The rain suddenly stopped. Jotaro, Aiko and Mr. Nakamura's family heard a shout that broke the silence.
-Hey, are you all right?!
They all turned in the direction of the voice. In the distance, a man smiled as he raised his hand in greeting. Jotaro felt a shiver run down his spine. Was there still anyone left in the village?
The stranger began to approach with a determined step.
-What are you doing here? -he asked aloud.
However, noticing Jotaro's attire, he stopped abruptly. His eyes swept over the young man from head to toe until, suddenly, his expression changed to one of astonishment.
-Ah, that's right, those clothes belong to the demigod Jotaro! -he exclaimed in surprise.
Jotaro felt his blood boiling. -Now I've been found out," he thought, feeling a lump in his throat.
Without warning, the man ran up to him and grabbed his hands tightly.
-My lord, why did you abandon us? We were always faithful to you... Did we do something to upset you? -he asked sadly.
-Hey, you're wrong. I'm not the demigod you're talking about," said Jotaro, trying to get out of it.
-How can you not be? You have his looks and his clothes! -insisted the man.
Jotaro felt sweat beading on his forehead.
-But demigods have ears and tails... and I don't have any.
The man took a step away and watched him carefully. The old woman in the group also looked at him curiously.
-It's true. He doesn't have ears or a tail," she said.
-You see? I'm not a demigod," Jotaro repeated.
-But then how come you have his clothes? -asked the old woman, still suspicious.
Jotaro opened his mouth to answer, but at that instant, a shout echoed in the distance. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound. Jotaro felt his heart stop as he saw Kira running at full speed, chased by a crowd of people who were the people of the village.
-Jotaro, help me! -shouted Kira in desperation.
- Kira?! -thought Jotaro in surprise.
- Did Jotaro just say? -asked the old woman.
-Why did you have to say my name, Kira," thought Jotaro, horrified.
In a second, Kira lunged at him, knocking him to the ground.
-Hey, Kira! What are you doing here? -asked Jotaro, trying to get up.
Murmurs began to spread among the villagers.
-Isn't that the demigod Jotaro? -It looks a lot like him. -It must be him! -He's back!
Before the crowd could pounce on Jotaro, the same man who had grabbed him by the hands earlier stepped between them.
-Calm down! -he ordered.
The crowd stopped.
-He is not the demigod Jotaro. Look closely, he has no ears and no tail.
The villagers looked at him closely and, noticing the absence of demigod features, began to murmur in disappointment.
-It's true, we were wrong. -For a moment I thought he had returned. -What a disappointment.
With regret, the villagers apologized. Jotaro got up from the ground and brushed Kira off.
- Don't worry, it's normal that they thought I was that demigod Jotaro, for wearing the same clothes," said Jotaro.
-Although it's true that I am," thought Jotaro.
The old woman approached Kira and asked her.
-Excuse me young lady, just out of curiosity, your name is not Kira, is it?
Kira looked at the old woman and answered.
-Yes, my name is Kira....
Kira noticed that Jotaro was nervous, so Kira decided to say another name.
-My name is Akira, why?
-No, nothing, I just thought you looked familiar," answered the old woman.
- Really? -asked Kira with a smile.
Jotaro stared at Kira as he wondered.
-Did Kira... Didn't she notice that I was nervous? -Jotaro thought.
Suddenly the man who had calmed the people down said.
-All right since we now know that he, is not the demigod Jotaro. I think we should go repair the houses that were destroyed by the monsters.
All the villagers agreed, and started to disperse to repair the houses destroyed by the monsters. Jotaro, stood watching the people walk away sadly.
Aiko approached him and whispered.
-Jotaro, just out of curiosity? You're not that demigod Jotaro, are you?
-How do you think! I could never be a demigod! -he exclaimed nervously.
-Really? It's strange that you have the same name and the same clothes. Besides, everyone seemed to be convinced that you were him.... -said Aiko.
Before Jotaro could respond, Kira intervened.
-Excuse me, Aiko, could I speak to Jotaro for a moment in private?
-Yes, sure.
Jotaro looked at her quizzically.
-What do you want to talk about, Kira?
-First, let's go somewhere else," she answered seriously.
Jotaro felt a strange uneasiness, but agreed. He said goodbye briefly to Aiko and followed Kira.
- What would Kira want to talk to Jotaro about? -said Aiko.
Jotaro and Kira walked for quite a while until Jotaro noticed that they were getting too far away from the village.
-Kira, don't you think we're far enough away?
-No, not yet," she answered without looking at him.
-It's okay...
Jotaro watched her out of the corner of his eye. Something in her attitude didn't fit. She looked more serious than usual.
Finally, Kira stopped.
-We're here.
Jotaro looked around and his eyes widened. Kira had taken him to the temple.
-The temple? Why did you bring me here? -he asked, puzzled.
-I wanted to talk to you without interruption," Kira replied, heading inside.
-But it would have been enough to go somewhere out of the way.
-Yes, but I wanted to do it here," said Kira.
Kira walked towards the entrance of the temple and asked Jotaro.
- Are you coming in?
-Yes.
Jotaro headed towards the entrance of the temple as he wondered why Kira had brought him to the temple.
Jotaro sighed and followed her into a simple room with shelves, three pictures of the forest and an antique bow that his father had given him when he was 6 years old. Kira looked at Jotaro steadily.
-So, are you going to tell me why you pretended you weren't the demigod of the temple?
Jotaro hesitated.
-Was that all? I thought it was something more serious.
- What did you think I was going to tell you?
-I don't know, I thought it was something important for you to be acting serious.
-Well, I ran out of things to say on the way over," Kira admitted with a smile.
-And me worrying... -Jotaro muttered.
-Now tell me. Why did you lie?
-All right, I'll tell you, but I want to know something first.
- What is it?
- Why did you bring me here? -asked Jotaro.
-Well... I don't know, it just seemed like the perfect place for this conversation," said Kira.
-Now that I answered you, I want you to answer my question," said Kira.
Jotaro sighed and decided to speak.
-Because I don't want them to know that I can hide my ears and tail.
Kira arched an eyebrow.
-What?
-I mean I don't want them to know that I can change my appearance to look like a normal person.
-And why hide it?
Jotaro looked down.
-Because... I don't want to be stuck here forever. I want to explore the world and meet more people.
Kira looked at him seriously.
-And why don't you?
-I can't. If I leave, monsters will attack the village.
-The bad thing about being a demigod is that we can't get away from our temple," Jotaro added quietly.
-Then why were you in the forest when you found me?
-I was close to the village so there was no danger, besides... at that time my parents were alive.
Kira sighed.
-All right, I won't insist anymore. But at least tell them that their demigod is fine, okay?
Jotaro smiled faintly.
-All right... Do you have any idea how to do it?
-I think so," Kira replied.
What neither of them noticed was Aiko's figure hiding in the doorway, her eyes wide with surprise.
-Jotaro... is he a demigod? -she whispered to herself.