Okay, next chapter! Sorry for the delay on this. I wrote this during a quick break I had between my Biology classes since in my free time I've been working on the next chapter of DotH and I already had this written in a notebook I wrote during the hurricane along with the next chapter, too. Expect letter C soon! This is kind of a fun stress relieving story to write, actually. It kind of surprised me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! ^_^

Note: This story takes place after Season 3.

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

Moments We Share

B: Bitter

A large two story home with a giant attached barn on the side stood tall in the middle of Toriyama. It was only a few months old and it was still the talk of the town since it was well known that most of the heroes that defeated Moo resided there now. Hare's plan had been a success and, in the end, he had a wondrous home build for any of his comrades who wanted to stay in the town. Golem was the first to move in and was quick to start up his own small diner. Tiger was reluctantly next to move into Hare's home, though the other rebels had a feeling it was more of an act. The wolf monster seemed to have no trouble living in the same perimeter as the rabbit monster and he was often seen around town keeping the peace and breaking up fights. Next came Genki and Mocchi who were, of course, more than happy with the living arrangement. Most days the boy and his young monster would run errands for his friends who would, in turn, give him a few spare coins for his troubles as a small token of their appreciation. It wasn't much, but it was really all Genki needed. It was true that his room and board were free and that he had no expenses, making life less stressful. He saved his money for one small purpose now; to treat Holly.

Their relationship was a very slow paced one, for even now they had yet to even kiss. Still, the duo had more than enough fun just walking around town and holding hands. When they had told their companions about their new found relationship, it seemed no one was surprised. A few "congratulations" and "way to go" were thrown around by the group until they went to Suezo to hear his reaction. At first, he seemed dead set against the whole arrangement, but the eyeball monster was fast to shake it off before giving the two his regards. There was one person the couple had been hiding their relationship from, however; Yosho. Holly and her father had a rough relationship since he had been freed from Moo because of the long years the two had been separated. The two humans, along with Suezo, bought a house on the outskirts of town where less people would be tempted to probe Yosho for answers about once being Moo. The young girl couldn't help but be scared of her father's reaction to finding out the truth of her feelings for Genki, but after months of thinking it over Holly found herself preparing two cups of tea as she waited for her father to join her on their house's porch.

'Don't worry, Holly. Don't get so worked up! Father will understand.' Holly thought nervously to herself as she placed the tray holding the tea on a small table outside on the porch before taking a seat on a wooden chair. Another wooden chair was seated across from her, but for the moment Holly was a bit relieved it was still empty. 'Relax… It's not like I'm doing anything wrong. I just need to tell him the truth that I'm dating Genki and then it'll all be water under the bridge.'

As Holly sat deep in thought and worries, the door leading to the porch swung open and Yosho marched out before sitting roughly down on the other chair across from his daughter. His eyes were sunken in from years of being Moo's host while his body looked much frailer than Holly remembered him being when she was little. His personality, however, was still the same. He was still loving and brave, but he still had extremely high expectations of his daughter and still had a streak of power hunger in him. For him, it was his way or the highway and Holly feared his stubbornness would hinder their already shaky relationship.

"Thank you for the tea, Holly." Yosho spoke up as he took one of the steaming cups before taking a steady sip of the warm liquid. "Ah, you still make the best tea in the world."

"Thank you, father. I learned from the best." Holly replied with a blush at the compliment as she held her tea cup firmly in her hands. Her nervousness made her arms shiver slightly, though, and the girl could see the ripples forming in her tea from her shaky nerves.

"So, Holly, what's this all about? It's not like you to call a family meeting." The older man asked with curiosity as his worn eyes kept a steady watch on the brunette sitting in front of him.

"Father… I know this may seem sudden, but if you travelled around with my group as long as I have you'd understand how much we've been through and how much some of our feelings have… well… strengthened." Holly said quickly while she did her best to keep eye contact even though her nerves were failing her.

"I see… You've developed feelings for one of your comrades?"

"Y-yes…"

"I think I know who."

"Y-you do? R-really?" Holly asked in shock.

"Well, yes. I do, but I don't think it would work out."

"…why not?" Holly's timid voice asked as a hint of desperation shone through her words. The young girl could feel her heart throbbing as she watched her father's gaze fixating on her and she felt her lungs constricting from nervousness.

"Holly, relationships with monsters are very difficult and don't tend to work. Hare may be a very smooth and smart monster, but I don't know if he's the kind of guy for you." Yosho replied with a small shrug before he took another long sip of tea.

"You think I meant…Hare? Father, no! I don't like Hare like that! Honest! I'm talking about Genki!" The wielder of the Magic Stone blurted out while her face flushed red at her father's implications. Had the situation not been so serious she most likely would have face palmed.

"Genki? You… you have feelings for that boy?"

"Yes! And he feels the same way about me, too." Holly said with a smile as her cheeks flushed a little at the thought of her knight in shining armor. At telling her father this, suddenly she felt as though a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she felt the chains that bound her and Genki's relationship lift. Maybe now that it was out in the open, she'd have enough courage to kiss the boy. Before she could speak up again, though, her father shot her a look she hadn't seen in years as his lips parted and his gruff voice penetrated her ears.

"You can't be with that boy."

Suddenly, the weight that had been lifted off of Holly's shoulders only seconds before came crashing back down on her, but now it was ten times heavier. In her mind, she had seen her father bringing her in for a hug and telling her how proud he was of her growing up and becoming a mature young woman. Instead, she was left gawking at the man as his bitter answer replayed in her head like a broken record. Tears stung the sides of her eyes, but she kept strong and wouldn't let her front crumble.

"But, why? He's perfect, father! He's sweet, polite, and fun to be around! He's saved my life countless times and he saved yours, too! He always protects me and he makes me happy! Why won't you let me be with him?" Holly asked with a frantic look in her eyes. She had been nervous to face her father earlier not because she thought he wouldn't approve; she was scared that he'd try and scare Genki away like many overprotective fathers do. To turn her down point blank was not what she was expecting.

"I'm not saying he's not a nice boy, Holly. He has done great things and I'm forever in his debt. He is, however, only a young boy. He's but a child, Holly. You're a few years older than him and he probably doesn't know what he's getting into. You're not ready for a relationship, anyways." Yosho spoke with a small amount of harshness in his tone.

"I'm sixteen, father! And Genki may seem like a young kid, but he's actually quite mature for his age and he told me in his world they learn about relationships at a far younger age. If he wasn't ready I wouldn't push him. Besides, I'm not saying we're going to up and marry! We're just going to hang out more and eat dinner together. We wouldn't do anything that goes beyond kissing." The young girl tried to reason without letting the fear she held slip out.

"That boy isn't in a financial position to be having a girlfriend, either. How would you two live without having money? You think me or your friends will want to keep giving you hand outs? Plus that boy doesn't come from this world and it makes it unnatural! What will the rest of the village say when they see you holding hands with him? You'll dirty the family name, Holly! Is that what you want?" The older man growled irritably as his hands clenched into fists and his eyes seemed to darken considerably.

"I don't need money to hang out with him! And why does everything come back to the family image with you? What about my happiness? Our family image was destroyed years ago anyways! Why does it matter? When people hear the last name 'Mercris' they think Moo and that's how they'll always think from now on. You only care about your self image!" Holly shouted as she got to her feet and huffed in aggravation. She normally didn't get angry at anyone, especially her father, but something about the situation involving Genki made her temper flare at the injustice.

"A relationship between you and that boy would never last! There are plenty of guys in the town who are far better suited for you and besides, you grew up in an unusual situation where you didn't have a mother to teach you about the right way to go about being in a relationship. You're not ready and niether is he!"

"I don't want some other guy! I want to be with Genki and that's it! And maybe I would have had more instruction growing up if you hadn't turned your back on me and became Moo!"

WHACK!

Holly felt her last sentence slip out of her mouth before she could even think, and the next thing she knew a loud sound echoed in her skull and her entire body reared backwards before she could catch herself. When her back hit the ground, she could feel the breath drain from her lungs and for the strange sense of numbness to sweep over her body. For a brief second everything seemed to spin and all she could see was a distorted shadow and her spilt tea cup on the ground next to her face. It took a moment for the stars to disappear from her vision, but then she instinctively brought her hand up to her stinging cheek before she placed her finger on her lip where she could taste bitter metallic. With a low grunt, Holly shakily rose to her feet before glaring daggers at the man who had hit her. His eyes shown with horror at what had just happened, but for the first time in Holly's life she regretted unlocking him from Moo's Mystery Disk.

"Holly, are you alright? Are you-" Yosho started, but a sharp glare from Holly stopped his train of speech.

"I'm dating Genki." Holly spat angrily.

"You can't, Holly! You-"

"I can."

With one last glance to her father, Holly climbed off the porch before running toward town as fast as her wobbly legs could take her. Even with her father's shouts ringing in her ears, she didn't care. For once, Holly Mercris just didn't care. Her head hurt, all she could taste was her own blood, and she was so blinded by tears she could barley see where she was going. She couldn't tell at first, but the girl knew her tears weren't ones of sadness; they were ones of anger. She was angry at her father for not giving Genki a chance, she was angry at him for hitting her, and she was mad at herself for running away so blindly. By the time she reached her destination her hair was a mess and her legs felt as though she had been hit with a crowbar. Wiping away her tears of bitterness, the young girl knocked on large wooden doors tiredly that lead into a large house that had only been built a few months ago that belonged to Hare. She knew she couldn't stay there forever and she couldn't hide away from her troubles, but it was still a sanctuary where she would be surrounded by her closest friends and the boy who stole her heart. Right now, she wasn't ready to face her father again, but when the door opened and she was greeted by a boy with an orange hat bringing her into a tight embrace, she knew she was fighting for the right cause.

Kind of a dramatic one-shot. XD I've always read stories where Holly's father accepts Holly and Genki's relationship, so I decided to do the opposite and have it that he's against it. I always felt that Yosho would have high expectations for Holly because of his power hungry nature, and it would be even worse after he was Moo. Even in the few episodes where you see him interacting with Holly, I got a sense that he had a temper that could be easily flared. And because of the distance between the two I felt that Holly would also lose her cool a little quicker with her father since he hasn't been in her life for so long and suddenly he tries to control her life. So, yeah. In this story Holly and Yosho's relationship will be very strained especially as they get older. Thanks for reading and have a great day! ^_^

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3