>Enough talk, let's strip down, stow everything away, and do this. Eyes on the road.
>You wordlessly accept Kagerou's clothing and stow it in your pack, then strip down to your own rather less modest if more practical undergarments. For a brief moment your throat seizes at the sight of all the blackened marks upon your body laid bare ? ragged brands on torso, arms, and legs, some grown so large now that they have almost woven together. Though Kagerou turned politely away when you started to undo your skirt, you can't help but feel exposed all the same ? less by your lack of clothing, and more by the vulnerability normally kept hidden beneath them.
>Whatever. You're here to fix this, not feel sorry for yourself.
>You swallow thickly, then shove the rest of your clothing away and close your pack up tight. Kagerou wades a few steps into the river, the edge of her slip trailing lazily upon the water's surface. A few moments later, you follow after her, the bed of the river rough and rocky beneath your bare feet.
>?Finished?? she asks without turning back around.
>?Lead the way.?
>The water's embrace is surprisingly cold, and Kagerou an unexpectedly strong swimmer ? you're not sure you could actually keep up with her if she hadn't slowed her pace to match your own. But as broad as the river swells here, it's still only a short swim before the both of you are treading water beneath that great seam of quartz. It is even more striking up close, the pale moonlight scattering brightly through its translucent surface; the crystal is the color of a dark brandy, seeming aglow with its own inner light.
>?The tunnel is about five feet below us,? Kagerou says, less shy with her modesty preserved beneath the rippling water. ?Take my hand and stay close. The tunnel's quite wide, but the ceiling is uneven and it's very dark, so try to keep your head low. If we move quickly, we should come up the other side in about seven or eight seconds. Are you ready??
>You nod your acknowledgement, and Kagerou nods back, then you take a deep breath, hold firm to Kagerou's hand, and dive.
>It is a curious sensation, being enveloped in water and cut off from the light and air, and knowing only in theory that new breath awaits you on the other side. For that brief moment when you are wholly beneath the rock, memories of tumbling wildly beneath the surface of a raging river seize upon your mind. Unpleasant memories. You had felt then as though you might die within those waters. But your fall into the depths of Yamame's cavern is half a world away now, you remind yourself. There is no fear here, no panic, only confidence and well-placed trust. The feel of Kagerou's hand clasped tightly in your own anchors you. Then you feel it rise, and rise with it.
>You crest the water's surface with head intact and draw a fresh breath to replace the old one. You are in a large hollow, cloistered beneath smooth walls of rock that jut against each other overhead like the fingers of some stony giant. A few thin gaps in their embrace let in narrow shafts of moonlight that fall in shimmering pools upon the watery floor. Here and there, the walls are traced with small blossoms of crystals, pale green and blue and iridescent black.
>Though the floor of much of this end of the hollow is covered in a damp sheen the deeper pool in which you are treading extends for only about a dozen more feet before rising abruptly to ankle-depth and gradually growing even shallower. A single open path meanders off a considerable distance in a vaguely westerly direction; beyond a hundred feet or so, it looks basically dry.
