Somaruim Profile Meme
[Character Name] Cho Hakkai
[Canon] Saiyuki
[Point Taken from Canon] End of vol. 10 of the Saiyuki Reload Manga
[Age] 23 24
[Gender] male
[Sexual Orientation] Bisexual
(I defy your homo/hetero stereotypes... and so does Hakkai.)
[Eye Color] lake green
[Hair Color] dark brown
[Height] 181 cm
[Other] Any other significant physical features, like missing an eye or something.
Actually, he is missing an eye. You can't really tell because he has an artificial one in it's place. Unless he turns youkai, in which case his real eye changes color and the artificial one doesn't. Well, even while he's human the monocle kinda gives it away.
[Clothing] Back view. Front, detail.
[Background] Cho Hakkai was born Cho Gonou. He can't remember much about his early life, except that at one point he had two parents and a sister. His parents divorced when he was three years old, and his sister went with his father while he stayed with his mother. Two years later she abandoned him at an orphanage, and he grew up a sullen youth who didn't trust anyone. When he was old enough he went to college, and it was there that he finally ran into someone who wouldn't take no for an answer. He fell for Kanan against his better judgment, but was oddly comforted (and not shocked at all) when he found out that she was his long, lost sister. They continued their incestuous relationship.
In order to be together, they left the university. Gonou got a job as a tutor for a nearby school and kept up the house that he lived in with Kanan. Then one day the villagers gave her up as a sacrifice to a demon lord who captured women to use for his own personal pleasure. Gonou flew into a rage and killed half the village before embarking on a long, bloody mission to retrieve his sister. It was said that in the process he killed a thousand demons. When he finally reached his sister it was too late, she had already been impregnated by the demon. Unfortunately for both of them, she slipped Gonou's dagger between the bars of her cell and used it to take her own life.
After that the son of the demon lord, Chin Yisou came to torment Cho Gonou. There was a legend that a human who bathed in the blood of a thousand demons would become one themselves. After Yisou spilled his blood over Gonou, he did indeed become a demon. He killed Yisou, but not without receiving a wound that was nearly fatal. Gonou was literally dying on the road when Gojyo found him, picked him up, and took him home, nursing him back to health for a month. However, the authorities were looking for Gonou. He had to fight past Goku to escape, but was eventually caught by Sanzo, who was gracious enough to argue for his freedom. It was at this time that he took the name Cho Hakkai.
[Personality] On the outside Hakkai seems very kind, cheery, helpful, and somewhat vacant. He smiles when he's happy, sad, angry, embarrassed, and annoyed. In fact, the only time he doesn't smile is when he's trying to be serious, or when he's worried about something. As a perfectionist and neat freak, he despises anything messy and will habitually (and, some may say, obsessively) clean it up. He also has excellent culinary skills and everyone who knows him looks forward to being invited to share one of his meals. A sense of belonging and family are important to Hakkai, and he values the relationships he has.
As far as strangers are concerned, Hakkai is generally friendly and accepting of others. He can chat amicably with just about anyone and he makes and keeps friends easily. There are very few people he doesn't like. His best relationships are with his travel companions, who he often ends up caring for much like a mother would. he does their laundry, drives them around, and tries to make peace in the midst of their petty arguments. He's very protective of them and he watches over them in battle, quickly stepping in when anyone is in trouble. Because he has the ability to heal, he is also found tending to their wounds when the battle is over.
At the same time, Hakkai sees himself as someone who is very selfish. He desires the company and approval of others in order to sate his own sense of loneliness and inadequacy. It's partly because of this need for companionship that he goes out of his way to care for his travel companions. He has seemingly endless patience for them, and will endure plenty of messiness, loud noises, and obnoxious behavior before getting upset. He truly does care for them and doesn't regret the things he does, even though a lot of times his efforts are taken for granted, which that can lead him to feel very unappreciated.
On the other hand, there are a few things that Hakkai won't tolerate, this is where his manipulative side comes in. Most of the time, all Hakkai has to do to get his companions to cooperate is threaten to stop performing one of the many services he does for them every day. If that fails, there is constant nagging, which none of them can stand. If for some strange reason that doesn't work, they can expect to get a lecture on every little thing they've ever done wrong, why it is wrong, and why they should never do it again. Normally quiet about other people's flaws, Hakkai will use this knowledge to create the worst possible insults, if the situation calls for it.
Those who know Hakkai understand that there is a calm, collected intellect hidden beneath the smile. This is most apparent in battle. When he gets serious he can out-maneuver almost anyone. He has the ability to predict other's movements and can create highly effective strategies. When he kills he does so with cold-blooded precision, taking down anyone in his way without a second thought. Due to events form his past, he has a lot of experience with killing. He felt guilty for the lives he had taken back then, because he killed for selfish reasons. After several years-- and a hair-raising experience with a creepy, un-dead stalker-- he was finally able to put the past behind him.
It's also true that the group encounters a lot of innocents along the way, and Hakkai often ends up helping, saving and protecting people. His angry and murderous side doesn't apply to most of the random villagers encountered along their journey. However, he truly can't stand people who purposely and obstinately hold any sort of unfounded prejudice against another group. He hates this because he used to hold such prejudice himself, against the demons who kidnapped and raped his sister. But now Hakkai is a demon himself, and he's learned that it's the choices that an individual makes that determine their standing rather than birth, social standing, or race.
He also has no respect for someone who doesn't value human life, and for those who kill-- or allow others to lose their lives-- for selfish reasons. It particularly bothers him when people sacrifice others in order to save their own lives, or when people are willing to give their lives in a situation that shouldn't require them to do so. Those who use and manipulate others for their own personal benefit are particularly disgusting to him. So usually, if someone gets on Hakkai's bad side, there's a very good reason for it.
[Specialties/Abilities] Hakkai has the ability to manipulate his chi and can put it to many different uses. Most commonly, he summons it in the form of chi balls and wields it as a weapon. It can blast into things, or through them, depending on their consistency and resilience. Hakkai can also use his chi to increase the body's ability to heal. When applied to his companions, sending his into their bodies helps them recover from the wounds they sustain in battle. He can also use it to form protective barriers to guard against attacks.
In his demon form, Hakkai's strength and speed increases substantially. His ears, nails, and hair grow longer and he has vines covering his skin, which he can control and send off to wrap around anyone or anything. Normally his demonic power is limited by three ear cuffs over his left ear, reducing both his appearance and his power level to that of a normal human. I'm not sure whether his power would have to be restricted in Somaruim or not, but if so then it would be relatively easy to take his demonic powers away. He rarely used them in any case.
[Affection] What type of affections are allow/disallowed and would your character do this to others?
Hakkai would probably allow any type of affection as long as it's from someone he likes. He's not particularly fond of PDA though, and comes off as being a bit modest.
[Fighting] Other characters might be able to injure or kill Hakkai, but they'd have to be pretty powerful in order to do so, he's an experienced fighter. However, he won't provoke a fight and usually doesn't do anything unless he's attacked first.
[Other Permissions] Telepathic characters might be able to read his mind, but again they'd have to be pretty powerful, because he's highly intelligent and will resist any attempt to do so. Anyway, you don't want to read his mind. You don't want to know what's in there, trust me.
Fourth wall breakers can say anything they want. I don't mind, and Hakkai will probably just laugh at you.
[Other Facts] In addressing canon discrepancies, I go with the manga version of Hakkai before anything else. This means that Kanan was his sister, he really did pull out his eye, and Hakkai may not remember any of the things that happened in the filler episodes of the anime. Because, let's face it, the filler episodes were horrible.