Hirokazu Arai

Hirokazu Arai (荒井 ヒロカズ) was a Public Safety Devil Hunter. He was a new recruit working under Makima's special squad paired up with Kobeni Higashiyama.

Appearance
Hirokazu is a young man with short spiky hair, a scar on his right cheek and black round eyes. He is usually seen wearing a black suit.

At the newbie welcome party he wore a casual shirt.

Personality
Hirokazu is shown to have high moral standards as he became flustered when Himeno promised a kiss to whoever killed the devil on their mission and he stated a young woman should not be giving herself away before marriage.

He cares a lot for his teammates, trying to support Kobeni when her fear got the better of her and calling out Power for laughing at her. However he is mistrustful of fiends and Denji, and even suggested handing Denji over to a devil in order for the rest of the team to escape.

Hirokazu considers himself to be good at helping those who are sick; he looks after his mother after she comes home drunk after work regularly, and helped Denji out in the bathroom after his vomit-inducing kiss with Himeno.

He is envious of Denji and his skills as a devil hunter, showing that Hirokazu laments his weakness.

His hobby is haiku.

History
Hirokazu was trained for half a year by Himeno.

Bat Devil arc
Hirokazu was one of the devil hunters accompanying Aki Hayakawa as he saved Denji from the Leech Devil. Aki told him and Kobeni to evacuate the survivors.

Eternity Devil arc
Hirokazu was one of the six devil hunters, alongside Aki, Himeno, Denji, Power and Kobeni, assigned to the mission of tracking down a devil in the Morino Hotel.

He questioned Aki on Denji and Power and wondered if they could be trusted to guard their backs but Aki assured him that they'll generally be taking point and if do betray them then he'll exterminate them. When Himeno announced that the person who kills the devil will receive a kiss on the cheek from her as a reward Hirokazu became flustered.

Inside the hotel, Hirokazu and Denji rush down the corridors and Hirokazu admonishes Denji for being so reckless. He claims that if Himeno is going to sully her lips with a punk like Denji, then he'd rather accept the kiss on the cheek from her. Aki asks Himeno about the new recruits including Hirokazu and Himeno answers that though Hirokazu lacks in ability he makes up for it in drive.

After the group kills what appears to be a devil, they continue moving upward through the hotel. Hirokazu notices that even though they went up the stairs from the eighth floor to the ninth floor, the floor number still displays the floor they're on as "Floor 8". He goes back down the stairs to double-check but finds himself returning to the same floor. Hirokazu reassured Kobeni when she began to panic at their fate and called out Power for laughing at her distress. When Denji proposed simply going to sleep in the hotel since they were trapped anyway, Hirokazu questioned if he was stupid since they could be trapped forever but Denji didn't care and went to sleep anyway.

Hirokazu starts helping Aki in hunting the devil down but started freaking out and shut himself in a room.

After the Eternity Devil offers a contract to release the trapped devil hunters in exchange for Denji's life, Hirokazu emerges from his room and suggests handing Denji over since it is legal to make contracts with devils and they'll starve to death if they can't escape the hotel but Aki refuses his suggestion.

Later Hirokazu discovers that all of the food they had collected has been eaten by Power who tells a blatant lie to cover it up. Kobeni begins to panic and blame Power for their situation and when Hirokazu steps in to defend the fiend Kobeni turns on him in her paranoia and calls him a spy for the devils while threatening him with a knife. Their combined fear fuels the Eternity Devil's growth as it expands into the rest of the hotel floor.

Hirokazu and Kobeni beg for Aki to kill Denji to hand him over to the devil, but Aki refuses again. He rushes Denji while Aki is restrained by Himeno's Ghost Devil and holds him still so that Kobeni can stab Denji, however Aki throws himself in the way of the knife. When Denji willingly throws himself into the mouth of the Eternity Devil and transforms into his Chainsaw Man for, Hirokazu looks on in shock.

After waiting over the course of three days for the battle between Denji and the Eternity Devil to be over, Hirokazu sits in the corner in an exhausted state.

Once they leave the Morino Hotel, Himeno orders Hirokazu and Kobeni to report the incident to Public Safety. Hirokazu later attends a newbie welcome party for Division 4. He introduces himself, revealing his age, his hobby, and the fact that he has a contract with the Fox Devil.

After Denji's vomit-filled kiss with Himeno, Hirokazu helped him to the bathroom and took care of him while stating his envy of Denji.

Katana Man arc
Hirokazu was among the devil hunters targeted during the Gun Devil's plot to assassinate to the Special Divisions of Public Safety. An elderly lady pulled out a pistol and shot at him in broad daylight alongside Kobeni.

Though he was hit in the neck, in his last moments he managed to shield Kobeni with his body to save her at the cost of his own life. His sacrifice would allow Kobeni to kill their attacker and save Denji shortly afterwards.

Abilities
According to Himeno what Hirokazu lacks in actual ability, he makes up for in drive.

Fox Devil Contract: Hirokazu had a contract with the Fox Devil, presumably allowing him to summon a part of its body during battle.