Aburame Shino; 7 Years Later

Age 19

She Hates Everyone-

About ten minutes following my decision to become a teacher, I suddenly realized that it was one of the stupidest things I have ever done.

What had made me think that I would make a good teacher?

While I didn't hate people to the extent that Tsuma did, I certainly didn't LIKE people.

I tried to stick it out and figured I'd nominate them for the chuunin exam as soon as possible and hope they got promoted or die in the Forest of Death but that exam is so far away…

So I had to fail them.

Even though one of them was an exceptional ninja and graduated as the second best ninja in the class, I couldn't train them.

None of them were Aburames so I didn't even know how to go about training them.

So, before the Hokage… Shikamaru… could go and assign me a new group of students for next year, I was going to go and tell him that I would refuse and just fail all the students he attempted to assign me.

"Hey Shino!" I heard.

I looked up.

There's Lee.

Why is Lee calling to me?

"What's up?"

More importantly, why is Lee asking me 'what's up'?

"I'm going to the Hokage's office." I said since that's what was up.

"Me too!" said Lee, sounding overly excited. Why was he talking to me? I hardly knew him. "How come?"

Even though I figured I didn't HAVE to tell him, it's not like it would do any harm if I did tell him. "Because I have three students that I was teaching…" I said, but then I paused. I didn't know how to say this elegantly. "And I don't want to teach them anymore."

Well, I guess there was no way to say it elegantly.

"Wouldn't you know it Shino?" said Lee. "I'm doing the exact same thing! We can walk together!"

Lee didn't want to be a teacher? From the little I knew about him, I knew he really really wanted to be a teacher.

"Whatever." I said.

I didn't care if Lee walked with me, as long as he didn't try to create conversation or small talk.

"Why don't you want to teach your students anymore?" Lee said, just for the sake of creating conversation or small talk. Or both…at the same time.

"It's not THEM." I said, as much as I DIDN'T feel like answering. "I just don't want to teach anymore."

Lee nodded and then slowly stopped.

"Hey Shino!" he said loudly and suddenly. "What if I took YOUR students!"

I didn't care. But Shikamaru might. "We'll have to talk that over with the Hokage."

"We WILL." Said Lee as if I didn't want it to happen. I didn't care, as long as they weren't MY responsibility anymore.

We entered the Hokage's building and a ninja was standing outside the office.

"I'm sorry, but the Hokage is busy." He said.

"But we MUST see him now!" said Lee desperately.

"I'm sorry…" the ninja said. I decided not to say anything. Just glare and remind him who's boss.

He looked at me briefly and, although he couldn't see my eyes, I'm sure he could tell I was glaring. He gave a defeated sigh and leaned over to open the door to the Hokage's office.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hokage." Said the ninja to Shikamaru who was obviously sitting inside doing something Hokage-ish. "But they didn't want to wait forty-five minutes to talk to you."

He didn't have to TELL him that.

"It's okay, Raido." Shikamaru said as he shooed the ninja away.

When the ninja was gone, Shikamaru looked at us, waiting for someone to say something. That person certainly wasn't going to be me so I only waited for Lee to begin.

"So what is so important that you needed to see me so desperately?" Shikamaru said.

"The guy at the door told me that you were busy!" said Lee. "I was willing to come back later!"

No. No, Lee. You don't SAY that. We're already here and we have his attention. There's no point in bothering him and then leaving only so we can bother him on some future date.

"I wasn't." I said, referring to the comment Lee had made.

"So…?" Shikamaru said.

I waited for Lee, but he didn't say anything.

"I resign from my teaching position." I said, realizing that Lee wasn't going to take initiative.

Shikamaru gave a long, heavy and slightly annoyed sigh. "You've only been teaching for two days." He said.

I was quite aware that I had been teaching for two days. Painfully aware of it, as a matter of fact. But that still didn't take away from the fact that I had absolutely no gift when it came to teaching and wondered what I had been smoking when I qualified myself to be a teacher.

"I know." I said. "Teaching is not for me."

"And your students?" Shikamaru said.

"I had to fail them." I replied.

Shikamaru groaned.

"Shino, you don't do that." He said, rubbing his head slightly.

"That's why he's here." I said, pointing at Lee. I was slightly offended that Shikamaru didn't believe that I hadn't thought all this through before I had failed my students. Even though…well, never mind.

"Yeah!" said Lee.

"All right, explain to me." Said Shikamaru.

"Well, Shino has students that he doesn't want…" started Lee. "And I have students that I don't want…"

"What's wrong with your students?" Shikamaru interrupted.

"I'm not a strict teacher…but none of them were very good at all. The three lowest ranked students in the academy…"

"They were three students who couldn't use ninjutsu and genjutsu." Shikamaru said. "I figured you could work with them."

"Yes…I was unaware of that."

"So what happened?"

"I sent them back to the academy for another year."

"Okay." Said Shikamaru after a moment's pause. "Here's the plan."

He better not try to give me Lee's students. I didn't want to teach anymore and I most certainly wasn't going to do it anyway with the three lowest ranked students in the class. "I don't want Lee's students." I said, just in case he was thinking that I wanted them. "I don't want to teach anymore."

"I know." Shikamaru said in a condescending tone.

I pushed my sunglasses closer to my eyes to make sure no one could see my eyes.

Shikamaru fiddled through folders and papers on his desk and in his drawer. He really should be more organized and these processes would go faster. "All right." He muttered as he threw some papers with our pictures on them on his desk and grabbed a pencil. "Lee, I'm giving you Shino's students." He said, handing Lee my paper. "They will need to be informed of this and that they didn't really fail."

"Great!" Lee cheered.

"Yes…" he went on. "And Shino…"

He better not give me Lee's students.

"You're done."

"Good." I said, not entirely meaning to say that out loud.

"What about my old students?" Lee asked Shikamaru.

I decided that I was above the conclusion of this conversation so I dismissed myself.

Well, now that I wasn't going to be a teacher, what was I going to do? Become apart of ANBU like my mother?

Speaking of which, my mother was never found after her mission last year. I get the feeling that she's still alive somewhere, but if she is, she's certainly not making herself known.

Unfortunately, no one else on the ANBU Squad had the same thoughts as I did. Not even my own father believes that she's still alive. Though, no one really seemed all that affected by her apparent death, not pausing for a moment from their ongoing missions to even have a memorial service for her.

What could be expected, though?

She was only an Aburame.

"Shino." I heard.

Please, don't be Lee.

I turned around to see Tsuma standing there. She had been in the jounin exam earlier that month and was expecting her vest any day.

"Yes?" I said. "Did you become a jounin?"

"No." said Tsuma.

"You could try again next year." I said.

Tsuma was playing around with her shirt.

"I hate the Hokage." She said.

"You hate everyone." I reminded her.

"I hate you too." She said.

"I know." I said.