eyes now, he frowned thinking of how horrible that man had been to her. He shifted his gaze outside a moment hearing a siren before he answered,

"I believe I understood what you were trying to tell me when I was younger. I may have been too young to understand what all happened then but I knew he had hurt you." His eyes met hers now, "I could be wrong but I believe he abused you, perhaps even raping you." Granity's eyes had widened as he finished his statement, "Before you ask, no Holly did not tell me any of that. It was something I understood upon reflection of our time together. Especially when you saved me at the cliff side, your actions spoke volumes; I just didn't fully understand at the time." Granity closed her eyes a moment, a sad smile appearing on her face as Genki waited. Holly had moved to put her hand on Granity's trying to help her.

"Well you are completely right Genki… He abused me and used me as his play thing, raping me over and over. I was powerless to stop him when I was younger."

"You became strong to never feel that way again."

"Yes, but all that darkness was still there. I may have let go of my blind hatred of humans but my heart wasn't healing." Genki seemed wary now, he knew she was vulnerable and he wouldn't try to do anything that might hurt her.

"Granity, if you want this bond with me then you need to lead me. I don't want to make assumptions about what you're ready for. I know you want to heal from this, I will help you but you need to tell me what you want me to do." She looked stunned, though she knew he was going to be good to her she never imagined he would go about it this way.

"Are… you offering to be submissive to me?" Holly looked startled now; she hadn't followed that line of thinking. Genki nodded,

"I am. I want you to be in control until you feel ready for anything else. If some day you want me to be dominant and you feel ready for that, then and only then will I take any control." He could see his words meant a lot to her, "My goal is to help you, if you need something of me then just ask." Granity seemed to be thinking things through a moment then spoke softly,

"Genki are you willing to be intimate with me and vulnerable to me?" He almost missed her words, Holly face turned red again at that implication making him chuckle inwardly.

"I am willing to do anything you need me to do to help you heal. If you wish me to be vulnerable then I will be; if you want that type of intimacy then we will do that. But I want you to be sure of things before we get to that stage, the last thing I want is for you to experience anymore pain. You may feel more comfortable with Holly that way then me." Holly now wanted to hide after he had spoken those words; she was entirely embarrassed by this conversation. Granity noticed her reaction and put an arm around her.

"Calm down Holly." She leaned her head against Holly's giving her some affection. Genki remained silent as they cuddled. Holly slowly relaxed as Granity rubbed her back. * Holly is definitely fully bisexual… she really needs to talk about sex more or she will always be embarrassed by it. * He waited patiently for Holly to feel a bit better.

"I'm fine Granity… It's just hard for me to talk about this still."

"I know, just keep trying. You'll get there." Granity's eyes found his again, she noticed he seemed amused but wasn't willing to say anything. * She is amusing with how red she can turn over these subjects. * "Genki I take it you don't have an issue with our relationship?" Genki smiled and shook his head.

"No, my ex is bi actually. I've never had an issue with same sex relationships. I believe people should be accepted for who they truly are."

"I'm glad… would you mind us visiting for a little alone time? Suezo makes our time together very difficult." Genki chuckled at this while Holly looked a bit unsure of asking such a favor.

"If you want to have time alone just tell me. I have no issue providing you a safe place to do that. I will however be having a word with Suezo, he needs a good stern talking to it seems."

"Good luck with that, both of us have tried. Only threats seem to keep him at bay."

"I have my own ways of dealing with annoyances. I'm betting I can get him to stop. I do have a question for you Holly."

"Yes?" she looked up curiously,

"Did you ever bond with Suezo? I mean the heart and soul kind of bond. I know you wouldn't entertain his perversions." Holly nodded to him,

"Yes, shortly after I unlocked him we did."

"And he is refusing to listen to you?"

"He is yes…"

"I wonder…" Genki shook his head, * I hope that's not the case. * "Do you still feel that bond?" Holly looked confused now, closing her eyes she looked inside herself. Granity had some idea what he might be getting at.

"Yes it's there… perhaps weaker than it once was but it's there." She looked back at him, a little guilt in her eyes.

"If the bond weakened I doubt it was anything you did Holly. I know he has tried to grope you in the past. He caused it to weaken… I suspect he is unaware of this." Holly sighed and laid her head on Granity's shoulder, "I will speak with him and see if I can clear things up. I have a hunch on something else but I'd prefer to get clarification before I jump to any conclusions." His eyes shifted to Granity who seemed to understand what he might be thinking. "I imagine he made dating nearly impossible for you Holly. I'm sorry; I should have seen his behavior as an issue sooner." Holly shook her head and smiled sadly,

"It's not your fault. I really should be sterner with him." Holly didn't acknowledge the dating aspect but he knew it would have been difficult for her to sneak off. "He just seems…"

"Possessive and afraid lately." Granity finished for her; Holly glanced to her before sighed nodding in agreement.

"I will take that into consideration. This isn't healthy though." He smiled to her, "I will do my best Holly. You need to be able to do what you feel it right without interference." She returned his smile,

"Thanks Genki."

"Did you feel like asking about what Akame said to you or would you rather wait?" Granity looked interested now, Holly sighed and nodded to him.

"I think I will do better with Granity here for this."

"Then ask what you wanted to know."

"Well early in my conversation with her she made the comment that you had… 'issues', what did she mean by that?" He looked confused,

"Context of that response would be helpful."

"Oh right! Well I had asked her why you seemed… sad lately. She did mention your stress having something to do with it." She seemed hopeful that would help him. Genki closed his eyes a moment, * Damnit Akame… just what are you thinking… *

"I believe I know what she was referring to now." He met her eyes now; she could see he was guarded now. "Remember what I told you downstairs?" she nodded,

"That you have some things you can't tell me right now…"

"Yes, those 'issues' are part of that. Right now, without background knowledge you wouldn't be able to fully understand them. I gave you that book for a reason, you need that knowledge first. I will answer this question once you have the ability to understand what I'm going to tell you." He sighed, "As far as my sadness goes you should have just asked me. Yes I have my moments when I feel sad; this time of year is hard on me. It reminds me of my grandfather's death. I was extremely close to him, so when he passed it was… well I didn't handle it well. I did finally recover but the memory is still difficult sometimes. My bouts only last a short time, don't worry about it." Holly seemed to sympathize with him,

"Genki I'm sorry…"

"It's alright Holly. I don't mind you asking."

"You're sure that I should have his dagger?"

"Yes, I gave it to you for a reason." Granity just watched the exchange; she was intrigued but not willing to enter into the conversation just yet. "Anything else Holly?"

"Well… she mentioned dominating you in bed, when I tried to tell her I didn't talk about sex she assumed I was saying something else. She went on to say 'that it was ok that not many were into BDSM or other fetishes'. She also mentioned that she liked it rough. Can you clarify that for me? I don't understand the whole domination thing or those other things she mentioned." Granity raised a brow now and smirked at Genki looking rather amused. Genki sighed shaking his head,

"No wonder you were glad to leave. I didn't realize she was being that perverted." He took a moment to think of how to tell her about these things. "As far as domination goes, it was something she really enjoyed; it was basically her kink if you will."

"So it aroused her?" Granity asked still wearing her smirk.

"Yes, it was definitely a turn on for her." He sighed, "I will admit I enjoyed it, it did become a turn on for me as well."

"No wonder you'll let me have you." Granity laughed as Holly blushed like mad.

"Akame was also what is called a 'switch', in this context is means she will switch between being dominate and submissive. She does indeed enjoy rough sex, there were times that I really wasn't sure I wasn't going to hurt her, but I never seemed to." Granity seemed intrigued now, she gently rubbed Holly's back to keep her calm as she probed for answers herself.

"Did she like to pretend to be raped or something?" he seemed to be trying to find his words now.

"I suppose you could call it that though it is a bit different. If she was pretending to be raped, for some fantasy then she would have resisted me. There was never any resistance; she just wanted me to use my full strength during sex." Granity seemed to understand now, though Holly remained confused. "I don't know how many times I got yelled at when I was too gentle." He chuckled, "it was an odd experience to say the least."

"I bet it was, I'm sure that wouldn't come naturally to you."

"No it doesn't Granity. I had to work hard at it to meet what she wanted."

"What about the rest?" He chuckled at Granity's curiosity. Noticing Holly seemed to be having a hard time understanding everything.

"We'll cover fetishes first since BDSM is a fetish. You both know what the word means I'm sure."

"Yes, but not how it relates to sex."

"When related to sex it is basically someone's turn on, this turn on is not… normal as it were. For example, there are some people with foot fetishes; where they are turned on by attractive feet."

"Oh so it's an unusual turn on?" Granity smiled,

"Yes, some people never realize they have a fetish at all. Some find it by accident." Granity seemed to understand, though Holly seemed to be uncertain of things but not confused as such. Genki assumed she hadn't heard of fetishes before now and found them strange.

"I assume that BDSM is an acronym then?" Granity seemed to be leading the charge even though Holly had wanted answers. Genki chuckled at this development,

"Yes, but it has become a catch all term for many different fetishes. The acronym is actually broken down as B&D, D&S, S&M. Each does have some overlap but most couples don't practice all three parts." He paused a moment to make sure they understood. "As far as the break down goes, B&D stands for Bondage and Discipline. This can be anything from actual bondage to just another type of domination. This generally goes hand and hand with D&S or Dominant and Submissive. Generally the third part is the optional one, S&M or Sadist & Masochist."

"That third one has to do with pain right?" Granity probed, now a bit concerned.

"Yes though it does vary as to the extent it's used. There are those that use minor pain to amplify their pleasure and a few who are really into the whole pain aspect that are considered deviants even among those into BDSM. The important thing to remember is that it is always consensual for both partners. Most couples have a lengthy discussion before and after a session. This is after all a role playing experience, they are just fulfilling their roles in the fantasy." he knew a lot more but decided to leave the whole brain and body chemistry thing out of it. It was complex and those without a good scientific understanding weren't likely to understand it. Holly seemed to need calming down again, she had turned bright red and hid her face, and he waited for her to feel better. Granity was the first to speak though,

"I will say I wasn't expecting anything like that Genki. Based on what you were saying...you were the submissive most of the time correct?"

"Yes, most of the time I was."

"Did she ever physically hurt you?" Genki's brow rose at the inquiry, * She's defiantly more open than Holly to this… but how open? *

"Occasionally pain was incorporated into our play. But nothing serious, in fact once we were having sex I didn't even notice the pain anymore at all." He searched her eyes a moment before stating, "There was never any abuse Granity. Akame was aware of my limits; she never pushed me beyond them. Like most couples a safe word was used during the vast majority of our sessions."

"Safe word?"

"A safe word is a word that won't generally come up during sex. If uttered it's a direct order to stop whatever is going on. It basically means stop but since the word stop doesn't always mean that during some role playing." Granity seemed to understand now, nodding her acceptance of his explanation.

"I think I understand. I was just concerned…"

"I would never allow abuse Granity. Besides most of what we did was called 'sensation play'. Generally one partner is blindfolded and objects of different textures are used to sensually touch them. Removing your sight allows for a greater sensation to be felt during it." He saw her nod her understanding, "BDSM requires a complete trust between couples, and it's not for those just starting out. It has been shown through studies that couples who engage in it experience more stress relief and a stronger bond than those who don't." Genki decided to glance at Holly now to see if she was alright, her eyes told him she was struggling with this conversation.

"I suppose if you are tied up and unable to move, you do have to trust our partner a whole lot to willingly let them do that." Granity commented at length making Holly glance at her, Holly finally spoke up now.

"Genki… did you fully trust her with everything?"

"I fully trusted her in many ways, but not with all my secrets if that's what you are getting at. She knew most of them but not all. About the time I was going to divulge the others we decided to separate. She could sense that on some level I wasn't happy and that I was settling for her. She told me she didn't want me to be tied to her when my heart belonged to another. She wanted me to be with my soul mate." Holly's eyes widened at this, she looked away not sure what to say.

"Does she believe I'm you're soulmate?"

"I can't answer that; you would have to ask her." Holly nodded,

"She told me what your greatest fear was… she was also pushing me to talk to you about us being together." Genki looked both surprised and somewhat upset. Granity noticed his mood change, * He didn't want Holly to find out that way… * She saw Genki close his eyes and he took a deep breath and let it out. It was subtle but Granity recognized it for what it was.

"And what did she say was my greatest fear?" His voice neutral and devoid of emotion, Holly glanced up at him and saw that his mask was back on. * He's upset...* she realized before answering,

"Being alone, she said it still terrifies you…" She could see he was definitely mad now. Genki closed his eyes again, * Akame… I trusted you with that… why would you tell her? Are you trying to coerce her into being with me? I don't want pity! * He again took a moment to calm himself before responding. Granity watched but remained silent as she held Holly's hand. When Genki seemed to recover he looked into both of their eyes.

"She's not wrong about my fear of being alone, though I will be having a conversation with her about revealing things that she has been told in confidence." He sighed, "I don't mention this fear for a reason, I hate when others pity me or think I'm weak due to a fear. Hence why I have never spoken of most of my fears."

"You left it out when we spoke earlier… you were afraid I'd see you as weak?" Holly seemed concerned and unsure of what he thought,

"Not just that. I did not want you to feel pressured. Akame is using this to push you into speaking with me about something you have actively avoided. Yes, you said we could talk about it now. But was that really your choice or her coercing you into that position?" Holly looked surprised at this; she seemed to need a moment before she could answer. * Did she coerce me? I definitely felt bad knowing he feared begin alone… but the guilt I felt wasn't from that. No she pushed me to see the truth but that's all. *

"She may have given me a push but I released you from that promise because I felt it was the right things to do. There was no coercion present in my decision." Genki remained silent a moment before he spoke.

"Alright, just be careful. She might try again if she is trying to play match maker." He sighed, glancing out the window a moment before returning his attention to the two ladies on his couch. He could see Holly understood him now even if she thought he was weird. * If she can't accept this then the rest is out of the question. * Granity seemed to be curious still,

"So... have you two spoken about being together?" Genki looked at her and shook his head.

"Not yet… we will just not now. I'm still emotionally drained from dealing with my family. We will when both of us feel up to it." Granity could see the exhaustion in his eyes but also something else, * Loneliness… he feels alone… this must have been hard for him to admit to all this. It's definitely considered deviant behavior in our world. I'll have to talk to Holly later. * She glanced at Holly to see she looked a little stressed as well. * Maybe I can help her relax before we jump back… *

"Genki… I'm sure you have things you need to do… would you mind if we borrowed a room for a brief time? I'd like to have a little alone time with a Holly before we jump back." He nodded,

"There's another guest room in the basement level. I won't be able to hear you once you are down there. I need to edit the machine video and make my dessert for tomorrow; you'll have plenty of time to be alone together." He smiled to them, "If anyone asks I'll just tell them you are giving Holly a pep talk or something." Granity chuckled at this; Holly blushed while looking over at him with a grateful expression. He rose and indicated for them to follow him. Granity noticed that the basement looked nothing like what she imagined. He lead them to the room in question, it was as nice as the one upstairs.

"Feel free to use this room anytime you like. I'll be upstairs if you need anything." He walked back the way he came and the two women closed the door. Genki knew they might be intimate but it didn't bother him, he was more concerned with his stress level. When he reached the kitchen he placed a hand on his head * Damn I really need to get rid of some stress soon… if it keeps going this way… I really won't be able to hide it much longer from them if that happens. * He grabbed his bamboo steamer and filled the bottom with water, he then walked over to his stove, placed the steamer on the top of the largest burner, and turned it on to preheat the steamer. He then began to get everything he needed together, deciding it would be best to do the cakes first and the video second. His headache might go away by the time he got to the video.

---

Granity had smiled to Holly and pulled her into an embrace after Genki had left. She held her for a little while before pulling back to speak with her.

"You're getting better. I was thinking you'd freak out long before you did Holly."

"I was trying to not freak on you… this is still very hard for me…"

"I know… that's why I came here. I wanted to help you as you pushed yourself."

"I… just can't believe all the strange things Akame made him do…"

"Akame asked him Holly, she didn't make him. It's obvious to me that he's just open to experimentation. It's not unheard of in our own world you know."

"I know… but it's not normal. I only hear about it in whispered rumors. Still it was a surprise to learn he likes being dominated…"

"True but it's still present on our world even if it's not spoken of. I believe the whole domination thing may have something to do with what he's hiding. What did he tell you earlier?"

"That he has things that he keeps locked inside, that he doesn't feel he can share with anyone. He said that once I can understand them and show him that I can handle these things he will tell me what they are slowly. Something about them being very difficult to talk about." Granity was silent a moment,

"Well, all we can do is be patient and show him we are here for him. Did he say anything about the promise you released him from." Granity had never agreed with Holly's decision on that and had always encouraged her to release him.

"He admitted that I hurt him deeply but that he wasn't up to discussing anything right now; though he appreciated being released from it." Granity nodded,

"I will work with him and see it I can help him. I think you broke some of his trust when you rejected him and then force him not to say anything else. It may be awhile before he feels he can share what he's hiding." Granity had always suspected that their dispute had caused a rift to form but she was never certain of it until now. * He is definitely defensive… but he's also scared… he thinks she will reject him for his weird turn on and sexual habits… * "Holly after hearing all of that… would you reject him for his deviant behavior?"

"No, I wouldn't reject him. It does make me extremely uncomfortable though." Granity saw that as a good sign, * I'll work with her on it. For now she needs to de-stress. *

"I'm glad you can accept him as he is. You may find is easier to talk about and think about such things as you learn about them. I believe he is trying to guide you so that he can trust you again fully. Listen to what he's telling you and look at what he's doing to guide you. I think those two things will reveal what he's hiding even before he tells you." Holly nodded; she hated to admit that the discussion had aroused her earlier which is why she was so uncomfortable. Granity smirked knowing full well why she was uncomfortable and whispered, "It's OK to feel aroused Holly. It's normal when talking about kinky sex to feel something." Holly gasped and looked like a child caught in the cookie jar. She moved to kiss Holly who was caught off guard by the sudden assault on her lips. She returned the kiss as Granity's hand moved soothingly over her back. Holly followed Granity to the bed, both women lying down with Granity's skillful hands caressing a shivering Holly. She moaned into the kiss as Granity touched her breast. Holly's hands tightening their grip on her in response to the pleasure she felt. Holly had only just learned to let go and be guided by Granity but the pleasure was definitely worth it, Granity would make sure Holly felt a lot better before they were ready to go back upstairs.

---

Genki meanwhile was putting his cakes in the bamboo steamer to cook. They were very simple to make, something he enjoyed. He had gotten his enjoyment of cooking from his mother and aunt, though he would say Holly had some influence on him as well. He knew he was weird but he wouldn't let anyone tell him he couldn't do what he enjoyed. After setting the timer he walked to his office to start his project, he knew it wouldn't take him long but he had other things to keep him occupied if he finished before the girls did. His mind was focused on his task and not on what they were doing, though he would defiantly be wondering about it later that night. His phone ringing interrupted his thoughts, he rose to answer it.

["Hello?"]

["Genki are you able to talk right now?"]

["Yes mom, I have the day off."] He heard her sigh and began to wonder what she was thinking about.

["I would have called you sooner but I have been busy with work and getting my gift for your father ready."] Genki chuckled,

["Mom you know he will love anything you do for him."]

["I know but this is our 25th year anniversary, I want it to be special."]

["I understand, just don't stress yourself out over it."] He heard her laugh as his comment before she replied,

["I won't don't worry. By the way why are you off today?"]

["I have administrative leave. We had a rough week and the boss insisted on making up for it by giving us the day off."]

["Spill, I know you are leaving something out."] Genki sighed; he never could fool his mother.

["Well… I took over as team leader since Saito is in the hospital."]

["Bike accident again?"]

["I believe so yes based on his injuries. Anyway the veterans didn't like me as the leader since I'm not a vet. One of them decided she knew more and tried to repair an electrical problem on the machine we were working on. I noticed what she was doing and got to her in time but was injured by the arc flash."] He heard her gasp then speak in a very serious tone,

["How bad is the burn?"]

["Third degree at its core; second degree surrounding it. I went to the hospital; they treated me and gave me a couple of prescriptions. I've been having a friend help with bandage changes since I can't do it one handed."]

["How long?"]

["At least a few weeks before it heals according to the doctor."] He could practically see the worry and contemplation on her face as he waited for her to speak again.

["I trust you won't be doing anything to strain it?"]

["You know I won't. I'm not stupid."]

["So was the issue taken care of at work?"]

["Yes, the boss took care of the issue. He gave me a permanent promotion and a pay raise as well. There shouldn't be any more issues."] He heard her sigh,

["I hope not, I don't need you in the hospital. Having one child to worry about is enough."] He smiled and spoke gently,

["You know I never try to worry you mom, I can't help my instinct to protect others."]

["I know, you got that from your father."] He chuckled at this comment. ["Genki about your sister, I'd like you to call her."]

["May I ask why?"]

["She believes you hate her. You need to tell her how you actually feel."]

["Why would she believe I hate her?"]

["Because you yelled at her and told her never to call you again."] Genki rolled his eyes,

["That is NOT what I told her."]

["Tell me what you said."]

["Yes I did raise my voice as she was being selfish yet again. I told her not to call me again unless she was going to speak the truth. I have never told her in any way that I hate her. I'm just tired of her lies and her manipulation."] His mother was quiet for a bit,

["Genki called her, tell her you love her. Promise me you will get this taken care of. I don't want any hatred between my children. Your sister is many things, and yes she does a lot of bad things, but she is still your sister."]

["I promise I'll call her."]

["Thank you."] Genki hesitated a moment,

["Rei believes you are upset."]

["I am but I wasn't going to share with her not after the last time."]

["I understand… Can I help?"] His mother seemed reluctant to tell him what was wrong.

["Kai… is in the hospital Genki…"] her voice was extremely soft but he heard it. His eyes widened in shock, he felt his stress from early surge back but pushed it away. * No… I need to know what happened first. *

["What happened to him?"]

["He tried to commit suicide…"] Genki couldn't believe what he had just heard,

["But he doesn't have…"]

["He does… we missed it because his Anxiety is so bad."]

["Will he be alright?"]

["He's stable now and under watch. He should be fine."]

["Cutting?"]

["Yes…"] Genki sighed; he took a few deep breaths, his mother waiting for him to calm himself before she spoke again. ["Genki, don't feel as though it's your fault. You have done all you can for him, Kai must find the will to fight within himself. If he can't then he will never get better."]

["I know… I just wish I could do more…"]

["You have done enough… you have made enough sacrifices… its Kai's turn."]

["You thought Rei wouldn't care about him?"] Genki asked at length,

["I don't know if she would or not. And if I'm honest I don't want her knowing at this point. She does nothing but burden your brother."]

["I will speak with her about that but not tell her about his suicide attempt. She needs to leave him be."] Genki's voice had changed to a neutral tone; this told his mother he was stressed.

["Genki promise me you will relax this weekend."]

["I promise I will. I'm going to a party tomorrow with some friends so it shouldn't be too hard to find something to reduce my stress."] He paused a moment, ["Dad will be back Sunday right?"]

["Yes, I haven't told your father about Kai yet. I didn't want him driving home under that kind of stress."]

["What hospital is Kai at?"]

["Tokyo General, he's on floor 5, room 34. Visitation is between 10 am and 8 pm."] Genki wrote it down to make sure he wouldn't forget this information.

["Alright, I'll make an effort of go see him."]

["Don't overdo it, I know how you are about work and helping others."]

["I won't, I promise."]

["Good, I'll talk to you again soon. Get some rest son, I love you."]

["I love you too mom."] When she hung up Genki sat down, he lower his head into his hands as he dealt with that he had just heard, * Kai… why didn't you say anything? I could have helped you...* his subconsciously rubbed his own wrist thinking of what Kai had done. * I should have checked on him more… I never realized he had depression… though it does explain a lot. He is battling two things and not winning against either. What was the trigger to start cutting though? That's what I need to know, I need to see if I can help. Assuming he will let me. * Genki massaged his own temples and began some breathing exercises to deal with his stress. * This is just the week that keeps on giving I swear… I hope next week is quieter. * Genki groaned, his headache was back, * I need some medication. It's not going away anytime soon, not now. * He chuckled, * Maybe Akame is right; I do need to get laid…. Though my morals won't let me just fuck someone as stress release. * He frowned as he got up and walked it his medicine cabinet, he pulled out the pills he need and took them, and he then looked down at his arm. It would need to be changed before Holly left but it could wait for now. Walking back to his office he sat back down at his PC and attempted to finish what he started.

---

Downstairs the girls lay cuddling with each other under the covers, Granity's hand gentle stroking Holly's side. Granity had managed to get Holly to release her worries and sexual tension. * She really needs to admit she really likes sex, she's just frustrating herself at this point. * She smiled seeing Holly in her arms relaxing,

"You feeling better love?"

"Yes, very much so… thank you."

"You're very welcome, you know you really should just tell me when you need this. You know I don't mind helping you." Holly shifted the rest her head on Granity's shoulder now and sighed,

"I know… I guess I still just have a hard time admitting this is what I need." She looked up at Granity sheepishly,

"Silly girl there is no reason for you to feel that you are doing anything wrong by asking for help this way. You will only get better at talking about sex if you actually talk about it."

"Yes, you are right…"

"You know Genki seems very calm like I am. He would be another you can talk to about this topic without worrying about him judging you. He may even be able to answer things I can't since he may actually be far more experienced than me."

"But… how would he be more experienced?"

"Think about it. We don't know how often he was engaging in sex. We only know what he has told us. I did notice that he never seemed aroused or embarrassed by anything we spoke of. Even the kinkier topics didn't faze him." Holly pondered this a moment, she hadn't really thought about it due to her own embarrassment.

"Now that I think of it… even when Akame's girlfriend suggested a threesome he was unfazed. He said something about not being embarrassed anymore due to his exposure to it."

"A threesome?"

"Yeah… she was definitely flirting with him though he refused. Stating that he did not do that kind of behavior no matter how fun it might be."

"Well he definitely has standards, but we don't know if she was joking or not with him. He may have felt the need to clarify his position because you were there."

"You mean he thought I'd get the wrong idea if he didn't?"

"Yes, he seems very worried about how we see him, though at the same time I believe he's tired of hiding it as well." Holly was silent a moment before she spoke again,

"I think you're right… now that I think about it he's been very careful with how he's answered my questions."

"Holly, it's obvious to me he's scared, I could see it in his eyes earlier. He hides it extremely well, but not enough for me not to detect it. I believe he wants to make sure we understand him and not get the wrong idea about why he does things."

"What is he actually scared of though?"

"I can't say for sure but I believe rejection. Think about it, he said that not even Akame knew everything. It's obvious to me that whatever he's hiding is something that he believes could cause others to reject him."

"Now that you mention it; yeah it does seem like it. It seems he must want to be honest though otherwise he wouldn't be trying to guide me at all…"

"That's true… I think he wants help. He's just having a hard time trusting others right now it seems." Granity sighed, "as much as I would love to stay here all night with you, I think we should jump back. Genki needs to get some rest before he pops over and we have things we must do as well." Holly nodded and reluctantly let go of her, she got dressed as Granity started to make the bed. The girls tidied up the room before they left making it look presentable.

---

When they walked up stairs Genki was nowhere to be seen. They both could smell the fresh cakes and took a peek at them.

"These smell amazing…" Granity could hardly believe how nice they looked and smelled,

"Yes, I can't wait to try them tomorrow." * He's much better of the cook than I originally thought. * Holly suspected she knew where Genki had gotten off to. She lead Granity towards the office, sure enough he was working on something. He seemed to be skimming through some pages on his machine. Holly noticed he wore glasses, she assumed these were reading glasses, though she hadn't been aware he needed any.

"My, don't you look handsome with those on." Genki turned to Granity and gave her a smirk.

"Granity you don't need to hit on me; we already made our agreement earlier." She chuckled at him,

"So you need them to read?" Granity asked, knowing full well how curious Holly was though she was blushing a bit right now, obviously liking how Genki looked in spectacles.

"No, but they help with eye strain when I'm looking at the screen or reading for long periods of time." Granity seemed to be looking at what was on screen now,

"What are those?"

"That's what the characters of my language look like." He moved back to let Holly and Granity look at them.

"They do look a bit strange to me but perhaps that's because I can't read them." Granity shrugged, "What are you reading?"

"I'm looking up things about soil testing and what the ideal balance is for vegetables specifically." Genki then moved his mouse to click the upper right hand corner of the page. Holly gasped seeing the page turn to English. "If you'd like to read it as well you can."

"Multi-lingual, a baker, and handsome, aren't you going to be a handful." Granity chuckled, making him raise a brow at her.

"Aren't you flirty today? I don't think I've ever seen this side of you." He chuckled lightheartedly. Holly noticed there was a lot of information on the page about crops; some things she didn't know the meaning of. * He is very intelligent if he knows what all this means *

"If I was really flirting then I'd be in your lap by now." She laughed at him, "We will get there but for now I'm just playful." She smirked at him as he gave her an incredulous look. Holly had gotten over her mild embarrassment from earlier and now decided to ask some questions of her own.

"Genki, there's a lot here I don't understand… do you understand all of this information?" He glanced over at her, he smiled to her and nodded, removing his glasses then began to speak as he focused on her.

"I understand it yes; most people my age have taken quite a few courses in science. The PH is simply the balance between acidic and alkaline soil. Most plants prefer acidic soil, so if the balance is off it could be a problem. Certain crops pull more nutrients from the soil than others. These extra nutrients have to be replaced either by decomposing matter or fertilizer; if they aren't the next crops planted will be sickly as best." He smiled to them knowing this was all new to them. He knew the monster world didn't have a formal education system for most of its inhabitants. Those they did get formal education were wealthy enough to afford it at one of the major cities.

"You're trying to figure out what happened to our other crops by looking at the soil balance?"

"Yes, I'm also going to test for contaminants as well. There are some elements that will kill plants if they are present." Holly nodded as she thought this over,

"You're suspecting something new in the soil because it just started happening?"

"Yes, it's highly likely though not the only possibility." He smiled, "As I said before I need to research all this because I'm not a farmer. I have only grown a few plants in the past and not in the ground."

"Potted plants?" Granity asked for clarification,

"Raised bed actually. It uses per-fertilized soil that is already balanced." he saw Granity nod at this, "I will have to order a testing kit though, I doubt our local guys have one this time of year. It should help assess the soil PH and what nutrients it might be lacking." Granity decided to divert Holly before she fussed over him spending money,

"Did you finish your video?"

"Yes, I did indeed. You'll get to see it tomorrow with the others." He saw her smile at this,

"Sounds fun, though we may have to tie up Colt if she gets too rambunctious." They all laughed a this knowing full well how bouncy she was,

"Genki, those cakes look amazing, I look forward to trying them." Holly smiled, defiantly wanting to try some.

"Thanks, let me know if you want the recipe. I'll be happy to pass it along." She nodded to him,

"We both need to get going but I want to change your bandage first." He nodded, he down sized his screen then hit a button on his monitor pausing what he was doing.

---

Holly walked back out into the kitchen with Genki following, he grabbed the bowl from the other night and a new cloth. Filling the bowl with warm water he placed it on the table and took a seat. Granity sat across from him took his free hand. He glanced to her questioningly,

"Squeeze my hand if you need."

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't don't worry." He nodded, Holly walked over having cleansed her hands. Slowly she began to unwrap his arm, he hissed as the bandage was pulled. Grunting he spoke to her through the pain,

"You may have to loosen it up with some water. I think it's stuck." Holly nodded, taking the wet cloth she applied it to the stuck gauze, slowly it came loose. His grip on Granity tightened as he dealt with his pain. Holly was careful but though in her cleaning of his wound. Granity's eyes showed concern as she saw its full extent. She had heard it was bad from Tiger but hadn't realized it was this bad. After Holly finished cleaning it she gave him a bit to recover, she knew this was excruciating for him even if he never cried out. She brought the ointment over and began to slowly apply it, giving it time to soak in before she applied the next bandage. Once she had him all bandaged up she moved to gently rub his back. He slowly relaxed, "Thank you Holly, Granity."

"You're welcome it's the least I could do." Granity smiled to him, "you look tense still." she observed,

"I'll be fine; I will relax later tonight before bed." Granity rose and walked behind him; she gently placed her hands on his shoulders and began to give him a massage. Genki had stiffened initially but soon relaxed, she had definitely caught him off guard. * So he is sensitive to touch huh? *

"I don't think merely relaxing would get rid of these knots in your muscles." Her hands continued to move purposely, Genki sighed and leaned forward for her, removing the chair from the equation. "Lean onto the table." She spoke softly in his ear, it made him shiver slightly. He obeyed resting his head on his arms. She smirked noticing the reaction from him but didn't say anything. She glanced to Holly who gave her a look of intrigue and confusion. * She must have noticed his reaction as well. Perhaps he does get aroused; he just internalizes it to keep from being embarrassed. This will be interesting to test how he reacts to me in the next few weeks. I'm a bit more observant that Holly when it comes to more intimate things; maybe I can figure out what he's up to. * What Granity couldn't see was that he was struggling not to moan during the massage. He hadn't felt anything this good in a long time; he didn't visit massage parlors because he would often embarrass himself.

* Damn this feels so good…. It's hard not to vocalize what I'm feeling. If Holly wasn't here I might let it out but I seriously don't need to be moaning in pleasure with her here. She already thinks I'm weird as it is. * When Granity found a tender knot by his spine he hissed slightly, he felt her hands skillfully assessing the knot gently.

"Do you need me to move?" Came his muffled voice when she pressed on it again.

"Yes, I need you to relax that area of your back." Genki pulled back,

"Let me switch positions then." He got up then flipped the chair around sitting in it backwards. "Will this work?" Granity felt the area again,

"Yes it's a bit more relaxed now. This one might hurt at first, it's very tight." Genki felt her hands working the knot again, he hissed again but tried to remain still and relaxed. Finally it released, he let go a sigh; glad it had finally let go. Granity massaged his whole back making sure he felt better as he leaned against the chair back. "There you go."

"Thanks, I feel much better."

"You defiantly had a lot of stress built up. If you need another massage just ask, I don't mind helping you relax." He nodded as he stood up; Granity smirked and leaned forward whispering hotly into his ear, "Besides it's not every day that I get to massage a muscular hunk like you, it was a real pleasure for me." She pulled back to see his reaction and wasn't disappointed. He looked both stunned and embarrassed, his cheeks tinted slightly. He cleared his throat and shook off the reaction quickly, but it had been there long enough for her to notice. She glanced at Holly who also looked stunned but obviously because of what she had managed to achieve and not what Granity had said. Holly hadn't heard her words she had only seen the results.

"I'll keep that in mind for later Granity. Thank you for helping with both my pain and stress." He had adopted a neutral tone now but it only made her chuckle. He turned his attention to Holly who looked confused, "I'll jump across just after 5 pm, that way I can arrive early enough to show you all the machine video before the festival starts. Can you have Tiger waiting for me?" Holly nodded,

"Yes, I can make sure he is there. Are you sure you can jump without a problem?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me." He paused a moment, "do you want me to bring my medical kit for later or do you want to jump in the morning?" Holly seemed to think about it for a moment,

"I'll jump in the morning." He nodded,

"Alright, let's call the others and let them know you are on your way back." Granity nodded, agreeing that it was best to have an escort. Holly walked to the receiver and made the call once done they would wait ten minutes. Holly looked to where Genki was suddenly remembering something,

"Genki did you find the conversion rate for the gold?"

"Yeah, I figured I'd tell everyone at once. My assessment was right though."

"So it is worth more?"

"Yes, I'll explain everything tomorrow." She nodded, "Holly I can't say for sure but watch out for Hare… he bought that wine for a reason. You know how mischievous he can be when it comes to pranks." Holly nodded; Granity too looked thoughtful and concerned.

"We will keep an eye on him." He smiled, soon the time arrived and he reactivated the portal. He let Granity watch this time so she would know how it worked on his side as well.

"Granity just so you know when it's open from your world to this one it requires my timing my button press with the pedestal button. On the way back it doesn't seem to require it though."

"That seems strange…"

"It is, I have a few theories on how it actually works but I'm not certain of anything on it. I may be able to rig up something for you guys to activate it without me doing anything on my side."

"Genki we don't need to show up unannounced…" Holly stated,

"I was thinking in case of emergencies actually."

"We'll discuss it later. Make sure you get some rest. No doubt you'll be required to dance." Granity smirked at him as he raised a brow at that.

"I'll be rested and awake don't worry." Soon the gate opened, Holly hesitated a moment before jumping in. "Give her a minute to get out of the way." Granity nodded, waiting before jumping across herself. He smiled as he closed the gate seeing them on the other side briefly safe and sound before the screen went black. He was glad to see Granity had returned to her normal form as predicted. Powering off the machine he sighed relaxing at bit more now that they couldn't see the stress he was carrying. Granity had relaxed his body but not his mind. He rose and walked to the kitchen to tell the others they had made it across safely. After receiving the thanks from Holly's father Genki headed upstairs to a room Holly had not seen. He removed all but his boxers and moved to the center of the room. Slowly he began to do some yoga trying to relax his mind and spirit. Eventually he sat down lotus style and began to meditate. He would do this until he felt a release; otherwise he was libel to get moody with people. He would prepare for his jump across in the morning before bed but right now his mind needed rest.

---

Holly returned to find Colt and Suezo going at it, she sighed at this now extremely grateful that Granity had helped her relax before their return. The trip back with Tiger had been very quiet, Holly had told Tiger Genki's message and he had readily agreed to meet him at the appointed time. Hare noticed the new blade Holly carried; it confused him to see such a decorative blade which wasn't her style at all.

"Holly how'd everything go?"

"Akame said she'd have my blade done in a few days. Genki seems to have gotten the conversion done on his side for our golds to his yen. He said he'd talk to everyone about it when he comes across." Hare nodded then pointed at the blade she carried.

"What about that dagger though?"

"Genki loaned this to me just in case we have another run in with the bandits. He said he wanted to make sure I was safe." Colt had overheard and was intrigued now; she looked at the blade as Holly took it off her belt.

"Holly can I look at it a moment?" Holly nodded and let Colt draw it. She looked it over before putting it away then giving it back. "It's defiantly well-made though very decorative…"

"Genki told me it was his grandfather's from when he was an officer in the royal navy. He said it kept his grandfather safe and it would do the same for me." Holly's father looked intrigued now and spoke carefully,

"I take it his grandfather is no longer around?" Holly nodded,

"Unfortunately he died some time ago, he didn't say when but he was very close to his grandfather." Suezo seemed surprised by this news then adopted a serious tone.

"I'm surprised he let you borrow that if that's the case."

"I was unsure of why he did so as well Suezo but he insisted upon it. I think it was his way of showing me that he not only trusts me with it but that he cares. He sees all of us as family; he's very close to all of us." Yosho decided to probe a bit more now, he was curious about Genki's family.

"Holly, has Genki told you much about his family?" She glanced to her father knowing he was probing again, she suspected he cared for Genki as an adoptive son.

"He has told me some things yes." Mocchi seemed excited to hear about this,

"Really Chi?"

"Can you tell us a little about his standing with them?"

"You're worried about him?" She challenged her father's line of thinking causing him to sweat drop. His daughter knew him well, so he just nodded. She sighed, thinking over what she had learned,

"I don't know what he'd like me to share about his relationship with his family members. I will leave out specifics but I do know he is very close to his parents; they seem to have a strong bond. He has a rocky relationship with his sister; she seems to be the trouble maker of the family. I overheard him arguing with her while I was visiting though I don't know what was said but I can say he was livid with her. As for his brother… he seems to have a… challenging relationship with him. His brother has some issues to work through and Genki has tried to help. From what I heard his brother has been ignoring the help and not really dealing with things well. It seems to frustrate Genki but he doesn't seem willing to give up on his brother just yet. The only thing he stated for certain was that there is always drama in his family." Holly knew Genki might be angry again if she relieved everything, Granity understood what Holly was doing and decided to support her if the others probed further.

"I get the impression you know more then you are saying." Her father was as observant as ever, she shook her head.

"It's not my place to say the rest, if you want to know then ask him yourself." Holly's eyes told him she wouldn't budge on this and he nodded his understanding. Colt noticed the book Holly pulled from her bag now,

"Holly did he give you that?"

"Yes he did." Holly let Colt look it over,

"This seems very complex…"

"I'm not sure if I'll understand it or not but he wanted me to give it a try."

"Any reason why?" Her father was curious now,

"Genki wants to discuss some things with me but he wasn't sure if I would understand them. So he decided that maybe if I read this book I would have a rough understanding of what he wants to discuss. He said it would help to have at least some knowledge beforehand as things could get very confusing without it."

"So what is psychology?" Colt seemed very curious now, though she had skimmed the book it seemed all over the place to her.

"He said it was the study of the human mind and how it works." Holly shrugged still uncertain of it.

"Damn I knew he was smart…"

"He seems to be able to learn rapidly but he has a lot of resources to learn from" Granity spoke now giving Holly a break.

"Oh?" Hare looked intrigued, "what resources?"

"Well for one he has a library in his home. I was able to see it before we left. It's fairly sizable and had plenty of different topics. But I also noticed he had one of his machines that was able look up information as well. He was reading up on how to balance and test soil for planting crops before we jumped back." Holly's father looked impressed,

"I take it he heard about our vegetable garden then?"

"Yes, I mentioned it the other night, he figured out we need supplies. Speaking of, were you able to complete the list Hare?" Hare nodded,

"Yes, it's all done now. Just waiting for you to double check it." Holly nodded her confirmation that she would do so.

"So the kid has money huh? Most people don't own a library even a small one." Tiger broke the silence, everyone was thinking it. Holly and Granity exchanged a glance before Holly spoke again,

"He is well off yes; I'm not certain how wealthy he is." Hare looked thoughtful now, "He definitely has plenty of food and other supplies. I haven't seen him lacking anything." Granity now entered in to the conversation again.

"He has a nice home as well, it's pretty large actually. He hasn't said anything about money but I get the impression that he isn't worried about it at all." Yosho seemed to ponder something a moment before he asked his daughter a question,

"Holly did he or this blacksmith mention the price of your dagger?" Holly shook her head,

"No, I get the impression they have an agreement already. Neither mentioned it, nor did he mention what I would owe him. It didn't occur to me at the time actually to even ask Akame about it."

"That's strange…" Tiger mumbled, Hare shook his head.

"Well it's obvious to me what he's up to. He knows the price here for a weapon and what other things cost. If he is as well off as we believe I think he's trying to remove the strain on us by paying for it. He did say he had extra money set aside but never said how much it was. It's possible he spoke to Akame beforehand and told her not to mention the blade price."

"As much as I hate it, Hare is right. He wants to help us that is for certain. I doubt we will know exactly how much he spends helping us." Yosho now looked to his daughter wondering if she would ever talk to the boy about being together. * At least I know she'd be well taken care of… still neither of them seem willing to try… I am really beginning to wonder what that argument was about all those years ago.* Granity decided to change the subject back to what they needed to get done.

"Alright, so what do we still need to finish before tonight?" The boys stared at her a moment before Hare took over.

"Well the dinner will need preparing but we got the decorations up, the fire pit has plenty of logs to keep it going. I think we got everything else done as well." Holly and Granity nodded to each other, and then walked off towards the kitchen knowing it'd be a long day. Holly had been awake a lot longer than the others; her night would be extremely tiring.

---

Genki managed to get some sleep though it was only a short nap. His meditation had helped a great deal with his stress, he certainly felt a lot better. He made his coffee and drank two cups to wake himself back up. He grabbed his bag; it was filled with everything he needed to bring, including his cakes. As he waited for the appropriate time to arrive to jump, he thought about what Granity had done earlier. * Wasn't ready for her to be that playful. I know she was joking but still it caught me off guard. I haven't been off balance like that in a long time, guess I got used to Akame's brand of embarrassment. I'll have to be more careful and feel things out with Granity. I wonder how she will react if I moan during a massage? She might take it as a compliment.* he snorted thinking of how she had almost seductively spoke to him, * who knew she'd be that bold. She's never shown me this side of her before; I'll have to be respectful of her trust. Though if she keeps that behavior up she is probably going to arouse me eventually. It might be better to speak to her about it before she manages it. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable with our relationship. Whatever that relationship may actually be… * He was still confused on the whole bonding thing, he got the impression she want to bed him like she did Holly but he wasn't entirely sure. He wouldn't jump to conclusions though; he would wait for her to guide him to that if that's truly what she wanted. * It's a damn good thing Akame and I were heavy into the whole discipline side of things. Otherwise I might have more control issues. I know Pixie's have an allure to them but I don't know if it's something they activate on purpose or not. If it is subconscious then it might prove problematic even with my disciplined control. * He smiled as he realized Granity might just be able to understand him, though he was doubtful Holly could. She had way too much trouble just talking about normal sex; there was no way she would get into the kinkier side of things enough to truly understand. * I wonder how open Granity actually is to new things? Guess we shall see as we get to know each other. * As the time arrived he put his bag on carefully and fired up his side of the portal. Once open he jumped a crossed, easily landing without hurting himself further. When he walked of the platform he saw Tiger waiting for him.

"Right on time kid." Tiger grinned at him,

"I try to be, I hope things have been quiet."

"They have, the bandits seem to have left the area for now. Probably decided it was too dangerous after Holly and Colt killed their leader." Genki nodded as he walked along side Tiger.

"Sounds wise on their part." Tiger decided to ask something that was bothering him,

"Genki how much will Holly's blade cost?" Genki glanced over at him; he saw the wolf monster watching him intently.

"Why do you want to know Tiger?"

"I'm curious." Genki sighed,

"It's around 30,000 yen; don't worry about the price though." Tiger tilted his head, "You'll understand when I tell you all about the conversion rate." Tiger looked even more confused now,

"Kid you are seriously confusing sometimes."

"It will make sense soon. Besides, this is a gift for Holly. I wasn't able to be there for her birthday this year, and though we spoke I still felt bad for missing it. Think of it as a late birthday gift." Tiger shook his head,

"Genki you know she understood you had to work. That wasn't your fault."

"Perhaps but if I hadn't be so preoccupied I could have taken the day off."

"Holly would never want you to go out of your way for her."

"That may be true Tiger but I believe she deserves to be appreciated. She does a lot for everyone and never asks for anything in return. I want to do this for her." Tiger smirked,

"I won't say anything, you can tell her yourself." Genki nodded as they walked up to the house.

---

Mocchi was the first to spot them and run over to Genki, he was careful not to hurt Genki's arm when he hugged him. Yosho noticed the large bandage, he had heard about the burn the young man had received. He noticed Genki was careful with his arm making sure to not stress it as he did things.

"Hey guys, everything going well?"

"Yep we are already chi!" Genki chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Glad to hear it." He saw Colt looking a little sheepish, "I'm not mad at you Colt."

"I wasn't sure how you felt after the other night…" Genki sighed,

"I was a little annoyed with you but not angry. Let's just move past that alright?" She nodded making the rest of the group smile. Holly smiled as she walked out of the house with Granity in tow. She had already spoken to Colt, apparently the girl need to hear it from Genki though to believe her. Genki pulled his pack off and set it down careful of his wound. He pulled something out, "Colt, come here please." Colt looked curious and walked forward, Genki pulled the small camera he had with him out and gave it to her. She looked it over not sure what to make of it. He pushed the button on top and the camera sprang to life, the lens opening and adjusting outward. "I told you I'd bring you a camera, this way you can photograph what you see in the ruins. It runs off battery power; I have a solar charger for it so its battery can be recharged. The lens will auto adjust for you, to take a photo hit this button. I will get a hold of a way for you to store and print out photos later. For now it will store them internally as data." Colt looked shocked,

"So it doesn't need film?"

"No as long as it has space in its memory banks it will continue to store photos. There are other settings; I brought the manual for it with me so you can learn those as well. Some are for long shots other for close range. It had a built in flash for dark areas as well."

"So you're just giving this to me."

"Yes, it's an older camera I haven't used in a while. I was planning on getting rid of it anyway. Figured I might as well give it to someone who really needs it." He shrugged, Colt had a delayed reaction but suddenly Genki found himself pulled into a tight hug. He had just enough time to get his arm out of the way before she had grabbed him. He grunted as she knocked the wind out of him.

"OH MY PHOENIX! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" she bounced up and down while holding onto him, Genki managed to grab hold of her and held her still.

"I'm glad you like it Colt but you don't have to strangle me to prove it." He managed to state while gasping for air.

"Oh?!" she released him, as he took in a deep breath trying to recover. He felt a little light headed after being half strangled by her hug. Granity helped Genki recover, checking on him as Holly calmed Colt down. * Dear Kami she is strong… wasn't expecting that. * Hare looked on sympathetically; he had dealt with this on more than one occasion. When Genki recovered he pulled the charger and manual from his pack and handed it to Colt. Colt squealed and ran off to her iron bird with it.

"Well you made her happy…." Hare watched her skipping away.

"Apparently so…." Genki shook his head,

"So are cameras cheap or something?"

"Those point and shot ones are yes. My new one was rather pricey but has more abilities than a basic camera. It even has an IR mode."

"IR?"

"Inferred, it uses special light to see in really dark locations. It can't see in color while using it but it can see in a pitch black room. Or in my case a cave, as that was why I bought it." He smiled, he carefully pulled out the cakes he had made, and Holly walked over and took them from him.

"I'll put these inside with our stuff." He nodded; he then pulled out his laptop. He had already uploaded the video to it. Colt came back and noticed the device immediately,

"What's that?"

"This is my laptop; it's a small computer that's portable." He placed it down and opened it up, pressing the button he let it boot up. Colt watched fascinated as the screen changed,

"Can you read what it was doing?"

"No, that was a self-test, if it finds a problem it will pause the screen so I can see it." Holly walked around so she could see the screen, when the lock screen came up he pressed a button. I brought up a box asking for the password. He typed it in and pressed enter.

"Was that code?"

"No just a password. It's set to my native language Colt." Soon the desktop loaded and he used the touch pad to double click the file. After a few seconds the computer loaded up the corresponding program to open it and the file also loaded. "Alright, I tried to make the video easy to follow but I can clarify anything that confuses you if needed." He saw the group nod though they looked confused already.

"So is that the machine?" Hare asked intrigued by how it looked.

"Yes, that's what it looks like. The one in the video will be missing some covers so you can see its internal workings." He then ran the video; they could see his coworker log into the computer. After it logged in it ran through a series of checks including lighting up all the lights. "The computer is testing the machine, which includes the lights and all lines of communication. Once it loads we tell it what we want it to do. The first test is called a fan sort test; it basically forces the machine to use all of its gates at once. It's a form of stress test since normal operation won't require all gates to be active at the same time." They saw the gates activate and mail shaped cards snap into each packet simultaneously. They also saw it sort top to bottom. Once done they saw a new set of cards being added to the machine. These cards flashed on screen for them to see in greater detail. "This card tests the ID tag reader; it uses florescent ink on the back of the mail piece. This one is the post net code, it has less information that the ID tag but can also be used by the machine to sort the mail. If it has neither of these then it reads that actual address using a camera. If it can't read it, it will reject it." The next image showed the ID tag reader head and the camera, "That ID tag reader, this is the camera. In order to do a proper test at least 1000 mail pieces need to be sorted. It gives a good ratio of how well it's reading. In our case we ran 5000 pieces, you'll see us grab mail from the machine pockets and run it back in order to make the 5000 mark." The machine fired up, first flashing lights and beeping, next the belts fired up. The camera focused on the feeder as the opening was closed and the machine began to rapidly feed mail. The camera moved the reader module where the gates were located; they could see the gates rapidly changing positions. Soon it slowed down and they could see the reader camera flash as the letter moved around the wheels through the belt system until the gates changed positions to direct it to the correct area. Once normal speed resumed the camera moved to the pockets where the mail was slotting into its destination. After the 5000 was met they could see a black bar on screen with a clear 3 next to it.

"What does that mean?" Colt pointed it out.

"Those were mechanical rejects; we found 3 defective cards that had somehow been damaged. It couldn't quite sort them so it put them in the reject pile."

"Is that the speed?"

"Yes, it ran at 43,000 letters per hour. That was the target speed. The computer estimates it by extrapolating its current numbers."

"How? I mean it seems to be able to think for its self…"

"That's because it can Colt. It has a simplistic AI or Artificial Intelligence. It can do calculations all on its own without any extra input." Genki smiled to her as she looked extremely surprised,

"So it can actually think for its self?"

"Yes that's what we crated it to do, though it has limits. That's why it can read and make decisions all on its own." He down sized the video and pulled up another program. He then opened a specific tab, what they saw was a page of code. "This is the code the machine speaks. I wrote this small program to show you how it works. If you see this decision tree here" He pointed to it on screen, Colt looked it over and smiled.

"It's asking if the value is greater is that 1 correct?"

"Yes, can you follow its logic?" She pointed to the next line down,

"If it greater than 1 then it does this?"

"Yes, and if it's not?"

"It goes to this line?"

"Yes."

"This is a little easier than I thought it'd be to follow…" He chuckled,

"Most programming is about defining variables and making the machine ask the correct questions. It will only do what you program it to do. Mind there are occasions where a weird variable or a mistake in the code with make it act strange and do something unexpected. But a good programmer can find these mistakes." He saw them all nod, "The machine that sorts mail is asking a lot of questions all at once. It's asking where that mail piece is, where should it be going, which gate needs to fire and when to get it there. Most of these are structured as if then or else questions though some are true and false." He smiled to Mocchi as he flipped tabs back and complied the small program. "Mocchi come here." He did so and sat on Genki's lap, "Use the touch pad to move the pointer, then click were you want to put your mark. You get to place tic-tac-toe against the computer."

"OK chi." they watched as Mocchi played and the computer responded.

"This is amazing…" Hare said at length,

"It can play chess too if you want to try Hare. Don't be surprised if you lose though. I have yet to beat this thing on the higher difficulty setting. It thinks too far in advance for me." Hare gave him a look that told him he didn't quite believe him.

"Are you serious?"

"I am."

"This I have got to see…." Mocchi finished a few games almost losing when the computer did a move he hadn't expected.

"This is fun chi!"

"Hare you want to try?" Hare nodded. He got out of that program and brought up the chess program. It was still set to expert difficulty so he started a new game. "There you go, give it a shot." He got out of the way as Hare began to play. He could see the others now understood things much better.

"So kid is this like the games you play?"

"No, mine are far more advanced than a simple chess game. I'll show you some later, but we don't have enough time for those right now." Yosho decided to probe the young man a bit now,

"So that code is what you write for your job correct?"

"Yes, that's what my main task is. We do debugging and troubleshooting as well of code that's not working properly." He nodded,

"That seems like a very skilled job then. Definitely not something you can just jump into. I can understand now why you had such a hard time describing it to us."

"I had to spend 4 years in school to learn how to code like that. So yes it is a highly skilled trade, though there is no better teacher then experience. Sometimes different code types interact strangely together. You won't read about such reactions but you can see it when you force them to work together. There are at least six main different codes for machines, not all of them mesh well together. Knowing which ones to use together really comes from experience with each code. My team has specialists, each of us specializes in one code but know the others." Yosho nodded as if something had been confirmed for him, he then looked Genki in the eye as he spoke,

"I imagine it pays very well then." It wasn't a question so much as a statement, Genki's eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to figure out Yosho's motives, when Genki finally responded the others all seemed to have noticed the tension between the two men.

"It does yes, though that was not why I went into programming or why I chose it as my occupation." Yosho smiled,

"Why did you choose it?"

"I wanted to make games, I haven't found an opening to get into that field but this is just as fulfilling. I enjoy a good challenge and each program has its own unique challenges."

"So you would have chosen it regardless of the pay involved?"

"Yes, money has never been a main motivation for anything I do." Yosho chuckled, and then gave the confused young man a smile.

"Sounds like you have found something worth doing in life then. That's good. Far too many worry about money and never enjoy themselves."

"I have already seen how destructive that path can be, I didn't need to experience it to know I wanted to avoid it." Genki didn't elaborate anymore but Yosho had seen the look in his eyes that he knew hardship and had seen a lot more than the others knew. The rest of the gang had question marks floating around them unsure of what had just happened. Hare shook off the weird conversation and went back to his game, while Tiger decided to ask a question of his own.

"So kid, by what you just said you are pretty well off then financially?" Genki turned his attention to the wolf monster,

"I am yes, why do you ask?" * What is will all the financial questions? Seriously none of them usually care about money. *

"I think I understand now why you are helping so much and why you aren't worried about what you will spend." Genki sighed, and shook his head.

"It isn't just that Tiger; I told you before you would understand better when I told you the conversion rate." Before anyone could ask about that they heard Hare cussing at the computer.

"I think this thing cheats!" Genki chuckled,

"Hare don't be a sore loser; I told you it would beat you."

"It seriously pulled a move out of nowhere!"

"It does that. When on that difficulty level it will think 6 to 8 moves ahead. It makes it extremely challenging. You lasted quite a while against it though, so you did extremely well."

"6 to 8 moves ahead?" Hare cried then his ears drooped as he sighed, the others laughed at him as he pouted. Holly decided to bring the topic back to where it was heading, she had wanted to know that answer for a while now.

"So what is the conversion rate Genki?" Holly asked. Genki smiled to her,

"My suspicion was correct; your currency is worth more than my own. Each gold is about 28 grams in weight and it's made of 18 karat gold. That means each one is worth approximately 134,000 yen."

"WHAT!?" The gang all yelled looking stunned, Hare was the first to recover asking for clarification.

"Are… you serious right now?!"

"I am; I wouldn't lie about something like this." Holly felt faint; Granity had grabbed hold of her to steady her. Granity smiled, she had figured he wasn't worried about money though this wasn't the reason she imagined. * Even if they had been worthless to him he still would help us. It's the way he is. * She glanced to Holly as she slowly recovered, * though I'm betting Holly never thought our currency would be so valuable. * Golem was currently waving his hand in front of Suezo who remained frozen in shock. Tiger shook off his stunned look before softly saying,

"That's why you weren't concerned…"

"I told you it would make sense. Based on what you gave me before Hare, the supplies you need for the village will already be covered. That's why I didn't accept any more money from you all. I wanted to be sure of the conversion rate before I accepted anything else." Yosho hadn't realized their currency rates were so different. In fact he hadn't given it much thought at all.

"Genki, why is our currency worth more?" Genki glanced over at the older man seeing his confusion,

"As I told Hare before it's because it's actually made of gold. The currency in my world, well for most countries, is not made of gold. It's made from paper that holds value simply because the government says it has value. Currency value is based on many things but each country in my world has a different value rating. For example it takes roughly 108 yen to equal 1 dollar of value in the United States. Believe me things get complicated fast between countries due to exchange rates being so vastly different. I've dealt with some of the exchange rates before when I did some traveling but it's not something that happened very often."

"Why not use gold then?" Colt asked still confused by the whole matter.

"We did at one point. It changed later because of the scarcity of gold. Gold is only valuable because it's rare after all. So as inflation created problems with the economy they removed the gold standard in favor of this new currency." He shrugged, "this happened before my time so I'm not sure of the circumstances surrounding the decision. Each country seems to have phased out gold at different time periods throughout history."

"When did it phase out in your country?"

"In the 1930's I think, not positive on that but it's an educated guess on my part. Based on what was happening at the time in the world."

"What was happening?"

"The great depression in the US, it wiped out their economy entirely and hurt several other countries. It was also between the two world wars. A lot of the weird policy changes happened then and I know we didn't have the gold standard after the Second World War. To me it makes sense that it disappeared before the war not after."

"Why would that make sense kid?"

"Because we lost that war, that's why. My country got involved and got their ass kicked by the US. It was foolish on our part to begin with but it did devastate our country enough that we wouldn't have pulled the gold standard after the war. We didn't have the resources to be messing with the economy by then." He shrugged, though they all seemed unsure of how to deal with this new information. "It should mention both wars in the one history books I gave you Hare."

"Genki, you said you grandfather was a navy officer in a war right?" Holly asked tentatively. Genki turned his attention to her and nodded,

"Yes, he was a high ranking officer for the royal navy in the second world war."

"Did he say why he was involved?" Holly seemed unsure of how touchy this subject might be; Genki chuckled catching the group off guard.

"Well now I know you didn't read either of those books if you are asking that question. He was involved because he was drafted by the government, he was given no choice. You either fought for your country or you were imprisoned for treason. Sometimes executions took place as well. You did not tell the emperor you were not going to fight, plus there was the whole family honor thing at play at the time as well. Dishonorable acts often resulted in entire families being labeled as out casts." He shrugged again, "The US did a similar thing; it also drafted people for war. It's pretty common actually." He could tell Holly wasn't sure how to respond to his indifference on the matter.

"So he was forced to fight?" Tiger said at length,

"Yes. He just happened to be a good enough leader to progress up the ranks. He received several Medals of Honor for what he was able to accomplish. Even if we ultimately lost, he still saved as many lives as he could. Plus he was imprisoned for a while anyway after the US conquered us. He was only released after the war was over."

"Wait you were conquered?" Colt looked confused,

"That was over 70 years ago Colt. The US helped us rebuild after the war and has been a close ally since." He could see the group wasn't sure how to deal with this new information but he was sure the topic would come up again. Colt seemed to be taking notes on all this.

"I'd definitely be interested in that book Hare has. Your world sounds fascinating."

"Don't you mean scary?" Suezo stated,

"No, it's just different. It's not like we haven't had wars here in the past." Colt calmly stated as she finished her notes. Genki chuckled, at their interaction.

"Well I'm sure you can look through it later. If you have anything specific you need information on then let me know." She grinned at him and nodded her confirmation that she definitely would be letting him know.

---

He glanced to his watch and noticed the time, "Guys what time are we supposed to be at the gathering place?"

"Just before 6 o'clock." Holly replied automatically,

"Well it's about ten till right now." Holly nodded, and then glanced to the others. Hare, Granity, Colt, and Holly all walked into the house the gather things. Genki put his stuff away and placed his pack inside Holly's home. He then grabbed the cakes he had brought from where Holly had placed them. He followed the others to where they were supposed to meet. He noticed the other villagers smiled to him as he walked over and placed his food down. There was a huge bonfire already roaring, some meat cooking by it. He could see the villagers had definitely wanted to make this as fun as possible. He could see a few instruments sitting nearby; it would be a rare night for him hearing their music. * Though I suppose they have never heard mine… * he smiled to the villagers as they acknowledged him. He returned to where Holly and Granity had set up the blanket for their group. Golem already had his rocks and looked to be all set for his night. Genki had only attended a few festivals in the past, but he knew everyone enjoyed them. He settled down next to Granity and Holly as they waited for the village elder to start the festival. Once the elder arrived and dedicated the festival everyone grabbed some chow. Genki hung back letting the others get theirs first. He was always patient when it came to things like this and he wanted to make sure everyone who needed it had their fill. After all he had plenty of food at home; the village had been through a hard year. He chatted with various people after he had eaten; everyone always enjoyed talking with him it seemed. Genki noticed a few of the women whispering and grew suspicious, whispering while looking at him usually meant he'd either be annoyed or unsure of how to deal with what they threw his way. Holly seemed to notice as well,

"Genki… we have a question for you." Two of the women came forward, the older lady speaking in this case.

"Yes?"

"Did your wife make those cakes?" Genki was taken aback a moment, he then shook his head chuckling, noting that Holly looked amused now.

"No, I did. I'm not married." Both women seemed unsure of what to say so he decided to add, "My mother taught me when I was young. I've always enjoyed cooking." He could see they were still a little unsure, one of the elder ladies who overheard cackled at them.

"See I told you he's resourceful, but you never believe me." Genki smiled kindly to the grandmotherly woman. One of the boys who had overheard this whole thing blurted out,

"Why would that be resourceful? That's not exactly a manly thing to be doing." The boy huffed seemingly offended that cooking was part of being resourceful. His mother immediately snapped at him, "

"Thomas you are being rude!" Genki chuckled at this and waved the mother off.

"So you think cooking isn't manly huh?" He walked up to the boy who stood his ground and glared at Genki. * He's got guts that's for sure. *

"That's right!"

"What about all those famous chefs? Are they not manly because they cook?" The boy scoffed,

"They are just sissy's"

"Thomas!" his mother was appalled at his behavior but Genki again waved her off.

"Ok, then what do you see as manly then?" Genki asked raising a brow at the boys glare,

"Hunting, fishing, camping, stuff like that." The boy replied somewhat annoyed with this whole thing.

"Alright, so are you telling me you never cook fish while camping? Or are you eating it raw?"

"Don't be gross you can't eat fish raw!"

"Then you are cooking it."

"That's different!" The boy yelled panicking a bit now,

"How is it different?" Genki probed further,

"It just is."

"I see, well let me tell you something young man. There is no difference, you want to eat you learn to cook. It's as simple as that."

"How would a sissy like you know? My dad could beat you any day!"

"Oh? You think I don't have strength just because I can cook? Those two skills are not at all related."

"You're just a chicken." Genki noticed the boy's father nearby; he was frowning and looked rather upset with his son. Genki grinned and decided to prove a point.

"Anton, would you be willing to have a friendly wrestling match?" Anton looked shocked at the suggestion,

"What about your arm? I heard you were hurt badly."

"I'll be fine as long as you don't grab the wound." Genki met the older man's gaze telling him silently he was going to teach his son something. Anton nodded, Genki pointed to the open field and the pair walked over there. Holly gave Genki a look that said he was being stupid but he ignored her. Thomas was so sure his father would win and prove this guy was a sissy, what he didn't know was that strength was not something you can see in a person. The two men faced off, Genki had his left arm pulled back so that it was out of the way of their first clash. Everyone was watching this exchanged, it made it all the more rewarding for Genki. Soon Anton ran at him, Genki met him in the clash and didn't even budge from where he stood, with rapid reflexes Genki shoved the man back then grabbed him and lifted him up. Anton soon found himself flipped over with Genki pinned him to the ground. Once Genki had proved his point he let Anton up and helped him to his feet.

"Wow you pack a punch Genki, didn't realize just how strong you were till now."

"I'm just well-toned is all." Genki smiled, Thomas looked like his world had shattered.

"That can't be…" Genki walked up to Thomas and knelt down to the boy's level to look him in the eye.

"Not everything is black and white Thomas. Being a man is not about doing manly things it's about what's in here." He tapped on the boy's chest right over his heart. "You remind me of my little brother, always focusing on the wrong things. What matters is if you are happy with who you are, it's not about what other people think." He ruffled the boys hair, "You will understand better as you get older but for now just know that there are very few things in life that only a man or only a woman can do."

"Just cause you beat Moo doesn't mean you're not a sissy…" the boy mumbled, his mother looked like she was about to strangle her son.

"Do you know what true courage is Thomas?" Genki challenged, the boy looked annoyed.

"Not being a coward and fighting to win." Genki chuckled at the boy and smiled,

"No, winning has nothing to do with courage." The boy glared at him,

"Then what is it smart guy?"

"True courage is doing something you know you will likely fail at but you do it anyway because it's the right thing to do. It is possible to win with courage yes but that is a byproduct of true courage not the actual goal." The boy seemed at a loss for words now, "I don't care if you believe that I'm a sissy, that's your choice. I will always be true to who I am, other people's opinions I'm not concerned about." The boy looked startled now, "You are only going to limit yourself in the long run with that narrow way of thinking about tasks as you get older. I would implore you to reconsider how you see things, not everything is as it first appears." He smiled to the boy then looked to his mother and gave her a wink; she nodded and smiled in return. Genki then took his leave deciding to get something to drink. He had a feeling that boy would still be in trouble later, but he hoped he had brought some understanding to him nonetheless.

---

Holly had followed him over,

"Was that really necessary?" her voice was soft, he met her gaze as he got some tea.

"It was. I was trying to prove a point to him. Sometimes boys his age get too fixated on being a man and don't realize they are only showing just how childish they truly are."

"I hope it works then. I won't claim to know how boys think. I am worried about your arm though."

"Its fine Holly, I didn't strain it or anything. I was using my right arm for the most part anyway."

"I will say you surprised me. I wasn't aware you were that strong." She spoke softly to him,

"I don't use my strength much but I do try to keep in shape despite my job." He saw her nod as he finished his tea. He heard the music starting and smiled, "it's been a long time since I've heard any music from here." Holly glanced over at him, * I guess he doesn't get time to relax much around here… come to think of it we don't know much about his worlds music. *

"That's true." She shifted her attention to the musicians now, "Though we have never heard music from your world."

"I suppose you haven't, perhaps we can remedy that next time you visit?"

"Only if it's not too much trouble…"

"I have recordings Holly, all I have to do is play some for you. It's not trouble at all." Holly gave him a confused glance but left it alone. She figured he would show her what he meant later. He saw several of the other couples start dancing; he had seen several dances in the monster world before but only knew a couple of them really well. This one was similar to one he knew and as he watched he was noting the differences.

"Looks like Hare hit the wine already…" Holly spoke in an annoyed tone, Genki chuckled seeing the rabbit stumbling around.

"Let's just hope Suezo doesn't do so." Genki could see Holly roll her eyes,

"If he does I'm locking him the barn for the night." Genki laughed at this, he knew how bad the eyeball monster could get when he was drunk.

"I wouldn't blame you at all." Genki found the monster in question send out death glares to some of the young men of the village. * Is he seriously trying to stop them from dancing with Holly? * Genki rolled his eyes then gave Suezo a glare from where he stood. The eye stalk looked startled, "Holly is Suezo doing what I believe he is right now?"

"Scaring off all the men? Yes, as per usual." Genki could see she was frustrated,

"Would you like to dance Holly?" Holly looked at him startled for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, but none of the men will challenge him… he'll kiss them if they do." Genki sweat dropped at that,

"Seriously?" Genki saw her nod and he rolled his eyes again, "Well he doesn't scare me. Would you dance with me Holly?" Holly smiled and nodded, he held out his hand and she took it. He lead her over to where the others were dancing, speaking only so she could hear him. "I believe I have this dance down from what I have seen, correct me if you see something wrong." She smiled; she had lead him in dances many times before. She knew how to subtly correct him without anyone really noticing she was leading him. Suezo was frowning at this development but wasn't willing to challenge Genki. He was well aware that Genki could pulverize him if he chose to do so. The other young men of the village watched the pair dance in awe as they watched them move in perfect unison, neither miss-stepping at all. After a couple of dances Genki spoke to her again, "I'll distract Suezo, it's time he and I have a little chat. Go dance with the other men and enjoy yourself." Holly looked up at him surprised then smiled as her eyes wavered with warmth and gratitude.

"Thank you Genki. This means a lot to me…" He smiled as he handed her off to a man that he had signaled to come forward. Before Suezo could lunge at the other man Genki grabbed him by his tongue and hauled him off.

"Suezo you are coming with me. It's time you and I have a chat." The eye stalk sputtered as he was literally dragged by his tongue off towards the nearby lake. Granity laughed as she saw the over protective monster flail around trying to get loose.

"Well at least Genki can handle him."

"About time, poor Holly can't do anything without him interfering lately." Tiger grumbled, he was about to zap the eyeball monster if Genki hadn't interfered.

---

Genki dragged him off till they were out of ear shot; he then parked the eyeball so he couldn't see what Holly was doing. They were behind a storage building now, this would be a good spot for a private discussion.

"If you try to take off after I let you go I will tie you up and leave you in the barn." Suezo glared at him, and then stopped struggling. Genki released his hold and stood back watching to make sure he wasn't being tricked.

"What do you want?" Suezo asked a length as he realized he wasn't getting out of this anytime soon.

"We are going to talk about your behavior. Why are you interfering with Holly enjoying herself?"

"I'm protecting her…"

"From what exactly? Do you believe she can't handle herself?"

"Those men just want to bed her!"

"Those men want to dance with her, which has nothing to do with sex." Suezo sputtered again, "Do you want to hurt her?"

"No of course not! I want to make sure she is safe."

"And what is unsafe about dancing?"

"It can be erotic…" Genki rolled his eyes again,

"You and I both know Holly would not do any erotic dancing in public." Suezo was silent now, Genki sighed. "Look I know you are protective of her, but you have to know when to let go. Doesn't Holly deserve to be happy? Doesn't she deserve to be able to choose who she dances with or even who she dates?"

"Yes... she does deserve those things…"

"Then what is the real problem Suezo?" Genki's voice softened, he already knew the answer but he wanted Suezo to say it. Suezo was silent for a few minutes,

"I feel like I'm losing her…" His voice was soft and shaking slightly. Genki knew this was going to be tricky,

"Suezo… I know this is hard, believe me. It's never easy to let go or to let things change. We always want those bonds to remain the same. But if you truly love her then you must let her go. Holly would never kick you to the curb; you will always be in her life. But she does need to find a husband and to experience true love. She deserves to be happy after everything that has happened to her." Suezo was silent for a bit again, Genki waited patiently for him to process things.

"Our bond… it's weakening…" Genki sighed,

"Do you still feel it?"

"Yes…"

"Then it's not too late to change. Your actions are causing it to weaken. Remember this bond is about complete trust between trainer and monster. It's obvious you don't trust her… and from what I have heard she hasn't been able to trust you fully either." Suezo's eye widened,

"What are you talking about…"

"You've tried to grope her haven't you?" He looked away now, not willing to meet Genki's gaze.

"Yes…" his voice so soft that Genki almost didn't hear it. Genki moved forward now, he place his hand on the eyeball monsters head hoping to bring some comfort.

"Suezo… you know how she feels about sex or about perverted things. Why would you try to grope her? How can she trust you when you try to do such things to her?" He saw Suezo look at the ground.

"I'm jealous OK…"

"Of what?"

"Of what she and Granity have… They make love… Holly would never do that with me…" Genki looked unsure of what to say for a moment. * So he knows huh? He must have spotted them. My hunch was right then, he wants a physical relationship. *

"You want a physical bond with Holly?" Suezo nodded,

"I've always wanted that… but she would never discuss it with me… I was OK with it until…"

"Until she and Granity had one?"

"Yeah… It hurts… it's like she doesn't love me anymore…" Genki saw a tear roll down the eyeball monsters cheek. Genki sighed; he walked forward and pulled Suezo into his arms awkwardly. He felt the Suezo beginning to cry harder now, he held him while he released the pain. * This isn't going to be easy… I'm going to have to tell Holly this… their bond will break if this keeps up. * He waited until Suezo calmed down some,

"Suezo, Holly still loves you, she always will. It's the trust that gone. That can be rebuilt over time but you must change what you are doing. I can help you but only if you are willing to change. I can't say for sure but I doubt Granity bugged Holly about having a physical relationship. My guess is that it came about naturally for them, neither was focused on that. I believe their focus was on an emotional bond, the physical one just sort of happened."

"But why was she willing to do it? She never likes talking about sex…"

"I can't answer that for certain, I believe that she felt safe with Granity. Perhaps her being female helped who knows. What I do know is that if you want to rebuild your bond then you must be honest with her."

"She won't talk with me about this…"

"Yes she will. I will make sure of it." Suezo looked up at him now, seeing Genki's conviction brought him hope.

"You will help?"

"Yes Suezo I will. I can act as a mediator if you want. I'll make sure you both can talk this out. It needs to happen. I don't want your bond to break; it will only hurt you both." Genki soothingly stroked the eye stalks back, helping him calm down again. "If I promise to help you will you leave her alone so she can have the life she desires?"

"Yes… I'll leave her alone…" Genki smiled gently to him, "Can I ask something Genki?"

"Sure Suezo."

"Why… have you and Holly never dated?" Genki sighed heavily, he didn't want to talk about it but he would be honest regardless.

"Holly didn't want to try; she believed that juggling lives in both worlds wasn't going to be doable. That it would bring too much stress to a relationship… there was also her fear of the portal at the time. She was terrified of jumping across to my world… I couldn't bear to see her distressed like that. She literally begged me to not bring the topic up again. So I did she asked, I let her go because I love her. I want her to be happy even if it's not with me." Genki looked away; it was hard for him to admit this to anyone. He hated thinking about it let alone talking about it. He had accepted that he had lost her years ago but it didn't change the pain he felt. "I will be here for her; she is still family to me." When he looked back at Suezo, the eyeball monsters eye widened in shock; he could see the pain in Genki's eyes for the first time.

"I don't understand… you still love her right?"

"Very much so."

"Then why?…"

"Because I love her enough to let her go. I'm not selfish Suezo, you know that. I couldn't bear to put her though anything when she was terrified of it. I've never seen her so scared…" He looked away his gaze becoming unfocussed.

"You gave up?"

"For her sake I did yes…"

"But… doesn't it hurt?"

"Yes it does Suezo." Genki sighed and closed his eyes, "When she made that decision and asked me to never bring it up again it was like having a red hot knife stabbed into my heart. It hurt far more than anything I have ever experienced. It still hurts to this day but I want her to be happy so I have let go for her sake. If she changes her mind someday then perhaps this will change. But I will not be the one initiating it; she will have to do so if it's what she wants." Suezo was unsure of how to handle this; he had known they had fought years ago. He had seen the aftermath, but he never would have dreamed that they had come to this agreement. He frowned, all this time he thought Genki had fallen out of love with her. All this time he had resented the young man for slighting Holly, when in reality the one hurt was the young man in question.

"I'm sorry… I thought…"

"That I had abandoned her?" Suezo nodded, Genki smiled sadly.

"I let you believe that… I didn't want to stress her any further… even if that meant I would have to bear the resentment."

"That's why you disappeared for a while…" Genki nodded,

"Yes, I couldn't bear to be around her for a while… it hurt too much. There were times I almost broke down but I managed to hold it all inside while I was here." Suezo was silent again for a bit as he thought things over, Genki took the time to wrangle his own emotions back into check.

"I wish you had told us…"

"There was nothing to tell Suezo. I didn't want any more drama… she made it clear that she wouldn't change her mind." Genki gave him a sad smile, "All I can do now is support her."

"I hope you can get her to talk to me…"

"She is worried about you… she realized the bond is weakening between you. I think I can get her to talk to you without an issue. Keeping her talking will be the tricky part." Suezo nodded his understanding. "Let head back. Let her enjoy herself alright? She needs this." Suezo nodded again,

"Alright… I understand Genki." The pair then made their way back. Genki did a few breathing exercises quietly to deal with his emotions. He would mask his true feelings before he returned; he didn't want to put a dampener on things.

---

Granity grabbed him on the way back and pulled him out on the floor to dance as Suezo hopped over to get some wine.

"Easy Granity don't yank too hard on my arm." He chuckled; he joined her for a couple of dances before he traded partners. By the end of the night he had danced with most of the women present, including the married ones. He had silently asked the husbands for permission they all gave it. Genki enjoyed himself immensely; he noticed Holly was also having a blast. She was dancing with Mocchi currently. For the final song of the night Genki found Holly to be his partner once again. She leaned over and whispered to him,

"Thank you Genki, this is the best night I've had in a long time. I don't know what you said to him but you really did get through to him." He smiled and replied just as softly,

"I'll tell you tomorrow, I promised him I'd talk to you anyway. For now don't worry about it. He will behave from now on." Holly beamed at him, in gratitude. After the last dance was over everyone cleaned up a bit. Genki assisted even though he was told he didn't need to, the women fussing at him doing so much work. It made him smile seeing them all fussing over him for working too hard. Once back to Holly home he helped her get things settled. He grabbed his pack, ready to head home and get some rest.

"I'll walk you back Kid." Genki nodded to Tiger and smiled in appreciation. Holly looked beat,

"Get some rest Holly, you don't have to pop over first thing if you need more sleep." Holly shook her head,

"I'll be fine. Besides I want to speak with you about a couple of things tomorrow." He nodded then smiled,

"Have a good night Holly."

"You are well Genki. Thanks again for tonight." He flashed her a grin and then walked out the door with Tiger in tow.

---

After they were a good ways form the house Tiger spoke up.

"What's bugging you kid?" Genki gave him a questioning look, "you have been faking smiles since you spoke with Suezo."

"I'd rather not start rumors; I'll talk with Holly about it tomorrow. Things are rather complex with Suezo."

"It's not about him, your acting like you did after your fight with Holly…" Genki sighed,

"Tiger…"

"Kid we all noticed, even back then that your smiles were hollow. There was something wrong, but you never said it." Genki looked away, thinking of what he wanted to say.

"Suezo asked me about that earlier…. It brought up some bad memories…"

"What happened between you two? What was that fight over?"

"Tiger… I'm not sure I should…"

"Holly refuses to speak of it… and now you are… what did you do?" Genki shook his head,

"It doesn't matter. It's in the past."

"It's clearly not seeing how it has affected you." Tiger paused a moment then realized something, "You don't need to protect her… I know whatever it was… it wasn't your fault. You have gone out of your way to take the blame." Genki sighed; he stopped just inside the shine looking at Tiger,

"Are argument was over us being together… Holly was afraid to try… she believed that juggling lives in both worlds was not feasible. That and she feared coming to my world. I believed we could work through things but she told me no. She made it clear that her decision was final and that I needed to move on." Tiger's eyes widened, "I let her go that day because I love her. I won't stop her from pursuing what makes her happy."

"You gave up?"

"Yes, for her sake." Genki closed his eyes, a change in his posture and breathing told Tiger he was upset. "I want her to be happy."

"Yet you are suffering…" Genki shook his head,

"It doesn't matter. She has been through enough, I won't put her through anything more."

"Why won't you fight for her?" Tiger growled, "If you love her you should fight for her!" Genki's eyes snapped open, it was then Tiger could see the true pain he was in. It made the wolf monster freeze,

"I can't, she asked me not to bring it up. She made me promise not to… she recently released me from that promise but I can tell it was out of guilt. She doesn't want to talk about it…" He took a moment to calm himself, "Neither do I anymore… honestly I can't handle another round Tiger." He looked away, "I… I have things I don't tell you guys about… much darker things then you could imagine. I almost wasn't able to fight those things off… if I get hurt that way again… I might not win next time." His voice dropped off, he refused to look at Tiger but he knew the wolf monster was stunned. He had never been honest with them, never mentioned his issues or even alluded to them.

"You're… saying that it hurts too much to try…" Tiger questioned softly, Genki nodded. Tiger closed his eyes, * It makes sense now… they are both hurting… Holly hurt herself that day without realizing it… * "Kid… were you suicidal after that argument?" He asked carefully but he already suspected he knew the answer. Genki seemed to debate things for a moment, he then finally nodded.

"I was yes…" Genki wasn't looking at him but Tiger could see his pain, "It took everything I had to fight it… If I hadn't had help… I might not be here now." His voice was very soft now, but he knew Tiger heard him. Tiger's eyes widened, he had never imagined Genki had such problems, let alone that he would struggle so much.

"Kid… I'm sorry. I should have been there for you… Not blamed you… you must have felt so alone…"

"I took the blame so Holly wouldn't have to Tiger…"

"Still it was not fair to you…"

"No one said life is fair Tiger." Genki placed his hand on his head, "I need to get some rest. Please… don't blame Holly. I no longer do, I just want to move on as she asked." Genki's voice was soft again.

"Genki, you can't lie to yourself. You still love her. What you truly want is to be with her." Genki gave him a sad smile,

"What I want doesn't matter." Genki looked away again, "If she changes her mind then she will have to pursue me. I can no longer trust her with my heart…" With that Genki walked forward and hit the switch on the pedestal then jump though the portal before Tiger could reply. * Kid… why are you letting yourself be hurt like this? You love her that much or are you just focused on the wrong thing? I know you are afraid… but you can't keep this up. * Tiger turned and start back to the house, * I need to confront Holly about this… she needs to talk to him. He doesn't deserve this after all he has done for us. He can at least get some closure. *

---

AAN: whoo really long chapter, hope you all like it. I'm going to slowly introduce things as we go. More interactions with Genki and Holly next chapter.