Homuramaru Nowaki

Homuramaru Nowaki (, Nowaki Homuramaru) or simply Nobimaru (野火丸, Nobimaru) is the subordinate of Yoko Inari. He is also the leader of the Special Investigation Unit.

Appearance
Nobimaru appears as a young boy with short blond hair. He has golden eyes and a beauty mark under the left side of his mouth. He wears headphones to conceal his fox ears. His typical attire consists of a yellow undershirt, white tie, black suit jacket and black shorts. He also wears white socks paired with black sock suspenders and brown semi-formal shoes.

In his adult form his outfit remains generally the same. He wears a cropped white leopard print fur coat over his black suit, and instead of shorts he now wears black suit pants. On his right hand he wears a red glove. His headphones rest around his neck and he also occasionally wears oval sunglasses.

Personality
Nobimaru presents himself as polite and overall friendly, using his cute exterior to his own advantage. He has a lot of respect for Inari and will loyally carry out her orders instructed to him without hesitation. Despite this, Nobimaru actually views her in an intensely negative light; upon his first meeting with Kabane, Nobimaru reveals that he actually hates her. On a few occasions, he is also shown to momentarily get carried away, his typical bright expression darkening. He proceeds to talk about Inari in a hostile and bitter manner, hinting at how he truly feels about his boss, though he quickly catches himself and playfully pretends like the “slip of the tongue” didn’t happen.

While he is well-mannered and upbeat, he also displays his ruthless side from time to time. He shows little to no concern for violence and bloodshed, and in fact views such situations as rather exhilarating and entertaining. He doesn’t stray away from manipulation either. He takes advantage of Kon and her naive self and her unwavering affection for Kabane and Inari as a means of coaxing her into stealing Kabane’s calculus.

Nobimaru has a fairly elusive and puzzling personality. He’s private about his personal life, which makes his intentions and motives hard to discern. That said, he wants to be viewed as someone others can trust, urging Kabane to add him to his “friend list”.

Kitsune and tanuki aren’t particularly fond of each other, yet behind Inari’s back Nobimaru is amiable towards Inugami and other members of the Inugami Detective Office, even letting them in on Inari’s plans. He is also willing to assist and cooperate with them. His behavior tiptoes the line of betrayal, but when asked about his reason behind serving Inari, he describes it as “exceedingly self-serving”. As for what this reason is, is currently unknown.

Powers & Abilities

 * Replication: Nobimaru is able to replicate himself, producing many copies of himself to confuse the enemy.
 * Transformation: Nobimaru is able to change his form from a kid to an adult.
 * Illusions: Nobimaru is able to "erase" memories by showing the subject an illusion which makes them think it was a dream. Although the memory gets erased, the feelings stay intact.
 * "Flower Kindling" (花火種, Hanahidane): Nobimaru's signature move, as described by Robara. Nobimaru is able to plant the seeds of a flame at the points he touches with his fingers, detonating them by making them sprout. This ability leaves little marks similar to burns.

Kabane Kusaka
Nobimaru insists Kabane is a friend, and has been shown to help out with situations when asked for. Whether he truly sees Kabane as a friend is unknown, though he is on Kabane's "friend list".

Umetaro Matsutake
Nobimaru shouldered Umetaro's hefty loss at an illegal casino, sealing his fate of working at the Special Investigation Unit alongside others. However, Nobimaru is shown to be quite friendly and trustful with Umetaro, often holding him to high expectations.

Trivia

 * He wears an apron when he cooks, thinking that he's cute when he cooks with an apron on.
 * He is not against being on full display.
 * He likes soba.
 * His preferred type is someone who would fall down to hell with him.