School Emblem

Wait—he's doing it on purpose!" My breath hitched. "What is this? He’s going to drown himself!"

I've got to stop him!" In a moment of panic, I crashed into someone and instinctively threw my arms around him in desperation.

In that brief moment, I caught a glimpse of his face, his eyes wide open in shock and his mouth agape.

The world blurred around us… but he was crystal clear.

The next thing I knew, we were falling. The world spun for a moment before we crashed into the freezing water below. The impact jolted through my entire body, Cold rushed over me instantly, sharp and overwhelming.

I thrashed in panic, trying to stay afloat, but my soaked uniform dragged me down, making every movement heavy and slow.

My heart pounded as I struggled against the water, fear rising with every second I fought to keep myself up.

Am I really going to die like this?” I thought in panic, my breaths coming fast and uneven as I struggled in the freezing water.

I suddenly felt a firm tug on my arm.

“Huh?”

Before I could react, I was pulled upward. My feet touched the ground.

“It’s shallow enough to stand,” he said calmly, looking down at me.

He was right—the water was so shallow it wouldn’t even reach my waist if I stood properly.

“Huh… how stupid could I be to almost drown like this?” I muttered under my breath, embarrassed.

I quickly pushed my wet hair back and adjusted my glasses, trying to regain my composure. Water dripped down my face and sleeves as I straightened my posture.

When I finally looked up at him, I noticed the water running down his face too. His wet bangs clung to his forehead, revealing eyes that shimmered with a brilliant turquoise color.

For a moment, I froze. There was something in his gaze—calm, warm, and strangely kind—that made my chest tighten in a way I couldn’t explain.

Why would someone like this want to kill himself anyway?” I thought, my mind was still unsettled as I looked at him. I couldn’t understand it—someone like him, so calm and beautiful, didn’t seem like the type who would want to die.

“Mind getting off me,” he said with a gentle smile.

“Oh.”

Only then did I realize I was still leaning on top of him.

“sorry!,” I said quickly, scrambling to my feet and stepping away from him.

He stood up and squeezed as much water as he could from his Cloak. Looking back at me his one eye peered through his bangs, drawing me in His gaze made my heart skip a beat

Anyways I can't let him kill himself .I shook my head

"Um..." I struggled to find the right words to say to someone who seemed sad and depressed. Finally, I managed to offer some words of encouragement

"If you continue to live, good things are sure to come.”

So don’t kill yourself” With a slight sense of awkwardness, I reached out and gently patted his head, feeling the wet strands of his hair under my fingertips.

He stared at me in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”

“Huh? Weren’t you trying to drown yourself?” I said seriously, looking at him with my usual straight face.

“I’m not.”

“No way!”

My eyes widened as the realization hit me. So he wasn’t trying to kill himself after all…

And to think I had shoved him into the water because I misunderstood everything.

I'm such an idiot!!!

Let’s get out of here,” he said, offering his hand.

“Uhhh…” I hesitated, looking away nervously.

“It’s slippery. Be careful, you might fall,” he added calmly.

After a moment, I slowly took his hand. He guided me carefully through the shallow water until we reached the shore.

“Here you go.” He gave a small tug and helped pull me up onto solid ground.

“Thanks,” I said quietly, still embarrassed. I wrung out my soaked skirt as water splashed onto the ground.

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding you back there—” my voice softened as I struggled to finish the sentence

It will be fine. Once I dry off, it’ll be like nothing ever happened,” he said calmly, cutting me off.

“But that’s my fault. I put you through all of that. I’m sorry,” I replied quickly, guilt still weighing on me.

“…” I stared at him quietly, unsure what else to say.

Then he looked at me, a slight concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I answered. “But I can’t believe you helped me out after I pushed you in.”

It was slippery there. You could’ve fallen and gotten hurt,” he answered calmly.

“Thanks… you’re very kind,” I said without thinking.

“Not really.”

His voice turned a little colder as he looked away, his expression hard to read. His eye lost its earlier warmth, and he avoided my gaze completely.

An awkward silence followed.

Does he hate me after pushing him into the lake? I thought nervously. He was completely soaked because of me… and now this silence feels even heavier.

I needed to say something—anything to break it.

“Um… my name is Layla. What’s yours?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Azazel.”

I blinked. Azazel…? That’s a strange name. Who would even name their child something like that? It almost sounded like a devil’s name.

But when I looked at him again, the thought didn’t really stick. He didn’t feel “demonic” at all—if anything, he felt the opposite. Calm, distant, and almost angelic in his own quiet way. It didn’t match the name at all.

“I just got here today,” I said.

“Is that so?” he asked, still staring at me in silence, waiting for my reply.

I nodded quickly. “Yeah… I was scolded by the vice president for going into the boys’ dormitory and then I got lost on my way here.”

"Reiji?” he whispered

The moment I said it, his expression changed completely. His eyes turned cold—sharp and distant, like ice sealing off whatever warmth was there before.

Without a word, he turned around and started walking away.

“Did I say something wrong?” I asked, confused. “Hey, um… wait!!”

But he didn’t stop. He just kept going, ignoring my voice completely.

Slowly, I looked down at the water. My reflection stared back at me, blurred and still, as I tried to understand what had just happened.

When I noticed something

An emblem?” I thought to myself, crouching down and reaching into the water. I carefully searched until my fingers brushed against something solid.

I pulled it out slowly. It was a gold-plated school emblem—likely from the art department.

But… something felt off.

Isn’t the school emblem supposed to be silver?

Frowning, I wiped it clean using the hem of my skirt and held it up in front of me. As I lifted it higher into the light, an iridescent glow suddenly began to shimmer across its surface

“It’s so pretty…” I whispered, still holding the glowing emblem in my hand.

“You dropped something,” I said

I quickly turned around—but there was no one there. He was already gone.

“….."anyways, I better get going,” I sighed.

There was no one else around to ask for directions, so I would have to figure things out myself. I slipped the emblem carefully into my pocket and looked around the quiet path.

By the time I finally moved, the sky had already darkened. The campus lights flickered on, casting long shadows across the empty walkways