Chapter 32: A Letter from Home
"Golly! A beast jumping at an insect to help its insect friend! A fine theme for my newest poem!"
Tasuku glanced over his shoulders. A golden rhinoceros beetle stood amid the trees, clapping its four hands. It had a tote bag dangling on one of its arms.
"HerakleKabuterimon!" MetallifeKuwagamon shouted.
"Go home or find another Gold Acorn, MetallifeKuwagamon! I'm siding with KaiserLeomon and Blitzmon 'cause I want a new opponent in the tourney!"
So, the story was right. Well, with the Ultimate-level HerakleKabuterimon by his side, he and Guy shouldn't worry about the acorn hunt anymore. Tasuku stepped back, and MetallifeKuwagamon stood up and brushed the dust off its armored body.
"Geez, fine." MetallifeKuwagamon ran away and disappeared into the palisades of trees.
"Hey, pal. Let's go back. We gotta make sure that Blitzmon delivered the acorn."
"Sure."
As HerakleKabuterimon flew away, Tasuku looked back. Others said that Searchmon helped Guy in the hunt; a nice person like Guy would certainly want his little friend back. Yet Tasuku saw no signs of the silver beetle.
"I'm gonna leave you behind!"
"Uh…" After a moment of consideration, Tasuku followed HerakleKabuterimon. Searchmon should be fine; it was an inhabitant of Beetle Land and had a radar as part of its body after all. It should be able to return to the Tree Tower without a fuss.
As expected, HerakleKabuterimon knew the forest like the back of its hand. Before Tasuku knew it, they were back at the Tree Tower. As they stepped into the building, various insect Digimon greeted the golden rhino beetle.
The buzzing made Tasuku a tad dizzy, but it wasn't that bad anymore. Maybe he'd grown kinda used to it.
"HerakleKabuterimon, you're gonna fight Blitzmon tomorrow!" Snimon exclaimed while hovering at the hollow center of the tower.
Flymon sighed. "Wish it had registered itself as Bolgmon. Blitzmon is just around Adult level, y'know?"
Tasuku gasped. What the hell was Guy thinking? Blitzmon wouldn't have the firepower to pierce through HerakleKabuterimon's sturdy shell! Part of him still wanted to believe that Guy, a combat veteran, had a good reason for that, though.
"What do you mean? Blitzmon can evolve anytime it wants?" HerakleKabuterimon asked. "Doesn't the tournament ban evolution during the match?"
"I can explain," Tasuku said. "Look at me, HerakleKabuterimon." Well, "look" was a strange word for HerakleKabuterimon, who didn't have any visible eyes. Or maybe it had a pair within the two slits on its armored face?
"Yeah?"
Tasuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His body moved by itself, and he now stood only on his hindlegs. Soon, pain wracked his body and knocked him down. It seemed like he'd evolved one too many times today.
HerakleKabuterimon caught his collapsing body in its arms. "What's wrong, bro? Anyway, that's hella cool!"
Tasuku huffed. "It's Spirit Evolution. It let us humans evolve into Digimon…" He paused to take a breath. "But as you can see, it's tiring."
"That sounds really interesting!" HerakleKabuterimon opened its forewings, jumped into the air, and descended the hollow center of the Tree Tower with Tasuku in its arms. "Let's get this over with, so we can hit the bar and chat. Don't worry, it's my treat."
Tasuku nodded, wondering if all poets were this energetic and nice. When it came to drinking in a bar, usually Azuma would pay for them, but Homare often pitched in as well. However, if Homare drank a little too much, he'd insist on paying for everyone all while crying and rambling.
Guy, now back as a human, stood at the registration desk. Tentomon handed it a ticket.
"As per the tradition, a qualifying participant gets a free ticket to The Beetle Tournament's Other Secret," the ladybug Digimon said.
"The Beetle Tournament's Other Secret?" Tasuku asked.
"It's a play."
The soreness across Tasuku's body vanished. Getting off HerakleKabuterimon's grasp and rushing to the desk, he asked, "Where else can I get a ticket?"
"You can buy it from our theater Beetle Broadway, but it's already sold out. The play is tonight." Just as Tasuku's face crumpled in sheer grief, Tentomon added, "Well, the tourney committees got a batch to distribute for the qualifying participants. We usually have leftovers and will return them to the theater. Try visiting the theater after the tourney registration closes."
In less than five hours, right. Tasuku would remember that. "Got it."
"Now that things are settled, let's chill at the bar!" HerakleKabuterimon offered its hands. "Come here. I'll give you two a free ride."
Tasuku and Guy approached HerakleKabuterimon. With its four arms wrapped around them, the rhino beetle jumped and flew up. Halfway to the destination, right in front of the tower's entrance, Guy raised his hand.
HerakleKabuterimon stopped in its tracks. "What is it, pal?"
Tasuku knew why. A silver beetle crept towards the railing and waved one of its frontmost legs.
"Glad to see you again, Searchmon," Guy said with a smile. "Thanks for your help."
"Hey, why don't you join us, little one?" HerakleKabuterimon offered. "We're heading to Down Beat Bar!"
Down Beat Bar? That sounded like...a title from a cartoon. Tasuku couldn't remember from which series it came though.
"You're okay with that?" Searchmon asked.
"You helped him in the hunt, didn't you? I'll gladly treat you to a round of drinks!" HerakleKabuterimon told the silver beetle.
"Then I'll join! I'll be taking the elevator." Searchmon ascended the staircase. "See you there."
As HerakleKabuterimon resumed its flight, Tasuku observed the activities across all floors. Shops, restaurants, cinemas, gyms… With all the colorful lights and pennants and wandering insect Digimon, the whole tower looked just like a bustling town within a giant tree. Tasuku had taken notes of which places he'd visit later: the theater and the gym.
It reminded him of how grateful he was to have Guy around. Among his troupe mates, Guy shared the most hobbies with him. Whereas others would balk at the idea of unnecessary work outs, Guy would join him; on top of that, Guy had the stamina to keep up with him.
After about five floors, HerakleKabuterimon halted. In front of them stood an awning with a neon sign board above it. It had "Down Beat Bar" written on it, surrounded by the neon signs of wine bottles and glasses.
"This is the best bar in the Tree Tower!" HerakleKabuterimon flew over the railing and put Tasuku and Guy down. Heading towards the wooden double door, the rhino beetle said, "Let's have fun!"
Guy looked around. "Searchmon isn't here yet."
"We'll wait for a bit," HerakleKabuterimon said.
It didn't take long.
Searchmon crept up the last few steps of the staircase and towards everyone. "Sorry for the wait."
"No biggie, little one!" HerakleKabuterimon pushed the doors open and walked into the bar. "Let's go!"
Tasuku, Guy, and Searchmon followed him.
Tasuku couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief upon entering the bar. Instead of buzzing, he heard only a piano tune and chattering. Scent of fresh vegetables and fruits wafted in the air.
A slender insect man greeted them, its gloved hands holding a menu book. This guy brought back a lot of memories; back when Tasuku was a kid, when Wormmon first evolved in Digimon Adventure 02, Tasuku was quaking in excitement.
HerakleKabuterimon made a four sign with one of its hands. "Four heads, Stingmon." It walked past the insect man. "Get us the signature veggie cocktail."
"Yes, Sir!" Stingmon buzzed towards the bar counter.
"Ah, there it is. My favorite seat!" HerakleKabuterimon ran towards the sofa tables at the corner of the bar and wagged one of its hands at Tasuku, Guy, and Searchmon. "C'mon!"
They followed the rhino beetle all the way to the seat. HerakleKabuterimon immediately plopped down on the gigantic couch and leaned back, leaving a very small space beside it. Searchmon crept towards the space.
Just as Tasuku wanted to sit down on the wooden stool, he noticed that Guy had been staring at the pianist, Kabuterimon. Uh, well, playing a piano with four hands looked weird indeed.
"Hey, pal, whatcha gawkin' at?" HerakleKabuterimon asked.
"You never see someone play piano with four hands?" Searchmon added.
"Of course not. Humans only have two hands," Tasuku replied.
"Having four hands looks convenient," Guy commented.
"That's the perk of us insect Digimon. We can multitask well!" HerakleKabuterimon said.
"Speaking of, we couldn't talk about the GranKuwagamon incident earlier." Searchmon looked at Guy. "The play you'll watch later is based on that."
"What happened in that incident?" Tasuku asked.
"Okuwamon had been dominating the Beetle Tournament for years. Then AtlurKabuterimon evolved into HerakleKabuterimon."
"Wait, HerakleKabuterimon?" Tasuku pointed at the rhino beetle. "You?"
HerakleKabuterimon laughed. "Yeah, that's me."
Tasuku still couldn't believe that he and Guy were sitting right there, in front of a famous Digimon. Then again they had a few famous people in Mankai, so this kind of thing shouldn't be that surprising.
"Okuwamon couldn't beat me for so many times and had enough, so it consumed some kind of PED during the tourney last year. It evolved into GranKuwagamon right before the final match." HerakleKabuterimon looked past Tasuku and Guy and waved its hand. "Hey, over here!"
Tasuku glanced over his shoulders. Stingmon flew towards them with a tray containing four glasses of green liquid in its hand. After putting the glasses down on the table, it flew away.
"Try it! It's Beetle Land's specialty!" HerakleKabuterimon urged.
Guy picked up his glass and took a sip. "Tastes good."
Tasuku could see the sparkle in Guy's eyes. Oh, right, Guy could add this to the menu in his bar unless-
"Spiny Green in the blender, Super Veggie on the grater! Add some Power Ice and ta-daa, you get a thirst quencher!" HerakleKabuterimon downed its glass of cocktail.
HerakleKabuterimon would get along well with Homare, no doubt. Tasuku wondered if he'd survive the ruckus they made, though, but at times like this, Homare could use a friend to chat about poetry.
Tasuku fully understood how it felt to have a friend who shared the same passion as you.
Searchmon scratched its head. "Did you just make a poem out of the recipe? I don't think it's a good idea to shout it out here."
"Those are the basic ingredients, Searchmon. This bar prolly adds some more stuff into it." HerakleKabuterimon put the almost empty glass down on the table. "A drink concocted purely from those can't taste this sweet and boozy."
Ah, yeah, forget about it. Ingredients issues. Although Guy remained poker-faced, Tasuku could see the disappointment in his eyes.
"What were we talking about… Oh, the GranKuwagamon incident, wasn't it?" HerakleKabuterimon asked.
Tasuku nodded. "Yeah, we left off at GranKuwagamon taking PED or something."
"GranKuwagamon didn't stop there," Searchmon continued. "When the tourney committees discovered its cheating ways, it attacked everyone."
"It was going after me anyway, so I gave it the fight it wanted." HerakleKabuterimon chuckled. "I kicked its ass."
"The mayor wanted to have GranKuwagamon executed but…" Searchmon pointed at HerakleKabuterimon. "This guy disagreed and took GranKuwagamon away from Beetle Land instead, saying that should GranKuwagamon come to mess around, it'd take responsibility for it. The authorities already blacklisted GranKuwagamon from Beetle Land, though."
"Well, I like an opponent who does whatever it takes to win. I look forward to fighting GranKuwagamon again in the future." HerakleKabuterimon looked past Tasuku and Guy, prompting them to look back as well. "Wassup, Honeybeemon?"
A bee kid flew towards them, with a bag slung across its chest and an envelope in its hand. "A letter to Tasuku Takato and Guy from Tsumugi Tsukioka."
A letter from Tsumugi? Tasuku's heart pounded. It had to be good news! It was kinda weird that the postmon delivered the letter directly to them instead of the hotel room or something. It'd be awkward to read the letter now, but if it were indeed good news about Homare…
"It's us." Tasuku reached out a hand, and Honeybeemon gave him the envelope. "Thanks."
"You're welcome!" Honeybeemon buzzed away from them.
"It must be about Arisugawa," Guy said.
"I hope so." Tasuku opened the envelope and read the letter.
"Dear Tasuku and Guy,
We have good news: Homare is already up. Azuma suggested that I included Homare's poems in the letter, but we couldn't get him to compose any because he was sleepy from the meds. He also looked so weak.
Hisoka especially worked hard to take care of Homare. He was clearly tired, but refused to sleep. Agumon and I had to convince him to rest up. I don't know, but it just warms my heart to see how Hisoka chooses Homare over sleep and everything else. He even let Homare sleep with Pen Pen."
Tasuku could barely hold back his tears. "Mikage, you…"
"Takato?" Guy asked.
Tasuku wiped the tears off his eyes with his sleeves. "I'm sure that Arisugawa appreciates your hard work, Mikage." He continued reading the letter.
"According to Kentarumon, Homare's burns will heal faster because of his Fire element. He'll fully recover in a few weeks, but Kentarumon said that the battle and injuries might leave a long-lasting trauma on him. I hope that doesn't happen, but even if it does, we'll help him get over it.
Warm regards,
Tsumugi Tsukioka"
When Tasuku folded the letter, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Guy smiled at him. "I think I know why you cried. Mikage's hard work touched me too."
"Yeah."
"Anyway, what's happening, if you don't mind me asking?" HerakleKabuterimon asked.
"Well, our friend…" Did the word 'friend' just escape from Tasuku's mouth? Oh, well, he couldn't think of a better word to describe Arisugawa without sounding overly cheesy or distant. "He was seriously injured after investigating Lava Cave and had been comatose for some time. He's just woken up and is getting better now." He smiled at HerakleKabuterimon. "I think you'll get along well with him. He's a poet too."
"A poet?" HerakleKabuterimon shouted so loud that Tasuku winced. In a flash, the rhino beetle stood up and craned its neck, to the point that its horns almost poked Tasuku in the face. "Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy! Please tell me more about him!"