Januar opened his eyes, immediately he began to cough and gag. It felt like there was still saltwater in his lungs, robbing him of his warmth.

He lay curled up on the floor, shivering all over, while his senses were overwhelmed by a frightening heat that did not exist.

It was as if he had a fever. His heart pounded in his ears and the world pressed him firmly to the ground.

Tears ran down his cheek. They did not vanish, however, as they had before at the bottom of the sea.

No, they ran down his cheeks, cooling them before their path led them to the hard stone floor below.

After a while he stopped retching, only his sobs echoed softly in the silence of the deserted hallway.

Suddenly, a cool hand settled on his quivering shoulder and patted it gently. Januar squirmed toward the hand, his eyes shut tight. He could only cling to this hand, afraid to drown again.

He longed for that comforting touch. For never had he enjoyed comfort. Only precipitation.

A hand became a shoulder, a hug that kept him physically cool but sincerely warm. The person comforted him as one would comfort a terrified, frightened child. Uncertain but in the natural desire to take away someone's pain.

Only after a while, he woke up from his nightmare, Januar stopped his sobbing. Suddenly he realized what position he was in and jerked back, hitting his shoulder against something hard.

Fear descended over his being like a veil. His heart leaped as he thought about his behavior only moments before.

How could he allow himself to show weakness? This might mean the end of his normal days. If news got out, the other students would throw themselves at him like a pack of hyenas.

He could not allow that to happen. But could he bribe the other party at all? He had a lot of the resources his parents gave him still stashed away. He had never touched any of it, only under the watch of his family did he ever make use of it.

All that had to be of some value, right?

He had to try, he had no choice but to try!

He opened his eyes, which were glued together by tears, and looked up.

A familiar, yet unexpected face faced Januar.

Januar froze, unable to believe his eyes.

Although his hair was cut short, no beard adorned his face and there was even a red spot on his forehead, Januar recognized his opposite.

""...""

Neither said anything, Januar was far too stunned than to be able to produce even a single word. Slowly, the corners of the person's mouth in front of him pulled into a sad smile.

"So you were a child."

Kay reached out and stroked Januar's head, he was so gentle about it, Januar almost couldn't feel his touch.

"I'm sorry."

Januar was startled. An apology? For what?
Had he died? Was he in heaven? But why did heaven look like his school? Could it be, he was in hell?

Endlessly the thoughts shot back and forth in his head. Only one possibility he ruled out: To still be alive.

He had died and that was it. There was no second chance, as soon as you died in the 'Realm', you were dead. So simple.

Out of the corner of his eye, he recognized the colorful surface of a card. January reached his trembling fingers out to examine it. But before he could touch the smooth card, a tanned hand grabbed it and lifted it off the ground.

Januar watched the hand highly alert, but it calmly moved in front of him.

"Here."

Surprised, Januar accepted the card, his eyes fixed on it uncertainly.

Januar was unable to look away from the image on the card, it was almost as if the water around him was clouding all his senses again. Panic gripped his heart and sent shiver after shiver down his spine. The nonexistent water filled his throat, not even giving him the satisfaction of screaming.

One hand settled over Januar's eyes while another pulled him loosely against a cool chest.

Slowly Kay rocked back and forth, his voice calm and deep:

"Shhh, shhh, it's all right, everything's alright."

Gradually, Januar's breathing steadied. The trembling died away and his fists also relaxed.

Januar slowly inched away from Kay, not once looking at his Soul-Realm Card. Carefully, he took the card from Kay's hand and stowed it in his card pouch.

"...Thank you."

Kay nodded and wordlessly helped Januar up from the floor after he had stood up himself.

Januar still swayed a little, and his steps resembled those of newborn fawns. Without wasting another minute, Januar picked up his gym bag, nearly falling headfirst to the ground because of this action, but still managing to catch himself. He looked at the ComWatch on his wrist.

"PE isn't over yet."

Januar didn't know what emotion rushed through his body at that realization. Relief? Or regret?

It was all the same. With unsteady steps, he approached the entrance to hell.

And Kay followed him quietly.