To the End.

Chapter Five

Just as Kazu had predicted, Kaneko had contacted him. It seemed like the woman was all-too-willing to spend time with him and invited him out to lunch at some casual bar and restaurant. It wasn't the typical place where he would normally hang out, but the atmosphere was relaxed, so it helped settle his nerves.

Ever since he had arrived home after their first meeting, the nervousness had been getting to him. It crawled under his skin and made a place for itself, and there was nothing Kazu could do to shake it. It wasn't the first time he had met some random woman, and it surely wouldn't be the last. There was something about Kaneko. Maybe it was just the fact she had an obvious circle of friends that would look for her if she were to go missing.

Kazu sat across from her with a mug of coffee. It was only early afternoon, so drinking was out of the question. He wasn't hungry because of his nerves, so he opted to just order coffee instead so he wasn't just sitting there awkwardly. Kaneko must have felt odd about ordering anything because all she had was a simple salad and a glass of water. She must have been one of those girls that didn't like to eat in front of guys, Kazu thought. What a lovely thought.

"Did you grow up around here?" Kaneko asked politely, her hand reaching for the glass of water before she took a small drink. Her eyes were trained on him, and Kazu smiled with a small shake of his head.

Should he really be giving her any actual information on himself? Who knows who she could relay the information to. For all he knew, she could be telling a best friend everything she finds out about him. She could even be a friend of Naora's who was looking for her. No. That was impossible. No one had ever seen him with Naora, and she wasn't a very social person. There was no way the two of them had any connection. Kazu was getting too suspicious and paranoid, and it was time to put a stop to it. Paranoia would only ruin his plans prematurely.

"I'm from Tokyo." He lied. There were so many people in Tokyo that it was believable. "I moved here a year ago by myself." No one needed to know a thing about him regarding his family or friends. As far as anyone knew, Kazu had no family whatsoever and all his friends were left in Tokyo. He had no connections to anyone, and that's how it was going to stay, as far as this girl was concerned.

"I've always wanted to go there."

Kazu resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Was this going to be the typical story of a girl who wanted to go to Tokyo but couldn't? For God's sake, it was only about a six-hour train ride away. She could take a weekend and go to Tokyo if she really wanted to. He had no interest in what she wanted to do or where she wanted to go. All he cared about was getting her into his home where he could start his fun. That's all that really mattered, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be taking her home that day.

"It's nice. Busy, but nice." He nodded his head and sipped the coffee again. He'd only been to Tokyo a few times, and that was enough for him. Too many people made him nervous, and he didn't like feeling like he was lost in a sea of people.

For another hour and a half, Kazu sat and listened to Kaneko talk about herself and her life. Apparently, she had grown up in Sakai-shi as well, but they didn't attend the same school --something he was thankful for. The last thing he wanted was to run into someone who could potentially remember him for the awkward person he was and embarrass him.

He made his way home and headed upstairs to the attic. It was cleaned in advance in case he could get Kaneko to go home with him. There were no traces of Naora left. He'd cleaned up so many of his own crime scenes that he'd basically become a pro. There was no blood anywhere, surprisingly.

He pulled his phone out and called Kaneko. This waiting game was getting boring. She was going to come over, and she was going to come over now. It was only seven in the evening, and that was a good enough time for him to invite her over for a dinner she would never get to eat.

Kaneko answered the phone in her annoyingly chipper voice, and he quickly invited her over. There was no hesitation on her end, which surprised him. She must have really been interested in him if she was going to see him twice in one day. Having dinner at his house seemed like a real date, but that's not what it was at all.

Twenty minutes was all it took for Kaneko to arrive. While he had waited, Kazuki began preparing a dinner for himself. It could cook to give the impression that she was eating too, but she wouldn't get the chance.

"Thank you for inviting me." Kaneko had dressed nicely for the occasion in a little black dress that almost had Kazuki laughing. She really did think it was a date.

"The pleasure is all mine." Such a stereotypical response. He led her into the kitchen where she sat down at the small table he had. "I just thought after having a nice day with you, we'd finish the day together." Ah, yes. That's what it was. They'd finish her last day of freedom together, and Kazuki would celebrate capturing yet another stupid girl.

Kaneko smiled at him and began talking mindlessly. Kazuki wasn't paying attention to anything she was saying and nodded and hummed in response. It didn't matter what she was talking about. He didn't give a damn about any of the words that left her mouth. She kept talking and talking, and suddenly she reminded him of Naora. The only difference was she wasn't begging him to spare her life --yet.

He walked around her to the pantry, stating that he needed to get another ingredient. Inside he had just what he needed, something he had placed there especially for her. He glanced through the space between the door and the wall to make sure Kaneko wasn't looking in his direction, but unfortunately, she was. He cursed to himself before smiling. "Could you check on the food for me, please? Stir it?"

Kaneko got up to do as she was asked. Kazuki grabbed the brick he had hidden in the pantry and stepped out with it behind his back. As soon as he got close enough, he quickly beat her in the back of the head with it. There was a loud noise as her skull made contact with the brick, and he smiled to himself while she fell to the floor unconscious. That was so much easier than he expected it to be.

Now the fun could begin.

a/n - This isn't beta read, so I'm really sorry if there are any errors.