Maybe it was just a simple coincidence that he met Issei when they were two years old, but Itachi had genuinely grown somewhat fond of the perverted young man. So, he lowered his head with a slight smile, then looked at the door and finally pushed it open.
As the interior of the room was revealed, Itachi fell silent. He stared—almost with a stunned expression—at Issei, who was half-naked and holding something between his legs with one hand while clutching a book in the other.
"Wait... Isn't that the school yearbook?" Itachi let out a half-smile, watching the frozen Issei whose expression was stuck in time, before finally saying,
"Hey bro, I came to visit..."
Itachi took a few steps forward and closed the door behind him.
"AAAHHH!!!"
Issei let out the manliest scream of his life as he quickly covered himself with the blanket on his bed. He stared for a moment at the guy who had just walked in—his childhood friend—and then clenched his teeth in pure rage.
"Itachi!!!"
Issei growled, grinding his teeth while his cheeks, now deeply flushed red, started to glow.
"What the hell are you doing here?!"
He demanded an explanation, eyes blazing.
"Well, I could tell you, but... How about you put on some pants first?"
Itachi smiled and sat down on a chair, turning his gaze toward the wall to give Issei some privacy.
"Hmph..."
The poor guy muttered something unintelligible before quickly placing the yearbook on his nightstand and pulling on some blue pants. Then, like a girl who had just finished dressing for a date, he said:
"I'm ready."
Itachi stood from the chair, turned around, and looked at his friend—finally in a presentable state. Issei was still blushing and staring at him with a strange expression.
"Isn't that the look the Uchiha girls used to give me?" Itachi thought, but then simply shook his head.
"Listen, Issei. I'm going to show you something special..."
Itachi smiled, took a quick step forward, his eyes glowing red, and gently pressed a finger to his friend's forehead.
Genjutsu.
Issei's mind was instantly taken over by Itachi and thrown into a magical world. There, he saw several scenes—Yuma, the girl he had been thinking about, Fallen Angels appearing, and finally, a flood of information given to him by Itachi in just a few seconds.
Moments later, Issei blinked. He swallowed hard, a shiver ran down his body, and he lifted his gaze—his eyes now filled with indescribable emotions—locking onto Itachi's.
Then he saw it. Itachi under the shining sun, its light behind him, casting a slight shadow over his face and making him look like a god—someone above all else.
But of course, it was just an illusion.
Issei blinked again and returned to his room. He swallowed once more, now just staring into the glowing Three-Tomoe Sharingan of Itachi.
A long moment of silence passed. The two of them stared at each other. It wasn't psychic or spiritual, but in that gaze, it was as if they were exchanging information without speaking.
Issei nodded several times, and Itachi did the same, as if telling his foolish little friend:
"Yes, it's true. Everything you saw inside the Genjutsu is real."
And then Issei turned pale.
He blinked, his eyes began to glisten, and his body trembled slightly.
If what Itachi showed him was true… then the love, the fantasy, all those moments he imagined with Yuma were fake. Everything was a lie by Raynare. Right?
Two tears rolled down Issei's cheeks. His breathing grew a bit faster, and before he could say anything, Itachi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You're growing up, bro. You know, sometimes I look at you and remember when you were just a mischievous little pervert. And now you've had your first heartbreak... It's all happening a little too fast."
Itachi smiled, looking at Issei the way a father might look at his son.
Issei bit his lip, gazing into Itachi's beautiful eyes, and finally nodded.
How could he believe all that information from a Genjutsu so easily?
Simple.
To Issei, Itachi was his childhood friend—the one who always protected him from bullies. Itachi wouldn't lie to him about something so sensitive. Or at least, that's what Issei believed.
"But then… you're...?"
Issei narrowed his eyes, still in shock as he stared at his friend—especially his eyes. He swallowed again before asking:
"What... or who are you?"
There was a brief silence. Itachi took a step back, placed his hands in his pockets, and simply said:
"My name is Itachi Uchiha. I come from another world. I was a powerful ninja, and once… I protected my village. It was... a tragic story. I'll tell you the rest later."
Hearing those words from his childhood friend was, to Issei, like having a mental bomb dropped on him—like hearing your dad confess you're actually rich and he was just testing you all those years.
Issei's heart pounded so hard his brain began to overheat, but under the weight of such information, his mind just accepted it all without resistance.
"I see... then, thanks for saving me, Itachi."
Issei smiled, showing his white teeth, as a beam of daylight slipped through the window behind him.
After a moment where the two exchanged words and Issei asked a few questions, Itachi finally explained the reason he had come.
"According to Raynare's memories, you have something called a Sacred Gear—an artifact given by the God of the Bible to help humans fight against Demons and Fallen Angels."
Itachi's words immediately lit up Issei's face with genuine surprise.
"Sacred Gear?" Issei repeated. He had indeed received information about such a weapon during the illusion.
Sacred Gears—weapons created by God to give humans power. And now… he had one?
Issei almost felt a flicker of joy overpowering the sadness in his heart—sadness born from the betrayal he had suffered thanks to Raynare.
"Let me check," Itachi said, gently touching Issei's head and channeling chakra into his friend's body, searching for anything unusual.
Eventually, Itachi found an anomaly in Issei's right arm. He couldn't quite understand what it was, but it felt like a pool of magic resting there, like water in a small pond.
"Is this... a Sacred Gear?"
Itachi could feel the dormant power. It didn't react to chakra, and he couldn't measure its limits. Eventually, he withdrew his hand.
"I think... yes, it's very likely that you have a Sacred Gear," he said, watching Issei's reaction.
Contrary to what Itachi expected, the boy simply made a surprised face. That was it.
Itachi had expected a more dramatic response—maybe laughter, jumping around, or shouting—but all he got was a slight twitch of surprise.
"Something wrong?" Itachi asked.
Issei simply shook his head.
"Itachi... I know it sounds stupid since it was just a couple of days, but... I think I truly loved Yuma," he murmured, lowering his head.
"When I kissed her, I felt it—warmth, softness, the purity of a lady pressed against my lips. It felt like paradise… like I was overdosing on happiness. Every cell in my body danced to the rhythm of her breath."
Issei smiled faintly after speaking. He lifted his head to stare at the ceiling and, after a moment, sighed.
"I think I'll need time to get over this," he said, turning his gaze back to Itachi.
"It may sound stupid, I know… but it was my first kiss. And even if it was fake, it still felt special."
"…"
Itachi stared at Issei for a moment, then sighed. He honestly didn't know how to deal with love problems. The only girlfriend he ever had—Izumi—he killed her himself.
Though before she died, he placed her in a Genjutsu where they lived a whole lifetime together. But even that felt like a lie… a sweet one.
"Well," Itachi let out a sigh with a small smile,
"I don't really know how to handle love issues either. But hey, if it cheers you up, how about I help you with your work tomorrow?"
Itachi smiled.
Issei narrowed his eyes.
"Work? What Work?"
"I'm a ninja. I'm taking you to see something... beautiful, I guess."
Itachi gave him a strange smile.
Issei instantly picked up the hint and smiled, despite the sadness still lingering in his heart.
"Promise?"
Itachi, smiling back and placing a hand over his chest, replied:
"I promise."