Faith. (Sequel)

Chapter 20 | Actions

Asami sighed when Kouta wouldn't sit still.

He had just come out of the bath. Patience was something he had while he let her dress him, but he was getting annoyingly restive later on when Asami was brushing his hair. It was because Keiji was here, and they both heard him enter the house. Asami thought that Kouta was acting strangely excited, though she didn't complain about that. He was being more lively lately, which was something that Asami had noticed and something she was very glad about.

After putting the hairbrush away, she pressed a kiss to his head before she followed him into the hallway where the stairs were. Weirdly enough, Kouta was careful while going down the stairs. Asami had expected him to rush down since he looked so excited.

"Keiji!" Kouta squealed as he ran into the living room where both Madara and Keiji were occupying a part of the couch.

As usual, Keiji grinned in reply and ruffled his hair once the boy was close enough. "Hello, little guy." He said, the smile never leaving his face. "You sure are happy to see me."

Kouta simply beamed before sitting down between both men.

"Would you like something to drink?" Asami asked politely, already making her way to the kitchen. "Coffee or tea maybe?"

Keiji nodded gratefully. "A coffee would be great."

"Madara, Kouta." Asami called their names in order to get their attention. "Do you want anything?"

While Kouta made it very clear that he'd like to drink a glass of lemonade, Madara didn't look up from the book he was reading as he answered. "Also a coffee."

"Two coffee, one lemonade and a tea." Asami mumbled to herself before disappearing into the kitchen.

Keiji quickly leaped up from the couch, accidentally nudging Madara in the process, and hurried after Asami while speaking countless apologies to the older Uchiha who was glaring at him in annoyance. Whilst Madara had to search for the sentence where he left off somewhere in the middle of the page since he was interrupted by an unexpected poke, Kouta simply chortled at his vexation, finding it pretty funny.

With a sheepish smile, Keiji entered the kitchen, rubbing the back of his neck. ''Can I help?"

Asami chuckled. She already figured that he'd ask that the second she heard him stand up. ''You're the guest here, Keiji-san.'' She murmured, pressing a button that made the old coffee machine sputter to life. ''If anyone needs to help me, it should be Madara, not you.''

Keiji grinned and walked closer until he stood right next to her. Raising his hands, he opened the cabinet above the sink and took out the tea box. ''You know that I don't mind helping you at all.'' He said, placing the box on the counter. 

Asami simply hummed after turning the knob on the gas stove until she heard a slight hiss of gas escaping. Then, she took a match out of its box and rubbed it across the side. A flame sprung up and Asami used it to light the stove. After that, she blew out the small fire and threw the thin piece of wood away. Filling a saucepan with a small amount of water, she placed it on the stove and let out a sigh. This was the only way for her to heat up water and other liquids since there wasn't a kettle in the house. Asami normally didn't mind since she was used to it, but sometimes the lack of everyday products still bothered her.

While Asami had been busy with the stove, Keiji had already turned off the coffee machine and filled a glass with lemonade. His eyes fell on Asami's neck when she turned around to face him. Light bruises covered her skin. Since the spots were already turning pale green and yellow, Keiji could tell that they were already fading. It still shocked him, though.