Hiro Kimura

Hiro is Kanako’s (and later Naomi’s) best friend. He’s a young Japanese man, in his last year of high school at the time the story begins. His family comes from a clan of shinobi in the region of Koka, but has distanced itself from the clan, moved to Iya and stopped any active shinobi activities (ie mercenary missions). However, they still pass on ninjutsu to their son, and Hiro has been following a very strict training since childhood – both in the dojo for traditional martial arts and with his parents for everything else shinobi-related. This is of course his family's best guarded secret.

Hiro and Kanako are childhood friends, they’ve known each other their whole lives, and while they have other friends at school, they’re the closest person each other has. They’re known in the village as “Meiwaku” (japanese for "trouble"), a nickname that has been given to them by the annoyed villagers but that they have now appropriated. They’re known for their chaotic shenanigans, playing tricks on people, sneaking around in places they shouldn’t be, etc. 

Hiro is gay and (mostly) closeted. His parents know and don’t mind, but they’re worried about his safety and trying their best to protect him. Shinobi philosophy (or maybe just their personality) leads them to convincing Hiro to hide it and blend in with the straight majority. Hiro agrees, but deep down he wishes he didn’t have to. Being the only (to his knowledge) queer person in Iya doesn’t help (until Naomi moves in, and Kanako comes out). This changes a bit when he leaves to study in Osaka. Mentalities in the big city are much different, most people don’t care that’s he’s not straight, and he gets to meet other queer people (humhumMILOCLARKE). 

In Meiwaku as a group of chaotic teens, Hiro is the one who comes up with most of the elaborate plans (usually based on Kanako’s ideas and sometimes Naomi’s), and the one who gets them out of trouble. He’s a lot more discreet and sneaky than Kanako, who’s the loud and brash type and likes to make things blow up. He’s the “holder of the braincell”.

When Meiwaku later reunites as a thieving gang, he’s also regarded as the brains of the group, though not the boss as there is no hierarchy. 

Personality

Hiro is a rather chill guy, who doesn’t like to attract attention to himself. That attitude is somewhat unaided by his (by Iya’s standards) flamboyant personality and presentation, and by the fact that he’s best friends with the hurricane of a human being that is Misuki Kanako. He is a smart man, not prone to impulsivity, and who always thinks things through before doing them. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t do things that would be considered stupid or even reckless by anyone but him, Kanako and Naomi; but he puts a lot of thought into those, too. He appears rather confident, even when he is not, and hides his (thankfully few) insecurities from others. He is good at blending in with the crowd if needed, and although he prefers to be himself, he resorts to blending in a lot as a defense mechanism (both a result of his shinobi training and his being a closeted gay man in a conservative community). He is smart and well-spoken, and makes a good leader 

Hiro is not exactly closeted, but he doesn’t wear his queerness on his sleeve, and only opens up about it to his closest friends, or if directly asked. 

Hiro is good at keeping secrets, and a good liar – another result of his shinobi training. He’s as honest as possible with his close friends, but he keeps some secrets to himself (e.g. being a shinobi, until Naomi finds out and later outs him to Kanako). He is friendly but not quick to trust people (your typical “peach” personality). Outwardly, he appears as a friendly, smart and unthreatening man, though somewhat eccentric. In reality, he is more calculating than he appears, and doesn’t form meaningful bonds easily – though he is every bit as nice and friendly as he seems. However, he makes a very trustworthy and reliable friend or ally to people who have gained his trust (mostly Meiwaku). When his heart is involved, it usually leads to a dilemma between wanting to trust and be honest with the person he has a crush on, and his habit for secrecy and keeping to himself (this happened with Milo).

Chronology (mostly random tidbits)

-Naomi discovers that Hiro is a shinobi, when Hiro is sent by his parents to sneak around Goemon's house as a training exercise. He gets caught, and interrogated by Goemon, who has had beef with ninjas in the past (serious, deadly beef) and does not intend to take this threat lighty. Goemon's method of interrogation, ie threatening him with his sword, leaves Hiro seriously fearing for his life. Goemon lets him go after he swears that he has no ties to the Fuma and Hattori clans, with the promise that he will kill him if he tries again to sneak around his house (of course Goemon wouldn't actually kill him, but he would be in serious trouble).

After high school, Hiro and Kanako go to university for two years in the nearest town, and still live with their parents in Iya. After two years, they finally leave and get a flatshare in Osaka to continue their studies. Hiro is studying computer science and programming. While in Osaka, he joins a parkour group, a community where he feels a sense of belonging and where he can be himself openly without fear of judgement. His training as a shinobi, while still a secret, quickly make him very popular there.

While studying in the university library one day, Hiro meets a gaijin (a foreigner)  named Milo Clarke, who is studying medicine and also working in the library. They quickly become friends and study buddies. Kanako constantly teases Hiro about his obvious (at least to her)  crush on Milo. Hiro denies at first, but not for long; however, he  refrains from flirting with Milo, as he has a rule of not flirting with  men unless he’s 90% sure they’re queer. Meanwhile, Milo also has a massive crush on Hiro and is too shy (and closeted) to ever mention it.  After a while of watching Hiro silently pine, Kanako decides to take  matters into her own hands, and very straightforwardly ask Milo what he  thinks of gay people. Hiro panics, thinking that Kanako is going to out  him; Milo panics, thinking that Kanako has figured him out, and mutters  that he doesn’t care; Kanako justifies her question by the fact that  she’s bisexual; Hiro is dumbfounded because until now Kanako as never  identified as bisexual but rather as “straight woman who just this one  time dated a woman who presented very masculinely”. From there on, Hiro  tries to subtly flirt with Milo; unfortunately too subtly for him, so it  takes them way too long to finally end up together.
[Note: Milo is a  character that belongs to a friend and is still under construction;  more info will be added as more info is shared with me]