Disclaimer – I do not own the Naruto franchise or its original story and plot. I would like a cup of ramen though.
Font guide:
Italics - passage from book, or flashback(#) - Author's note, refer to end of chapter
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CHAPTER 2
"The species Septempunctata saffronica is very territorial; once an individual chooses its prospective mate, the pair will stay within the same area for the duration of the courting process. The courtship ritual is long and drawn-out, usually lasting for weeks. Because of this, it is not unusual for pairs to live in unexpected places during the ritual." – Mating Rituals of S. saffronica
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The only thing in my mind is whether or not she notices.
Her lips are on top of mine. We're practically kissing, but not, because it was accidental contact. And our lips aren't really locked in the sort of motion that I see from couples on the street. Nope. This is just all a big misunderstanding, and I'm sure when Ino recovers from the impact of her fall, she'll definitely understand the situation.
So, why don't I mind staying in this position?
I want to get her off me, but the ladybugs are still on top of Ino, who is on top of me. I don't want them to fly away again, so I decide not to budge. I begin to feel fuzzy. I suddenly feel a sensation of being bathed in some sort of scented oil, and a cool calmness flows throughout my body. My blood rushes faster, to the extent that even the kikaichu under my skin begin to crawl with some sort of sensual agreement. I can't describe it, but I have the urge to press my lips further. It was a blurry feeling, with a sensation that seemed narcotic.
No, it was narcotic.
"The pheromones are so strong, that they are believed to be a potent aphrodisiac." – Mission Briefing
So that's what it is. For the sake of preserving any further embarrassment from my fall, I try my best not to give in to these sudden urges. My face tenses up, and by accident, my lower lip brushes past hers, and is snug in between the soft depression of her closed mouth. The sensation is too overwhelming, so I decide to pull away.
She resists. Her lips pursue mine, and the immediate capture transpires like some sort of sensual predator catching its prey. It must be the saffronica-induced spell, because the effects of her kiss itself consume the furthest depths of my mind, and her beautiful face fades away into a sea of black.
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"Hey kiddos, get up."
As I wake, I feel like my eyes have been pulled out, twisted, and reinserted. This isn't really a new feeling, because my eyes are rather sensitive to light as it is. I vaguely remember the voice that spoke just now, so I turn my head to see who it is.
It's Jiraiya, and he seems content to see me and Ino sprawled out on the floor. We're no longer in the suggestive position that I can vividly remember from before, but the giddy sneer on his face indicates that he saw something that he liked.
"Jiraiya-sama?" I ask. "Where am I? What time is it?"
"It's still late in the afternoon," he responds, "and you're in the Yamanaka Flower Shop."
I sit up and examine the room. The store is still in the same mess that my unexpected clumsiness caused. Ino is still asleep. Upon closer inspection, she's actually quite cute when she's asleep. She's lying on her side, with one hand between her head and the floor. Her hair is still tied up to the back, with her front bangs covering most of the left side of her face. She looks absolutely natural. I like that look on girls.
It's kinda like Hinata, when our team meets up for morning training sessions. She doesn't like to admit it, but she's not really a morning person, and as long as the sun isn't up, her hair often takes on a flat shape towards the side of her head, as if she were lying on her side all night. It's cute, but not as cute as what I am currently seeing.
Jiraiya is still looking at me. I turn my attention to him, but I try to keep the sleeping Ino beside me in the corner of my eye.
I respond, "Oh, right. If you're wondering about what happened here, I can explain. I was chasing something around the store, and I collided with Ino, and it seemed to have knocked us out temporarily."
"It wasn't the fall that knocked you out." He says. He begins to really snicker in a perverted manner. "It was the ladybug's scent. I saw the whole thing."
Out of all the villagers in Konoha, Jiraiya is probably the last person that I would want to hear saying those words. Somehow, I feel compelled to ask him something.
"So what exactly did happen?"
His face turns serious. He has a self-examined look, as if contemplating whether or not he should tell me something that could potentially corrupt my view of male/female relations, whatever that may be.
"S-E-C-R-E-T!" Jiraiya responds in a suddenly playful manner. "You seriously don't remember? It was an enjoyable sight, an encounter worthy of being an inspiration to my writing. If you want to remember, read my next work! Don't worry about it, ne! If I wrote it right now, it would probably be rated T. Ah, forget it; just wait until it's out in stores. I've said too much, now I'm just trailing off enjoyably, tee hee hee!"
Writing? I am unable to comprehend his enigmatic words. Somehow, I don't want to.
Jiraiya leaves me alone to tend to Ino, who is still sound asleep. He lets out a sinister chuckle on the way out, and considering his influence on Naruto, I suddenly fear for Hinata's well being.
As it is, the store is still a mess, so I figure I'll clean up before Ino wakes up again. She's on top of a significant amount of clutter, so I try my best to clean around her. I put all the racks back into their upright positions, move the shattered pots to the storeroom, and sweep dirt from spilled plants outside of the store. I'm sure Ino's dad would yell at her for the type of job that I'm doing, but I can't help being inexperienced in store management. I'm a bug-user, not a florist.
As I walk around the store, inspecting the arrangements to ensure that I didn't miss a single spot, I begin to realize the large variety of different flora. It would make a wonderful habitat for any insect. I regain my hopes that the yellow ladybugs are still in the store. They might be somewhere around here, and the store provides a very suitable place for procreation.
I pass a small aisle of non-descript primula to my left, and an array of differently hued roses on my right, in smaller numbers.
"Hm.," I say to myself. "These must be more popular…"
Of course roses are more popular. They're the default go-to flower for one-shot romance and temporary love. Any girl can understand what it means to be given a half-dozen or two. They're so cliché, I bet that even Ino herself would be disgusted by any man who would think of a quick fix like them.
I remember her telling me one time during a trip to the Sea Country that each flower tells its own story, and has its own meaning and message when given to another person.
"Listen up, Shino." She said. "These blue plants here? These are more than just lilies. They're hyacinths. But above all, they're blue. The colour and species of plant is important for sending the right message! These here, represent 'patient love', the kind that expresses the sender's willingness to wait for his or her unrequited love to be returned. When Sasuke left our village, Sakura would come to my shop every day to look around for something to put on her windowsill out of homage to her love of Sasuke. I told her to tend to some blue hyacinths that I kept in my store, and maybe one day she'll be able to get Sasuke back. Here you go, maybe one day, you'll be patient enough to love someone the way Sakura does."
Something struck me funny at that time, but for that moment I looked at her temporarily as more than just a kunoichi. She definitely has a way with words.
"She's a different girl, with quite a contrasting viewpoint than mine…" I mutter out loud while turning my attention to a batch of yellow nasturtium (1), the store's specialty item, and site of two similarly coloured insects, moving about agreeably, but innocently. "In here, she sees beauty and poetry and symbolism. I see habitats for some of the most fascinating creatures on this planet. These ladybugs, for example, chose this spot because of the reaction of their visual receptors to the coloration of the petals. Their courting behaviour is a chemical reaction of their pheromones to the oils these flowers produce. We are part of two different worlds, but are they really that different?"
"As a matter of fact," Ino replied, appearing behind me, and apparently catching every word of my soliloquy, "Those flowers get their symbolism from the very bugs courting on their petals. The nasturtium expresses one's first feelings of love for the recipient. It sends a message declaring that the recipient is the sender's first and only love. This symbolism derived from a common fact in horticulture that Konohan yellow ladybugs always go to these flowers first, when they begin to court."
All of a sudden, I feel the need to pick up some of these flowers and give it to her. She definitely has a way with words.
"I'm sorry for interrupting you," she says, pointing at the male and female, "but I must apologize for overreacting to these things. When they're flying around, they really give me the creeps. I say things I don't mean. I must have offended you by saying they're gross or something. I know for a fact that they're useful for the plants here."
"You're right," I said, "bugs like these are essential to the survival of many floral species due to their ability to pollinate other flowers over long distances."
"I understand. But I don't really understand how I ended up waking up on the floor of my store. Perhaps you can explain? I really don't remember what happened."
Thank goodness. She doesn't seem to remember what happened with the kiss, or anything caused by the pheromone effects.
I walk her out of the store, as she locks the door from the outside for the rest of the day.
"Sure," I say, "but do me a favour for now. Can you let them stay in there for a little while longer, and you know…not kill them?"
"Of course," she says, "only if you can help me not be afraid of insects."
"It's not too hard. You just have to know more about them."
"Good. I'm glad."
With that notion, I wave goodbye to her, and walk towards home with the comfort knowing that my two subjects would be okay. Thinking about our new little arrangement, my blood starts to warm up the tiniest bit. The sensation feels almost narcotic.
No. It's not narcotic.
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Author's notes
(1) A nasturtium is a very bright and vibrant flower known for producing oil similar to watercress.
YAY! Second chapter done. I'm glad to see that the initial reactions are quite positive. I apologize for the cliffhanger the last time, but I promise to keep all my chapters wrapped up nicely.
Stay tuned for new chapters, and the beginning of a beautiful "friendship".
(Oh yeah, Jiraiya, wtf? You'll see, lol)