Rider couldn't help but notice the urgency in Forest's second response. It was obvious that something she'd smelt had made her very worried.
What's going on? she thought.
Rider prepared to follow her out of the door as Satoshi had suggested, but before she could he spoke once more.
"I get Forest's attitude, I really do but this is a tactical mess", he grumbled, before taking a vial from Rin and drinking it.
Rider looked on in astonishment as his face and eye colour visably changed back to what they had been before Angra had corrupted him. Apparently, whatever he'd drunk had somehow broken the curse. Somehow.
What the hell is that stuff? And, where did it come from? I don't recall Rin being able to make anything like that....
And, if she had something to do that, why didn't she give it to Toshi as soon as they entered the room?
Unfortunately, though, now was not the right time to ask such questions. There were more important things to deal with, like whatever the hell was going on outside. Of course, Rider knew she needed to make sure Kiyoshi was safe first.
As Satoshi returned to normal, he turned and addressed Kiyoshi.
"Kiyoshi, I'm counting on you to keep Tsukasa and Rin in this room, lock the door", he said.
Whilst she knew he was almost certainly humouring Kiyoshi, and keeping them in the room where they would be safer from whatever was out there was not a bad plan, his statement still seemed rather odd.
Rider couldn't help but find Satoshi's statement a little odd. For one thing, even Kiyoshi was capable of breaking through a locked door with little difficulty, so any enemy that was any real danger to them would almost certainly be able to do the same. Secondly, whilst it did perhaps make sense for Tsukasa and Rin to remain in the room, surely it was a little rude to ask Kiyoshi to basically keep them prisoner, even if he was clearly only humouring him.
Kiyoshi, though, couldn't care less. He was just overjoyed to have the chance to protect his sister and Aunt. In his world, his Aunt was always protecting him.
"Of course, I'll keep them safe from anything that comes near", he said, smiling, still eating the bento.
Well, I suppose that if it gets Kiyoshi to stay here then what Toshi is saying isn't so bad, really. Plus, Rin and Tsukasa don't seem to mind, so they must have caught on to what he's doing. Not that it's exactly subtle..., Rider thought.
Then, Satoshi turned to address her.
"Rider not that I enjoy giving orders but I'm going to be busy playing medic so I need you to back up Forest", he said.
"Really? Because you certainly seemed to enjoy giving me orders back in the castle", Rider said with a smirk.
Speaking of which, I really hope that potion didn't harm Angra. I'm really looking forward to acting on that deal we made....
For a moment, she considered what to do. Ultimately, though, there was no reason for her not to do as Toshi had requested, at least for the moment. She had no particular preference for who she would assist (although she would, of course, need to ensure that the other Rin was safe and well, for the sake of her alternate master), and Toshi obviously had some sort of plan that she saw no reason to disrupt. Plus, whilst Sakura was always her priority, Rider did like Forest, so she would prefer her to remain alive if possible.
"Sure, I'll back up Forest", she said, turning to follow the vampire out of the door.
Toshi spoke up once more.
"Time for a bit of intimidation, admittedly I will look like an ass but either the bad guy runs off or attacks me directly", he said with a smile, now wearing a suit of armour much like that his mother wore and a blue shroud emblazoned with the red dragon that symbolised the Pendragon family.
Well, he certainly does look rather intimidating....
Rider left the room and followed after Forest. But, even so, she heard Satoshi's words, which seemed to be projected throughout the entire house.
"Those who come for battle, those of ill will. Here shall be your legend or your shame. You have come to face others but you shall now face me. I am the dragon who shall burn through time. Run now, for it it your last chance", he said.
Rider couldn't help but think that Satoshi had forgotten to consider the third option, that the bad guy would just ignore him entirely. Admittedly, if they did so she knew Satoshi was entirely capable of just jumping in and dealing with them anyway, but he did still seem rather too willing to act honourably and assume everyone else would do the same. As far as she was concerned, a battle for your life was no place for rules or honour. All that mattered was survival.
Still, I guess it's worth a try. Perhaps the guy will take the bait....