"When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family. " ~Jim Butcher

The Cloudless Sky

A Different Take on Family

.7

Racoon stared blankly at Owl who'd barged into her office unannounced. She was sort of hoping to just have a nice time with Rabbit who'd she'd missed and was kind enough to offer their help with the ROOT paperwork and still existing problem. Up until Owl had barged in. Unannounced. Just staring at her.

Racoon sighed, sitting the folder back on the floor next to her. Her desk chair had become uncomfortable about four hours ago so she'd moved to the floor. Maybe that was why Owl still hadn't said anything.

"Was there something you wanted?" Rabbit, lacking all of the grace and tack regular shinobi generally had when talking to their superior, questioned with the single most unimpressed tone Racoon had ever heard.

"Yes." Okay then. Racoon in turn gave Owl her full attention after signing to Rabbit to keep working.

"I'm not moving, my leg fell asleep. Rabbit is in the middle of something I don't want them to stop looking at so what do you need Owl?" Her own nonchalance with the ANBU commander was probably the reason for Rabbit's attitude. But Racoon would not take any of the blame. Besides it was Owl's fault, he made it too easy.

"I want you to take Crow under your wing." Racoon whose mask had been sitting next to her this entire time raised her brow and offered Owl a very pointed look.

"No. Rabbit, go and hunt down Otter for some espionage training, he's off duty but he needs a distraction." Rabbit nods shunshining away silently. Racoon takes a deep breath.

"No?" Owl echoes back. Tilting his head slightly. Racoon offered him a slightly disappointed look.

"That's what I said. No, I will not take Crow until his term limit is up. It's terribly unfair to Rabbit and Otter who are career ANBU to have to babysit someone who is only black ops because their clan pushed for it. Bench Dog and make him babysit, besides someone still needs to be keeping guard of the Uzumaki boy." Racoon stated easily, as if she hadn't just told her commanding officer no.

But Owl and her relationship had always been this straightforward. So he should be used to it by now. The sigh that escapes him is evident enough. She hadn't overstepped any lines. "I suppose that could work. Would you at least be willing to check in with both Dog and Crow from time to time." The last request she could tell was not up for sighed but nodded her head in understanding.

"I will check in on them as my schedule allows and if I am not available I will let either Rabbit or Otter do observational research on the two of them." Owls nods and Racoon bites her lip. He takes notice.

"Is there something else you wish to speak to me about Racoon?" Even though he barged into her office. Racoon wordlessly hands over the stack of folders in her lap.

"Once Dog is finished babysitting Crow he needs to return to regular Jonin responsibilities. Until we settle the matter at hand, Dog needs to be kept far away from ANBU. If he were to see this…" Racoon trailed off. She knew just what sort of person Dog truly was, she knew how badly this information would break him.

Hatake Kakashi couldn't know that his best friend was still alive. It would break him.

"Understandable. In a few years Dog will be required to take a genin team, the timing will be off slightly but it won't hold any suspicion. I will inform the Sandaime of your decision in regards to Crow and your thoughts about Dog's future in ANBU." Owl's response is diplomatic, which is what she expected of him honestly. Racoon rolled her eyes.

"While you're at it, It would possibly be in the best interest of everyone involved if the two Sannin were to return to the village for a time. We will need to begin discussing what we plan to do about the problem at hand and I do not have the necessary skills required for every aspect of the task." She admits thinking about the situation more while it was just the two of them in her very sealed for privacy office. Racoon had always valued her privacy.

ANBU had always appreciated the extreme measures she chose to take.

"Noted, I will add it to my report. Have you given your first report on the Uchiha yet?"

"Yes actually, I turned in my report yesterday afternoon. They are wary but I am not too concerned as of yet. I believe that this matter will fully resolve itself by the end of the year. Trust is after all a two way street." Owl accepts her answer for face value then offers her a wave and dismisses himself.

Racoon shakes her head. "What an odd man." Whom she deeply respected and admired but it didn't change the fact that the ANBU commander was a strange one.

She should probably go track down Rabbit and see what they got into with Otter. Actually, she better go save Otter from Rabbit. Racoon sighed pushin herself off the floor doing her best the shake the sleep from her limbs, garbs her mask before sealing and shunshining out of her office.

…

Shimari patted Shisui's back sympathetically that evening. Her poor little adoptive brother had not been prepared for Rabbit's merciless train of thought. But her plan had worked and he'd been distracted for a bit from his grief. "Don't think too hard on it, Rabbit has been ANBU longer than you've been alive. So they aren't the most sensible when it comes to the feelings of others. But just know that Rabbit does mean well, we've seen too many people die in our lifetime so it's no surprise they took my order a bit too far." Shisui groaned but finally lifted his head off her kitchen table.

"I know, I know. Career ANBU is very scary." He grumbles, Shimari snorts as she gives him one last pat before standing to go start on dinner. Career ANBU was in fact very scary, the fact that some shinobi lived long enough and stayed ANBU to make it their career was a terrifying thought. She was one to talk she supposed.

Shimari was technically career ANBU after all.

"If it makes you feel any better Rabbit did say you held up very well. So you should be proud of yourself." Shisui groans once more for good measure before turning his full attention to her.

"What are you cooking? Do you need help?" He stands ambling over to her, Shimari hands him a container of dry rice.

"Just some fish, here start on the rice. Shikaku is stopping by with Shikamaru later as his wife is on a mission and my older brother cannot cook to save his life. Plus I don't think you've met my nephew yet so I was planning on introducing you, he's the same age as Sauske and Naruto I think." Shisui looked at her and actually signed. He knew that things between her and her brother were strained. When he was younger he could remember some of the conversations she'd had about her family and clan with his father and brother.

Shisui had honestly been very surprised to learn about the discrimination the Nara had towards ANBU. It just seemed very out of character for the stereotype placed on them by the other clans. But it was real and it never made sense to him. Most stereotypes in the village confused him. His time in the police force had shown him that you should never assume and his time in ANBU hammered that point in every single day.

"Ugh are you sure you want me here? I can go bother Itachi or something." She just smiled at him reaching out to ruffle his hair. Shimari wanted him here, she was sure.

"Yep I'm positive. You are my family too and it's family dinner. Besides Rabbit is coming too, sans the mask of course so you will finally get to meet their face." Shisui raised his brow at that. Something he'd noticed when she spoke about Rabbit, it was always only they or them no he or she. He knew a lot of ANBU operatives who either started in seduction or even the ones who stayed there usually didn't give themselves a gender marker. Understandable since all seduction members were usually required to take either sex as missions or clients or whatever had been requested from that department. There was no bias in seduction.

"Quick question: is Rabbit a seduction specialist?" He just had to ask now, mainly because it had been bothering him not knowing his teammates specialization. Shimari's specialization was Infiltration and Intelligence. He was pretty sure since he'd heard those two specializations in association with his adoptive sister, his had been Infiltration but now he was in Espionage which was apparently different. His brother had been a Sabotage and the other member of Shimari's original squad was a Medic. Mouse... he thought he was their caller, but he's never met them.

Mouse wasn't dead, at least he didn't think so. But Shimari hadn't been really forthcoming on anything regarding her former squadmate.

Shimari chuckled at his question. "Rabbit used to be in Seduction, yes." Her answer doesn't really give him what he wants though and he rolls his eyes. Typical. Why did he even bother?

Shimari was very protective of her squad. That was the one thing he was a hundred percent sure of when it came to her and the role she played in ANBU. He was honestly glad she'd taken him from Hyena's squad. That had been an interesting day. Hyena took one look at her, sighed and pushed him towards her. Declaring that he would no longer be responsible for Otter's well being. Because apparently Shimari had tasked Hyena with looking out for Shisui until she returned to the village. Shisui wasn't sure if he was thankful or annoyed.

Either way it hadn't mattered. But it did show him just how well respected she was within ANBU. Even after a six year absence she was still treated as the second in command within ANBU. No one had dared take her place while she was gone. Career ANBU was such a bizarre combination of people who were all practically family, they cared deeply about each other and looked out for one another in ways that had not been expected of the black ops division.

An outsider would have never guessed that the masked ops would openly show so much reverence for each other. It was easier to pin emotionless monsters on an organization of special ops designed to handle the darker rooted aspects of shinobi life. No one wanted to believe ANBU as actual humans with real feelings or emotions. It was easier to pretend and ignore the truth in front of you.

The fact was to be in ANBU you had to be so aware of your own feelings that you could in fact shut them down if you needed to. Regular shinobi were not that attuned to their own emotions. They tried but what ANBU could achieve when it came to handle their emotions was something only many years of careful practice could achieve.

When Shimari left it was because years of carefully holding her emotions in place came tumbling down as an after effect of a grief that not even ANBU training had prepared her to deal with. Which was why they had been the most understanding in response to her tragedy, and the most willing to accept her back with open arms with her return. ANBU was her family.

It was his family now too. There was something strangely comforting about that thought. Who would have thought..

"Shisui please tell me you aren't lost in thought and burning the rice again." Shisui scrambled from his train of thought forcing himself back into the reality around him. He closely inspected the pot of rice in front of him. Water was barely boiling.

He narrowed his eyes and pouted at her. "Rude. I burned rice one time when I was seven.. Let it go." Shimari winked at him before carefully pushing him out of the way with her hip.

"Please, Minato charred lettuce one time and we never let him forget it." She smiled a bit sadly into the pot. Shisui bit his lip unsure what to say.

"Ferrett once burnt campsite food so bad that we never allowed him to cook ever again. How hard is it to cook boar?" Rabbit appeared behind Shisui with absolutely no warning. Shisui would have gotten whiplash had he not been a shinobi from how quickly he reacted defensively to protect them from the new intruder.

Only to stumble because he'd never seen Rabbit's face before and it did not answer any question about their sex. To be frank Rabbit was an absolutely stunning person. Collar bone length auburn hair, piercing ice blue eyes, surprisingly tanned skin dusted in freckles. Not Shisui's type but he could definitely see the appeal. To make matters worse Rabbit actually winked at him.

Shimari's laugh sounded more like a deranged cackle and he decided it was going to be an interesting evening indeed. Especially after she asked Rabbit what they wanted to be called tonight.

Rabbit's smirk was less than delicate, and almost malicious in intent. "Nao will be suitable for tonight."

Shimari laughed at the implication before nodding. "Sure whatever you say Nao."

XOXOX

Hi all! Here is another installment of Cloudless Sky for you. Just a forewarning about updates in the future, they will probably become less frequent as school just started and I'm taking 15hrs of courses and am also a mom so timing may be a little funky from here on out. I appreciate your patience and understanding and hope that you do stick around for more as I have lots planned for the future of cloudless sky.

Anyway thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited the previous chapters and such!

I hope you all have a joyous day!

Sincerely, La'Rae