Summary: Kurenai hears the screams of her kid's first victims and can't help but smile, relishing in the mildly alarmed looks from other shinobi in her direction.

The Sandaime wanted shinobi, and that's exactly what she gave him.

I was going to try and not write about Team 8 but… here we are…

(sorry for any errors, I only read over it one (1) time)

Naruto Week, June 20 || Day 3: Favourite Fight / Teamwork / Hidden Cloud Village

Kurenai is the only woman Jounin instructor. And a new Jounin on top of that. Her competition is fierce - Kakashi who's been a shinobi practically his entire life, Gai who could probably level a city if he wanted to, and Asuma who was a part of the 12 guardian ninja.

Kurenai is good at genjutsu. And none of her students are genjutsu inclined.

She sighs and wonders why the Sandaime chose her of all people. She isn't good with kids, she's young and compared to the others, lacks experience.

Kurenai looks down at the location where Team 7 is training and knows Kakashi isn't even giving the bare minimum. He showed up hours late, and she can see he's doing his best to not care.

She also knows that Kakashi knows she's watching him, but she wasn't exactly trying to be subtle. She knows the best way to learn is to watch, and so that is what she is doing. But if she's learnt anything from watching Kakashi, it's that he really needs someone to help him with the mountain of issues he's obviously not dealing with, and that's exactly not how to handle children.

Kurenai jumps to the next tree. Kakashi has proven to of little help, hopefully, Gai will be a better source of information.

Gai is brilliant in many ways, but Kurenai and Gai are almost entire opposites.

Gai is perfect for someone as uptight as Neji, and perfect for Lee's development and perfect for ensuring Tenten gets the teaching that she needs.

They are so different from Team 8, that she's not sure what she can take from watching Gai.

Shino is reserved, but nothing like Neji. Shino is quiet, fits into the background and blends in, whereas Neji is almost impossible to ignore. They're completely different people. Hinata and Tenten are completely different in almost every way imaginable and while Lee is loud like Kiba and she can see that similarly, there are self-confidence issues there, but fundamentally, Kiba is so different that she knows he wouldn't respond well to Gai's approach. It was likely a waste of time seeking guidance from Gai.

Gai is a good teacher for that team, Team Gai aren't ever meant to blend into the background. They are born to be the ones that you never forget.

Team 8 is a tracking team. No one remembers people like that, even if they should.

Kurenai waves to Gai and moves on.

She's tempted to stop by Asuma as well, but doubts it would be of any use. InoShikaCho is a unique pairing, and comparing their dynamics to her team is likely a waste of time.

She runs a hand through her hair, thinking of how she can best teach her team when it hits her.

Kurenai is different from the other Jounin instructors, just as her team is entirely different from the other Genin. To try and handle her team the same way as the others just doesn't make any sense.

Kurenai doesn't need to teach her students how to break a mountain in half, or any other ridiculous move. When Kurenai leant, she learnt to do her job. She learnt how to kill, to manipulate, to complete the mission and disappear without a trace, and that's what Team 8 needs.

Team 8 doesn't need a shinobi who's feared universally, they need someone who's brutally efficient and can someone who is easily forgotten. They need someone like them. Someone like Kurenai.

Its weeks later when Team 8 end up on a mission way above the level of Genin and they complete it with a surprising amount of determination and no theatrics despite its difficulty when Kurenai realises how far they've come. She knows her team is ready when Kiba, Shino and Hinata so easily fall into place, covering each other like they've known each other their entire lives and not hesitating to strike where it's fatal.

They're just kids, but they're shinobi. Murder is what shinobi do.

Kurenai knows they're ready when she waits to spot the look of panicked realisation that they'd each been responsible for someone's death and doesn't find it.

When Team 7's mission to Wave is discussed by all the Genin, and Team 8 are never mentioned, despite their own extremely difficult mission, Kurenai notes their reactions.

Kiba complains that Team 7 aren't as great as they seem to be, Shino tries to offhandedly convince the others that there are just as much of a deadly force and Hinata tries to tell Neji what happened only for him to not believe her.

Within a few days, they all drop the subject entirely, and that's when she knows they're ready. None of them are happy about it, but they're learning that in this life, that's just the way it is.

Kurenai sits them all down once again only a couple of weeks before the Chuunin exams.

"Fighting is important," she says, "but why waste all that energy fighting someone when there are a thousand easier ways to do it and keep your uniform clean?"

She lets that hang in the air for a moment.

"There's a lot more to being a shinobi than what you've been taught, and one of those things is using your environment." She crouches down in front of where they're sitting and pulls out a book. She flips through the book until she lands on the one she wants.

There's a look of content on her face as she spins it around so they can see it. "Jumping Leaches," she says. "These are my favourite."

When she is met with faces of eager fascination, she knows that she taught them right.

It takes five minutes for the first screams to echo through the forest, and maybe it is a little immature of her to smile, but she knows her kids and knows that they've made their first strike.

Maybe she shouldn't relish in the mildly alarmed of the looks from the other shinobi in her direction, but she's never cared much about reputation.

Konoha wanted shinobi, and that's what Kurenai gave them.