Tetsu Mizuhara

Suzu's childhood friend. In his childhood, Suzu drew a picture of "Sea Waves and White Rabbits" for him, when he was very depressed by facing the death of his brother (a student at Imperial Japanese Naval Academy but he died on board ferry sunk by the high waves). Tetsu grows to love Suzu. During the war, he serves aboard the Japanese cruiser Aoba as a sailor. When he gets on-shore leave from the cruisr, he drops in Suzu & Shūsaku and asks for one night stay. The cruiser is severely damaged in a U.S. air raid, and settles on the shallow bottom of the harbor of Kure, but Tetsu survives. After the war, one day, he is alone standing along a quay to see half-sunk Aoba, not noticing Suzu passing by.