Tsuchiko

The rhythmic clack of wood on stone announced Tsuchiko’s presence long before their shades came into view. The carved cane was, officially, for a bad knee earned from a clumsy tumble down some temple stairs. Unofficially, it was a tool for poking interesting bugs and, on one occasion, accidental heroism. That was the day they found Kajinosuke cornered by the Panda Council’s most famously ill-tempered goose in The Great Panda City. Tsuchiko meant only to shoo it away, but instead tripped. The cane flew from their grip, spun like a thrown spear, and knocked the feathered tyrant unconscious. Kajinosuke calls them a savior; Tsuchiko calls it a happy accident, wearing their shades to hide that the goose gave them that “battle scar” right before its nap.