AU: This is my first story, so I really would love as much feedback as possible. This is basically an AU where all the Rookie 9 are placed on different teams.

Kakashi would never (openly) question the Hokage, who, after all, was a shinobi without equal, but... sometimes he wondered if Sarutobi was getting too old for the job.

After all, no man with all his wits about him would ever put this group of kids together. Even ignoring the largely uncomplimentary abilities, their pasts, their personalities, their mentalities all clashed.

How the hell was he expected to make such a dysfunctional group work together?

The jonin sighed lightly as he approached the door of the classroom. He guessed it was just another team he had to fail. Hopefully, by next year the Hokage would come back to his senses.

With that thought in mind, he opened the door and, for the first time, came face-to-face with his genin team.

Sasuke Uchiha glanced disparagingly at him, Hinata Hyuuga shifted nervously, twiddling her fingers and looking quite intensely at his shoes, and Chouji Akimichi gave him a pleasant, crumb-coated smile.

His father was senile. And sadistic. Asuma knew it for a while, but he never knew it could go this far.

Seriously, why this team? Was the amazing effectiveness of Ino-Shika-Cho just too boring this time around? Was the Hyuuga-Aburame-Inuzuka tracking team just too obvious?

More importantly, why the hell did his father think it was appropriate for him to put such obnoxiously loud brats? Asuma knew he wasn't exactly the most obedient son, but honestly…

Unconsciously, he lit a cigarette and took one long drag. At the very least he would test their skills and cooperation, if only to see if his father was really as insane as he seemed.

"Come on," he grumbled, leading his team out of the Academy and towards his favorite training ground.

The Aburame followed as silently as a ghost, in sharp contrast to his teammates. The hyper Uzumaki very persistently quizzed the unresponsive jonin on anything and everything, while the Yamanka screamed at the top of her lungs that he should just shut up (her voice reaching a pitch that could break glass).

As much as she appreciated the Hokage's ideas to shake up the next generation in order to create new bonds, Kurenai didn't know what she was supposed to do with what she was given.

The girl had nothing special about her. Her physique was under-trained, her skills under-developed, and she had no clan jutsu to fall back on. Her only claim of talent came from her admittedly extraordinary analytical skills and memorization. Worse yet, behind her strained smile, Kurenai could see the potent disdain she felt for her teammates.

One of the boys was depressingly disinterested and apathetic in what was going on around him. She could see the spark of intelligence in his eyes, but his complete lack of energy and ambition barred him from being a good shinobi.

The other boy had, even if it bordered dangerously on arrogance, enthusiasm. He cared and wanted to become strong. That was something, at the very least.

Could she really pull such a team together?

The newly appointed jonin braced herself.

She could try.

AU: The teams are like this:

Team 7- Sasuke, Hinata, and Chouji

Team 8- Sakura, Kiba, and Shikamaru

Team 9- Naruto, Shino, and Ino

I feel bad for separating Shika and Asuma, but I didn't want any two of the genin on the same team as in canon and my mentality in choosing team was 'what would be good for the main 3?' And I figured Kurenai would be a better teacher for Sakura than Asuma.

This is the prologue, so it's pretty short. I have never read a Naruto fan fic like this before, so tell me if you know of one- in a review, with your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks for reading.