Kai (Haruka)

Not to be confused with Kaihime.

Kai (カイ) is a secondary antagonist in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5. She is first encountered as an enemy in chapter 10 of the default route. Kazahanaki reprises her role for a single character route.

Role in Games
Kai is the spirit of the sleeping cat statue seen within Nikko Toshogu Shrine. She crawled to her bed when the great shogun created an era of peace, content to lie there undisturbed for many years. To her dismay, Amami awakens her after regaining his god powers. The god casts blame on Yuki and her companions, stating that their activities created the era of turmoil. Kai believes the deception and becomes an enemy to the White Dragon Priestess.

She oversees activities in the capital and sets fire to Komatsu's manor. With the Satchou Alliance ruined, Kai gloats and explains Amami's manipulations to Yuki during her mockery. The feline attacks the priestess's party and retreats after her defeat. In subsequent timelines, Yuki and company foil Amami's plots and gain enough strength to properly subdue and purify her. Giving into fatigue, Kai decides to accept her fate after hearing Yuki's assurance to create a peaceful future. She returns to her cat statue slumber during Yuki's story.

Yuki and company erased the majority of her previous adventure yet Amami continues to employ Kai in Kazahanaki. She only appears during Souji's personal route. Sensing the young man's desire to eradicate his emotions, Kai casts a curse on him to make his feelings a reality. Kai elaborates that her curse is only effective as long as the young man wishes for it to be true; once he has the motivations to break it, it will dispel on its own accord. Seeing no other reason for her to be present, she leaves the priestess and her guardians to deal with the robotic Souji.

Personality
Listless Kai is only interested in returning to her blissful sleep. She does not hold a particular grudge against Yuki and her companions, yet she freely holds them responsible for her anger. Learning the reasons for her crankiness causes Yuki to sympathize with her.

Character Symbolism
The cat statue is real and nicknamed "the sleeping cat". No one knows exactly why, but the tiny cat statue sits above the entrance to Ieyasu's mausoleum. One legend proposes that it was made as a wish for the era of peace to be so peaceful that even cats could sleep peacefully. Another legend mentions the sparrow statue next to it, retorting that the age of unity is so harmonious that the napping cat has no need to hunt it for food. The cat has been argued to be a guardian for the tomb, its presence never permitting a single evil, not even a mouse, to pass. It could tie into the prominent Japanese superstition for cats representing longevity, except it is being applied to the Tokugawa legacy. Whatever the case, cats statues are a rare sight for older Japanese temples and shrines.

When Kai attacks, she morphs into a seven-tailed cat specter. This particular oddity was believed to have been a creation of Edo period folklore. Prior to this era, it was a common belief that a cat's tail indicated the length of their age. When split into twain, the feline would part from the mortal realm and become a specter. The seven-tailed cat is an exaggeration of this belief. The specter varies from a benign to malevolent power in legends.

According to a Meiji era myth, the white seven-tailed cat has a specific origin story. It begins with Nabeshima Mitsushige taking in a lovely concubine. The concubine was actually his beloved cat, Kuro, who took upon the form of his lord's wife after her death and drained the blood of maids to keep her appearance. While it meant to keep him company, the cat also killed his heir and caused Mitsushige to fall deathly ill. His retainers became suspicious but could not find the culprit, forbidden from searching their lord's quarters. When a retainer fell against the beast, a man of the Chibu family had enough and barged into their lord's quarters. The cries for his treason resounded until a giant cat specter was discovered within the room, its tail split into seven by a furious Chibu. It was slain and the lord was cured, yet the cat specter cursed the Chibu family to never give birth to sons. Three hundred years later, a man named Kyuzaemon was adopted into the family and heard the tale. He ordered for a memorial to be built to the seven-tailed cat and paid proper respects towards it. Afterwards, his family was blessed with a son.

Her symbolic color is literally translated as "white rat". The rodent is known to be a servant and messenger for Daitoku, the god of wealth. It positively represents a loyal servant to the lord of a house, implying that wealth has no bearings for its devotion. The color is identified as a dull gray within traditional Japanese dyes and represents the ashes of warfare. Edo period fashion had codified it as a somber color.

Quotes

 * "Stop trying to be something. I'm tired of the racket."
 * "You are the ones who disturbed my dream!"
 * "They died all because you rebelled against Lord Amami. It's all your fault!"
 * "Who cares about that. That's what he wanted."
 * "Can I sleep now?"

Fighting Style
Low level characters will struggle against Kai on any difficulty setting. Players are encouraged to level up their party to at least level 12 before facing her in the first run of the main story. Shun and Miyako are sturdy members to have if the player has neglected to train their current party. Her group and fear attacks may inhibit ally attacks for a few turns.

Otherwise, she can be easily defeated by Earth attacks.