To the End.

Chapter Four - Tayama Kaneko

She was standing in the aisle of the grocery store with a jar of spaghetti sauce in her hands. Her eyes scanned through the ingredients completely oblivious to the fact Kazuki was watching her over a box of noodles he was only pretending to look at. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and squinty eyes as she tried to see the small text. It was clear she needed glasses, and the frustration on her face further proved Kazuki's theory. Unlike Naora, this woman was stunning. She'd caught his attention quickly, and Kazuki's interest was through the roof. This was the woman. He wanted her.

He sat the box of noddles down and put on his best smile before approaching her. "You look frustrated." He smiled at her, motioning to the jar of sauce.

She let out a small embarrassed laugh before she placed the jar on the shelf again. "I forgot my glasses in the car, and I can't see which sauce has mushrooms." That particular brand of sauce couldn't be nice and simply print a picture of mushrooms on the label like other brands. No, they had to use the smallest text they could possibly use and get away with it. It was the only brand that tasted right to her, not too sweet, and that was why she wanted that one in particular. Unfortunately, all the jars looked the same minus the text, so she couldn't simply grab one while she walked by. She had no choice but to stop and look.

Kazuki smiled and grabbed one of the jars with 'mushroom' written on the label in small text. "This one." He handed it to her, his smile never leaving his face. "I'm Kazu. It's nice to meet you." He watched as the woman's face frustration turned into relief. That would be the only time she'd ever be relieved because of him if he played his cards right. Of course, the next time she'd be relieved would be when she's dead, and a simple introduction was always the easiest first step to get where he wanted.

"Kaneko." She smiled and bowed politely as she held the new jar in both hands. That had been all she'd come to the store for. She was in the process of making dinner when she realized the sauce she thought she had had already been used a few weeks before. She kept telling herself to go to the store to buy more, and somehow she'd convinced herself that she'd already completed the task. Unfortunately, now she'd have to rush back home and get to the half-cooked noodles she had covered and removed from the stove before she left. "Thank you for helping me. I've left dinner on the stove, and I'm trying to rush back before my dinner guests arrive."

Kazuki paused for a moment, but his smile stayed in place. Dinner guests. If he took her now when she had plans, those guests would wonder where she was. Dinner was left on the stove, and they'd know that wasn't like her at all and become suspicious. People would be looking for her easily, so he couldn't just lure her to his house just yet. Nothing was ever that simple, he supposed. It was so unfortunate. He was hoping to begin his fun soon, but it seemed as if it would have to be pushed back longer until he could think of a way to get her to come over. And to say he had cleaned the attic and made it spotless, just for her, and now she was turning down the opportunity to visit and have some fun.

"I'll tell you what." He pushed his orange hair out of his face, leaning his head aside some. "I'll give you my number, so any time you need help with something, you can just give me a call." Was that a good idea? To let her have a direct connection to him? There was always the chance that she could tell her dinner guests about him. That just meant he'd have to make up a plan for them to not get involved with him.

Kaneko smiled. Her cheeks flushed a light pink, and Kazuki had to keep himself from showing his amusement and had to try even harder not to laugh. He wasn't interested in her like that. He wasn't flirting with her; he was simply trying to get her number so he could keep an eye on her. If he got close to her, then he would be able to take her easier. Of course, she wasn't aware of what was going on, so he couldn't make fun of her stupidity just yet.

She pulled her phone out of her purse and handed it to him. Kazuki quickly typed in his number into her contacts under simply "Kazu" with no other information. His name was all she needed to know for now. Now that he was thinking about it, he probably should have been smart enough to use a fake name. Why he never thought of that before was beyond him, and now he was the one left feeling stupid.

The phone was handed back, and Kaneko was saying her goodbyes. She walked by him down the aisle with a smile on her face while she waved. She smelled of some kind of beachy scent that reminded him of summer, which was strange because it was now spring. She must have missed the hot season, or maybe she just loved that scent in particular. Whatever reason it was, it didn't matter, but he did love the scent more than he should have.

For the next twenty minutes, Kazuki walked around the store aimlessly, thinking. What could he do to her? Any ideas he had had before weren't going to work. Kaneko needed something suited just for her, and Kazuki was thinking he had just the right idea forming. It was going to take a long time, so he hoped she would like him long enough for him to go through with his plans. If something were to go wrong, he guessed there would be no other choice but to use quick blunt force. Hopefully, it wouldn't have to end in such a way, but he could never know for sure, and it was always good to think of an alternative ending, right?

He left the store and entered his car. Kaneko would more than likely call or text him later, and he had until then to think about what he was going to do to get her to hang out with him. Should he be cliche and pretend to date her? No, he didn't want to do what it took to play that kind of a game. Anyways, the boyfriend was always the first suspect in a missing person's case and murder. Those policemen would have their eyes on him so closely that it'd be like he's constantly under a microscope. He wouldn't able to do anything. Maybe he'd already fucked up by giving her a direct link to him. He'd be sure to take her phone as well and hope that she doesn't go too into detail about him to her friends --maybe she won't speak of him at all.

Why was he all of a sudden nervous? He's done this before, it shouldn't be a big deal. He's set the trap and watched the prey come to him, and this time it wasn't going to be any different. One way or another, Kaneko was going to come to him. If this was the one that would ultimately bring him down, then so be it. But he was going to have her. There was no way around it.

a/n: Two updates in one week. This may be a rare moment. It's shorter than I wanted, but I'll be putting more detail into the following chapters. Please remember to comment and vote! I love hearing what you guys have to say.

Also, if you're into a nice Kazu, check out my new story. ❤️

Thank you for reading!