Hiyuki Kagari

Overview

Synopsis

Gallery

Hiyuki Kagari
Japanese	香 (か) 刈 (がり) 緋 (ひ) 雪 (ゆき)
Rōmaji	Kagari Hiyuki
Biographical Information
Status	Alive
Physical Description
Gender	Female
Eye Color	Black
Hair Color	Black
Professional Information
Affiliation	Kamunabi
Occupation	Sorcerer
Partner	Tafuku Mihara
Debut
Manga	Chapter 18

“I can't do this unless you come at me for real! My life has to be on the line too!” ― Hiyuki to Chihiro, demanding him give his all in their battle and stop holding back.

Hiyuki Kagari (香 (か) 刈 (がり) 緋 (ひ) 雪 (ゆき) , Kagari Hiyuki) is a major character within Kagurabachi. She is an elite sorcerer of the Kamunabi and the strongest fighter in the organization. Hiyuki is stated to be the only member of the Kamunabi capable of opposing an Enchanted Blade, wielding the Flame Bone of the Starving, which is said to match the blades' strength.

Initially introduced as a minor antagonist, she becomes a reluctant ally of Chihiro Rokuhira during the Rakuzaichi Arc.

Appearance

Hiyuki is a young woman with black eyes and neck-length black hair, styled with a pair of bangs framing her face and one falling across her forehead between her eyes. She has thin but sharp eyebrows and relatively large eyes. She stands slightly taller than Chihiro.

Hiyuki's attire consists of a pair of black trousers, high heels, a leather jacket with a black turtleneck shirt and long sleeves. She also wears a pair of long golden earrings.

Personality

At first glance, Hiyuki appears to be a picturesque soldier of the Kamunabi; she is incredibly loyal to the organisation, wholeheartedly believing that the Enchanted Blades should be in the possession of the government. In this regard, she shows distaste for individuals like Chihiro who possess the Enchanted Blades, believing them to have no right to wield such a weapon for their own interests. Hiyuki's view is supported by the fate of individuals like Kazane Machi, who suffered misery and tragedy at the hands of an individual with an Enchanted Blade.

Hiyuki wants a fight to the death with Chihiro.

However, when Hiyuki is fighting, a different side of her emerges. Hiyuki has stated she cannot find enjoyment in killing enemies who are weak, and in battle demands her opponent to go all-out in order to fuel her adrenaline and give her satisfaction from fighting. When Chihiro attempted to avoid entering a deadly confrontation with Hiyuki, Hiyuki scoffed at his 'noble beliefs', and when he later began supposedly fighting for real but slashed at Hiyuki with the flat of his blade, Hiyuki chose to take the hit in order to illustrate her desire for the two of them to fight properly.

Hiyuki has also been shown to be stubborn, refusing to take into account Chihiro's good deeds as a reason to let him keep Enten, as well as short-tempered, quickly growing angry on two separate occasions; when she believed Chihiro was lying to her and when Chihiro continued to hold back even when he began fighting back.

Hiyuki objects to the plan to bid on Shinuchi.

Despite being primarily loyal to her organisation, Hiyuki frequently questions their decisions when they go against her moral compass, such as her superiors deciding to buy Shinuchi and let the morally repugnant auction continue rather than try and shut it down for good. She overall cares strongly about morality, being easily driven to anger when Chihiro questioned her refusal to interfere with the Rakuzaichi.

Relationships

Allies

Kamunabi

Tafuku Mihara

Tafuku is Hiyuki's partner during missions assigned by the Kamunabi. The two's personalities are complete opposites; where Hiyuki is hot-headed and easily prone to anger, Tafuku serves as a calm voice of reason, but the two work together effectively despite this. It is implied Tafuku and Hiyuki have worked together for an extended period of time, given how easily the two trust each other and how they communicate casually in and out of combat. Hiyuki is very familiar with the workings of Tafuku's sorcery, knowing to hold back when punching Hakuri so as to give Tafuku's subspace as much remaining time as possible. Likewise, Tafuku is aware of Hiyuki's techniques, recognising her use of Spinal Column as an indicator for Hiyuki's desire to kill Chihiro. Tafuku respects Hiyuki's seniority over him, deferring to her judgement most of the time, but the two overall communicate as if they were on equal terms.

Kamunabi Leadership

Hiyuki is generally cordial when addressing her superiors, following her orders as a soldier would. However, her moral compass and sense of conscience occasionally lead her to question the higher-ups' decisions, such as when she was told they would be bidding on Shinuchi rather than take the blade back through force and destroy the morally corrupt auction in the process. While Hiyuki overall accepted the decision, her discontent with the decision remained strong, and would later cause her to forego her assignment to keep watch on Chihiro in favour of turning her attention towards attacking the auction.

Chihiro Rokuhira

Initially, Hiyuki is heavily opposed to Chihiro, especially his ownership of an Enchanted Blade. Wielding a weapon of immense power herself (Flame Bone), she understands the necessity for such forces of power to be used for the right purposes, and holds great disdain for those who wield such weapons for independent purposes; such as Chihiro. Her hatred for him grows to a more personal level when he refuses to go all out during their first battle, Hiyuki choosing to take one of his attacks in order to make her point clear, her battle mania surprising Tafuku and Hakuri.

When Chihiro attempted to negotiate with her through appealing to her moral side at the Rakuzaichi, Hiyuki had a moral dilemma and quickly grew furious at being provoked to the point of reopening the wound Chihiro inflicted upon her. Despite this, she begrudgingly agreed to let him do as he pleased at the auction, supposedly for the chance to kill him later on.

Over the course of the rest of the Rakuzaichi Arc, her view of him became less hostile. After Kyora began using Magatsumi, the two formed a temporary alliance against Kyora, displaying their capacity to work together given a more pressing threat. Afterwards, when Tafuku had sealed the three of them into his dimension, Hiyuki managed to momentarily apologise for having to take the blades from him, showing her view of him had improved drastically from its prior sheer hatred. Ultimately, she also agreed to Chihiro's deal to hand over Shinuchi in exchange for joining forces with the Kamunabi, despite having the opportunity to take both Enten and Shinuchi by force; having clearly reneged her previous desire to kill him.

Abilities

As the strongest fighter of the Kamunabi, Hiyuki is extremely powerful. It can be assumed she has a high rank within the Kamunabi, having command over at least one subordinate, which is further evidenced by her directly reporting to the highest-ranking leaders of the organization. Hiyuki holds great confidence in her strength, justified by her ability to fight one-on-one with Chihiro Rokuhira, wielder of an Enchanted Blade and her ability to easily dispatch even sorcerers of the Sazanami Clan, who have been taught to use spirit energy since childhood.

As a sorcerer, Hiyuki has accomplished the first stage of spirit energy usage, being able to use her spirit energy to strengthen her body to superhuman levels.

Enhanced Speed and Reflexes: Hiyuki is extremely fast, being able to move so quick that Chihiro barely had time to block her initial attack and was able to instantly leap high into the air for a follow up attack. She also has extraordinary reflexes, as she was capable of grabbing Chihiro's short sword while he was using Nishiki.

Enhanced Endurance: Hiyuki was able to take a hit to the forehead from the flat side of Chihiro's Enchanted Blade which caused her to bleed profusely and was able to continue fighting until he left.

Enhanced Durability: Hiyuki is an incredibly resilient woman, remaining completely unscathed after being hit by Magatsumi's Centipede attack as well as being knocked into the Rakuzaichi audience with tremendous force.

Combat Prowess

Master Combatant: Befitting her renowned status within the Kamunabi, Hiyuki is an extremely skilled and powerful combatant. Through attacking in tandem with Flame Bone's flaming skeletal limb, she is able to launch strikes that can blast opponents into walls and both destroy and ignite said walls, even overcoming the enchanted blade Enten's absorption capabilities.

Sorcery

Hiyuki summons Flame Bone.

Flame Bone of the Starving (餓 (が) 者 (しゃ) の炎骨 (えんこつ) , Gasha no Enkotsu): Hiyuki's sorcery allows her to generate different parts of a skeleton, with the bones created being wreathed in extremely hot fire by giving commands to an entity called Rikuo. She has created a hand over her arm to amplify her own strikes, summoned ribs from the ground to attack from below, and can also summon a hand remotely to attack her enemies from a distance. The highest-ranking leader of the Kamunabi and Togo Shiba stated that Flame Bone's power is on a similar level as the Enchanted Blades, and according to Chihiro, Flame Bone's spirit energy is immense.

Techniques

	Hand (手 (て) , Te) - Hiyuki calls for a hand from Rikuo. The hand manifests as a skeletal flaming fist that can fit securely around Hiyuki's arm, and can also be summoned remotely to be used as a projectile. Hiyuki utilises this hand to amplify the damage of her own attacks, able to send targets flying into walls and ignite them in the process. When used as projectiles, these hands have displayed the ability to detonate into large explosions. Command: "Rikuo. Give me a hand." (陸 (りく) 郎 (お) , 手 (て) ェ貸 (か) せ, Rikuo, tēkase)
	Ribs (肋 (あばら) , Abara) - Hiyuki orders Rikuo to summon flaming ribs from the ground. These ribs can be utilised offensively to stab at opponents from underneath, or defensively to act as a protective barrier to drive off opponents. Command: "Rikuo. Ribs." (陸 (りく) 郎 (お) , 肋 (あばら) だ, Rikuo, abarada)
	Spinal Column (脊 (せき) 柱 (ちゅう) , Sekichū) - Hiyuki orders Rikuo to unleash the spinal column. While not directly seen due to Hiyuki cancelling the attack, Tafuku implied it is one of her more powerful techniques. Command: "Rikuo. Spinal column." (陸 (りく) 郎 (お) , 脊 (せき) 柱 (ちゅう) 寄越 (よこ) せ, Rikuo, sekichū yokose)

Etymology

The name Hiyuki Kagari (香 (か) 刈 (がり) 緋 (ひ) 雪 (ゆき) , Kagari Hiyuki) blends ideas of delicate snow and bright crimson, suggesting purity, beauty, and intensity.

• 香 (か) (Ka): Means "fragrance" or "pleasant aroma," suggesting something delicate and refined.
• 刈 (がり) (Gari): Means "cutting" or "harvesting," which can symbolize gathering something valuable.
• 緋 (ひ) (Hi): Refers to a "deep crimson color," which evokes vivid and intense beauty.
• 雪 (ゆき) (Yuki): Means "snow," symbolizing purity and tranquility.

Trivia

• Hiyuki was initially mistakenly referred to with he/him pronouns in the official VIZ translation of Chapter 21, however this was later corrected.