Rider smiled at Rin's response, happy that she had confirmed that Kiyoshi would be in safe hands. And, also, somewhat amused by her apparent intentions to try to push Kiyoshi into magecraft lessons.
Yeah, that's just like Rin, she thought.
For all she pretended otherwise, Rin was a very warm-hearted person. Rider knew she could be trusted to protect Kiyoshi. At the same time, though, she was as stubborn as a mule, just like her little sister. Even after many years of trying, the Rin from her universe was still unwilling to accept that Kiyoshi, like his father, simply did not care about the fundamental principles of magecraft.
“Don’t bother trying, Rin. The version of you from my world has been trying to interest him for about 8 years now without success. As far as he is concerned the only use of magic aside from his swords and reinforcement is to smack bad guys with shadow tentacles. If you could teach him how to use jewels better that might be worth it, though. Just show him a big explosion first, that’ll get his interest”, Rider said, teasing the boy slightly.
"Hey", replied Kiyoshi. "I just don't care about all that rubbish about reaching Akasha, or all the boring theory stuff. I just want to protect people and stop bad guys."
As he finished, Sakura walked over to him and spoke, replying to Rider's earlier question.
"As long as you call from inside the apartment my phone will give me a GPS fix on the place, it's an emergency feature built into all association equipment", she said, taking Kiyoshi's hand.
"I promise Rider, nothing will happen to my little brother while he's with me." she continued, before withdrawing the jeweled sword from her coat.
Kiyoshi smiled brightly at the show of affection from his new-found sister. He was excited to meet all these new family members, as well as different versions of the ones he already knew.
Rider, meanwhile, noted her possession of the sword that Rin had spent so much time and money (mostly her sister's...) recreating, and felt reassured. She knew all-too-well the power of that sword. It had been what Rin had used to defeat Sakura in the cavern. Someone who possessed that sword and could use its full power would be very difficult to defeat.
Still, Rider was somewhat concerned about the tracing. None of them had Sakura's number, after all, so how would they call her?
Kiyoshi, however, was not so good at forward planning. He was just eager to get moving, to rescue his other sister as soon as he possibly could. He prepared to speak up, suggesting they get going. But, before he could, Forest raised the same issue that Rider had been wondering about.
"We would need a number to call to make that work and you'll need a ride to get there. Its a bit of a walk", she said.
"well Rider is going with you guys back to the apartment, so signal will get traced there. If you really want the number of my phone have Rider ask for it when she calls him", Sakura responded.
Momentarily, Rider was confused at how they would trace her, but then she realised.
Ah, I see, she means when I call Satoshi.
Desperate to get going, Kiyoshi spoke up.
“Thank you, Sakura-nee”, he said. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you or Taiga, either".
Kiyoshi felt happy at the acknowledgement Sakura gave him. He loved his family dearly, and he missed them all. Finding new family in this alternate universe helped soothe him somewhat.
He turned to Rider. "OK, Aunty Rin, can we go now? The longer we wait the more danger our little sister is in”.
Rider thought for a moment. She was still a little worried about the second issue Forest had raised, about transportation. However, she was sure Sakura would have a solution to that, and if not they could always call a taxi or something. So, there was no reason for her to hold Kiyoshi back any further.
However, she also knew she would probably not be there when he returned, and she was unsure when she would be able to get back. So, she would have to make sure he was in good hands. Mostly, she thought he would be fine. Rin was around, and had been put in charge. As irresponsible as she was capable of being when it came to experiments, she was still basically a good mother, and would protect Kiyoshi.
There was, however, still one outstanding issue. As she looked towards Isa, who had now been joined by a similar-looking girl who was presumably her sister, she noticed Shirou approaching them. He was the one person she was afraid of being around Kiyoshi. She doubted even he would callously murder a child, but he could certainly lead Kiyoshi down a very bad path. Further, even knowing the truth about him would hurt Kiyoshi immensely. He was not very good at recognising the difference between his real family and alternate versions of them, and in this particular case that could backfire quite badly.
"Yeah, Kiyoshi, you can go", she said.
Then, she walked up to him and embraced him.
"I probably won't be there when you get back, I have to deal with Satoshi. Until I return, please listen to Rin and, remember...", she said, turning and pointing towards Shirou, "he’s not your father, no matter what he looks like. Make sure you listen to Aunty Rin, Sakura or even Archer, not to him. He'll only lead you down a bad path, Kiyo.”
Then, she let go.
"See you later, Kiyo. And, please stay safe", she said.
"I will, Aunty Rider. Sakura-nee will help protect me", he replied.
Then, with that, he turned to Sakura.
"OK, let's go! We have to find Taiga as soon as we can, before she gets hurt", he said.
He started to walk off, holding Sakura's hand. As he did so, he turned to Rin one last time.
"Bye Aunty Rin, I'll see you later", he said as the two walked off into the distance.
Rider looked at them depart. She still felt a little worried about leaving Kiyoshi alone for such a long period, but she knew he was in good hands. Sakura and Rin both seemed to care for him, and would not let him come to any harm.
With them gone, Rider was finally able to focus on other things. In particular, she noticed with some amusement Isa's sister harrassing Hakuno, asking her many questions. Rider herself was somewhat interested in Hakuno. She seemed to be a master in a Grail War, but Rider knew there were no wars after the one she competed in. Still, she could ask later.
She also noticed Shuya walking up to Forest, and asking her how they would get to the apartment, since it was some distance away, seemingly somewhat worried about having to walk.
Rider, however, wasn't bothered. She knew she could travel any distance quickly and without tiring. Plus, she recalled that Forest had several cars.
"Well, Shuya, we travelled in Forest's car before. But, me, the Archers and Lancer can all travel on foot faster than any vehicle, and we can carry at least one person each. I think that should be sufficient".
