Hinako Inui

Hinako Inui
Kanji	乾 日向子
Rōmaji	Inui Hinako
Alias	The Mist Empress (霧の女帝 Kiri no jotei)
Personal Information
Age	28
Gender	Female
Height	Unknown
Family	Unknown
Cuisine Style	Japanese Cuisine/Washi
Food Forte	Natural/Raw ingredients
Professional Status
Generation	80th
Occupation	Head Chef & Owner
Workplace	Japanese Restaurant,"Kirinoya"
Media
Manga Debut	Chapter 15

Hinako Inui (乾 日向子 Inui Hinako) is an 80th Generation Tōtsuki Alumni and the owner of a Japanese Restaurant, Kirinoya. Nicknamed The Mist Empress, she also held the 2nd seat of the Elite Ten Council during her time of study in Tōtsuki.

Appearance

Inui has shoulder length long hair tied in a ponytail and slung over her right shoulder. Her eyes are generally very soft and gentle but she tends to have her eyes closed during most scenes. Unlike her fellow alumni who wear standard chef uniforms, Inui wears a kosode underneath a modified sleeved apron.

During her days at Tōtsuki, her bangs were much shorter but she still retained her ponytail. She also wore a standard Tōtsuki uniform.

Personality

Hinako is generally a mature, serene, and calm individual. She has a motherly sort of personality which she dotes on certain students that she likes. Upon meeting her for the first time, Hinako instantly resonated with Megumi Tadokoro, who easily became her favorite 92nd Tōtsuki Generation student because of their similar personalities. However, her brand of care towards her borderline on the obsessive side rather than the caring side. Despite this though, behind her soft, motherly personality, she is just as ruthless as her fellow Tōtsuki Alumni, showing that she has high standards for the students and is not afraid to deem a dish unworthy.

At times she is childish and carefree, shown by her comical distress when Sōma took her Kaki Seed Snack or causing her class to be late to return to the Villa. Hinako is close to her fellow 80th generation alumni Donato Gotōda and 79th generation alumni Kojirō Shinomiya and Fuyumi Mizuhara. She tends to make fun of Shinomiya in particular, only for her to receive a swift chop to the head from him.

History

A young Hinako cries over Shinomiya's departure.

Hinako attended Tōtsuki Culinary Academy as a part of the 80th generation. During her time at Tōtsuki she became known as the "Mist Empress" and had held the 2nd Seat of the Elite 10 Council by the end of her school life.

At the end of her 2nd year, she attended the graduation ceremony for the 79th generation. Among them were Fuyumi Mizuhara and Kojirō Shinomiya, whom she had befriended during her first two years at the academy. She shed tears, worried that Shinomiya would outcast himself due to his abrasive personality as he prepared to depart to France. However Donatō reminded her to see Shinomiya off with a smile and happy thoughts. Hinako then continued into her third year and was one of the few students to graduate. After leaving Tōtsuki, Hinako moved on and became the owner of a Japanese styled restaurant, Kirinoya

Plot

Training Camp

Main Article: Hellish Training Camp Arc

Twelve years after she graduated from Tōtsuki, Hinako was recruited by the academy to supervise the 92nd Tōtsuki Generation during their Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training camp. Hinako was reunited with Fuyumi, Kojirō, and Donato who also had been recruited. After Roland Chapelle introduced Hinako and the rest of the Tōtsuki Alumni, Hinako watched as Donato asked Megumi Tadokoro to join him for a date. Hinako scolded him and apologized that she had such a scary first experience. However Hinako became smitten by Megumi's cute appearance, but was summoned back to the stage before Chapelle became mad at her.

First Assignment

During her very first session in camp, Hinako assigned her class to create a Japanese Cuisine dish. However as there was no ingredients in the kitchen, Hinako informed them that their ingredients will have to come from anywhere in the outside area. She also added that they had two hours to gather their ingredients and make their dish and that she will determine if they passed or not after eating their dish. Among her class was Megumi Tadokoro, Sōma Yukihira, Takumi Aldini, and Isami Aldini. Takumi asked her to judge whose dish between Sōma's dish and his dish for her assignment, but she initially refused, saying that it had nothing to do with their assignment. Nevertheless, the four left the kitchen along with the rest of her class to gather their ingredients.

As the students began to search for their ingredients, Hinako monologued that when a person is in an unknown and uncertain situation, the human vision narrows leading to mistakes. Her assignment shows who has the ability to overcome this uncertainty and come out on top. Eventually some of the students returned to the kitchen to cook their dishes. The first duo to present her a dish was the Aldini twins after less than an hour had transpired. Their Aigamo Grilled with Spices amazed her with its deep flavor. Though most of the class believed that they used salsa verde, Hinako informed them that they made an improvised salsa verde using uruka, a type of shirokara. Hinako passed the Aldini twins and recalled Takumi's earlier statement for her to judge their dish against Sōma and Megumi's dish. She accepted Takumi's request to judge which dish was better. However she added that the loser must bow before the winner and call them a dejected loser three time. However, she exempted Megumi from this condition if she lost.

As Sōma decided on his dish, he asked Hinako if he could use anything in the kitchen area. As she told him that as long as it is an ingredient within the boundaries, Sōma could use it. Sōma snatched the kaki seeds that she had been eating and then set out outside to find the rest of his ingredients along with Megumi. Returning to the kitchen, Sōma used the Kaki seeds to coat his Char Okakiage. Though she had been eating almost nothing but fish dishes from the students, the improvised usage of her Kaki seeds created an interesting consistency unlike any of the previous dishes. Hinako passed Sōma and Megumi just before the time expired. After the class ended, Takumi asked her to finally determine which dish was superior. Unfortunately Hinako was conflicted as each of the dishes' uniqueness made it hard for her to determine a clear winner. Suddenly Shinomiya called her to hurry up and sent the students back. Hinako determined that the duel was a draw as she left the room to return to the Villa.

Second Day Shokugeki

Main Article:Yukihira-Tadokoro Vs. Shinomiya ''Shokugeki''

The following day, Hinako was with Gin Dōjima just as Sōma declared a Shokugeki to Shinomiya to keep Megumi in Tōtsuki after he had fired her for altering his recipe. After Dōjima brought Sōma, Megumi, and Shinomiya to his office, Hinako tried Megumi's altered dish. Though Hinako found it delicious and tried to convince Shinomiya to reverse his decision, Shinomiya grabbed her head to silence her after her attempts to persuade him became annoying. Though Dōjima tried to persuade Shinomiya to acknowledge Megumi's revision to fix the situation she was given, he still refused, though Hinako agreed with Dōjima. Thanks to Dōjima, Megumi got her chance to battle Shinomiya to an unofficial Shokugeki.

Later that afternoon, Hinako came to the Tōtsuki Villa Annex Kitchen, but was tied to a chair and denied a position as a judge for the Shokugeki due to her blatant favoritism for Megumi. After Dōjima told Megumi that she had to lead, Shinomiya threw some insults at Sōma, saying that his future is solely in the hands of Megumi. Hinako somehow managed to escape the ropes and rallied to judges against Shinomiya for his hateful comments. Throughout the cooking time, Hinako continued to cheer for Megumi. As Shinomiya waited for his dish to finish cooking, Hinako tried once more to sway Shinomiya, but she got on his nerves and was tied to her chair once more.

As the cooking time ended, Hinako escaped her bindings once more and joined the judges as Shinomiya presented his dish first. Hinako was disappointed initially by his Chou Farci but her unfounded criticism was refuted by a swift chop from Shinomiya. However, once she ate his dish, like the rest of the alumni, she could not help but praise his excellent dish. Megumi presented her Rainbow Terrine next. Despite Megumi's fears, Hinako and the judges told her that her dish was delicious. Her dish reminded Hinako of the zashiki-warashi, calling Megumi the "Legumes Zasiki-Warashi". However, despite Megumi's best efforts, the judges voted in favor of Shinomiya's dish.

However, Dōjima added a surprise vote to Megumi's dish in recognition of her efforts. After Dōjima handed Shinomiya a coin and forced him to eat Megumi's dish, Shinomiya dropped his coin into Megumi's dish. When he asked if she used all spice, Megumi said that she used it to help the judge's digestion systems since they had been eating all day. Hinako was moved to tears by Megumi's hospitality and kindness, though Mizuhara suspected that her tears was from her favoritism. Finally Hinako added one last vote, rendering the duel a tie. Leaving the final decision to Shinomiya, Megumi was allowed to say, much to Hinako's delight.

Final Day

File:Made by alumni.png

The Alumni gathered for the final assignment.

File:Meet the alumni again.png

Hinako attempts to recruit Megumi

On the evening of the final instructional day, Hinako and the rest of the alumni gathered to prepare a lavish feast for the 628 students who had survived the camp.

As the students prepared to leave the camp, Hinako and the rest of the Alumni managed to catch Shinomiya in the lobby before he decided to return to France along with his new dream of getting a 3 Michelin Star rating for his retaurant. Hinako took the opportunity to try and recruit Megumi to work for her restaurant along with Gotōda and Hitoshi Sekimori. As Shinomiya prepared to leave, she asked him if he needed her help to achieve his new dream. However Shinomiya joked that she can work as a servant, much to her annoyance.

43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election

In Autumn, Hinako was invited to return to Tōtsuki to participate as a guest judge for the Semifinal rounds of the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election.

First Semifinal Match

Main Article: Yukihira Vs. Mimasaka Semifinal Shokugeki
During the first match between Sōma and Subaru Mimasaka, Hinako immediately spotted Megumi in the crowd even though they were quite a distance apart. When Taki Tsunozaki said that Sōma was at a disadvantage just from the data gathered in the Tōtsuki Sport, Hinako told her not to judge him so preemptively. However the two butted heads for a bit until she asked for Fuyumi to help her. Surprisingly, Taki obeyed Fuyumi, much to Hinako's annoyance. Hinako continued to watch the match closely, growing increasingly surprised with each of Sōma's additional surprises.

Cooking Style

Hinako is the owner and head chef of an Japanese restaurant, specializing in washoku or traditional Japanese cuisine.

Trivia

• Hinako means Sun Child. Inui means "Dried"