Chapter Seven: First Assignment

He stood in the center of void. Nothing was here, but his eyes were hot and burned furiously, he started sobbing but with each movement made... it felt like his skull was about to explode, sending bits of his brain flying all over the void, the darkness. He couldn't stand it, the pain was unbearable and he was brought to his knees. Forced against his will to submit to the unfading pain,each passing moment was filled with the constant throbbing. The veins in his ears were pumping blood as though they were angry with his. He started panicking and breathing raggedly. It hurt even to breath, his vision started to fade... but he saw a light in the darkness far off into the void, but then came the amused laughter of an insidious individual, followed by it's malevolent and resentful words. "What hope do you have? A puny coward hiding behind his mask, making friends with failures and evermore hopeless individuals." It laughed and Kodo slowly turned his head to the source, he found himself staring directly into the blood red eye of one of the tailed beast, the last thing he saw was an open maw filled with massive teeth...

Kodo's eyes opened and he placed the palm of his hand against his face, he was sweating. "What was that?" He groaned and turned his head to find the familiar face of Naruto Uzumaki staring directly at him, the Ramen packages Kodo had decided to spend his medium of exchange for goods and services on, had been invaded by Naruto, the blond-haired boy still had noodles in his mouth. "Naruto... are those mine?" Kodo asked and slowly sat up from his bed, staring directly at Naruto, as he swallowed.

"No!" Naruto bolted out of the chair, and sent it flying across the room.

"Shen! Sic him!" Kodo pointed a finger and his newest companion charged from underneath the bed on all fours. Meanwhile, Kodo made handsigns and targeted the pup. "Transformation Jutsu!" The pup transformed into a larger version of itself and slammed directly into Naruto's back. Both of them were sent crashing through the front door.

Kodo in the meantime decided it was best to get dressed, and based on the terrified shouts of Naruto at Shen to stop chasing him... he had some time.

Kodo stretched his arms and yawned loudly as he walked outside, he listened for a few moments... the sounds were still present but distant, so Kodo casually walked up the wall to the roof of his apartment complex and found them, judging by the path of destruction... they were heading straight towards the academy. He wondered how Naruto could still run so fast even after spraining his ankle, perhaps it was just some sort of fast regenerative trait of the Uzumaki clan. Whatever.

Kodo was about to charge towards the Academy when a hand grasped his shoulder. "Kodo, the Hokage wants to see you." It was Sasuke.


The Hokage's office was surprisingly clean, usually there was piles of paper stacked left and right, perhaps the- The door opened with a crash and a man wearing small black shades groaned as he set the massive stack down next to the hokage's desk. The Hokage wore a defeated expression, then let out a deep exhale filled with smoke from his nose. He closed his eyes and then inhaled deeply.

"Kodokunaha, unfortunately due to all of our Jounins and team leaders being away on mission today, I am assigning you as Team Captain of Team Seven." The Hokage let out a deep sigh as he waited to hear Kodo's reaction, but none came. He just stood there, contemplating for a few moments.

"What are the details, Hokage?" Kodo asked and crossed his arms.

"Nothing you shouldn't be able to handle, a Bridgebuilder is seeking bodyguards to help him get to the Land of Waves. It will be a C-rank mission but you shouldn't run into much trouble along the way."

"Fair, where's the Client?"

"REALLY, A C-RANK MISSION, COME AWN-"

SMASH!

"He should be here shortly-"

The Door opened slowly and a man holding a bottle of alcohol leaned against the doorframe. "You want these fools to guard me?" He asked and scanned each of the squad-members and started laughing when he saw Naruto. "Yeah, good enough, didn't realize my own personal entertainment from an incompetent fool like, this weird haired kid was what I was paying for... looks like a hot-head, and a liability, but the rest of you should know your stuff... unless the reputation of the Hidden-leaf village is all just a lie." He shrugged and started to walk-off.

"Your mission begins now." The Hokage smiled, and it seemed to be pretty devious.

Naruto's expression was conflicted and Kodo looked at him with a smug look in his eyes. "We really gotta work with this guy?" Naruto asked, he was outraged, as to be expected from a knucklehead like Naruto.

"Looks that way, Naruto... anybody else have any complaints before we get underway?" He asked.

"None here, Kodo."

"Nope."

"How can nobody else CARE?!"

"About what?"

Naruto Sighed as they exited the room. The Hokage started chuckling as he was now free of his burden, they all did as a matter of fact. All except Kodo, who had Shen sitting on top of his head. "What?" He smirked, "Is it too much like Kiba... Where else am I gonna put the poor guy?" He asked them.

Sakura picked Shen up and put him in the backpack Kodo was wearing, Shen poked his head out of the bag and Kodo sighed deeply. "Let's go."

"Yes, Captain." They all stated... and then they were off.