"Its been a while since I actually lived in Seattle," Juka answered. "I lived in Tokyo for most of my later teen years before finally coming here. Plus, I didn't stand out quite so much then." He winked at the kid. While Seattle might still hold some fond memories for him, it certainly wasn't home any more. He still thought going for a visit might be fun though. Then again, maybe he just had a different view of distance and travel than most given his power.

"New York is a lovely city and I'm sure it'll start to feel like home in no time at all. It doesn't have all the glitz and glamour of the lights of Tokyo but its more fast paced than Seattle. Plus, it seems to be a hot bed of mutant activities and you have to like that." Or maybe it was just Juka that was generally fascinated by mutants and their many shades and colours of powers. He could openly admit to anyone who cared to listen that he loved to see them and learn about them and might even admit to having a bit of an attraction to those who looked unusual. Depending, of course, on exactly what 'unusual' constituted. Slime, for example, of any sort he just couldn't find attractive.

"Why thank you," Juka bowed at the compliment to his clothes. "It takes a lot of work to look just this fabulous. Sounds like you understand the whole, conservative stuck in a rut parents thing pretty well yourself then," he noted with a grimace. "Technically I never brought a boy home for my parents to meet, but I have a feeling they would have reacted almost as badly if I brought home a girl. It was all about making a spectacle of myself and embarrassing my father." The bitterness could be heard in his voice, bitterness he could have sworn he'd dealt with a long time ago.

"So, lets see if you can make it to the top of this here statue before I can," Juka challenged, grinning. Even if he did have a bit of an unfair advantage over the kid.

Sawyer nodded. He didn't exactly care much about Juka's past, not really. Okay, so maybe it was interesting to know that in the end, they were from the same place, but it didn't matter now, did it? Living the life of a Mutant, he had learned that sometimes the past was better off left as that: the past. You had to move forward and never look back. He had learned to do that over the few years he'd known about his Mutant power and would do it for years to come. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he never seemed to hold grudges for long... Well, maybe his parents were an exception, but they'd done many things throughout Sawyer's life that he frowned upon or sometimes even hated them for.

He had to agree, New York was truly lovely. Just by glancing around him Sawyer had all of the proof he needed. Already standing rather high up in the air he could pretty much see a part of New York without a problem. All of the lights, cars passing by and tiny people. Yes, it was definitely a sight to see, too bad it was only his first time really getting to see the city he was now residing in. And to think he'd lived here a few days already. Shrugging the bitter thought of his parents aside, Sawyer glanced back at Juka. "Yeah, this place probably doesn't look as cool as Tokyo does." he agreed with a smirk. It wasn't as beautiful as Paris though. He'd been to Paris once four years ago.

He did like the hustling and bustling of New York however. It was a whole lot more hectic than Seattle, which was exactly his style. He wasn't one that slowed down much, evidently, therefore he had a good idea that he wouldn't have much trouble finding a place for himself out here in the big city full of busy people. Chances are, he thought with a slight smirk, he would wind up with the wrong crowd, but he'd been with 'them' before and knew how to watch himself. He knew how not to be caught, he was probably a hell of a lot smarter than the other thugs and street kids anyway. After all, he had been a pretty intelligent kid in school, he still was. If only he was to apply himself a little more.

The blond teenager smirked a little as Juka thanked him, actually bowing. Fabulous huh? Well, Sawyer wouldn't have phrased it that way, but if he said so. "Yeah, I do get it." he said, a slight bitterness in the back of his throat. Not only because of his Mutation either. Sure, it really didn't help matters, but his parents were overall judgmental people. They lived in their own perfect world, doing things the way they believed and not giving into new things too easily. Sawyer and his brother had been disappointments to their oh-so-perfect parents and probably still were. Sawyer wasn't about to change for them though, hell no. He knew for a fact his brother wouldn't either.

"Technically I never brought a boy home for my parents to meet, but I have a feeling they would have reacted almost as badly if I brought home a girl. It was all about making a spectacle of myself and embarrassing my father."

The teen chuckled a little. "Yeah, been there, done that. Well, the 'bringing a girl home' part. Actually, my parents wouldn't have given a crap... but the fact that I was drunk and didn't know left from right ruined it for me." he laughed. "That evening didn't end the way I would have wanted it to." he added. His brother had brought a few guys home, one in particular that had made his parents extremely uncomfortable. Six years later though, that guy had married Billy. As Sawyer stood there on the base of the statue, he couldn't help but wonder if that was why Billy and Chance lived so far from Seattle.

The little bet however made all of his emotions move aside, replaced by his competitive side. Oh yes, Sawyer was a competitor, and to be honest, he could be a sour loser too. "A'right m'friend, let's do this." he smirked cockily, bracing himself.

"I think I feel more at home here than in Tokyo," Juka replied. It was something of a revaltion for him as he had always loved Tokyo. It was, however, the truth. In Tokyo, even though that was where he truly got his start in music and in the style of dress and mannerism that he currently employed, it was much more conservative overall than New York was. Maybe it was the bad memories of his family that prevented the feelings of hominess that he associated with his current city or maybe he just liked the multi-cultural atmosphere of his current city better. Either way, as much as he would love to return to Japan and visit the big city sometime, he was certain he'd eventually return to New York. There just wasn't any disputing that fact.

Juka laughed with Sawyer and his drunk girl story, imagining how his parents must have reacted and also imagining how his own parents would have reacted. Although never a fan of getting drunk, there was a time when Juka drank and partied fairly regularly despite being under age. Of course, by that time the damage had all ready been done and his parents didn't really think much of any of his habits. Now, of course, his bubble wouldn't even allow him to drink more than a couple of drinks before it interfered. "I dont' think any parent appreciates their teenage children drinking," he stated with a grimace. "Hell, I don't think any parent appreciates their children growing into teenagers period!"

Juka prepared himself for the race to the top of the statue. The speedster had the advantage in pure speed of course, probably around 15 or 20 mph if he was to guess, but he had the advantage of being able to go in a direct route rather than having to navigate the statue itself. Overall, it was going to be close.

"All right, on the count of three," Juka stated. It had to be a fair race, after all. "One...two...three!" At the moment he yelled three, his bubble shot straight up, aiming for the torch the immense lady was holding high above her head.

Yeah, Sawyer wasn't entirely surprised when Juka mentioned he felt more at home here than in Tokyo. A lot of Mutants back at the school seemed to think along the same lines. Maybe none of them had really voiced it out loud, but he could read it in their expressions, their body language and the things they said and did around the place. He was an observant person, with all of those hours of being cooped up inside Xavier's had given him a lot of time to just lurk, watch and analyze everyone. At least he had a pretty good idea of some of the gossip... People talked a lot, and sometimes without noticing who was around, listening.

Sawyer smirked as Juka laughed, his smirk only widening as he spoke. Yeah, well Sawyer knew a few parents who didn't care what they child did at all. Some of his friends, the ones that had been involved in shady street things with him, had either parents who were dead, drunks or simply not around. Maybe one or two of them were simply like Sawyer, trying to rebel, but most of them had actual problems, big problems, with their family and home life. Sawyer knew his ordeal had been nothing compared to some, but he still felt bitter toward his parents. Even if they hadn't thrown him out of the house with nothing. They were paying for his education here, and a safe place to stay.

He did understand that, but the fact that they had established rules for him to fallow, even if they were thousands of miles away, it was definitely not cool. In a way, he would rather have been thrown out on his butt... At least then he would be free to do whatever he wanted. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't have gotten a proper education, meaning no future for him, and he would probably had fallen under drugs, alcohol and illegal acts that were far worse than what he'd done in the past, but he would have been capable of being himself.

One... two... three! The race started, and the competitive side of Sawyer took a front seat. He quickly started to climb as fast as he could, hopping and grabbing at the statue, finding places to put his feet, sometimes simply bouncing off the structure to grasp at a higher area. He wasn't going at the highest of his speed limits, what with having to see where he placed his hands and feet, but he wasn't climbing as slow as any lame human would either. At one point in the race, probably a good twenty feet before arriving at the very top, Sawyer even looked beside him to find Juka neck in neck. When he finally touched the torch, he wasn't sure if he had won or not. That had been pretty fast, even for Juka's bubble.

There were very few people that could compete with the speed of Juka's bubble. Outside of his bubble he was both relatively weak and relatively slow, but inside of it he could travel as fast as a car in the city, though he couldn't achieve high way speeds. Outside he was just another person, all be it a rather fabulous and amazing person, but inside of it he was something truly special. His bubble provided the ultimate freedom and a good amount of versitility to go with it. Sawyer, it seemed, could compete however which was remarkably impressive in his mind.

As Juka shot straight up into the sky, he peeked over at the statue and the teenager making his way up it far faster than any mere human could. It was remarkable to watch the agility in which he navigated its various outcroppings and somehow managed to race to the top without falling to his doom. Without his safe little bubble, it was a feat that Juka himself likely would have been terrified to do. His bubble, after all, made everything safer than most had to worry about. It was lighter than air so even when he lost control it remained aloft. The only time he really had to worry about actually falling was if he was to fall unconscious. The fact that the speedster had no such protection made his feat all that much more impressive.

When the two of them finally made it to the top of the statue, Juka was hard pressed to say who had actually won the competition. "You, my dear man, are stunning," he informed his new friend with a wide grin. Because after that feat and a little competition, how could he not be a friend. "I forgive you your earlier cookie theft and can see you and your power are quite remarkable." There really wasn't much else to say other than that.

Sawyer knew by the expression on Juka's face that he was impressed. Sure, maybe it wasn't entirely clear who exactly had won, having both been pretty damn close, but it didn't really matter. Sawyer had proven that he was a force to be reckoned with if he wanted to be, and that was a pretty good accomplishment for one night.

Hoisting himself fully onto the statue's peak, in this case the torch, he sat down and watched his surroundings with a keen eye. Things were beautiful from up here, just as much so as when he'd been in Juka's bubble. Perhaps even more, because now he had the wind rustling his hair and rubbing against his face. He did a mental note to himself to come back here with a date one of those days. She would definitely never forget it.

"Yeah, I know." he chuckled, obviously joking around, to a certain level. He knew he was pretty awesome, every single Mutant was. It wasn't exactly hard to be impressive and awesome when you had amazing super powers.

He then laughed at the cookie thief reference. "Hey, I was hungry. I hadn't eaten all day. Besides, there were plenty of cookies to go around... Still, I'm glad you forgave me." he smirked. Honestly, he could care less whether someone forgave him for stealing cookies or not. He'd gone through worse than a simple grudge that meant nothing.

In some ways Juka had come to take for granted the view he could gain from high above the ground, floating in his bubble, but seeing the expression on Sawyer's face made him appreciate it anew. It reminded him of the first time he had first discovered his power and how positively wonder struck he had been. Sometimes it just took a little push to help him recall just how fortunate he was in his life.

"I guess we should return you to the Mansion," Juka finally suggested, with some reluctance. "I won't be missed but if you're gone for much longer, you might be." Absently he wondered just how long it would take someone to notice if he was to ever go missing but forced the thought out of his mind. Now was not the time to contemplate such things. Even if it occasionally felt like he was alone in the world, he knew he wasn't.

"Think you can make it back on your own or do you need a lift?" It was getting close to the time in which Juka normally began his nightly patrols. The city, alas, was always in need of a hero even if it was just someone to stop a purse snatching or a bit of bullying.

It wasn't until Juka mentioned the Mansion that Sawyer remembered how exactly they had come to be here. He wasn't even supposed to be out in the city, not to mention on top of the Statue of Liberty.

He smirked a little at the thought of just what he was doing. His parents would have freaked out if they would have found out. He was somewhat proud of that feat. Still, Juka did have a point, it was getting a little too late to be standing on top of the Statue of Liberty, and besides, it was getting colder now that night was truly falling, and shorts and a muscle shirt wouldn't protect him for much longer.

"Yeah, at this point I don't really care whether I'm missed or not, but you're right. Let's get going." It wasn't as if he minded being expelled, now was it? Sure, the Mansion wasn't such a bad place to be in, not as bad as he'd first believed anyway, but he would still rather be on his own, free to do as he pleased, free to run at his own speed without having to look back. Oh well.

When Juka asked whether he wanted a lift or not, the teen glanced down at the ground way below before glancing at Juka. He was doubtful about the decent. It was after all, harder for him to find a place for his feet while climbing down rather than climbing up. "Unless you want my blood on your hands, I think it would be best if I had a lift." he chuckled.

This had been a fun evening, which actually was something coming from Sawyer Shepherd's head.

Juka extended a hand out to Sawyer, intending to bubble him and float him back to the safety of the Mansion. He wasn't intending to make this into a ride this time around, just get him safely back where he was supposed to be, hopefully before his keepers discovered he was missing. And even if they had discovered it, hopefully Juka would at least be able to avoid their wrath. Would his prospective X-man trainee status be subject to refusal because he had helped a minor skip out on his curfew? Best not to stick around to find out.

Once the Mansion was in sight, Juka directed his bubble to the roof, just outside of the stairs leading down and back into the building. He unbubbled in order to let the kid back down onto the roof. "We'll have to do this again, Sawyer. I had fun." And it was a welcome distraction from his rather pessimistic thoughts lately. He prepared himself for his departure, rebubbling.