Kyoya Hibari

Character Outline
Kyoya Hibari (雲雀恭弥, Hibari Kyōya) is the leader of the Namimori Middle Discipline Committee, a group of delinquents who are all loyal to Hibari. He is a violent delinquent who uses his status to harass other students. As shown several times in the series, he prefers to be alone and cares little for his subordinates. He loves Namimori more than anything and will often say "I'll bite you to death," or "kamikorosu," to those that disturb Namimori Middle School. Hibari is very proud of his school and is apparently the only person who likes their school's anthem, even using it as his ringtone. In the Kokuyo Arc, he adopts the Kokuyo Assassin Birds' bird. The bird (subsequently nicknamed "Hibird" due to its connection to Hibari) becomes attached to Hibari. Hibird can also sing the school's anthem as Hibari loves it. Reborn piqued Hibari's curiosity early on in the series and Hibari considers him a worthy opponent, having a strong urge to fight him.

Personality
As stated by others, Hibari is a very scary character with no care in the well beings of others, preferring to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. This often leads his opponents to surprise him, as he doesn't think before attacking. As the head of Namimori Middle's Discilpline Committee, Hibari uses authority to assault those that get on his nerves, including his own subordinates.

A rare trait about him is his love for small animals, ranging from birds to hedgehogs. He is also fiercely loyal to his school and its rules, going so far as to punish others for breaking them even if they aren't students or at the school, such as Genkishi.

He is shown to dislike being indebt to anyone and strives to pay them back as soon as possible. Also, earlier in the series he is also shown to have a soft spot for I-Pin, having accepted her Valentines day chocolates with a smile and not taking money from Tsuna at a festival upon seeing I-Pin worried.

Future Hibari is shown to be more calm and observant about his opponents, and outwardly admits to hating illusionists because of his grudge towards Mukuro, the first person to have defeated him. His desire to be alone and attack people that annoy him still remains, though his actions are shown with more thought. Future Hibari is also seen being more respectful to Future Tsuna, showing that he has accepted him as his boss (as seen in one of the flashbacks of Irie Shoichi).

As stated by others, Hibari greatly resembles the first generation Cloud Guardian, Alaude.

Daily Life Arc
Hibari beat Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto up for using his office as their new base. Reborn saved them from him and as such Hibari gained interest in fighting him. Later, Dr. Shamal gave Hibari the sakura-kura virus so that Tsuna's Family could view the sakura in peace.

Kokuyo Arc
Due to the attacks on students of Namimori Junior High, Hibari went to Kokuyo Land to fight the gang's leader. He was later defeated by Mukuro, who took advantage of his Sakura-kura disease. He was imprisoned but later freed by Gokudera. Hibari then defeated both Ken and Chikusa and was given the cure to his illness. He then fought Mukuro again, but fell unconscious due to his previous injuries. Mukuro later tried to possess Hibari's body, but stopped due to the severity of the wounds.

Varia Arc
Hibari was made the Vongola Cloud Guardian after, but refused to be taught by Dino unless he could defeat him in battle. They fought in multiple environments so as to increase Hibari's fighting experience and so that he wouldn't see the damage done to the school. As a result, when Hibari reappeared after the Storm Match he was only calmed by the prospect of fighting Mukuro. During the Cloud Ring Battle, he appeared to defeat the Gola Mosca robot and attempted to battle with Xanxus. However, Gola Mosca once again became active and injured Hibari. During the Sky Ring Battle, he managed to resist the Death Heater venom but was injured while fighting Belphegor. He retired after rescuing Gokudera and Yamamoto.

Future Arc
In the Future, Hibari searched for information concerning Box Weapons by starting The Foundation. He also worked together in secret with the future Tsuna and the Millefiore spy Irie Shoichi. Hibari later saved Gokudera and Yamamoto from Gamma. He agreed to train Tsuna, trapping him in his globe of Needles, resulting in a halucinogenic state where Tsuna was granted his Inheritance. Hibari also helped Chrome draw out the power of her ring when her illusionary organs started to fail. Later, Hibari single handedly, defended the hideout against the Millefiore Raid (as instructed by Shouchi). After this, he infiltrated the Melone Base and fought Genkishi. The two were evenly matched, though Genkishi gained the advantage when Hibari had no more rings to spare. As he was about to land a finishing blow, Hibari was replaced by his Past self (a fact that his future self was also made aware of). After receiving help from the injured Guardians and Kusakabe, Hibari was able to separate the group from Genkishi when his Hedgehog Box Weapon expanded at great speed due to the strength of his Dying Will Flames. He was later (along with the other Vongola Guardians) given a Vongola Box Weapon.

Arcobaleno Trials Arc
During his trial of charisma, Skull paid Viper to trick Mukuro and Hibari into beating up Tsuna. However the two became more focused in battling one another. Eventually Tsuna was able to convince the two to stop, thus demonstrating his charisma and passing the trial. Later, during Reborn's trial of leadership, Hibari was defeated by Reborn (along with the rest of the Vongola Guardians). Hibari later destroyed the robot sent by Verde to kill him, and joined the other Guardians and Arcobaleno in fighting Verde's army.

Choice Arc
He later left the group and encountered the Future Dino, who began training him once again. After the Vongola lost the Choice battle, Hibari used his Vongola Box to slow down the Six Funeral Wreaths in order to help the Vongola escape.

Inheritance Succession Arc
After being sent back to the past to train, the Guardians meet Giotto, who revealed that the 10th Generation Guardians had yet to inherit the true power of the Vongola. Later Skull became Hibari's tutor as they both possess the Cloud Flame. That night Alaude appeared before him from the Vongola Ring. Hibari asked Alaude if he's strong or weak to which Alaude replied that he's strong, but has no interest in facing a child and left. Later that week, Alaude appeared again to give Hibari his trial. Hibari prepared himself to battle but Alaude told him that the trial would not involve fighting, making Hibari lose interest and walk away. Alaude then told Hibari that he shall deem him worthy of his Inheritance if he demonstrated his value as the Cloud Guardian, warning him that he only had until the end of the day. Ryohei tried to persuade Hibari to take his trial and ended up annoying Hibari with his persistence, and as the two prepared to fight on the school roof, Skull arrived via an airship and, angered by Hibari's lack of obedience, began to attack. During the fight the airship began to lose control and crash towards the School, however Ryohei and Hibari worked together and managed to stop it while defeating Skull and protecting Kyoko and Haru. Afterwards Hibari agreed to take the trial in order to repay Ryohei for protecting the school but at that moment Knuckle showed up, announcing that Ryohei had already passed his Trial by convincing Hibari. Alaude also appeared, declaring that Hibari too, had passed the test by refraining from socializing with the family while at the same time adapting to the situation to protect those that needed protection. Later, while the other Guardians were trapped in Daemon Spade's illusion, Skull took Hibari's armband so that he would chase him to Kokuyo Land. Once there Hibari went on a rampage and broke the illusion around the other Guardians.

Future Final Battle Arc
Back in the future, Hibari and Dino faced off against Daisy at Namimori High. Daisy opened his Box of Carnage and defeated Dino. However, Hibari was able to defeat Daisy once he used his Cambio Forma and confiscated the Sun Mare Ring. He later appeared to be killed by Kikyo, though it turned out to be an Illusion created by Mukuro. Later, Hibari had his Dying Will Flames drained by Ghost (along with everyone else present).

Inheritance Ceremony Arc
After being sent back to the past, Hibari soon started arguing with a transfer from Simon Middle School, Adelheid Suzuki, about the control of Namimori Middle School. The next day, they started fighting in the rooftop but were stopped by Tsuna. At the Ceremony, he surprised the entire Famiglia with his murderous intent and the fact that he had decided to show up at all. He states that the people who have disturbed the peace of Namimori Middle will be bitten to death. Later, he along with the other guardians was defeated by Enma, and had their Vongola Rings broken.

After the Simon Famiglia left, Dino asked him if he was all right. Hibari replied that he was, with the exception of his pride. Later, while Talbot was upgrading the Vongola Rings, Hibari waited in a different room from Tsuna and the others. Like the others, he was able to show his resolve and his Vongola Ring upgraded into Bracelet of the Clouds Version X. Upon arrival at the Shimon Island, he watches the others from a helicopter. When Adelheid appears to challenge the Vongola Famiglia he appears from helicopter along with Kusakabe who left shortly. He accepted Adelheid's challenge, claimed that she could not bite him to death and revealed his Vongola Gear, Modified Uniform, starting the battle.

Before Hibari could attack, Adelheid encased herself in her Diamond Castle, claiming it was impenetrable. She then summoned 500 Blizzardroids, claiming that they all possessed the same level of skill as her and that they would take Hibari's arm band. Uninterested, Hibari calmly strikes down the first Blizzardroids that attack him using a Cloud Flame-enhanced chain shot out from his tonfas, much to Adelheid's surprise. Hibari then, after casually yawning, begins striking down the other Blizzardroids, switching between his tonfas, the chain, Roll and Alaude's Handcuffs until all 500 have been destroyed. Undeterred yet surprised, Adelheid reforms several Blizzardroids behind Hibari, who dismisses them as not a threat to him. Adelheid then asks Hibari why a man of his caliber has sided with Tsuna, and Kyoya retorts that he isn't and asks Adelheid why she follows someone equally as pitiful. When Adelheid tries to defend Enma by saying he carries the sadness of Simon, Hibari remarks he is a small animal and that because he bears things too big for him and because of that he keeps on screaming.

This sends Adelheid into a rage, who declares that Enma hates war and only chose this path to preserve the Simon, while sending her revived Blizzardroids to attack Hibari, who quickly cuts them down. Hibari then begins striking Adelheid's Diamond Castle, but his attacks seem to do nothing more than leave shallow cracks in the ice. As Adelheid revives her Blizzardroids again, Hibari quickly defeats them and continues trying to break the castle, but Reborn comments that if Hibari continues at this pace he would run out of stamina. When Adelheid claims that Hibari will never break her castle and take her armband, Hibari says that in some cases, small animals aren't weaklings and have their methods of survival; otherwise they would've died out long ago. He then comments that Roll would be the one to shatter her castle from the inside; as Adelheid ponders what he means, it is revealed that Hibari planted copies of Roll in each crack he left. He then has Roll go into Needle Sphere Form and the copies inside the castle grow and shatter it. Hibari then appears behind a stunned Adelheid who says that despite her loss, Enma would revive the Simon and Hibari would regret siding with the Vongola. Hibari responds that he isn't on either side but does as he pleases, which Adelheid claims makes him a true cloud of the great sky. While Hibari doesn't like her phrasing, he states that the sky does allow the clouds to move freely, but one day he would bite up the sky itself.

After Daemon possesses Mukuro's body, Hibari challenges him into one-on-one battle and tells Tsuna and the others not to interfere. At first, he's seen gaining the upper hand until Daemon copied Ryohei's Vongola Gear and uses Maximum Sunshine Counter. Hibari able to dodges this since Daemon let it miss on purpose and then traps Hibari into his Illusionary world like he did to Gokudera, Yamamoto, Lambo, and Julie.

After Tsuna defeated Daemon, Hibari exits the world and sees the final key. A week later, Hibari leaves to fight the recently released Mukuro.

The Curse of the Rainbow Arc
Reborn asks Hibari if he wanted to be a part of the Representative Battle of the Rainbow; Hibari declined Reborn's request. Reborn states that Hibari got a severe case of hives after being with Tsuna and his Guardians during the long battle with Daemon. Later, it is revealed that he became Fon's representative, during the first battle royale round, where he eliminates Ryohei, but is immobilized by Yamamoto's Rain Flame Tranquility characteristic, which allowed Yamamoto and Gokudera to escape. On the second day, before the battle started, Hibari revealed to Dino that his sole reason for becoming Fon's representative was to 'bite him to death'.

Mukuro Rokudo
Hibari displays bitter resentment and rivalry towards Mukuro Rokudo due to humiliation over his defeat. As such Hibari appears to have developed an obsession to defeat Mukuro and from this, a hate for all illusionists. Reborn is even able to quell Hibari's rage by using the possibility of him fighting Mukuro again. Mukuro seems to have some interest in Hibari, after he was able to move with so many injuries. He even has his subordinates Ken, Chikusa, and Chrome to watch his match against Gola Mosca. In the future, they still continue with this rivalry and have yet to finish (since Mukuro is still imprisoned). However, they seem at least, to have a respect towards each other, Mukuro even sent a map of Melone Base to Hibari when he disguised himself as Byakuran's subordinate.

Tsunayoshi Sawada
In the Databook, he commented that he can't understand Tsuna since he's weak sometimes and strong sometimes (Dying Will Mode). At first, Tsuna didn't interest him, but in the Future, Tsuna already gained his respect. Hibari states the only two people that make him joyed to fight is Reborn and Future Tsuna. Together with Irie and Vongola Decimo (Future Tsuna), they planned to send Tsuna and the other Guardians from the Past to the Future. Tsuna also sees him as valuable comrade at fighting and thinks very highly of him. More often, though, Tsuna sees him as a scary person and doesn't want to incur his wrath. In Inheritance Ceremony Arc, when Tsuna lost his will to fight and depressed, Hibari confronted him and said that he makes a boring face and told him to watch closely his fight. This may mean that Hibari has started to acknowledge the current Tsuna's power, along with his statement to Adelheid, that "he will one day bite the sky", may show that he has a desire to fight Tsuna.

Ryohei Sasagawa
Both of them are the two oldest Guardians. Ryohei acknowledges Hibari's power and had already visited his house several times to challenge him but was always beaten by him (according to the art book). On the other hand, Hibari only sees him as a "noisy animal" and treats him like the others. However, in the Future, they seem to already have a respect toward each other. Ryohei even invited him to drink together at some event which Hibari refused, and sometimes their thoughts clash with each other and create an argument, which ends up with Ryohei challenging him to fight. In the Inheritance Succession Arc (anime only), Ryohei is the only one who managed to convince Hibari to take the trial. This makes Ryohei the second person to be able to convince Hibari on something, after Dino.

Dino
Dino is Hibari's home-tutor during the Ring Battles with the Varia; however, Hibari doesn't see him as his teacher and doesn't care about it, only wanting to bite him to death. Dino sees him as his student and acknowledges his skills when he trains him, but also finds it hard to train him since Hibari has no interest in listening to him. Moreover, Dino seems to be the only one who can convince Hibari to stop fighting, though at first, it was very hard to do so. However in the future, he is able to convince him more easily and always accompanies him if he "runs off" because of his dislike of crowds. They are not on good terms or close to each other, but Dino thinks of him as a reliable Guardian for Tsuna. Hibari doesn't seem to hate him, although is sometimes irritated by him.

Abilities and Weapons
In the future, Hibari has become very adept at using Rings; opening Cloud attribute Box weapon's with Cloud Rings, although he usually shatter's them after one use, due to the intensity of his flames. His signature Box weapons are his Cloud hedgehogs and are often used to fight opponents he deems as weak. And on occasion when fights opponents he deems as strong he uses his Cloud tonfa's.

The current as well as younger Hibari however is not as adept at using the Rings but continues to learn none the less, which eventually leads him to be adept at using them in the Future. The younger Hibari has also shown to be capable of emitting a massive Dying Will Flame with the Cloud Vongola Ring; his capacity to create a powerful Dying Will Flame is due to his resolve; his "irritation" for others.

Equipment

 * Tonfas - Hibari's tonfas seem to be his main weapon for combat. Later it is revealed that they hold hidden compartments. The ends of the tonfas can release flails and the sides contain spikes and hooks.
 * Cloud Hedgehog - In the future, Hibari's Box Weapon is a Cloud Hedgehog. When released, the hedgehog can multiply in number. He often will use his hedgehogs when he fights opponents he deems as weak. When facing stronger enemies, he then will instead use his Cloud Tonfas. Due to the Cloud Flame's Propagation ability, he can increase the size of his Hedgehogs to large proportions when they take in his flames.
 * Vongola Cloud Hedgehog - Hibari's original Cloud Hedgehog Roll is later integrated into his Vongola Box. It now appears as a Hedgehog with larger, but fewer, spikes than the other Cloud Hedgehogs.
 * Roll (Version X) - Roll takes his initial appearance (as he appeared before as a Cloud Hedgehog), although with jewels on both his forehead and chest. He is now capable of merging directly with Hibari for his Cambio Forma.
 * Cambio Forma: Alaude's Handcuffs - Hibari's Cambio Forma takes the form of a pair of spiked black handcuffs. He can multiply the number of handcuffs by using the Cloud Flame's Propagation attribute. These handcuffs can be used to envelop and restrain an opponent. Hibari can then dramatically decrease the size of the restraints, crushing his opponent on all sides of their body. In its Version X form the Cambio Forma allows Hibari to gain a pair of modified tonfas on each arm and a trench coat.
 * Bracelet of the Clouds Version X: The upgraded Vongola Cloud Ring, combined with Hibari's Vongola Box animal Roll.

Techniques

 * Cloud Flame Radar - He uses his Ring's Flames as a radar by thinly spreading the Flame over a wide area and using the vibrations to detect anything that enters the area. This allows him to counter illusions by using it to sense where the actual object is, as seen in his battle against Genkishi's Spettrale Nudibranchia.

Character Reception
On November 7, 2007, a character CD entitled "Sakura Addiction," featuring Mukuro and Hibari, was released, and became the most successful Reborn! character CD, debuting in ninth place in the Oricon charts. The single reached its peak at seventh place, but remained in the chart's Top 40 until mid-January of 2008. It contains duets and individual songs sung by both voice actors: Toshinobu Iida and Takashi Kondō. There are two available covers; both show one character as the main feature, with the other shown in the background with his back turned. The song "Sakura Addiction," which was a duet sung by both voice actors, was used as the fifth ending theme for the series.

For the second annual Seiyū Awards, Toshinobu Iida and Takashi Kondō each received a nomination for "Best Musical Performance," for "Sakura Addiction."

Trivia

 * According to the fanbook, his favorite food is hamburg steak.
 * "Hibari" can be translated into skylark, a kind of bird.
 * In the most recent poll, Hibari ranked first for popularity and second for strength.
 * In the 2007 and 2008 popularity poll for "the character I want as a groom," Hibari ranked first.
 * His pride is Namimori Middle's Disciplinary Committee and the iron hammer for those who are against its order.
 * Hibari seems to think that the Dying Will Flames are fueled by irritation instead of resolve, due to him thinking that both were the same thing.
 * Hibari shares the same seiyu, Takashi Kondo, with Alaude and Fon. Coincidentally, these three are all similar in appearance.
 * Even though he is still in Namimori Middle School, Hibari apparently owns and rides a motorcycle.
 * Hibari was featured on the cover of the eighteenth volume, the volume number being the same as his shorthand.
 * Due to a previous infection with the sakura-kura disease (which was later cured), he seems to feel uneasy around cherry blossoms and loses his will to fight.
 * He lives in a large traditional Japanese house with the same style as the one the Foundation built in the future.
 * According to Fuuta's ranking in the fanbook, he is ranked 1st in the Mafia to be able to protect his village even if a monster appears.
 * In the Haru Haru Interview in the 31st manga volume, Fon said that he and Hibari were related, but changed the subject knowing that Hibari would get angry if Fon said it out.
 * Character Songs Featured In:
 * Yakusoku no Basho e
 * Yakusoku no Basho e - vs. Millefiore
 * Mirai no Oozora E
 * Hitoribocchi no Sadame
 * Kokou no Pride
 * Horizon
 * Sakura Addiction (with Mukuro Rokudo)
 * Akashi
 * ONE NIGHT STAR (with Mukuro Rokudo)