Hinao

Overview

Gallery

Hinao
Japanese	ヒナオ
Rōmaji	Hinao
Biographical Information
Status	Alive
Species	Human
Physical Description
Gender	Female
Professional Information
Affiliation	Cafe Haru Haru
Occupation	Cafe Shop Owner
Debut
Manga	Chapter 3

Hinao (ヒナオ) is the owner of Cafe Haru Haru, an establishment where sorcerers can connect with Yakuza leaders or major corporations in need of their services. Togo Shiba has frequented her services before, and she now assists him and Chihiro in gathering information on the Hishaku and the Enchanted Blades.

She is a major supporting character in the series.

Appearance

Hinao is a young woman with fairly large, dark-colored eyes. Her hair features two different colors, although the specific colors have not been disclosed yet. Her dark-colored hair is styled into two messy buns, with several untamed strands protruding, and she has a straight and evenly cut light-colored fringe with two chin-length side bangs that frame her face.

Her usual attire consists of a long-sleeved polo shirt worn underneath with necktie, complemented by a varsity jacket above. She pairs this with a short pleated skirt that falls above the knee and completes the look with high boots.

Personality

Hinao is overall a kind and helpful individual with moments of informality among those she trusts. With friends such as Shiba and Chihiro, she is very casual, engaging in back-and-forths with Shiba and being very enthusiastic in her interactions with Chihiro. She sympathises with Chihiro's mission, and uses the tools at her disposal to help him where she can.

Hinao's kindness shows especially in her interactions with some of Chihiro's other allies. Upon first meeting Char, Hinao was very patient with her, acknowledging her request and politely turning her down but offering her a place to rest. When Chihiro brought Hakuri back to his base before he and Shiba left for the Sazanami estate, Hinao offered a way for Hakuri to help through running errands for her, and overall treated him benevolently despite not having known him for long.

Relationships

Allies

Togo Shiba: Having known each other for a long time, Hinao and Shiba get along very well, Hinao casually flinging job offers at Shiba during one of their conversations and the two later bantering in a friendly manner. She ultimately respects Shiba enough to help him with his request to gather information on the Hishaku, fuelled in part by her initial meeting with Chihiro.

Chihiro Rokuhira: Hinao and Chihiro have been acquainted for three years, ever since Shiba brought Chihiro to visit in order to ask Hinao for assistance in inquiring about the Hishaku. In the present, Hinao has shown great respect for Chihiro, openly praising him when he walks in following her first encounter with Char and doing whatever she can to help him in his quest, including taking care of Char and providing a place for them to stay in addition to searching for information. Chihiro, for his part, is repeatedly thankful for Hinao's assistance.

Char Kyonagi: Hinao is openly kind towards Char, talking with her warmly and patiently during their first encounter, allowing Char to develop a degree of trust towards her. Later on, she would lend a jacket to Char, and when Sojo attacked Cafe Haru Haru Hinao carried Char on her back as they escaped, displaying the closeness between the two. During Chihiro and Shiba's investigation into the underworld following Chihiro defeating Sojo, Hinao helped take care of Char, a further representation of the growing bond between the two.

Hakuri Sazanami: Despite not having known him for long, Hinao treats Hakuri well. Seeing his desire to be of help during their initial encounter, Hinao politely offered for him to run errands for her. Upon seeing it would rain soon, Hinao found an umbrella for him, showing her kindness towards him.

Plot

Background

Three years ago, Shiba visited Hinao at her shop, where she informed him various about job opportunities. Shiba refused, having come for a different reason, and informed Hinao about the Hishaku's attack on the Rokuhira house and the theft of Kunishige's enchanted blades. Shiba asked her to use her resources to find any information on the Hishaku, to which she agreed. Chihiro was also present during Shiba and Hinao's meeting.

Vs. Sojo Arc

In the present, Hinao had not uncovered any information, but abruptly noted the presence of Char at the door. Char quickly asked if Hinao could source her a bodyguard but Hinao brought up the fact Char had no money. Hinao asked about Char's pursuers and the younger girl responded one of her pursuers held 'the most strongest sword'. Suspecting a link to the Enchanted Blades, Hinao dialled Shiba, who quickly turned up with Chihiro soon after.

After greeting Hinao, the two went into the back room where Char was sleeping. Shiba was distrustful in the information, thinking it a product of Char's imagination, but his view softened after finding out Char was an orphan. Chihiro decided to treat her to a meal of soba to glean more information from her, and Shiba drove Chihiro and Char to a soba shop to eat.

Chihiro and Char returned after an encounter with Norisaku Madoka, Chihiro having decided to protect Char in order to track her pursuers. Hinao lent Char a jacket, and was glad her information had been useful. Chihiro vocalised his gratitude as well. Char then suddenly collapsed, having not eaten much soba and thus was still hungry. Chihiro agreed to go out and buy her something.

Before he left, Chihiro went to the bathroom and Char snuck into Shiba's car, which Chihiro would later drive. Hinao decided not to keep her in the cafe as Char said she 'really needed some fresh air' and Hinao also wanted to make sure Char stayed away from the sorcerers frequenting her shop, as they might be the ones after her. She later retold this to Chihiro when he was driving, to which he reluctantly agreed Char could stay in the car. Sometime later, Hinao saw news of Sojo's bounty placed on Char and Enten on her computer, and frantically called Chihiro, unaware that he was already being pursued by the Puppet Sorcerer at the time.

Sometime later, Shiba returned to the cafe and asked her to investigate Genichi Sojo. Not long afterwards, Chihiro, Char and Azami returned, Hinao wondering if Azami was here to take Char into custody. Azami wished he could help secure Char's safety, but that would go against the Kamunabi's policies, prompting Char to celebrate being able to stay with Chihiro. Hinao then watched as Azami and Shiba discussed Sojo, Shinuchi and the Rakuzaichi.

Azami and Shiba then left to plan out their next actions, while Chihiro, Char and Hinao stayed in the cafe. The next morning, as Char was still asleep, Sojo bursted into the cafe and immediately engaged Chihiro, Hinao quickly hiding in the back room with Char. Sojo's resulting Mei completely destroyed one of the cafe's walls as Chihiro was blasted through it, and Chihiro rapidly took the battle outside, Sojo hot on his heels. Hinao and Char also fled the scene away from the fight.

The two were later ambushed by some of Sojo's subordinates, who knocked Hinao unconscious and took Char. Hinao later recovered in the same hospital as Chihiro, Shiba at one point offering her some apples he had chopped.

Rakuzaichi Arc

After Chihiro's raid on Kaburato Castle, he and Shiba planned to investigate the underworld in search of links to the Sazanami Clan. During that time, Hinao took care of Char on Chihiro's behalf.

After Chihiro and Shiba had left to attack the Sazanami estate, Hinao asked Hakuri to run an errand for her. Shortly after, having seen it was going to rain soon, Hinao walked onto the stairs outside to give Hakuri an umbrella, and saw Soya with Hakuri. Thinking Hinao was the cause of Hakuri abandoning his family, Soya aimed to kill her but Hinao rapidly dialled and hung up on Shiba, who heard the noise at the estate and teleported to the area, quickly grabbing Soya and teleporting him into the air. On the ground, Hakuri asked how Shiba had arrived and Hinao how her plan had functioned.

Later, when Chihiro, Shiba and Hakuri returned, she recognised their collective dismay after Chihiro had to give up Enten. Two days afterwards, Hinao sat in a car with Hakuri, Chihiro and Shiba as the Chihiro and Shiba discussed their plan to investigate Kyora's Storehouse. During the next few days, Hinao, Char and Hakuri played games in several locations while Chihiro and Shiba were conducting their investigation.

On the day of the Rakuzaichi, November 8th, Hinao, Char and Hakuri waited in a car parked near the auction building. Soon after 12:00 noon, Shiba teleported into the car, dropped off Yuu and teleported back into the building with Hakuri. Yuu explained why he was there and his sister's circumstances to Hinao and Char. Sometime later, the three spotted a crowd of people materialising in the front yard of the building, Hinao recognising them as prisoners from the Storehouse and moving to check if Yuu's sister was among them. When Yuu's sister was transported out, Yuu ran out to greet her, Hinao and Char also exiting the car.

Sword Bearer Assassination Arc

The day after, Char spent some time visiting Chihiro, and when Chihiro woke up Char greeted him as Hinao came to pick her up, the two leaving soon after.

Etymology

The name Hinao (ヒナオ) is written in katakana, which doesn’t have inherent meanings. However, Japanese names in katakana can sometimes be linked to kanji characters with specific meanings. For "ヒナオ", a possible kanji representation is "雛央".

• 雛 (Hina): Means "chick" or "young bird." It can also refer to "doll" or "ornament," suggesting something small and delicate.
• 央 (Ao): Means "center" or "middle," and it’s often used in names to imply balance or centrality.