More KHR thoughts - Hibari Kyouya
I love how Hibari is both super straightforward and yet also easily misunderstood. He's not abusive, but he is vicious. He's not antagonistic, but he is the hammer who sees all problems as nails. He's not a brooding stoic who struggles with anger issues, he's a chill guy who likes simple pleasures and smiles often.
Hibari is a character who is happy with his life and his place in the world from the very beginning. He knows exactly who he is, what he wants, how to get it, and that he is capable of getting it on his own merits. He is fair, not bending the rules when it suits him but following them even if it means he himself loses out. He only begins to be someone who is defined by the strength of his rage when the mafia comes in and messes up his idyllic home, demanding he play by their rules even though it is they who impose themselves on him. He is dealing with an invasive species that is wreaking havoc on the peaceful world he has constructed around him, and his only recourse is to beat them back as he would any other threat.
Temperance is his virtue which he proves in his self-restraint, but his silent struggle as a character becomes one of preservation. He is trying to preserve the peace and order within Namimori and the version of himself he knew and was content with. Rather than a big fish in a small pond, he's the monster in the loch that might flourish in deeper waters but feels at home where he is. Hibari has no delusions of grandeur; he does not desire more territory, more power, or means of conquest. He becomes, despite his best efforts, Vongola's sideshow attraction: watch and see how livid he can become, marvel at the damage his small body can take and still keep going, be astounded by the carnage he can unleash. Hibari will always choose to protect and never walk away from conflict, and though he genuinely does relish in a good fight, all he wants is to wrap things up and go home to lay in a nice patch of sunlight knowing all is well and all are safe.
