Sword Art Online: Yuuichirou of Laughing Coffin

Chapter 6: Gathering Information

After many quests and monster slaying, Kouichirou and Vassago managed to reach level 12. It only took a few days, but it worked out in the end. The two players were back in the tavern in Horunka Village, discussing what to do next. They both were wearing a black-coloured cloak that they were rewarded for one of their quests, it was a good enough disguise for Kouichirou to hide his identity.

"You need to stop using that rapier," Vassago tells him suddenly.

Kouichirou raised a brow at his partner before rolling his eyes at him. He puts his glass down on the table. "I like the dexterity and speed when fighting, I'll get a new weapon in the meantime."

"Ever thought about using anything else?" Vassago asked. "Like something more damage focus or maybe even dual-wielding?"

"I think it's too early for me to dual-wield," chuckled Kouichirou. "And I wouldn't mind weapons that do heavy damage, but I'll use it if it looks cool."

"It's always about how cool it looks to you," sighed Vassago. "Now that we're done with quests and grinding, I guess we can start looking for your sister."

Kouichirou nodded and got up from his seat, Vassago did the same and left the tavern. They both put the hoods of their cloaks over their heads to hide their identity. Thankfully, they won't look suspicious because of it, it'll just look like an outfit style to other players--after all, despite the permadeath, this is still a video game.

"I gotta ask," Vass said suddenly. "If it's your Nerve Gear your sister's using, how did she get it?"

"Before I left, she asked me if she could use my Nerve Gear to play Sword Art Online," Yuuichirou answered. "And like an idiot, I said 'go ahead.'"

"Damn, if only you knew the future."

~~~

As they continued walking, on their way to Tolbana Town. Kouichirou tried to make conversation with Vassago about the Crime Syndicate he's in, wanting to know what he even does for them. Vassago dodged the questions, leading Kouichirou to stop talking. He's pretty disappointed that Vassago wouldn't tell him anything, but he guesses that having a secret friendship would only make sense to keep secrets from each other, especially when that friend is involved with the Korean Mob.

It was nighttime when they arrived at Tolbana Town. Kouichirou and Vassago were about to split up until Kouichirou decided to invite Vassago to his party.

"Oh, and Kouichi, we should start calling each other by our usernames," Vassago suggested.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Kouichirou nodded, agreeing with Vassago. "Ok, we'll split up, find a girl with the same hair colour as mine. If you find her, meet me at the Fountain Square."

After the two separated, Kouichirou looked around the town while still hiding his identity from others. He asked some players about a young girl with orange-brownish chestnut hair, but none of them knew anything about a girl of that description. Kouichirou couldn't help but have negative thoughts, thinking something terrible had happened to her.

What if she's already dead? he thought to himself. He didn't want to think of such things, but the plausibility of that being the case is 50/50, maybe even higher.

Two hours have passed and Kouichirou found nothing about Asuna's whereabouts. He wondered if Vassago found anything, but if he did, he would've sent a private message to him by now.

Kouichirou was in the town square, exhausted from walking despite the fact that this is a video game.

He takes a seat at a nearby bench, sighing.