A/N: I honestly had a hard time writing this one, because there's just not a lot for me to go off on for Kurenai to write her, at least not what I can remember! I hope I at least caught some of her personality, because I really do love her. I wanted to explore more of Team 8's dynamic and how they could work together (and how they end up actually) very well. Hope you enjoy!

Kurenai was clearly the luckiest jonin instructor this year. She figured her first year having a genin team she would be stuck with a difficult group that had barely passed or didn't really care about becoming ninja.

Instead, she got a team with incredible potential, diversity, and compatibility, she couldn't wait to start training them into amazing ninjas.

The files she had been given by the Hokage had been read immediately upon her receiving them. It was clear they intended this team to be a tracking team; their family abilities combined with the additional training in genjutsu she could give them potentially make them one of the best.

When she'd expressed her excitement on the assignments to Asuma, he'd just huffed, grumbling about being assigned the inevitable Ino-Shika-Cho team.

"I know the Nara boy is going to be difficult. The Yamanaka girl is probably going to drive him crazy. Know she'll drive me crazy." He rolled his eyes. "The Akimichi will probably be the only thing keeping them from killing each other."

"They've known each other since they were young, though, right?"

"Yeah," He shifted the cigarette in his mouth, and Kurenai had to prevent herself from snatching it from him. They were in the Hokage Tower. "But it's very different being on a ninja team with somebody, having to trust them with your life." He shrugged. "Why are you so excited about your assignments? Heard you got the Hyuga girl."

"They seem like good kids," Kurenai said airily. She had good feeling about this team, and her instincts hardly failed her. It would take some work, she knew that. But it was going to be something special.

Asuma just rolled his eyes again. "It's only your first genin team, so you don't know how utterly draining it can be. They just suck the life out of you."

She refused to let Asuma dampen her excitement. She couldn't wait to meet them.

The first thing she did was take the team to a training field and sit them in a circle. Hinata was obviously quite nervous, and Kurenai wanted to help her feel more content with her teammates before actually doing anything dramatic. Like the surprise genjutsu lesson she had planned.

To her right was Hinata Hyuga, slouched slightly, head tilted forward as if trying to hide herself, and eyes flickering between her two teammates and Kurenai to her left. She was nervously pressing her fingers together, and kept shifting her position slightly.

Next to Hinata sat Shino Aburame. He sat fairly straight and seemed fully composed, focused (or at least she assumed, since she couldn't see his eyes) on Kurenai. He didn't move much, just the occasional head turn to look at the other members of the group.

Then there was Kiba Inuzuka, who was to Kurenai's direct left. He was sprawled out on the grass, the puppy Akamaru running around excitedly and barking. Already, the boy was talking loudly about Akamaru and introducing him to the other members of the team. He didn't seem too put off by the other member's quiet demeanors, which was one of the concerns Kurenai initially had.

"My name is Yuhi Kurenai, and I am going to be your jonin instructor until you achieve chunin status and become independent ninjas." She smiled at each of them. Hinata had stopped pressing her fingers together and, though still slouched was directing her attention to Kurenai. Shino hadn't moved, but had almost seemed to sit up straighter, giving her his full attention. Kiba was still sprawled out on the ground but was at least partially paying attention to Kurenai, still playing with Akamaru. "I'd like us to go around and introduce ourselves a bit. This is my first time having a genin team, and I am very excited to help you become the best ninjas you can. I specialize in genjutsu, though I assure you I am well trained in other areas as well." She smiled at all of them again. Hinata seemed to have passed most of her nervousness. It likely helped that Kurenai had already met and taken charge of her previously. "Who'd like to go next?"

Immediately (and unsurprisingly) Kiba sat up and puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my partner Akamaru! We're going to become the best Inuzuka team, and I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

The other two genin didn't react much, but Hinata seemed a little taken aback by his loud voice. Kurenai nodded at Kiba. "If you work hard enough you can achieve that dream, I'm sure."

Kiba was assuredly going to be their vanguard. Kurenai knew she would have to ensure he was able to make quick decisions about timing and basic strategy to make sure his hits were effective. His willingness to jump into action could turn out very bad if not molded properly.

Also, his louder and more open personality could prove to be beneficial for the other two. Hinata could definitely benefit from being around somebody with confidence, and perhaps Shino would be able to express himself more. He could definitely be a mood-booster for the group, and offer encouragement and hope. Not to mention Akamaru would add another interesting layer to the team.

Without prompting, Shino reached up and adjusted his sunglasses. "My name is Shino Aburame. I enjoy collecting and studying insects. I specialize in my clan techniques, though I am proficient in ninjutsu and taijutsu." He left it at that, not moving to say anything else.

Shino would be their strategist and leader. His cool head and logical track of mind would be valuable to the other two members; Kiba for somebody more rational and forethinking, and Hinata for somebody stable to rely on. From what she knew of the Aburame techniques, they were most effective at medium range, which would be an asset if he was also to be their strategist. Kurenai also knew he had finished second of their class, so he was most likely a hard and dependable worker.

After Shino was finished speaking, Hinata started her nervous finger habit again, looking like she wanted to speak, but not quite getting the words out. Kurenai put on her friendliest smile and layed a gentle hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"And you, Hinata?"

"I...u-um…"

"You don't have to be nervous!" Kiba suddenly exclaimed, setting Akamaru in the grass within the circle they made on the ground. The puppy excitedly bounced over to Hinata and put his paws on one of her legs. Tentatively, Hinata reached out and patted the puppy's head, Akamaru giving out a few friendly barks. Hinata gave a small smile.

Shino nodded to Hinata. "I agree you don't have to be nervous. Why? Because we are your team, and we will not judge you."

Now, Akamaru was crawling into Hinata's lap. After Shino's comment, she looked up, her face no longer burning red, a smile warming up on her face. Kurenai's heart warmed. Glancing at the boys and Kurenai, Hinata continued petting Akamaru while she answered.

"M-my name is Hinata Hyuga. I can use the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, th-though I...I'm not the best in them. I...I like to h-help people a-and…" She trailed off after that, her face going red, ducking her head down and started petting Akamaru again. It was more than Kurenai thought she would say.

Hinata had plenty of potential, and it was unfortunate her family had written her off. Kurenai would be lying if she didn't just want to steal the girl away and raise her herself, but she would do her best being her jonin instructor. Due to her confidence issues, it seems Hinata's training growth had been stunted as a result. She certainly had the potential to be at the normal level of Gentle Fist as others in her clan, if given the proper chance and encouragement. It would do her well to have the two boys on her team; Kiba could be a good pep talker and could inspire more confidence, and Shino would be a steady and reassuring support. She would be a support close range fighter, her Byakugan giving valuable support to both team members.

The more and more Kurenai considered the potential team dynamic, the more she liked it. Not that the other genin teams didn't have the same chance; it was very likely Asuma's Team 10 would get along quite well in fact, but she could see Team 8 supporting each other on a deeper level than just teammates. They all had something valuable to gain from the team.

"Very good, Hinata! And we will work plenty on everybody's techniques, don't worry about being perfect at first." Kurenai decided it was time to be a little more serious. "One of the most important things we will learn is teamwork. I want you three to be able to trust each other with your lives, because it is essential to your success now and for the rest of your ninja careers. Though we'll be doing risk-free missions at first, higher level missions require entire trust and understanding in each other." She glanced at each of them. Shino once again had his full attention on her, Kiba had a grin on his face, and Hinata was looking at Kurenai, eyes wide.

"So, what are we gonna do first?" Kiba asked, excitedly. She was surprised he'd managed to resist outbursts while she was talking; he'd certainly looked like he was going to a few times. At this, Kurenai couldn't help a wicked grin from spreading across her face, the three genin around her immediately tensing up, alert.

"Oh, I just had a little genjutsu exercise planned." The three genin wasted no time in getting up and getting away from her, but it was a little too late.

Yeah, she was definitely the luckiest jonin instructor this year.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Once I got more into the groove it was easier to write. I'm pretty tired so I hope there aren't too many mistakes!

Note: I know there might be some canon things that are different than what I put into this one shot, but I can't remember everything so I just sort of did everything in my own interpretation!