Dear loyal readers,

Surprise! Here is my newest fic. I've already been working hard on it and I could not wait to start releasing chapters. I will release more as I tweak and complete them. I really hope you enjoy this ShinoxSakura fanfic as much as I enjoy writing it!

Please Review!

Regards,

LovelyWrath

Pollination

It was early one morning, a mere hour or so after the sun rose. The dew was still fresh upon the grass as Sakura headed out, beyond the walls of Konoha, to the fields and forest beyond. The cool, moist air was as refreshing as the clear blue sky, the chirping of birds in springtime. It was going to be a great day to collect medicinal herbs to stock up the village supply, as well as her own personal supply. Who knew, maybe she'd even find some good spices to cook with.

The landscape, painted the vibrant colors of spring, made Sakura's heart sing, and the displays of all the different plants were simply too breathtaking to ignore. As a result, Sakura slowed from a sprint, to a slow jog, and finally she found herself leisurely strolling, far off the beaten path. She would follow the edge of the west forest to where it met the fruit orchards, then cut south to where the plant life was undisturbed.-that was the plan. She always had great luck finding herbs and spices there. Sadly, there would be no apples- it was too early for that. But soon there would be pears, figs, and other delicious fruits that would soon find their way to Konoha's market, making the village smell sweet and delicious. The thought of preserves and baked apples made Sakura's mouth water- these were not year-round treats, and though dried fruits were yummy, they were absolutely no real substitute for fresh, ripe fruit.

She stopped at the peak of a hill to observe the orchard and the adjoining field. There were many more fruit trees than she recalled. Konoha was truly a lucky village, to be in a place where the climate was always mild, the rains were dependable, and the crops always produced well. It was a lucky, lucky thing, particularly since Konoha had so many mouths to feed, being such a populated village.

Something caught Sakura's eye as she began her descent along he edge of forest- there were clusters of chakra that were unnatural. Her suspicion rose, and her curiosity got the best of her, so she decided to carefully enter the orchard, where many of the trees already had budding and blossoming flowers. A brilliant butterfly landed on her arm, and she tried to ignore its beauty, and remain focused on locating one of the chakra fields. It wasn't long before another, then several more butterflies found her, just as she was positive she was standing right at the center of one of the chakra fields. It took her a moment to realize that she seemed to be standing in the company of hundreds, possibly thousands of butterflies, many of which were neutral in color and resting upon the tree trunks, and appeared more moth-like than anything. The brilliantly colored ones seemed more active, and clusters of them rested on single blossoms, or fluttered from one tree to the next. Astonished, Sakura watched as the entire group seemed to migrate from one group of trees to another- she'd never seen so many butterflies in her life. Why were there so many this year? And moreover, why were they putting off such strong chakra signals? It all felt familiar, yet foreign.

As she moved deeper into the forest, she could sense a person, and as she slowly neared him, her suspicion and worry was put to rest.

Aburame. It was a name Sakura became familiar with during her youth, and when she was inducted into the academy. Most people frowned at the mere mention of that name, simply because of what it implied- the presence of a bug manipulator. Sakura would never forget her first encounters with Shino, nor would she ever forget how Ino always squealed and nearly turned green (that latter part being amusing to Sakura) in regards to Shino, the youngest member of the Aburame clan.

It was Shino who occupied the orchard on this beautiful morning, and Sakura stopped to observe him as he concentrated on moving multiple swarms of bugs across the orchard. He'd removed his hood and coat, so he stood in a vest slacks that rested low on his hips. His hair was longer, but thinner than in his youth, and he was taller, and toned. It wasn't often that anyone could see the shape of Shino's body, due to the way he always wore long, jackets, collars and hoods. He struck Sakura as being a very private, quiet man. However, that did not impede him when it was necessary for him to step forward and take control of a situation. Kakashi and Sai had once told the story of how Shino had crushed a base without much assistance at all- a one-man destructive assault that was startling coming from such a quiet boy. Shino was quiet, but smart and observant, and a force on the battle field.

Shino had been concentrating so deeply on the task at hand that he didn't immediately realize Sakura was present. He internally scolded himself for becoming so detached from the rest of the world that he was vulnerable to attack, and counted his lucky stars that it was an ally that had crept upon him.

"Good morning." He didn't smile, but the greeting was enough. Turning to face the woman, he looked her over slowly.

She was dressed for a day out, wearing her normal gear- a black skirt over shorts, net, and a sleeveless vest that conformed to her curves. She had finally grown her hair back out, after having it short for much of her youth. Half of it was pulled up to reveal her flawless face, emerald eyes, pink cheeks. They were not children anymore, but though Sakura had been through much in her nearly-thirty years of life, she still retained much of her youthful, natural beauty. She was a true opponent to any enemy, having found her own strength in chakra manipulation. She was intelligent enough to heal the injured, and bring them back to full health, often even if they were on the brink of death.

Sakura caught herself sizing Shino up, but didn't know why. She shook her head and brought herself back to reality. They days of their youth were gone, and in this orchard stood two very accomplished and admirable ninjas. They'd never sparred, they'd never had a reason to go toe to toe, but they both knew that they were quite equally matched without taking into consideration their equivalent ranks.

"Good morning, Shino. I see you're... busy." It was then that Sakura saw the several hundred ladybugs climbing his leg as a unit. They moved up his thigh, hip, torso, and to his arm. He reached up, pointed to the West, and they took flight, only to attach to a nearby tree. He directed them to their location and they did his bidding. The bugs made her shiver, but at least they were reasonable bugs. And by reasonable, that meant that on a creepy scale of 1 to 10 (10 being maximum creep), lady bugs and butterflies were only about a 3. If they'd been beetles or roaches, Shino would be standing in that orchard solo right about now.

"Ah." He glanced around, then nodded sagely, "Cross pollination is my mission this week. It must seem fairly boring."

Sakura shook her head, "No. But I thought nature did that all by itself.."

"It does, to a point. There are less available wild bugs this year due to the cooler-than-usual winter that we had. So, my clan can ensure that everything goes well with the pollination by gathering insects from surrounding areas and directing them to where we need them the most."

"Oh." Sakura had to admit, she'd never thought that an Aburame would have that kind of mission. Shino was a lot more useful than she gave him credit for. All those delicious fruits she enjoyed? He was out in the field diligently making certain she'd have the opportunity to enjoy them this year."Well, thanks, Shino. I had no idea you did things like this."

He nodded again. "Not all the time, but it was a question this year. We'd rather be sure than not. At least it's a relatively safe mission. There aren't many dangers in pollinating plants." He almost smiled, but sort of smirked instead, she noticed. "What brings you out this way?"

She stepped closer to him, smiling genuinely, patting one of the empty sacks slung comfortably across her shoulder. "I'm out to collect some medicinal herbs. Also some delicious spices, if I'm lucky."

He tilted his head. He'd never thought that the medical ninjas would be out collecting herbs themselves, but it made sense now that he thought about it. After all, who better to identify and judge the plants needed for potentially life-saving techniques than the medical ninjas themselves. "It's a great time for that." He thought aloud, "Have you figured out your path?"

Sakura's head bobbed in the affirmative, "Yes, I'm heading down along the edge of the forest here, to the thicker wooded area." She motioned with her hand. Shino crossed an arm over his chest, brought the opposite hand to his chin and rubbing it gently, thinking.

"You might also want to check the opposite side of the orchard. I know it's not the usual area, but an underground spring has come to the surface there, and it has really grown up over there, and definitely there are spices. I also noticed some delicious looking mushrooms when I was gathering insects in that direction, so if you're not lucky in your chosen area..." He trailed off, and Sakura was almost shocked. Shino was far more helpful than expected!

"You know about edible mushrooms?" She asked, curious. "

Shino shrugged gently, "My mother had me gather with her a few times, so yes."

Sakura smiled vividly, rubbing her hands together. "Well, thank you! Sounds like I won't go home empty handed no matter what today." She was already excited about gathering. Shino had confirmed some edible items, and that was enough to make her skip her original plans and head strait over to his side of the orchard. However, she controlled her urge and decided to head off in the direction planned.

"You're welcome. Anytime, really." Shino moved to manipulate a swarm of butterflies to another tree, but he canted his head and paused to watch the pink-haired woman walk away through his dark glasses. Up until she'd arrived, his day was pretty routine, lonely, and boring. However, she gave him something to think about on and off for the rest of the day. It was a shame he didn't get to see her more often...

Creepy. Weird. Bug boy.