Honoka

* Manga
* Anime

**Hinoka-Gutsuchi-no-Kami** (火之迦具土神, *Hinoka gutsuchi kami*), typically known simply as **Honoka** (ほのか, *Honoka*), is the God of the Land in charge over the region of Komiya that borders Kamioka, residing at the Atago Shrine. She is an old acquaintance of Kukuri, and was the one that appointed Sunao Sumeragi as her land's exorcist. Due to their proximity and relationship, she often assists Kukuri when trouble arises.

## Appearance

As a God, Honoka boasts a never-aging body and is, presumably, much older than she looks. She has the appearance of a young tomboyish woman with blonde hair tied with a red bandana, and she has very sharp eyes that give her a somewhat rough expression. Her attire consists of a black haori with a red tunic on top.

## Personality

    Honoka is a quite tomboyish and masculine woman, lacking in any feminine traits. She possesses a rather laid back and easy-going personality, exuding a great amount of confidence with a decisive and assured attitude. She speaks in a casual and informal tone, treating those in a lower position than her with respect and encouraging them to express their opinions if they wish to. She has common sense, often calling out others for their poor decision making and disliking bold acts made with little thought involved. She is cautious and her words showcase her sensibleness, capable of making calm judgements even on serious situations. However, she is also somewhat absent minded and inattentive to things she is not focused on, going as far as not noticing her own temple being on fire until it was pointed out by Sunao. She is, quite surprisingly, a very merciful deity, as she was still willing to spare the fugitive members of Mayoiga after they were about to initiate a large-scale attack on Kamioka if they were willing to turn away, and even saved them and granted them a possibility of survival after the conflict was over.

She has a relationship of mutual respect with Kukuri and the two have known each other for quite some time, though they only meet through spirit clones. They both have their pride as Gods of the Land, and showed a competitive side during the duel between Sunao and Kazuya. Despite being seemingly harsh on the outside, she is very concerned by the decisions and actions of her Exorcist, expressing sorrow over Suou's death and wanting to respect his ideals, and serving as a mentor figure to Sunao.

## History

At some point in the past Honoka was recognized as a strong enough God to be trusted with the Land of Komiya and was granted a Stone Shard from the Celestial Pillar, which was implanted inside her body, becoming a God of the Land as a result. As such, she was responsible for watching over the land's activity of Curse and selecting an Exorcist to deal with aberrations that may arise. Eventually Honoka appointed Suou Sumeragi as Komiya's Exorcist. When Suou died, his sister Sunao demanded Honoka to give her a Tsugumomo so that she could use it in order to avenge her brother. Honoka refused, wanting to respect Suou's last wish of giving Sunao an ordinary life, but Sunao did not listen and would go claim ownership of Suou's tsugumomo, Kotetsu.

## Plot

### Sunao Sumeragi Arc

Honoka tests Sunao by using the technique "Flame of the Heavens", confident that she would be able to block it. After she successfully managed to do so, she officially named her the Exorcist of Komiya and allowed her to leave for Kamioka to challenge the Exorcist from that land. During the duel between Sunao and Kazuya Kagami, Honoka was present through a Spirit Clone, actively cheering for Sunao and analyzing the match alongside Kukuri.

### Mayoiga Revolt Arc

During the conflict with Mayoiga, she intercepted their ship when they tried to get to Kamioka by passing through Komiya. Due to Miurahi's own Stone Shard, she preferred to act with caution and sent a Spirit Clone to prevent a possible disaster from the clash of two Stone Shards. She told them that she would spare them if they turned around, but the firm members of Mayoiga continued moving forward, which Honoka responded by attacking them with "Flame of the Heavens". Through the combined effort of all the members of the Tsugumomo organization, they were able to block the God's attack, leading Honoka to engage in a close-quarters battle. However, as Honoka fought against the entire force of Mayoiga it was not until too late that she realized that the Mayoiga ship was a virtual ship created by Mimane, and that a small elite group of Mayoiga managed to sneak by while she fought the larger force, who managed to quickly reach Kamioka.

After Miurahi was killed by Azami and the members of Mayoiga lost their ship, Honoka saves all the remaining Tsugumomo and convinces them to surrender. Some time later, the recovered Mayoiga tsugumomo, including those rescued by Honoka, were sent to Tsuzura Temple where they were kept in storage.

### Tsuzura Temple Arc

Several days after Kanaka's revival, Honoka trained with Sunao where she noticed Sunao was having difficulty concentrating. Knowing Sunao was thinking about Kazuya, Honoka told Sunao to return to Tsuzrua Temple to train.

## Abilities

Being a God of a Land, a deity recognised as particularly powerful, even among Gods and that houses a Stone Shard inside her body, Honoka is one of the most powerful entities in the world. She is a Fire God, with her fighting style revolving mostly around the use of flames. She is extremely skilled at hand-to-hand combat as well, being easily capable of fighting against Mayoiga's entire force even with a much weaker Spirit Clone, and coming out on top with barely any injuries. As she is a God of the Land, she is presumed to be equally powerful to Kukuri at full strength, making her nearly unbeatable for mortals.

**Flame of the Heavens** (天火(てんか),, *Tenka*): Honoka amasses power into a small fireball and shoots it towards her target, blasting into a huge explosion that turns everything to a crisp. It is an incredibly powerful technique, comparable or perhaps even superior to Kukuri's Minazuchi. The Water Deity describes it as a hellfire capable of melting earth itself.

**Karmic Heavenly Fire - Fire Eating Bird** (業天火 火喰鳥(こうてんか ひくいどり),, *Kōtenka Hikuidori*): Honoka surrounds her body with a large amount of flames that take the form of a bird resembling a fenix and frontally launches herself towards her enemies, obliterating everything in her path.

## Trivia

* Honoka is one of the few established female characters of Tsugumomo that was never seen naked even once.