She simply brought the mirror over. "Once you've had a look, get some rest."
"Mm." Tetsu no Sosuke nodded. "Still, my hair is a little too white. It makes me look unhealthy. If I sat next to the Master now, would I look more like his grandfather?"
Kanae burst out laughing. "Don't let anyone from the Hidden hear that. They're all blabbermouths. Say that today, and it'll reach Amane's ears by tomorrow."
Tetsu no Sosuke laughed. "We're saying it behind closed doors. If you don't tell anyone, no one will know. All right, all right. Just talking for a little while has tired me out again. As expected..."
He never said what he had expected. With Kanae's help, he lay back down. Drowsiness washed over him, and he soon drifted off to sleep.
Kanae watched him for a long while, then smiled faintly.
She put the mirror away and stepped outside, where Shinobu Kocho was waiting.
"How is he?" his sister-in-law asked.
"He doesn't seem to have taken it too hard." Kanae smiled.
"Other than his hair turning white, he doesn't look any different." As she spoke, Shinobu Kocho took out a prescription. "Older Sister, take a look. What do you think of this?"
"All right."
Treating the depletion in Tetsu no Sosuke's body was anything but simple.
Shinobu Kocho and Kanae had set themselves a deadline: before Tetsu no Sosuke recovered from his internal injuries, they had to come up with a proper prescription.
Then they would adjust and revise it based on his response to the medicine, striving to arrive at the best possible formula.
And so, another half month passed, and Tetsu no Sosuke's miserable life of taking medicine reached its peak.
First thing in the morning, before doing anything else, he drank a bowl