>Take a few measured, deep breaths, then take her hand. "As I'm gonna be."
>You take a few steady breaths then take hold of Kyouko's hand.
>She gives you a sheepish smile. "I've never actually gone diving before. But it'll be okay! I can do this!"
>With a determined look, she takes a deep lungful of air, squeezes your hand tightly, then plunges beneath the river's surface.
>You follow after her, full breath in your lungs, and firm grip on her hand. Your vision is nearly useless here, the world a blur of midnight blue with a splash of beige and green beside you. You hope that Kyouko can see the tunnel ahead; the best you can manage is to estimate your own descent. Kyouko's swimming is without grace, and there is some tugging and near-collisions between the two of you as you try to match each other's pace.
>Surely that must be more than five feet by now? This isn't the wrong spot, is it? You never
did get a good look at that quartz. But then you feel Kyouko gently pulling you forward and the world around you grows dark.
>The weight of the rock above you is oppressive, even as you cannot see it. Your pack feels like a heavy weight behind you, the water thick before you, and your next breath locked far away. Something hits your shin - a leg? You try to angle away from it, only to scrap your shoulder roughly against the tunnel wall. The coarse rock drags a wince from you, a few bubbles of air escaping through your nose alongside it.
>The tunnel feels far longer than it did before, though maybe that's just the blight stealing breath from your lungs; there is a strain there you hadn't felt the first time. The world around you is black and sightless, but the water beside you churns with the movement of your companion's limbs, as sure a sign of her presence as the hand still held tightly in yours.
>You drift forward through the darkness together, one foot and then another. You're growing convinced you haven't been swimming in an entirely straight line, though it's hard to tell for sure. Your lungs remind you that it would be nice to breathe again, and you feel the fingers around your own grip tighter - simple kindness or fear? A few more feet.
>Has the world grown brighter?
>Then you feel a sharp tug upward and you follow it.
>Kyouko crests the surface of the water with a splash, panting. You emerge beside her, only slightly less winded. Well, that may have been a bit rougher than the first time, but it seems like you've made it.
