[ the chattering, and the concentration that it takes amidst the crowd to really listen to the other, does help take vash's mind off the display going on over both of their heads as he follows luffy weaving his way through the throng - heading down the gentle sloping hillside back to the bazaar.

the fireworks are much harder to hear at this distance - the sound of sizzling meat and other food, as well as the vendors calling out the prices and people shouting orders help too; not that vash feels much like eating yet - his stomach is still twisted into anxious knots full of guilt, half his mind still replaying the explosions, seeing image of falling ships mirrored in the back of his eyes. a hundred ships, a thousand thousand lives caught alight, fragmented across the night sky. ]

Uh, my name is Vash! [ he manages to finally interject between the endless flow of chatter, stepping around a big guy and falling into step beside luffy. ]

Haha, it's a good thing it's a bit quieter here now, I didn't get a chance to have a good look around before ... what's the game you wanted to play?