Author notes: The events happening midway through this chapter happen in chapter 8 to 12 of Mission: Chunin Exam. We highly recommend reading that story first if you haven't yet.

Shisui's shift at the police station was coming to an end and he couldn't wait to get home. Today had been boring, with nothing unusual to report and no arrest to make. He had patrolled on foot the streets of Konoha with one of his colleagues. There were days he liked his job, but other times, he just wanted to quit it. He missed going on missions and felt his talent was wasted. But he doubted Fugaku Uchiha would agree to that. So he didn't even try. The only real advantage his current job had was that he had a regular schedule.

He had barely set foot outside the police station after his long day when he noticed Anko's figure approaching.

"I heard you were off during the final round of the chunin exam. Do you want to go with Tadashi and I? My son would really like it if you were there."

He wondered how she knew about his work schedule, but didn't voice his thoughts out loud. He couldn't really say no to the request. Tadashi was too cute and Shisui didn't want to disappoint him. Plus, it meant Shisui could spend time with Anko, which he was starting to enjoy.

"Also, I'm in the list of backup proctors," Anko added, "so I really need an adult to be with me in case."

Shisui laughed.

"How far are you in that list?"

"Well, Genma is the proctor for the third part of the exam. Hayate is the official backup. There are three other people after that, so the chances are low. It would please Tadashi if you came."

Shisui didn't know if he misheard or if Anko did add something, but he thought he heard a whisper saying "and me too" which made Shisui smile. His heartbeat started to race too. But he tried to calm himself. He probably misheard anyway. Shisui didn't know what excuses he would have to give his family, but he agreed. Worst case scenario, he could tell them she was a backup proctor. They didn't need to be told how many people filled the spot before she would have to. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them!

The next day, as Shisui got ready to leave the Uchiha compound to go to the arena where the chunin exams were held, he received the visit of Itachi.

"My parents always buy the tickets before the written exam even starts and bought one for Sasuke in case he didn't make it that far. Do you want to sit with us?" Itachi said.

Shisui raised an eyebrow. If they had tickets all along, why was he hearing about it just now?

"Izumi was supposed to sit with us but she wasn't feeling well today," Itachi said before Shisui even said a word.

Ah, that explained.

"I'm afraid I already promised Tadashi and Anko I would go with them."

"You babysit that kid a lot lately, and you even spend time with Anko. Something I need to know?" Itachi teased.

"No, it's not what you think, Itachi. Anko could be called as a backup to proctor, so she needed a babysitter in case something happened. And Tadashi is a nice kid. Anko… well she's a mess sometimes but she's great to be around too. It's not like I'll be bored out of my mind to watch it with them."

Itachi didn't look too convinced, from what Shisui could tell of the grin that appeared on his friend's face.

"You're blushing, Shisui."

No he was not. Well, maybe. Ugh, he hated it when he wasn't able to hide his feelings and Itachi read through him. They both knew they couldn't date outside the Uchiha clan. Itachi loved Izumi, but no Uchiha girl had ever interested Shisui.

"Honestly, Shisui, I really don't care if you love her. I won't tell father. I never understood why there was this rule in the first place. I know that he wants to avoid our beloved sharingan falling into the hands of the other clans, but the rule is quite absurd in my opinion. Plus, it's not like some people didn't marry outside the clan anyway! My girlfriend is only half Uchiha. My understanding is that carrying the last name is all that matters. I might consider simply deleting the rule when I become the clan head. "

Shisui laughed. That probably wouldn't be for another few years at the very least. Nothing to help him out. Shisui could always hope Fugaku would retire and pass down the title to his son before his death.

Shisui was looking through the crowd trying to spot Anko and Tadashi when he felt arms hugging his legs.

"Shisui!" said the overjoyed voice of Mitarashi Tadashi.

"Hello, kiddo! Are you excited to watch the fights?" he asked.

The boy energetically nodded, and Shisui asked him who he was most excited for.

"The two sons of the Hokage will fight today, I'm curious to know if they are as strong as Lord Fourth."

"Good choice!" Anko said. "What about you Shisui?"

Shisui smirked.

"I would have to say that Sasuke against Gaara from the Land of Wind is the one that will catch my attention the most. But I don't know if I can say I'm excited about it or super anxious. Sasuke is like a little brother to me, so I know I'll worry."

They made it to their seats just in time for the first match to start. Anko and Shisui talked while watching the match, but Tadashi mostly observed everything that was going on. It was nice to see Tadashi's amazed eyes while he looked at the battles.

"Shisui, do you think I'll be as strong as them?" the child asked.

"Of course!"

Tadashi asked Shisui if he was a chunin, and Shisui replied with a huge grin on his face. He had reached the jonin rank!

"You're so cool!" Tadashi said.

"What about me, I'm not?" Anko replied, half offended, half amused.

"You're my mom, it's not the same."

Shisui bursted out laughing. Anko didn't seem to find it funny.

"I'm starting to think he liked you more than he loved me," Anko said.

"Don't think that. I'm that cool guy he gets to hang out with while you take care of him and have authority over him. But at the end of the day, when he needs someone, it'll always be you he seeks. Uh, kiddo, you love your mom don't you?"

"Yes! She's the best!"

A smile appeared on Anko's face, and Anko thanked her son before looking at Shisui.

"I needed to hear that, thank you."

Shisui smiled as a reply. He knew Anko was a good mother, and he wouldn't hesitate to remind her.

The exam took a turn Shisui did not expect. First, Sasuke's opponent was a coward and Shisui did not hesitate to boo him. Son of the Kazekage or not, he deserved the crowd reaction. The only good thing about it would be that Sasuke didn't exhaust himself and would have energy to fight his next opponent.

But then, the dude from Yama that was fighting one of the Hokage's sons had explosions up his sleeve and a knot formed in Shisui's stomach. This could not end well. And his worries turned out true when the explosions were not meant for the opponent, but the arena itself and the kage's suite.

"What the hell?" Anko screamed.

"Mommy!" Tadashi panicked, "I'm scared."

Anko hugged her son before letting a swear leave her mouth.

"I have to step in, I have no choice. Tadashi, you'll be brave and will listen very carefully to what Shisui tells you, okay?" she told her son before looking at Shisui, "And you, if he has something as small as a little scratch, I'm gonna have your head, understood? Take care of him and protect him."

Shisui wanted to scream at Anko to leave the arena with her son and that he would take over the ninja duties. He had reached a higher rank than Anko had, even if he was currently considered retired. But as one of the exam's proctors, Anko had no other choice but to go fight. Shisui was allowed to choose. And he'd protect the kid, he didn't need to be convinced.

He took the child in his arms - Shisui was fast and had been trained to carry loads - and tried to leave the arena without being stuck under falling debris. His instincts took over, and he fought a Yama shinobi here and there, but his priority was to keep Anko's son safe. He wished it had been permitted to bring Kunai or any weapon inside the arena, but he would have to do without.

He tried not to look back, other than making sure he wasn't followed by a foreigner. He desperately tried to see where Anko was, but there was concrete dust everywhere. He hated that Anko had to put herself in danger by fighting the Yama ninjas that had clearly planned a coup on Konoha. She needed to be there for her son. Shisui was just a sitter. Perhaps one that Tadashi enjoyed spending time with, but he was not the child's father. Their bond would never be what Tadashi and Anko had. If Anko died, who was going to take care of Tadashi?

He found his way to a bunker, where children and civilians had been brought to safety. Shisui told Tadashi to stay with other children his age and made his way to the bunker's door, ready to fight back if anything happened. As a former ninja and a current police officer, everybody immediately looked to him to give orders. He asked for people to stay as quiet as they could.

They felt the room shake a few times, and time passed very slowly. As much as Shisui needed to focus on his task at hand - keeping everybody in the bunker safe - his mind went to his family and friends that were probably all fighting. He wondered if his own parents had made it to safety or if they were fighting. He knew Itachi and perhaps even Itachi's mother Mikoto must have joined Konoha's shinobi forces to fight back Yama. He didn't know about Sasuke. Either the stubborn genin jumped into action or he was tired from his battle and put on a protector mode for children and civilians. As for the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku was one of the Hokage's advisors. Shisui hoped he didn't die in that first explosion that touched the Kage's suite. If this was indeed a coup planned by Yama, Fugaku was at the heart of the action.

It took a few hours until they had the green light to leave the bunker. Shisui's first mission was to find Anko. Then it would be to know if his relatives survived. He noticed her purple hair in the distance. She was frantically looking everywhere, probably for him and Tadashi. This child saw her too.

"Mommy!" he screamed as he ran toward her.

She looked to be slightly injured, but nothing major. Shisui had never been so relieved in his life. Anko was alive.

He let the two Mitarashi reunite and tried to see if any family members of his were around. He didn't see any and panicked. Where were they? He was about to leave to go look for them when Shisui heard Anko calling him out. He turned around to face her.

"Thank you for getting my son to safety and looking after him. I owe you so much, you have no idea!"

He wanted to tell her it was no problem, but the words stuck in his mouth. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but nothing came out. He wanted to tell her he was glad she was okay, and that he loved her. But he couldn't do that. Yet, he didn't know what took over him, but he moved forward and kissed her. He immediately pulled back, realizing the mistake he made. This was an impulse of the moment, but still, he shouldn't have done it. Anko probably didn't like him that way. Plus, Tadashi was right there looking at them, and this would give the child mixed feelings. He didn't ask for consent so that he could kiss Anko in front of her son.

"Don't you even think of pulling back, Uchiha Shisui!" Anko said as she brought him closer and kissed him again.

After the initial shock, Shisui deepened the kiss, until he reminded Anko that her son was watching. Anko stopped the kiss.

"Oh. Yeah umm… Yeah, I'm sorry."

She turned to Tadashi and lowered herself to be at his level. Before she could even say anything, Tadashi said:

"Does that mean that Shisui will become my father?"

The two adults were too shocked to say anything. Shisui let Anko answer the question, because he had no idea what to even answer.

"Well, Shisui will never be your biological father, Tadashi. But if things become serious, he'll be around a lot."

"Awesome!" The child said with joy.

Shisui didn't expect that. He thought Tadashi would be mad at them both or something. Maybe Tadashi had been unconsciously looking for a father figure in Shisui all that time and this was why he had looked forward to seeing Shisui all along?

Shisui really wanted to start dating Anko, especially now that Tadashi was aware there were feelings between the two adults. More than anything, he didn't want to break the boy's heart. Yet, there was the thought at the back of his mind telling him he was not allowed to date Anko. Anko seemed to read through him, however.

"Screw your family, Shisui! Let's secretly date. Please. If they figure it out we can fight them for the right to be together. I need you and so does Tadashi."

Shisui kissed Anko and hugged Tadashi. They could do that.