Mochizuki Chiyo

Mochizuki Chiyo is a waitress at Mangestu-do. She is first introduced as the Mysterious Woman, but later on, she is revealed as Mochizuki Chiyo once Tetsu Akatsuki and Nagi Saeki chase after her in Chapter 3.

Mochizuki is from a poor farm family in the mountains. Her parents died from diseases when she was a child. She works to keep her ill older sister in a mental hospital in hopes of the latter's recovery.

Appearance
Chiyo has lavender coloured hair that extends downwards, ending at her chest. A portion of her hair is tied back with a light green ribbon and she has a pale complexion with slightly rosy cheeks.

Her attire consists of a light pink traditional kimono with a lime green obi that has a sakura pattern on it. The kimono ends at her ankles. She wears a white undershirt beneath the kimono.

Personality
Chiyo is kind and holds empathy to those that are suffering, often comforting Sumire and even attempting to cheer up Tetsu when he seemed down.

She is also devoted, as shown through her relationship with Naoya where she treasures the times they had together, the mirror he gave her and still holds affection for him.

However, she remains secretive when it comes to her romantic relationship with Naoya due to the class system that had existed during the era, even raising her voice or crying when Tetsu and Nagi refuse to believe the lies she had fabricated.

Background
As a child, her older sister Kaede had vowed to protect her and told her not to worry. Her older sister was the one who raised Chiyo, as they were from a poor farming family, and their parents had perished due to disease. After they had moved to Asakusa, her sister become a prostitute in order to help the two of them survive. However, after working in these brothels for some time, Kaede became sick, which forced Chiyo into prostitution in order to not only survive, but to pay Kaede's hospital bills.

She had met Naoya and Mitsuru when they saved her from being attacked by a drunken man on her way home from the brothel.

Chiyo and Naoya had fallen in love and became lovers although it remained a secret due to the class system of the time period. As a result, no one was aware of their relationship until she had revealed it, surprising Mitsuru, Nagi and Tetsu.

While the two were still lovers, Naoya had gifted Chiyo a mirror with the Saeki family emblem on the back which she holds and takes care of dearly.

When her sister's condition started getting worse, she promised herself to never see Naoya again, thinking to herself that she had let go of Naoya's hand and devoted herself purely to working so that she could provide for Kaede and the medical funds involved with her treatment. She wasn't aware that Naoya had been murdered until Nagi and Tetsu had confronted her.

When she had lost the mirror she had been gifted, she returned to Hyoutan Pond in an attempt to search for it, displaying her devotion and affection to Naoya despite it being her decision to let go of him. Additionally, when Sumire had mentioned a TOKKOH officer, she had wondered whether it was Naoya until Sumire had stated that it was 'an officer with a mole next to his mouth' (Yamato).

Chapter 1
Around the time Naoya's body had been discovered, Tetsu became immensely depressed and began wandering around, ending up in Hyoutan Pond where Chiyo had spoken to him in an attempt to cheer him up. It is hinted that she stopped seeing Naoya at around this time as well. She had told Tetsu to look up at the 12-Story Prison, informing him that if he always looks down, he, too, will become 'down'/ depressed. He thanked her and she left, accidentally leaving her mirror behind which turns out to be a crucial aspect of the story later as the Saeki's family emblem is engraved on the back.

Tetsu, still unaware that the family emblem is on the back, asks Nagi if they could return it to the lady that he had encountered at Hyoutan Pond.

Chapter 3
Nagi and Tetsu encounter Chiyo again. Tetsu speaks to her and she recognises him, however, the moment Tetsu mentions Naoya's name, she exclaims that she doesn't know anything about him and begins running away from them. Tetsu and Nagi chase after her, only for the 'running trio' to be caught by Mitsuru who was also in Asakusa at the time.

Mitsuru demands the reason as to why Tetsu and Nagi were chasing after her and then they head to a cafe together with some reluctance from Nagi, originally believing it was an obscene cafe until Mitsuru teased him, stating that it was just a normal cafe. It's revealed that Mitsuru and Chiyo had met each other before as they had saved her from certain circumstances. He also mentions that he sometimes visits her at 'Mangetsu-do' just to see how she is.

Tetsu proceeds to ask her why she was running away and she replies that she was afraid she was under suspicion of being a rebel and didn't want to get arrested. He contradicts her, saying that it was a lie or else she would've run away the first time she had met then upon answering that she was looking for something, she denies this and asks why she's being questioned so much.

However, Tetsu continues and upon presenting the mirror, he states that she was looking for this as it was in her possession. She admits that it was hers with some reluctance until Tetsu says that it's not an ordinary mirror as the Saeki family emblem is on the back. She proceeds to have an outburst, exclaiming that she stole it from Naoya in an attempt to defend herself from Tetsu badgering her. However, the player should choose that she's lying as Naoya gave it to her, then highlight her first name being engraved onto the top of the mirror in block letters. She asks why they're so desperate to know about Naoya and they inform her of his death and she begin grieving as she wasn't aware of his death until now.

With some hesitance, she admits that she can tell them what she knows about Naoya since he's deceased then reveals that she was Naoya's lover. Nagi is shocked and begins to deny her claims with Mitsuru teasing him for his brother complex then says honestly that 'it takes two to tangle', meaning that Naoya loved Nagi too much.

Chapter 5 (True Ending)
Chiyo runs to Hyoutan Pond along with Sumire upon the earthquake starting in Asakusa. She's relieved to see that Nagi, Tetsu and Mitsuru are still alive. At this stage, her sister's condition is unknown but she isn't mentioned by Chiyo. Later, the whole group, Sumire, Nagi, Tetsu, Chiyo and Yamato, proceed to get along, even taking a photo in memory of their times together.

Character Gallery Card 2
"'She is the precious female character among a lot of male characters. Her name was 'Chiyo Yanagi' in the original story and wasn't even a woman. The character was Naoya's best friend with a girl's clothes. Maybe you want to ask her, 'Why did you give up?' but in the Taisho period there was a class system and if you were romantically involved with someone not in your class, you either had to flee the country or die. People in those days couldn't enjoy 'free love' like we do in a modern era. In that period, women couldn't have careers like men and had lower status. Women with western clothes and short hair (women rarely had short hair in those days) were called 'Modern Girl'. And then women who have jobs and didn't depend on their husbands were called 'Shokugyo-Fujin'. Though they were still rare and people didn't think it was normal. In Japan's history, those days were pretty different from our age. I put lots of burdens on her shoulders but I'd like you to cheer for her since she is trying to live with all her might.'"

Special Story
Chiyo's Special Story begins with a memory of her sister telling her, "Don't worry, Chiyo. I'll protect you," as she stroked Chiyo's head and hugged her. Her only sister had raised her, but her illness seemed to be getting worse.

After cutting off her relationship with Naoya, Chiyo had felt as if everything had taken a turn for the worse, and regretted it, despite it being her decision. She decided to cut Naoya off because she wanted to 'let go of his hand' and did not want to be weak and blame him for what is happening to her. She tells herself she has to be strong, and decides to protect her sister just as her sister had protected her when she was younger.

On her way home from the hospital, Chiyo stops at Hyoutan Pond, and states that she often comes to the pond despite having nothing to do. She then says to herself, "Maybe I don't know when to give up." She then gazes at Asakusa 12-Story Building, sighing. Chiyo goes on to muse about the caste system of the period, and how romance between two different social classes is only accepted in novels and plays. She goes on to say that she could never make Naoya commit a lover's suicide for her. Chiyo then says that she, "sometimes felt something like a sense of emptiness from the mercy person", but she could not do anything.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Sumire, the flower girl, calling her name. Chiyo then says that before working at Mangetsu-do, she gave Sumire and her mother her former place of residence. Sumire then states that it has been a while since she has seen Chiyo (calling her Ms. Mochizuki, as do most other characters), and thanks her for helping with her housing situation. Chiyo says that it is not a problem, and that she did not do anything. Sumire denies this claim, saying that nobody had lent them a house since her mother has been sick. She then again thanks Chiyo for her help. Sumire's words of appreciation help to calm Chiyo's sense of impending doom.

After Chiyo says 'you're welcome' to her, Sumire points out that she does not look very good, saying that she looks a bit sad. Chiyo says that she is fine, and was simply thinking about something. Sumire then proceeds to take a small flower out of her basket and gives it to Chiyo. Chiyo denies her offer, saying that she cannot do that, since she is selling it. Sumire shakes her head, saying that the price of what Chiyo did for her and her mother is more than the price of the flower. She wants Chiyo to take the flower, even if it's just a small gift. Chiyo takes note of her chapped finger and worn clothes, and says that the flower looked more beautiful in her small hands than any other flower. Chiyo then smiles earnestly, giving her thanks to Sumire.

When Chiyo bends to take the flower from Sumire's hand, Sumire strokes her head, saying, "Hehe. A TOKKOH officer who bought flowers from me stroked my head like this." After Chiyo's surprise at this, she goes on, calling this TOKKOH officer a 'really nice person', and says that he buys from her, listens to her stories, and always tells her that everything will be okay. When she mentions that this officer has a mole near his mouth, it leads Chiyo to believe that this officer is Naoya.

She (Chiyo) then muses to herself that people will be kind when they are treated kindly, and says that they can live tomorrow again.

After Sumire leaves, Chiyo stays at the pond, wanting to hold onto her warm feelings, when she hears someone's footsteps. She turns around to see a surprised TOKKOH officer (who later turns out to be Tetsu) whom she does not know, and thinks that he is unlike the other TOKKOH officers. She then says out loud that is a beautiful day, to which the TOKKOH officer agrees. When the TOKKOH officer agrees, she says that he is not arrogant like the other TOKKOH officers, and likes his way of talking 'with a bit of shyness'. Chiyo asks the TOKKOH officer if he is taking a break as well, to which he stammers, but then agrees, looking a bit tired and sad.

Chiyo then comforts him, telling him softly, "This place is always wonderful. The air is very clean today.  Look, we can see the Asakusa 12-Story Building clearly." The officer then says, "Really." with a small smile on his face, with his eyes looking brighter than earlier. Chiyo then tells him, "Good. You look better now.  If you always look down, you always feel down." In her head, she then goes on to say that Naoya often told her this phrase, and when he told her this, she was working at the brothel and could not look up, but Naoya reminded her how to look up at the blue sky, saying she was often saved by his little phrases.

The TOKKOH officer thanks her, and she wishes him luck with his work, smiling.

She then says to herself that she will never cry nor will she ever give up. She wants to be proud of herself as a person who stood by Naoya, 'even if it was a short period of time'. Deciding to be strong, she looks up at the 12-Story Building again.

Trivia

 * The kanji that make up her surname, 望月, mean "hope" and "moon" respectively. The kanji that make up her given name, 千代, mean "thousand" and "generation" respectively.