Chapter 7: Valley of Memories

Day 6

Plunging a stick into the ground for the dozenth time that morning, Kirito could only sigh again when it came back dry. He had hoped to find a glacier or river flowing to civilisation, yet the valley had somehow managed to remain cold and barren. Another day had passed, and supplies were running seriously low, and with close to a week of constant exertion, stress and trauma, they were truly beyond their mental, physical and existential limits.

At least there was no real pain or hunger in Aincrad, no risk of breaking a leg, or dying from an untreated wound. Here, the very elements of nature were out to get each and every one of them where they clearly did not belong, where the frost alone could kill given enough time and exposure. There were no inns to sleep in, no maps to follow, no friendly NPCs to guide their way or provide them with items, skills and potions, not even streetlights to illuminate the pitch-black darkness, and with ironic nostalgia, he found himself reminiscing the two years he had spent in that castle in the sky, with its warm baths, comfortable beds and wide selection of ingredients and cuisine–

After all, to the ragtag band of gamers and regular high school students stumbling through the snow, suffering from the lack of running water, sleep and proper nutrition, a death game where crippling injuries could heal overnight, where death was merciful in shards of blue light, would be an impossible dream compared to the brutal hell of a nightmare called real life that they were all hopelessly stuck in, unable to log out forever.

Somehow, the past five days of torment had felt longer and more arduous than the century in Underworld that he had the privilege and misfortune of forgetting, and he could not bring himself to imagine if the five days were to become five months, or five years, or five decades - if he could even survive the next day, that is.

And to think that he could not even tell where he was, or where he was really heading in the disorienting frost and the endless valley of ice, with no sense of time but the numbers on his watch, no destination but the elusive mirage in the distance, no certainty of rescue in a desolate world without a single soul in sight - alone and forgotten and abandoned by the universe, on a snowy mountain range which could very well be the last surviving oasis in a radioactive nuclear wasteland.

What lay at the end of this journey, another journey? Would they ever be able to go home? Was there even a home to go back to? At least there was a path, a prospect, a possibility of exit from SAO back to a reality of modern comforts, a reality that was now seemingly broken beyond repair and without escape.

The claustrophobic uncertainty of the present and unpredictability of the future hung over his head, choking and strangling him as he stubbornly held on to the tiny glimmer of hope, for the lives that were riding on his shoulders and clenched in his hands. There was still a small but fading chance that he was wrong about global thermonuclear war, that they had unfortunately taken the long route to salvation, but the only way to prove that would be to see for themselves and not die along the way.

It was with this renewed resolve that he plunged his dowsing rod into the snow once more.

The thirteenth time was apparently the charm.

He had hit water - a sign of hope, of better times to come. It was the source of life, the guide to possible salvation, and as it flowed downwards with gravity, it could certainly lead them out of the mountain.

An angry hiss startled him, and he instinctively unsheathed the stick as if it were a sword, turning in time to see a little creature blocking his path. Stunned, the group found themselves staring at the creature as it stared back, and the cold silence persisted for a good ten seconds until Keiko stepped forward to approach the feral snow-kitten.

"Careful, it's a wild animal, it could scratch or bite," he reminded, concerned as she continued to inch towards the creature which surprisingly did not shy away, "And it could also carry infectious diseases–"

Yet she did not seem to hear him as she offered the kitten a piece of ham which she had somehow saved from yesterday's dinner. The kitten glared at her intently before gnawing on the meat, and everyone sighed in relief, not realizing that they had all been holding their breaths for the past half minute. Suguha smacked her forehead at the wasted food as Keiko tore yet another piece of ham, which the kitten quickly ate and seemed to cry for more, which she obliged, gently patting the creature as it indulged in its meal.

"Let's go, Silica," he urged as the kitten continued to stare pleadingly at her, tugging at her feet to ask for more.

"I guess it can't be helped, Shiro," she giggled, scooping up the kitten as if it were a housecat, only for it to climb from her hands and onto her head before settling neatly between her twin-tails.

"You've named it already?" he muttered in disbelief as it somehow managed to maintain its position while she walked, albeit supported by her hands, "Is that how you tamed Pina too?"

"You mean my cat or the feathery dragon?" she laughed before looking dejectedly at the ground, "Do you think we'll get to see them again? I hope they don't feel lonely waiting for me, I-I really miss them both. I miss my mom too, I want to see her again, I want to go home–"

"Don't worry, Silica," he forced a smile, unable to pat her head without disturbing Shiro, "We'll be going home once we get out of here, okay? Look, I've found water and you've found a cat, I'm sure we'll reach a village or a town in no time."

"I'm sure we will, Kirito-san," she smiled back, wiping the tears in her eyes, "I believe in you, and I'm sure Shiro here does too."

Thank you, Silica, Shiro, he whispered to himself as he turned to lead the group once more, I'll try believing in myself for the both of you too.

Hours later, the subterranean flow led to a melting glacier, which became a clear, gentle stream glittering in the setting sun. With water came life - clumps of grass and flowers sprouting along the mossy banks as butterflies fluttered and snow-rabbits hopped around in the surrounding woods. Under the orange sky and the crimson rays of dusk, the group stood mesmerised, spellbound by the beauty of nature before their eyes, not that it was objectively amazing by any measure, but a welcome change from the numbing days of white.

"Woah, it's almost like we're back there," Keiko gasped, immersed in the landscape, "In Aincrad."

In the tranquil peace, he nodded but did not reply, taking in a deep breath of the fresh evening air, his desensitised nose having forgotten how summer and autumn smelled like amidst the infinite winter.

If only Rika and Yukinoshita-san could see this, he muttered to himself in the breeze.

And Sachi too.

"Onii-chan, do you think rabbit meat tastes good?" he was nearly in stitches as he watched her wave her makeshift shinai at the protein-filled critters, "I feel like hunting some mobs for the night."

"Mm, ragout stew - better than toad legs," he chuckled for the first time in days, winking at his girlfriend, "I'm sure Asuna would attest to that."

"Kirito-kun, no dinner for you tonight."

"The bunnies here are cute, it'll be nice if there was a log cabin here too," Keiko giggled as she pranced around with her new friend, and for a moment, he felt as if he was back on the 22nd floor again, playing hide-and-seek with his beloved daughter in her white dress.

"And if we go a little further, we may even reach the 47th floor," she laughed dreamily, skipping forward in bliss, "That hill, Kirito-san, where you and I–"

"Silica!" he cried as they were interrupted by a howl that seemed to echo across the valley, followed by another, and another. Time slowed as his heart raced, and with trembling hands, he readied his sharpened stick as Hachiman and Komachi let go of the sled, joining him, Suguha and Asuna to form a ring of five around Alice, Yui, Iroha, Keiko and Shino.

This was the defensive position that they had agreed on, though the latter two had been much harder to convince than Yui or Iroha. Kirito had flatly told Shino that there were no bows or guns at their disposal, and that her keen sense of insight would serve them better from behind the line, while everyone else had stopped Keiko despite her repeated insistence, and as much as he hated it, he could not bring himself to disagree. Nonetheless, she had reluctantly accepted his decision, choosing to believe in his judgment, if only because she respected and admired him as her hero and her senpai.

"Wolves," Suguha hissed as she stepped forward, gritting her teeth to calm herself and to stop her hands from shaking in the cold. She was their best hope in this cursed reality, with a decade of training in kendo, yet as the pack of predators came into sight, encircling them like sharks, she could only curse herself for ever thinking that she was the hunter when she was really the prey.

"Everyone, focus!" he reminded, even as his palms were wet and his throat dry, "They're just dire-wolves. We've done this before."

"N-Not in real life," Asuna spluttered beside him, quivering like a leaf as they glared at her with eyes that glowed yellow. She may be the Lightning Flash in Aincrad and the Berserker Healer of ALfheim, yet the abject helplessness as she watched Kirito fall to that cursed syringe remained fresh in her mind.

"Onii-chan, d-does wolf meat taste good?" Suguha stammered, putting on a brave front even as she flinched at the teeth which stank of blood and rotten flesh. She had come to rue the time when her friends had been hurt by Eiji when she was at kendo training camp of all things, and she would not allow herself to fail once more.

She would protect her one and only brother to the ends of the earth - that was the oath that she had sworn on her sword.

A cold silence ensued, the calm before the storm. Inhaling deeply, he held the air in his lungs, steadying his weapon as the trees rustled and the grass began to whisper.

Do or die, there's no turning back.

A cruel gleam flashed in the night, followed by a stomach-turning crack as his little sister swung her makeshift shinai at the flying creature, striking it squarely in the head, only for three more creatures to pounce at her with open jaws in a shower of snow and saliva. A blood-curdling shriek rang out as rabid claws dug deep into her arms, tearing away raw skin and bits of flesh as she batted them away, fighting for her dear life.

Yet he did not even have the time to react as two beasts lunged at him, and he slashed at one of them out of sheer instinct, only to be reminded that he was not wielding a sword in Aincrad but a fallen stick that he had picked up from the ground. The stick broke and the wolf snapped past, moving to target Asuna instead, and he barely managed to yell before the other canine flew at him, plunging fatally onto the sharp end of his second stick as he moved to counterattack with a forceful spin.

He was, after all, a dual-wielding swordsman partly trained in kendo.

Warm blood gushed from the gaping wound, spattering across his hands and face, temporarily blinding him as the creature trashed and foamed on its dying throes. And just like the countless bodies that he had seen, it did not shatter into a thousand shards but floundered and gasped like a fish before it mercifully died - not that he could care as he rushed towards his girlfriend and his little sister, only to hesitate, torn between the two.

Amidst the pandemonium and mayhem, Asuna was in a fierce tussle with the wolf that had slipped past him, clearly not used to fighting without sword skills and healing magic, much less with a stick and not a rapier. Not far away, his little sister was still wrestling with the three wolves that had pinned her down, her struggle nearly ending as a pair of jaws came close to biting down on her neck.

He had to choose, and any second wasted could very well be a second too late.

Yelling to drown out his guilt, no matter the choice - he found himself sprinting towards the kendoka, unsure if it was out of instinct, logic or brotherly love at the sight of the Hikigaya siblings standing back-to-back, swatting away at three wolves.

"Go help Suguha first!" Shino shouted from behind, vindicating his decision with her advice, "Both of you can reinforce Asuna later."

Sorry, Asuna, hang in there, we'll come for you as soon as we can, he muttered to himself as he charged at the beast ahead, impaling the creature through its throbbing chest, allowing his little sister to send another wolf flying back from where it came, grimacing for a moment as the powerful swing tore open the wounds lining her arms. Running on pure adrenaline, they stabbed the final wolf at the same time, sharpened tips running through flesh and muscle before erupting in a spray of dark crimson.

"Kirito, help!" Asuna shrieked, and he froze in instant dread as another wolf leapt from the darkness, knocking her over, its powerful jaws gnashing inches away from her pale, thin neck, ready to end her scream of mortal terror forever.

He had chosen wrongly. He could not possibly make it in time.

Yuuki Asuna was de–

It was at that moment that a shrill cry rang out, drowning out her panicked screams, and the wretched creature stopped, only to be struck in the head by a stone. Yet Keiko did not stop, ready to throw another as she continued to screech at the top of her lungs.

"Silica, get back here!" Shino growled, crawling painfully on the ground, clutching her stomach that had seemingly been punched by the twin-tailed girl in her desperation to save Asuna.

"Come at me, you beasts!" Keiko ignored her, breaking into a dash as the pair of surviving wolves sprang after their new target, baying for blood and slaughter. Yet, as her friends stared on in absolute shock and horror, her short, tired legs could barely lead the creatures ten paces away before frenzied jaws were snapping at her heels.

"Silica, stop!" everyone yelled as she turned around to engage the wolves in her final stand. Realizing the futility of running and the impossibility of escape, she gripped the stone tightly, ready to smash down on the skulls of the beasts–

A ball of white leapt forward, hissing in anger at the advancing wolves twenty times its size.

"Shiro, why–" she barely managed to utter before it was cruelly shredded in half, providing her with but an additional two seconds of reaction time before she was brought to the ground, screaming and pounding her bloodied fists at the outstretched claws and open jaws which continued to rain mercilessly down even as her friends unleashed the full weight of their rage and agony on the wretched creatures with sharpened sticks and a makeshift shinai.

By the time it was finally over, she had stopped screaming.

"S-Silica?" Kirito whimpered in the deafening silence, unable to bring himself to look at her mess of a body, the snow stained in a warm puddle of a red pouring from the wounds on her limbs, torso, chest, neck - everywhere.

Yet she was somehow still alive, clinging on to her last breath, if only by a thread, if only to entrust her final request with the young man whom she had chosen to believe in till the very end.

"Kirito," she coughed, struggling to stay awake, "I-I'll be with Shiro and Liz-san for a while. H-Help me take care of P-Pina, will you? A-And tell my mom that I'm s-sorry, t-that I-I–"

"That you love her," he completed where she left off, even as she silently closed her eyes, "That you were a brave girl, a true heroine, who did her very best for her dearest friends."

"Right, Keiko?" he found himself asking, half-expecting her to reply, but in the serene quiet, her chest had stopped heaving. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks as Asuna, Suguha and Shino broke down beside him, clutching her limp and bloodied hands until they could no longer feel the warmth. Numb with grief, they could only stare blankly ahead as the Service Club members insisted on helping them with their wounds, not that there would be any medicine at their disposal if anybody were to succumb to infection, if they could even live through another ambush.

Despite the abundant loot littering the floor in the form of ten canine carcasses, nobody had any appetite to eat as they proceeded to dig their third and fourth graves in just under a week. Under the pale moonlight, they performed the rites that had become routine if not second nature, wrapping her in a blanket and lowering her into the ground before filling up the hole and creating a plaque out of the Amusphere that she had brought.

"Ayano Keiko / Silica - the best and bravest beast tamer that ever was," Asuna wrote in permanent marker on the plastic device as he dug another smaller hole to bury the remaining half of the snow kitten. He continued to pile on stones to protect the surface of the graves, and when he was done, shuddering in the cold, he truly wanted to scream, if only to make his frozen heart beat again.

In the absence of shelter, nobody slept that night, some kept awake by sheer pain and horrifying nightmares, others by the fear of more ferocious beasts lurking in the shadows of blood and death. Weary and drained yet unable to rest, the hours of darkness dragged on like centuries as they tossed around in silence, tensing at the slightest breeze, knowing that they would not survive another encounter with the forces of nature. Eventually, dawn broke, and Hachiman was the first to rise, heading out with his little sister before returning with bloodied arms, clutching handfuls of raw meat that they had cut from the wolves. Kirito did not feel like asking how or why as the Hikigaya siblings roasted the dripping chunks over the fire, watching over the flame until the skewered meat became brown, the fragrant smell of breakfast stirring the slumbering masses.

"Eat," was all Hachiman said as he poked him with a stick full of meat, which he tearfully obliged. For a moment, he felt like throwing up as he remembered the creatures feasting on Keiko, thinking that he could very well be eating bits of her blood and flesh - yet he gritted his teeth and swallowed, if only to preserve the pathetic life that she had sacrificed herself for.

"Sorry, I'm so, so sorry," Asuna sobbed as she could not help but spit out some of the meat, unable to take in the tough texture and the mental imagery, "I-I couldn't do it after all."

"It's alright, Asuna, I'm sure even Keiko herself would've preferred your cooking."

"You don't understand, Kirito-kun," she spluttered, slapping herself in guilt and self-hatred, "Keiko-chan died for me, all because I was so weak that I couldn't even handle two damned wolves!"

"Asuna, stop," Shino interrupted, tears streaming down her face, "I was the one who asked Kirito to help Suguha, and I-I couldn't even stop Keiko–"

"Shino," Kirito cut her short, unable to hold in his own self-blame, "I was the one who chose to save Sugu first, and if you'd managed to stop Keiko, A-Asuna would've died."

"W-What do you mean, Kirito-kun!" he did not expect her to erupt in tears, "I would've rather died than to sacrifice her or your little sister, I-I would've given my life for the both of them–"

"Asuna!" he almost shouted, pulling her into a tight embrace, "This is all my fault, I made the choice, and I'm such a horrible friend to Keiko for feeling glad that it was you who survived. I-I can't even bear to imagine if it was you who'd–"

In the deafening silence, she could only cry as she held on to his warm shoulders, never wanting to let go.

"I-I'm truly the worst, aren't I, for feeling lucky to be alive."

"We both are, Asuna," was all he managed to utter, only to see his little sister bowing deeply before them, tears dripping in the snow.

"We all are, onii-chan. I wasn't strong enough in the end. I-I'll just have to shoulder this guilt and burden, to live on and–"

She froze, stunned as everyone else joined her, bowing deeply at Keiko's grave with great respect and gratitude, in honour and remembrance of the young girl's deeds.

"W-Wha–" she stammered, only for her older brother to step forward and lead the salute.

"Keiko, it's not just me," he smiled as he bowed too, "You're a real heroine to everybody."

A/N: Chapter title inspired by the Hill of Memories (a.k.a. couple date spot on the 47th floor of Aincrad) where Kirito and Keiko/Silica went to revive Pina together. Shiro is 'white' in Japanese, not to be confused with Shino (the alternative was Yukineko which means 'snow cat' but it could've also been confused with, well, you know). I guess I could've named it 'Inu' (dog) instead (taking inspiration from a certain other franchise where Keiko/Silica's VA voices a brown-haired little girl).

With this, we move on to the next arc (Chapter 8 to 13) which will be action-oriented.