Chapter 3

The man’s black-gloved hands coiled around the chain bound to her neck. He gently pulled it towards him. Mio thought about resisting, but with the reflective glazing of the visor, she couldn’t be certain whether he was staring at her or not. She dared not resist, lest she suffer the consequences.

“Don’t try anything,” he warned, his grip tightening on the chain. Slowly, he reached into his pocket with his other hand and retrieved handcuffs. “Hold out your arms.”

Mio obeyed, holding them out. The man hesitated briefly before locking one cuff around her wrists in front of her, then the other.

“Now, come!” The command was forceful, softened only by a calm, almost gentle tone. Mio obeyed the instructions. She realised she had no choice and that obeying would be her best chance to escape. She slowly got up; her movement was restricted by the weight of the chains.

“Where am I?” she asked as she looked around. It was a relatively tidy room, albeit devoid of any personality. Dust hung on the furniture, which was mostly covered with cloths. It was as if it were a room without identity.

“You are in my basement.”

Mio wasn’t yet certain how much of his words she could trust, but from the look around the room, it appeared he was telling the truth. There were several load-bearing metal posts scattered throughout the room.

“So this is your home?” she asked, scanning the room as much as she could as he began to march her through the room. Her bare feet made contact with the freezing-cold poured-concrete floor. Yet she didn’t say anything. The coldness was the least of her worries. Besides, it was better than being locked in the box.

“Are you curious to learn more about me?” His tone sounded excited.

Mio continued to take in as much as she could. She noticed the only source of light was a flickering fluorescent bulb that buzzed as it dimmed in and out. The only thing that could remotely be considered external light was a strange rectangular shape covered by thick woollen blankets. It was something Mio mentally jotted down if she managed to find a chance to escape.

“Maybe I am a little curious about you,” she put on her best teasing voice despite feeling repulsed by his existence.

Perhaps sensing she wasn’t being genuine, the man coldly replied.

“Sorry, but if you want to know more about me, you’ll have to earn it.”

He wrapped the chain around one vertical metal beam in the centre of the room, then locked it with a padlock which he retrieved from his pocket. “How stunning it is to see Queen Mio in my basement.”

“Why are you doing this?” Mio asked.

The man suddenly leaned in, resting his helmet on her shoulder. Mio flinched, having experienced men act like this before. It could only mean one thing. She closed her eyes, expecting the worst.

“Why do you think?” he whispered before leaning back and beginning to laugh hysterically.

“Have I wronged you? If so, I’m sorry,” Mio called back, her heartbeat rising again at the sight of his erratic behaviour.

The man froze and, in a fluid motion, twirled around to face her.

“Have you wronged someone?” The man asked back.

Mio shifted her gaze to the concrete ground, noticing the small cracks on the surface.

“A lot of people hate me. I have a lot of enemies.”

The man found a fold-out chair that had been resting against another pillar. He spun it around and sat.

“And who would they be?”

Mio clenched her teeth. She considered whether it was a good idea to tell him. Ultimately, she figured it would be better to try to get on his good side. She also thought it would be a good opportunity to test some of the suspects she was considering could be involved.

“Well, to start with…” she decided to go with the least likely suspect, “that blonde-haired idol who is always following Daisuke.”

“Oh?” The man leaned forward. “There are a lot of blonde-haired idols.”

“And I am pretty sure they all hate me. Just like you,” Mio snapped back, her pent-up anger accidentally slipping out.

The man paused, bringing his gloved hand to his masked chin. Slowly, he scratched it in an overly extravagant action, “Hmmm, do I hate you?”

“Do you?”

“I think hate is closely tied to love. So perhaps you could say I love you,” he replied, standing and opening his hands wide as if he had just found divinity.

“Locking someone in your basement isn’t generally something you do to someone you love.”

He silently turned to look at her. It felt as if all the oxygen was being forced out of her chest.

Was this what true fear was like?

He never answered her question. Instead, he turned away, grabbed the fold-out chair and began to drag it towards her. The legs of the chair scraped against the concrete. His gaze never broke from hers until he set it inches away from her. Sitting quietly before finally responding.

“Maybe I am protecting you.”

Mio let out a mocking laugh. “Protecting me? Who do I need protecting from other than you?”

The instant she shouted this, she regretted her action. What if he snapped? What would that mean for her?

But he didn’t.

He remained calm.

Which, in and of itself, was eerie.

“When you truly love someone as I love you, you’ll understand.”

“If you love me as much as you claim, then you should let me know who you are.”

“You still don’t know? Even after everything.” The way he said it didn’t sound angry; it sounded sad, if anything.

“Should I?”

He sighed as he got to his feet.

“I’ve been admiring you for a long time, Queen Mio.” He gently stroked a strand of hair stuck in her mouth.

“Until you figure out who I am, you can simply call me Null.”

This was Mio’s first impression of Null.

❤︎ --- ୨୧ --- ❤︎

End of Chapter 3