Gai Nagareboshi

Gai Nagareboshi (流れ星=ガイ, Nagareboshi Gai)

Appearance
Gai, despite his androgynously beautiful appearance, is a male and insists that. He is stated to have "the height of your average Japanese schoolgirl" by Nika, and he has a slender, waifish build. Haruko comments that Gai is a "annoying pretty-type character", and Gunha occasionally calls him "girly face"; a World Noble also called him a "pretty boy". Gai's skin is also said to be so white and smooth that it appears almost like he’s made of porcelain. Gai's facial features are very child-like to the point that on the rare occasion that he smiles, he appears exactly like a female. Gai's hair reaches down to his ankles, and it curls away from his body in a horizontal direction near the end. There is a slim forelock of hair at the top of his head. His bangs are parted in the middle, and two locks of hair extend from the sides of his face down to his shoulders. He has piercing magenta within blue eyes.

Personality and Traits
Gai Nagareboshi is a complex person. While he is disinterested in the affairs of the world around him, he also wishes to change it for the better, though is slightly afraid to attempt to do so. He is rather quiet, cynical, emotionless, and aloof, though people who are close enough to him know that this is merely a facade; as he is actually a kind and caring person though despite his icyness. In the company of those he is fond of, Gai's cold facade shatters completely, as he becomes incredibly shy, unable to look those he has grown attached to in the eye, complimented by a continual stutter. In conversation, on the rare times that he participates in it, Gai has extreme difficulty reading the atmosphere in situations and usually just speaks out what comes to mind in his usual deadpan tone, sometimes making others surprised at his actions. Gai often misenterpretes what others say and takes some things literally; this usually results in others becoming briefly alienated and Gai feeling ashamed for his horrible social skills, which he constantly attempts to improve so that he can feel the same as everyone else. He is also able to forgive easily; when going up against Hizashi, after finding out about her past, he sympathized with her and promised to help her almost immediately, though it should be noted that Gai told Hizashi this in his usual aloof tone, which Gekkō noted Gai to be "desperately attempting to stay frosty". Gai generally attempts to keep his cool under most circumstances, and no matter what his enemies ever do to him, he can sometimes come up with a retort to it of questionable quality. Despite claiming having "not caring about that justice crap", the reason his adventure started is because he stepped in to protect someone from Nika.

Gai has a habit of lapsing into internal monologue, which he, naturally having horrible social skills, conveys his thoughts and feelings. It is during these first-person moments he reveals he deliberately acts the way he does to push others away for fear of getting close to them and his insecurities. Also, he shows an inferiority complex that makes him believe he can't do anything right or complete. The main reason behind this is that he had been always branded as a worthless person. Therefore for his seeming lack of power and mockery of pirates, he entered in a gang, and used to hunt down Pirates and steal their Devil Fruits before killing them. This complex can be seen in his usual internal monologue, as he always complains about the situation but he never says it unless a subject particularly enrages him, at which point he will drop all aloofness and assertively state his distaste, all while keeping a sarcastic tone.

While Gai is usually disinterested and anti-social, he will become uncharacteristically attentive and eager to help if it concerns his personal interests, despite usually having nothing notable in particular to contribute, and enjoys listening to those with similar interests, even if they and he were on previously bad terms. Gai is also quick to agree with certain viewpoints, as he finds them "facinating", though at times, it seems to others that he agrees becuase others he is familiar with support said decisions. If he is unsure of anything, he will immediately ask for the definition when it concerns his favorite subjects, though he will often forget key elements and have to ask again, much to his dismay. Gai tends to apologize profusely, even if he had done nothing wrong due to the fact that he often believes that he has, which occasionally gets on the nerves of others around him. Due to his aloofness and the apathetic air he exudes, very few actively take interest in Gai, whose motto and way of life has become ''"If you receive a little kindness, give them a large serving." ''

Gai has a fetish for older women, as is the case with his current love interest, Hizashi Yoshi, who is physically ten years older than him, when he dreamed of things like her wearing all sorts of suggestive fetish outfits, and asking a kiss from Ayano Kisaragi when they first met.

It should be noted that Gai is bisexual; being attracted to both males and females, a fact that he had discovered only recently. However, Gai prefers women over men, yet he has stated that he loves both genders equally, even continuing "...You people and your quaint little catagories." Gai keeps this a closely guarded secret, due to the nature of his upbringing by his discriminative foster mother and fear of being shunned by others, and would only reveal it in the company of homosexual and other bisexual people, as he feels more comfortable in the company of those similar to himself. Gai is often relieved when participating in conversations after revealing his bisexuality to the other person, and happier to talk about subjects concerning that, though he becomes shy once again when it comes to personal interests, often hoping to end the subject with simple responses due to fear once again, as he believes that his interests may seem "warped" to the other person. Very few males meet Gai's standards; preferring impossibly and improbably feminine men, as he dismisses the rest of them as regular people to converse with and strike up friendships with.

Gai also has a lighter side, willingly crossdressing as a woman in order to help Nika raise enough money for her patesserie shop. He also has a dry, ironic wit, which is usually shown in his reactions to the actions of his less stable companions. In addition, during his internal monologues, Gai usually snarks at the questionable intelligence of his companions, the utter absurdity of situations, and at times, breaks the fourth wall by pointing out plot-holes. Gai adores children, and before he started his adventure, adopted several whom he found on the streets of an island. However, only few children actually become attatched to Gai, despite his "grumpy mode being permanently turned off around them", and those few view him as a "mother figure", which is similar to his role towards the main six characters, such as when he occasionally tries to makes sure that Gunha eats properly due to his scrawny frame, much to the latter's annoyance. He is fiercely protective of them; this is best seen in his interactions with Shion, where the only reason he interfered with her thrashing delivered by Kaori because she was a child, and even before that, Gai defeated an entire royal family due to their cruel treatment of a little girl.

Despite having a large appetite, Gai is a horrible cook, and he is good with sewing, as evident by the multiple "tasteful" costumes he has stashed away in a drawer, which also serves as a hint that Gai is slightly perverted, though he hides this fact well under his chilly facade, yet he occasionally gets flustered by Gekkō and Hizashi's rare flirtatious moments. Gai also has a habit of frequently clicking his tongue when irritated. Gai is also a good actor, as shown by his crossdressing stunt, where he acted as the 'Yamato Nadeshiko' type of female shockingly well. Gai is a terrible swimmer, as he sinks like a brick in water.