Blinding dust and falling rubble. Stone, wood, metal and other debris filled the air, crashing downwards according to the laws of gravity.

Gray was no exception.

The sensation of freefall, of being cast through the air... and then impact.

Was it to make up for his misfortune up until that point? The length of Gray's fall wasn't very long, and he managed to land on something soft. A bed- no, an old cot. That had managed to break his fall.

Gray's body still ached, especially his back. He had landed on the cot back first. More specifically, he had landed on his bag, which had been on his back while falling. He only had a notebook and some pencils in there, but the impact still caused it to dig into his back a bit.

Gray groaned and rolled off of the cot. "This day, I swear..."

It had started out well enough. After all, he managed to get his final assignment done and he didn't need to deal with any small talk on his way to class. But he was starting to wonder if someone had it out for him. Getting lost was one thing, and something that happened to him often enough to not worry about. But getting lost and falling through the floor of a building? Just after he decided to make a leap of faith?

Ridiculous.

Gray glanced back up at where he had fallen. From where he was, he could still see the light from the entrance. It wasn't that high up, only a dozen or so feet. About the height of a short ladder.

That would explain why he was only winded rather than knocked out from the landing. He actually hadn't fallen very far. It looked like even if he had landed on cement, he might have only broken a few ribs.

Still, it was high enough that Gray couldn't climb back up easily. Especially since the hole wasn't that big and the path down was riddled with jagged rusty metal pipes and stone.

...It was almost a miracle actually that he hadn't been stabbed to death by one of those.

Either way, that was all that was interesting about where he had fallen from. That done, Gray looked around the place he had landed in.

First impression of it? Small. The cot he landed on took up a fourth of the room. Though, considering it was the only other piece of furniture in the room, and since it was in a corner of the room pushed up against two walls, that didn't cause much issue in terms of space. There was also a lot of rubble nearby the cot that had fallen from above. Old, rusted metal pipes and misshapen stone chunks.

In terms of composition, the room looked like an old cellar, with gray stone blocks making up the wall and concrete the floor.

There was a door on the side of the room opposite the side of the cot, to Gray's left. An old wooden one like that of the entrance, though with a broken glass window. Important, but not what drew Gray's eyes. That privilege belonged to the woman tied up next to the door.

More specifically, the woman who was bound, gagged, and blindfolded next to the door.

What. The. Hell?

She was clothed in a black blouse and skirt. Tattered, all they really did was just barely cover the important parts. It did nothing to hide the pristine pale skin of the woman or her figure. And, while her eyes and mouth were covered by a black cloth blindfold and gag, it was clear that she was beautiful. Combined with her odd white hair, she gave off the impression of a captive princess trapped in a dungeon.

The scene was strange enough that Gray stood there for a good five minutes, staring at the woman and wondering if he was actually awake or if he had been hit harder than he thought and was hallucinating.

When the woman didn't disappear no matter how much he blinked or pinched himself, Gray was forced to acknowledge that, yes, he had fallen into what looked to be a dungeon where... things... happened.

A rundown building, and now a beautiful young woman bound, gagged, and blindfolded in an underground room... while Gray was surprised there weren't 'other' things there, he wouldn't be surprised if a few guys were nearby, ready with guns to lay into any curious onlookers.

Like him.

Considering how loud his fall had been, it wouldn't be long before the kidnappers or captors of the woman here walked in to investigate.

Gray brushed his clothes off and let out a sigh. He took another look at the woman.

Was she asleep, or knocked out? Either way, she hadn't reacted at all since he had arrived. One would think that such a loud noise would at least draw her attention, but she was slumped against the wall as if completely unaware.

Or maybe, the reason why she didn't react is because-

Gray cut off that train of thought and focused.

He didn't recognize her. While that didn't mean that she wasn't a student on campus, he didn't think that she was. Gray doubted that he would have missed someone as beautiful as her, especially with that color of hair.

Someone from the surrounding area then, maybe? Or somewhere else entirely? Either way, it was likely that she was kidnapped for nefarious purposes. And considering how this place was so close to campus, which had public safety and cops constantly patrolling the area, the kidnappers were either extremely stupid or extremely competent. Professionals, even.

Gray was more inclined to believe the latter.

Leave.

Gray took another look at the woman and then walked towards the door, passing her by.

-Too risky. Even if he freed her, what could he do? Gray was well aware of his strengths and weaknesses. While he might be relatively intelligent and studious, he was far from being able to out think professional kidnappers. He was weak too, so fighting them head on was out of the question.

Gray opened the door.

-The world was cutthroat. Good deeds did not go unpunished, and bad deeds were left to fall through the cracks, unnoticed by anyone at all. This instance would just be another of those cases.

Gray took a step.

-Women were exploited all the time around the world. He knew this. He also knew that there was no point in trying to save someone in trouble. All that it would do was bring that trouble on your own head. And his shoulders weren't strong enough to hold his own, let alone those of someone else.

Another step.

-He would be late to class soon. If he missed it, he might fail the final. If he failed the final, he might fail the class. If he failed the class, then what was the point in going to university in the first place? What was the point of all those hours studying?

Gray turned around and went to shut the door behind him.

-Another incident in his life. Like all the others he had ignored since deciding on his path. Like everything he had given up to make sure he succeeded. This too would fade in time, nothing more than a weird memory.

The door closed without a sound. With a nod to himself to affirm his action, Gray walked over to the woman. He knelt down before her and started untying the blindfold and gag around the woman's head. "...Dammit," he muttered. "I'm too nice for my own good."

He tossed aside the two pieces of cloth. That done, he went to untie the binds around the woman's arms and legs... and then he froze.

The woman was awake. Her eyes were wide open and staring straight at his own. An enchanting shade of crimson, not quite the color of blood yet just as striking.

But it wasn't the color that made Gray pause, but rather the listless gaze meeting his own.

Familiar. That expression... while not quite the same, it was one he recognized. As for where he recognized it from and why he did, Gray didn't quite remember, but it was enough for him to be at a loss.

The woman's lips, a color the same shade as her eyes, trembled and a single word was spoken. "...Why?" Soft, barely audible. A melodious voice, but one that seemed to have been worn with disuse.

It was enough to bring Gray to his senses.

"Argh... don't ask me why." Gray shook his head and reached over to the woman's bonds. "Just hold still and let me untie you before I regret it."

The woman nodded and obediently stood still.

He didn't ask why she was there, and she didn't supply a reason why. That was good. If she did, he would have cared. If he cared, he would think about why he was doing something so dumb. If he realized that he was doing something so dumb, than he would have walked out without looking back.

So this much was fine.

Gray tossed aside the ropes he had untied and said, "There. With this much, you should be fine. You can still move, right?"

The woman didn't respond, only looking at him with those blank, crimson eyes.

He wondered if she had heard him... or if she was actually conscious in the first place? That gaze... while it showed that the person was conscious, were they really 'there'?

Eventually, however, the woman nodded.

"Good." Gray said. "Then I'll-"

A sudden roaring male voice. "The hell?! Jerm! Someone broke the floor!"

Gray's stomach dropped. Crap.

The kidnappers. He had forgotten about them.

His body was moving on its own, autopilot taking over his rational mind. Fight or flight. An instinctive reaction suppressing his thoughts.

"...And just who would be able of breaking the floor, Rozz?" A different voice. Masculine, sly, and smooth. "I reinforced it thrice over with this divine artifact-" The voice suddenly cut off and then said,"...The floor is broken."

"That's what I said, Jerm! Someone broke the floor!"

A rusted metal pipe was in Gray's hand before he knew it and he ran towards the door, kicking it open. Splinters flew and dust scattered in every direction.

-Loud.

In stark contrast to that, the voices were eerily quiet for a moment before continuing.

"...Rozz," the smooth voice said. "If I remember correctly, we're keeping her directly below this floor. Am I wrong?"

"You're right, Jerm. Do you think that..."

Whatever else they said, Gray didn't hear it. At that point, he had already run out of the room, rusted pipe in his right hand... and the woman's right hand in his left.