Kyoya Hibari is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Reborn! created by Akira Amano.
His surname, 'Hibari', can be translated into skylark, a type of bird. As such, Hibari is shown to have an affinity for birds in the series.
Character outline
Hibari is the leader of the Discipline Committee, or Prefects, who all happen to be a group of delinquents loyal to Hibari. Like his subordinates, he too is a violent delinquent who uses his status to harass other students. However, he prefers to be alone and cares little for his subordinates. If he is amongst a crowd, he tends to play violent "games" with rules like "I'll kill anyone who wakes me up when I'm sleeping," and as mentioned, the loser often has to pay the price with his life.
His catchphrase is "I'll bite you to death", which he says to everyone who he is ready to fight. In one comic scene, Ryohei misunderstands it and imagines Hibari swallowing Gola Moska's head. He also likes saying "wao", and when he fights weak opponents, he tends to taunt them by calling them a 'herbivore'. He likes eating Japanese food and hamburgers.
Hibari may be a violent and cruel person at times, but he is very proud of his school, and is apparently the only person who likes their school's song, even using it as his ringtone. He has also been shown to have an affinity for birds; he adopts one of the avian followers of Kokuyo assassin Birds' and trained it to chirp his school's song. The bird (subsequently nicknamed 'Hibird' due to its connection to Hibari) becomes attached to Hibari, so much so that it still remains with Hibari nine years and ten months into the future.
His attitude and abilities have gained the attention of Reborn, who sees him as a potential candidate for Tsuna's family. However, Hibari likes nothing more than to kill those who are in his way or people that are crowding.
In return, Reborn has piqued Hibari's curiosity early on in the series and considers him a worthy opponent, having a strong urge to severely injure or kill him. Reborn uses this relationship to mold Hibari into an asset for Tsuna and the Vongolas. Hibari's interest in Reborn is only rivaled by his urge to fight Mukuro, whom Reborn believes inflicted shame on Hibari due to his defeat by Mukuro.
Hibari regards Dino as another of his worthy adversaries. At first, he saw no interest when Dino was to train him for his battle with the Varia, but it is later revealed that he ended up training with Dino in different environments. Dino also sees him as a major powerhouse and asset for Tsuna and the Vongolas.
Hibari initially regards Tsuna as being weak, who is incapable of beating Hibari even in his Dying Will Mode, but Hibari remains interested in his actions as he knows that Reborn is involved with Tsuna as well. During the battle against the Varia, he shows little interest in it or Tsuna, showing more interest in Mukuro's arrival and Xanxus. However, in the future, after Hibari helps Tsuna achieve the Vongola Ring Version of the X-Gloves, he states that Tsuna now thrills him the same way that Reborn does and that he is far more like his future self.
Plot overview
Daily Arc
Hibari is introduced as the delinquent who executes his form of justice and order on all of Namimori High. For his exception skills, he is chosen by Reborn to be part of Tsuna's family, but he beats Takeshi, Tsuna, and Hayato when they use the lounge that the Disciplinary Committee had already claimed. Reborn steps in before he can severely beat Tsuna, which is when Hibari starts to take an interest in fighting Reborn.
From then on, Hibari appears to Tsuna's family on a few occasions, all of which were only to gain Reborn's favor in order to know more about him. His appearances also indicate that he has power and control on more than just his school, but also the entire town; he brought order to Namimori hospital; albeit with his own method of fear.
When Hibari goes to watch sakura blossoms, he is infected with the Sakura-kura disease, which makes him weak when he is around sakuras, after he attempts to attack Dr. Shamal. Hibari then leaves the park before he is able to retrieve the cure from Shamal.
Murkro Arc
After the Kokuyo Gang assault many students from his school, including members of the Disciplinary Committee, Hibari begins his search for them in order for him to dispense his version of justice and restore his order. After finding Mukuro Rokudo at his hideout, Mukuro uses Hibari's weakness for sakuras, and proceeds to beat him. Shamal later gives Hayato the cure to give to Hibari. During his second fight with Mukuro, Hibari "defeats" him, but he subsequently passes out due to his injuries. Later, when Mukuro possesses Hibari's body, Mukuro was not able to move the body due to multiple broken bones; Mukuro calls him a frightening enemy since Hibari is able to fight him so well, despite his condition.
Varia Arc
Hibari is later chosen to become the holder of the Ring of Cloud by Reborn. Dino is selected to be his home tutor, but Hibari wants nothing more than to fight Dino, who was surprised to realize that Hibari was out to kill. Apparently, due to their bloody fight, Hibari was convinced to become stronger, so he traveled and trained with Dino.
He returns during the Vongola Tournament and defeats Gola Moska with one strike. Caring little for the true reasons of the tournament, he then calls out Xanxus, who, despite trying to hit him, insists on not fighting him since, with Hibari's win, Tsuna's family had already won. However, Hibari is then scathed by one of Gola Moska's surprise missiles.
During the Sky Battle, a rematch involving all the guardians from the Varia's and Tsuna's side, Hibari and the other guardians are poisoned through the watches they attained. Due to his pride, Hibari is the only one able to get the antidote himself, despite the fact that the poison attacks one's nerves, so movement is near impossible. After giving Gokudera his cure, Hibari then fights Belphegor, who had already been cured, and though he initially has trouble, he gains the upper hand, leading Bel to run away. Before falling to his knees due to his injuries, Hibari is able to give the antidote to Yamamoto.
According to Reborn, after the situation with the Varia and Xanxus, Hibari had taken his ring.
Future Arc
Hibari is revealed to be the strongest of the Vongola Guardians nine years and ten months into the future. His Dying Will Flame is so strong that it overloads and shatters the rings after its use, causing him to have to carry around multiple rings. Initially, it seemed that no one was capable of making contact with him, but he later appears to save Hayato and Takeshi from Gamma. During the battle, Hibari's allegiance is mentioned to be a mystery to the Millefiore Family, who is unsure if he is an ally or an enemy of the Vongola Family.
After their reunion, he agrees to train Tsuna, which allows Tsuna to bring out his true inner strength. Once Hibari helps Tsuna achieve the Vongola Ring version of the X-Gloves, he states that Tsuna now thrills him the same way that Reborn does. However, when Tsuna continues to be defeated by him during training, Hibari tells him that he has yet to use the adult Tsuna's weapon, which prompts Tsuna to figure out how to use his gloves as a weapon.
It is revealed that Hibari has previously been traveling around the world in search of information concerning the boxes, rings, and the "ultimate power". To achieve this, he started a Vongola unit called "The Foundation", which is compromised of former members of the Disciplinary Committee.
Later, when Millefiore squads attempt to raid Hibari's hideout, Hibari confronts them by himself in order to give Tsuna and the others a chance to successfully ambush the Millefiore headquarters.
Hibari also still has the bird that became attached to him in the past. The bird is apparently named "Hibird", and it now serves as one of the family's backup modes of communication.
Abilities
According to Fūta's ranking list of the strongest students of Namimori High, Hibari is the number one strongest student in his school. He is a fierce and well trained fighter who has an almost insatiable bloodlust for a worthy opponent.
As his main weapon, he uses a pair of collapsible steel tonfas. Hibari's tonfas have also been shown to have hidden compartments containing spikes and a grapple that he uses when the situation calls for it. In the future, his tonfas, which he keeps in a ring box, are capable of emitting a Dying Will Flame.
Hibari is the Vongola guardian of the Cloud ring and has become adept at using it in the future. His flame has become so intense that even without his ring, he is capable of great feats of strength. However, he shatters normal rings when he uses them.
Hibari has been shown to have more knowledge than most concerning the ring boxes and uses them at a very high proficiency. He has four Cloud rings with a C purity, eight Cloud rings with a D purity, and a Mist camouflage ring with an E purity.