Kohaku

Kohaku (コハク) is one of the main characters in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 6 and its sequel. He becomes the Suzaku of Heaven (天の朱雀, Ten no Suzaku) for this era in the majority of its scenarios.

Background Story
Kohaku is a pseudonym given to him by Azusa during the main story. His real name is Zenjirou (善次郎, Zenjirō). He was born and raised within Suzaki, the southeastern red-light district of the capital. Though his father's whereabouts is unknown, Yoneshichi never considered relying on him and decided to raise her son on her own.

Shortly before the main story, Yoneshichi and Kohaku became ill. The disease they were afflicted with was known to be terminal, and their chances of surviving were slim. Yoneshichi persevered for her son and begged the manager of a local prostitution establishment to provide food and housing for the ill family. Since she promised to do all the cleaning throughout the building without a word of protest, the manager gave into her request. Kohaku didn't want to burden his mother and sought out local mentors. He earned money by spinning tops and kept track of his earnings by calculating them on an abacus. Whenever his body would allow it, Kohaku would try to earn money to provide medicine for his mother while his mother slaved away under her abusive benefactors. Ukigumo, one of the prostitutes, pitied them and befriended Yoneshichi. She helped the mother look after Kohaku.

After seeing his mother succumb to a violent coughing fit one day, Kohaku could no longer tolerate it. He strained himself out of his bed and lumbered into the streets with the hopes of finding medicine for his mother. While his heart was strong, his body was not and he collapsed within a secluded alleyway. While Kohaku was vulnerable, a Force Protection Squad recruiter was sweeping by with his unit. He mistook the collapsed youth for a homeless drunk who no one would notice if he disappeared, an ideal candidate for his mission. Kohaku wondered if he could perhaps earn enough to buy medicine for his mother and half-allowed himself to be dragged into the enlistment.

Shortly thereafter, Kohaku was subjected to the same experiment for Force Protection Squad soldiers. The other men surrounding him were healthy young recruits. When they were exposed to the adabana's essence, they lost their minds. Kohaku was able to keep his sanity only because he was gravely ill at the time of his experiment. The flower could not take over his mind, but it did scrub away his memories. He was able to benefit from the flower's supernatural strengthening as it granted him a completely healthy body.

Story Events
The freshly amnesic Kohaku is afraid of his eerie surroundings and successfully escapes his facility. The adabana vines violently whips anyone who acts aggressively to him, and Kohaku doesn't know how to contain the flower. He tries to distance himself from other people and unintentionally upsets a soldier on patrol at the botanical gardens. As the frightened soldier flees to call for reinforcements, Azusa, Darius, and Tora quickly subdue him.

Kohaku is surprised by their strength and suffers a chest injury that makes the vines disappear. Darius offers for Kohaku to join them before the Elite Squad comes to the scene; Kohaku bargains to do so if they provide food and shelter for him. As the demons stall to accept, Azusa offers to give Kohaku her share of the meal for the day. He is so grateful that he pledges eternal servitude to her. With the inclination of Kohaku's acceptance, Azusa and company return to the demon's manor by nightfall. Kohaku finally collapses due to his hunger and goes to bed. Since Kohaku is not in immediate danger, the group decides to let him enjoy the night of peaceful rest before questioning him again. They tell Azusa that he is a spiritually possessed. At this time, Azusa believes the local newspaper report about it being a serious illness and worries about his condition. She agrees to look after him as he sleeps.

The next morning Azusa awakens to Kohaku patting her head and singing a lullaby. He rejoices seeing her awake and bounces out of bed to eat breakfast. While he is eating, Kohaku's amnesia is brought to the forefront. Tora surmises that he is a resident of the capital based on his clothing, so Darius decides to shelter and employ Kohaku on the conditions that he regains his memories as soon as possible. Kohaku is quickly briefed about his world and agrees to help. Wanting to make it more convenient for everyone to refer to him, Darius tells Azusa to name the nameless youth. She decides to name him after the color of his eyes (amber) which is happily accepted by Kohaku. While working under Darius, Kohaku helps Rudkhane with chores and surveys the city. He spars with the demons when they are together and learns how to harness his powers from these sessions.

Since Darius only tells him the barest essentials, Kohaku is just as surprised as Azusa by the events at Mount Atago. He clumsily helps the demons' attack on the Imperial Army. After they escape, Kohaku is conflicted. He doesn't condone Darius's actions to Azusa, but he doesn't want to turn against him since the Demon Chief has been nice to him. Wanting to help Azusa in any way he can, Kohaku uses the tree within Darius's garden to climb to her second-story window. He agrees to keep discreetly using this path while Darius and Rudkhane are away for their civilian jobs during the day.

The first time they try to escape, the duo is immediately spotted by Tora who threatens to squeal to Darius. Kohaku pacifies him by offering him his entire pay from Mount Atago since he has no value of money. His contribution and Azusa's determination leads to him relenting. Five days later, Darius senses a heightened divine energy within the manor and directly confronts Kohaku and Tora. Kohaku confesses to what they had done in Darius's absence, insisting that he did it to try to help Azusa. Though Darius understands his sentiments, Kohaku is later punished with a threat and docked pay. He continues to work for Darius throughout the main story.

When the Force Protection Squad becomes the talk of the town, Darius leads a covert attack on a Force Protection Squad unit. While doing so, Kohaku regains his memories about the experiment and explains what occurred to Darius. Feeling obligated to see the other victims freed, he joins the others for the night assault on Ryounkaku. His testimony helps convince Azusa about the truth of the experiments. In the majority of story routes, he is donned the Suzaku of Heaven when Chiyo uses her powers to restore the broken Dragon Gem. Kohaku also implores for the Elite Squad to help evacuate the immobilized spiritually possessed before the skyscraper collapses. If the player chooses, he may be a party participant for the final battle.

The default route has him withdraw from the story after Seishiro's defeat, meaning the player cannot use him for the fight against Kagutsuchi.

In the best ending, Kagutsuchi is temporarily immobilized by Azusa's Black Dragon Priestess powers. After everyone evacuates the crumbling skyscraper, Kohaku is the first to voice his optimism in the trial to defeat the evil god. Even without the Dragon Gods' blessings, he states that they meet the requirements for the Eight Guardians anyway since there are eight male companions present. After they defeat Kagutsuchi, Kohaku happily attends Azusa's informal victory party.

Personal Routes
Azusa accompanies Darius's first attempt to jog Kohaku's memories by revisiting locations related to the newspaper stories about the spiritually possessed. Nothing clicks for him. Azusa reminds him of the song he sang to her, but Kohaku notes that it came to him instinctively. Thinking harder on where it came from draws a blank. He bounces that he is fine without his memories since he would rather make new ones with Azusa. Darius reminds him that failing to remember would breech their contractual agreement as a means to motivate him. Without any active leads and no news of anyone searching for someone matching Kohaku's appearance, Darius relents on his search until he receives more leads. Azusa promises to help Kohaku regain his memories.

One lazy day in the Enchanted Forest, Rudkhane instructs a leisurely Azusa to search for Kohaku. He had been entrusted to help with house cleaning, but he hasn't returned. As she searches the garden, she finds Kohaku cowering on the ground. Through he attempts to hide it, Kohaku had found a fox cub with an injured leg. He was pondering if they could take care of it without imposing too much on their benefactors. With her encouragement, the duo requests for Rudkhane's approval. The demon rejects the proposal since he doesn't want to risk taming a wild beast yet agrees to mend the little fox's injuries—as long as Kohaku finishes his chores. In his gusto, Kohaku takes Tora's chores for himself. Kohaku tries to set the fox free after its treated; it has grown attached to him so he has to yell at it to scare it away. Once it dashes into the forest, Kohaku sees himself in the fox: they both seem unwanted without a place of their own. Every time he tries to remember his previous life, a fog forms in his mind as if warning him to stop. Before a stunned Azusa can comment, Kohaku cheerfully runs off to finish the rest of his chores. She feels terrible for him and wonders if she could do anything for him.

Though he has stayed at the Enchanted Forest for less than a week, Kohaku soon becomes comfortable in his new surroundings. Everyone appreciates his company, and Tora even paid Kohaku back for his cleaning by giving him a fan and top. As he aids one of Azusa's patrols in the capital, they spot Imperial Troops from a distance, a surefire signal for the demons to hide. While their companion disappears to the left, Kohaku urges Azusa to follow him through back alleyways on the right. The duo flee to a busy line of food stalls offering fried foods. Seeing Azusa gawk at them motivates Kohaku to earn some money to treat her; he insists through her modest protests since he wants to repay her for her kindness with the fox. He finds a crowded area and performs a top spinning show for dozens of spectators. Since Kohaku is a skillful showman, the tips are enough to pay for the snacks.

As they enjoy their treats, Kohaku admits he is still confused about the Demon Clan and the Black Dragon Priestess, and asks Azusa to explain more to him. Although she is still learning herself, Azusa knows enough to state that the information is sensitive. They head to a secluded temple so she can explain her priestess duties to him. Once he hears her side of the story, Kohaku pouts that he would be lonely without her; he related to her since they were both strays. He adds his anxieties at how no one appears to be looking for him. Wishing to hope for the best, Azusa optimistically states that there may be circumstances preventing his family from searching for him through conventional means. She cuts through his pessimism with a desire to make sure he returns to his home too; it wouldn't be fair to her if she was the only one who came back to her family. He is too touched by her genuine caring to dissuade her.

Keeping true to her promise, Azusa then spends a few hours of her patrol each day to visit a random place in the capital. Nothing sparks his memory. On her third failure, Kohaku confesses he is happy being in her company and gently assures her that his family must have given up on him a long time ago. His contentment with his situation only compels Azusa to try harder to someday find his home.

Mount Atago and her imprisonment halts her immediate plans for Kohaku. Like the main story route, Kohaku lets Azusa out of her two-story room from the window and makes a deal with Tora for his silence. The day after he helps her roam the capital, Kohaku lies to Tora that he senses vengeful spirits nearby and drags Azusa away to "vanquish" them. Kohaku leads them to Suzaki, the southern part of the capital. He urges Azusa to run for the docks while he stays behind to stall Tora. Azusa refuses since she would be too worried about Kohaku's safety and her promise to Tora to carry out the escape. Tora, who saw through the obvious lie, catches up to them at the red-light district. Kohaku fibs that there really was a vengeful spirit, one that perhaps emerged from one of many heartbroken prostitutes nearby.

Ignoring Tora's biting commentary, Azusa wonders aloud how Kohaku could have known that the sea was nearby if he hadn't been there before. Kohaku prattles until his memories come rushing back. The shock makes him lose his footing and causes his head to hurt. After the youth wobbles to his feet, he clarifies that he once lived there. He only remembers being called a nuisance and his illness. Tora cynically retorts that Kohaku was better off not remembering anything; Azusa wants to believe that there must be more to it than that. Both men want to give up while they're ahead, a proposal which Azusa is reluctant to accept. Despite the pain he experienced earlier that day, Kohaku gladly escorts Azusa back to her room. He assures her that he will always be her ally and will look for any opportunity he can for her escape. His optimism is enough to lift her spirits for the night.

Azusa's affiliation with the Imperial Army doesn't stop Kohaku from secretly calling out to her during her patrol. She gives a quick excuse for a break to her escorts so she can catch up with Kohaku. He playfully hugs her and teases her for worrying him before he cuts her side of the story short. Kohaku is currently on reconnaissance and he is awful at lying to Darius; he wants to protect Azusa the best he can with his ignorance.

Hoping to use what little time she can afford productively, Azusa recommends that they return to the red-light district again to continue reviving his past self. The levity of their reunion fades as Kohaku confesses his insecurities about his real past. It may be incomplete, but he makes assumptions that he must have been hated and lower than trash; even his current situation must be better than anything in his life. He doesn't want to be hated by Azusa if they learn the whole truth. To counter, Azusa remarks that she would never think that way about him. She is sure that someone else must have loved him before he became spiritually possessed and wants to discover the truth with him so she could treasure all of him. Kohaku is so awestruck by her trust in him. He thanks her and promises to be waiting for her around noontime at Asakusa so they can explore Suzaki again together.

On her next patrol, she remembers her promise to Kohaku and asks for a two hour break. Her companions let her leave them so she can meet up with Kohaku alone at Asakusa. When they arrive in Suzaki, a ruffian immediately accosts Azusa. Kohaku protects her but the violent encounter discourages him from going further. She assures him that she is safe with him beside her. Their conversation is interrupted by a prostitute playing a shamisen and singing the song Kohaku sang two months ago. After her performance, she notices she has an audience and immediately identifies Kohaku by his real name. Ukigumo introduces herself to them and quickly realizes by his dazed expression that he must have forgotten about her. She explains that Yoneshichi died two months ago, shortly after Kohaku left to try to find medicine for her. Yoneshichi tried her best to protect Kohaku from being chased out multiple times. Ukigumo tells him that his mother worried for him to the very end. Ukigumo is surprised to see Kohaku well since everyone knew that he and his mother were suffering from a terminal illness.

Before Kohaku can explain what happened to him, vengeful spirits emerge nearby. Azusa and Kohaku eradicate them. To his surprise, Ukigumo isn't scared by Kohaku's new powers. Ukigumo worries about him losing his memories, but she is otherwise pleased to see him healthy. She insists that Yoneshichi would say the same if she were still alive. Concerned about his living condition, Ukigumo offers to put in a word for him so he can have his own place to live. Azusa is surprised when Kohaku politely declines and explains that he is fine. Kohaku thanks her for everything before Ukigumo's job calls her away from them.

In private, Kohaku comments that he has no reason to stay in Suzaki without his mother and escorts Azusa back to Asakusa. On their quiet walk back, Azusa wonders if Kohaku was hesitant to remember his past because he was subconsciously aware of his mother's death. She breaks the silence by expressing her condolences. Even so, she shares her joy in knowing that she was right in her earlier presumptions: there really was someone who treasured him. Kohaku agrees; it would've been dreadful to dispose of all the memories he had of his mother cherishing him. He swears to live a life for him and her, grateful to have finally remembered his mother. His guiltless smile makes Azusa bashful; she wonders about him as she continues her priestess duties with the Imperial Army.

Meanwhile, Kohaku reports his findings to Darius and company. Although it wasn't exactly the information that they were hoping for, Darius congratulates him on learning about himself. Kohaku agrees to stay with Darius for now since he trusts the demon enough to keep his word. On another outing, he tries to call out to Azusa but is interrupted by a couple of performers who recognize him from his top spinning show. They offer him a position in their traveling group, one that he seriously considers. He visits Ukigumo so he can learn the location of his mother's gravestone, wishing to report the good news to her. While he celebrates the fireworks show by playing festival games with Rudkhane and Darius, Kohaku overhears commoners praising the priestesses' heroism and is mildly jealous at the thought of having to share her with others. Her priestess duties reminds him that she will someday have to leave his world.

During one of her breaks, Azusa overhears clamor for a top spinning show. She immediately thinks of Kohaku and even pays him for his act, in spite of his protests. He replies that he is remembering more and more about himself every day thanks to her. Regarding the proposal to join the traveling performance group, Kohaku replies to the performers that he is still considering it. They assure him that they will be in the capital for awhile and will wait on his answer. Azusa congratulates him for making the cut as Kohaku explains the specifics to her. One of the dreams his mother shared with him was traveling. He doesn't want to always rely on Darius either, even if he does like living in the Enchanted Forest. When he has completed Darius's final request for him, Kohaku plans on leaving the capital with the performers. He is doing as many shows as he can now to save enough for the trip. With his future plans made clear to her, he tells her not to worry about him anymore and suddenly dashes away from her. The distance he creates between them puzzles Azusa.

Darius plans an attack on the Force Protection Squad. While he and Rudkhane pursue the commander, Tora and Kohaku deal with the soldiers of the unit. Kohaku is nervous as he subdues them. He recognizes one of the men in the squad as a solider who once praised his shows. Seeing him causes his suppressed memories to resurface, dizzying Kohaku into a deep sleep. He awakens two days later, a concerned Darius at his bedside. Darius apologizes for the distress since he knowingly caused it on Kohaku. He wanted to get closer to the truth about the spiritually possessed. In his mind, Kohaku replays the terrible beatings and training that he was forced to endure by the Imperial Army to gain his powers. Kohaku is horrified by the revelation that these experiments are continuing and that he would have become a mindless zombie if it weren't for his peculiar circumstances.

Azusa reunites with the shaken Kohaku on one of her breaks. Rather than explain what he learned in her absence, Kohaku hugs her for comfort. Curious of his apparent listlessness, she agrees to his invite to take a photograph with him. Though it was his suggestion, he shuffles nervously before the camera since he believes that his soul would be taken away. She remarks that photographs are common in her world and are nothing to worry about. Kohaku dodges her inquiry about why he wanted one, running away from her again. She wonders his reasonings and feels a little lonely being left in the dark.

Shuhei is on orders to protect Azusa from vengeful spirits and the Demon Clan, and to escort her to the military ball. After he compliments her on her dress, Shuhei takes her to the ball via horse carriage. Azusa spies a crestfallen Kohaku during her ride and jumps off the carriage to meet him. Kohaku is charmed by her dress when she comes close. He stalls on explaining himself and Azusa fibs to the incoming Shuhei that it was nothing. Before she returns to the carriage, Kohaku grabs her arm to pull her close to him. Abiding to Azusa's request, Shuhei permits them five minutes of privacy and waits at the carriage.

Darius instructed Kohaku to stay quiet about the Force Protection Squad to Azusa; he doesn't want her to become suspicious to the military superiors. Being the terrible liar that he is, Kohaku almost spills the beans to her in his concern. He stumbles that she might be taken advantage of again in a situation not unlike Mount Atago. Since their time is limited, Azusa quickly states that isn't the case and wants to know why he doesn't look well. Unwilling to answer her, Kohaku excuses himself.

Development
Kohaku and Murasame were the last of the main characters to be created. When they were being devised, the majority of the game's lore and the rest of the main cast had already been finalized. In Kohaku's case, he was made to better represent the spiritually possessed's creation. Developers wanted a character whose story would be a contrast to initial impressions, so they chose to make Kohaku's story "tragic". Another goal for his story was to feature different phases of maturity and independence so it would be "like a journey" for Kohaku's romantic character arc. During the story rewrite sessions, there was a clamor to have some way to save Kohaku from his fate which led to a drastic change from his original personal ending.

Ruby Party developers wanted the final two main characters to be dressed in a fusion of Japanese and Western fashion so as to better represent a worldly perspective of the setting. Developers wanted a "radiant, gorgeous and bright" design to contrast Kohaku's melancholy personal route. They think his chrysanthemum top and long wavy hair instantly distinguishes his character origins and his natural cheerfulness. The CG design team struggled with rendering his hair, but they adored the rough portraits that Tohko Mizuno sent them. It was difficult for them to select the ones they wanted to finalize for the game.

Abe commented that his takes were done easily and quickly; the main planner didn't criticize him too often during recording sessions and liked his "pure and innocent" readings. He liked acting out the different dynamics needed for Kohaku's personal route, although he personally considers him and the main protagonist to be somewhat like siblings rather than lovers. Kohaku is also a character favored by three of the main voice actors (Terashima, Takemoto, and Shitanda) whom admire his happy-go-lucky enthusiasm and determination.

Character Symbolism
Kohaku's symbolic item is the adabana. It is not commonly used within the flower language because it is a term for any flower that does not bear fruit. These types of flowers only live to bloom and wither. Alternative synonyms include itazurabana or mudabana, roughly implying that they are flowers of false hopes or short-lived expectations. Ruby Party chooses to have the flower represent mischief and ephemeral for Kohaku.

His symbolic colors are red and enji, a dark crimson shade. Its namesake is Yanzhi Mountain, a place famed for its vivid safflowers. Anything that was dyed by safflowers was originally called this name. Safflower was used for centuries to create rouges. Its association with women's faces is often believed to be the common basis for its meanings within the flower language: make up, adornment, and the power of love.

Image Songs

 * Jikuu no Tabi Yuukyuu no Koi
 * Koi to Kanjou
 * Koi Matsuri - a duet with Tora
 * Adabana ~Saredo Toutoki Hana~

Talismans
If Kohaku and Shuhei have their Eight Guardian talismans equipped and start a co-op attack together, they will summon Suzaku on their target.

Visit Kohaku's favorite spots at least once in a single playthrough to unlock Demonic Lady on the map. Defeat it at least once at Ekou Shrine to obtain his last talisman. If Kohaku and Tora have their last talismans equipped and start a co-op attack together, they will perform a powerful non-elemental attack on their target.