Chiaki Hayasaka

Chiaki Hayasaka (otherwise could be rendered in kanji as 早坂千晶), known as Chiaki Tachibana (橘千晶) in the Japanese version, is one of the protagonist's friends in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Chiaki is from an upper-class family and is implied to be a very studious student. She has a tendency to look down upon lazy people such as her classmate Isamu Nitta. She shows great respect towards her teacher Yuko Takao.

Appearances

 * Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: Major Character
 * Drama CD: Voiced by Nana Mizuki
 * Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Konton: Major Character
 * Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Chiaki went with the protagonist and Isamu Nitta to visit their homeroom teacher, Yuko Takao at the Shinjuku Medical Center. While the two boys came out of concern for their favorite teacher, Chiaki also wanted to get her career and future advice and encourages the Protagonist to do the same depending on what answers you pick when speaking to her on your phone during the start of the game. She calls the protagonist on his cell, explaining to him that he's late and apologizes for going ahead of him, and dutifully informs him that he should go straight to the hospital instead.



Chiaki is later seen alone in the hospital lobby and tells the protagonist that Isamu already went up to look for Yuko and hasn't been back since. Instead of helping with the search, Chiaki borrows an occult magazine that the Protagonist picked up from a reporter in Yoyogi Park. Out of boredom, Chiaki begins to read it and asks him to find either Isamu or Yuko.

When the two boys return to where Chiaki sits, she expresses concern over the lack of people around the hospital, and an article she read in the magazine compounded her suspicions. Chiaki then informs her friends of what she read in the magazine: The Cult of Gaea has been in the news a lot lately, connected to a series of bloody massacres. Moreover, the magazine refers to the Conception &mdash; the inevitable end of the world &mdash; and that dubious rituals are also being performed within the walls of the very hospital they were at.

Isamu gives the protagonist an access card to search the basement floor for their teacher, while the former would go to the higher floors. Chiaki pokes fun at Isamu and accuses him of being afraid to check the basement himself. The two boys would once again leave Chiaki by herself at the lobby, unaware that the world as they know it would soon change. If he speaks to Chiaki before leaving, she will express her concern for Yuko's safety and explains her desire to leave the hospital if they can't find their teacher due to her increasing concern regarding the safety of them all remaining in the hospital.

Following the Conception, Chiaki momentarily loses consciousness and finds herself in a white area, hearing a voice that tells her to shape her own Reason and fight for it so the world would be rebuilt to suit her desires. Chiaki would later wake up and find herself in a demon-infested hospital. Despite lacking the means to fight (thus relying on wits alone), she manages to sneak past Forneus, the demon who was guarding the exit at the annex which was the only way out of the building. Chiaki makes her way to Shibuya and sought refuge and information in a club within the underground mall complex. Upon escaping the hospital himself, the Demi-Fiend would soon find her there.

Though bewildered, frightened, and eventually desensitized to the demons and nightmarish world around her. Chiaki was able to ask the Demi-Fiend what has happened when the player meets her later. Regardless of his answer, she'd eventually realize that what she heard about the Conception was true. Though devastated, she expresses relief that he actually survived and expresses her hope in Isamu and Yuko's safety. Chiaki thinks that Isamu and Yuko may still be alive as well, and takes it upon herself to find them.

Throughout her travels around the Vortex World, Chiaki starts to realize that in a world populated by demons, she can never really get her way, as she would always be stepped on by those who possess real power. She swallows down her fears and anguish; believing it impossible to go back to the world they once knew and deciding to look ahead to the reality she was forced to face now. She becomes hardened and determined to rise up from the challenges she has been thrust into, vowing to create a better world that would last longer than the previous one.

Chiaki's thoughts and feelings on her hardened attitude and desire to look onward are best expressed in her first meeting with the Protagonist after the world collapsed:

''"Nothing fazes me anymore. I realized... no matter how much I cry or shout this nightmare won't end." ''

After the fall of the Mantra Demons in Ikebukuro, Chiaki waits for the Demi-Fiend at the entrance of the Mantra Headquarters, wanting to tell him about realizations made from her experiences in this chaotic world. Chiaki believes that the world she used to know was stagnating. It was cluttered with superfluousness, and no new things were being made that would signify true progression. To that end, Chiaki resolves to create a world where the more resourceful and powerful members of society reign supreme and those who are weak and stagnating the world are disposed of, which she calls the Reason of Yosuga.

Chiaki then proposes that the Demi-Fiend should join in her cause. Outstretching her hand to emphasize the point that she desires his support of her. No matter what his answer would be, Chiaki says that she believes him and will tell him that as an individual who would try her hand at creation, she will start collecting Magatsuhi even though she doesn't really know where to begin. She leaves afterwards, speaking of her desire for their paths will cross again.

She later hears rumors about a large concentration of Magatsuhi stored in Yoyogi Park and ventures inside the construction site, hoping to finally get what she needs to formalize her Reason. She runs into Sakahagi, a rogue Manikin who had the purpose of creating a world with only demons existing. Chiaki fights valiantly but fails to obtain the item she came for, along with losing her arm from Sakahagi's assault. She successfully (but barely) escapes from the battle to analyze and re-think what resources she would need for her world to come to fruition.

The injured Chiaki can later be found in the highest floor of the ex-Mantra headquarters, where the ruined image of Gozu-Tennoh rests.



Chiaki and Gozu-Tennoh discuss how each have failed due to lacking what the other had. She hears the voice of Gozu-Tennoh, whose soul remained wandering the world and found Chiaki much later after most of his Magatsuhi was drained by Hikawa's Nightmare System. Chiaki asks Gozu-Tennoh to lend her his power so that she can start to build her beautiful world of strength. It is implied that she was the one destined to obtain his power all along, Gozu-Tennoh's spirit envelops Chiaki, turning her into a fiend. As the new bearer of Gozu-Tennoh's will, Chiaki assumes leadership of the Mantra, and calls out to others who would share her sentiments to rally stronger support against Nihilo than what Gozu-Tennou could have accomplished. Aside from the Mantra's existing forces, a large faction of Divine and Seraph class demons allied with her, believing that Yosuga is the righteous path unlike the Assembly of Nihilo's bid for a world of stillness.

With her forces now organized but still needing Magatsuhi to finally summon the god that will represent her Reason, Chiaki invades Asakusa, the home village of the Manikins, who believed they could easily defeat the threat Futomimi had foreseen. Her demon minions hunt down and kill every Manikin they see as she makes her way to Mifunashiro, the Manikins' holy land. Futomimi tries to stop her but is unable to do so, being weaker compared to her.

If the Demi-Fiend is allied with Yosuga, Chiaki is expresses her happiness that he is able to come just in time, and asks his opinion about her beliefs. Even during the most important of events, she focuses her attention on the Demi-Fiend because she wants to know his opinion. If the Demi-Fiend sides with Yosuga, Futomimi attacks him in a blind fit of rage, attempting to blame everyone else for his failure in not being able to protect his people. Incidentally, Futomimi's hypocrisy is shown in this part of the game when he begs for his assistance because he gave his Manikins the confidence that they could fight just by themselves (without the assistance of the more peaceful monsters that wished to help and the Demi-Fiend) and it was Futomimi himself who treated the Demi-Fiend as an outcast by telling the player a certain place was off-limits because he wasn't a Manikin. But if the Demi-Fiend is against Yosuga, Chiaki expresses her anger and bluntly informs him of the fact that he has no idea why he even had such power to begin with and kills Futomimi herself, saying that this power is for her, someone who can actually have a Reason. If the Demi-Fiend goes against her, Chiaki calls on the three Seraphs Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael to attack him when she attempts to kill Futomimi so that the Demi-Fiend will either be neutralized or, at the very least, unable to interfere. Chiaki then uses the large amount of Magatsuhi harvested by the Manikins to summon her demonic sponsor Baal Avatar who fused with her body to give her a brilliant appearance. When the time of creation was at hand, Chiaki began to climb the Tower of Kagutsuchi.

If the Demi-Fiend aligns himself with Musubi, Chiaki will attack Noah, mortally wounding Isamu in the process. But if he supports Yosuga, Shijima or does not uphold any Reason, Chiaki will not confront anyone and will instead by lying in wait at the third part of the tower, close to where Kagutsuchi is. Both these facts imply that Chiaki was the closest to obtaining a Reason if not for the Demi-Fiend's interference.

Unlike the other Reason-holders, the Demi-Fiend must face Baal Avatar whether he is allied with Yosuga or not. Chiaki would do so either to see if he can best her, the leader of the Reason of Yosuga, and take her place to create the new world they both desire or as a natural enemy which must be eliminated. If the Demi-Fiend is an enemy, Chiaki explains, out of respect to a former friend, that he need not hold back because he too has a Reason to uphold. The result would be the same if the Demi-Fiend emerges as the victor in their duel: Baal Avatar is shattered to pieces, resulting in Chiaki's own death. In her last words before passing away, she would either congratulate the Demi-Fiend for being more powerful and resourceful than she could ever be, stating the Demi-Fiend would make a much better leader anyway or question why he wouldn't accept her Reason if he understood the vital importance of power in a harsh world.

Reason of Yosuga
Chiaki would appear as a ghost before the Demi-Fiend brings the world of Yosuga into fruition to speak with him for the last time. She admits that while she is sad to be unable to see the world she had strived to create due to her death, she is personally happy over the fact that her efforts weren't in vain and that a better person would create the world of Yosuga. Before fading away to take her well-deserved rest, Chiaki asks him to say hi to the newly-created world for her.

Neutral Alignment
If the Demi-Fiend returns Tokyo to its former state, Chiaki will be among the many people reincarnated, and will be waiting in Yoyogi Park for her two friends, possibly to visit their teacher again in the hospital.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version, Chiaki's last name is Tachibana due to her name only taking three Japanese kanji characters, but with a limit of eight her name was changed for the English localization.
 * Her outfit and hairstyle, along with a specific skill has recently been made accessible to the American servers of Shin Megami Tensei: IMAGINE, as part of a promotion, along with the Demi-Fiend's human clothes, and also Isamu's.
 * Chiaki disappears from the lobby between the time of meeting Hikawa and The Conception. Her whereabouts dueing this time are not known. After the conception, none of the ghosts mention seeing her explicitly so much as Isamu Nitta or simply saying that they saw a human sneak past Forneus. In the overworld map, a ghost will state that they saw a human heading towards Shibuya. It isn't until Yoyogi Park that a ghost specifically states that she is in Shibuya and apparently came from the hospital at the place it haunts outside the Fountain of Life.
 * Chiaki is one of the very few characters in the game to be referred to as "evil" in the game.
 * It is interesting to note that both her and Isamu chose to venture the Vortex World alone, despite not having any means to fight off demons. At first, the three high-schoolers were separated so she (and also Isamu) had no choice but to use wits and to sneak off from the demons' threat. But, even after being reunited with the protagonist, she insisted on exploring the Vortex World alone instead of sticking to the Protagonist, who can protect her with the power of Magatama (which is a supposedly taken action for normal humans). Perhaps such active quality to seeing the new world (and not acting passively: simply wanting to stay alive), is one of the reasons she survived the Conception.
 * According to Isamu in the Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne CD Drama, Naoki Kashima and Chiaki had a very close relationship before the Conception. It's heavily implied that they would have started a romantic relationship had the Conception never happened.