Tetsuya

Tetsuya never cared for the gold spires of The Teikodian Empire. They saw more beauty in the grain of a single bamboo stalk than in all the city's blinding marble, a preference that made them an outcast. While others chased imperial favor, Tetsuya found joy in their craft, working from shadowed alleys in a ragged jumper. Then came Nihoko, a desperate runaway who saw not a failure, but an artist. Nihoko begged to learn, not the way of the sword, but the quiet strength in shaping bamboo. So Tetsuya taught them. In their shared work, the optimistic master found a purpose beyond survival, and the eager student found a home. Together, two exiles built a small world of their own, held together by shavings and twine.