Just to let you all know this chapter will be quite short because I'm preparing for school in a couple days😁 Hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Much love!
The bartender glanced up from the pint glass he was cleaning, raising a brow suspiciously. His eyes flickered over the young boy as he flicked his black bangs out of his eyes. "Kid, you shouldn't be in here." He stated firmly. "Eighteens and over."
Cole stared at the older man helplessly, his eyes widening innocently. "C'mon, please! I'm really thirsty! I don't know what to do!"
"Sorry." Was his only reply, causing the earth ninja to frown miserably. Suddenly he flinched, a full shot glass being slammed down in front of him. The bartender smirked softly at the teen, chuckling. "Go on then. On the house." Cole's face brightened up as he quickly downed the strong drink, instantly recognising it as whiskey. The man scoffed at his joyful expression, removing the used glass from the bar surface. He then abruptly became extremely serious, leaning over to stare Cole directly in the eyes. "Go home. This club isn't safe for you; I don't even want to know how you got in."
"I can't go home." He stated, staring at the other weakly. "I ran away. This friend of mine got irritating and called me names I'd rather not mention."
The bartender became intrigued, resting himself comfortably against the bar counter. "That doesn't explain why you're here, though. You better have a decent excuse; you can't just run away because someone disrespected you. So, c'mon, tell me the real reason why a scruffy kid like you can sneak into an adult place like this."
Cole rolled his eyes and chuckled darkly, a soft smirk playing on his lips. "Oh wouldn't you like to know…" His eyes glinted with a devilish orange, contrasting eerily with his naturally emerald orbs. The earth ninja licked his lips gently, his gaze shifting slightly as the older man began to loose patients.
"Don't you start gettin all cocky." He growled in a threatening tone. "You should be lucky that I haven't thrown you out yet."
"Fine." Cole quickly fumbled about with his leather bracelets and straps around his wrists, pulling them up to reveal the scars left from Kai's attack in the bedroom weeks before. "The guy did this. He also sent me home half-dead. Is that a good excuse for me to be here?"
"No, of course not. That's a good reason for you to run away."
"He called me a slut." The teen abruptly stated, his voice shameless. He slowly readjusted his accessories and watched as the bartender blinked in confusion. "I'm here to see if I can be the slut he thinks I am."
The older man was taken aback by the teen's explanation. "If you wanna be a slut then at least find some kind of neck choker. All the tryhards in this place do it. I mean, sure, you're small and look extremely innocent, but maybe it could make you look more intimidating?" He admitted, chewing his lip slightly.
"But I don't own a choker." Cole retorted, peering over the bar counter suspiciously. "Do you have anything?"
"Hm, might do." The man casually turned his back on the boy, crouching down to open up a nearby cabinet near the floor. Once the door closed again, he stood back up and handed Cole the random object. "It belonged to my mate's Rottweiler before he got a new one. I dunno whether it'll fit-"
Cole stared down at the spiked, leather collar in awe. Ever since he'd found rock music he'd wanted one of them so badly. "N-No… Its perfect." He uttered, stunned, as he cautiously began to place the collar around the middle of his neck, carefully buckling it up securely. He grinned up at the bald man and nodded in thanks. "This so cool, seriously~"
The bartender smiled back in assurance, yet his gut filled with guilt, as he ran a hand over his bald head in worry. "Listen to me, okay? You can stay in here if you feel alright. But as soon as you get tired or uncomfortable, just find me and I'll keep you behind the bar with me." He winked confidently at Cole as he nodded happily, sticking his hand out firmly.
"Shake on it?" The black ninja grinned even more as the bartender gladly shook his hand, nodding in agreement. "By the way, I'm Cole."
"Craig." Craig replied, watching hastily as the shorter boy slid off the stool, making his way into the bumbling crowd of drunken and partying adults.
The time was seven o'clock when the group finally found each other, the past three hours starting to become agonising. The Lightning ninja happily collapsed onto a nearby bench, throwing his head back an letting out an annoyed groan. Nya pursed her lips sceptically and quietly sat down next to the blue-clad boy, her chocolate eyes flickering over his heaving chest.
"Why did you attack my brother?" She asked quietly, watching as Kai snapped his head around from talking to Lloyd; eyes wide and alert as he listened to the conversation.
Jay ran a hand down his face lazily, muffling his irritated, inhuman sounds. "You know why, Nya… You wanted to kill him as well…" He straightened his posture so he was facing the samurai, brows furrowed in confusion. "That monster-"
"Hey, shut it." Lloyd's demanding order pierced through his brother's speech as the blond glared at his companions in anger. "We've heard all this crap before. We all need to stop repeating everything and start searching again. We're here to find Cole safe and sound, not fight like a bunch of little kids! It's getting late and my patience is running out."
Zane nodded sharply at the shorter boy, focusing on his surroundings as his systems and circuits scanned around them. "My systems have surveyed our current location with the additional help of Falcon's birdseye-view."
"And? Do you know where he is?" Jay spluttered out quickly, jolting to his feet urgently.
"I have a more precise location, yes." The Nindroid calmly pointed his finger to a nearby signpost, his voice opimistic. "CCTV footage showed him walking downtown only moments ago. That means that he could be anywhere."
"Check all the… the eventful places around here." Lloyd struggled for words, licking his lips dryly as he began to stroll determinedly in the assigned direction. "Let's just hope that Cole hasn't gotten himself into any trouble."