To the End.

Chapter One: Saionji Naora.

"Be quiet."

Instantly the muffled cries stopped as soon as Kazuki's stern voice could be heard. The room had been completely silent save for the cries, and his voice had cut through, startling the already terrified woman. She didn't know he had arrived in the room beforehand, but how could she? There were no lights on for her to see when he was walking up the stairs, and Kazuki made sure to make no sound whatsoever as he ascended the stairs. She couldn't see him, but he was standing at the top -- she knew it. She couldn't see even the slightest bit in the complete darkness, but she knew he was there. She could sense him.

It'd been days since she had been in that room, and for the life of her she couldn't remember how she had gotten there or where she even was. The last thing she remembered was sitting in the park at night with an ice cream cone in her hand while she spoke to a man she had only met a few days before. He'd said his name was Kazuki, but he didn't give her any further information. Kazuki seemed like a nice guy and extremely charming. Although he wasn't someone she'd look twice at, she supposed he was handsome. He was shy and awkward when he approached her, and she assumed that it was because of his nerves since he surely didn't seem to have very good social skills. After speaking to him briefly, she decided that it would be okay to get to know him. Perhaps the decision was made based on the fact she thought he was lonely and pathetic, and she wasn't necessarily wrong.

"I suppose you don't have to be quiet." Kazuki spoke softly as he stepped forward. This time he didn't bother to keep quiet as he walked, and his boots made a light noise as they made contact with the wooden floor. "No one is going to hear you. I just don't like listening to pathetic crying." He reached out blindly in the dark, wrapping his long fingers around a string hanging from the ceiling. With a soft 'click' he pulled it, letting the light from a single light bulb dimly light the room before turning to face the terrified woman.

Her name was Saionji Naora. That was all Kazuki knew about her personally aside from the fact she was completely ignorant. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulders in messy waves and tangles and one eye was shielded by her side-swept bangs. Naora wasn't anyone Kazuki considered pretty or even slightly attractive, but that wasn't what caught his attention in the first place. What mattered to him was that she was dumb enough to fall for his act and trust him enough to let them be alone together.

He first saw her two weeks ago while she was at the dry cleaners. She walked into the store long enough to pick up her clothes, and that's all the time he needed to watch and follow her. For two weeks he watched her without being detected at all, and that only made things easier for him --further proof of how stupid she was. Two weeks of stalking helped Kazuki learn her daily routine and schedule, and before he knew it, he was approaching her. Naora didn't suspect a thing. His signature smile and as much charm as he could muster without overdoing it was all he needed.

The man smiled as he looked at her quietly for a moment. With his help, she looked about as beautiful as she could possibly look. All the women he met looked more beautiful once their mouths were gagged and they couldn't scream anymore. Listening to them only annoyed him, and, although no one could hear them, he still found it necessary to keep them quiet. Naora was the worst. When she spoke, Kazuki had to try  his best to keep a straight face so he didn't show her how obnoxious he thought the sound of her voice was. It was too high, and she spoke with an upward inflection that absolutely drove him nuts. How anyone could stand talking to her for more than five minutes was completely beyond him. Her voice was worse than nails on a chalkboard, and he was thankful the moment she had been knocked out so he'd get a moment's peace from that god awful voice.

He stepped toward her and knelt down in front of her. "Now, we're going to do things my way." He spoke softly as he eyed her. Her hands were bound behind her back tightly to the point the circulation was cut off, and he knew she couldn't feel them. That saved him from the fear that she'd somehow untie herself, but even if she did, there was no way for her to leave the attic without him knowing. Above each door in his house were bells to alert him if anyone was entering or exiting a room. Those were installed after the first woman he met had tried to get away. "I have no interest in you physically or sexually. That's not why you're here." He rested his left hand on her exposed knee and smiled, leaning his head to the side. Then what was she there for? The reason didn't matter, not to him.