"Shisui, I have something to tell-"

The Uchiha in question's fingers rushed to his hair and he looked down at Itachi. "Can I please say whatever I want to say? Otherwise I won't be able to say it! Please?"

Itachi's brow furrowed, but he nodded. It was beneath him to feel 'worried', or anything similar, but Itachi couldn't quell the rising hiss of his stomach. He could feel the atmosphere around him, and even without sharingan activated, he could predict this wouldn't be good.

"Look, Itachi, we've been pretty good friends and all," Shisui's eyes squinted, as if he didn't want to look at Itachi any more. Itachi now knew there was something wrong. "Look, Itachi."

"Stop telling me to look because I am."

"Y'know, we've had good fun and stuff passing the academy, but my ANBU work is keeping me busy."

"I'm in the ANBU as well," Itachi retorted coolly.

Shisui seemed more adamant to not look at Itachi. There were the beginning sounds of stress in his voice. Finally, he faced the boy. "Itachi, I really don't know how to say this, but my sweetheart doesn't well… it's not that she hates you but… uhm… she just… doesn't like you very much. So… I just can't be seen with you…"

Itachi knew there was more to it than that.

"I can't hang around with you anymore. You don't understand this girl like I do," Shisui's eyes became sickeningly soft. Itachi was appalled to find the most respected out of the Uchiha's eyes to go… so… gooey. Then Shisui finally looked at him. "Itachi, you don't understand any of this stuff yet, and that's another reason. You're just way too young. Even though you're a genius, your emotional growth is stunted by all your other growth…"

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "He's making excuses."

"Yeah, so, we're not friends, but we're still cool, right?" Shisui grinned, offering a friendly punch to Itachi's still-inflamed arm. The needle to do the ANBU tattoo hadn't been sterilised and damn that hurt!

Shisui offered him a very stupid peace sign, another effect of what this girl was doing to him, and flickered out of sight. Even with Sharingan, Itachi couldn't trace Shisui's body flicker.

Itachi's chest felt so heavy and pressured, that he released hot air; a blazing inferno had reduced the once pretty cherry blossom trees into nothing but ash. That was how he felt right now. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "DAMN HIM! HOW COULD HE BETRAY ME LIKE THIS? THE STUPID LITTLE-"
Steam shot out from Itachi's nostrils and ears, his face becoming red. "Damnit! How could he stab me in the back? Now I'll never be able to get the Mangekyou Sharingan!"

He returned home and scowled moodily in his room for the rest of the night. All that genius, all that calm he usually possessed had just been taken from him. By his ex-best friend.

Itachi didn't want to whine, he didn't want to cry (oh please, the thought alone was absurd), because he had a new task. Uchiha Itachi needed a new best friend.