Shinya Hīragi

Shinya Hīragi 「柊 深夜, Hīragi Shin'ya」 is a supporting character of Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign. He is a Major General of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. He was chosen to marry Shinoa’s older sister Mahiru and was adopted by the Hīragi Family. Although he has high capacity of spellcraft from since childhood, Shinya is not comfortable about being with the Hīragi's. However, he is good friends with Guren who also holds the same intention against them.

He is one of the main characters in the Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen light novel series.

Appearance
Shinya is a tall, young man with medium length white hair with bangs and blue eyes. He sometimes has his left fringe behind his left ear during the midst of a skirmish on the battlefield. In the anime, his hair is shown to be more of a silvery color than white.

He wears the standard JIDA uniform which consists of a long-sleeved black jacket with red details including the shoulder epaulettes, an aiguillette worn on the right shoulder with a crescent moon decoration, and two rows of gold buttons on the front. Along with that, he wears a pair of white gloves, an armband on his left arm, and a white web belt with a gold waist-plate. He also wears the uniform trousers with black shoes.

Personality
Shinya is shown to be a gentle and cool man. He does not get angry easily, even when being insulted by Seishirō. He is seen smiling pleasantly all the time, even in tough spots, such as in chapter 31. He have a lighthearted and breezy personality, often joking around Guren, and seems to be relaxed even during missions, as seen in chapter 27, where he calmly teaches Yoichi the role of a sniper.

Shinya is shown to be very loyal to his friends, such as joining Guren for the battle in Nagoya, despite recognising that it's a suicide mission. He is shown to put a lot of trust in his closest friends, such as Guren, and is deeply shocked in chapter 41, when Guren is revealed to be a Namanari. He appears to have fairly decent morals, such as his anger at Guren when the latter killed many of his own comrades.

However, Shinya's lighthearted personality and his charming smile is only a facade, a defensive mechanism. Since he was put in an arena-styled environment as a child, where young boys have to battle to death, he had learned to put a mask over his own fears and insecurities to help him endure the harsh training. Shinya's permanent smile is also there to fool adversaries into letting their guards down, so he could strike at the right moment. Once his mask is gone, he is shown to be more blunt and even somewhat masochistic, thinking about how his own death will play out when Mahiru rejected him in Volume 3's prologue.

In the Light Novels, Shinya is shown to be a lot more ruthless and even sly, due to the harsh upbringing he had received as a child, where only the fittest child is allowed to live. He's not afraid to kill civilians or use dirty tricks, as shown in the the qualification exams in Volume 1, when he spars against a fellow student. He is shown to be very perceptive as well, being able to see through Guren's facade of being a weakling. Despite the difference between his family status and Guren's, Shinya is still willing to become Guren's friend and even help him achieve his goals (of overthrowing the Hīragi family). However, that time did not come to pass due to the Apocalypse.

Prior meeting Guren, Shinya doesn't know what his purpose in living was, as he only lived to become Mahiru's mate, to provide superior DNA for their child. After meeting Guren, Shinya found himself both envious and admiring the former's goals and determination to live, and as he interacted more with Guren, Mito, Goshi, Sayuri, and Shigure, he found a new purpose in his life, and that is to protect his new friends.

History
Shinya was adopted by the Hīragi Family from one of their junior branch families. At a young age, he had been selected, alongside several talented children, to be the potential mate for Mahiru. This was a plan by the Hīragi to keep their bloodline strong. His childhood days were filled with training and fighting. Failure to distinguish himself among others meant death. Finally, he was singled out from the other candidates and was adopted into the family and engaged to Mahiru, with the rest of the candidates killed.

It was uncertain whether he bore any true affection towards Mahiru, though he was somewhat jealous of Guren. Despite that, he was depicted to be a true friend towards Guren. He initially initiated a collaborative effort with Guren to crush the Hīragis with him acting as a double agent. Due to the series of events with greater things at stake, that did not come to pass. Over time, he grew to respect and admire Guren and accepted the Kiju (Demon-Curse) from Kureto to save Guren in Volume 4, when Guren was possessed by Noya.

Book 1
Shinya attacks Guren when he arrives at school. He is revealed to be in Guren’s class. He arrives late and then says he wants to help Guren bring down the Hīragi Family.

A few days later, the students spar against each other, and Shinya hits Guren so hard that he breaks several ribs, coughs up blood, and loses consciousness. Later on, Guren’s submissiveness to Seishirō Hīragi makes him lose respect from everyone in the class, including Shinya and Mito.

During the qualification exams, The Brotherhood of a Thousand Nights attacks and kills many students and teachers. Guren and Shinya fight Saitō and learn that Mahiru betrayed the Hīragi Family.

After the Order of the Imperial Demons announces it put down the "terrorist group" that attacked them before, the school reopens. Shinya helps Guren get drenched in cola again when Shigure nearly stops the attack.

Book 2
Shinya reveals to Guren what the Hīragi Clan knows, and Kureto watches them from above.

Shinya, Mito, Norito, and Guren leave to continue their examinations in the gym. When Guren arrives for his bout, Kureto questions him about the Thousand Nights and then attacks him with the intent to kill, forcing Guren to fight seriously.

Later, Guren, Shinya, Mito, Norito, Sayuri, and Shigure report to Kureto’s office, where Aoi Sangū lets them in. Kureto orders them to investigate Ueno Zoo. Guren leads this new team.

The squad enters Ueno Zoo and battles a chimera made with genes from the Four Horsemen of John.

Book 3
The prologue reveals Shinya’s past. He was five when he was adopted into the Hīragi family. His parents received 300 million yen for this and he was chosen to be a part of a select team of children gifted with talent. Since then, all he did was compete with other children in the same situation as him: killing each other was allowed, and he'd die if he didn't win.

All that five-years struggle was in order to meet his fiancée, Mahiru Hīragi. This whole purpose was actually to gather the most talented children as fiancé candidates and therefore, provide another child with excellent and superior DNA to the Hīragi family, so they could keep their bloodline's perfection.

At age ten, the competition was over and he was the only one child left, the winner. After those 5 years of killings, he has reached his goal and was then able to meet his fiancée for the first time. When he faced Mahiru, she told him that she didn't love him and will never fall in love with him, which made Shinya wonder why he had to go through all this competition since he only survived for that reason. He has never lost before and it was the first time he did. Mahiru told him that she loved someone else and that there was definitely no chance for her to fall in love with Shinya. He assumed that this person she loved wasn't accepted by her family.

Shinya then thought he was going to get killed since this whole purpose had no meaning anymore, but Mahiru told him that there was no need to worry since she was going to pretend she liked him. Shinya then said he'll act as a cover-up until Mahiru can be with the person she loves. They fight briefly, and Mahiru tricks him with an illusion before putting an exploding tag onto his back.

During class in the present, Shinya sidles over to Guren and begins whispering to annoy him. He then passes a note to Guren revealing that the Thousand Nights is planning to meet at 2:00 a.m. the following morning at the tennis courts in Hikarigaoka Park.Guren wonders whether he can trust Shinya. They begin talking about Mahiru, and Shinya says he admires her and is jealous of Guren. Guren carefully pockets the note while being sure to preserve Shinya’s fingerprints.

After class, Kureto calls Guren. When Shinya asks if that was Kureto, Guren says it was his girlfriend, causing Mito to become even more flustered. Guren walks off without explaining the joke, but Shinya takes pity on Mito instead.

In Guren's condominium, Shinya is defeating Mito at shogi while Goshi and Guren watch. Although none of them knew how to play shogi, Goshi insisted on them buying a cheap game from the convenience store. They played in an elimination-style tournament against each other. Goshi handedly defeated Guren in the first round, and Shinya is winning the second. As it turns out, Guren felt drained at the start of his match and lost on purpose, delighting Goshi and causing Mito to comfort him. However, Shinya realized it, annoying Guren evermore. When they tease Mito, she tells them the TV is distracting her.

The newscast shows the fire of a burning building as mud and bricks explode. A disheveled woman in her mid-twenties with long, silky black hair steps out of the crowd and screams for Yuichiro. A firefighter tries to calm her as she waves her arms, but she hits him. She holds a lighter and screams that the fire should never be put out. She screams about a demon child, who needs to be killed immediately.

She pours petrol onto her clothing and has trouble igniting the lighter. Firefighters tackle her.

Saitō appears and approaches the camera. The footage at the scene cuts out.

Mito and Goshi turn back to the game. Mito surrenders. Since Mito is hungry and Shinya has things to do, they decide to continue their tournament next time. The three of them leave, and Guren picks up the phone Shinya left on the ground. Shinya left a funny message for Guren on there, but the phone did not contain any useful information. Shinya rings the doorbell, and they chat again. Shinya glances at the TV screen.

Guren says they should not go investigate since it is too dangerous and they need more information about the fire first. Shinya tells him to not lie to his comrades, and Guren informs him that Shinya is not his comrade.

Mito and Goshi come for Shinya, and the three leave again. There are no additional news reports on the fire, suggesting that the Thousand Nights censored them.

Guren arrives at Hikarigaoka Park at 1:30 a.m. the next morning, shortly before Shinya. They sneak into the park and get into position to watch the tennis court. They see eight trained Thousand Night men in suits. The men yell something and then get into battle formation. The men launched chains from their bodies at a vampire, who easily avoids their attacks while decapitating three of them and drinking the blood of a third. Within seconds, the vampire kills the rest of them. She does not appear to be a noble.

She glances at Guren and Shinya and smirks.

Guren and Shinya immediately race to their motorcycles. Guren runs his motorcycle into her, but she easily catches the motorcycle and pops its tire. Guren swings his sword, and Shinya grabs Guren as they flee. They crush a taxi, and Guren throws exploding tags at the pursuing vampire. One blows off her foot, but it rapidly regenerates. She ignores the fact that her clothes are on fire and continues to chase them.

Despite going as fast as they can, she easily catches up to them. Guren cuts off her hand. Unperturbed, the vampire watched them escape. They dodge around traffic but break a rearview mirror, which hits Guren in the forehead.

Since she is no longer chasing them, Guren tells Shinya to slow down. Shinya says they will be arrested if he does that because Guren is waving a katana around and not wearing a helmet. Guren says he does not want to die because of inferior driving ability. Shinya eventually slows down, and they pull into an alley.

Guren thanks Shinya for saving him and says he trusts Shinya a little more. They split up to head home.

The next day, Shinya sleeps at his desk until he starts playing shogi with Guren. He wins three out of seven matches against Guren until they are crushed by another student who is skilled at shogi.

When Mahiru calls Guren during his meeting with Kureto and Shinoa, she broadcasts the conversation over the whole school and makes Kureto out to be the culprit of everything occurring thus far in Catastrophe.

Shinya meets Guren and Shinoa once Kureto releases them, and he and Shinoa laugh about Shinoa’s torture makeup. When Shinoa requests money from Guren to go home, Shinya gives her 10,000 yen. He tells her to ask Mahiru if she remembers who her fiancé is.

Late that evening, the Thousand Nights attacks the school. Guren calls Shinya and informs him that he had sex with Mahiru, is accepting the demon, and is going to school to save his comrades. Guren calls him an idiot. Guren says he will leave Mahiru to him if he dies. When Shinya asks he means for Shinya to marry her or kill her, Guren hangs up.

Book 4
Shinya engages the Thousand Night members in battle on the streets of Hachiko, Shibuya and cuts an assassin’s throat. He calls Kureto and reports. Kureto orders him to come to school to lead his squad members. He says the situation is to kill or be killed but little is known about the enemy. Tenri Hīragi is assuming command to negotiate the situation. When Shinya says he no longer has any value since his fiancée betrayed them, Kureto tells him to make his stand with the Hīragi. Shinya is surprised that the state of war is bad enough to give merit based on achievement rather than on birth hierarchy. He asks Kureto if he as some kind of goal, and Kureto says he lives to guide the Hīragi and gain power and privileges for them. He sees people as empty shells molded by their environments. He says Shinya needs only to submit to him.

Shinya steals a motorcycle from an innocent passerby and drives through the chaos to First Shibuya High.

When he arrives Shinya fires missiles of powerful talismans at Guren and allows Goshi and Mito to flee. The soldiers keep firing the talismans at Guren, and he retreats into the audiovisual room. The talismans cover the balcony and then the keep firing in order to seal him within the school.

Using a heat detector, he notices that only three people are left in the building. He watches Goshi carry Mito and escape while Guren, who is possessed, follows them. Shinya yells at Guren to distract them, and then his soldiers fire talismans at him to subdue the demon. In exchange for saving Guren, Sakae says he will hand over the Ichinose’s research to the Hīragi and will accept any punishment. Kureto then calls Shinya and lies about going to Aichi.

In the classroom, Shinya arrives with Mito, Goshi, and nine other soldiers. They all have demonic blades equipped to them.

Noya wakes up, demanding murder.

Shinya, Goshi, Mito, and Guren struggle against Noya. Thanks to the cursed gear, their injuries heal unnaturally fast. Shinya tells Noya that the humans have already found a way to turn demons into their slaves. They fight, and Goshi uses an illusion to distract Guren while Shinya pastes a weakening talisman on Guren's neck and hugs him. The troops pierce Shinya and Guren with wooden stakes, and chains wrap Guren to Shinya from the feet on upward. Guren loses consciousness.

Over an hour later, Guren opens his eyes in the classroom but is too embarrassed to start talking right away. Shinya teases Guren about thanking him.

Guren asks about the cursed gear research and the Thousand Nights' movements. They chat a little, and Guren and Shinya reveal to Mito that they were fighting over a girl. Guren says he won, but Shinya says Guren got dumped afterward.

In the epilogue, it is September 2nd and Mito, Shinya, and Goshi play video games at Guren’s apartment until Mahiru shows up. Guren attacks her, and they fall from the twenty-fifth floor. Mahiru stops her fall by using her sword. Guren is badly injured but recovers.

Book 5
Guren and Shinya play Bomberman while elbowing each other. It is now 3:30 a.m., and Mito and Goshi have both fallen asleep. Everyone starts waking up, so Sayuri offers to make them supper.

It is the night before September 29th. Mito, Goshi, and Shinya visit. They heard Guren's yelling. Shinya warns Guren that he cannot save Mahiru. They discuss how they can kill Mahiru. Guren shows his friends the documents he took from Mahiru's apartment. They list the children involved in the Seraph of the End experiment and prophesize the destruction of the world. Guren says Mahiru was taken by vampires on the Metropolitan Expressway and mentioned the vampire queen in Kyoto. Shinya asks if vampires have a monarchy since they have very little information on vampires.

Shinya tells Guren he shared that information too late. The group is aware they are being completely manipulated by Mahiru.

Kureto visits Guren and orders him to kill Mahiru within forty-eight hours or else he will kill Guren’s father and the rest of the Imperial Moon. He calls Aoi, stating that Guren betrayed them and cut him down. He orders Sakae’s death, but this is all a ruse.

Guren and his group escape to the roof and steal Kureto’s helicopter before heading to Kyoto. They crash in the mountains. It takes them a few hours to descend. The boys have a peeing contest.

They pull out a map and compass and plan to buy civilian clothes more suitable to their situation than skirts and court shoes. They plan on taking the shortest route since they figure the supposed vampire settlement will prevent the Imperial Demons and Thousand Nights from hunting them down so easily in their territory.

They group comes across a truck, and they discover that each of them has been trained to hot-wire vehicles. Goshi starts up the car immediately, impressing Mito with his skill. Guren and Shinya notice that the owner left the key in the ignition, but Mito does not notice and keeps praising Goshi's skill. Guren naps while chatting with Noya. The others keep a lookout since they say it is impossible to sleep in the loud and shaking truck.

Guren wakes up on the truck with Shinya watching over him. He slept for seven hours, but no one wanted to wake him because he was talking with his demon. Goshi and Shinya have been taking shifts looking after him.

They enter the love hotel where the others are resting, and a pair of students in sailor uniforms mistake Guren and Shinya for a couple. Guren puts on the news and changes into civilian clothes. Suddenly, Asuramaru drops down in front of Guren, but Shinya quickly knocks it away before Guren comes into contact with it.

Guren tells his friends that this is Mahiru's sword and says he did not realize he had it.

A vampire breaks in through the window and tells them not to move. Guren summons Noya and performs a more powerful attack than he has ever performed before. She catches his sword in her mouth.

Guren orders the squad to use a retreating formation with him as the sacrifice instead, but Shigure and Sayuri attack the vampire instead of retreating. The vampire catches their weapons and comments that they are quick. She mentions that Lady Krul Tepes told her about humans creating second-rate weapons. They struggle against her, and Guren meets with Noya.

Mito appears in front of Guren and is stabbed in the chest. She coughs up blood from a fatal wound. Looking back at him, an expressionless Mito tells Guren they're using the Tenka Formation. Guren realizes this is not Mito but rather one of Goshi's illusions.

Using the illusions, Guren cuts the vampire in the neck. The vampire is unable to defend herself in time because Shigure placed talismans on her sword and detonated them. Shinya appears from behind, cutting off her sword arm, and Mito sends the arm flying into the hallway. They continue fighting, and the vampire wonders why her wound will not heal. She turns to escape through the window but is stopped by an illusion of a wall. While she is distracted, Shinya cuts off her feet. Guren stabs her through the chest.

Book 6
After Sakae’s execution, Shinya calls and offers to clean up Sakae’s body, but Guren asks him to come to his apartment and play games instead.

Sakae’s body is returned to Aichi, and his head is reattached prior to his burial. Guren dresses in his father’s ceremonial kimono and greets the other family heads. Shinya, Goshi, and Mito sneak in to visit him.

When Shinya calls, Guren says Shigure accidentally cut off her arm while attempting to chop up a radish. When Sayuri calls, Guren orders her to clean up the room coated in Shigure's blood. They meet at Guren’s apartment that night, and Guren informs Kureto about Saitō. Shigure’s arm is successfully reattached.

When Guren heads home, Seishirō attacks him with a group of ten soldiers, but Guren is simply relieved it is not a vampire. Seishirō orders Guren to kneel down, but Guren refuses. Seishirō picks a fight, and Guren finishes it. Shinya prevents Guren from landing the final blow. Shinya convinces Seishirō to leave Guren alone.

The usual group meets at Guren's apartment, sans Shigure, who is still being treated. Guren tells them what happened. Then, they eat curry and play more games. Mito owns them at Bomberman once again.

On December 10th, the high school students are using demons, and one goes berserk. Kureto sends Guren, Shinya, Goshi, Mito, Sayuri, and Shigure in to kill him, and Guren is the first to arrive. He comes across a classroom with twenty-seven corpses, and a girl missing an arm and leg comes out, chased by a boy with black eyes and curse markings all over his skin. Guren knocks him out instead of killing him.

Mahiru appears, applauding Guren's strength. She admits this is her doing and does not care about the victims. She asks about the experimentation on Asuramaru. Humans must undergo surgery in order to meet qualifications to use a Black Demon, but the current success rate is less than 20%. Most people die. Although Kureto, Shinya, and Guren had successful surgeries, Goshi, Mito, Sayuri, and Shigure did not even meet the basic criteria to have the surgery done.

Guren says he wants to protect both her and his friends. He asks her to surrender, so they can extract the demon from her. Guren has Noya possess him, and they fight. He now knows the strength of the demons and believes he can defeat Mahiru, but he has yet to realize she is now a vampire. The rest of the group arrives and fights her. She manages to escape.

On December 23rd, Guren takes Shikama Dōji to meet with Shinoa. The traitorous faction attacks them, but Guren kills them quickly and incidentally drenches Shinoa in their blood. Shinoa loses consciousness as soon as she touches Shikama Dōji, but Guren manages to escape with her.

Goshi calls Guren and reports that Guren's apartment was set on fire by the traitors. Their phone call is interrupted. Guren steals a motorcycle and escapes, but a van chases and crashes into him. Traitorous soldiers face him, but Shinya attacks with Byakkomaru while pulling up on another motorcycle. Goshi arrives in a stolen minivan with the rest of their squad and picks them up. He says policemen are still chasing them. They ask Guren what they should do about the end of the world.

Guren calls Mahiru and says he will betray the Hīragi and join her. She laughs.

Second Shibuya High Arc
Shinya is first seen during a meeting among the top-ranked members of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. He contributes little to the conversation apart from trying to smooth things over between Guren and the other generals.

Shinjuku Arc
He arrives with Kureto and the Shibuya Main Army as reinforcements in the battle at Shinjuku in chapter 14. Shinya is the first to appear, sniping at Ferid. Unfortunately, Ferid notices his presence. Alarmed, he dodges, but he sustains a minor injury to his left shoulder.

Post-Shinjuku Arc
Shinya reappears with Kureto at the end of chapter 16 for Yūichirō's "interview."

In the next chapter, Shinya warns Yu not to trust Kureto right before Kureto cheats in their fight and beats Yu handily. Kureto orders Shinya to attack Yu. Shinya tells Kureto that unlike him, he doesn't like to pick on the weak. After Yu goads him by calling him weak, Shinya fires Byakkomaru, leaving Yu confused when nothing happens. Manifested tigers appear from Yu's left, and he strikes at them. This leaves him open, and Shinya puts his sword at Yu's neck. Shinya informs Yu that Byakkomaru is a long-range weapon, so he would stand no chance against powerful melee-range fighters. He tells Yu that he has not learned about demon "manifestation" or "possession," so this was the most that could be expected of him. Although Shinya declines to give his name, Kureto provides it, saying that Shinya was originally from a junior branch family and was despised for it. He reveals that he's under investigation from the Army due to suspicions that he may be a spy. Yu's interview continues, and Kureto surprises Shinya by asking Yu about the Hyakuya Sect.

Nagoya Arc
In chapter 24, Shinya drives to the Ebina Rest Stop to join up with the Moon Demon Company without invitation. He does this in a super-charged luxury sports car he happened to find along the way. Since it was too loud and attracted Horsemen, he had to stick sound-muffling illusion wards on it. When Guren asks him what he is doing there, Shinya asks Guren if he realizes this is a suicide mission. He says he decided to help him anyway.

Then, he and Goshi mock Guren for giving a short speech on a sports car. He is with Guren's squad at the rest stop when Yuichiro comes to receive his punishment. Once again, he and Goshi tease Guren about his calling them family. Each time, Goshi is the only one punished. They talk about their past a little. Yu says that if he and Shinya fought now, Yu is sure he would win. Shinya responds by calling him adorable.

Guren decides to test Shinoa and her squad with a match: her entire squad against Guren, Shinya, and Mito Jūjō. Shinya verifies that he and Mito just got thrown into a fight against three bearers of the Black Demon Series, which alarms Mito. Shinya starts off the match by firing Byakkomaru with manifestation coming at the kids from behind, effectively distracting Yoichi and Kimizuki and making them guard their rear. Then, Guren clashes with Yu, eventually sticking an explosion ward on Yu's forehead. As predictable as ever, Yu runs at Guren. Guren joking steps aside, where Shinya is waiting with his rifle and begins firing a barrage of bullets at Yu. Yu manages to block them, but Guren breaches the kids' lines and hands them their defeat.

In Nagoya, Guren leaves Shinya above ground to take over command if something happens to him. Shinya pairs up with Yoichi and works with the Shinoa and Narumi squads to kill Fifteenth Progenitor Lucal Wesker. Shinya coaches Yoichi on sniping, getting him to calm down and relax. He tells Yoichi the details of a sniper's job, including that they must kill any allies who fail to escape in the case of a retreat. When they fire at Lucal, Lucal grabs his aide Esther and throws him in front of their bullets. Esther dies, and Lucal attacks them from the ground, whacking the tower and making them cling onto it. Shinya and Yoichi eliminate all of the normal vampires on the ground they can while the infantry battles Lucal.

Shortly afterward, Shinya and Yoichi return to the ground and distract Lucal when he charges to attack Special Private Shiho Kimizuki. They successfully exterminate the vampire noble.

The Moon Demon Company regroups, and Sergeant Aiko Aihara arrives with only seven survivors from her squads. Guren Squad, Shinoa Squad, and Narumi Squad leave to hunt Thirteenth Progenitor Crowley Eusford, Seventeenth Progenitor Chess Belle, and Seventeenth Progenitor Horn Skuld while Aiko waits for other survivors to pass them the order to reconvene at Nagoya Airport. Shinya asks Guren if he is okay after losing so many soldiers, but Guren claims he will go home and cry later. Shinya goes with the team hunting down the three nobles.

Once at Nagoya City Hall, Shinya and Yoichi prepare to snipe Crowley Eusford. As soon as Yoichi fires Gekkōin at him, Crowley catches it's manifestation and flings it aside.

After careful planning, Guren decides that his squad will take his squad to attack Crowley while Shinoa and Narumi Squads free the hostages. He gives them five minutes to rescue as many hostages as they can and act as a proper diversion for the main force in Shinjuku. As soon as the five minutes are up everyone has orders to retreat to the Nagoya Airport immediately.

Guren and Shinya attack Crowley at the same time but he easily negates their attacks at close range. He then swings Guren into Shinya, throwing them into the wall behind them. Crowley, Chess, and Horn then step toward them. Mito notices this and moves to assist them but Goshi holds her back and tells her, she would only get in the way.

When Yu moves to rescue Guren, who is on the ground behind Crowley, Shinya stops him and orders him to abandon Guren. Shinya orders everyone to stop Yu but then notices enemy reinforcements. Shinoa says their five minutes are up and orders a retreat.

Outside, Yu breaks free of Kimizuki's grasp and complains about leaving Guren behind. Yu asks if ignoring feelings and abandoning family is acceptable as long as it is for their mission. Shinya tells him that they haven't abandoned him and remember what Guren told them: they aren't just coming home alive to protect their family, they'll come home victorious. Shinya then thanks Goshi creating the illusion that saved them.

After Shinoa squad recovers Yu from his fight with Crowley, Shinya is waiting for them outside. He orders at them to move as enemy reinforcements are coming. When they join up with Narumi Squad and many injured soldiers, he says that if the enemy reinforcements spot them, it's over so they have to leave the area immediately. They flee, and Rika Inoue reports seeing a single vampire straight ahead. Shinya says they can take on one noble and orders them to keep pushing forward.

As Shinoa Squad tries to prevent Mika from taking Yu, Shinya uses the distraction to stab Mika through his back and chest. He tells Yoichi that he did excellent work and this battle is over. He tells Mika to die, alarming Mitsuba and Yoichi.

Shinya uses the distraction to stab Mika through his back and chest. He tells Yoichi that he did excellent work and this battle is over. He tells Mika to die, alarming Mitsuba and Yoichi.

Shinoa activates Shikama Dōji and knocks Shinya away from Mika, surprising both of them. Shinoa Squad protects Mika and allows him to escape with Yu.

When Shinoa watches them leave, the other humans knock her down, calling her a traitor and telling her to die. Shinya tries to interfere and orders them to not kill her. Makoto stops the sword of one of the men and asks him if he heard the major general's orders.

Shinya orders them all to move as common vampire soldiers jump down from the helicopters, surprising them in the midst of their drama. One cuts through Yayoi's left side above the hip, causing blood to spray all around her as she falls to the ground. Enraged, Taro curses him and charges in to attack. He stabs the vampire through the torso while the vampire stabs him through the chest simultaneously. Blood sprays out of Taro's mouth. Seeing his squad members die before him, Makoto curses them.

Shinya orders him not to fight. He says they will be finished if any nobles arrive, so he orders a retreat. Vampires rain down around them.

After seemingly escaping the vampires, Shinya arrives with Guren Squad, sans Guren. Shinya says it is not up to Narumi who is disciplined as Narumi said to Rika that he would deal with Shinoa.

Narumi asks him what he is going to do. He says they came this far on their orders, even after losing their commander, because they thought they were really doing something. He says he cannot see why they came here because no one is waiting for them and bloodsuckers will catch them soon. He asks if this decoy mission was meant to be a suicide mission from the start. Shinya does not answer. When prompted by Norito Goshi, Shinya says Guren told him a transport chopper was supposed to be waiting there for them to escape with. He says they were supposed to then use the chopper to fly to Shinjuku, where a trap is supposed to be lying in wait for the vampires.

Shinya reveals this plan was devised by Kureto, instantly alarming Guren Squad. Shigure Yukimi and Sayuri Hanayori, Guren's aides, decide to abandon the mission and rescue Guren.

Narumi asks for an explanation. He can accept a meaningful suicide mission as long as Guren gives the order, but he says the Moon Demon Company obeys Guren alone, not Shinya Hiragi. He says they are sick of the Hīragi's, who sit safely above them and give out orders. Shinya tells him that is enough. Narumi asks Shinya how many of them think will follow orders from a higher ranked officer who orders them to march to their deaths. The company becomes disgruntled and asks what they should do.

Shinya wonders if Guren wants him to protect their lives or continue the mission. When Narumi demands an answer, Shinya tells him to shut up and says they will abandon the mission. Guren says their official orders are to hold position in Nagoya Airport, but he says they will instead plan to rescue Guren. The soldiers appear relieved.

A van pulls up, and Aoi Sangū steps out. Although she notices Mitsuba, she quickly turns from her. Then, Kureto steps out. Shinya and the members of Guren's squad are immediately alarmed, surprising Makoto Narumi with their reaction. Yoichi and Kimizuki recognize Kureto as the one who tortured them. Shinoa and Mitsuba are concerned.

Kureto identifies himself and congratulates them on their successful mission. He says that, thanks to their glorious sacrifices, humanity will now achieve complete victory over vampire-kind. He says he will take over now and orders them to put down their weapons and be at ease.

Shinoa orders them to hold onto their weapons and says she feels that something terrible will happen. Rika, Shūsaku, and Narumi hesitate. Shinya asks what exactly is going on.

Kureto ignores his question and asks where Guren is. When Shinya states Guren has been captured by the vampires, Kureto asks which personality let that happen. He asks if Guren really intends to fool him, which puzzles Shinya. Kureto mocks Shinya and asks if he has not figured it out yet. Kureto states that Guren's original and weaker personality is desperate to save everyone and liked them enough that he probably tried to put on a brave face. When Shinya asks for more information, Kureto orders him to be silent.

Kureto orders Aoi to kill the "sacrifices," and he disarms Shinya when Shinya demands that Kureto wait.

Narumi approaches Kureto and asks what he is talking about. Kureto asks who he is and restates his order for the soldiers to drop their weapons. Narumi points out how many of them have died already and says it is his responsibility to keep his subordinates safe.

Kureto remarks on Narumi's passion and asks for his name. Shinya quickly shouts at Narumi to not tell him, but Kureto says Shinya cannot do anything to protect him anyway. Shinya pleads with Kureto to just let them leave.

Kureto says that he is in a particularly good mood today, which makes Rika relieved.

Immediately afterward, he says that everyone is going to die anyway and orders the experiment to begin. Aoi launches chains from the ground at the surviving members of the Moon Demon Company. They merely scratch Shinya and fire at the other soldiers.

An army of vampires arrive, cursing the insolent humans for their recent attack.

The vampires and humans wage war. Shinya shoots vampires near Yoichi and says he and Guren Squad will back up the children. He orders them to run.

The experiment continues, and the demon Abaddon is successfully manifested. Yu then awakens in his seraph mode. He defeats the demon and later stabs himself through the chest with the cursed gear sword.

After Yu falls, Shinoa tries to ask Guren what is going on, but she sees Shinya point his gun at Guren and realizes that their escape is up to her now.

Guren smiles and Shinya demands an answer. He tells Shinya to not be so angry and says he is fulfilling their dream of changing the army so that anyone can climb the ranks. Shinya asks him about betraying so many of his men before realizing Guren has been possessed, despite Guren not having the typical horns, dark eyes, fangs, or rampant curse marks associated with possession. He tries to call out to Guren, but Guren grabs Shinya by the neck as curse marks begin appearing on his face.

Post-Nagoya Arc
Three months later, Shinya is imprisoned within Shinjuku's Japanese Imperial Demon Army HQ.

Aoi visits him. He addresses her as Kureto’s pet dog, and she immediately replies that she is Kureto’s pet. Although he pleads with her to open the cell, she refuses. She tells him that a Hīragi like him should act like one and quit begging.

Aoi tells Shinya that Kureto will be returning to Shinjuku tomorrow. She gives him a message from Kureto, telling him to cease his “temper tantrum” and come to his senses.

Natural Abilities
Shinya, like all users of Cursed Gears, have heightened physical abilities. He is shown able to take command of the Moon Demon Company after escaping from Crowley, and is an adept fighter, although that's only mostly showed in the Light Novels. Being raised as a Hīragi, Shinya is one of the best fighters in his school, as the fluidity and grace in his movements is noted by Guren as superior to most of their classmates.
 * Marksmanship : Shown in both the Light Novels and the Manga, Shinya have superb marksmanship. He's able to shoot down targets from long distances with deadly accuracy, as shown when Ferid barely got away from his shot, and even got an arm injured. Shinya is apparently skilled enough in the art of shooting to help coach Yoichi in their mission of killing Lucal Wesker.


 * Talisman : Mostly shown in the Light Novels, Shinya is an expert in using talismans, often cloaking his presence with them, or sealing up the movements of his enemies with them. As noted by Guren, Shinya's incantation speed is extremely fast, and the former immediately marked out the latter as a dangerous individual. Prior getting his Cursed Gear, Shinya fights almost exclusively with talismans, and is able to keep a demon-possessed Guren at bay with them.
 * Swordsmanship (LN exclusive only) : Shinya is shown to be able to wield his first Cursed Gear, which takes the form of a sword. He's able to slice off a vampire's arm with it.

Cursed Gear

 * Byakkomaru 「白虎丸 lit. White Tiger」: A manifestation-type demon weapon from the Black Demon series wielded by Shinya Hīragi. It takes on the form of a black rifle with a glowing green streak down the middle. Byakkomaru's specialty is long-range firing and it is not very effective in close-range combat. While so, the tigers are fired and created in flames from out of the rifle. Shinya can fire bullets which splits and then manifests into several white tigers. Each tiger can move independently, as if they have a will of their own. Applying the demon to the bullets increases its power and range. Shinya can additionally fire at something and make the tigers come from behind whatever he shot at, but he can only do this once within an unspecified amount of time as a surprised attack.
 * Unknown Cursed Gear : In Volume 4, prior getting Byakkomaru, Shinya uses a Cursed Gear in the form of a sword. The rank of the sword is unknown, but like all Cursed Gears, it gives Shinya greater physical strength and healing abilities.

Trivia
Guren: "He chats about useless things together with Goshi all the time. Always laughing like a fool, his skills are…well it’s decent."
 * Shinya 「深夜」 means "deep night,," as in "midnight." In the prologue of the light novel's 3rd volume, he tells Mahiru that it is written as 深い (Fukai) and 夜 (Yoru).
 * Hīragi 「柊」 means "holly."
 * Shinya grinds his own coffee beans and does latte art.
 * Shinya likes regular soy sauce with his eggs.
 * In the popularity poll, Shinya earned 5th place at 2,467 points.
 * According to the 8.5 fan book:
 * Interests and Likes: [Interests] Whatever Guren is doing / Things Guren seems to dislike
 * Favorite item: Jam
 * Favorite food: (Compared to rice) Bread/ Jam / Marmalade
 * What he looks for in the opposite sex: My fiancée was like that so I think I got a little tired…
 * Comments about him:

Goshi: "I think Lord Shinya is a very understanding person. He understands jokes too, so it’s really fun to tease Guren when Lord Shinya is around!"

Book 1

 * "By the way, this morning, you didn’t by any chance let my attack hit you on purpose, did you? For instance, in order to hide your true strength?  Because that would seem pretty disobedient.  Wouldn’t it?  Insubordinate, even…"—Chapter 2, Page 37
 * "Fine, fine. But it seems a shame.  I was looking forward to meeting you.  I was hoping the two of us could be friends.  I hate the Hiragis just as much as you do, Guren.  I figured the two of us might be able to stir up some trouble together."—Chapter 2, Page 37
 * "Haha! You should see the look on your face.  If you don’t want people to suspect you, you’re gonna have to try a little harder to hide that ambition.  But see?  You and me are on the same side.  And don’t worry about Mahiru.  The truth is we aren’t that close.  Even with the Hiragi name, I’m still just one of their adopted urchins.  They treat me like I’m something they stepped in.  Basically, the way you get treated at this school is how I get treated at home. It really pisses me off.  But someday I’ll bring the whole clan falling down on their heads."—Chapter 2, Page 39
 * "Here we go. Time to hear our goddess give her speech."—Chapter 2, Page 40
 * "Another great performance. And the Oscar for getting punched in the face goes to Guren Ichinose.  I doubt there’s anything someone at your level could learn by watching a fight between those two.  I’ve been watching you.  You’re even good at taking a punch.  There’s never any real damage, but you make it look really good when you fall down—"—Chapter 4, Page 70
 * "In my experience, people who can deprecate themselves like that are the most dangerous."—To Guren, Chapter 5, Page 78
 * "Master Seishiro, this hardly seems a fair fight for someone of your stature. If it got around that you were beating up on little girls from the Ichinose Clan, it might reflect poorly on the Hiragis."—Chapter 5, Page 83
 * "In that case, stay away from Mahiru while you’re at it. You don’t have the right to talk to her.  You don’t have any power or self-respect.  Someone who can’t even put in the effort shouldn’t have come to this school in the first place.  You’re not fit to walk the same halls as Mahiru."—To Guren, Chapter 5, Pages 86-87
 * "Enough. I’ve heard your excuses.  Long story short, you were born a loser and you’ll die a loser.  Right?  I guess I was right about you, then.  If you had at least shown some spine, I would have told you Seishiro’s weaknesses instead.  But I guess there’s no point.  Forfeit the match.  If you try fighting with that attitude you’ll just be killed.  That’s the kind of person Seishiro is.  He’ll humiliate you, and then he’ll kill you.  The teachers won’t stop him either.  They wouldn’t even lower his evaluation for killing you."—To Guren, Chapter 7, Page 130
 * "Why are we the only two on this side of the smokescreens, Guren? It almost seems intentional.  We’re the two students who hate the Hiragi Clan the most, and we just happened to get stuck together?  When you stop to think about it…"—Chapter 7, Page 140

Book 2

 * "Together, the Thousands Nights and the Imperial Demons are the two most powerful magical syndicates in Japan. Now they’re at war.  If things go off course, the whole country could be destroyed."—Chapter 1, Page 199
 * "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on.  You’re not planning to use bloodbane magic, are you?  In your current state…  You’re gonna get yourself killed.  That spell was created to kill vampires, right?  But no one’s actually ever tried using it.  After all, vampires are so much faster and stronger than humans that it’s hard to imagine anyone getting nine hits off on them in the first place.  The same applies here, Guren.  How are you gonna get nine hits off on that creature?  It’s time to retreat.  If we stay here, we’ll all be killed."—Chapter 7, Pages 298-299
 * "M-Mahiru…why are you…doing this? Wh-What are you trying…to accomplish…?"—Chapter 7, Page 303
 * "I could hardly sleep while my fiancée is getting chummy with her ex-boyfriend, could I?"—To Mahiru, Chapter 7, Page 320
 * "Let’s work together. We have to stop her from leaving.  If we let her go now, she’ll destroy herself.  You can see that, can’t you?"—To Guren about Mahiru, Chapter 7, Page 320
 * "You could never be like Mahiru, Guren… But I don’t think that’s a weakness.  After all, if you were willing to make the same choice that she made, we wouldn’t be trying to save her in the first place.  Would we now?  You know I’m right, don’t you, Guren?"—Chapter 7, Page 324

Book 3

 * So I survived… I get to live.—Prologue


 * "So then…I don’t have to compete anymore?"—After Shinya wins the right to become Mahiru’s fiancé, Prologue
 * "Mahiru means 'midday,' doesn’t it?" asked Shinya smiling. "You shine like the midday sun, my lady.  Shinya seems like the perfect name for someone like me, lucky enough to breathe in your shadow."—To Mahiru, Prologue
 * "Now I get it," Shinya said. "When they told me you were coming I wondered what you would be like.  I never expected that someone from the Hiragi Clan would be a run-of-the-mill, lovestruck little girl." —To Mahiru, Prologue
 * "After all, I’ve never lost at anything before in my life."—To Mahiru, Prologue
 * "Alright then, I’ve decided. I don’t mind being your cover for now, but someday I’ll make you love me.  That’s my next challenge."—To Mahiru, Prologue
 * "I guess… I just lost, didn’t I?" remarked Shinya.—To Mahiru, Prologue
 * Mahiru smiled again. She had a very pretty smile. "…" For the first time, Shinya felt it. Although he had never met him, Shinya began to feel a little jealous. Of the boy named Guren Ichinose.—After Mahiru tells Shinya about her love for Guren, Prologue
 * "You should just leave Guren be, Mito. It’s not like his acting rude and lazy is anything new."—To Mito, Chapter 2
 * "Haha. How could anyone dislike a face as friendly as mine?"—To Guren, Chapter 2
 * "Mahiru? I guess I did like her, a little.  But I don’t think I was ever crazy in love with her."—To Guren, Chapter 2
 * "I kept imagining what you’d be like. I imagined fighting you if you ever showed up in person, just to see which one of us was stronger.  Sometimes I’d imagine what you’d look like.  That sort of thing."—To Guren, Chapter 2
 * --Oi! Who said you could look at other people’s phones, Guren?  You creep!  LOL—An email Shinya leaves open on his phone for Guren to find, Chapter 3
 * "You're gonna have trouble keeping your friends if all your tactics involve lying to them. You were actually planning on going and meeting with the Thousand Nights on your own, weren't you?"—To Guren, Chapter 3
 * "You know," said Shinya, a dissatisfied look on his face, "we don’t have many allies, and our opponents are a lot more powerful than us. Do we really have to keep playing games?"—To Guren, Chapter 3
 * "…You’re killing the gag, Guren."—To Guren, Chapter 3
 * Shinya laughed. "We’ve got no helmets on and you’re holding a katana…  I think they’d arrest us even if we weren’t speeding.  I bet we look like old-school biker-gang hoodlums!"—To Guren after they race for their lives to escape from a common vampire, Chapter 3
 * "Does that really matter at this point? Anyway, if I slow down now, we’re going to stick out like a sore thumb.  Riding double, with no helmets…  Two guys, for that matter."—To Guren, Chapter 3
 * "No man’s gonna wanna marry you if you’ve got scars all over your face."—To Guren, Chapter 3
 * "I don’t know… I always knew Mahiru was in love with you.  Still… I guess I am.  I just don’t like losing to you.  Why do you suppose that is?" —To Guren after Guren has sex with Mahiru, Chapter 4
 * "Are you asking me to marry her? Or to kill her?" —To Guren when he asks Shinya to take care of Mahiru if he dies, Chapter 4

Book 4

 * "I’m just adopted. And after what happened with my bride-to-be, I’m guessing I don’t hold much value for the clan anymore."—To Kureto, Chapter 2
 * "Talk about a superhero complex…" Shinya muttered.—About Guren, Chapter 2
 * "Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if a few of them bit the dust."—About the population of Shibuya, Chapter 2
 * On the other hand, with so much darkness in the world… "…he’s precisely the kind of person we need. Someone worth saving."—About Guren, Chapter 3
 * "Come on Guren, cut it out…" he muttered. "Snap out of it.  You became a demon just to save your friends.  If anyone can do it, I know it’s you…"—To himself, Chapter 3
 * "No way, Guren. You’re not going to sleep with my fiancée and get off the hook so easy," he said.  "I’m gonna save you whether you like it or not.  I’ll make sure no one else kills you, either.  If I messed this up, too, my whole life would be just one big failure."—To Guren, Chapter 3
 * "I know, just kidding. I understand that it’s hard for you to trust me.  You’re worried this could be a ruse.  But we don’t have time for that right now.  Things have taken a pretty big turn for the worst here.  Me and your son were fighting over the same girl, and we were carrying out a bunch of research to try and save her…  But we slipped up.  We both pretended to be unpopular loners, but in the end we were the ones who were getting played.  You know, pops, you probably should have taught your son how to deal with girls a little better."—To Sakae Ichinose, Chapter 3
 * "What if the only thing waiting in the lead is catastrophe?"—To Kureto, Chapter 3
 * "Have fun while you can, demon," he said, grinning. "We humans are going to find a way to make you obey.  And once we do, your kind will be our slaves for all eternity."—To Guren/Noya, Chapter 4
 * Casting a sidelong glance at Guren, Shinya said, "Me, I knew what I was doing when I saved you… You say there’s no such thing as friends?  Get real.  We are friends.  And it’s your fault.  You’re the one who brought trust and friendship into the crazy world we live in.  You’ve got a kind of madness that Kureto and Mahiru can’t even begin to dream of.  So now…"  Shinya stretched his hand out toward Guren.  "Take responsibility for what you did.  You have to lead us—lead this team—properly.  There’s not a whole lot of things to believe in in this world.  But we’re ready to follow you."—To Guren, Chapter 4

Quotes: Vampire Reign

 * "Byakkomaru, fire. 'Bang.'"--Shinya when he fires his weapon, multiple chapters
 * "Er, Yu? I wouldn't trust what Kureto says if I were you. It isn't wise."--Shinya to Yūichirō, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "I don't like picking on powerless kids like you do."--Shinya to Kureto, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "Aha ha! Are you planning to add my name to your list of people to punch later? I'll keep my name to myself, thank you."--Shinya to Yu when Yu asks who he is, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "Aha ha... I feel the same way. Sheesh... This place is truly... rotten."--Shinya to himself about the JIDA, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "Attacking vampire nobles with only 100 soldiers? That just isn't sane."--Shinya to Guren at the Ebina Rest Stop, Chapter 24, "The Moon Demon's Orders"
 * "You're still going to die. But you're going to go anyway, because you're stupid like that. So I decided to be nice and come help you. Again. Now where's your thank you?"--Shinya to Guren at the Ebina Rest Stop, Chapter 24, "The Moon Demon's Orders"
 * "Heh heh! To be honest... I can only shoot from behind like that once. Yet you panicked and focused on your backs. It was adorable."--Shinya to Shihō Kimizuki and Yoichi Saotome, Chapter 26, "Thirst Logic"
 * "This is your first sniping mission, correct? Guren asked me to walk you through it. So I'll teach you, okay? First, calm down. Take a few deep breaths. Calm your body. Slowly... take control of the space. As snipers, our job is to stay calmer than anyone and kill the enemy. We back up our allies on the ground... and if things go south and we must retreat... we must kill any of our allies who fail to escape, before they can be captured and tortured."--Shinya to Yoichi on sniping, Chapter 27, "Vampire Noble Lucal"
 * "I just want to know if you're okay. A lot of good people died today. You've never been good at handling that kind of loss."--Shinya to Guren, Chapter 29, "Who's Pulling the Strings?"
 * "Mask our intent. Wrap us in the shadows, Byakkomaru. One shot."--Shinya leading the charge, Chapter 35, "Traitorous Allies"
 * "Dammit...! What do you want me to do, Guren? What did you entrust me with when you left them to me? Was it the mission... or their lives? If it's their lives, then did you want us to abandon the mission?"--Shinya's thoughts, Chapter 38, "The Namanari Awakens"
 * "You can shut up now! I get it, okay?! You want to abandon the mission? Fine! We abandon the mission. Geez!! Our official orders were to hold position here... But we will ignore that! Instead, we are going to regroup and devise a strategy to rescue Guren Ichinose!"--Shinya to Narumi Makoto and the Moon Demon Company, Chapter 38, "The Namanari Awakens"
 * "Kureto... Brother. We just got done fighting on the front lines. We lost a lot of good people. I'm not in the mood to go along with any of your jokes. If our mission was a success... then let us leave."--Shinya to Kureto Hiragi before Kureto orders the deaths of the surviving Moon Demon Company soldiers, Chapter 39, "The Beginning of the Plan"
 * "What the heck are you saying? Your own men are dying, Guren. Do you have any idea how many of your own your betrayal killed...? No... Not you... Your demon!! HEY, GUREN!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"--Shinya realizing Guren is possessed, Chapter 41, "Arrogant Love"
 * "Well if it isn't Aoi Sangu... Kureto's pet dog."--Shinya to Aoi, Chapter 45, "The Sangu Sisters"
 * "But in all honesty, your conscience is bugging you... right? You've killed dozens--if not hundreds--of your own comrades in human experiments.  The Hiragi family claims it is all for the greater good, but, in the end, all they know is how to trample others for their own personal gain."--Shinya to Aoi, Chapter 45, "The Sangu Sisters"
 * "Really? If your 'master' demands it, will you meekly offer your sister Mitsuba up as a sacrifice for his deranged experiments?"--Shinya to Aoi, Chapter 45, "The Sangu Sisters"