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The Duck, if you're looking for Akihiro, it's the best place to check. Usually the teen's dressed in leather and denim, but sat at one of the back tables is the teen dressed in a pair of red plaid slacks and a military surplus trench coat. He's been unusually quiet, not even participating in the last brawl by the pool tables.
The heightened aggression that goes through the Duck was expected. And usually, when she enters into a public scene such as this and filled with much hostility, she'd turn right around. But there was a certain mind that she was searching for, one that was found there, mostly due to word of mouth and Jean's crudely drawn pictures of Akihiro. (Well, even though she -could- draw, it was still a funny drawing none the less.)
But at the door she stood, typical girl fashion, hair in a ponytail, slim, pale green dress with tiny black shoes upon her feet. She still looks like a school marm, fresh from work, though her eyes narrow upon the brawl as she slowly begins to approach the bar.. away from the angry gathering. "Really?" She asks Akihiro at his back. "A -bar-?"
"I'm homeless Jean. It's warm here, the drinks are cheap, and more importantly the peanuts are free." Akihiro looks over his shoulder so he can offer her a warm smile. "It's been a long time. You want to sit down?" His outfit doesn't fit quite properly, and he may have bathed yesterday.
Jean shrugs her shoulders, carefully placing her hands upon the stool so that she could politely boost herself up, her back pressed towards the bar as she continues to watch the status of the fight. In fact, one would think that she's manipulating it, with the way that she stares with a hard squint behind her glasses. In truth, she was. Slowly latching onto the feelings.. attempting to push in happy thoughts…
"You could have came back to the mansion.." Though, remembering last time.. her head shakes. "..but I suppose you wouldn't after what happened last time." Her hand lifts to rub against her cheek, one shoulder lifting faintly. "Everything was still so raw back then, though. And I pretty much owe you an apology for everything I've said."
"No you don't." Akihiro says after listening to everything she has to say. From his seat he releases a flood of calming pheromones, coupled with Jean's manipulation it causes the fight to slow, then stop.
"I should apologize for thinking I could just get the adamantium and make it out. After we got the bomb out, they snatched me again. Kept me sedated unless I was killing somebody." He chuckles humorlessly and turns to prop an elbow up and look at her. "It is what it is, I guess."
With their combined effort, the fight was practically over. There was still some grumbling, which happens.. but as long as no one was too bloody and willing to stick around, it was all good in her book. Sighing just a touch, she turns to face the bar, smacking her hands upon the top of it and gesturing with a hook of her thumb. "Round on me for those guys there? Give them the top shelf stuff." The bartender nods, and goes about his business.
Now to Akihiro, she shakes her head briefly, but wisely.. doesn't comment. Even though she -could- have had a temper about it all, she allows his calming pheromones to affect her too. Good thinking on his part, and hers. "Yeah.." Is all she says, then quiets for a moment. "Well, it's over now. You're free, so that's what counts. But.. I didn't track you down just to tell you that you have a place to stay if you want. Which is true. But your father is missing. Figured you should know that."
"Well, I appreciat-" Akihiro's words stop an his jaw clenches. "Old bastard may not like me, but he's my dad. Any idea what happened to him?" The teen straightens up a bit and his fingertips rap against the bar, and the impact is harder than it should be. Maybe he got more of the metal treatment.
The hard rap does gain her attention, her eyes shooting towards his knuckles first.. then towards his face. Her mouth opens, then closes, the unsettling feeling bothering her.. but this was slightly more important. "No. His cabin was trashed and bloody. It was clear that there was a fight. And afterwards, the crew that went to his cabin were attacked by demons." Or something. She wasn't entirely sure. "In fact, I don't know -what- they were, when looking into the memories of the fight of the cabin from the others.. I've honestly never seen anything like them in my life."
"It's probably been too long for me to get a scent. Probably some leftover negative energy from the central park thing." Akihiro brings his knuckles down on the bar with a soft clack. "I'll help you any way I can. But I'll have to split once we get everything settled. Rather not have him take my head."
Ouch. Does he know why that Central Park thing happened? Jean shifts uncomfortably, then shakes her head faintly, the rapping of his knuckles gaining him a look as she reaches over to try to grasp his hand. "Stop that." She pauses. "All of it. He's not going to take your head. You were one of us once, none of that's ever gonna change, you know that, right? And you're his son. He doesn't know you, and we hardly ever had a chance to get to know you. So, once we get him back, we're going to fix it. Right?"
"I don't know. You remember when I showed up at the mansion, right?" Akihiro doesn't fight the grasp, letting her stop his hand. "I fucked up pretty bad though." He free hand comes up to smooth out his hair. "I'll have to see how it works out once we rescue him."
"Yeah.. I was part of that too." Jean mutters, then squeezes his hand. "We all fucked up, we all did wrong by each other." She shakes her head a little, then finally removes her hand from his, her glasses soon coming off as she carefully wipes away at her eyes. She wasn't crying, but she -was- tired. Hell, even feeling so tired she was coming close to tears. "And.. help any way you can. It's pretty dire. Illyana did a spell that allowed us to see where.. well, where he could be. They had him chained up. And they were torturing him. He was rabid." She didn't say more, fearing that Akihiro would get even more upset. "All we know or believe is that he's underground. We got nothing else. We.. I.. at least think you're our only hope. You're just like him, probably something more. I don't know. But you're probably the only one we know that can pick up his scent and get him back."
"Good thing they finished coating my skeleton then. Don't have to worry as much about him killing me in a rage." Akihiro reaches up to scratch at his stuble. "We sure he's still on Earth? Any number of places demons could have dragged him." The teen sighs quietly and goes from scratching to rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Guess the best place for me to start would be his cabin."
Jean winces a little, then reaches into her top to pull out a few bills. It was clear that she was finally going to pay for those drinks, thumbing through it with care as she cants an eye in his direction. "Maybe?" Hell, she didn't know how to answer that question, but Aki had the right idea. Cabin first. Everything else later. Once a sufficient amount of money was placed upon the counter top, the rest of it was dropped in front of the young man with a smile. Even though the smile was sad, she put it on either way.
"You may want to change your clothes first. We have a mutant who kind of.." Well.. "..her nose. It's her nose. It's.. her face is a nose. I mean, she has eyes. But she's mostly.. nose." She gestures around her own face, then frowns. "And she smells. Not like, she stinks. But she can smell -really- good. She's deaf though, because she doesn't have ears. A little mute.. but she can make noi.." She hesitates just a little, then quickly snatches her glasses to put them on. "So uh.. shower. New clothes or something. Probably proper food before you come back. Yeah?"
Akihiro only takes a few bills off what's left and pushes the rest back in front of Jean. "I'll go throw this outfit away and find something that doesn't smell then, I know how bad it is to be around stink." He finally finishes he drink off and pushes up onto his feet. "Thank you. I guess I'll see you at the mansion then."
Jean fixes her glasses with a push of them against the bridge of her nose, then slowly begins to slide from the stool with a slight stretch. She takes the rest of the money, shoving it into her top as she gives out a little heft of a sigh to look around at the bar. "Yeah.. I'll see you there. I got a little bit of business to handle here.." She smiles a little, then turns and gestures towards the bartender, her fingers wriggling. "Hand me the broom please?" Hell, she doesn't even work here and she was willing to clean it up..