Behind Innocent Eyes

In a Pinch

Last Time:

"I have a feeling I'm not going to see the humor." Kurama said, his red eyes narrowed in on the two waiting for an explanation ...

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The sudden sound of a group of people praying made the honey colored eyes open and Shino was horrified ...

It had nothing to do with the gorgeous sparkling puffs stuck all over the shrine that weren't there before ...

It had nothing to do with the beautiful purple flowers that were all blooming ...

All of his horror and embarrassment had to do with the fact that he was completely naked on the podium as people were praying right outside with the door wide open! Yes, Naruto was there holding him in his lap and equally naked, but it didn't change how embarrassing this was.

Shino actually pinched Naruto as hard as possible to get his attention and subtly show his discomfort. "What's going on? Where's our clothes?" Shino hissed, taking a little pleasure in seeing the blonde flinch.

Naruto smiled nervously trying not to wince even more as the bug user's fingers dug into his thigh so hard it might leave a bruise, "It's not my fault. The pollen got on our clothes and I was told to give them over. This is all apparently part of the ritual-" Naruto clenched his teeth as a twist was added to the pinch. "There wasn't any time-" the blonde winced. "They came once the pollen-"

"We would like to thank you." The Red Admiral said as he approached the shrine door and looked at them from the doorway. He never stepped any closer to the podium they were on or even into the shrine.

Naruto was relieved that Shino stopped pinching him. Maybe it was only because he just didn't want the Red Admiral to see, but either way the blonde felt better, "We were happy to help, sir." He said.

The two ninjas watched the silhouettes of all the people who were praying before moving around the shrine. Very quickly the shrine was surrounded. Naruto could feel Shino stiffen when the figures on the other side of the thin walls started messing with the actual walls. The second the Red Admiral glanced over to see the walls shake, Shino grabbed Naruto's hands and used them to cover his most private area, which turned out to be wise.

The Red Admiral nodded in satisfaction as the sound of latches being released were heard, "You've done much more than you realize. You've given us a much bigger pollen harvest than we ever expected." He said, gesturing to the dazzling puffs stuck to nearly every surface as one by one each section of the walls were pulled away leaving the two quite naked occupants and the flowers exposed with only the sturdy frame holding up the skylights as cover. "It seems the insects you carry with you have spread your seed as they explored the flowers." The old leader commented, completely fascinated by the little beetles scuttling out of purple flowers and back to Shino as the people pulled out very long brooms.

Shino nodded calmly praying his insects didn't overstep themselves and offended the leader, "Yes. I'm sorry. When members of my clan are," the insect gulped with a slight pink on his cheeks, "aroused the insects we host tend to scatter. It tends to be a protective measure. Mine seemed to have decided to occupy themselves by helping the flowers. It's not something I can control." He said as he and Naruto subtly watched the people with the brooms carefully collect the sparkling puffs of pollen from every surface. With great skill the broom handlers even scrubbed the inside of the skylights without even touching the flowers.

"I will hear no apologies on the matter." The Red Admiral said dismissively. "These flowers are so delicate that just the right brush of anything foreign can damage them. Only one thing makes them bloom, but human skin kills them thus the need for our methods. The fact that your insects can work on command is truly a blessing!"