History
Chiaki was raised in an upper-class Japanese family, but not in the way you’d expect. She was the family’s housecat, though she went by a different name at the time. Her mother had been owned by the Hayasakas and, when she was born, Chiaki was the only one of the kittens that were kept. For many years, she remained a large part of the household, though the longer she stayed, the more she started to change.
Strange things began happening around the cat, and the older she got, the more frequently they happened. Before long, she was creeping around the house at night on her hind legs, as upright as her owners. The talk of the people around her made more and more sense, and she found it easy to mimic their voices and words. One day, her tail forked itself in two, a change that would be immediately noticed by her owners. Concerned over what they might have done when seen, she snuck away from the house, set on never returning.
It wasn’t meant to be that way, however. She wasn’t used to being a stray; it just wasn’t in her nature. Several weeks after leaving, she finally decided to go back, though Chiaki knew she’d never be allowed in as she was. They’d know right away she wasn’t just a cat anymore. Assuming the appearance of one of the Hayasaka children, she killed the original and took her place and even her name- Chiaki.
She lived pleasantly as the daughter of the young lady who’d owned both her and her mother, attending school and growing quite fond of her new life. After a while, Chiaki began to forget what she truly was and convinced herself she was human. It was an easy transition, as she’d worn the mask for so many years, it had begun to ring true to her.
By the time she was in high school, she’d already decided on her future, looking to one of her teachers, Yuko Takao, for the guidance she couldn’t find at home. When the woman became ill and was admitted to the hospital, Chiaki convinced her two closest friends- Isamu and Naoki- to accompany her to visit Yuko. It would be the last day she was allowed to live her lie.
The building was empty. Sending both boys off to look for Yuko, Chiaki remained in the lobby, reading through a magazine Naoki had gotten from a man in the park before arriving at the hospital. It was all about the incident that had happened at Yoyogi Park days before; a riot claimed to be the work of two rival cults, one of which wanted to use the writings of some scripture to bring about the end of the world. The hospital they were in was rumored to play a large part in the plan. When Naoki and Isamu returned, they had found absolutely no one in the building and, after a short argument, Naoki was sent to check out the basement while the other two stayed behind.
Suddenly unnerved about the story of the hospital, Chiaki left Isamu and stepped outside for some air, only to be met with a horrifying sight- a bright glow coming from the sky, sending down bolts of light that destroyed everything it touched immediately. She was hit by one before she could react, though her death wouldn’t be a long one. The powers that be had other plans.
There was no pain, but Chiaki knew something had happened to her. When she finally found she could move again, she awoke to the pre-birth state of the new world- the Vortex World. Her body had changed against her will into that of a sleek, catish demon; a nekomata. While she could assume her human disguise again- and more, as she learned- it was pointless. Her family was gone, and so were her friends. The hospital still stood, but the doors were sealed shut; souls floated about inside, ignorant to her presence. Chiaki had no choice but to move on, now forced to be what she had always denied being.
Instead of fighting the change, she made an attempt to embrace it and the power it brought. Chiaki no longer had to be taken care of by others, she could stand on her own. She was able to fight off other demons that prowled the Vortex World, charming and cutting a path right from the Shinjuku Medical Center to the underground of Shibuya. It was there that she met up with an old face; someone she never expected to see again: Naoki. Though he’d undergone a drastic change as well, she knew him and took on her human form again to talk with him.
She’d learned of the contest to recreate the world and decide it’s Reason; even though demons were forbidden from having a Reason, Chiaki was determined to make one of her own. Parting with her friend, she continued to wander and train, searching for a way to create her Reason. Her skills became more and more developed and powerful, and she soon knew exactly what she had to do. Heading to Ikebukuro, she approached the weakened and defeated demon lord Gozu-Tennoh, taking his power and his standing as the leader of a strong band of demons, and from there, her Reason was born, in a sense. While it wasn’t a true Reason as she wasn’t a human, Chiaki had ‘created’ the Reason of Yosuga, a world of only the strong where she could rule as the most powerful of all demons.
In her first display of power, she went after the group Gozu-Tennoh and his demons had been against since the Conception, a special kind of demon called a Manikin that looked similar to humans and desired a Reason of their own, so they could live in peace. Their leader was said to have been powerful and psychic; able to see visions of the future. Though he led them to an abandoned city where they could rebuild, Chiaki killed him and most of his followers, taking their energy to try and summon a god to direct her Reason. As Yosuga wasn’t a true Reason, the attempt failed.
Chiaki never gave up her struggle for Yosuga. She didn’t need to depend on a god. She could make her kingdom all on her own. The demon set out to confront the God of Creation, the one who would set about the rebirth once a Reason was set forward, and make her Yosuga. The Tower of Kagutsuchi was the only way to get to It, and Chiaki was determined to master it’s floors. Unfortunately, she wasn’t strong enough to complete her acent and was almost killed, until someone intervened. It was Naoki again, though he didn’t recognize her in her current demon state. Having already recruited some demons to fight alongside him, he offered her a chance to go with him, and she accepted. He was amazingly powerful; moreso than she. Chiaki had no qualms about following him.
Though they reached the top of the Tower and defeated the God Kagutsuchi, Chiaki realized her kingdom wasn’t to be. It had never been up to her to decide; Naoki was the one who chose what Reason prevailed, and he chose none. What this would bring about, however, she would never see. As Kagutsuchi fell, a bright light once again illuminated the world, filling her eyes with nothingness, and… the next thing she saw was a white room.