Kiyohachi

Kiyohachi keeps the single most dangerous secret in The Great Panda City. To see them quizzing students on bamboo species or grinning through a council meeting, one would assume they were merely an eccentric scholar, harmless and easily distracted. But Pinku chose them for a reason. They share the burden of the coordinates—the location of the hidden sky drifters—and communicate not in whispers but in shared jokes and riddles that float away on the cold mountain wind. The Panda Council sees the unassuming bowlcut and trusts the decision, though none can say why. They just know that when Kiyohachi’s grin is at its widest, the secret is at its safest. The real question is whether the grin is a sign of joy, or the only thing holding back the weight of what they know.