Himeno

Himeno (姫野) was a Public Safety Devil Hunter, working under Makima's special squad. She was partnered with Aki Hayakawa.

Appearance
Himeno is a young woman with short smooth dark hair. She has a eye-patch on her right eye and she is usually seen wearing her suit with black tie.

Personality
Himeno is shown to be a mature and experienced superior to the new recruits working under her. She generally carries herself with upbeat body language and is capable of staying calm under extremely stressful situations, such as the initial phase of her group's battle against the Eternity Devil. Himeno motivated Denji by offering him a french kiss, implying that she's at least somewhat perceptive of the people around her and is willing to take unorthodox approaches in order to ensure the best possible results from him.

Himeno is shown to be very efficient and blunt in her duty as a Devil Hunter. She responded to a small and seemingly insignificant Devil by almost immediately using her Ghost Devil to subdue it. She's shown to have a more stern side and little tolerance for behavior from new recruits that would endanger or harm her subordinates, as she swiftly took out Kobeni when the latter attempted to stab Denji.

Himeno is shown to be a rather caring and empathetic person. She cares for the well-being of her fellow Devil Hunters, as shown by her desire to not betray Denji during their first mission together. In a brief flashback scene, Himeno was shown to be very patient and tolerant to those that are suffering when a late partner's former girlfriend lashed out and slapped her out of grief.

However, despite this cheerful presentation Himeno also holds an extremely pessimistic worldview as a result of having witnessed multiple partners die suddenly in her line of work. This knowledge that Devil Hunters typically die as a result of their career combined with the teachings of her master eventually lead to her developing a nicotine addiction as a coping mechanism. Himeno even went as far as to pressure Aki into taking up smoking as a new recruit, citing the fact that Devil Hunters don't usually live long enough to suffer from the negative side effects of prolonged use of tobacco anyway.

Himeno has strongly internalized another old teaching of her master: that only Devil Hunters "who have a couple of screws loose" are ultimately successful, due to the general sense of unpredictability presented by their willingness to do unusual things to take down opponents.

Himeno cares deeply for Aki, whom she trained as a new recruit and has a close personal bond with. In fact, Himeno considered the side effects of Aki using his sword bad enough that it would be worth sacrificing Denji to prevent. This puts into perspective how much she values Aki's well-being.

History
Himeno went through five other partners in the past before meeting Aki for the first time at a graveyard. Another devil hunter introduced him to her as her new buddy. Himeno questions him if he's useful and states that all of her previous partners died because they were useless before telling him not to die.

In on of their early patrols Himeno asks Aki if he smokes, and that he should get into it since they won't live long as devils hunters anyway. She concludes that the only reason he's in the Special Division is because he wants to take down the Gun Devil.

On the streets Himeno and Aki encounter the girlfriend of one of Himeno's previous buddies who died. She slaps Himeno and walks away. After Himeno explains the situation Aki runs after the woman and sticks a piece of gum to her hair in childish revenge for being pissed off. Himeno breaks down with laughter. They visit Tenten Chinese Restaurant for a meal together and Himeno relates a saying she heard from a master about how the most scary devil hunters to the devils aren't the strong or the brave but the most insane. She convinces Aki to take a cigarette since she hopes their relationship together will be a long one and Aki reluctantly accepts.

Bat Devil arc
Himeno was one of the devil hunters accompanying Aki Hayakawa as he saved Denji from the Leech Devil. Aki told her to keep an eye out for anymore devils.

Himeno accompanied Aki to the hospital to visit Denji and watched over Power who was in handcuffs while Denji was being questioned.

Himeno and Aki took down a devil that had been fed a chunk of the Gun Devil's flesh at the coast. She wondered if the devil had eaten the Gun Devil's flesh or if it had been purposefully fed it. Himeno is later selected to be part of a six-man team to enter the Morino Hotel and track down the devil within which has also eaten a piece of the Gun Devil.

Eternity Devil arc
As they approach the Morino Hotel Aki becomes angry at Denji and Power over a prank they pulled on him earlier that morning. Himeno tells him to stop being strict with them all the time which Denji seconds, and after Denji demands a reward Himeno offers that anyone who kills the devil inside the hotel will get a kiss on the cheek from her. Hirokazu protests herself offering her lips out so easily but Himeno believes it is okay since a reward will add extra motivation.

Denji initially attempts to dismiss the offer since he has his sights on Makima but Himeno gets in his face and states that if he manages to kill the devil that she'll give him a proper kiss with tongue which gets Denji excited.

The group move through the corridors of the hotel with Himeno commenting that nothing is more fun than teasing boys as Denji and Hirokazu compete with each other. Aki questions Himeno on their new recruits and Himeno comments that Hirokazu lacks in ability but makes up for it in drive whereas Kobeni is meek and timid but actually talented. She questions him about his recruits and he states that Power's loyalty is unlikely and that Denji has too many unknown factors. When she asks him if they will survive, Aki dodges the question. As they reach the end of the corridor a door opens and a devil in the appearance of a walking head emerges.

The head rushes at Kobeni but Himeno catches it in the air with her Ghost Hand so that Power can cut it in two. When Power tries to take credit for the feat, Himeno clarifies that she has a contract with the Ghost Devil and that she used its invisible arm to hold the devil. They discover the devil does not have a Gun Devil fragment inside it so they continue onwards. Power teases by Himeno about revealing her powers so easily and threatens Kobeni to make a point, but Himeno chokes her with the Ghost Devil's arm. Making a point to Power that she could kill her at any time, Himeno tells her that they should all just get along.

When Hirokazu notices that they're still on the eighth floor after ascending the stairs, he goes downstairs and ends up back on the same floor which shocks Himeno. She tests it out herself by telling Kobeni to throw up double-peace signs and rushing down the stairs to return to the same floor and see her doing the same pose. When Kobeni begins to panic and fluster from being trapped in a devil's trap, Himeno consoles her and warns her that fear is a devil's favorite food.

Denji goes to sleep and wakes up a while later with Himeno greeting him. Himeno explains the current situation; that Aki is still searching for the devil, Hirokazu has locked himself in a room and having a breakdown, and that Kobeni already had a breakdown and tried drinking from the toilet forcing Himeno to knock her out. Denji asks about Power who is on the next bed over ranting about her plan to become Prime Minister after acquiring the Nobel Prize and causing misery for humans. Denji tells Himeno that Power is as normal as ever.

The three of them take turns guarding Hirokazu and Kobeni and Himeno begins smoking her last cigarette. She reveals that she was the one who talked Aki into taking cigarettes. Aki stops by and asks for a cigarette, and shares Himeno after she tells him that it's her last one. He reveals that the devil they thought they killed earlier is still alive and that it has grown much larger, almost filling the end of the corridor and has grown a multitude of heads and limbs. Himeno wonders what kind of devil it is, and the devil states that it will offer them a contract so that they can escape if they kill Denji and feed him to it. Kobeni emerges from her room, asking Denji to let himself be eaten.

Aki disarms Kobeni, and Himeno swiftly knocks her out with an elbow strike. The Eternity Devil laughs at Kobeni's treatment causing Himeno to tell it shut up. She asks Aki to deal with it using his Fox Devil but he is unable to summon it. Himeno uses her Ghost Devil's arm to gouge out chunks of the devil's flesh but it merely swells up to be even larger than before.

The group discuss the devil's offer of a contract to escape which Himeno confirms is legitimate. Aki votes against killing Denji since it would benefits the devil in some way, and Himeno agrees with him. Aki reveals that he could probably let them escape if he uses the power of his sword but Himeno tells him not to since the conditions of the contract are too harsh. She tells Denji that if it comes down to Aki using the sword or sacrificing Denji, then Denji has to be sacrificed. Kobeni's and Hirokazu's rising fear fuels the Eternity Devil's growth and he chases after Himeno and the group, tilting the space they're trapped in to disorient them and transform the corridor they're standing in into a tunnel that leads towards his mouth.

Aki asks for Himeno's permission to use his sword but Himeno restrains him instead and apologizes to Denji. Kobeni and Hirokazu attack Denji and try to stab him, but Aki breaks free of Himeno's grip and throws himself in front of the knife. Himeno breaks down in shock, remembering her deceased former partners. Denji decides to throw himself into the mouth of the Eternity Devil in order to cause it so much pain that it will wish it was dead. Before he jumps, he tells Himeno to remember that she promised him a kiss if he kills the devil. Himeno watches in shock with the others as Denji transforms inside the Eternity Devil's mouth and begins batting it.

Watching Denji torture the Eternity Devil, Himeno is reminded of her master telling her that the most fearsome devil hunters are the craziest ones. When Denji is almost defeated by having his neck broken Himeno uses her Ghost Devil arm to pull his chainsaw cord to regenerate him. Himeno is so impressed that she begins to believe he could beat the Gun Devil. The battle continues for three more days until the Eternity Devil final surrenders and is killed.

Himeno emerges from the hotel with the rest of the group and order Hirokazu and Kobeni to report the incident to Public Safety while she and Power take Aki and Denji to the hospital.

Devil Contract
Ghost Devil Contract: Himeno has the ability to use the power of the Ghost Devil in exchange for sacrificing her right eye permanently to the devil.
 * Ghost Arm: Himeno can summon and control the right arm of the Ghost Devil which is invisible and intangible. This arm is strong enough to gouge large wounds into the Eternity Devil's flesh.

Skillset
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Himeno is a skilled fighter, instantly incapacitating Kobeni after she had been disarmed.