Chiaki Hayasaka

Chiaki Tachibana (橘千晶), also known as Chiaki Hayasaka　(早坂千晶), is one of the protagonist's friends in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Chiaki was born and raised in an upper-class family. As a result, she has a tendency of being rather bossy, snobbish and sometimes rude, insulting people who she thinks are below her. Despite this, she shows a modicum of respect towards Yuko Takao, her homeroom teacher.

Appearances

 * Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: Human Survivor

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

 * Reason: Yosuga



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 merely wanted to get her mandatory career and future plans discussion over with as soon as possible. She calls the protagonist in his cell, telling him that they would not be meeting up in Yoyogi Park anymore, and 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. Despite her particular lack of interest in the occult (even insulting the protagonist's tastes on the subject in the process), Chaki begins to read it anyway and leaves the job of looking for Isamu and Yuko up to him.

When the two boys return to where Chiaki was at, she expresses concern over the lack of people around the hospital, and an article she read in the magazine compounded her suspicions: The Cult of Gaea has been in the news a lot lately, connected to a series of bloody massacres which are possibly the result of severe conflicts with the Messians. Moreover, there are rumors being spread about 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.

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, she somehow 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 in a club within the underground mall complex. Upon escaping the hospital himself, Hito-Shura would soon find her there.

Though bewildered and frightened, Chiaki was able to ask Hito-Shura what has happened. Regardless of his answer, she'd eventually realize that what she heard about the Conception was true. Though devastated, she expresses relief that there are other people who actually survived. Chiaki thinks that Isamu and Yuko may still be alive as well, and takes it upon herself to find them.

Throughout her travails 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. By not swallowing her pride, she prevented herself from seeking help and growing as a person; relying only on herself and never acknowledging weaknesses that stemmed from her lifestyle in the old world. She becomes hardened and determined to rise up from the low status she has been thrust into, vowing never to go back there again.

After the fall of the Mantra Demons in Ikebukuro, Chiaki waits for Hito-Shura 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 simple, primal world where the strong reign supreme and the weak are disposed of, which she calls the Reason of Yosuga.

Chiaki then proposes that Hito-Shura should join in her cause. No matter what his answer would be, Chiaki 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, knowing for a fact that 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 unwittingly runs into Sakahagi, a rogue Manikin who had the same purpose as her. Forgetting how this world works, Chiaki demands a share of the Magatsuhi, and he responds by attacking and maiming her. Seeing her as just a trifle obstacle, Sakahagi allows Chiaki to escape with her life.

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



Chiaki is just about at her limit, since ordinary humans cannot really survive in the Vortex World for a sustained period of time. She hears the voice of Gozu-Tennou, whose soul remained in limbo after most of his Magatsuhi was drained by Hikawa's Nightmare System. Chiaki asks Gozu-Tennou to lend her his power so that she can start to build her beautiful world of strength. Since her philosophy is one with his own, Gozu-Tennou's spirit envelops Chiaki, turning her into a pseudo-fiend. As the new bearer of Gozu-Tennou's will, Chiaki assumes leadership of the Mantra, and calls out to others who would share her sentiments. Aside from the Mantra's existing forces, a large faction of Divine and Seraph class demons allied with her, believing that Yosuga is the better alternative to the Assembly Of Nihilo's bid for a world of stillness.

With her forces now organized but still needing Magatsuhi to finally gain a sponsor god that will represent her Reason, Chiaki invades Asakusa, the home village of the Manikins. 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 a pseudo-fiend.

If Hito-Shura is allied with Yosuga, Chiaki is pleased that he is able to come just in time, and grants him the honor of slaying Futomimi. But if he is against Yosuga, Chiaki will be displeased and would kill Futomimi herself, saying that those who are created to serve demons have no right to conceive their own Reason. Chiaki then proceeds to chastise Hito-Shura's foolishness of helping the "worthless mud dolls", and later calls on the three Seraphs Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael to attack him. Chiaki would then use 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, robotic appearance. When the time of creation was at hand, Chiaki began to climb the Tower of Kagutsuchi.

If Hito-Shura 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.

Unlike the other Reason-holders, Hito-Shura must face Baal Avatar whether he is allied with Yosuga or not. Chiaki would do so either to see if he is fit to live in the world of the strong, or as a natural enemy which must be eliminated. The result would be the same if Hito-Shura 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 laud Hito-Shura for being more powerful than she could ever be or lament his failure to understand her Reason.

Reason of Yosuga
Chiaki would appear as a ghost after Hito-Shura brings the world of Yosuga into fruition, and admits that while she thought at first that she'd be the one to rule the world, it seemed to be her destiny to choose the protagonist instead, having proven himself stronger. Before fading away to take her well-deserved rest, Chiaki guides the protagonist on where he is supposed to go, and asks him to say hi to the newly-created world for her.

Neutral Alignment
If Hito-Shura returns Tokyo to it's 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 English localization, "Chiaki Tachibana" became "Chiaki Hayasaka" due to a limit on the number of characters that can be used for a name.
 * Despite the devious acts of the likes of Hikawa and Sakahagi, Chiaki is the only character that is ever explicitly referred to as "evil" throughout the story.