AFTER DARK | naruto

40 | invincibility and the trouble it causes

CW: lots of blood lots of injuries lots of violence

"I'm starting to think Lord 5th doesn't like you." Asuma spoke from beside you—the four of you were all standing by idly. "Or maybe it's Shikamaru who resents you. Second mission in a row you're sent on dealing with the Akatsuki."

You were silent—you'd never even spoken to any of the three people standing beside you. "It wasn't on purpose last time..." You answered, side-eying the group you were with. "Tsunade said the missions I'm sent on would be with upmost consideration. If she allowed me to come, she must've had faith in me."

"You're nothing like Guy. He got stuck with pretty serious students, didn't he?" You turned your head to look at him—"First that Hyuga kid.... Going on a mission with him was unbearably silent. Now you, taking what I say so serious." You felt your face heat up in embarrassment. You weren't supposed to take it seriously? "On the other hand, that Rock Lee kid was a carbon copy. Though, he's actually youthful like your Sensei loves to praise."

He was calling your Sensei old—but he looked older than Guy. So he was calling himself old.

It seemed your staring began making him awkward, he shifted his feet before he spoke. "Well, let's get going. If Shikamaru thought you were his best replacement..." Asumas jaw almost dropped when he realized Shikamaru recommended a girl, but Asuma was a trained jounin--he wouldn't let the shock get to him. "Then I'm not gonna doubt you."

You were all about seeing the dead, but being around so many dead bodies at the same time wasn't something you experienced day to day. In a cementary, ghosts always wandered. They were loud, too, you could hardly hear the conversation Asuma was having as your eyes flicked from place to place.

"Given the fact Chiriku's head carries a 30 million bounty with it, I'd assume the Akatsuki..." Izumo didn't want to finish his sentence, it fell short from his mouth.

"... You're probably right." Asuma answered. "Those bastards could be running around  to any collection office around here...." It was silent for a second. And suddenly, they all turned toward you.

The bead of sweat on your cheek completely sold the poker face you were trying to pull. "You can use your Poltigan to summon him... He can lead us straight to his body, right?" Well, you weren't sure if ghosts had some sort of uncanny track on their body, but you could try.

"... Ghosts look a little scary if you summon them shortly after death. They retain injuries and any physical damages for about a week after death... If he's beaten pretty bad, it could be pretty traumatizing..." You answered scratching your cheek, eyes flickering from each of their faces to the next. They looked all looked between eachother before nodding.

"Summon him. If they wanted a bounty, they'd keep him recognizable." Asuma and explained, and you nodded. The sound of your Poltigan activating rung in your own ears, the voices of ghosts getting louder. Nothing you never learned to ignore though. With an image of a bald head and a first and last name, he appeared in front of you. He wasn't to roughed up, but given a few signs, it was definitely a dead man.

Your reached your palm out to his wrist, pouring a set amount of Chakra in him. The two jounins practically cringed, Asuma stared wide-eyed—this was his old friend, and knowing it was a ghost now was off putting. You knew the feeling, it was the same gut wrenching feeling you felt summoning Wendy.

"Chiruku." Asuma let the name fall out of his mouth. The ghost had a hand on his head—the feeling of being alive, dead and a physical ghost all in a week messed him up. It took him more than a few moments to straighten out, but when he did, his eyes landed on Asuma. His name fell out of his lips in a similar style.