The corners of his mouth lifted into a smile before he knew it. "This is nice..."
There were tears at the corners of Kanae's eyes, but his words left her puzzled. "What is?"
"Every time I'm badly hurt and pass out, you're the first person I see when I wake up... It's nice."
Tetsu no Sosuke let out a breath. The pain in his chest and abdomen was nearly unbearable, but he still asked, "How long was I unconscious?"
"You've been lying here for a day since you came back." Kanae reached out and gently played with his hair. "Your opponent was Upper Moon One? What happened that night?"
"I fought him," Tetsu no Sosuke said. "He died."
"That may be the shortest account of a fight you've ever given me," Kanae said. "Tanjiro told me they saw something astonishing when they found you."
"What was it?"
Tetsu no Sosuke asked. He couldn't remember anything astonishing happening after that night.
Kanae lifted a lock of his hair and held it where he could see it. "This."
It was pure white.
Tetsu no Sosuke froze for a moment, then looked thoughtful. "So now I'm..."
"All of it is like that," Kanae said quietly.
Tetsu no Sosuke sighed. The effects of True Extreme Flow Intent.
It no longer consumed his stamina, but his life force.
That night had been the first time he broke through the limit and used it. A head of white hair might be the least significant of its aftereffects.
"Tanjiro and the others said that when they found you, you were watching the sunrise. Your black hair turned white before their eyes. Then you smiled at them... and collapsed."
Kanae said, "It shook every one of those children, each in their own way."
Tetsu no Sosuke fell silent