A frantic dash along the underground corridor. As Gray ran, his blue eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to figure out what to do.

Hide? That was possible, but he had a feeling those men knew this area a lot better than he did.

Fight? No way. He might be in decent shape, but he didn't have a weapon.

Use the young woman as bait? Plausible. But even if he left her behind, now that he had taken her hand it was too late. After all, those guys would know that someone had untied her and considering that there was nothing but grassland around the area, it'd be over.

So... run. That was the only thing that he could do. Tightly grasping that young woman's hand, he kept running, making his way through the dark underground and praying that he could come up with a solution.

"You hear that, Jerm!?" The gruff male voice called out from above. "Damn! Did she get loose?"

"Shut up, Rozz. I'm thinking." The smooth and sauve male voice answered him. And then not long after, the sound of someone landing on a pile of cardboard echoed in the distance.

"Dammit." Gray cursed under his breath and then ducked into a side room, pulling the young woman after him.

The moment he did, a loud impact echoed from where they left. The sound of someone heavy jumping down.

"It seems that she did escape." That suave male voice. "How odd."

"That bastard lied to us! I oughta-!"

"Calm down, Rozz." Light footsteps, drawing near. "She didn't escape. Someone untied her."

"Huh? Oooh. So we've got a rat, huh Jerm?"

Gray quietly shut the door and then moved away from it into the corner of the room.

The young woman moved along with Gray, quietly standing by his left side.

He glanced at her and then frowned.

Gray was sweating. The stress and physical exertion took its toll on his body and he had to fight to keep his breath calm.

But the young woman... she should have been in the same situation. Yet, she was fine. Not a single drop of sweat. And she wasn't breathing hard either.

Did she have nerves of steel? Or did she actually give up on life to the extent that she didn't care anymore...?

The young woman noticed Gray staring and then tilted her head.

Gray ignored her and then closed his eyes, trying to calm down his racing heart.

A pair of footsteps echoed from beyond the door. One set was light, methodical. The other was heavy, plodding.

Gray waited, silently praying that they would keep going.

The footsteps stopped at the door.

Gray's heart pounded in his chest, suddenly seeming far too loud.

And then the footsteps walked past.

He waited, just in case the men were trying to bait him out.

But they went off into the distance, fading away.

After that, Gray finally let out a sigh. "What a nerve-wracking experience..." He shook his head and then took a look around the room.

It was dark, as expected from being underground. But a few cracks in the wall and ceiling allowed some light to stream in and revealed the surroundings.

The room seemed to be an old library. There were rows of bookcases lined up against the wall. They were also stocked with books, though it seemed like most had been rotted away with time.

Glancing around, Gray saw a wooden table with some plastic chairs nearby.

Without much further thought, he released the young woman's hand and then walked over to the chair. Shrugging off his bag, he sat down and heaved a long sigh before covering his face with his hands. "What a mess..."

Gray didn't know where he was, how he got there, or what to do next. Not only that, but even if he managed to get back, his laptop was ruined and he didn't backup the compiler program.

In short, everything was ruined. And all because he had somehow taken the wrong turn on his way to class.

A soft *screech*. The sound of another chair being pulled beside him.

Gray lowered his hands and then glanced over.

The young woman had taken a seat right next to him. And like before, she was staring at him with those crimson eyes.

"What?" Gray frowned and said, "Is there something on my face?"

She didn't reply, only continuing to stare at him.

Realizing that, Gray covered his face again, closing his eyes to sort through the mess his life had become.

And then a soft and sweet voice called out. "Are you not scared?"

Gray looked up.

The young woman was staring at him, her head tilted slightly to the side, waiting for his answer.

Gray shook his head and said, "Scared? Of course I am." He stood up and waved his hand. "I'm in a foreign place, underground, with a beautiful young woman who's being pursued by two strange, and probably dangerous, men. Not only that, but I don't have a weapon, a way to call for help, or even any idea of what to do even if we DO get out of here!" He glared at the young woman and said, "Why the hell would I NOT be scared?"

"If that is true... Then why did you help me?"

Gray froze. "T-That's..."

Yes. That was the question.

Why *did* he help her?

Every rational thought inside him told Gray to leave her be. If he had, he wouldn't be in this mess.

...No, he might still have come across those men, but at the least the danger wouldn't be so great.

But now that he was with her, if he was caught there would be absolutely no way of talking himself out of the mess.

Gray stared at the beautiful young woman.

She stared back, those crimson eyes glimmering in the darkness.

Facing that gaze, Gray averted his eyes and ran his right hand through his hair. "I just couldn't help it, alright? Stop asking me. I'm already starting to regret my decision."

The young woman frowned and quietly muttered, "You could not help it?"

"Right. Now, be quiet." Gray sighed and sat back down. "I need to think-"

Laughter. A pure sound, like the chime of a bell.

Ordinarily, it would be calming. Enjoyable.

But at that moment, it brought fear into Gray's heart. His eyes widened and he looked at the young woman. "You...?"

A demure expression. The beautiful young woman stood there with her hands covering her mouth. An innocent gesture, like a pure maiden discovering something delightful.

But considering the current situation, Gray couldn't help but feel pure terror at her actions.

"D-Don't tell me that this entire thing was-?"

"Over here!" That gruff male voice echoed in the distance. "I hear her laughing!"

"Hmph. So she finds the situation laughable, does she?" That suave male voice.

Gray jumped out of his chair and scanned the room, cursing under his breath.

The young woman was still laughing without a care in the world.

Insane. She had to be insane.

He should have realized it. There was no way that someone with those eyes was in a proper state of mind.

But it was too late to regret it as well.

Gray swept his gaze across the room, looking for something to use, anything that he could wield as a weapon to defend himself.

There.

A steel pipe.

Gray ran over and scooped it up in his right hand before holding it in front of him like a sword.

The young woman continued to laugh.

Footsteps raced down the corridor outside.

Gray took a deep breath, focusing.

And then the door slammed open.

"Found you!"