The clock on the wall struck eight, with the moon now firmly high in the sky. The academy was mostly deserted, save for the two ninja on night patrol, and the lone teacher marking papers in his classroom. All was silent, save for the pen strokes as questions were marked either correctly, or not.
Shino Aburame had been an academy teacher for almost eight years now. Throughout that time, he had had some interesting classes - some were quiet, whilst others very difficult to handle! Yet none were quite so interesting as this year's class. No, none even came close - and it wasn't simply because this group included the son of the Hokage!
There were a number of outstanding future ninja in this class. Boruto and Sarada both showed shades of their parents, and would be fine ninja. Shikadai had the potential to maybe be smarter even than his father; and with more focus, Chōchō could be one of the most physically powerful ninjas produced in the Hidden Leaf. Fewer put in more heart and effort than Metal Lee. Denki and Sumire would be future intellectuals for the village, and Mitsuki…
There was a sudden voice from beyond the door.
"Evening, Shino-sensei!"
"Good evening, Suzuki-san."
Suzuki had been a student of Shino's during his first year teaching at the academy - he was now a full-fledged chūnin. Shino himself was a chūnin, although he had been offered a promotion to jōnin on multiple occasions, always turning them down.
"I have no need of this rank - I am very happy at the academy" he had told them. He felt this necessary out of both respect, and tradition - the academy's headmaster and Shino's own teacher, Iruka-sensei, had done the same.
This new generation reminded him of his own. Natural, he supposed, given that many were the children of many of his esteemed classmates, and friends. He felt honoured to have the opportunity to be their teacher.
Those days had been so very different. Growing up, Shino had been a quiet, lonely boy. Far from shy, he had always found it just - well, difficult to talk to others. When he was very young, Danzo Shimura, the infamous former head of the Root faction of Anbu, had tried to recruit him, only for his good friend Torune to take his place. He was forever grateful to Torune, for giving Shino the opportunity he thought he would never have - to make friends.
Joining Team 8 had opened his eyes to the world. Kiba, Hinata, and Kurenai-sensei were like a second family - or an extension of his own. Hinata was kind, caring, and always looking out for others - Shino had always appreciated her for that. Sure, Kiba was sometimes stupid and rash, and clearly not cut out to be Hokage! No matter how many times he made fun of Shino for thinking he should become a teacher, it was much stupider for him to try and become Hokage! Yes, it was!
But even with all that, Kiba remained a close friend to this day. Why? Because for all their silent rivalry, together they had forged bonds of friendship. A reliance and caring for one another, fostered often unspoken. Shino would not hesitate to put his life on the line for Kiba; and he had no doubts that Kiba would do the same.
With a triumphant tick, Aburame-sensei completed marking the papers. They had done well - they were a bright, promising class, much like his had been all those years ago.
Smiling to himself, Shino picked up his papers, walked towards the door, turning off the light and sliding the door shut behind him.