A few months had passed since the catastrophe that was the chunin exam. The village of Konoha was somewhat back to normal, if not for the fact most shinobi were still on their guards and there were missions to gather knowledge on Yama. But what was destroyed had been rebuilt and many had moved on from it.

For Shisui, though, it had meant the start of a relationship with Anko, and there had been no turning back since. He got out with Anko at least once a week, then spent at least another with both Tadashi and Anko. And this was when he didn't accept to babysit the child whenever Anko couldn't be in the village because missions were more frequent since the attack. Which meant Shisui had not been home much these past few weeks. He hoped nobody had noticed.

It didn't take long for Itachi to note, though. And to make matters worse, he dared say something in front of Sasuke when the three of them were training together.

"You look happier lately," was what Itachi said.

And this was enough for Sasuke to pick up on it.

"Any girl in the clan warming your heart, Shisui?"

Shisui wanted to glare at the youngest of the two brothers, but instead he just blushed.

"It doesn't matter, she's not from the clan," he replied, trying to detach from the situation as much as he could. "So I guess it will just stay a crush."

This was a lie. It was not just a crush. He was in a blooming relationship with Anko, with the intention of it becoming more serious, especially since there was Anko's son and Shisui would hate to break his heart. But he could not tell Sasuke, the teenager would report him to his father. And this would create drama, Shisui knew very well that Uchiha Fugaku would not hesitate one second before telling Shisui's parents. Even if he was an adult. And well, Shisui didn't want his parents to learn about his girlfriend that way. So he kept things a secret for now. His eyes met with Itachi's, and from the subtle nod Itachi gave him in return, it was clear he knew which girl he was talking about.

"Do you want me to question my father about the rules? Who knows, he might have changed his mind," Itachi said.

"Wouldn't he be suspicious? I know you've got a girlfriend already, he might be suspicious of Sasuke or me right away – I mean we do hang out a lot together when I'm not spending time with… you know."

"So there is someone!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Shisui glared at him.

"I don't think he'll figure it out if I'm the one asking," Itachi replied. "He might question Sasuke more than you."

"I spent a lot of time with the kid and he knows about it."

Sasuke looked at him with a questioning look and Shisui swore inside. Sasuke had no idea he babysat Tadashi. He wanted to trust the teenager, but he couldn't be a hundred percent sure Sasuke would keep the secret. For some odd reasons, Sasuke didn't ask who the child was, or why Shisui was dating a single mother.

"Itachi can ask father, right brother?" Sasuke said. "And if father questions it, just tell him that there are a few girls who have crushes on me and I wanted to know if I have to push them away."

Itachi laughed.

"And if he asks for a name?" the oldest of the brothers asked with a smirk on his face.

"Hey! I don't actually have a crush on someone!"

That made Shisui laugh. He was just as curious as Itachi was about Sasuke's love life, but if Shisui pushed it, then Sasuke would return the question back to get some answers.

"Now, Itachi, do we push to know more about Sasuke's lack of love life or are we going back to training? Because if we keep talking here, I have more important things to do," Shisui said, growing impatient to move his limbs again.

His best friend laughed, but readied himself to start their training again, and Sasuke copied his brother.

They fought against each other, all at the same time. It was the kind of training Shisui liked because he never knew which one of the two brothers would surprise him with an attack, and Shisui liked to trick them when they were at each other's throat – this was how intense it got sometimes. Plus, unless they were doing one on one with one person watching from the side, it was the only way the three of them could train. Any combination of two against one was unfair. Shisui and Itachi were of similar levels and Sasuke was getting better every day.