"What do you mean by that?" Itachi looked at the boy in front of him with a displeased face. The boy smiled, scratched the back of his neck, and simply closed his eyes, as if waiting for his answer.
Itachi, on his part, gave a half smile, placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, and finally said, "I'm not going to go with you on a date, Issei, but if you want some advice, just be yourself.. it always work for me."
Itachi's smile reflected confidence — a kind of confidence Issei had never seen before. Their eyes met for a moment before Issei's face turned pale.
"But..." Issei tried to object, but Itachi shook his head, "You know what they say, just do it..." Itachi smiled again, then turned around and walked toward the main exit of the Kuoh academy.
Issei stayed there alone, watching his friend walk away with a reluctant look, feeling... to say the least, disappointed.
On the other hand, after leaving the Kuoh academy, Itachi turned back to observe the institution, his eyes slightly shining.
His frown soon turned into a faint, bright smile. His beautiful face showed confidence, and his body felt a little too good.
"It's a nice place," Itachi smiled. It had been a while since he had felt this — a relative, calming peace. He never thought that after dying, he could be reborn again.
At first, he was confused, simply watching his mother in this world, watching the world, and observing people from the perspective of a newborn child, then growing into a boy almost incapable of possessing considerable strength.
He had once thought it was some kind of illusion, but how could he fall for illusions?
Gradually, he accepted this world as his own, and finally, at six years old, he resumed practicing ninja skills.
Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu. In fact, Itachi didn't know if it was luck or coincidence that he could use Chakra, or that his Sharingan activated after training a little, but he was grateful for it.
As for the Mangekyo Sharingan, although Itachi can activate it, he simply preferred not to, after all, the Mangekyo can leave him blind after continuous use.
Itachi began walking back home, thinking that it was going to be a particular day, but his little companion invited him out with a girl — why? Maybe to help him conquer that girl.
He felt a bit strange, a small aversion crossing his heart as he observed the surrounding landscape.
After all, he had once been Itachi Uchiha, the man who gave his life for his younger brother, and protected the village of Konoha until his last day.
Although now in a new world, with a new story to write, he still felt nostalgic, and some of his old attitudes had not vanished.
Itachi blinked, returned home quickly, and soon began a new day.
A couple of days later...
The dazzling light of the sun of a new day began to appear, crossing the mountains and bathing the entire Kuoh-city with its yellowish light and unique warmth.
Across the buildings of the big city, a young Itachi was jumping, his steps from roof to roof, fast and precise, unnoticed by anyone.
He moved with such speed and grace that even Sasuke would have been astonished. He went from jumping building to building to reaching a nearby forest to begin his training.
First, practice with classic Kunai, then Taijutsu, ninjutsu, his particular jutsus like the Great Fireball, Body Replacement, and several more practiced in nature.
After all that, Itachi bathed in a nearby lake and finally began walking back to the big city.
Amid all this, Itachi observed nature — the tree tops swaying with the wind that shook them, the slightly earthy smell, the birds' songs — and simply kept walking slowly.
"What could Sasuke be doing?" Itachi wondered, then shook his head. In fact, he had done everything possible for his brother, so much that he even forgot to live for himself.
"It doesn't matter now, I guess. After all, I haven't found any way to return to the old world," Itachi said to himself, then let out a big sigh. Like a person releasing a heavy mental burden that had been weighing on his shoulders, he felt relieved.
"I'm going to... have to let go. Sasuke has to learn to live on his own," Itachi smiled, raised his head to look at the sun, and finally blinked a couple of times.
He patted his pockets and decided to go eat something delicious.
Hours later...
"Miss Yuma, you... could..." a familiar boy's voice caught Itachi's attention as he rested quietly on a bench in the city park.
"Huh?" Itachi, who was in the middle of contemplating the birds, quickly steadied himself on the bench, looked around, and quickly found Issei with his gaze.
Itachi's face turned a strange color, his eyes dilated, his mind began to work quickly, and somehow disbelief spread throughout his body.
"Is Issei really having a date with a pretty girl?" Itachi squinted, a fake smile spreading across his face as he almost shouted, "Impossible!!!" However, after confirming his sight was clear, he began laughing out loud.
"Hahaha!!" His somewhat loud laughter quickly caught the attention of people nearby. Several could not help but look at the handsome boy with dark circles — well, not exactly dark circles, but some kind of expression lines around his eyes — laughing.
One of them, a handsome blond-haired boy, also smiled upon seeing Itachi. "Itachi, looks like you finally left your house to live life for a moment," the blond boy smiled before walking away.
Issei, who was about to soil his pants out of fear, lifted his head, watching his childhood friend laughing nearby, and like a girl seeing her Kpop idol, smiled while blushing.
The girl next to him, Yuma, also noticed the changes in Issei's face and followed his gaze. "Is that boy someone you know?" Yuma wondered, then observed Itachi's body before smiling, "Wow, I didn't think a Kpop idol would be strolling around here."
Issei grabbed Yuma's hand and almost too hurriedly ran toward Itachi. The sudden movement surprised her, her body unbalanced for a moment, letting out a cute "Gyahh!!" before moving her delicate legs to keep up with Issei.
...
"Itachi, Itachi, Itachi..." Issei said his childhood friend's name three times as he approached, catching his attention and making him stop laughing.
"Good thing you're here. As you can see, I... I wasn't lying," Issei said, slightly turning his head to look at the slightly disheveled Yuma.
"Huh?" Itachi looked at Yuma, who also returned the gaze. Both, as if seeing something strange in each other's eyes, stared for a moment.
Itachi observed her; his smile almost instantly vanished, his black and clear eyes analyzed the girl for a moment, all while his nose twitched at a particular scent — the smell of human blood.
He had spent so much time killing and living among corpses that he perceived it almost effortlessly. The smell of human blood is hard to hide, even after bathing or using lots of perfume.
On the other hand, Yuma's gaze on Itachi was one of contemplation, admiration even. "How can such a young boy have those expression lines around the eyes? But more importantly, Why does this guy look sculpted to measure?" Yuma wondered.
Her eyes effortlessly caught Itachi's features — his smile, his hair, his face, his eyes, his nose, his legs — all so symmetrically perfect that it could only be possible if Itachi were a statue referencing male beauty.
"Ahem..." Issei gave a big sigh and pretended to cough, smiled again, and looked at Itachi. His eyes almost said, "Praise me, I have a girl," as he opened his mouth.
"Itachi, she is the girl I told you about the other day, her name is Yuma, last name Chan, or how was it? Hahaha," the poor boy made a joke that was really hard to understand, so Itachi just tilted his head in confusion.
"The pleasure is yours, Miss Yuma, last name Chan," Itachi pushed his doubts to the back of his heart, made a casual smile, stood up, and extended a hand toward the girl. "My name is Itachi, but, everyone calls me Itachi," he also made a joke that was hard to understand.