Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters contained therein, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto who is kind enough to let fans write fiction. I make no profit from this nor do I intend to.

A/N: re-write as of 10/2012

Chapter 26

The Lost Boys

It appeared that the Feared Interrogator Morino Ibiki was going to be interrogated himself by Tanaka Ayumu's own students.

"You could have gotten seriously hurt," Ibiki said quietly.

"We chose our time well, didn't we then?" Said the first boy grinning. As if to prove his point he raised his face and gave the air a knowing sniff.

"Ryou! Show some respect to Morino-sama, and lower your voice. You'll wake her..." replied the boy next to him. He turned to Ibiki and bowed as respectfully as he could in his limited position. He and the others then moved back. While five left the first two stayed behind.

"Please Morino-sama, may we speak with you in a more private and comfortable setting?"

Ibiki just shrugged and slowly extricated himself from Ayumu. He made sure to keep her covered from their eyes, and pulled the blanket up to beneath her chin.

"We will wait for you outside at your convenience," said the more polite of the two.

Both the boys left but he could tell that they stood just outside the tent flaps. Ibiki quickly dressed back into his dark clothing. He was looking forward to whatever they had to say. He was also surprised that they had caught him unawares. He really must have been more exhausted than he thought...

As he left he didn't see Ayumu smile slightly with her eyes still closed. As she rolled over and buried herself further into the blankets she thought, I wonder if Ibiki will pass muster...and fell promptly back to sleep.

When Ibiki joined them a few minutes later it was to a pre-dawn and still slightly chilly morning. He turned to his two escorts and raised an eyebrow again in question. They looked to be either around thirteen or fourteen. The polite one was tall and thin, but he could see that he possessed a wiry strength. He stood formally and almost stiffly. He had a very adult and mature air about him. His companion on the other hand was shorter and slightly stockier, and had a lackadaisical look about him. Ibiki could tell though that there was keenness in his gaze, and that he probably missed little.

"Again, please forgive our intrusion, Morino-sama, my name is Shiranui Akira, and this lout is Kiroshi Ryou." Both bowed respectively.

Another Shiranui? They seem to be coming out of the woodwork, Ibiki thought wryly. Now I really am interested...

"Please follow us Morino-sama, there is a small area ahead that will allow us some comfort and privacy," and without looking to see if Ibiki would comply or not he turned away.

Ibiki followed leisurely. Ryou walked next to him and looked him up and down unashamedly. He grinned when Ibiki turned to him and stared him down. Ryou just grinned even wider.

"She give ya the shiner?" Ryou asked pointing to Ibiki's face.

Ibiki couldn't help but laugh lightly and nod his head. That caused Ryou to snort in laughter. Up ahead of them Akira turned his head slightly back to give them a frown.

"Ryou, that isn't polite..."

Ryou just shrugged without concern. "Well, whatever he did mustn't have been too polite for Sensei to whack him one..." and he turned to Ibiki and winked.

Ibiki could only roll his eyes, if he only knew...

After only a few moments they came to a small copse of trees. There the other five had been sitting and waiting. When Ibiki showed they stood and bowed respectively. Akira introduced them all to Ibiki, and he took careful stock of them. They were an interesting group.

Mori Masahiro was a small, frail looking boy with a large mop of hair and big eyes in a small face. He looked timid and very shy. He stood partially behind another small but bold little fellow named Suzuki Toshiro. Next to him was a boy who was obviously in the middle of a growth spurt, and was all gangly arms and legs. His name was Fukui Daichi, and as large as he was he had a very kind and gentle demeanor to him. Next came two identical twins, Ueno Kichi and Kazi. They seemed open and friendly, and smiled at Ibiki with no pretense. All the boys seemed to have ages that ran anywhere from eleven to thirteen or so.

He sat down and leaned against a tree, while the boys all sat in a loose, semi-circle in front of him. He waited for them to speak first. He could tell that they had some knowledge of him, because their inspection of him produced results that ranged from fear to awe. It probably didn't help that he was dressed all in black, and with the only visible skin being his scared face. He must have looked intimidating, but with his easy posture and small smile he could see them relax slightly.

It appeared that Akira was the natural leader of the group, but Ryou also seemed to hold a place of dominance as well. It was these two that seemed to take over the meeting.

"Morino-sama, again- please forgive our intrusion, but it seemed necessary for us to finally meet," Akira began.

Ryou held his hand up to stop Akira from going further. It appeared that he had something to say first. He looked at Ibiki with a gimlet stare.

"Let's get something out in the open first. We knew before today – when we interrupted nap-time it seems- that you and Sensei already knew each other. When we came to see her one time at the hospital we found the two of you napping together then too. Kill joy here," and he thumbed in an annoyed Akira's direction, "said not to interrupt. Now, it ain't our business – right now- who she 'naps with', but all I want to know is-" and here he leaned over with a fierce look on his face towards Ibiki. "Did you get the fuckers who hurt her and Sensei Hamada?"

Though he could tell that Akira was upset at Ryou's coarse language, he and the others were more upset at the attack of Ayumu. Ibiki wasn't going to make anything easy for them, and he wanted to see...

"What makes you think that I can do anything, hmm? What makes you think that I am anyone of importance?"

Ryou just snarled at Ibiki. "Don't even try to play games with me-with us-we know who you are, what you do, and who you run with..."

Ibiki grinned evilly back. He was beginning to like Ryou –the kid has balls. Kinda reminded him of himself at that age.

"Morino-sama is a man of consequence and of importance," Akira said quietly.

"We might not go to the Nin Academy, Morino-sama, but that doesn't mean that we live in a vacuum," said Kichi with a smug look.

"Everyone knows you, Morino-sama," said his brother Kazi.

"So did you or did you not do something to help out our Sensei," Ryou butted in.

"I did what I had to do, and that's all that you need to know."

Ryou was about to spout off again but Akira coolly cut him off. "It is as we both expected and hoped. Thank you, you have our deep respect and gratitude for looking after our Sensei."

Ryou looked a bit miffed but nodded grudgingly towards Ibiki. All the other boys looked relieved and impressed.

Akira looked to Ibiki with a cool but sincere stare. Ibiki could tell that he was finally going to hear why he was here.

"Morino-sama, the need for this meeting is so that we can clarify a few important matters. Maybe shed light on a few issues, and at least state our position on a few things."

"Why me, and why now?"

Akira nodded as if the questions had validation. "We made the decision after very careful deliberation and thought on the matter after seeing the two of you in the hospital together. Twice when we visited our Sensei at the hospital you were there, and in very…intimate proximity to her…"

Akira seemed to blush and look away as if discomfited.

"I thought that you said that when you visited Ayumu and I were asleep in the bed?"

He looked around and saw that none of them could really meet his gaze.

"Well," Akira started to say but was cut off by Ryou giving a gruff laugh.

"That was the second time that we had stopped by, the first was about an hour earlier…"

Ryou waggled his eyebrows and leered at Ibiki.

Ah, so they had stopped in sometime when Ayumu and I had been in her bathroom, he thought with a mental grimace. Well, at least they hadn't burst in on us…

"Does Ayumu know?"

"Gods no, and neither will she ever hear about it from any of us," Akira said primly.

"And neither will she hear about it from me," Ibiki said nodding.

Akira cleared his throat as if to move away from such an uncomfortable subject. "So because of all that we decided that you must be very special to her because she has never been so associated with a man like that before. Am I correct?"

Ibiki nodded firmly, and motioned for him to continue.

"Our Sensei is very special to us, and not in the just the usual way of Teacher and Students. We are more than her apprentices and journeymen; we are also her younger brothers- her family."

Akira seemed to pause for a minute in reflection. He looked away with a slight frown, but he quickly smoothed his face back to its imperturbable self. "Our Sensei is very..."

"-naive" Ryou cut in, and Ibiki had to stifle a laugh. Seemed they did know Ayumu pretty well, he smirked to himself.

Akira closed his eyes in trying to hold his temper. "I was going to say 'trusting' and -"

"Submissive?" Ryou cut in with no qualms.

"No! And stop interrupting me-!"

"How about 'lost in her own little world'?" Ryou laughed in Akira's face, interrupting him again. The other boys seemed to be used to the dynamics between the two and just smiled or laughed.

Ibiki couldn't help but grin full out. They really did have their sensei pegged. She was all that, and so much more...

Ibiki nodded in agreement. "Yes, she is very trusting and slightly submissive, but she is also very concerned, sensitive, and nurturing of those around her. Ayumu looks after others before herself. I have a deep respect and affection for her. Is that what you are trying to ask me? What my intentions are?"

They all nodded and looked relieved.

"Yes, Morino-san, we do know that you have an important place in her life, and based on some of her past -experiences- we are in turn very protective of her, always concerned for her welfare. She is very important to us all," Akira said.

"Ryou and I have known Sensei almost our entire lives. Not only were we Apprentices to her sensei - Fujiwara-sama - while she was his Journeywoman, but we finished our apprenticeship under her tutelage when her sensei passed away. We are also now her Journeymen. I think that when the Head Mistress assigned us to her, it was to Ayumu's benefit as well as our own. We are all in one way or another Lost or Forgotten children. We all have, and still are," and here he eyed Ryou pointedly, "grown up together. We have banded together in our mutual need. I think also in part our Head Mistress in a way gave Ryou and me to our Sensei as a form of rehabilitation for her. It was in order to help ease the pain of the events surrounding her twenty-first birthday. Before that though, both Ryou and I -most of us in fact- grew up at the orphanage with her. We have always been together in one way or another."

What the Hell, did the Shiranui's dump off their kids at the Hiraku orphanage whenever it suited them? Ibiki wasn't too impressed with the Shiranui clan...He was impressed though at the broad scope of knowledge these boys had about many circumstances. They might be young but they were not ignorant.

Akira gave Ibiki a small smile and a look as if he knew what the man must be thinking.

"Our Sensei has always been very open with us – there is very little that we really cannot ask of her. She has always felt strongly against any form of obfuscation or deception. In fact, I don't think that she would know how to convincingly portray either. She has always told us that lying never helps anyone – least of all the liar. Because of that Sensei has always believed that others deal with her in the same manner. That precept has always been the root of any misery that has ever befallen her. She has thought- and in many ways still does- that people treat her in the same light. Especially when it came to family...I don't think that I have to delve too deeply into that event, but it was a major turning point in her life, I believe. I think that her perception of reality had momentarily been shattered."

Ibiki looked curiously at Akira and Ryou. "So you were there when it all happened?"

"Not when it all happened," Ryou said darkly, "but we were there for the fall-out."

That perked Ibiki's interest. These kids certainly seemed to have a good grasp of not only Ayumu but her situation as well.

"I also think, as does Ryou, that somehow it didn't end that evening. We have always thought that somewhere down the line that her family will rear its ugly head again, and nothing good will come from it..." Akira finished ominously.

Ibiki felt the same way. It wasn't just the nagging feeling that he had ever since she told him. He had too much experience and intuition to ignore such a red flag. No, he knew because of the things that he had found out. Once again Ibiki was impressed with their perceptions and their unflagging loyalty to Ayumu. He almost felt that along with Hiroshi he had some very good eyes and ears working for him when he wasn't around.

"That being the case is why we wanted to meet you, in person. Though some of us have never seen you before, we all have heard of your reputation, your strength, and most importantly your loyalty. We wanted to know for sure, for ourselves, what type of man you really are."

"Yeah," Ryou cut in, "we had to see if you needed to be cock-blocked."

If Ibiki was insulted by the bold words coming from them he didn't show it. In fact, he almost expected it. So, you thought to be my Judge, Jury, and Executioner, eh? And you thought that you could even try and cock-block me? How amusing...

It seemed that Ryou felt that Akira had spoken enough, and decided to take over himself. "Don't think for a minute that she is a dumb-ass or a dip-shit. She isn't, believe me. She can be pretty aggressive and predatory when she wants to be..." and he nodded slightly to Ibiki's cheek.

Ibiki grinned predatorily himself back at Ryou, who shook his head disbelievingly.

"Ayumu just can't believe sometimes that people are capable of certain things, especially the things that she herself can't or won't do. Like what her cock-sucking family did to her. Did to Akira as well," and here he gave Akira a pointed look, almost daring him to disagree.

Akira said nothing in response, as if tacitly agreeing with his friend.

Though the two boys often seemed at odds Ibiki could tell that they held a close friendship. They were perfect foils to each other, and when the chips were down it seemed that they stood up for each other. Almost as if to take any slight against the other as if it was his own. Ibiki began to like these boys more and more.

"So, when Ayumu's family shit on her a second time, and the creep that she was seeing booked, we've made it our mission to make sure that nothing like that happens ever again..." And he gave Ibiki a stern stare.

Ibiki stared back at Ryou with understanding. He could appreciate where they were coming from, and was even impressed by it, but he certainly wasn't going to let any of them try and intimidate him...

"I understand – perfectly. And I too believe that 'honesty is always the best policy', and since you seem so insistent on knowing let me fill in a few blanks for you...I caught and killed -after torturing them sufficiently, of course- the two major offenders of Ayumu's and Hiroshi's attack. I haven't gotten to the bottom of things -not by a long shot- but I intend to. And when I catch them, well...you see where I am going..."

All seven boy's eyes widened at that blunt confession. Good, let them see who I really am and what they are dealing with, Ibiki thought.

Ryou was the first to recover. He smiled slyly at Ibiki and nodded in satisfaction. "See Akira? I told you that he was on the up. I certainly like him a lot more then that boring teacher or even Genma..."

Genma? What does Genma have to do with anything? And how far has Iruka embedded himself in her life?

Akira looked frostily at Ryou as some of the other boys gasped. "Genma is her cousin and as such does not-"

Ryou rolled his eyes and glared right back at Akira. "Genma -cousin or no- has the hots for her. You should see the way he looks at her when he thinks that she isn't looking..."

Oh great, first Iruka and now Genma sniffing around Ayumu? And she probably has no idea...great, who next? Gai? Ibiki thought with irritation.

"Ryou, you don't know what you are saying. They only meet a few times a year-" Toshiro started to counter but Ryou cut him off with a raised hand.

"Look kid, you don't know shit from shinola about people, let alone what goes on between women and men, so shut yer yap. And besides, they meet more than just a few times a year."

Toshiro jumped up and looked like he was about to pummel Ryou, and no matter the size difference, but Ryou just crossed his arms across his chest and gave him a semi-patient stare.

"Look, plain and simple: Genma is a cocksman – he doesn't care as long as it's pink..."

Pandemonium suddenly broke out. Akira had to restrain Toshiro from lunging at Ryou, the twins started together to berate Ryou for his constant crudity and irrelevance towards Sensei and Morino-sama, and Daichi tried his best to calm all. All the while Ryou was yelling and giving the finger to everyone. Masahiro just looked terrified at all the commotion.

Ibiki let this all continue for just a moment, and then he had had enough. He stood to his full, intimidating height and bellowed, "Cut it out! Now!"

He stalked slowly over to Ryou and glared coldly down at him. Ryou tried his best to stare back defiantly, but he had never encountered anyone like Morino Ibiki before. He didn't last too long. Ibiki slowly brought his head down to Ryou's level and started to speak in the quietest and chilliest voice any of them had ever heard.

"Though your 'honesty' is amusing, your constant gaucheness isn't. Certainly not in someone of your standing. You dishonor your Sensei and her training. Cut..the shit out...right...now..."

Ryou had no choice but to bow to Ibiki's Alpha dominance, and turned his head away and nodded.

Ibiki stood up and looked at all of them, one by one. He could see admiration in their eyes, even grudgingly from Ryou. Ayumu was certainly their Pack Leader and Alpha, but they had never really been exposed to such an Alpha Male like Ibiki before. Though he hadn't pulled all the stops out for them, it was enough that they quickly knew their place.

Ibiki folded his arms across his chest and let a small amount of warmth creep back into his visage. "As I said, I understand your obvious concern for Ayumu's welfare. I share it as well. But I will tell you one thing, and let me make it very clear," and he looked right at Ryou, "my personal relationship with Ayumu is just that- personal. What goes on between the two of us, especially when we are alone, is personal. You need to speak to me about anything, and I mean anything, I will be more than happy to make the time for you – at any time. But if you interrupt our personal space or our – 'nap time' (and Ibiki couldn't help but smirk at Ryou) and it's not for an emergency, then we'll have a problem to be immediately fixed. Got that?"

He stared at them all, and they nodded and bowed respectively back to him in answer.

"I in turn would like to give you my humble thanks and respect for watching over and taking good care of her. I feel relieved that she has all of you to watch over her in my absences."

All seven boys were equally impressed and taken aback when Morino Ibiki, ANBU Interrogator bowed respectfully back at them.

The boys all felt a moment of warmth in their bonding of Ibiki, but it was cut short by a ninth presence.

"Don't you lazy slugs have something better to do? Like take down my booth?" Ayumu said as she lounged against a tree, smiling at them all.

Ryou, of course, was the first to respond. He put an affronted but overly dramatic air on.

"Woman, we were trying to have a Man Moment- you know, male bonding and all that. Leave it to a girl, to go and ruin everything..."

Ryou huffed off past Ayumu but not before she ruffled his hair as he walked by. He couldn't help but turn and grin naughtily to her. Akira put the first, real warmth on his face as he too walked by her. She couldn't help but also fondly touch him as well. She touched all of them, especially Masahiro, who she just out right hugged. His shyness dissipated as he returned it. She whispered something in his ear that caused him to look at Ibiki for the first time with a smile. He just looked back up at Ayumu and nodded. She smacked his backside to get him to run after his 'brothers'.

Ibiki walked over to her and was also brought into a warm embrace. She blushed as he nuzzled behind her ear. Ayumu ran her hands over his face, and had to stop herself from running them over the rest of him. Ibiki couldn't help but growl softly in her ear.

"So, did you pass inspection? What did you think of them?" She asked expectantly.

Ibiki laughed and hugged her tighter. "I think that you have your hands full..."

Ayumu couldn't help but laugh and leer at him, looking pointedly up and down his broad frame. "I certainly do..."