Towayu

Every morning, without fail, Towayu is on the training grounds. The newer students at The Dojo whisper about the spilt ramen on their head and the dazed look in their eyes, but those of us who were here last winter know the truth. Kazukiyo was the one who found them, half-submerged in the frozen lake, clutching that carved cane. They say Towayu wasn't drowning, but fighting a territorial water spirit, refusing to go under. Kazukiyo pulled them out, delirious and near-frozen. Since then, that dazed look hasn't left. It isn't confusion; it's the intense focus of someone who has stared into the abyss and decided to stand their ground.