Fake kenji

> "Then what took you so long?" Yuki teased. "What were you actually doing with them?"

> "I was fighting for my life!" Kenji groaned, throwing his hands in the air. "Is this how you welcome someone who just escaped? Wait, were you guys actually coming to save me?"

> *Masaru* looked around, scratching his head. "Well, yeah. But wait... where is *Tokoro*?"

> "Oh, he's probably with *Hitoshi* somewhere near here," Kenji said casually. Then, he stopped. He looked at Yuki, then looked at the person standing right next to her. It was *Yukito*. They looked completely identical. Kenji blinked, totally confused. "Wait... are you two brothers? Your faces look exactly the same!"

> Yuki just laughed and said, "Yeah, pretty much."

> A few minutes later, Tokoro finally walked into the clearing. he stopped when she saw the huge crowd. "Oh! Look at you guys," she said, surprised. "You all look the same, yet so different! You're here too?"

> Masaru nudged *Kazuya* and whispered, "I think she's talking about Yuki and his brother."

> Kazuya nodded and looked at Tokoro. "Their names are Yukito and yuki 

> Tokoro looked between the two boys, completely baffled. "Wait, so who is Yuki and who is Yukito? How do you guys even tell them apart?"

> "Easy," Kazuya smiled, pointing. "Yuki has a special mark on his hand. That's how you know."

> After clearing up the twin confusion, the group started telling Tokoro the big news. They explained how Kenji had been captured by the demons and how he had single-handedly beaten them up to escape.

> Tokoro's eyes went wide. "Wow... so much happened while I was gone?" he turned to Kenji, his. face full of worry, wanting to ask him if he was okay.

> Kenji smiled gently and patted his.   shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I'm totally fine. Tell you what—let me make your favorite cookies, and we can all sit down and relax for a bit."

> Kenji started baking right there in the camp. Soon, the warm smell of fresh cookies filled the air. Everyone sat down, laughing, talking, and taking big bites of the cookies. The tension was finally melting away.

> But the peace didn't last long.

> Tokoro chewed his cookie, swallowed, and suddenly froze. The smile vanished from his face.

> "You're not Kenji," Tokoro said, his  voice dead serious.

> Everyone stopped talking. The laughter died instantly. The half-eaten cookies felt heavy in their hands.

> "Tokoro, what are you talking about?" Kazuya asked, confused.

> Tokoro stood up, staring coldly at the man who looked like Kenji. "You're someone else. The real Kenji knows that I always eat my cookies with extra sugar. But in these cookies, the sugar is just normal. Perfect, but normal."

> The fake Kenji didn't panic. He just smiled smoothly. "Come on, Tokoro. I made these for the whole group. I didn't want to put too much sugar because of everyone else."

> He stood up to walk away, trying to shrug it off. But Tokoro moved faster. He reached into his  pocket, pulled out a sharp knife, and pointed it straight at him.

> "Oh, really? Nice excuse," Tokoro whispered, his. eyes sharp. "Then let me ask you this. If you are Kenji, why is your *special knife* in your pocket right now?"

> The fake Kenji stiffened.

> "See, I noticed something," Tokoro continued, voice tightening. "The real Kenji has a very unique, one-of-a-kind knife. But my friends back at the base just sent a message. They found Kenji's special knife left behind in the demon cell. A unique knife like that cannot be in two different places at the same time. I knew the sugar was a red flag, but this? This proves it. You are a fake."

> For a long, agonizing second, nobody breathed.

> Then, the man standing before them slowly lowered his head. His shoulders started to shake. A low, creepy chuckle came out of his throat. The chuckle grew louder, turning into a wild, echoing laugh that sent chills down everyone's spines.

> _"Ahahaha! Hahaha!"_

> He looked up, but his face was changing. His skin started to shimmer and peel away like dark smoke. His warm eyes turned hollow and cruel. The illusion broke, and the fake Kenji vanished.

"You figured it out even before you knew about Hitoshi, didn't you?" Yami said, his voice cutting through the tense silence.

Tokoro locked eyes with him, unfazed. "Where is Kenji? Tell me how you even got in here."

Yami let out a low, cold chuckle. "We were the ones who took Kenji. Once he was captured, Yamikaze used his shadow magic to mimic his appearance, perfectly blending in. Kenji, however, is still locked away as our prisoner."

Yamikaze stepped forward, a smug grin playing on his lips. The illusion was completely shattered now.

"You see," Yami continued, pulling out a dagger, "Kenji owned a very unique, custom knife. When the demons came to ambush him, a violent struggle broke out, and Kenji dropped his blade in the chaos. It was left behind at his house. But when Yamikaze took his form, he carried a replica of that very knife. The real one was sitting at home, while the fake one was right in front of you. That was the slip-up."

Hearing this, a collective shock washed over everyone in the room. The puzzle pieces had finally fallen into place.

Yamikaze’s expression quickly hardened, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. "Enough games. Tell us about Hitoshi right now, or Kenji won't live to see another day."

Tokoro raised an eyebrow, entirely unbothered by the death threat. "Who exactly are you talking about? Takeru Hitoshi?"

"Who else would it be?!" Yamikaze snapped, his patience wearing dangerously thin.

Tokoro simply smiled—a calm, knowing grin that irritated them even more. "Listen to me, boys. You should leave this place while you still have the chance. Once Hitoshi arrives, you won't have time to regret it."

Hearing Tokoro's warnings, the others in the room burst into mocking laughter, completely dismissing the threat.

Yamikaze leaned in, his eyes burning with dark anticipation. "But that is exactly what I want. Tell me, where is Hitoshi?"

Tokoro leaned back, matching his gaze. "Bring Kenji out and stand him right in front of me first."

"No," Yamikaze countered sharply. "Bring Hitoshi to us first."

> Watching their drama unfold, *Yuki* finally lost his patience. Pointing a finger directly at Yamikaze, he snapped, "Cut the drama, both of you! First, you deal with me."

> Yamikaze looked at him, completely amused. "You? _You_ want to fight me?"

> "Yeah, me! Why? Got a problem with that? Or are you just scared?" Yuki shot back, his voice dripping with anger.

> Yamikaze laughed it off. "Are you out of your mind? Why on earth would I be scared of you?"

> "You're both out of your minds!" *Tokoro* interrupted, trying to bring them back to reality. "Yuki, let's go. We need to save Kenji first. Just leave this loser alone."

> But Yuki wasn't backing down. "You guys go save Kenji. I'll handle this guy right here."

> "You can't take him alone," *Tatsuya* stepped up. "I'm staying with you."

> "Tatsuya, don't worry about me," Yuki replied, keeping his focus sharp.

> Suddenly, a massive crash echoed through the air. Yamikaze slammed violently into the ground.

Ei image er lekha ta hubahu dilam:

> Everyone looked up in pure shock, only to see Yuki standing there, panting heavily from the impact of his move.

> *Masaru's* eyes widened as he finally figured it out. "Wait a minute... if Yuki is right here, then who... Ah! That's *Yukito!* Tatsuya, the one you were talking to this whole time is Yukito!"

> Tatsuya stood there, completely stunned. "Man, you don't even need a live wire to get a shock anymore. These twin brothers are on another level!"

> Yuki didn't waste a second. He glanced at his brother and yelled, "*Yukito, go! Take them and save Kenji right now!*"

> With that, Yuki threw himself into a fierce battle with Yamikaze.