Noriyuki Izuna

Noriyuki Izuna (飯綱 紀之, Izuna Noriyuki) is an old friend of Kagura Tsuchimiya and the ex-fiancée of Yomi Isayama who uses Kudagitsune, or spirit pipe foxes, to spy on people and fight. He's very perverted, and constantly tries to grope Kagura, with painful results. He is also part of the information department.

Personality
Underneath his perverted and cheerfully helpless facade, Izuna is very powerful as he is able to fight on equal terms with Yomi Isayama. He is very knowledgeable on the subject of spirits and is skilled in hojutsu. He treats Kagura Tsuchimiya like a little sister and demonstrates concern for Kensuke Nimura.

Background
As Yomi Isayama's ex-fiance, Izuna still had feelings for her. Behind all of his jokes and lecherous acts lies a man full of pity and self-loathing. After the Kyuubi arc, he tagged along with Shizuru Imawano to find her sister, Setsuna Imawano, but it is still unknown if they managed to locate her. He meets up with Kensuke and Kagura on the mountain and mistakes Izumi for Yomi. Izuna sees a lot of himself in Kensuke, which is why he wants to help Kensuke become stronger so that Kagura won't share the same fate as Yomi. It is revealed that he was blinded when he was poisoned by Mitogawa; now relying on his Kudagitsune to see. He is fatally wounded when he protects Yomi from a stab meant for her. As of chapter 48, Yomi had one of her protectors sacrifice the remaining power of his soul to save Noriyuki. He is seen later defending her from Mine, Sharing the same Evil spirit state Yomi is in.

Weapon & Spirit Beast
Khakkhara (Staff): Izuna fights with a staff similar to this and often uses it as a catalyst with his hojutsu. Several versions of the staff's origin are given in the Sarvastivada vinaya, but in all of them the staff is recommended to monks by the Buddha in order to ward off animals- either for protection from dangerous predatory animals like tigers and lions, or for scaring off small creatures like spiders and snakes that might be trod on by wandering monks. The ringing of the staff can also alert donors within earshot of the monk's presence, as monks traditionally remain silent while collecting alms. In the Mahayana sutra known as the Pewter Staff Sutra (得道梯橙錫杖經), the Buddha instructed his monks that they should have one of these staffs, because the Buddha's of the past, present and future also kept such a staff. In Japanese temples, the khakkhara is usually handheld, with the rattle of the khakkhara being used as a rhythmic instrument during sutra chanting to keep time, similar to the wooden fish. Spirit Beast: Pipe Foxes ( Kuda-gitsune  or  Kanko ): A type of spirit possession in Japanese legends. Starting in Nagano Prefecture, it is told about in the Chūbu region and also in parts of the Tōkai region, southern Kantō region, Tōhoku region, and so on. There are no legends of kudagitsune in Kantō besides the Chiba Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefecture, and this is said to be because Kantō is the domain of the osaki. Just like its name says, there are various legends about how they are small enough to fit into a bamboo pipe or about as big as a match box and would multiply until there were 75 of them, and so on. the kanko is a fox the size of a weasel or rat, with vertical eyes and thin hair. The magic-user summons the kanko to appear inside a bamboo pipe he is holding, whereupon the fox will answer all the questions it is asked.

Etymology

 * The name Noriyuki means "chronicle" (紀) (nori) and "this" (之) (yuki).
 * Noriyuki's surname Izuna means "food, meals" (飯) (i) and "rope" (綱) (tsuna/zuna).