Chapter 36: Mutual Support
Tsumugi would've raved a lot about the circular inn room, if Tasuku had brought him here. Vines hung down the ceiling and across the wall. Its floor had the pattern of a tree's annular rings. The room had a wooden ceiling fan instead of an AC; Tasuku thought it blended so well to the whole interior.
Unfortunately, it was too small for Tasuku and Guy to safely emulate the clash between GranKuwagamon and HerakleKabuterimon. The furniture and especially the two beds had taken up so much space when Tasuku first arrived here with their luggage, he didn't know where to put the stuff.
Both of them had settled with a good ol' fistfight.
Tasuku launched a barrage of fists at Guy, but his knuckles only slammed against Guy's forearms or struck the empty air. Readjusting his strategy would make short work of Guy's defense, but Tasuku couldn't see the angry GranKuwagamon doing that.
Guy on the other hand, remained fully defensive although his back had almost struck the wall. HerakleKabuterimon seemed like someone who would toy with its opponents, but Tasuku couldn't tell what portrayal Guy was aiming for with that poker face.
Tasuku stepped back. "Guy, I'm sure that you can do better than this. You're very expressive when performing the action scenes in Mankai's plays."
"Those are different." Guy gave Tasuku a sad look. "I have someone to protect in those plays."
Now that Guy said it, in plays with action scenes, Guy had always acted as a servant or something similar. He could certainly do better there because he used to be a bodyguard in reality.
"Maybe there's something you don't understand about HerakleKabuterimon's character?" Tasuku asked.
"I do not understand its love for fighting."
"Hmm…" Tasuku stroked his chin. "I believe it just loves the thrill of battles. Some people love crazy stunts just for the heck of it."
"Fighting will only cause injuries to both sides. I do not see a point in fighting if it is not for my comrades or superiors."
This sounded like a tough nut to crack. What should Tasuku say to convince Guy to play against his type? Sometimes you needed to play against your type to improve? Considering that Guy always sought to improve his acting, Tasuku thought he should give that idea a shot, but his confidence wavered without Tsumugi.
He thought he'd gotten better since his conversation with Tsumugi this morning, but it turned out that he hadn't changed all that much.
"I do not like violence," Guy suddenly spoke.
That reminded Tasuku, during the climactic duel in Die by the Sword, Guy expressed Kojiro's unwillingness to fight very well. Tasuku still remembered the way he told him, the battle-hungry Musashi, the pointlessness of their fight; Guy's puzzled voice and face said it all.
"I am not unfamiliar with killing, as I used to be a soldier. My superiors' wish is my command, even if it has me carry out various dirty work. However, I could still feel a pang of guilt despite having shut off my emotion," Guy muttered. "Honestly, when Citronia recruited me as his attendant, I could feel a wave of relief."
Okay, Tasuku's idea couldn't possibly work now. That'd be so insensitive of him to say something like that.
A lightbulb went off in his head. Maybe this one had a better chance of succeeding.
"Uh, I guess we can go with an alternate interpretation of HerakleKabuterimon's character? I can see that its love for fighting may be just an act. Remember what it said in the play? Beetle Land inhabitants love fighting. But as the play progresses, we learn that the newer gen of Beetle Land is softer. Maybe HerakleKabuterimon comes from the old gen but has the heart of the new gen."
Guy raised an eyebrow. "It faces peer pressure from the old gen?"
"Exactly."
Guy smiled. Tasuku returned the smile with a bigger one; he couldn't be happier and prouder than this.
"I like that interpretation," Guy said. "Can we act out the fight scene again?"
"Of course!"
Just as they assumed their fighting stance, someone knocked on the door. Sighing, Tasuku walked towards the door and opened it. Honeybeemon stood in front of him, with a bag slung across its chest and an envelope in its hand. His frown turned into a smile as he expected a reply from his comrades especially Homare.
"A letter to Tasuku Takato and Guy from Tsumugi Tsukioka," Honeybeemon said.
Struggling to maintain his smile, Tasuku took the letter. "Thanks."
"You're welcome!" Honeybeemon buzzed away from him.
After closing the door, Tasuku let his smile die and approached the desk in front of the two beds in the room.
"Only Tsukioka's letter?" Guy asked.
"Sadly." Tasuku pulled out the chair and sat down. "Maybe Arisugawa is still sleeping. If he's too weak to write a reply, I bet Tsumugi will help him." He opened the envelope and read the letter.
"Dear Tasuku and Guy,
That sounds fun! I wanna watch some plays at Beetle Land too! I'm just as curious as you guys about how insect Digimon act on stage, you know?
Honestly, I did consider evolving into Garmmon and coming to Beetle Land just for that, but just thinking about it made me feel guilty. Azuma and Hisoka could always use extra help to take care of Homare."
And this was why Tasuku didn't mind all that much if Tsumugi remained physically weak as a leader. His willingness to help and sense of responsibility already more than made up for it.
"The meds really knocked Homare out; he was still sleeping when I wrote this. No worries, though. Once he's up, I'll give him the other letter and help him write a reply. By the way, can you ask HerakleKabuterimon to write a poem? I bet it'll make Homare happy and inspired.
Warm regards,
Tsumugi Tsukioka"
"Geez." Tasuku folded the letter and returned it to the envelope. "HerakleKabuterimon is having a karaoke night right now."
"Are you visiting it then?" Guy asked from beside him.
"I suppose we can try finding its poem anthology from the bookstore down there, but I don't really know which poem is the best for Arisugawa. I don't know about poetry all that much."
"Did you not skim his books a while back? I heard about it from Tsukioka."
Tasuku facepalmed. "There he goes again."
"What is the matter, Takato?"
"The keyword is 'skim.' It's more like me flipping through the pages than anything." Tasuku frowned. "I kinda regret it." Fists clenched, he looked down at the envelope on the desk. "I should've paid more attention back then, so when something like this happened, at least I could guess which poem Arisugawa would enjoy more."
"That does not matter. It is your heart that matters."
Tasuku looked at Guy and blinked. Since when did the most stoic person learn to say something this deep and heartfelt?
"During the acorn hunt, I asked Searchmon about how they expressed their emotion with such a unique facial anatomy. It then reiterated HerakleKabuterimon's words: 'It's the heart that matters!' It also told me that it'd be easier to express ourselves if we put our heart into our speech and action."
"So, my efforts will show more easily if I put my heart into choosing the poem."
"Supposedly. Even if Arisugawa cannot notice it, I believe Tsukioka will. Moreover, once we return to File City, Arisugawa can read the anthology and find his favorite poem by himself."
"We still need to find the most fitting anthology."
"Remember, it is your heart that matters."
Tasuku nodded. "I get it." Smiling, he stood up and went to wear the backpack. "Leave this to me, Guy. You've got many things to do tomorrow."
"I am coming with you."
"No, just rest up."
"I insist." Guy smiled. "You have helped me a lot since this morning."
"It's nothing much, you know?"
"I do not care. Kindness must be returned with kindness, no matter how big or small it is."
Tasuku shrugged. "Ugh, fine." He headed towards the exit door, putting on his sneakers and picking up the keycard on the wall along the way. As he kept it in the backpack and opened the door, the lights and the ceiling fan died. Guy soon caught up with him.
With the door closed, Tasuku and Guy began their journey along the hallway. The dim yellow lights on the ceiling and the wall, along with the lack of noise and inhabitants, made this area a perfect setting for a haunted hotel play. What a huge contrast to the situation down there at the business district of the Tree Tower.
Tasuku and Guy took the elevator to the inn's lobby downstairs. It had brighter lights than the hallway, and with Kokuwamon and Kuwagamon behind the receptionist counter, the area felt a little less lonely.
The two Digimon waved a hand at Tasuku and Guy. Tasuku waved back at them, while Guy only smiled.
The elevators to the business district of the Tree Tower resided just a few meters past the receptionist counter. As soon as Tasuku pushed the "down" button, an elevator came to them and the doors slid open. Not surprising, as the inhabitants preferred flying up and down the hollow center of the Tree Tower to reach their desired places.
It only took a few seconds for the elevator to arrive at the second floor of the Tree Tower. Once the doors opened, the discordant buzzing from the wandering insect Digimon rushed into the elevator. Damn, the inhabitants never slept, did they?
The bookstore lay just a few shops away from the elevator. Once the glass doors slid open, they stepped into the shop. The buzzing sounds faded as the doors closed. Tasuku wondered why, but then he realized that he could count the number of visitors with all the fingers in his hands.
The shop reminded Tasuku of their inn room; vines hung down the ceiling and across the wall, and it had wooden ceiling fans instead of ACs. It had wooden planks as its floor though, no annular ring pattern and whatnot.
Walking around the shop, Tasuku and Guy scanned the wooden hanging signs for the poetry section. The manga section almost distracted Tasuku, especially when he spotted some super sentai manga in the tree-shaped wooden bookshelves, but Guy's soft, "Takato?" from beside him snapped him out of it.
His face went red for a moment. Crap.
"Are you all right?" Guy asked. "Would you like me to carry the backpack?"
"It's nothing, Guy."
Tasuku had a feeling that Guy saw through him, knowing his love for super sentai series and all. However, Guy never pushed any further, much to his relief.
A few rows of bookshelves later, they finally found the poetry section. HerakleKabuterimon's books of poetry dominated the shelves.
"All of them are about battles," Guy commented.
"Yeah…" Tasuku scanned the shelves for a book that didn't talk about battles. It seemed like this wasn't easier than finding someone else's work among HerakleKabuterimon's books.
"Takato, what do you think about this?"
Tasuku turned, and his gaze immediately fell to the thick book on Guy's hands. Its cover was a shade of green and yellow, with a picture of the Tree Tower between the title and HerakleKabuterimon's name.
The Art of Enjoying Life. What a positive, fitting title for Homare!
Really, Guy had done so much to help him in his quest for poems. What Tasuku had done during the acorn hunt and their skit in the inn room was nothing compared to this.
Smiling broadly, Tasuku took the book from Guy's hands. "Great find, Guy! Thanks!" He wondered if his words and smile managed to convey how happy he was to have a helpful, dependable comrade like Guy.