"What do you mean?" I asked.
The monster looked at us calmly.
"You two share the same ancestor."
Creature frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The monster looked directly at him.
"Creature... what's your real name?"
Creature hesitated.
"...Why?"
"Just answer."
After a moment, he sighed.
"...Zenin Fogo."
The monster nodded.
"I thought so."
Then he turned toward me.
"And you... Kyoren Hisacage."
He smiled faintly.
"You are both descendants of the Fogo Clan."
Silence.
The wind itself seemed to stop.
"Creature," the monster continued, "you are the descendant of Tara Fogo."
He then pointed at me.
"And Kyoren... you are the descendant of Senjuro Fogo."
"Tara Fogo's younger brother."
My eyes widened.
"So..."
I could barely get the words out.
"...we have the same bloodline?"
The monster nodded.
"Yes."
Creature slowly turned toward me.
I looked back at him.
Neither of us spoke.
We didn't have to.
For all our lives...
We had fought alone.
We had lost everyone we loved.
We thought we had no family left.
But now...
Standing in front of each other...
We had finally found someone who shared our blood.
A tear rolled down Creature's face.
I didn't even realize I was crying too.
For the first time...
Neither of us was alone anymore.
The monster watched us quietly.
Then he cleared his throat.
"But..."
Creature and I looked at him together.
"What?"
Meanwhile...
Ash and Yamato were still trying to process everything.
Neither of them had spoken since the revelation.
The monster smiled.
"I haven't told you the best part yet."
"What do you mean?" Creature asked.
The monster looked at both of us.
"You two..."
He paused deliberately.
"...aren't the only descendants."
My heart skipped a beat.
"You actually have..."
He raised three fingers.
"...three brothers."
"What?!"
Creature and I shouted at the same time.
Ash nearly fell over.
Yamato rubbed his forehead.
"...I think I need a minute."