Conflict (sequel)

Chapter 13 | Desire

Madara's gaze hardened, his eyes narrowing.

Asami clenched her jaw, not wavering under this gaze of his. He meant well, and she knew that, but she wasn't surprised that the villages were resisting.

''You can't force your ideas of peace on them, especially not through war.'' The Uzumaki spoke. Her voice was soft. She wasn't mad at him, but she was disappointed by his inability to sympathize with the current inhabitants of the villages. ''These people don't even have anything to do with you.''

Madara snorted. ''I don't care if I have nothing to do with them or not. I simply want to achieve my goal.''

Asami pressed her lips together in frustration. Madara was a very intelligent person, but was he so blinded by this goal of his that he didn't even understand what she was trying to say? ''It's not your duty to preserve peace, Madara.'' She breathed. ''You're not even doing it for them, but only for yourself, right? You could have lived in peace even if you didn't follow this goal.''

Madara took a step closer to her. While Asami felt the need to take a step back, she stood firm and didn't move a muscle. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her. Not now. ''And how could I have done that?'' Madara spoke, his glowing red eyes staring down at her.

Asami pursed her lips once again tilted her head up, looking properly at the Uchiha. ''You could have chosen your family over your goal.'' She whispered as a lump started to form in her throat. It was harder to say than she had thought, but she wanted him to know. This was her idea of peace, and she was going to voice it to him. Asami smiled sadly, continuing. ''If you were with me, there'd be nothing you would have to worry about.''

She chose for herself that day, leaving her family behind to start one of her own. She was selfish for not thinking of Mito might have felt about her rash decision to go with Madara, but she simply chose her love for this man over her family. 

If only Madara had chosen for her as well, they might have lived a peaceful life. One without interference from other clans or family. No backstabbing or betrayal. No duties or responsibilities. Simply the two of them, living calmly while waiting for a third family member to arrive.

Madara gritted his teeth, but he didn't do anything to deny what the Uzumaki just said. Instead, he reached out. Asami's eyes flickered between Madara's face and his nearing gloved hand, fear only visible in her green orbs for a mere second.

A shaky breath left her lips as his fingers brushed against her temple. ''I can't go back now, even if I wanted to.'' He said, his voice softer than before, but the coldness hadn't disappeared.

Asami closed her eyes for a moment, knowing that whatever was coming out of her mouth wouldn't change his mind in the slightest, but what was she expecting? Wasn't this the stubborn Madara she had always known? Even if he shared the same wish, there was nothing he could do about it now, in this situation.

''So,'' She spoke, her opened green eyes locking with his. ''You're going to put everyone under a genjutsu?'' She asked, the persuasive tone of her voice from before now gone. ''That is your idea of peace?"

Confusion flickered through Madara's eyes as he noticed the change in her behavior. She wasn't trying to resist his plan anymore, but she didn't seem to agree with it either.

Madara moved his hand to her neck, which made Asami blink in surprise. ''They'll have dreams where their desires will be fulfilled,'' Madara murmured. ''They'll be saved from themselves and all lust for blood, all will to fight and all the violence will cease to exist.''

Asami swallowed thickly before she spoke reluctantly, anxious for the answer. ''..What about me?'' She asked slowly. ''Will I also be affected by the genjutsu?''

Asami hoped Madara would spare her. She didn't want to dream about her deepest desires, she wanted to live that dream, although that was already impossible. Her dream ceased to be reachable ever Madara left her to fight Hashirama, only to never come back.

''I don't believe the dead will be affected.'' Madara said. ''But it was never my intention for you to be part of any of this, the genjutsu included.''

Asami released a breath of relief, which made Madara frown. While the idea of never being able to wake up again might seem frightening to her, was dreaming of your desires that dissatisfying to her? ''Do you not want to dream of your wishes?" He asked.

Asami's lips curled up into a smile, but it lacked the happiness and excitement it was usually accompanied with. It wasn't the smile Madara was used to seeing.

''I don't.'' Asami spoke softly, raising her hand to cover his, which was still on her neck. Her voice was unsteady, but Asami wanted him to know, so she continued. ''It would only make me sad.''

Her lips were trembling, and how she was purposely avoiding looking in his eyes. While Madara knew she found it difficult to talk about simply by looking at her, he wanted to know more about her deepest wishes. 

''Your dream..,'' He started, and he wanted to pull back his hand, but Asami held it tightly, not allowing him to take it back. Madara didn't try it again, and decided to continue with his question instead. ''What would it be about?''

A weak chuckle left Asami's mouth, and instead of looking away, her eyes found his. They were glazy, making those green irises sparkle even more. ''Isn't that obvious?" She whimpered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. ''It's about you.''

Madara kept silent.

Asami took a breathe, blinking away the tears which were threatening to fall. While she didn't have any to spare him before, her eyes were about to overflow now.  ''I want to be with you, wake up next to you, live with you in our house together with our son,'' Asami continued, her breath hitching mid-sentence. ''I just want you to be mine.''

Silence, once again.

Madara simply studied her face as if he was looking for any lies, while he knew very well she was speaking truth, voicing her heartfelt feelings. Instead of answering with words, Madara brought his other hand to her face now too.

His gloved fingers held her jaw firmly, enough to hold her still but not enough to cause any pain nor discomfort. 

Asami noticed her heartbeat speeding up. It almost seemed to good to be true. Seeing him again was already a dream come true to her, but when she started this conversation with him, she never thought it'd come to this.

Asami suddenly felt greedy,  and the greed was accompanied by a feeling of longing. Her hand went up to his face, cupping his cheek, stroking her thumb over his skin. She managed a small smile, and this one contained more happiness than the one she wore before.

''I want to be with my family.'' She whispered, brushing her finger over his lips.

Madara's lips parted slightly, but no words left his mouth. Instead, he leaned in, stopping only once before the distance between their faces lessened even more.

Asami's smile widened slightly as she moved her hand to the back of his neck, pulling him in. She closed her eyes the moment their lips met in a kiss

Asami didn't know what she was expecting. She should have known that it could be nothing more than an act of endearment, but it frustrated her. 

She wanted more than just this act.

She wanted to feel him, his warmth, his presence.

But she didn't feel anything.

Not the soft fabric of his glove, the closeness of his body nor the warmth of his lips.

This all reminded her of just how her dream would never come true.

Her deepest desire would stay nothing more than a mere desire.

Their time to live was over, and the time to realize her dream was up.