Hibiki Kohaku

""Lord Kagura won't be coming.""

Hibiki Kohaku (ヒビキ＝コハク) is a captain of the Novus Orbis Librarium who first appeared in BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma. He is Kagura Mutsuki's loyal servant and aide-de-camp who provided him assistance with the coup d'état against Izanami. He wields twin blades named Kagari Rokushikisouken.

As of BlazBlue: Central Fiction, he became a playable character. Hibiki was revealed for BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War on January 13th, 2021.

Appearance
Hibiki is a slender young man with effeminate features, pale skin, and black hair styled in a short bob. His eye color varies between dark brown and a golden amber. Hibiki wears the standard jolting sapphire NOL overcoat with yellow trim, altered to rest just below his shoulders. His overcoat falls to his ankles, but has a decorative slit on the right side long enough to reveal his legs. Underneath it, he wears a collared white shirt with a red tie over a skintight black undershirt.

In Central Fiction, he wears a short jolting sapphire cape with a standing collar that obscures the lower half of his face. The capelet is cut asymmetrically, for the most part falling to his waist but with a "tail" that extending down to his ankles over his right shoulder. This "tail" has the NOL emblem printed on it. Underneath the cape he wears a white, long-sleeved dress shirt that rests around his shoulders and a black, skintight undershirt that covers his shoulders, collar, and half of his neck. The back of his uniform is open near the top, revealing his shoulder blades and some of his back. Hibiki's shirt is split from his waist down on both sides to reveal blue cloth underneath, the edges held together with thin black belts. He wears skintight black legging boots, with a slightly raised heel. Hibiki hangs a large metal sheathe at his lower back to hold his short, straight twin swords and spare detachable blades.

Personality
"Strict and particular about details. Though he speaks severely when Kagura indulges in women and alcohol, he never oversteps his bounds as a secretary."

Patience is one of Hibiki's greatest virtues as he often has to put up with Kagura's constant antics. In comparison to his lord, he is far more organized, strict, and disciplined, and handles most of the administrative duties within Ikaruga. His relationship with Kagura is complicated. Although Hibiki would do anything in his service, he would also often harshly and bluntly criticize his lord's actions (such as his excessive drinking or behavior towards women). Despite Kagura's shortcomings, Hibiki admires him and remains steadfast in his loyalty to him. He acts as a foil to Kagura, leading to a complicated, but very deep, relationship.

Hibiki maintains significantly darker feelings about himself, going so far to say that he lacks desires of his own and will always remain empty. He only wishes to be used as a tool.

Powers and Techniques
As a member of the Kohaku family, Hibiki's abilities as an assassin are unmatched. He has an ability that allows him to move about undetected by even the sharpest of senses and can activate it at will. His mobility is to be complimented too, as he can perform highly gymnastic feats with ease and move at lightning quick speeds. Should the need arise, he can use his Drive , and create a shadow clone of himself as a distraction so he can move in for the kill with his twin blades - both of which he wields with deadly accuracy and intricate skill. These swords are named Kagari Rokushikisouken. Multiple elongated knives are also part of his arsenal, and he uses them for throwing. Double Chase also allows him to physically replace the clone as a feint when fighting an opponent.

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Official Site Profile
''He was born into the "Kohaku" family, a branch family of the "Mutsuki" household of the Duodecim. When he was born, it was decided he would "serve the head of the Mutsuki family." In the beginning he resisted it, but after meeting "Kagura Mutsuki" he accepted that fate and now willingly serves Kagura. Ever since then, he has supported Kagura as a secretary.  Strict and particular about details. Though he speaks severely when Kagura indulges in women and alcohol, he never oversteps his bounds as a secretary. ''
 * Story
 * Personality

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Library Entry
''Kagura's right-hand man.
 * Hibiki Kohaku

''He belongs to the NOL, and currently holds the rank of Captain. In lieu of the extremely lazy Kagura, he handles a vast majority of the administrative duties within Ikaruga.

''He's a bright bulb, but can at times be extremely blunt and even hurtful. Despite that, he places absolute trust in Kagura's decision-making.

BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Official Site Profile
''Kagura Mutsuki’s secretary and an exemplary aide. Strict and particular about details. Though he speaks severely when Kagura indulges in women and alcohol, he never oversteps his bounds as a secretary.''

BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War Official Site Profile
''Secretary to the Commander in Chief of the NOL. He is dutiful, with an overly serious personality. From time to time he can be seen struggling because of his boss.''

Appearances in other Media

 * The mobile game Mabinogi Duel stars Hibiki as a playable card.

Trivia

 * In the BlazBlue 10th Anniversary Character Poll, Hibiki placed 3rd out of the 84 candidates. He scored one place lower than Hazama, and one place above Yuuki Terumi. He had 4,861 votes.
 * Hibiki's moveset is named after various types of birds, both real and mythological.
 * When fighting against Kagura, Hibiki's Piercing Feather move will throw paperwork instead of knives - a humorous reference to his occupation as Kagura's secretary.
 * Hibiki was likely originally planned to be playable in BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend as every other playable character was updated to have win quotes against him. Coinciding with this, a stage was also found in the games files called "Lost Palace," and would have likely been his stage before he was cut and pushed back to debut in BlazBlue: Central Fiction.
 * Hibiki's eye color is inconsistent across portrayals. He either has brown or golden eyes depending on the artist and artwork.
 * Hibiki is illustrated in the following Grimoire for BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War:
 * 秘書の務め (A Secretary's Duty).
 * Hibiki's birthday falls on November 7. An obscure name for the 11th month of the lunar calendar is 神楽月 kagurazuki, and the 7th day of a lunar month is a quarter moon (compare and contrast with Kagura's birthday on January 15th, where the 15th of a lunar month is a full moon).
 * November 7 is also informally Hotpot Day (いい鍋の日 ii nabe no hi), a Japanese number pun on the pronunciation of "11/7"