Chapter 356: Ghost [#3]
"...shit." He couldn't help but curse out loud, his hand shivering a little as he held onto the bow firmly - He breathed out and let the arrow go, and the world slowed to a halt.
Let's start from the beginning.
Clint was, as always, in his apartment. But this time, he wasn't alone - he had left, gotten drunk, and brought a guy home. He ignored the floating ghost man by the name Azur Bones as he tried talking him out of sleeping with the guy, but Clint ignored him. He was already dead and Clint was probably going insane for being alone for too long, so why the fuck should he listen to one of his possible hallucinations? "Baby, you're so thirty, aren't you?" The guy was big, bigger than him and the definition of the word bear. "Don't worry, daddy will take care of you - What the fuck?" Confused, Clint raised his head to see the floating head of the man he named Azur. His face contorted into the ugliest rendition of a demon, teeth growing, skin turning dark like ash, and curved horns growing on his head as he growled out in an animalistic manner: "LEAVE."
The man stumbled back in fear, his eyes wide as Clint came to the realization - Someone else saw the ghost that has been following him around, so it isn't a hallucination? Oh fuck, did he just try to cheat on him? Wait, they're not in a relationship, so it isn't cheating! But the guy kept repeating they were married, soul married (whatever that means), and if he tried to cheat on him he'd regret it. "Fuck this shit." The big bear man whose name Clint didn't even care about, ran away with his tail between his legs, scared out of his mind. Clint felt fear at the sight of this demonic entity, but slowly the features of the big demon guy slowly returned to the human features of Azur Bones. "..." he didn't say anything, he just looked at him with this sad expression on his face before he faded into the wall.
"...huh." He didn't know how to feel about this - I mean, he thought the guy didn't exist! He thought he was too horny and desperate that his mind made up a ghost hunk to be his deceased husband from beyond the grave. "Did I fuck up?" He didn't know if he fucked up… Then memories of how the night went came to mind. Him, drinking inside a club, lights flashing as Azur floated beside him and saying things like "Clint, baby, stop drinking. It's not good for your body if you drink so much." And things like "Why are flirting with that guy? I'm here you know, I'm literally bound to your soul, we're basically soul married." And when he started kissing this big bear guy, Azur's face just went expressionless as he said: "You're cheating on me…? I Mean, we're not exactly in a relationship though we're more than married now… If you cheat on me, you'll regret it later." To complete silence as Clint took the guy home, kissing and gropping him while they walked upstairs.
"Huh…" Right, didn't he say that ghosts and spirits are more easily affected by their emotions? As he was thinking that, Azur once again phased through the wall, floating towards him with this look of cold that made his drunk mind suddenly get sober. "I told you you would regret it… Now I'm gonna make annoying noises and not let you sleep for the next 24 hours, then I'll haunt the shit out of you and make everyone think you're crazy, and then I will make a mess of everywhere you go." Clint felt like this was a promise, doom he brought to himself and had only himself to blame for this.
-Scene Cut-
"COUNTRY GNOMES!"
"TAKE MY BONES!"
"TO A PLACE!"
"THEY DON'T BELONG!"
"Please…" Clint pressed his hands to his face, his eyes bloodshot and heavy bags under his eyes: "Let me sleep…"
"WEST VIRGINIA!"
"MOUNTAIN MAMA!"
"TAKE MY BONES!"
"Goddamn…" Feeling the tears go down his face, Clint groaned. The sun was rising in the horizon, and with that, he had to go to work as well! "You demon…" Feeling a splitting headache from not only the hangover he had but also from the several hours he spent hearing Azur making loud noises, wailing like a banshee, screaming, singing, and destroying things inside his apartment. At one point, Clint was even lifted from his bed by an invisible force, shoved out of the bed, and even had his hair pulled because he was falling asleep. "I'm the demon? You cheater, if I wasn't bound to you, I'd have set fire to the house already!"
"I'M SORRY, OKAY!?" Frustated and tired, Clint didn't care anymore: "I'm sorry I thought you were a creation from my horny and desperate mind. I'm sorry I thought I was going crazy. I'M SORRY I had to spent so much time coming to terms with the fact that ghosts are real and I apparently see them!" Panting, he heaved with the sudden nauseous feeling of wanting to throw up: "I'm sorry… I promise I won't fucking go out again and pick a guy, but please, stop talking, singing, and banging on things!" There was silence for a long and awkward while, but then a soft hand touched his head, making him look up at the sad face of the ghost that has been tormenting him all night.
"...okay." Azur said: "I'll stop, but if you ever think of cheating on me again, I'll do much worse." His features started transforming, skin turning ash, horns sprouting out of his head, and teeth elongating as he took this demonic (and honestly? Kinda hot) form. His voice was deep, Inhuman, and filled with fire: "I'll destroy, maim, and murder the one you bring with you, and then I'll fuck you until you can't walk anymore." Clint's eyes felt his eyelashes flutter like the wings of a butterfly - was this a threat or a promise? He didn't even think about it as his sleepy brain let this out: "Don't threaten me with a good time." Both he and the demonic big guy looked at each other in surprise, and then Clint felt his whole face be set ablaze by his blush as he got up from his bed. "Okay, time for a bath!" Indeed, water! It's great isn't it?
"Want me to wash your back?" The now human Azur floated behind him with that same flirtatious grin on his face, making the living human in the room a little tempted to accept, but ultimately he rejected said offer by saying: "No thanks, I'm hungry though… Could you get me something? That isn't poisoned, y'know?" Azur rolled his eyes hard, making Clint smirk smugly as the ghost said: "I literally am metaphysically incapable of killing or hurting you harshly. A slap? That I can do. A stab? Not so much." Ah, that's good to know isn't it?
While Clint was taking a bath (And Azur was definitely not *wink* watching it), our beloved ghost protagonist decided to take a look at his system.
[Status -
Name: Azur Bones Barton
Race: Low-Ranking Ghost
Age: ???
Titles: Ghost Emperor Candidate
Tier: 2
[Spiritual Energy: 10,000/10,000]
[Psionic Energy: 10,000/10,000]
~Soulbound: Clint Francis Barton~
Stats - Body
Strength: 0
Endurance: 0
Dexterity: 0
Agility: 0
Vitality: 0
Stats - Mind/Soul
Intelligence: 100
Wisdom: 50
Willpower: 50
Charisma: 50
Spirit: 100
Skills -
F-Rank:
<Apparition>
E-Rank:
<Soul Energy Manipulation>
<Empathy>
<Phasing>
<Teleportation>
<Energy Absorption>
D-Rank:
<Invisibility>
<Telepathy>
<Telekinesis>
<Interact>
A-Rank:
<Soul Form>]
He managed to increase his tier! The way he did so was being soulbound to Clint and sharing his energy with him, keeping him alive and saving his soul. After that, he ended up developing a bunch of skills and increasing the rank of almost all his F-Rank skills up to E-Rank. He managed to bring his [Telekinesis] to D-Rank and awaken a [Telepathy] skill as well, which was incredible to have. He has been using said skills to keep these fucking parasites away from his husband, these leeches were the small negative spiritual beings that tried to syphon and devour the psionic energy his wreck of a man produced by being alive. It was okay for him to feed on it, but these little scums? No way! He's his husband and he won't let others touch him.
Which is why there's a new ghost out there, from a bear.
"You're gonna be late." He pushed his head through the wall, scaring Clint for a moment, who was taking a bath. "Cute dick you have by the way." He enjoyed the embarrassed blush he got before going back the way he came by simply phasing through the walls until he got to the kitchen of this small apartment. He willed it and the utensils moved, taking the eggs, bacon, and crudely made pancake into a plate while a cup of coffee floated into the table. What? He liked cooking, even though he wasn't that good at it. He watched as Clint came running in, his hair still wet and him having a little difficulty putting on the tie, which had him sighing and using his [Telekinesis] to quickly tie the tie right while also getting a towel to dry his hair. "...I think I should be able to do this." What is magic? Magic is the manifestation of one's will upon the world! He focused, causing friction between the molecules of oxygen until a warmth filled the space before him, he could feel said warmth as it was him that made said heat. Focusing 100% on this, he floated towards Clint, saying: "You're hopeless." While moving the air around him.
[You've awakened the F-Rank (SSS-Rank Potential) Skill: Fire Magic]
[You've awakened the F-Rank (SSS-Rank Potential) Skill: Wind Magic]
Mixed together, he blew a warm wind on Clint's disheveled hair, drying it like he was using a hairdryer. Meanwhile, the man in question felt weird… Like his heart had grown double the size, but it wasn't a bad sensation.
It felt domestic.
"There. Dry." He quickly ate breakfast while Azur brushed his hair, trying to do the impossible and tame it. "I… thanks." He didn't know what else to say, it really felt like they were married and he was surprisingly okay with this.
Clint worked nowhere. He was hunting for a job, something Azur learned on the way! He didn't have money for a car, he did have a bike, which he took for an interview. "Okay, if worse comes to worse, I can brainwash them into giving you the job!" Clint almost lost control over his bike hearing that - Azur can brainwash people!? "What else can you do!?"
"Well… Magic, Psionics, or Spiritual?"
"Uh… all of the above?"
"Well, fire and wind magic which I used to dry your hair, psionics which i use to cook, clean, and do other things, and there's spiritual which I use to protect you against… A few annoying things." There was disgust in his voice as he spoke the word 'annoying', which had Clint confused. What was he talking about? Regardless, he had an interview to go to.
…
"Okay, I'm gonna haunt their asses." Azur angrily said, kicking the can with his hand with all his strength, using his skill [Interact] to have it shoot away in the empty metro. "Fucking bitches, how dare they reject you? You're clearly qualified for the job!" In fact, Clint has been rejected in all his interviews today - it's hard to get a job when you have a criminal record in your name! But it felt a little better seeing Azur angry for him, it made him feel a little happier that there was still someone in this world that would get mad for him, like Laura used to. It was about midnight and they were the only ones in the station, seeing as Clint's bike got stolen today.
Azur said he couldn't see it happening because he can't willingly leave a radius of 100 meters around Clint, which he didn't leave because he wanted to stay beside him while he had his interviews. He apologized so much, and even made a vending machine malfunction and shake, letting go of a few cans of soda for him as an apology. "It's okay." Clint grinned to himself: "It's only natural that they don't want to hire me. I did beat up a man half to death after all."
"Still… Want me to steal a bank? I can probably do it and give you the money. They can't arest a ghost, can they?"
"And, pray tell, where would I keep the money?"
"Well… I could shove it up my ass?"
"How does that work?"
"I mean-"
A scream echoed, a scream of despair and fear. "HELP! SOMEONE! HELP ME-" only to be suddenly drowned by something, or rather, someone. Azur didn't react to it, acting as if he didn't hear that, while Clint turned towards the sound of the screaming woman. "Fuck." He swore before running towards the sound, making Azur exasperatedly sigh.
Ah, the man he is married to had to be a hero huh? 'Ah, the things I do for the man I love…' Holy shit.
He's in love? Damn, why did no one tell him that!?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone