"Why do you care so much about my life anyway?" Asuna asked Kazemaru, as he stood in the kitchen, staring off into the darkness and occasionally at her. While she was still angry at him, furious even, it didn't exactly make sense why he was so vehemently defensive of her own life. She watches Kazemaru for his response. As soon as the words had left her lips, he had frozen for a moment, pausing in pouring the hot water into his tea cup.
Kaze glances Asuna's way, but quickly looks away, blinking. Asuna cocks her head at his response.
His attitude shifted pretty dramatically there. Was it such a difficult question? Asuna thinks to herself, watching Kaze as he starts filling his cup again. Yet, he remains silent. Asuna begins to wonder if he was ignoring her, looking at the floor.
"Because I should?" Kazemaru responds after a long moment. Asuna looks up in surprise, startled by Kaze suddenly speaking. He isn't looking at her, as he dips tea into his hot water, leaving it to sit. Asuna shakes her head, confused. His response after all, didn't exactly make sense. It was a nonanswer.
"What does that mean?" Asuna follows up, watching Kaze as he returns to the table, gently setting his cup of tea on the table.
Suddenly so delicate. Asuna thinks to herself, noticing how Kazemaru's anger seemed to have completely disappeared, replaced by a form of unsure, cold, introspectiveness.
"Because I can't let you die." Kaze replies, though his voice lacks conviction, staring at his tea. While certainly, his response would seem pretty normal if Asuna were someone near and dear to him, she was not. His response therefore only left Asuna feeling even more confused.
"Why is my life so important?" Asuna prods, watching Kazemaru as he glances at her, then into the darkness. He nods, then frowns, then cocks his head. Asuna watches as Kazemaru seems to go through an array of expressions and emotions. She couldn't help but be confused by his behavior. Regardless of what he said earlier, he had said what he wanted with conviction, but now he was just quietly ponderous and vague.
"Because it is. Because life is important." Kaze responds after a moment. He stares into his cup for a long time, then rubs his face as Asuna cocks her head in confusion. "Ah! Forget it… I'm going for a walk." Kaze follows up, grabbing his cup and leaving the house. Asuna watches him go, confused. With Kaze gone, Asuna was left in the silent house with only her thoughts. She lets out a sigh, both out of tiredness as well as to calm her own emotions.
Wonder what it was that caused such a shift. Asuna wonders to herself, pulling her hood back over her head and sipping her own tea. "Blegh…" Asuna winces. The tea had gone cold and no longer tasted good. She stares at the pot, wondering if it was okay for her to make more, when the door suddenly opens and in walks Artoria. Asuna glances over at Artoria, surprised. Artoria looks at her.
"Sorry, did I startle you?" Artoria asks softly, walking into the kitchen and putting away everything she had bought. Asuna watches her and shakes her head.
"Not really. Don't worry." Asuna replies. She watches as Artoria returns to the table, sitting down. Artoria looks at Asuna.
"Where did Kaze go?" Artoria asks.
"He said he was going for a walk." Asuna responds. Artoria nods.
"So he convinced you to join our party?" Artoria asks, taking note of Asuna's presence in their party. Asuna grimaces but nods.
"Yeah. He was a jerk but he insisted I temporarily join your party." She replies, recalling the argument she had with Kaze.
"Really? Ri- Kaze is always pretty nice to the rest of us." Artoria responds, looking at Asuna, surprised.
"He basically tore into me for not valuing my life as much as he thought I should. He even dared me to end it." Asuna explains, pointing at the sword on the table. Artoria blinks in disturbed surprise.
"What? He really did that?" Artoria blinks and shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I'll give him a stern talking to later." Artoria continues, affording a determined smile, if lacking in the strength to convince Asuna that she could sway Kaze.
"He's weird though. He was very dodgy when I asked him why my life mattered so much to him." Asuna comments, looking at Artoria in hopes that maybe she could explain better, having known Kazemaru for longer. Artoria looks away, thinking.
"Even before SAO, Kaze had a lot of stress on him, so he probably feels your approach is too lacking in responsibility." Artoria speaks, slowly, as if unsure of her own explanation. Asuna simply nodded in response.
That doesn't really explain anything though. Asuna thinks to herself. But Artoria seemed uncomfortable or unsure of the topic, so she decided to not press the issue.
"You can stay here tonight." Artoria states after a moment of awkward silence. "You can just borrow Kaze's bed. He'll figure something else out." Artoria explains.
"Oh… thanks. I was just going to stay at the inn. So that saves me money." Asuna replies gratefully. Artoria stands up and bows her head politely.
"I'm going to bed then, good night." Artoria states suddenly, startling Asuna out of her thoughts. She looks up at Artoria.
"Oh… right. Good night." Asuna responds. Artoria then moves off to her room, stopping at the doorway to look back at Asuna.
"Oh… if you can… please forgive Kaze. He's not a bad guy." Artoria smiles imploringly, then enters her room, closing the door. Asuna watches the door for a moment, then looks out the window into the night.
No one seems to understand. Asuna thinks to herself, sighing. Between Artoria and Kaze, she couldn't help but feel depressed. Neither seemed to understand that she didn't belong in this world. It was her brother's game and NerveGear after all. They were expecting too much of her to preserve her life.
"I'm not some indomitable player. I'd just rather die here than waste away in the Town of Beginnings." Asuna remarks to herself. She sighs and stands up, carrying her cup to the kitchen. Setting the cup down, Asuna then heads to the bedroom, changing out of her gear as she closes the door.
Maybe the rest of the party would be easier to get along with. Asuna hoped to herself as she fell onto the bed, closing her eyes.