Kurosawa Nao

—**Kurosawa Nao**, resident idiot

Carefree and a full-time air-head, Kurosawa Nao is a ronin who does as he pleases. His name is read as “honest”, alluding to his straightforward nature. Despite his skill to make friends wherever he goes, Nao can be quite dense and blind when it comes to other people’s feelings, as well as being somewhat of a contradictory figure. In the end, he priotizes his own freedom above all.

## APPEARANCE

Nao stands at 1,88m (6'2'') with a lean and lithe physique, bright peach colored eyes and long, black hair that reaches past his knees. Though he blames all the time he spends under the sun for his tanned skin, it’s actually due to his mixed origins, something Nao seems to willingly ignore and avoid talking about.

It’s noted by many that Nao possesses a disarming, easily trusting and welcoming demeanor, one that contradicts his nature as a ronin and mercenary for hire. With his long lashes, big smiles and endearing, boyish expressions, Nao is the the textbook definition of a pretty boy - despite all the red flags, such as his many scars. The most distinctive ones are the two across his face, caused by an unfortunate encounter with a stray dog during his childhood, along with his top surgery scars. which he proudly displays in any given occasion. His hands and arms are covered in small scars as well, all thanks to Nao’s determination to master the five finger fillet game.

In Book 2, Jun carved his name on Nao’s stomach. While he has no issue with scars nor have any body-image issues, he’s self-conscious of this particular one and avoids tending to it, or even looking at it, on account of it “being scary looking”.

His long hair is kept in a half-ponytail and is constantly leaning to his right, with all the loose strands falling over his face, and partly showing off his undercut. Even though its length and messy, unkempt style are the source of many, many accidents - especially during fights - Nao refuses to get any haircuts. In Book 1, he got a long braid instead, allowing his companions to maintain it. Sadly, it didn’t last long and he returned to his original style.

Nao’s casual attire consists of a peach furisode with white floral patterns on the edges of the sleeves, which looks like a regular haori when worn by him, and his yellow obi is never tied properly. Having lived in poverty most of his life, Nao enjoys playing “dress-up” as often as possible, so he accepts all the clothes he’s given throughout the books. Nonetheless, he also makes a conscious effort to keep his old clothes around because of the sentimental value.

During his time as a mercenary, Nao got a few tattoos. He has an ocean themed sleeve on his left arm, showcasing various waves in black ink - this was his first tattoo, as a way to always carry his hometown, Genfu, with him. On his back, there's a cherry blossom tree that spreads to his right arm.

## PERSONALITY

Nao is, above all, a self-proclaimed airhead and free spirit. His personality and demeanor betray his reputation and appearance of a ronin - casual, boisterous, sweet and overly-friendly, the world is one massive playground for him to run around, and he’s playful with everyone he meets, treating them like one would treat an old friend. One could say invading people’s personal bubbles and befriending anything that breathes is his life’s goal.

A jittery bundle of nerves, Nao leaps before thinking, as it’s hard for him to stay still or keep his mouth shut, always needing to be on the move. He doesn’t try to hide his Genfu accent, but he’ll become flustered once it’s pointed out. At the same time, Nao will forgo his accent and speak in a more common dialect whenever he needs to be taken seriously or when apologizing.

While his closest peers would describe him as a fool for constantly leaving himself open and vulnerable, there is an undeniable charm to his disarming and non-judgemental nature, as well as some wisdom and reasoning behind it. Nao doesn’t judge others, he lacks the right to - and so, in his eyes, it’s best to mind his business and assume the best out of people. Kindness is hard to come by in his specific line of work, so he takes advantage of it to catch those around him off-guard, gaining the upper hand and the ability to walk away unharmed by making others underestimate him. At best, he’ll gain an ally and a funny story to share. At worst, he’ll have his katana to rely on.

He’s honest with his words, almost down to a fault - his misplaced comments and accidental callouts have caused him more trouble than he’d like to admit, yet he insists on remaining truthful, at least to those he deems close. Nao also expects his friends to be just as brutally honest with him, despite being an unconscious liar himself.

In truth, pacifism is a cover for his most defining traits, the ones he continuously tries to ignore - because at heart, Nao is a drifter and a hypocrite with a very soft and sensitive heart.

Years of abuse and trauma have pushed him into a very extreme mentality of survival, and he merely chooses to flee just to spare himself the heartbreak and delay the inevitable. But one can catch a glimpse of this underlying, uglier and more nihilistic side of Nao when he fights. He wields Gensai’s katana with contempt and hatred, only when he finds himself cornered like a wild animal, playing dirty at any chance he gets, switching between violent and smooth methods, anything to disrespect bushido and the teachings of the dojo that raised him. The ronin techniques Nao uses are all born from trying to mimic all the opponents he’s met in his life, creative yet messy, barely efficient when paired with his unstable emotional state, yet he prefers them to the legacy Gensai burdened him with. “I’m already livin’ on borrowed time,” he laughs, “so there’s no shame in borrowin’ a few tricks from a buncha dead people, aye?”

His inability to take responsibility can be traced to his time training under Gensai : to take orders from anyone but himself and his own whims would mean reverting back to that horrible era - when he had little to no control of his life, when he was taught someone of his background deserved no respect as a human being - hence Nao’s visceral hatred towards authority figures and those in power. His relationship with Jun and subsequent failure in keeping Ige alive also fueled Nao's commitment issues, the idea of people expecting anything from him is enough to make him feel nauseous on bad days, reminding him of the friends he failed back in Genfu. Because Nao is essentially wired to avoid getting attached on the long run, he’s confused and somewhat obsessive when it actually happens, unable to let go regardless of how unhealthy it might be for both parties as seen with Jun and, eventually, Masashi in Book 5.

Nao is a walking contradiction, torn between his genuine wonder for the world and the fear that's been instilled into him, dreading and yearning for change. Acknowledging the gravitas of his situation while turning a blind eye to it, Nao lies to himself the most, to the point where memories of his childhood have all been warped beyond recognition, in an attempt to reconcile with his younger self and pretend his currenct actions and behaviour are all justified. He asks for honesty, yet cannot face the truth himself.

Nonetheless, despite his drifter tendencies, Nao has come to truly care for his travelling companions and considers them close enough to allow them to see his uglier sides - this appreciation is also why he insists on making himself clear, letting them know that he will try, but ultimately he will most likely fail to deliver on any of his promises. To Nao, being aware of each other’s ultimate flaws and choosing to stick around regardless is a sign of trust.

### STATS

* **IMPULSIVE** (75%) - CALCULATED (25%)

Nao moves and speaks before thinking, preferring to deal with the consequences than linger and dwell on something for too long. He claims that planning ahead will only make him get cold feet or slow him down, so it's easier to go and do things without giving his brain time to find a way out of the situation. A naturally restless and impatient person, he doesn't like to sit still and can often be seen bouncing on the balls of his feet, drumming his fingers or wandering when left unsupervised. Nao lives at his own pace - whatever that might be.

This impulsiveness is best observed in his way of fighting : erratic and nonsensical, allowing his instinct to lead his body and simply "do whatever feels right" regardless of techniques. As stated by Jun, Nao is the type of fighter to make a scary first impression, but once you analyze and understand his rhythmn it's quite easy to throw him off his game - this is one of the reasons Nao avoids fighting or at the very least, tries to end things quick, fully aware that his unorthodox style won't help him on the long run. On a less physical level, Nao is also known to constantly blurt out his thoughts and harsh truths with zero filter whatsoever. He has a hard time concealing his expressions and sudden emotions, but he values honesty so he rarely tries to censor himself.

* PERVERTED (15%) - **CHIVALROUS** (85%)

Nao is chivalrous for a lack of a better word, but his behaviour can be easily misread as 'perverted' by more conservative people. Nudity isn't inherently sexual to him, and so he fails to see why things such as showing off cleaveage or walking in on someone changing are considered indecent acts. He isn't the type to seek out one-night stands or romantic partners, but he isn't the type to treat sex with reverence and respect either - in his eyes, the act itself lacks any sort of meaning and importance, thus it's nothing more than a potentially fun and casual event, something transactional even.

This all stems from his first relationship, where years of abuse led Nao to obtain a warped idea of love, to the point where he's come to associate the word with all vile and negative experiences he's had in the past. Romance in all of its aspects cannot mean anything to the ronin, because acknowledging the possibility of a positive sexual encounter forces Nao to confront just how dysfunctional his relationship with Jun was. And so, it's easier to never take this subject seriously.

* **CHARMING** (%) - STOIC (%)

Nao's charm resides in his social skills, unusual for a ronin of his calibre.

* **DRIFTER** (%) - PROTECTIVE (%)

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* BRUTAL (%) - **FINESSE** (%)

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