She was trying to kill you. I'm not sure any sort of delay tactics would've held for long.

[ The barricades, the intentional slowdowns – it may have been just so anyone who happened to wake up took their time before encountering the two of them, but given that it was Ayaka and not anyone else, it feels a little targeted specifically to them.

He's said it once, he'll say it again. Any enemy of hers is an enemy of his, and he won't hesitate to stand in the way. ]

Sorry, that's just one thing I cannot do. I'll be behind you all the way. We're a team, right?

[ He runs the pad of this thumb over her palm, catching some of the smudge and wiping it away. ]