To the End.

Chapter Nine - Mimasuya Shioko

For six weeks Kazuki stayed quiet and to himself. He was itching to find another victim, but with the police snooping around and looking for Kaneko, he had no choice but to dispose of her. The fun had come to an end prematurely, and he knew he would have to deal with it until the police finally closed their case. But what if they didn't and he'd left behind some kind of trail? As far as he knew, he had left no traces of her whatsoever, and he could only hope that he was right because the last thing he needed was to go to prison or be put to death. Surely, the police would uncover Naora as well if they really started to look into him.

He frowned to himself and pulled his jacket closer to his body. Although he was worried that the police would catch him, it didn't stop him from looking around town for another woman. He kept telling himself he was only looking for the time being, that he wouldn't kidnap or seduce anyone until the coast was clear, but Kazuki knew himself better than that. He wasn't going to listen to himself, and he knew it. He needed to find someone new to satisfy his urges, and he had a feeling he knew exactly who to choose.

Working at a street stand was a young woman with long brown hair and big doe eyes. He hadn't caught her name just yet, but he made sure to keep showing up just to make sure she was there. He wasn't obvious as some people were; Kazuki simply pretended as if he was walking to and from work each day, but in reality, he wasn't. He was taking in details and learning all that he could from her simple job. She seemed friendly and easy to get along with, but best of all she was gullible.

This woman was going to be the perfect addition to his growing collection of victims. The more he saw her, the more he wanted her, and the more he wanted her, the worse his urges got. There would be no choice but for him to introduce himself soon and become acquainted. It was definitely much easier said than done.

Was he going to be able to do it, or would his nerves now come into play and get the best of him? That was his main worry, and he didn't want to mess anything up before he could get what he wanted. If he stumbled and screwed up, then he could lose the woman and would have to find another. Kazuki didn't do well in that kind of situation; when he wanted someone, he got them. It was like some kind of manic urge, and he had to have what he wanted or it drove him nuts.

He wasn't quite sure how he was going to get her. There was no plan yet, but he knew she was the perfect one. Her long brown hair was put up in low pigtails, and her doe eyes were focused on the food she was currently making. She looked young, maybe about twenty-two or twenty-three, at least somewhere around there. It didn't necessarily matter as long as she was of a legal age, and Kazuki could tell that she was.

Her hand reached up to push her straight-across bangs aside some before she went back to what she was doing. She was beautiful, much more beautiful than the last two women he encountered. Her beauty wasn't one of the stunning kind but more of a cute kind. Cute women were always easy to get. This one would hopefully be simple.

Kazuki made his way over to the stand to order food. She looked up at him with a smile, "I'll be right with you." Her voice was like honey, and he was already hooked. That was a voice he'd have no problem with listening to. It wasn't annoying like Naora's, whose voice made him want to rip out her vocal chords, and he wondered why he hadn't had that idea in the first place.

It took a few minutes before the woman was able to clean her hands and help him with his order. "One strawberry crepe, please." He smiled his usual charming smiling, hoping it would help him along as well as it had in the past with everyone else.

"On it!" She held up her hand in a fist with a look of determination on her face as she nodded. She was definitely the cute type, Kazuki noted, and he almost felt bad for choosing her as his next victim because that meant all that cuteness was going to go to waste once he was done with her. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered as long as he got his fill and was satisfied in the end.

It didn't take long for her to make the delicious treat, and she was soon passing it to him. He noted how tiny and feminine her hands were and smiled more. Just looking at her hands for that brief second brought back the memories of Kaneko eating Naora's hand, and that alone flooded him with pleasure. Sure, his fun with the woman had ended quickly, but he couldn't deny that he did enjoy the things he had managed to do.

"Thank you." He smiled at her again, taking the food and reaching into his pocket for the money so he could pay. "I'm Kazu. It's nice to meet you."

She looked caught off guard at the introduction. It wasn't every day that someone would randomly just introduce themselves to her. Normally they just wanted their food so they could continue on with their day, but Kazuki was actually stopping to introduce himself. It was weird, but she guessed it was just common decency to introduce themselves. Or was it? She wasn't too sure.

"I'm Shioko." She took the money from him and smiled, placing the bills into the register.

Shioko.

What a beautiful name, although it wasn't one that he heard often. It seemed fitting somehow, and he made sure to remember it because that was going to be the name on his mind until he was able to get her and begin his game all over again.

He didn't stay long because there was a line growing behind him, but he gave her extra money as a tip. "Take this, since you're so cute and nice enough to do this job every day." He winked and headed on his way toward home. He'd be back the next day and the next until he felt like her interest in him was growing, and once it had, that's when he would make his move. Maybe with this one, he would play the love card despite how much the idea repulsed him, but it was something new, something fun, and it would definitely get her where he wanted her to be.

After all, that's all that mattered, wasn't it?