Hmm...I had decided that I would like to try a little Shino/Sakura because I had found that there weren't many of them out there. Also, Shino is an interesting character, don't you think?

I had quite a lot of fun with this one to be honest and I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: Childhood fiction. Catching butterflies aren't, well, easy. However, the members of the Aburame clan are a different matter. Shino comes across a certain pink-haired girl trying to catch a butterfly and decides to aid her. Secretly, that is.

…~xXx Butterflies xXx~…

Shino trekked silently through Konoha's forest, set out in finding an acceptable place to settle down and develop his kekkei genkai. He had managed to find a rather interesting technique in a book in his father's study that allowed him to use his bugs as a way to create multiple clones and he so desperately wanted to try and learn it.

As he walked, he couldn't help but admire all the little insects and bugs that flew and buzzed around him. Because of his clan's affinity for bugs - specifically chakra bugs-, he was drawn to anything and everything that flew, hopped and had more than two legs, thus gaining his name amongst his classmates as 'bug boy'. Shino couldn't exactly say he liked the nickname though, but still, he did nothing to quell it as it WAS technically the truth. Shino shook his head to rid of his thoughts, clearing his mind and once again focusing his attention to his surroundings.

Quietly pushing aside a clump of leaves from a rather thick and large bush that blocked his intended path, Shino promptly froze upon hearing a soft giggle. From it's faint, bell-like chime and rather high soprano, Shino decidedly deducted that the giggle was most definitely female. To be more specific, the sounded giggle was from a girl. A girl!

Immensely curious, though more on what a girl was doing in the middle of the forest (presumably voluntarily) than on who the girl could be, Shino proceeded on soundlessly moving away the thick brambles to create a decent lookout to observe the other person. There, in the middle of a clearing the bushes Shino were behind had hid, was a girl Shino recognized fairly well. Her signature red dress, cotton candy pink hair and bright, emerald green eyes belonged to none other than Haruno Sakura of his class.

From what Shino could see, the girl was knelt over a pretty, yellow flower. A textbook was pulled up by her side but Shino couldn't make out a title or what was on the page. He pushed his glasses back up upon his nose and turned his back, about to make his way back the path he came. He didn't want to intrude on his classmate and it seemed that she was doing a bit of studying. He honestly also didn't want to encounter anyone just as he was about to train for he knew that once met, it would be quite difficult to get rid of them, therefore, he usually preferred training and studying alone. With that in mind, he started to move away, that is, until a soft gasp pulled his attention back to the pinkette.

Shino looked back into the clearing from his spot and saw Sakura now sitting back, green eyes wide in what was most likely awe or surprise while her jaw had fallen open. Shifting closer to the undergrowth, he narrowed his eyes in an attempt to spot what had caused her amazement. Then, he saw it.

It was the most beautiful butterfly he had ever seen and he was absolutely sure that it was not a species he knew of. It was of a fair size, big enough to be able to see it very clearly, yet small enough to comfortably rest on the flower Sakura had been at and leisurely lap up its sweet nectar. Its delicate, gossamer wings were near-transparent closer to the body before they gradually darkened with a blue colour until the tips were a rich shade of sapphire.

The little insect fluttered it's wings and floated up from its perch on Sakura's flower, instead choosing to flit lazily around the clearing. Shino watched the girl's entranced gaze follow the delicate creature around before raising an eyebrow in curiosity as Sakura slowly and silently got to her feet. The butterfly had taken landing upon a long blade of grass a little ways away from the pink-haired child and Sakura noiselessly crept toward it. Once she was in range, she steadily lower into a crouch and stretched her hand in the bug's direction. Her fingers moved closer and closer, up until it was only centimetres away. The two children held their breath. Sakura's fingers hovered only a hair's breadth away from the butterfly's delicate wings, ready to touch it-

-when it flew away. Shino bit back a snort of laughter and quietly let out the breath that he was holding. He shook his head in amusement. Was that how girls try to catch bugs? Shino silently snorted again, inwardly laughing at the girl's useless tactic before focussing his attention back her. Sakura was chasing the poor thing around endlessly, trying over and over again to draw the butterfly toward her, but to no avail. Shino found her futile attempts rather entertaining and decided to stay in order to find out the outcome of her efforts. Training could wait a little, he thought. Nodding to himself at his thought, he plopped down and got comfortable.

He watched the girl chase the bug around the clearing for quite a while, and he was honestly surprised at how long his pink-haired classmate remained determined to catch it. He bit back a smile when Sakura finally huffed in frustration and sat down beside her textbook, a sulking pout on her face as she pulled the thick book toward her. The blue-winged butterfly fluttered innocently behind her.

Shino frowned when he suddenly spotted tears streaming down the pinkette's cheeks. Why was she crying? Was it because she couldn't get the butterfly? Shino didn't know, but he couldn't ignore the strange feeling he had when he saw Sakura's tears. He didn't like the feeling one bit. It made him feel…weird. Intent on getting rid of the odd sensation, Shino decided to just help his classmate and fulfil her desire to 'catch' the butterfly.

Using the bug calling technique his father had shown him a bit of during family training, Shino called the dainty insect to him using his chakra. He was surprised- and a relieved- that Sakura had not noticed his chakra signature rise from the use of the technique but shook it off. The blue-winged butterfly flitted toward him and landed on his outstretched finger. Infusing a little of his chakra into it, he gave it silent orders before sending it off into the clearing once more. This time, it flew toward Sakura, lightly landing on her cotton-candy, pink hair before floating down to rest in the middle of her textbook page. Shino heard her amazed gasp and saw a relatively beautiful smile appear on her face as her emerald orbs sparkled with glee. It was then, seeing her happiness that Shino unintentionally let a relieved smile cross his features. Chuckling silently when he heard Sakura's delighted giggle as the butterfly landed on her finger, Shino took his leave, departing just as soundlessly as came. He found a different clearing a little ways down and began his training with an unknown, but pleased feeling within him.

And there you go. I apologize for this being so short, but I hope you liked it anyway. I very much like to know what you guys think and I'd gladly take any feedback, so please review! Criticism is welcome, but no flames.

-Snow