Toga Yagari

Toga Yagari (夜刈十牙, Yagari Tōga) is the current top ranked vampire hunter and a qualified teacher. Yagari formerly trained Zero Kiryu and to an extent, Ichiru Kiryu to be a vampire hunter.

Appearance
Yagari possesses long, wavy, jet black hair. He wears an eyepatch over his right eye after losing it due to protecting Zero from a rabid vampire. He is often seen sporting a wide brimmed cowboy style hat and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. He appears to be in his mid thirties, and yet seems to be very attractive and cool looking, as several dozens of Day Class girls asked him if he's single or has a girlfriend. He has a scar on the right side of his chin, but it's not apparent where it came from.

Personality
Yagari comes across as a no nonsense gruff hunter. He subscribes to a tough love attitude. He is realistic and not an unfair judge, but does not trust vampires any more than he has to. He expresses admiration for the night class when they stand against the Council, but warns them against becoming outcasts. He doesn't approve of Kaname's methods and reacts negatively to Kaname's implications of atonement for the sins of the hunters ancestors.

Yagari has a gruff attitude, but a good heart. He is very professional as a hunter and methodically destroys vampires on his list. He can seem merciless because he understands the harm that Level E vampires can do, and he knows that hesitating can cost him his life. He was ready to kill Zero if he showed signs of becoming a Level E, but it’s obvious that he cares about his young apprentice deeply and is glad that he didn’t have to make that call. He is often annoyed by Kaien’s idealistic goals and silly chatter, but he also obviously respects and his loyal to his friend.

He takes his duty as a hunter and protector of the innocent seriously, but in general seems to know where to find the balance between eliminating the dangerous vampires and using threats and psychology to deal with troublemakers who are just young and impulsive rather than being true menaces.

Background
Yagari first met Kaien Cross as a child and was rude to the older hunter, perceiving that Kaien had too much vampire DNA in him.

Yagari had great respect for Zero's parents and trained Zero and Ichiru inspite of knowing that the latter was not strong enough to become a vampire hunter. He took in Kaito Takamiya for training after his friend was injured and trained him alongside the twins.

Yagari lost his eye during an incident when Zero disobeyed Yagari's order to run away, refusing to accept that the kind and beautiful doctor at his elementary school was dangerous, when in reality she was a vampire who had escaped from the control of the aristocrats, she unexpectedly transformed into a vicious vampire and Yagari shielded Zero from her, losing his eye in the process. Zero promised Yagari he would make sure that Yagari would never regret losing his eye to save Zero's life.

Following the killing of Zero's family, he gives Zero to Kaien Cross to look after believing he would never see the boy again after going to investigate the death of the elder Kiryus following his suspicions that it was not above board.

Once Yagari refers to the Chairman as uncle.

Plot summary
Yagari showed up at Cross Academy having not seen Zero in four years, he shoots Zero through the shoulder with his anti-vampire gun when Zero almost bites Yuki. He stays at the Academy forced by Kaien Cross to serve as the substitute Ethics teacher for the Night Class (Day Class in the anime), while he decides whether Zero is dangerous or not. He forces Zero with Yuki's help to reassert the boy's desire to live for as long as he is sane.

Yagari returns behind the scenes following Shizuka's death as he confronts the Vampire Hunters Association about the Council of Elders' decision to punish Zero when they had previously acknowleged it couldn't be helped if Zero sought retribution, but the Hunters Association appears unable to interfere.

Yagari later returns on orders from the Hunters Association to apprehend Zero and he notices the ominous new aura surrounding Zero. He places Zero into the former prison on the school grounds, giving the Bloody Rose to Zero after telling him that there is yet another Pureblood vampire near the school. Yagari stays and subsequently joins Kaien in defending the Night Class from the Hunters Association.

Yagari is proud of the Night Class for defending their Day Class students, but warns them they will be in danger of being classed as outcasts for their choices. Yagari reveals that he spent the last four years investigating the circumstances of the Kiryu's death finding out that someone had been manipulating the action behind the scenes interferring with the Council and the Vampire Hunters Association. Kaname tells him that Zero dealt with the perpetrator. Although Yagari agrees the Council was hateful, Yagari is troubled by Kaname's destruction of the Council because of the chaos that will arise without their control and threatens Kaname. Kaname assures Yagari he intends to take responsibility, but doesn't elaborate.

During the next year, Yagari takes on the role of Chairman of Cross Academy in Kaien's absence. He expresses disgust over the sheer amount of paper involved. He gladly turns this role back over to Kaien. It is revealed that he has now become the head of the hunters association, though in secret as Kaien is the public figurehead.

Kaien reveals that Yagari insisted on his former student, Kaito Takamiya's recruitment at the school in order to assist the Hunters Association. Yagari attends the peace meeting along with the other hunters and gets annoyed by Kaname's discussion over the destruction of the Council of Vampires as they had to deal with the fallout and trouble caused by it and he gets further annoyed with Kaname's insinuations that they need to atone for the sins of eating a vampire ancestor, though Kaname apologises for his wording.

Powers
Yagari is a powerful hunter, becoming the top hunter in the Hunters' association. He possesses strong abilities in the standard vampire hunter abilities.

Trivia

 * Yagari is a combination of ya, meaning "night," and gari, meaning "to harvest." Toga means "ten fangs".
 * Rima Toya secretly nicknamed him "eyepatch" because Yagari wore an eyepatch.