The tension in the air was palpable. Asuna stared, or rather glared, up at me, a mix of anger, surprise, confusion, and fear displayed in her eyes. I squint determinedly back at her. Hopefully, I had made the right decision, the right choices to push her to say yes. She seemed to have a sense of pride buried in there, and hopefully my bet here would stoke that. Of course, in this moment, I had to wonder.

Do I want her to join the party? While certainly my forcing a confrontation may be partially a bluff… I'm rather pissed. How could this girl be so callous with her own life? Why is she so ready to throw it away? I didn't get that fucking choice. Even when I was suffering, I was forced to press on and endure, "for the sake of others," or whatever the hell that means. I think to myself in the long, tense silence. I couldn't say I hated the girl in front of me. After all, her reactions to this entire situation of being in a death game are entirely human. But on the other hand, I couldn't help but be infuriated. Maybe I was being unfair, imposing my own problems on her.

"Fine." Asuna responds, breaking me from my tense thoughts. I focus my eyes back on her, having no doubt disturbed her, considering I had more so been staring through her for so long. I blink and nod.

"Right." I reply simply, quickly inviting her to the party. Her health bar soon appears at the side of my vision. I then pick up my cup and make some fresh tea as Asuna seems to simmer in annoyance. I watch her as I wait for a pot to boil. The silence was heavy, yet it's not like there was anything to say. I had gotten Asuna into the party and hopefully forced her to reevaluate her life, but it wasn't like I had done it very tactfully. With no warmth between us, the awkward and painful silence drew on as the kettle began to whistle and I began to wish for Artoria to return.

"Why do you care so much about my life anyway?" Asuna asks, breaking the silence.