Going Caving Yakulev/Levyaku

Crystal Clear

"Come on, Lev!" Yaku called. He was in his car outside the gym, waiting for Lev. When he got there, the half-Russian was talking animatedly to a girl. Yaku firmly quashed the jealous feeling that filled his chest at the sight. He's obviously straight, and even if he wasn't, he would never feel that way about you, he scolded himself. Scowling to cover his feelings, he honked the horn irritatedly. Lev finally made his way over at that.

"Hi Yaku-san! Sorry, I was just talking to Mira. She's really sweet and..."

Yaku purposefully tuned out the rest, not wanting to hear his crush rant about a pretty girl. He drove off, knowing the maze of roads between there and Glass Cave would distract him.

After thirty minutes, they arrived at the trailhead, having already gotten past the bored security guard who checked their tickets. Yaku suspected they were the only people he'd seen that day, since he hadn't seen any other cars for quite a while.

They would have to hike for a few minutes to reach the cave entrance, but Yaku knew that was coming. The hike was mostly steep hills. It was easy to twist an ankle on those grades, so they were going to take it slow.

Once they arrived at the cave entrance, Yaku sat down and put all his equipment on a rock.

"What are you doing, Yaku-san?" Lev questioned.

"Getting all the stuff together. Here are your knee pads, gloves, and headlight. Put them on." As he talked, Yaku pulled on his own gear. He secured the water belt around his waist, making sure it was tight.

"Oh, I need your phone. There is a lot of water inside the cave, so you need to put it in this waterproof bag," he added, holding it out.

"Does it ever flood?" Lev asked worriedly, giving the third year his phone.

"No. It hasn't rained in days. It's just there's nowhere for the water to go once it's inside the cave, so it makes a lot of puddles and pools. In fact, the bigger pools are so perfectly clear they look like glass. That's why it's called Glass Cave."

"Oh," the middle blocker said. He finished putting on his gear and stood up, ready to go. Yaku nodded and led the way, walking into the large black hole that was the cave entrance.

At first, it was quite spacious. Lev could stand up straight, and there was plenty of room to walk side by side. Then it started getting narrow. Yaku moved to the front, figuring it was better for the experienced person to lead.

Then the trail appeared to end abruptly. A seemingly blank wall stretched in front of them.

"Is it a dead end?" asked Lev, confused.

"No. We go left. It gets a little tight here," Yaku told him. The libero crouched down, pointing at the unnoticed crevice in the ground. "We crawl through that for a while." He got on his hands and knees, ready to head through. He glanced back at his companion.

Lev's face was in shadow, but the third year thought he looked nervous.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled. Yaku realized the hole must look even smaller to him, because he was taller.

"Get down and take a look. It's not that bad, it's deeper than it looks." The half-Russian slowly crouched down to see the trail. His breathing slowed, Yaku noticed.

Deciding it was best to prove it, the libero moved into the crevice, crawling on his hands and knees. It sloped down for a little, then went back to level ground. His hands splashed into water. He grimaced.

"See? Not that bad. There are some puddles down here, but nothing else," he called behind him. He looked back. Lev was starting to move forward, his head emerging into the tight space.

"I can't fit!" he said, his voice strained.

"Yes, you can. You're such a giraffe, you might have to crawl on your belly, though," Yaku teased. The third year could move on his hands and knees, but Lev couldn't, not with his long legs. Lev started to move forward again, slowly but steadily.

"There you go," the libero encouraged him. They kept going.

After thirty minutes, they came to a huge cavern. It was filled with small slopes and depressions, with stone that resembled walls surrounding them.

"This is why people come here," Yaku said, awe in his voice. Lev looked confused. He shined his light around.

"Why are there images of more rocks on the floor? Is that a mirage?"

"No," Yaku laughed. "Those are pools of water. Look again. Down here, nothing ever disturbs the water. It's so still, and so clear, that you can't even see it."

They spent fifteen minutes there, just admiring the crystal clear pools.

"We should get moving," the libero said eventually. Lev acquiesced, and they walked on.

After an uneventful hour or so, they came to an intersection in one of the biggest caverns. Without hesitating, Yaku went right. He remembered that the left tunnel looked alright, but it got tighter and tighter before eventually finishing in a dead end. He smiled, pleased. This intersection was only a few hundred meters away from the exit, so he knew they were getting close.

Distracted, Yaku did not look back to check on Lev.

That was a mistake.