Gichii Naru
| Name | Gichii Naru |
| Race | Human |
| Type | Oni Hunter |
| Faction | Free Will |
| Premiere | Cereborg: Inception |
| Relative(s) | Kazuko NaruChieko Naru |
Gichii Naru
"Japan will endure. Your plans shall fail, demon."
Biography
During World War 2, when Gichii was younger, he was a Demon Hunter of Japan and was part of a trio. Fighting alongside the ancestors of the Japanese demon hunters, Bushido Blade and Shinobi Dark, he slew oni with his family's ancestral sword, Onikoroshi-no-Tsurugi. The sword's history itself has deep roots. It was forged with some fragments of Kusanagi by Gorō Nyūdō Masamune. Brute strength and power are meaningless to the sword, and in fact, if a human outside of the Naru bloodline tries to lift the sword, it becomes immoveable, as if gravity itself refuses the user. However, when wielded by one the Naru bloodline, with a mind of focus and discipline, the sword feels light as rice paper, but can slice through even the densest metals without any damage to the sword and without much force from the swordsman.
Bearing this artifact to bear against the demons of Japan, just as his ancestors had done, Gichii slew innumerable oni, sending their spirits from the Physical World back to the vibratory plane known as Yomi in the Outer Darkness. Using Onmyōdō, Gichii mastered the five elements, and used them to overcome countless oni and witches. No evil could stand against his magic or his sword, until he faced off against Shuten-dōji.
Emperor Ichijō (986–1011 AD), long ago sent Minamoto no Raikō (Minamoto no Yorimitsu) and Fujiwara no Hōshō (Fujiwara no Yasumasa (ja)) to exterminate this demon. The men and their troops would have been annihilated if they had not stumbled upon divine help. They managed to fight the demons and win. Once defeated, they sealed the oni into bottles and chests and hid them in temples across the land. They managed to even seal away Shuten-dōji, himself, though he warned them that he would eventually be freed, and he would reap vengeance on the people of Kyoto and of all Japan. The group traveled to Kyoto with the demon lord sealed into a great vessel shaped like an oni’s head, which was laid to rest in the Uji no hōzō at Byōdō-in temple. There, the head stayed hidden for almost a thousand years until, during World War 2 in 1944, American bombs landed in the general area, and deep underground, within the treasure vault of the temple, the vessel toppled over and broke open- and Shuten-dōji found freedom.
The oni immediately set to work trying to disrupt Japan, but it took the demon hunter, Gichii Naru, little time to hone in and assault the demon. Shuten-dōji had already built a small enclave of corrupted and perverted people, and the demon hunter slew them all before facing the newly awoken demon. Shuten-dōji did not have the power yet to face the hunter, and the two played a game of cat and mouse across Japan, until Shuten-dōji stumbled upon some upset soldiers and learned of civil unrest. In what would become historically known as the Kyūjō incident, the oni used his influence and corruption to cause Japanese soldiers to rise up against Emperor Hirohito. However, Gichii managed to track the demon, and in a dark alleyway the two powers collided. The oni hunter almost lost, but seeing no other option, Gichii used an Onmyōdō technique to draw the demon into the ancestral katana of the Naru family. Without the oni to generate further corruption, the assault on Emperor Hirohito failed, and War World 2 ended.
Gichii continued to slay demons for several years, guarding the sword. Every time he touched the blade or hilt, Shuten-dōji would try to force his corruption and control into the mind of Gichii, and the already disciplined oni slayer developed even greater techniques of focus and mental resistance. Eventually married and had a son named Kazuko. Kazuko was trained by his father, but was not as dedicated to demon slaying as his father. Kazuko eventually grew up and married his love, and in the late 1980's, she gave birth to Chieko. Chieko did not act like most children, and would today be considered on the autistic spectrum. However, she had an immense love for electronics. The now aging Gichii worried that his time grew short, and with Kazuko now a family man and turning towards a career, Gichii feared for the sword, even occasionally toying with the idea of throwing it into the sea.
However, as little Chieko grew, he saw within her an intense focus and passion. While most children make noise and disobey, Chieko would spend untold hours a day silently playing on the home computer, learning about programming, or even disassembling her electronic toys to understand how they worked. While Gichii eschewed technology, he saw potential and when he asked the 6-year-old Chieko if she would like to learn about her family heritage and learn to meditate, she seemed genuinely interested.
For more than a decade, when not studying at school or working on a computer, Chieko trained with her grandfather. Kazuko often chided Gichii claiming that Chieko was a woman and should pay more attentions to studies. He also told his father that Chieko should never risk her life fighting demons, and for much of Chieko's life, she had no idea that spirits might be real at all. However, Gichii's health declined, and he knew that soon he would pass as spirits of his ancestors visited him nightly and the elements began to whisper that his body would soon fail.
Gichii had spent so many years training Chieko on discipline and focus, and her neurodivergent mind seemed primed for such, that he finally decided the time had come. He presented Onikoroshi-no-Tsurugi to Chieko. He told her to never touch the sword unless absolutely needed. He then regaled her with the tales of his demon hunting. Part of Chieko believed him and part of her wondered if the stories of witches and oni were all delusions at the end of his life. However, on her honor, she promised Gichii she would forever protect the sword and would never touch its hilt nor blade, nor would she let anyone else do so.
At peace with this, Gichii died in his sleep that very night, his soul swiftly finding his ancestors within the dimensional frequencies of the Inner Light.
