Chapter 37: First Step
Homare hadn't dreamed of anything throughout his sleep. What a relief, but he wondered if he had regained his...uh, skill? That didn't sound like the right word.
It seemed like he'd better forget about composing a poem, but part of him still wanted to give it another shot.
Every morning you rise from the east, bathing the land with golden rays of light, then you ascend higher and higher to the sky, shining gloriously like a polished-
What did people call "a flat piece of artistically-carved metal given as an award" again?
Well, at least he tried.
Groaning, Homare opened his eye. His body still ached, and his chest especially hurt whenever he breathed, but he no longer felt any pain in his throat. At least he was getting better physically.
"Arisu, you're finally up?"
Footsteps echoed as Homare looked to his side. A smiling Hisoka sat on the chair beside his bed. Soon, Tsumugi and Azuma arrived on the bedside and stood there.
"How are you feeling now?" Hisoka asked.
"My throat no longer hurts," he answered flatly.
He'd expected Hisoka to be very happy at the news, but instead he only heard a lukewarm "that's good" from the little white-haired guy. Tsumugi and Azuma only smiled a bit.
Homare could guess why; the way he spoke didn't really show that he was getting better. If anything, it only showed the other way round.
"Arisu," Hisoka began, "can you...compose a poem?"
Homare could sense the hesitation in the voice. It seemed like everybody already knew.
"I…" Tears welled in his eyes. Although he'd accepted his loss, getting it out of his chest hurt him just as much. "I can no longer compose anything. I am done for."
Everyone stood in silence as he let the tears flow and sobbed. Then Hisoka approached him, picked up a piece of...thin, soft paper-like thing from the bedside desk, and used it to wipe the tears off him.
"Your ability isn't lost forever," Hisoka said.
Oh, right, "ability" was the word Homare had been looking for, but… "What did you just say?"
"I learned about this condition back in univ. The fight earlier must've damaged your brain, and the damage is impairing your word retrieval ability," Tsumugi explained. "In the real world, you'll need therapy and a long time to recover, and it's a slow process. But we're in Digital World right now. The process should be faster and simpler."
"But...we are trying to go home, are we not? I am afraid that it might not heal by the time we find all the items."
Tsumugi smiled. "We can always wait. There are many things to do before going home, you know? Visiting Beetle Land, for one- Oh!" He walked away to open the three envelopes on the...mattress. Hey, it seemed like Homare figured out this one word!
"Good luck reading all of them," Azuma said. "By the way, Tasuku wrote a separate letter for you."
Homare blinked. "He did?"
"Yeah." Tsumugi returned to the bed and handed over the three letters. Pointing at one of them, he said, "The first letter is mostly about Tasuku's and Guy's adventures in Beetle Land."
Homare read the first letter. Beetle Land sure sounded like an interesting place. A bar? A theater? And the most important thing, a poet lived there? Bless Tasuku for trying to invite a fellow poet to visit him.
Done with the first letter, Homare put it down and said, "I wonder if I can compose a poem when HerakleKabuterimon comes."
"Even if you can't, you can always chat about poetry itself, right? I mean, Tasuku and I really enjoy talking about acting itself," Tsumugi replied.
"You are correct." Homare proceeded to the second letter - Tasuku's letter.
"To Arisugawa,
Tsumugi told me the good news in his letter. Well, glad to hear that you're already up.
I don't really know what to say here, but… Could you compose a poem for me? I know it's a strange request because I always say something like, 'I don't understand that thing you call a poem,' 'Stop spouting nonsense,' etc whenever you share your poems with us.
Ugh, I wonder what I've just written. Sorry, I suck at writing letters, so I'll just end it here.
Regards,
Tasuku Takato"
Homare put down the letter. What a strange request indeed. Had Tasuku "I-Don't-Understand-Art" Takato finally decided to learn more about poetry?
Azuma chuckled. "Tasuku tried his best."
"His emotion came through," Tsumugi commented.
"What do you mean?" Homare asked. "I do not understand anything at all."
"Even if Tasuku complains about your poems a lot, he knows poetry is important to you. He just wants to tell you that in this letter."
"What a roundabout way to say that you care about something," Hisoka muttered.
To hear Hisoka say that… Homare couldn't contain his laugh. A sharp pain from his chest cut him short, but he smiled through it anyway. "Do you think you have the room to talk?"
Hisoka smiled at him. "Not really. Good to see you laugh, though."
"Hisoka is more direct than Tasuku at least," Azuma commented. "It's especially apparent recently."
Homare placed a hand on Hisoka's head; wow, his hand was steadier now. "Keep it up, my dear Hisoka."
Hisoka scowled. "No."
Homare pulled away. "Excuse me?" Oh, well, he should've expected that, but part of him still felt like Hisoka was joking.
Hisoka's frown quickly transformed into a mischievous smirk. "Just kidding."
Homare sighed; he should've known that.
"Unfortunately, I doubt I can compose anything for Tasuku right now," he said. "This…" Well, he even had to pause and rack his brain for this. "This defect is getting in the way."
"It's fine. Tasuku and Guy are probably sleeping when the letter arrives at Beetle Land," Tsumugi told him.
Homare nodded. Well, time to read the last letter.
"To Tsukioka, Mikage, Yukishiro, and Arisugawa,
Tsukioka truly is a responsible leader. Please keep leading us."
"Don't we all agree with this?" Homare asked.
Azuma and Hisoka nodded.
Tsumugi smiled and scratched his cheek with a finger. "I'm just doing what I think is the best for us all."
Homare continued reading the letter.
"As for Tsukioka's poem request, we thought it would be impolite to interrupt HerakleKabuterimon's karaoke night, so we decided to buy a poem anthology from the bookstore. Once we return to File City, we will give the book to Arisugawa, but for now, I will show you one of the poems.
Enjoyment, excitement,
Big or small, I love them all.
Appreciate every little positivity in life,
And watch it pile up and stamp out a big strife."
Homare looked at Tsumugi. "You requested a poem for me?"
"I thought it'd help inspire you."
"Thank you very much." Homare looked at the letter. "They picked a great one for me too. It is simple, but lovely." He looked up at the ceiling. "This poem simply means, 'Focus on what brings you happiness, as small as it is.' Indeed, I should take a step back and try composing simple poems."
"That's a good idea. You can progress to the harder ones whenever you feel ready," Tsumugi suggested.
Homare nodded and continued with the letter.
"Speaking of books, I bought a cookbook as well. According to Takato, the foodstuff in Digital World has various effects on your body. I intend to learn more about it so that I can cook nutritious, empowering dishes for all of us.
Regards,
Guy"
"Marshmallows," Hisoka commented with a smile.
Homare sighed. "You should try expanding your…" Curses! He couldn't find the right word again!
"My what?" Hisoka's smile remained, rather than fading into a scowl or nothingness. It was as if the little guy were pushing him to finish his sentence.
"Your… um…" Closing his eye, Homare placed a hand on his forehead. Sense of taste? Wasn't there another word for that?
There was nothing but silence, which Homare appreciated very much. He could figure this out, he swore.
He got it. Opening his eye, he pointed at Hisoka. "Yes, you should try expanding your palate!"
Hisoka didn't even look annoyed; instead, he went to pat his head. "Good job, Arisu."
Homare gave Hisoka a confused look. "Were you testing me all this long?"
"You need it. I know you can do it with some encouragement and time."
Homare grinned. "Thanks to you, I'm feeling more confident now."
"Want more challenge? We've prepared some stuff for you."