Naoshirou

Naoshirou keeps a silent watch. While the other chimps of The Heart of the Forest fill the amber-leaved clearing with song and dance, Naoshirou stands at the perimeter, their recon headset tuned not to the celebration, but to the quiet whispers of the wilderness beyond. It has always been this way. As children, when their friend Sajuurou would be lost in the joy of finding the sweetest berries, Naoshirou would be scanning the treeline, listening for the snap of a twig that sounded out of place. The battle jacket and headset are merely extensions of that old instinct. They find their contentment not in the revelry, but in making it possible for others. Sajuurou always brings them a warm pastry, an unspoken thanks that tastes sweeter than any song.