Faith. (Sequel)

Chapter 1 | Confusion

''I returned it,'' He said. ''Just like I promised.''

All this time, she thought that he was killed by Hashirama's hand. All this time, she thought he broke their promise, leaving her alone with their son. And now he was right there, standing in front of her.

Alive.

What was she supposed to feel now?

Happiness? Relief? Anger? Or should she feel cheated? She honestly didn't know how to describe her feelings. There was too much she didn't know and understand.

Seeing him again was something she never expected. She'd never even dare to expect his return. She could only dream of it. This moment felt so surreal that it could be a hallucination.

It wasn't a dream, nor a hallucination.

Everything was so confusing. The shock of seeing her supposedly dead lover made her dizzy. She was simply bewildered

''Madara.'' She breathed out his name as if she was trying to make herself realize that he was really right there, standing before her, but a part of her just couldn't accept it.

While Asami was still trying to comprehend the current situation, Madara slowly walked further into the room. He didn't take his eyes off her. The shock on her face was clearly visible and her whole being was shaking.

It was almost as if she were afraid.

Madara saw the disbelief in her eyes. Of course, he knew that she'd be surprised, but he didn't expect her to have such an unclear expression on her face. He really found it difficult to see what exactly she was feeling. He only knew that she was shocked, but that wasn't all.

Asami felt sick. Three years. For three full years, she thought that he was dead. It took her long to accept it. Very long. And now, when she had finally found peace, he showed up, like nothing happened at all.

It was so simple, yet so confusing for Asami. She didn't even understand her own emotions anymore. She didn't understand anything

Her headache became worse and she walked backward until her back hit the countertop. She wanted to understand why and how. So many questions, but no answers at all. It frustrated her and it also made her panic. She just didn't know what to do anymore.

Feeling her legs grow weak, she slowly let herself slide down, but Madara grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up before she could hit the ground. Asami flinched at his touch, not expecting it, but she didn't struggle. In fact, she let her head hang and bit her lip. He was warm.

Tears hit the ground and Madara sighed when her shoulders began to shake, indicating that she was crying. He put his hand on her head and placed the other one on her back. ''Have you calmed down now?''

Asami didn't answer.

Madara clenched his jaw. Seeing her like this made him realize how much he had hurt her.

He already knew that he was selfish. It was just how he was. He thought he knew how Asami felt when he dragged her into this mess, but it seemed that he didn't understand her in the slightest. He had paid too little mind to her feelings and only thought of himself.

Madara looked down at Asami when she clutches his arms tightly. So tight, as if she were afraid that he'd leave again if she let go. So tight, that her sharp nails dug into his skin. Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to leave bruises.

Madara didn't mind. He felt like he deserved it, even though this pain was nothing compared to Asami's.

For quite a while, they just stood there. When Asami was finally calming down and catching her breath, it was already completely dark outside. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying and she kept gazing at the ground. It seemed that she was finally able to savvy the situation.

Madara ground his teeth and moved his hand from the top to the back of her head and pulled her against his chest. He heard her sniff as her grip on his arms loosened. Her breathing was slowly returning to normal and she also stopped shaking.

Almost reluctantly, Asami looked up from the ground. She didn't want to look a Madara. Or rather, she didn't want Madara to see her like this. Even though he probably already knew what she looked like right now, she still didn't want to. Asami also didn't know how to face him. She didn't even know what to say or do, so she simply stood there, looking at Kouta.

She was surprised that he was still asleep. Not very long ago, she was crying a few meters away from him, yet he didn't wake up by the noise. Suddenly, she realized something and Madara felt her stiffen up and looked down at her. He saw Asami looking to the right, and he followed her gaze.

She was looking at the boy.

Asami pursed her lips and thought deeply. How was she supposed to tell Kouta that his real father was here? She told him that he died before he was born, and he already saw Keiji as some sort of replacement, a father figure.

Asami was snapped out of her thoughts when Madara let go of her and he looked at him, but she avoided looking into his eyes. She felt like she could relax more now, but a part of her wanted him to hold her like that again.

Madara kept staring at the boy, which was something Asami noticed very quickly. ''His name,'' Madara said, startling Asami. She didn't expect him to speak up again after his question from a few minutes ago. ''What is his name?''

Asami cleared her throat and moved around slightly. For some reason, she began to feel nervous. ''K-Kouta.'' She stammered, and she cursed herself silently. She didn't mean to stutter, and her voice also sounded so hoarse. She unobtrusively took a deep breath, calming herself some more. ''His name is Kouta.''

''Kouta, huh?'' Madara looked at her and their eyes made contact. Asami felt uneasy and looked away. ''It's a good name.'' He said. ''He looks like a good kid.''

Asami cracked a small smile, even though she didn't really feel like smiling. ''He is.''

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I spend 5 hours on 1000 words.. I always find it so difficult to write first chapters. It doesn't even matter if it's a sequel or not. So frustrating. I really wanted to make Asami's mixed feelings get noticed by the readers, so I hoped this was clear, even in the end where I described her feelings less.

I hoped this turned out to be good. Writing first chapters is one of my weak points so I'm pretty insecure about this. The rest of the story will undoubtedly be better.

Please leave a comment on what you think ^^