Faith. (Sequel)

Chapter 22 | Faith

As always, corrections are very welcome :)

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It's been two months since Madara's return.

Asami could clearly see how much better he was doing here than in Konoha, where he had so many responsibilities which caused him to feel pressured and stressed which lead to him being grumpy and short-tempered. Those characteristics were already a part of his personality, though, but he was obviously more relaxed now.

Loud wails filled the room and Asami pressed her lips together as she flinched at the shrill sound. Quickly, she stopped what she was doing and dried her hands. The dishes could wait. Taking care of a sick Kouta was way more important at the moment.

The cries only became louder when Asami exited the kitchen and approached the boy that was lying on the couch in the living room. She purposely let him rest downstairs. Not only did she not want to go upstairs every time he started to bawl, she could also keep an eye on him this way.

''Hey sweetheart,'' Asami murmured, gently running her hand through his soft locks when she sat down on the edge of the couch, trying to soothe her son. For a moment, she rested her hand on his forehead and sighed softly in relief. This morning, his temperature was much higher. ''Do you want me to get another cold washcloth?" She asked, brushing her fingers against his skin.

Kouta shook his head wildly, making a few protesting sounds before sticking his arms out. Asami immediately got the message and put her hands under his armpits and lifted him into her arms, rocking him carefully. ''You're tired of being sick, hm?'' She spoke softly, drawing big circles on his back with her fingertips. She knew he liked that, it calmed him down, so she kept repeating her actions, making the same shape on his back over and over.

Kouta's crying ceased but he didn't move from his position. He was actually quite comfortable like this; his chubby cheek pressed against Asami's shoulder and his arms loosely wrapped around her neck. Even though he was burning up just a few hours ago, the comforting warmth of his mother seemed to lull him back to sleep.

When Asami heard his breathing slow down, she heaved a sigh and leaned back into the backrest of the couch. It wasn't only Kouta who was getting tired of this. Asami had to pause her chores to check on him and if she was lucky, he was asleep, and if he was awake, he'd whimper and whine. He always needed and wanted a lot of attention when he wasn't feeling well, which took up a lot of Asami's time. What made it worse is that Kouta is always rather irritable when he's sick, so he easily starts crying and sometimes he even throws a fit.

She was used to taking care of him on her own until a few weeks ago. After all, she was a single parent for quite some time. Though, since Madara came back, she unconsciously began to rely on him again. She became dependent, and after Madara left, saying he'd be back in a few days, she realized just how much she needed him. Asami found it ridiculous that it was suddenly so hard to handle a situation like this while she was able to manage it much more easily three months ago.

Kouta had also changed. He had spent quite some time with Madara the last few weeks. Going on walks with his father became one of his favorites things to do and he'd often fall asleep on the couch next to his dad, who was often reading a book in the evening. There wasn't much else to do after all.

It's been three days since Madara left and not only has Kouta been sick since then but he's also been asking for his father at least a seven times a day. It was very obvious that he missed him, and he wasn't the only one who wanted Madara to come home. Madara's absence upset Kouta and it affected both him and Asami.

Asami could remember the first time he said he was going to leave very clearly. She completely freaked out, thinking he wasn't going to come back. It turned out that he was only going to be away for a day or two. She had also asked him questions about where he was going at that time. Ever since then, she had never asked him why or where again.