Raya's back fell against the tree, shoulders sagging with exhaustion. She glanced at Kiyomi, who was happily examining the state of her scarf to be sure no serious cuts had been made to the fabric. Her lips twitched into a half-smile, despite her irritation; it had taken far longer to free Kiyomi from the branch than she had initially thought.

The boys were long gone, though she couldn't say she minded. While she had wanted to keep an eye on Timor, as he was increasingly more volatile these days, she trusted Aoi to handle him. Somewhat. Enough, anyway.

"Whaddya think they're gettin' up to right now?" Raya asked, smirking.

Kiyomi considered the question, her eyes flickering up from her scarf. There were only the tiniest of tears in the fabric- something that could be easily mended with a bit of help from some of the ladies back in the village.

"Most likely they're heading to Aoi's house," she answered cheerfully. "His grandma likes meeting all his friends!"

Although, if she was going to be fair, friends wasn't a word that often applied to the relationship Aoi held with others. Usually, it was tolerance, if anything. Still, it was the most likely bet- she'd retold all the details of their last adventure to the woman, who had seemed to match Kiyomi's level of happiness over the subject.

Pressing her palms flat to the rough bark, Raya shoved herself away from the tree, then spun around, hands on her hips, smirk still firmly spread across her lips.

"They're hardly friends, sis," she chuckled. "Whatever that idiot Dracule says. It'd be like saying me and Zoro are just friends. Doesn't work all that well, does it?"

Kiyomi furrowed her brow for a moment, then brightened considerably as the idea sunk in.

"Nope!" she answered cheerfully. "That means Aoi and Timmy-kun are dating, right?"

"Pretty much," Raya agreed as she dropped her hands, casting a faint look upward to check the position of the sun.

Raya and Timor had a ship to catch in the evening, which she honestly thought she'd have to remind the pink-haired pirate of. He'd been in something of a daze recently, forgetting the littlest of things, and she didn't put much stock into his remembering that they had to leave. She didn't mind, really, she just worried. This was a whole new Timor she was dealing with.

"We've got a few hours 'till Timor and me have to go. Anything ya wanna do before then, sis?"

Kiyomi bounced thoughtfully on her heels, taking this time to wrap her scarf back into place around her neck. She would have taken it home as to not damage it further, but it seemed a waste to head straight back when she had the chance to have fun with Raya. This in mind, she cocked her head to the side as she stopped bouncing.

"The market?" she suggested. "I heard from Aoi-kun that you didn't get to go there last time!"

A flicker of excitement passed over Raya's expression. Katana's mentioned what a vibrant place the market was after their initial visit to Nikko, and she'd been yearning to check the place out ever since.

Hooking her arm with Kiyomi's, Raya grinned at her sorta-sister.

"Lead the way, sis!"

Kiyomi beamed happily, not hesitating to do as instructed. Within seconds she'd started down the path to the rather large town that laid only a short distance downhill from the path into the forest that Aoi and Timor had most likely taken. As she walked, she mused over the rules that Aoi had instructed her to pay heed to when she visited the market alone (as according to him she was far too oblivious to dangerous things), but soon came to the conclusion that it didn't matter, since Raya was with her. That meant she couldn't get into trouble, right?

Putting this to the back of her mind, she began pointing out things as they drew close, although her idea of an explanation was far from the average.

"And that there is where Aoi-kun shot off a pervert's ear!" Kiyomi explained cheerfully. "He only told me afterwards that was the reason he shot at the guy. Oh, and there's where Hiroki and Aoi-kun used to race to when we were sent to get stuff from the market! There's lots of stalls, so we used to get sent to get stuff all the time!"

Raya listened with rapt attention. It was rare that she got the chance to learn about Aoi or Kiyomi's past, as she wasn't one to pry unless knowing would actually benefit her. She knew what buttons not to push, even if she largely ignored her own instincts on occasion.

"Aoi's always been an impulsive idiot, huh?" she grinned, hooking her hands at the back of her neck. "You don't just shoot a guy..."

She paused, considering how she might've handled the situation. While she often chastised Zoro for leaping without thinking, could she really say she was any better?

"...never mind. Carry on."

Kiyomi cocked her head at Raya's words, but within seconds her mind had flipped back to the task at hand.

"Okay! Well, those down there are the docs where Aoi-kun and I would meet our Dads when they'd come. He used to push me off of it all the time," she said, giggling happily. "Of course, usually I pushed him first! Hiroki used to laugh really hard and Aoi would get suuuuper mad and pouty. It was fun! Um... oh, c'mon, Raya-chan!"

That said, she grabbed Raya's hand to drag her towards a market stall that had caught Kiyomi's attention.

"The yummiest food is out at this time of day," she explained. "They make it fresh!"

Raya inhaled sharply, caught off guard by the delicious aroma wafting away from the stall. Kami, that smelled better than Sanji's cooking. Her mouth was practically watering, for Kami's sake.

"So, so glad I snuck some money off Nami before I came here..."

"Don't worry about paying, actually," Kiyomi chimed as they reached the stall. "Everyone loves me, so they give me free things!"

She beamed at the lady working the stall as she spoke, releasing Raya's hand so she could prop her arms up on the table blocking off the front from the back.

"Hana-chan~" she greeted. "Hana-chan, everything smells really good!"

The woman simply laughed and shook her head, eyeing Raya curiously at the same time.

"I'm glad, the usual, then, with a little extra I suppose?"

Kiyomi nodded eagerly and the woman quickly retreated to the back of the stall. Kiyomi sent Raya a bright smile in response.

"See?" she said, dropping her arms and grinning. "Aoi-kun says it's 'cause I'm like a little kid!"

Raya couldn't help but sweatdrop. From anyone else, the declaration that everyone on the island loved them would have sounded outright pretentious; but with Kiyomi... she didn't doubt it for a second, and she could completely understand it. Kiyomi had a special charm that she almost envied. But then again, Raya liked causing trouble, she liked getting into brawls. Having everyone like her wouldn't be fun at all.

"Sounds about right," she grinned, leaning her elbows on the stall's counter, head tilted back slightly as she breathed in another whiff of the food being prepared in the back. "Kami, I'm in literal heaven right now..."

She tried very hard not to imagine just what sort of sarcastic comment Aoi would've thrown back at her had he been there, because she wanted to enjoy herself for a while before they met up again. Still, that didn't stop a small scowl from overtaking her face before she smoothed over the expression with another contented smile.

Kiyomi cocked her head once again when Raya's expression turned unhappy for a moment, but seeing as it didn't last long, she decided to leave it be for now. Instead, she focused on Hana as she returned with two fish-shaped red-bean paste buns. Taking the first, she handed it to Raya, then took her own.

"Thanks, Hana-chan," she said cheerfully. "It smells really great!"

"Just be careful," the woman replied as another customer caught her eye. "Those are fresh from the oven."

That said, she turned away to help those who had approached. Kiyomi simply beamed and bit into her food, stepping away from the stall as she did.

"Aoi-kun and I stop here a lot," she explained as soon as she'd swallowed. "We'll get taiyaki and walk the market with them!"

Raya almost missed Kiyomi's explanation. She'd toyed with the bread for a moment, brow furrowed, as she'd honestly never eaten something like this before. Then she'd dismissed her hesitation and sunk her teeth into the food, and, well... heaven really did seem pretty applicable in this situation.

She bit back a moan of pleasure, wiping the bean-paste from her mouth with the back of her hand as she swallowed. She coughed, trying to hide her embarrassment as well as the swell of euphoria that had no doubt spread across her face.

"Uh... cool, that's cool... I can, uh, see why you'd go for these things..."

Kiyomi simply giggled and started away from the stand.

"Uh-huh. They're really yummy," she replied, turning her eyes to the market-area that spread out before them.

It was the busy part of the day, so the walk-area between the different shops and stalls had started to fill up with people. Not that it mattered much to her, she had experience dodging the crowds that could form on the cooler days- as even those who avoided the market most of the time would come out when the heat wasn't as killer as it was at mid-day.

"We can stop and look at anything you want," she added after taking another bite of her food. "Raya-chan's in charge!"

"Heh, if you weren't you, Kiyomi, you'd definitely regret giving me the reigns."

Raya smiled to herself, taking another bite of the taiyaki. She had a brief, vague memory of going to the markets on Maya with her mother and Jonas, and she could recall that that day hadn't ended particularly well for her family, seeing as she'd dragged them to each and every stall and somehow managed to attract the attention of a few glory-seeking marines along the way.

She shook off the memory as another stall caught her eye, and she waved a hand for Kiyomi to follow as she jogged closer to it.

She whistled appreciatively. "Whoa, Kay wasn't kidding when she said they have exotic weapons here."

"Nope," Kiyomi answered, easily keeping up with Raya. "I heard a saying once that if you can't find something, just come here! About everything ends up in our market at some point, especially weapons since we're pretty deep into the Grand Line. It's how Aoi and I earn money a lot of the time- we take on jobs to help the local shops when problems come up with their supplies. 'Course, Aoi usually just says that it'd be troublesome to deal with his grandmother if he refused to help people."

That said, Kiyomi peered closer at the items in the stall that had caught Raya's attention, curious to see if she could name any of the weapons displayed.

Raya blinked, peering down at the variety of weapons spread over the table, some laying on velvet cloth, others in glass cases. She'd seen some of these before in her travels with the Straw Hats, others in books she'd borrowed from Robin. But somehow she still couldn't process that they existed, as some of them looked incredibly, stupidly impractical. Others, though, she could appreciate the simplicity of.

"I've always wanted to learn to shoot a bow," she mused, laying her taiyaki aside to pluck up the smooth curve of wood, her fingers slipping down the side reverently.

"Aoi knows how!" Kiyomi announced, watching Raya with her usual, cheerful smile. "He learned so that he and Hiroki could go hunting together! So, you could ask Aoi-kun to teach you if you wanted!"

She grimaced, immediately replacing the bow with her food.

"Nah... I'd rather not. Timor probably knows, anyway. He said he's been trained to use like.... Twenty-some weapons."

Spending that much time with Aoi would only result in a bloodbath, she was sure of it.

"If you're sure," Kiyomi replied easily.

She bit into her bread once again, happy enough to simply be exploring the market with Raya.

Raya would have said something, because she honestly wanted to know just how Kiyomi could see Aoi in such a good light, but broke off as she felt something moving in her pocket. Stuffing the taiyaki in her mouth, she dug out the mini den-den mushi Kay had forced her to bring along.

She groaned.

"What?" she muttered once she'd picked up, unapologetically unhappy. She didn't particularly enjoy using den-den mushi, and she really didn't like it when Kay was on the other end of the line.

"Simply checking in to make sure you're not dead."

"Bring back food, Raya!"

"Luffy, get off the damn line," she snapped, swallowing the last of her food. "And Kay, dammit I'm fine! Timor's fine. Probably."

"You sound less than convinced."

"I dunno, whaddya want me to say? We're not together right now," she added, absently turning away from Kiyomi, not wanting her to see the cross expression marring her face. "He's with Aoi, so hopefully they're all lovey-dovey."

"That's doubtful, if I know anything about my pseudo-brother."

"Yeah, yeah, my thoughts exactly."

Kiyomi paid attention to the conversation for a few moments, curiosity flickering through her. When Raya turned away, however, her gaze wandered, a familiar stall catching her attention. Without thinking about it- as she seldom did think her actions through- she took off to greet the owners. They weren't often in town, so she rarely got to speak to the couple.

"Tanya-chan~~!" She called out as she drew close, her voice dropping off as she realized the woman was busy with a customer.

Kiyomi pouted for a moment, but soon found herself distracted again as she caught sight of another stall further along putting out fresh baked-goods. Once again not hesitating, she took off to her new target.

"I'm not in a bad mood!"

"You're always in a foul mood."

"Then why are we still talking, huh? If I'm so troublesome?"

"I lack anything better to do at the moment."

Raya bit her lip, trying in vain not to startle the nearby patrons with her vicious temperament. Kay always managed to burrow under her skin so effortlessly, and it pissed her off more than she cared to admit.

"You know what? Go back to Adriel, Kay, I'm sure he's missin' ya. I've got more important things to do."

She swore Katana was laughing as she ended the call, and she had to refrain from throwing the snail to the ground in frustration. It wasn't the snail's fault, after all, and she really did try not to be excessively cruel to anyone or anything that didn't deserve it.

Taking a deep breath to calm her fraying nerves, Raya turned back to Kiyomi with a practiced smile - only to pause, because goddammit Kiyomi wasn't there.

Why did that damn brat have to be so right...?

As Kiyomi wandered from stall to stall; the absent thought she needed to return flickered through her mind. Just as she paused, trying to recall exactly where it was she'd left Raya, a group of sailors caught her attention. They were looking her way occasionally, eventually one of them being pushed from the group by the others. The guy rolled his eyes at something one of his companions said, making his way over to where Kiyomi stood, a curious expression on her face.

"Hello," she greeted when he drew close. "Do you need something?"

"Well, you see, my shipmates and I couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit confused," the guy explained. "We thought perhaps we'd best see if you were lost. Can't have a little girl like you wondering around- might get into trouble, you know?"

Kiyomi brightened.

"Oh, I'm not lost! I just can't find someone," she replied, offering a bright, beaming smile. "Thank-you, though. I get into trouble real easy, so it was really nice of you to offer to help."

The guy grinned, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"That's no problem. Say, I have an idea. How about the boys look for whomever you're looking for? Might be a bit safer, you know? That way you aren't wandering off into trouble."

Kiyomi furrowed her brow thoughtfully. Would they be able to recognize Raya? Besides, she was rather certain that she could almost recall where she'd left her sister.

"Hm.... I dunno.... I think I can find her myself..."

Raya was going to kill her. And then maybe skip town because Aoi would certainly go on a witchhunt for her after finding out that she somehow managed to lose her own damn sister. Admittedly, though, it was Kiyomi's fault for wandering off, because she hadn't been on the phone that long - that was how she rationalized it to herself, anyway.((

Weaving in between market patrons, Raya worked her way past stalls, no longer interested in their shiny wares. She scanned the crowd for a flash of strawberry-blonde hair, for once wishing that she and Kiyomi shared their hair color; her distinctive red locks would be much more visible in the sea of pale hair now before her.

She hadn't a clue where to look, knowing nothing of Kiyomi's habits on the island, and having no idea about the layout of the market. So she worked systematically to explore the market, hoping she found Kiyomi before she found trouble.

"Oh, I get it!" Kiyomi said, dropping her fist into her hand. "So, you just needed help!"

The stranger nodded, his grin having dropped into a rather realistic, helpless expression.

"Exactly. See, if I don't win the bet, the guys won't let up for weeks. You looked like a nice girl, so I thought it was worth a shot to ask. So, you wanna get a drink with us? It'll do me a world of good."

Kiyomi cocked her head, considering the matter. Raya wouldn't get mad if when she found her later she explained that she'd been helping someone out, right? The stranger seemed to be really nice, and it wasn't good if she just left someone in trouble. It'd only take a minute to drink something, anyways.

"Okay," Kiyomi agreed thoughtfully. "But only one, cause I gotta find Raya-chan! Oh, and it has to be juice. Aoi-kun says I'm not allowed to drink alcohol with strangers!"

"That's fine," the man agreed. "Juice is just as good as anything else."

That said, he gestured for Kiyomi to lead the way towards a building a bit down the block, shooting his friends a discreet thumbs-up as he did.

Raya tore her fingers through her hair as she broke free from the thick of the crowd. She'd searched half the market and Kiyomi wasn't anywhere. She doubted she'd somehow missed her; Kiyomi was easy enough to spot when you got a good look at her. She had a radiance that the majority of the world lacked.

"When I get my hands on you, you little..." She winced. Violence wasn't going to solve anything. Besides, it's not Kiyomi could ever be afraid of her, so threats would do her little good anyway.

Peals of laughter caught her attention, and Raya spun towards the sound. A group of sailors were clustered together not too far away, seated on overturned crates and passing around a bottle of what she thought might've been whiskey, given its coloring. If Kiyomi had come this way, she figured a bunch of drunkards probably wasn't her best bet, but she didn't see much a choice.

"Oi," she called out, waving a hand as she drew closer to the men. "You guys see a short blonde around here? She's a little ditzy, practically always smiling. Has a green scarf around her neck?" Raya added, brushing a hand over her throat.

"Eh, think she's talking about that one?" one of the sailors asked, looking to the others.

The majority of the group seemed more interested in the fact that a girl was talking to them than what she was actually saying. At least one of them must have been paying attention, however, because the guy shrugged as the bottle was passed back his way.

"Mayhap. Not like it matters none. Those two already went off to the bar. Probably won't see'em for awhile," he said, then braced the bottle on his leg, leaning forward with a grin. "Hey, lass, why not just talk with us? He'll be back eventually, ya know? Just hang with us till then."

Raya's lips split in a frightening grin.

"Oh? See now, that's a real shame. That your buddy had to go and take my sister to a bar."

She linked her fingers together, stretching them out in front of her and cracking her knuckles audibly.

"But I'm a reasonable lass. I'd love to stay and play with you guys for a bit. Don't mind if things get a bit heated though, 'kay?"

That said, another fierce smile came over her as she lunged forward, hooking the closest man by the collar. In his stupor, he failed to react in time, and her fist connected sharply with his nose; his head snapped back, and blood sprayed the air.

Raya wrinkled her nose as some of it splashed onto her cheeks, but she dismissed it for now as she curled her fist tighter around the man's shirt. He slowly brought his head back up, and she grinned as she lifted her fist to meet him. Tongues of flame erupted from her skin, dangerously close to the man's face.

The first speaker fell off his seat in surprise when Raya threw the punch at his crewmate; the man in question staring at Raya in a mixture of drunken shock and anger. Pained tears had risen to his eyes- his nose throbbing beyond belief. Every part of him urged him to retaliate- however, even he knew better than to press his luck when there was a devil fruit user holding fire to his head.

"Eh, th-that's alright," he managed to sputter, inching his hands between them to rub at the blood coating the front of his face. The copper taste of it was far from his favorite. "You jus... you just hurry along. They was going down the street a bit, just there on the left. Maybe ya'd have more fun there, eh?"

Satisfied, Raya unceremoniously dropped the man to the ground, pointedly dusting her hands together. She swiped a thumb over her cheek, flicking away the blood, before she grinned down at her latest victim.

"Much obliged, sailor," she said with a disarmingly cheerful smile.

She stepped around him, though, and bent forward to snatch the whiskey from the first speaker's hands. She pressed the bottle to her lips and downed what was left, then tossed the empty thing to the ground.

With a wave and a nasty smirk over her shoulder, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked away, following the man's instructions to the bar.

Kiyomi, seated at one of the tables further from the ball, kicked her feet back and forth happily as she waited for her new friend to return with the drinks. Her thoughts kept causing her eyes to flicker to her door, however, as she mused over how much trouble she'd be in when she finally made it back to Raya. Still, she couldn't just leave a guy helpless.

"Here you go," the man said when he eventually returned, settling a glass before her, then one before himself as he took his seat. "Just as you requested- juice. Although, I'm really not sure what kind, it was some sort of foreign thing."

Kiyomi cocked her head, eyeing the glass curiously. It wasn't all that uncommon for the bars at the port to pick up strange things that merchants would bring by when they stopped.

"Oh, okay. Thanks!"

The bar wasn't especially crowded, which wasn't surprising, given the time of day. Thought she noted that perhaps there were more people than average here, and she ended up attributing that to the heat of the island forcing customers inside the shadowy building. She wasn't especially bothered, what with her devil fruit powers, but she could see why this would be a refuge.

Raya spotted Kiyomi almost instantly, seated at the bar beside a man she guessed had come from that mess of sailors. It wasn't an immediately alarming sight, to be honest; an adequate amount of space was left between them, and Kiyomi showed no signs of distress.

Her eyes zeroed in on the glass in Kiyomi's hands.

Well, it wasn't alcohol - or, at least, it wasn't only alcohol. She recognized the drink as something hailing from the South Blue, as Sanji had prepared it for her and Nami ages ago. It was juice, yeah, but there was a fair amount of something much stronger than juice in there, too.

That was all the encouragement Raya needed.

In an instant, she'd crossed the bar and (offering a silent I'm sorry to Honoo) slammed her sword down, point first, into the bar's aging wood - directly between Kiyomi and her newfound companion. She needed to make an effective entrance.

"Mind if I join ya, sis?" she grinned, looking directly down at the man.

"Raya-chan!" Kiyomi greeted happily, sipping the cup in her hands. "Of course not, it'll be fun!"

The man blanched, his eyes zeroing in on Hanoo.

"A-ah... yes. Fun... you... uh... must be the sister she was looking for..." he replied, sheepishly removing himself from his seat. "How nice. Looks like she didn't need help after all..."

Just because she could, Raya let a flicker of fire dance down the length of Honoo's blade, careful not to let it touch the bar. She wasn't in the mood to explain to Aoi why she had to burn down a bar to save his best friend.

"Yeah, that'd be me. Flynn D. Raya, also known as the Red-Haired Demon. Thanks for taking such good care of Kiyomi for me, mister," she said, with just enough ice that Honoo trilled a warning to her. "And thanks, Kiyomi," she added after a heartbeat of thought.

"That was, uh, no problem. So, I'll just... be going then. Thanks for helping out, little lady."

That said, the man fled. Dealing with a girl who had both a sword and the ability to set it on fire wasn't exactly in his plan. Kiyomi watched him go, her cup still in her hands. After a second, the tone of the conversation finally seemed to sink in.

"Are you upset, Raya-chan?" She asked, turning her attention back to Raya within seconds, cocking her head to the side as she did.

Raya dropped into the now vacant seat, sheathing Honoo. She rubbed tender circles at her temples, staring down at the whorls and scratches in the beaten bar for a moment.

"With you? Kinda," she admitted, suddenly wishing she hadn't downed that whiskey earlier. It wasn't nearly enough to get her drunk, but now she was almost craving more of it. "Can't believe I have to admit Aoi was actually right about something for once... "

She sighed.

"Anyway, I'm more upset with that ass... You seriously didn't think he was trying to take advantage of you?"

Kiyomi shook her head, eyes going wide.

"He wasn't," she said, her tone reassuring. "He said that he made a bet with his crewmates that he could get a girl to have a drink with him and needed help so that they didn't make fun of him," she paused, furrowing her brow. "Sorry I made you mad..."

"It's..."

Raya squeezed her eyes shut briefly, before swiveling in her seat to face Kiyomi.

"It's fine. But Kiyomi, even though I'm sure Aoi's already done this, and I don't think it's gonna do anything but soothe my own conscience, I'm gonna explain a few things to ya. Okay? You're cute, plain and simple. And being cute attracts bad guys. Also, as a rule, don't trust sailors. For the most part, these are guys who spend months out at sea with just other guys, and for a lot of them, they get... easily excited around girls."

She couldn't do better than that? Seriously? What was Kiyomi, five?

...Right. Raya decided to just move on.

"I feel kinda shitty for saying this, but you don't wanna take what a stranger says at face value, either. Not everyone's as honest as you are, sis, that's just the way the world works sometimes. Just... think a little before you go off with someone, okay? If not 'cause you believe me, then do it for me and Aoi. It'll make us worry less."

Kiyomi considered this thoughtfully for a moment, her fingers drifting up unconsciously to brush her scarf. Eventually, she offered one of her usual smiles in Raya's direction.

"I'll try better!" she promised. "I don't get in trouble near as often as I used to, so maybe if I try harder I can make it better again! I don't wanna worry you or Aoi-kun, 'cause that'd be bad."

Personally, she disliked the idea of distrusting others. She much preferred giving everyone a chance until they proved otherwise- the only exception to this rule came through the fact that she'd long since learned that sometimes her naivety caused trouble for others.

"That's all I'm asking," Raya sighed, relieved. She signalled the barkeep over and ordered herself something a touch stronger than usual, for this time of day. Recalling something, she pulled Kiyomi's glass away from her and ordered a more suitable drink for her sister, as well. She sniffed the glass' contents as the barkeep fixed their drinks and nearly reeled back, surprised.

That was a lot of not-juice.

Kiyomi eyed the glass taken away from her, a small pout forming.

"I can't have that, Raya-chan?" She asked. "It tasted really good!"

Raya took a sip, just to be sure, and instantly screwed up her face. That was worse than the whiskey, for damn sure.

"Yeah, no, you're not getting this. How you even drank a little of this is beyond me, since you're not a drinker like Aoi... Well, you're Shanks' kid, so I guess it makes sense. Anyway, no. Not for you."

She didn't feel all that bad about "playing the bad guy," though she was starting to understand just what Aoi went through on a regular basis when he and Kiyomi were saddled together. A pinprick of sympathy bloomed in her chest, but she quickly squashed it. Hell, if she was giving Timor over to the brat, he was the enemy until proven otherwise.

Kiyomi giggled, bracing her arms on the table and beaming at Raya.

"I can drink a little," she answered, easily guessing from Raya's words and her own taste of the drink that it wasn't what she'd originally been told. "Just not a bunch!"

"Yeah, well, this is more than a little, sis," she muttered, pushing the glass aside. The barkeep set down her own drink and Kiyomi's new one, then took the glass away, shooting her a look that said she'd be paying for all three - or four, if he was including the pervert's forgotten drink, too. Raya waved him off with a good-natured smile, promising she'd pay up when they left.

"That's true," Kiyomi agreed easily enough, taking a sip of the drink Raya got her. "Thanks, it's yummy, too!"

Raya gave them a bit, fifteen minutes at least, to finish their drinks, to chat a little, like real sisters. Then she slapped down her payment, thanking the barkeep with a genuine smile, before kicking away from her stool and taking Kiyomi by the wrist as she started out the door.

"C'mon, I wanna check in on Aoi and Timmy. Besides, we've gotta get ready to head home soon."

Kiyomi agreed easily enough, not one to argue with any decisions. Instead, she happily followed behind Raya as she gave directions to Aoi's house, as she figured it was the best place to start looking. What did surprise her was that upon their arrival, his grandmother didn't greet them.

"Maybe they're not here..." Kiyomi mused, looking around the kitchen. "It's really quiet..."

Raya paused in the entryway, head cocked to the side.

"Nah, they're home," she said at last, grinning. "I can hear 'em in the back. Aoi's room that way?" she asked, hooking her thumb in the direction she'd heard noises from.

Kiyomi nodded, brightening.

"That's right! It's the last door!"

That said, she started down the hall, tugging open the door without pausing.

"Aoi--oh..." she said, her voice dropping to q quiet tone as she stared at the scene before her. "So cute..."

Raya caught up easily, squeezing in beside Kiyomi to peer into the room. She stifled a laugh.

She hadn't seen Timor sleeping this peacefully in a while. The last time... he'd been dead drunk, if she recalled correctly. He probably didn't even remember how out of it he'd been.

He lay curled up on his side on Aoi's bed, eyes closed and breathing deep. Aoi sat propped up against the wall, asleep himself.

"Idiots," she chuckled under her breath.

"I wonder how that happened..." Kiyomi wondered aloud, then shook her head, turning to look at Raya. "Oh, you two have to go, don't you? Guess that means we gotta wake them up."

Raya sighed, huffing her bangs from her eyes. "Yeah, unfortunately. If I could, I'd just drag Timor out, but he's way too heavy for me to even attempt that."

Quiet as she could, Raya crossed to the bed. She hovered over Timor for a moment, taking in his sleeping face. He looked relaxed, nothing about his features pinched or hardened. Her eyes flicked upward to Aoi. She had him to thank for that, she supposed, though she'd be damned if she said anything even remotely grateful to the brat.

Raya reached out, lightly touching Timor's shoulder. His eyes fluttered open, and he turned onto his back to look up at her, brow furrowed as if, for a moment, he couldn't place why she was there.

"Oh," he said eventually, his voice thick with sleep. "It's evening."

"Yeah, buddy, sorry about that." She gripped him by the hand and hauled him to his feet, helping him to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes once he was up. "We can always come back, though, so don't worry too much about it."

Aoi jolted awake, the combination of the shifting bed and voices easily waking the light-sleeper. He blinked blearily a few times, staring at the strange scene before him.

"... why are you all in my room?" He mumbled. "Only Timor's supposed to be here..."

"'Cause it's time for them to go," Kiyomi replied cheerfully. "So, we came to pick him up!"

Despite the simple explanation, Aoi looked no more assured by this answer than before, his sleepy mind taking a few moments to kick into gear.

Raya glanced between Timor and Aoi, raising a brow. Timor, for his part, looked no different from when she'd left him, although perhaps a bit less focused than before. He rubbed tiredly at his eyes, raking a hand through his bedhead in an attempt to coax it back into shape.

She smiled, just a bit.

"Alright, to hell with my personal rivalry. C'mere, brat!"

Raya dove at Aoi in a hug, squeezing him hard, arms tight around his neck.

"Thanks," she breathed, so as to avoid having Timor or Kiyomi hear her. "For... being with him. He hasn't been this... off-guard in a long while."

Aoi stiffened, too surprised and not awake enough to instantly shove her away. It was only a second, however, before he protested, sputtered curses escaping his lips as he moved to shove her away.

"Get off of me, you damn demon!" He snapped, face red to the tips of his ears.

After all, he had heard her thanks, even if his reaction wasn't exactly the atypical sort.

Raya just grinned as she backed off, though her pride forced her hand and she flicked his forehead.

"Brat," she laughed as she slipped her arm around Timor's waist. "Timor doesn't mind hugs! You could learn something from the big guy!"

Timor only shook his head slightly, ruffling Raya's hair. She tipped her head back to beam at him and wrapped her other arm around him.

"Huh," she mused, lifting her head from his shoulder. "You're a little warmer than usual... It's nice, man."

Aoi glowered at Raya and shifted onto his knees. Kiyomi simply giggled, watching as he ran his hands through his hair, fixing the tie that typically held his snowy locks at bay, the expression never dropping away.

"Hey," he complained. "Aren't you supposed to be going? Don't just stand in here and do that."

Raya's brows rose to her hairline.

"Is the Dracule jealous?" she gasped in mock surprise, hands flying to her mouth. "Does Timmy not hug you enough?"

Timor smacked the back of her head, albeit lightly, and while she flashed him an irritable scowl, she was back to smiling just as quickly.

"I am not!" Aoi protested, a scowl appearing on his face. "Dammit, why the hell would you think that? I just don't like having you in my room!"

Kiyomi giggled again, resisting the urge to point out that such a reaction only made the possibility seem more likely.

"...Whatever," Raya sighed, glancing away from Timor, who'd just given her quite the expectant look. "We do have to get going anyway. You just go back to sleep, brat."

She quickly hugged Kiyomi, grinning as she promised to stop by again soon. Timor waited for her by the door; he lifted his hand to Aoi as Raya scampered to his side, and she flashed the snowy-haired boy a knowing smirk.

"No need to show us out," she added. "I'm better at getting around than Zoro, at least."

Aoi elected to ignore her, his eyes focusing on Timor as he raised his own in response. Kiyomi took that moment to tackle him, squealing happily.

"Aoi-kun, you look so cute saying goodbye like that!"

"Shit, Kiyomi... ... why the hell do you smell like alcohol?! Get off!"

Snickering, Raya pushed Timor out ahead of her.

"Aw, damn, I shoulda let you give Aoi a goodbye kiss!" she sighed, just loud enough to be heard by those still in the room. She was surprised to find that Timor actually stiffened a little, but decided she could work out the details later. She was honestly tired, and hey, if she could give Timor a few more hours of shut-eye on the way home, then she wanted to get on the ship as quickly as possible.

That, and wow, did she not want to explain to Aoi what happened in the market place.

Aoi glowered at the door, shoving Kiyomi off of him. Like hell he was going to let her get away with saying that- although he hadn't yet figured out how he was going to respond.

"It's okay Aoi-kun, Raya-chan made the guy run away!"

"What?!" He demanded, turning his attention back to Kiyomi. "Dammit."

When he moved to get off the bed, Kiyomi flung her arms around his middle.

"Nu-uh! No fighting with Raya-chan!"

"Dammit, Kiyomi!"