The three of them hurried towards where Sakura was, only to see Sakura sitting on the lush green lawn.
A large, decaying wooden stump lay before her, and her body was slightly leaning back, as if she was trying her best to maintain a safe distance from some unknown object.
"Sakura! What happened?"
Chizhao's voice, tinged with anxiety, broke the surrounding silence.
Sakura shakily turned her head, her clear, captivating eyes still glistening with tears about to fall, making her appear exceptionally pitiful.
"Chi... Chizhao..."
Hinata, with her keen eyesight, quickly noticed something amiss:
"That... on the stump, there seems to be something..."
Chizhao heard this and looked closely, seeing several giant black and gold rhinoceros beetles crawling on the stump.
Their wings gently vibrated, emitting a warning buzz.
It seemed Sakura had accidentally trespassed into their territory and was mistaken for an invader.
"Sakura, don't move... if you move, they'll chase you!"
Ino, naturally, also noticed the giant rhinoceros beetles and, with a tense heart, comforted the trembling Sakura.
"Wh-what should I do...?"
Sakura, afraid of insects, carefully tried to move her body backward.
Suddenly, one of the larger rhinoceros beetles, as if to intimidate, abruptly took flight from the stump.
Its massive silhouette almost obscured half of Sakura's face, scaring her into screaming repeatedly, and she sprang up from the lawn, wildly running towards the three of them.
"Help! Don't come near!"
The rhinoceros beetles, as if stimulated by the screams, all flapped their wings and flew after her, in hot pursuit.
Ino and Hinata, seeing this, both turned pale and quickly turned to flee.
"Sakura, you idiot! Don't run towards us!"
"So scary..."
For a moment, in the beautiful sea of flowers, the girls' screams became the main melody in the sky.
Just at this critical moment, Chizhao took off the bamboo basket she was carrying and quickly rushed towards Sakura from the side, pulling her tightly into her embrace, protecting Sakura's head, and purposefully rolling onto the soft lawn.
Thanks to Chizhao's body acting as a buffer, Sakura felt no impact from the ground whatsoever.
After a series of rolls, she looked up from Chizhao's embrace, meeting her gaze filled with resilience and care.
"Are you okay, Sakura!"
"I... I'm okay."
Sakura's voice held a hint of hesitation; she stared blankly at the reliable girl before her, a strange flutter of emotion welling up in her heart.
After discovering their previous target had disappeared, the rhinoceros beetles circled in the air for a moment, as if in deliberation.
Then, they aimed their massive long horns at the other two girls and charged straight at them.
"Why are they coming at us!!!"
The screaming Ino quickly pulled Hinata along and fled frantically.
Are they never going to stop!
After comforting Sakura, Chizhao quickly got up from the ground, picked up the bamboo basket, shook out the flowers inside, and ran towards the rhinoceros beetles.
During their escape, Hinata accidentally tripped and fell to the ground, and Ino frantically tried to pull Hinata up, but the terrifying buzzing sound grew closer and closer to them.
Just as the two embraced, preparing to accept their fate, a figure jumped up from behind the rhinoceros beetles, scooped them all into the bamboo basket, and quickly closed its lid, thus defusing the crisis.
"Phew~ Finally quieted down..."
Chizhao let out a long sigh of relief, and the surrounding world returned to tranquility.
But after a while, Chizhao felt herself surrounded from all directions, a bit breathless in the soft embrace.
"Waaah! You're amazing, Chizhao!"
"Thank you! You're truly wonderful!"
Ino and Sakura hugged her tightly, crying even more intensely than before.
"Hmm~ It's nothing, they're just bugs."
At these words, Chizhao's towering figure instantly grew much taller in their hearts.
Hinata, having recovered from her fright, also showed a cute expression, gently watching the girls huddled together.
After the sudden bug crisis that morning.
Time had passed considerably, and the four girls quickly slung their bamboo baskets and walked down the mountain.
"Chizhao, why are you still carrying those disgusting things...?"
Sakura warily looked at the slightly trembling bamboo basket, unconsciously stepping back a few more paces.
"I think they need a teacher to properly educate them on insect ethics."
Under Sakura's puzzled gaze, Chizhao smiled brightly; the sea of flowers behind her seemed to dim at that moment because of her smile.
Recalling the scene in Chizhao's arms, a sudden flush of heat on her cheeks made her frantically glance away.
Fortunately, after running all the way, the four of them finally reached the classroom before the bell rang.
In the classroom, Chizhao kept the bamboo basket hidden in front of her, avoiding Naruto's curiosity.
She finally endured Naruto's constant questioning until class was dismissed.
When they all left the classroom to rest, Chizhao then, carrying the bamboo basket, found Shino Aburame sitting alone outside the flower bed.
"Shino! There you are, I've been looking for you for ages..."
A glimmer of light flashed across Shino's black glasses, and before he could ask, Chizhao naturally sat down beside him.
A pleasant floral scent wafted into his nostrils, making his relaxed body suddenly tense.
"What do you need me for?"
Their distance had never been this close before, and this was the first time Shino had observed the girl before him at such close range.
She was radiant, surrounded by a fresh and ethereal natural fragrance, which seemed a bit out of sync with the somber aura he exuded.
His fingers, resting lightly on the edge of the wooden chair, unconsciously curled slightly, as if he feared that a trace of his gloom might contaminate her pure aura.
"This! We caught these rhinoceros beetles while picking flowers on the mountain; their size is larger than average, and they're unusually fierce."
Holding the bamboo basket before Shino, Chizhao excitedly showed him, her eyes sparkling with an exceptionally bright light.
"They chased Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, running across the mountains and plains, 'kuku' sounds echoing."
"I could have killed them with Shuriken, but I thought these rare beetles would be more valuable if I caught them for you, so I figured out a way to catch them all!"
Listening to the girl beside him vividly describe the incident, an unreal feeling welled up in his heart.
It was the first time a girl had talked so much about bugs with him.
And she had specifically caught them and given them to him.
"Here! They're in the bamboo basket, and they're really fierce!"
Shino took the bamboo basket, hesitated for a moment, then gently opened a crack and cautiously reached inside.
When he withdrew his hand again, his palm steadily held a large rhinoceros beetle.
His eyes behind his glasses sparkled with surprise, as if he had discovered a new continent, and his usually calm voice became somewhat animated.
"Indeed, this is a very rare species of rhinoceros beetle, and one of the few insects with territorial awareness."
He began to introduce them voluminously, completely immersed in his own world.
"They like to inhabit rotten wood or forests. This large one should be a male, and its condition is excellent, its carapace is very hard, its elytra are very smooth, and the patterns on it are very clear..."
At this point, he suddenly realized there was a girl beside him, so he paused, stopping somewhat awkwardly.
"Hm? Why aren't you continuing...?"
Chizhao, who was listening intently, tilted her head in confusion.
Shino slowly turned his face, silently gazing into her eyes through his black glasses.
"You... why are you willing to listen to me talk about these things...?"
"It's a 'Great Encyclopedia of Insect Knowledge'! And it's an audio explanation; that's so much better than reading dry text, isn't it?"
Chizhao stared at the previously fierce rhinoceros beetle, which now lay still on Shino's palm like a docile pet.
She couldn't help but admire Shino's insect control abilities even more.
I wonder if mosquitoes would be this obedient too...
It was the first time someone had called him a "Great Encyclopedia of Insect Knowledge," making his small face, hidden by his clothes, blush slightly.
This should... be a compliment, right...?
"You are truly a strange person."
Chizhao propped herself on the wooden bench, a smile curving her lips, and her calves gently swayed:
"Hehe~ What's wrong with being strange? You can be your true self in a monotonous sea of people."
The strange her, in her previous life, had long been accustomed to being an anomaly in others' eyes.
But so what?
"Precisely because I'm strange, the world in my eyes is different from theirs, just like Shino's insect world, full of incredible charm."
The rhinoceros beetle in his hand slightly vibrated its wings, as if inadvertently plucking a soft string in his heart, and he silently placed the rhinoceros beetle back into the bamboo basket.
His hands rubbed the rough wicker, and the echo in his heart could not be calmed for a long time.
What should he say now?
He had to say something...
"Tha... thank you."
"You're welcome! You really need to teach them insect ethics, like reciting an 'Insect Ethics Three-Character Classic' or something... don't always try to scare girls."
Chizhao, in a lecturing tone, gently patted the bamboo basket, then, estimating that it was almost time for class, slowly stood up from the bench:
"Well, I'll head back now; Sakura and the others are still trimming flowers."
Shino, feeling a little disappointed, still wanted to say something, but the girl, who had only walked a few steps, paused and quickly turned back.
"Oh, right, you absolutely must hide the bamboo basket well; don't let Naruto see it, otherwise that guy will throw another tantrum."
Shino nodded and hummed in acknowledgment.
Then he watched the girl's retreating back, but she had only walked a few steps before turning back again.
She fumbled in her pocket: "I almost forgot! I promised to treat you to something delicious..."
He had thought she had forgotten that promise, and when she left, Shino, who had held expectations, felt a little disappointed.
When he saw her pull out a cute dango wrapped in transparent film from her clothes pocket, a wave of happiness gradually welled up in his heart.
"Here! It's dango my grandma made; I specifically saved one for you! It's very delicious!"
Chizhao happily handed over the dango; long ago, she had secretly vowed to become Aihara Keiko's golden food salesperson.
She wanted to promote her various delicacies to every potential customer around her, and then, in the future, achieve the grand goal of opening a restaurant for her grandma.
Shino placed the bamboo basket on his lap and gently took the cute dango with both hands.
Under the lenses that Chizhao couldn't see, his eyes became exceptionally gentle.
After the girl had completely left, Shino put the bamboo basket aside and gently peeled off the transparent film from the dango.
A faint sweet scent of glutinous rice, mixed with a rich milky aroma, lingered at his nose.
The soft texture, with an elegant sweetness, spread throughout his mouth.
"It's really delicious."
He praised softly.
On his rarely seen small face, a faint, happy smile subtly rippled.