Asuna watched Kazemaru look around in confusion. It was obvious from his pensive and desperate expression in his eyes, offset by a firm frown, that he was looking for Artoria, who she had herself seen slip away and out of the amphitheater a couple minutes ago. Watching Kazemaru, his frown only deepened as he looked around and he took a step forward. Asuna didn't know what history existed between the two of them, and frankly, she was not particularly interested in getting involved. Kaze wasn't exactly a likable person, and she didn't really know Artoria, so she had no vested interest in them. But she could also understand Artoria needed to get away from Kaze right now. She didn't fully understand what compelled her, but she reached forward, grabbing Kazemaru's wrist, stopping him from taking off.

"What the hell?" Kazemaru asks in surprise, spinning around to face Asuna and scowling. "What are you doing? I need to go check on Artoria. She's missing." Kaze continues. Asuna looks up, meeting his blue eyes with hers. She frowns.

"You're being an idiot. You caused the fight, she needs to get away from you right now." Asuna responds, putting iron into her voice. Kazemaru shakes his head.

"What? She's just being irrational. I don't know why she blew up on me, I'm just trying to protect her." Kazemaru snaps back. He stares Asuna down, but in his eyes was a sort of fearful desperation. It reminded her of last night, when he got awkward after she asked him why he cared so much about her life.

Just what has you thinking the way you do? Asuna wonders to herself. Kaze tries to tug his wrist out of Asuna's grip, but she tightens her grip. His behavior only made her feel more determined. In his current state, he wasn't healthy for Artoria to be around. She may not be a friend of Artoria's but she couldn't help but feel compelled to put in this small effort to protect the girl. She was clearly a sweet girl, if distant and introverted.

"You've been with her since the start of this who death game, right?" Asuna asks Kaze, trying to pierce him with her gaze. He slowly nods.

"That's correct." Kaze responds.

"Then you know she can handle herself, so let her have some alone time. And apologize to her when she is ready to see you again." Asuna replies, nodding her head insistently. Kazemaru shakes his head, confused.

"Apologize for what? I'm just trying to protect her." Kaze retorts, clearly not understanding.

"No, you are being overprotective." Asuna insists. Kaze stares at her. "I don't know why you feel the need to lock her up and keep her from doing what she wants to do, but she clearly doesn't like how you treat her." Asuna continues as Kaze looks away. She watches him. Again, he looked dodgy.

"You don't understand. We have things we'd like to not talk about. But that is between us." Kazemaru responds, scanning the amphitheater again, avoiding looking at Asuna. She squints up at him.

There he goes again. Acting confusing and distant. She thinks to herself, watching him.

"I may not understand the background between you two, but I do know what I saw. Stop stifling her and acting like only you can relate to her." Asuna responds firmly as Kazemaru shoots a glare at her.

"And what the hell do you know? You think you've lived our lives? You're just some out of touch girl with a selfish and fearful desire to not confront your own issues. So don't talk to me like that." Kazemaru snaps at Asuna. She stares at him. She opens her mouth to speak, but her throat feels dry. She can't find the words to speak.

What do you mean by that? Why can't you understand? I can't see my family, I might die at any point. Do you not understand how that feels? Asuna wonders to herself as she feels a tear run down her face. Dale walks up and grabs Kazemaru by the shoulder. Kaze turns to look at Dale.

"Kaze… walk away. Just… walk away and calm down." Dale says, gripping Kaze's shoulder firmly and staring him down. Kaze stares up at him, surprised and angry.

"What is your proble-" Kaze starts to snap back but Dale shakes his head.

"Walk away before you say something more that you'll regret. You're not in your right head." Dale interrupts Kazemaru insistently. Kaze shuts up and stares up at Dale for a long moment in silence before frowning and turning around. He shakes his head and walks off. Asuna watches him go. She wipes her face and sniffs. Dale walks over and looks at Asuna.

"Hey, you alright?" He asks with concern. Asuna looks up at him, wiping her eyes again.

"Uh… yeah. I don't know why I started crying." Asuna replies, nodding to assure Dale and moreso, herself.

"Sorry about that. Kaze is usually a nice and charismatic guy. But those were some pretty horrible things to say." Dale states, patting Asuna assuringly on the shoulder as she looks down at her feet. She nods in response. She sighs, collecting her emotions and looking around.

"I'm going to… return to the house. I should check on Artoria when she gets back." Asuna states, looking at Dale and the others, who are all looking on in concern. Dale nods.

"Go ahead, Asuna. Cheer her up. For all of us. If we see Kaze, we'll try to see if we can calm him down and get him to act himself again." Klein speaks up, smiling reassuringly at Asuna. She looks at him. She nods.

"Thanks. See you in the morning." She replies, turning and heading up the steps of the stadium. She can feel the concerned gazes of the others on her as she leaves.

Maybe I'll cook something when I get back. Maybe that will make Artoria feel better. Asuna thinks to herself. And hopefully Kaze returns to normal too. Until just then, I could see why the others liked him. She continues to think on the two of them as she heads for home. As she reached for the door handle, she realized with surprise. She was developing some degree of interest in these people and that she had kind of enjoyed the majority of today.