Tiny hitoshi

"Honestly, I think Yuki is just overthinking this whole thing," Masaru chimed in, tossing his hands behind his head.

Yuki stopped in his tracks and turned to face them. Yumeko closely watched his expression, sensing his genuine anxiety. "Do you guys even remember the man we ran into here?" Yuki asked.

The group paused, trying to piece together their memories of the previous night.

"Oh, wait," Tatsuya's eyes widened as it clicked. "The guy who told us about this place?"

"Exactly," Yuki said, his voice dropping. "Him."

Determined to find answers, they searched the area, but the clearing was completely deserted. The eerie silence of the Space of Demon seemed to swallow their footsteps. Just as they were about to give up hope, they spotted a small, secluded house hidden among the trees.

"Come on," Kazuya suggested, gesturing toward it. "Let's go over there and see if we can get some answers."

As they approached the house, Yuki noticed a man in the yard, quietly watering a small plant. Yuki walked up to him and politely asked about the mysterious stranger from the before 

The man finished watering his plant in silence. Without looking up, he simply said, "Legend Hinosoki isn't here." With that, he turned on his heel and started walking back inside.

"Wait! Hold on a second!" Yuki called out, completely bewildered. "Who even is Legend Hinosoki? We just came to ask about a man... a man who was guarding this place."

Tatsuya stepped forward, trying to get a straight answer. "Where is he now?"

The man stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he slowly turned around, his eyes narrowing into a sharp, icy glare as he intensely scanned the five teenagers. The atmosphere instantly grew heavy, and a tense silence stretched between them.

"You kids shouldn't be throwing that name around so carelessly," the man said, his voice dropping to a low, warning rumble. "But since you already know this much... you better come inside before someone hears you."

The five friends followed him into the modest house, sitting down in a tense, heavy silence. The man, whose name was Kenji, stood before them.

He looked incredibly strong, his posture rigid and commanding. He locked the front door, checked out the window to ensure they hadn't been followed, and finally turned back to them.

"Look, I don't know how you crossed paths with him," Kenji said quietly, his eyes locked onto Yuki. "But the man you met... he is a spy from the Shimaru Sector."

The revelation hit the group like a physical blow. They exchanged stunned, wide-eyed glances. Even Yumeko looked completely paralyzed with shock. Looking at the old man the night before, they would have never guessed in a million years that he was harboring such a dangerous secret.

"Are you serious?!" Yuki blurted out, his voice cracking with disbelief. "He's really a spy?!"

"Yes," Kenji confirmed, crossing his arms. "Hinosoki is a secret agent of the Shimaru Sector. In fact, their sector only has two special secret agents of that high of a caliber."

Beside Yuki, Yuma shifted nervously and opened his mouth to say something. But before Yuma could even get a word out, Yuki leaned forward, completely cutting him off, his mind spinning with questions.

"Okay, wait," Yuki interrupted, staring directly at Kenji. "If he's a top-tier secret agent... then what is Hinosoki doing out here? Is Hinosoki the one guarding this specific Space of Demon?!"

Hearing those words, Kenji's expression instantly hardened. His eyes flashed with a sudden, sharp anger as he glared intensely at Yuki. A heavy, chilling silence filled the room before Kenji spoke in a low, unsettling voice that sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

"Whatever you've said, you've said it," Kenji warned, his tone dangerously calm. "But if you say another word... you won't survive to see tomorrow."

Yuki blinked, completely taken aback by his sudden outburst. She held her hands up defensively, a mix of confusion and fear in her voice. "Wait, I haven't even said anything that harsh yet! Did I... did I actually say something wrong?"

Kenji stepped closer, his gaze locking onto hers. "How could you say something like that so directly?!" he snapped.

The conversation had taken a sudden turn toward Takeru Hitoshi and his legendary 'brave level.' Feeling completely left out of the loop, the rest of the group started getting bored and impatient with the cryptic conversation. They looked back and forth between Kenji and Yuki, thoroughly confused

"Ugh, who on earth is that supposed to be anyway?" one of them asked, sighing.

Kenji's expression shifted from anger to a look of profound respect. "He is the legend, Hinosoki Takeru Hitoshi," Kenji announced proudly.

Asano, who had been quietly listening, suddenly put the pieces together. "Wait... so the secret agents are called Hinosoki?"

"Exactly," Kenji nodded, his voice filled with gravity. "And these Hitoshi-level agents are incredibly powerful. People don't just become Hinosoki by chance. Takeru Hitoshi is a legendary agent from the Shimaru Sector!"

Everyone fell completely silent, listening to Kenji's words in absolute awe. The sheer weight of what he was describing left them stunned.

Yuki looked at Kenji, her curiosity getting the better of her. "If he is such a big deal... what is your relationship with him? Who are you to him?"

Kenji looked around the room. "I live with him. Right here, in this very place."

Tatsuya's eyes widened in realization as he looked at the others. "Wait a minute... does that mean the person we were talking to earlier was actually Takeru Hitoshi?"

"Yes!" Yuki exclaimed, snapping  his fingers. "He was the one who spoke with us!"

Masaru chimed in, nodding in agreement. "Hmm, that's right. He even told us about Kenshi!"

Kenji's eyes went wide, his furious and shocked gaze snapping back to them. "What?! He... he actually told you guys about Kenshi?!"

Meanwhile, Yumeko was standing to the side, completely lost. She couldn't understand a single thing they were talking about. Looking back and forth at their familiar interactions, she finally turned to Yuki, whispering in total confusion, "Have the four of you... actually been here before?"