Path Of War

Jada turned her attention back to Itachi and started, "Itachi, listen, we need to talk about Sasuke. Like I wrote to you before, he's been taken in by Orochimaru again."

At the mention of his younger brother, Itachi's stoic expression didn't shift, but she could still see the pain cross his eyes. He remained silent, contemplating the implications of Sasuke's choice, till he wondered what she meant by "again."

"Sorry!" she corrected. "I misspoke..."

"It's alright," he forgave in a calm tone.

Yet that did little to soothe the tension from the brothers' past.

In a soft tone, Jade continued, "He'll come back for sure. I know he will. Especially because of Naruto."

"Naruto?" he mused, as if testing her beliefs. "He truly believes in Sasuke, huh?"

Jada smiled and answered, "Yes, he really cares. We all do, actually. It's safe to say that we all love the idea of Sasuke not wanting revenge, you know?" Those words really touched Itachi's heart. "Instead of holding onto hatred, he could be with you. I mean, just imagine the two of you working together."

The thought filled her with warmth, a world where the famous Uchiha brothers could actually start anew without anguish or curses.

Itachi's features softened. "What I would give for that," he quietly admitted. "But it might already be too late. What I did was a sin, and I only want Sasuke to be the one to atone for my mistakes."

Jada knew he would say that. So she stepped closer.