Hibiki Kohaku

Hibiki Kohaku is a captain of the Novus Orbis Librarium who first debuted in BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma. He is Kagura Mutsuki’s loyal servant, and helped him in the coup d’état against Izanami.

As of BlazBlue: Central Fiction, he became a playable character.

Appearance
Hibiki is a young man with slender effeminate features, black hair styled in a bowl cut, and brown eyes. His skin is pale and his body is slender. Hibiki wears a typical jolting sapphire NOL jacket with yellow rimming resting upon his shoulders. Underneath this, he wears a collared white shirt with a red tie and black tights. He also wears white gloves while his jacket is open enough to reveal his legs.

As of Central Fiction, Hibiki’s eyes are now a golden yellow. He now wears a short jolting sapphire capelet with a tall collar that obscures the lower half of his face. The cape has an extended portion off one shoulder that is much longer than the rest. Underneath the jacket, he wears a more standard NOL uniform that reaches just above his hips, and has black leggings to cover his lower half. He wears non-standard NOL boots, and has what appears to be lace-less trainers instead. On his back, Hibiki carries a large metal sheathe for his twin swords, both of which are short, straight blades with horizontal black lines.

Personality
Patience is one of Hibiki’s greatest virtues as he often has to put up with the constant antics that Kagura gets himself into. In comparison to Kagura, he is far more strict, organized, and disciplined as he often handles reports and takes care of finances. His relationship to the Black Knight is interesting as he would do anything in service to the man, but will criticise his actions often (such as excessive drinking or his behaviour towards women). Despite his attitude to his boss, he somewhat admires him. His behavior and Kagura’s bounce off one another, leading to a complicated, but very deep relationship.

Hibiki has darker feelings towards himself, going so far to say that he doesn’t have a wish since he is, and always will be, empty. He only wishes to be used as a tool.

Biography
The eternally loyal servant of Kagura Mutsuki. Hibiki is one of the Kohaku’s, a family of assassins who have served the Mutsuki’s for generations as their guardians with unwavering loyalty. Hibiki serves Kagura as his assistant by running errands and making life easier for his superior. Despite the obvious personality clash between the two, Hibiki has an unquestionable sense of admiration for the Black Knight. As a member of the Kohaku’s his family is hardly mentioned in history books, but it appears Hakumen is aware of his family’s existence.

Collisions, Determination, Spiral Shift
In 2197, during the Ikaruga Civil War, back when Hibiki was a First Lieutenant, he delivered a report to Kagura while a large amount of Zero Squadron guards protected the Mutsuki heir. The report detailed the NOL’s rejection of the Ikaruga Federation’s offer of a truce, something that Kagura had predicted. Hibiki noted how looters, in the aftermath of the destruction of 5th Hierarchical City of Ibukido, had begun destroying Ars Magus ships and causing general mayhem, leading Kagura to suggest that they be taken to the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi as refugees, but Hibiki, being the voice of reason, respectfully disagreed. He soon left, but promised to return once had more to report, however, he told one of the Zero Squadron guards outside about the plan to relocate the refugees.

In the 7th Hierarchical City of Kazamotsu, Hibiki was asked to greet Jin Kisaragi by Kagura. He did, but silently crept up on him and dodged a swipe, leaving Jin impressed but angered that he dare sneak up him. Jin willingly followed him back to Ibukido, but threatened to kill him should he ever use his abilities again on him. Under Kagura’s orders, Hibiki assembled the armies located in Ikaruga to take out Tenjo Amanohokosaka, and they regrouped to discuss Jin and how he wields the Nox Nyctores - Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa. A skirmish with Sector Seven allowed Hibiki and Kagura to move Homura Amanohokosaka safely out of Ikaruga and into hiding. The two acted under the false pretence that Kagura had been severely injured by Iron Tager, and Hibiki’s methods of persuasion had the Zero Squadron guards surrender to allowing Kagura to leave Ikaruga, something they had been ordered to prevent. On the ship out of the federation, Homura was stowed away, although Hibiki severely criticised Kagura’s awful acting.

Kagura and Hibiki organized an operation to "capture" Tager, but Jin had found himself in their way. Hibiki was present when Kagura jokingly chastised him.

Variable Heart
Mai Natsume, Noel Vermillion, Makoto Nanaya, and Tsubaki Yayoi arrived in the 2nd Hierarchical City of Iwatsuchi's NOL branch, and greeted Tsubaki warmly. Mai was shocked as she knew about the Kohaku's and their hidden reputation as assassins. He put the girls to work helping with the medal ceremony for Jin as he had just ended the Ikaruga Civil War. He helped Tsubaki with some work after telling her about Jin's promotion by two ranks. By this time, Hibiki had been promoted to captain and Meifang Lapislazuli lured Mai into a trap under the guise of Hibiki's orders, of which he was not aware.

Chrono Phantasma
Under Kagura’s orders, Hibiki was to bring Jin back to the headquarters in Ibukido since his assistance would make Kagura’s planned coup d’état go far more smoothly. He discovered the major lurking in the 9th Hierarchical City of Aktisu-kou and delivered a letter to him detailing what Kagura wanted. Before they left, Jin asked about the city and its weather system, so Hibiki detailed for him the information on the damaged cauldron within the local NOL branch. Reluctantly, he followed Jin to the cauldron after making him promise to come back to see Kagura. He briefly left Jin to his own devices at the Cauldron, but unknowingly interrupted his battle with Relius Clover. The two departed for Ibukido after.

When they arrived, Hibiki and Jin met up with Kagura and Kokonoe. He gave his report to Kagura, informing him of the [Colosseum]’s status and Tsubaki’s observation under 12 guards. He then apologized to Kokonoe for any damages sustained to the equipment in the Colosseum before stating that Makoto was being watched per Kagura’s orders. Hibiki also, rather nonchalantly, chimed in that Kagura’s personal bank account was paying for the “astronomical” electricity bill. A little while afterwards, he was quite angry with Ragna the Bloodedge and Celica A. Mercury for taking 2 hours to get to the main office of the Ibukido branch when the prison district is merely a 10 minute walk away; however, he did offer to take Ragna to Kushinada’s Lynchpin if he needed guidance.

Hibiki put his cooking skills to good use as he rustled up a buffet for Kagura, Rachel, Ragna, Jin, Kokonoe, Celica, Nago, Gii, Makoto, Taokaka, and Noel Vermillion. Rachel thanked him for the meal, calling it outstanding and thoroughly complimenting him for his cooking prowess; so impressed was she that she trusted Hibiki enough on which particular brew of tea should be selected for her. He later watched as Ragna threatened Kokonoe and watched him learn about Celica being the key to activating the Lynchpin. At that time he was introduced to Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, Rachel’s butler and a former member of the Six Heroes.

As promised earlier, Hibiki navigated Ragna, Noel, and Celica to the entrance of Kushinada’s Lynchpin, but left them to return to Kagura and Homura's side. However, he was restrained by Nine the Phantom and Hades: Izanami when trying to defend Homura alongside Jin and Kagura. He failed in his duty to defend Kagura and was forced to watch Izanami cruelly beat him to a pulp. In the aftermath of the loss of seithr, Hibiki helped gather survivors into one area so the electricity wasted wouldn’t be too high. He praised Homura for managing to hold the NOL together, and noted that the Amaterasu Unit and the Embryo were still above Ibukido; not only this, but he sourly said that Jin was in critical condition. He then connected Kokonoe and Kagura via intercom so they could freely communicate about future plans, such as how to restrain Azrael. Oddly, the Black Knight apologized to him and asked for his help, but Hibiki retaliated with the retort that he’s always needed.

Central Fiction
Hibiki, alongside Makoto and Tager, were given an explanation surrounding the events that had happened in the last few months, and was ordered to place soldiers on observation of the Embryo. He was also tasked with tracking down Ragna and Izanami Before long, Hibiki, alongside many others, was absorbed into the Embryo and his memories were altered to believe that Kagura was the Hero of Ikaruga, that they were in 12/31/2199, and that Ragna was still a threat to the NOL.

Hibiki debriefed Tsubaki, Noel, and Makoto on their mission to find Jin and to capture Ragna. He was paired with Tsubaki to search for Jin. Much later on, he let Kokonoe into the main branch and issued her a fake ID so she wouldn't be apprehended. He later left the branch with Kagura before it was attacked by Hakumen. Not long afterwards, Hibiki was transported to Ikaruga and told by Nine to kill Izanami so he could claim his piece of the Azure. He also rendezvoused with Kokonoe, Kagura, and Tager in Yabiko to discuss the discrepancies in their memories, briefly leaving so he could order NOL squadrons to not pursue Ragna, and then told Kagura about Noel's position after having been informed on it.

When the Amaterasu Unit descended into the Embryo, Hibiki's memories returned. He found Celica stumbling inside the Yabiko branch and brought her to Kagura's office. He told of him perceiving that he had to kill Noel in order for his dream to be fulfilled, and was later ordered to direct Tsubaki and Makoto to apprehend Ragna. While the main group of Kokonoe and Kagura's force journeyed to Japan, Hibiki directed Mai to an airship to guard Homura. Later on, he was also deployed to protect His Highness under Kagura's orders. Hibiki was later dissolved into seithr and his data was backed up by Es.

In the new world created by Ragna, Hibiki was present at an NOL ceremony which Homura presided over - both Kagura and Jin were also present.

Powers and Techniques
As a member of the Kohaku family and a captain of the NOL, Hibiki’s abilities as an assassin are near perfect. 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 and move at lightning quick speeds. Should the need arise, he can use his Drive Double Chase, 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; multiple elongated knives are also part of his arsenal. Double Chase also allows him to physically replace the clone as a feint when fighting an opponent.

Hibiki Kohaku
''Kagura’s right-hand man.

''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.

Trivia

 * Hibiki's moveset is named after various types of birds, both real and mythological.

Appearances in other Media

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