Faith. (Sequel)

Chapter 3 | Restlessness

Asami pressed her lips tightly together when she felt Madara's back against hers. He was already sleeping soundly, while she couldn't even close her eyes for a second. She just felt too uneasy to rest.

She was messed up.

Even her own thoughts were confusing her. It bothered Asami a lot, but she couldn't find a solution for her inquietude on her own, but she was too afraid to talk about it with Madara. Hating her silly anxieties, she kept on stressing in silence. Asami just didn't understand herself.

Madara was still Madara.

It was inevitable that he was a bit different from three years ago, but the man lying next to her was certainly Madara. Didn't she love him? Didn't she trust him? Then why did she constantly have the urge to avoid him?

What was there to be afraid of?

Was it actually really fear?

Asami gritted her teeth.

She didn't know, and she felt stupid for not knowing, not understanding how she felt. It frustrated her to the point that she couldn't even fall asleep. Talking to Madara would definitely help her comprehend her feelings, but she just didn't have the courage to do so.

Madara was obviously annoyed with her, which was one of the many reasons she didn't have the guts to speak to him about the two of them. One of the other reasons was that she was afraid that he'd say that they couldn't continue their relationship that came to pause three years ago.

Feelings can change after all. Especially after a few years of separation.

Madara was an honest man, so he'd probably already told her that if that was the case, but she still didn't want to tell him what was on her mind. He'd make fun of her if she told her what was bothering her anyway.

She wanted to be taken seriously, and not for a fool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madara grunted in annoyance as he walked out of the bathroom into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. The ventilation in the house was very bad, causing the steam to stay in the bathroom, making it very stuffy inside. He felt like he could finally breathe properly again.

Before taking the shower, he had asked Asami where his clothes were, since he couldn't find them in the closet, and the previous time he showered, Asami had put his clothes on the bed so he could change into them. He was surprised, though. Madara was sure that Asami had thrown his clothes away because she was convinced that he died in his battle with Hashirama.

But she kept them in boxes under the closet.

He didn't know how to feel about it. It was pretty sad that she kept his all his things. Did she treasure his belongings because they reminded her of him? Was it because she kept holding hope, thinking that he might come back? But she said that she was certain was he was dead.

Madara sighed. Why was he even thinking about these pointless things? She kept them, and that's all that mattered.

Madara went on his knees and looked under the closet. His wet hair stuck to his back. He hadn't dried it properly. His hair has gotten much longer over the years and Madara never bothered to cut it.

Reaching for one of the two boxes, he pulled it to his side and opened it. Everything he needed at the moment was in there. Madara looked through the box and noticed that a few shirts were missing.

Frowning, he looked under the closet again and grabbed the other box. After opening it, he saw the attire he'd usually wear, but there were a lot of creases in it. Madara took if out of the box and clenched his jaw slightly when he noticed that the rest of the clothing in there was neatly folded. No creases at all.

Asami didn't only keep his clothes, but she also wore them? Or just took this one attire out of the box occasionally? Seeing this made him realize just how much he underestimated her feelings. It seemed that his 'death' had a bigger impact on her than he had expected.

Asami was even still living here, while she could have gone back to Konoha. There would have been a bit of a commotion with Kouta, but with Mito being her sister, she'd be accepted back without doubt. Yet she didn't leave this place.

It bothered him. Just how long did she wait for him? Just how much did she care for him? What did he do to make her stay here for so long? He wasn't even a good partner.

So why was she so loyal to him, even now, after three years?

Running a hand through his hair, he decided to stop thinking about these things and put on a pair of boxers and a pants. He knew that he had to talk to her soon, answer all her questions, and asking for the answers he needed.

He knew that, yet he kept postponing this important conversation. And Asami did that, too.

Just when Madara was about to put on his shirt, he heard a knock on the door. ''Are you done changing?'' It was Asami, and she was speaking surprisingly clear. When he spoke to her before, her voice would waver or she'd stutter, but that wasn't the case right know.

''Yes,'' Madara replied as he stood up, holding the shirt in his hands.

Asami opened the door and entered the bedroom, but stopped walking when she saw Madara standing in front of her, holding the shirt in his hand instead of wearing it. Seeing him shirtless wasn't what made her freeze. Asami had seen him like that before and it wasn't something that flustered her anymore.

The thing that shocked her was the scar on his chest.

Madara noticed her staring at the thin small line that kept reminding him of having a sword shoved into his back. Just thinking about it made the scar tingle painfully.

Madara grunted and put on his shirt, snapping Asami out of her daze. If she was already troubled by a scar like that, she'd break down if she saw his eye. After using Izanagi, he lost his right eye's vision. His iris was white and he managed to hide it by keeping his bangs in front of this eye. His hair had always been like this, so Asami wouldn't notice. He knew he couldn't hide it forever, but a few more days would be sufficient.

Asami freaking out was the last thing he wanted to see right now anyway.

----------------------------

IMPORTANT!! (??)

I'm going on a trip for 2 weeks and I can't bring my laptop with me. I'm already a slow writer and with only a mobile to write on, I'm ten times slower. Don't expect an update next week because there probably won't be one. Sorry :/

And please DO tell me what you think of this story. I know I'm using the majority of the chapters to let you know what they're thinking.

Is this annoying, or is this fine?

Any advice/feedback (doesn't matter about what) is very appreciated ^^