To the End.

Chapter Thirteen

She was so irritating. Every time she opened her mouth, Kazuki just wanted to slap her. Why had he settled for Shioko? He couldn't quite remember why he chose her out of everyone else, but he also wasn't going to sit around and try to remember the reason. That would only waste more of his time, and he'd already spent too much time on her. Their trip to Tokyo had done nothing but cost him money every time they stepped outside of their hotel room. Shioko had no problem spending his money, and it was irritating just how inconsiderate she was. It wasn't like Kazuki was her boyfriend who was willing to spend money left and right just to please her. He felt bad for anyone she had dated in the past. If he was spending so much on her just as a guy who was (supposedly) interested in her, then he could only imagine how much an actual boyfriend had to spend. Thankfully, her little spending spree was over, and the two of them were on their way back to Osaka.

Kazuki's fingers tightened around the steering wheel while Shioko told him some pointless story about herself that he couldn't care less about. It was something about going out with her friends one day after work, and the story was so basic and boring from the start that he began ignoring her completely. If she would call him out on it, he'd simply say he was just focusing on the road. It was early morning, so the roads weren't as clear as they would have been during the afternoon. It wasn't a complete lie. He was, indeed, trying to keep an eye on the road, but he didn't need to focus so intensely. His eyes glanced down at the gas gauge and he suddenly cut into her story.

"We need to stop for gas." He spoke, finally turning his head to look at her briefly. "Keep an eye out for a gas station of some kind." The tone of his voice clearly said that he wanted her to stop talking, and surprisingly, she got the hint and immediately shut up.

They sat in silence for fifteen minutes before Shioko pointed at a small gas station. Even she was glad that they needed to stop. All she needed was a few minutes away from Kazuki, even if it was just long enough for Kazuki to fill the car up while she wandered around the gas station. As much as she appreciated the man for taking her to a new town and letting her buy whatever she wanted, all she wanted to do was get home and away from him. There was something about the man that suddenly struck her as strange, and it wasn't until his phone had rang at the hotel and he disappeared had she noticed it.

Kazuki didn't mention the content of the phone call once he returned to the room. He didn't need to give her details. All she knew was the look in his eyes was different, and his body language let her know that something bad had happened. Suddenly, he went from the nice guy who had taken her on a nice little vacation to a man who was paranoid and clearly didn't want her around. He no longer smiled and listened to her little stories while humming every now and then to make it known that he was listening. He no longer flirted with her for the sake of doing it (and he didn't really need to because she already liked him). It was like Kazuki had turned into a completely different person, and Shioko became happier and happier the closer they got to home. She had no idea what was going on, but she wouldn't feel better until she was in her apartment with the door locked. Kazuki had a creepy vibe, and she couldn't quite figure out what was wrong.

The car slowed down as they turned into the gas station's entrance. The gas station was in the middle of nowhere with two pumps. As soon as the car was parked, Kazuki got out. "Do you need anything?" He stopped before he could walk away from the car, bending down to look through the driver side window.

Shioko nodded slightly. "Just a bottle of water, please." She gave him a smile, just like she always did. No matter how uncomfortable she was, she wasn't going to make it known that she knew something was up.

With a small nod, Kazuki disappeared into the gas station. As much as she wanted to get out and stretch her legs, she instead chose to just stay in the car. From where she sat, she could see Kazuki, so she felt a little more comfortable. He was looking through the aisles, more than likely for something to eat. They hadn't eaten since they ate dinner at the hotel the night before, so the two of them were hungry. Shioko wasn't focused on her hunger, but she was glad the thought of it kept Kazuki in the gas station longer.

Her attention was torn away from the man as she heard a buzzing sound to her side. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath. It was only Kazuki's phone. It was an invasion of privacy, but she still reached for it just to see who it was. She didn't recognize the name, but how could she anyways? It wasn't like she was aware of anyone in Kazuki's life. Either way, she still answered it just to inform them that Kazuki was currently busy. It wasn't her place to do so, but it'd stop that annoying buzzing sound.

"Hello?" Her eyes stayed trained on Kazuki while she spoke. She didn't want him to know she was answering his phone. Who knew how he'd react to something so small? Guys didn't like it when women used their phones, right? Wouldn't he think she was going through it or something?

The voice on the other end was somewhat deep as it replied. "I must have the wrong number. I'm looking for Takemura Kazuki."

"No, this is his number. He's just busy right now. Can I take a message?" That was a stupid question because then he'd know she had answered his phone. But wouldn't he know anyways if he went through the list of calls? She mentally slapped herself.

"That depends on your connection to him. I'm with the police, and I have more questions for him."

Shioko's eyes widened a bit at the mention of the police. "Police?" She followed Kazuki around with her eyes as he stopped and seemed to be looking around for something in particular. "Why are you contacting him? I'm somewhat seeing him. Well, I just met him not too long ago."

The officer seemed to be thinking before he finally answered. Maybe it wasn't very professional for him to handle the situation as he was, but it didn't matter. If Kazuki had a connection to the case of two missing women, then there was a chance that this woman was in danger, right? The last time he had contacted Kazuki, he didn't seem very happy. He gave very little useful information and seemed to be of no help, but that wasn't going to stop the police. Something was off about Kazuki and the way he spoke. If they could meet him in person again, this officer was sure his body language would give him away.

"I'll cut straight to the chase. I'm investigating a missing person's case. Have you ever heard of Saionji Naora or Tayama Kaneko? Both women have a connection to Takemura-san."

"I haven't heard of them, but he's been acting strange ever since he got a phone call the other day. I assume it was you guys. His paranoia makes sense now.." Shioko's voice trailed off. Kazuki was reaching the check out counter, so she knew her time with the police was coming to the end. "He's coming back, so I have to go now." Before Kazuki was able to turn and head for the door, she quickly hung up and placed the phone where Kazuki had originally put it.

Kazuki stepped out of the doors and headed toward the car. As hard as she tried, Shioko didn't show a hint of her worries as she took the bottle of water from him. "Thank you." She smiled politely and took his drink as well, placing it in the drink holder. If Kazuki was really a suspect in a missing person's case, then she had to do everything she could to please him and keep herself off his bad side. That would lower her chances of being the next victim, right? She didn't know for sure what was going on, but wasn't it a good idea to be on her best behavior?

As the man pumped the gas, she stayed quiet and played with her own phone. From the corner of her eye, she kept glancing at the side mirror just to make sure he wasn't doing anything besides pumping gas. Every time it looked like he was going to turn his head toward her, she quickly glanced down at her phone as if she was busy playing some kind of game while she waited patiently.

After a few minutes, Kazuki was finally seated next to her again with the seatbelt fastened over him. "I'm sorry that took longer than needed." He flashed a smile while he put the key in the ignition and started the engine. "I wanted something in particular."

Shioko didn't bother asking what it was because she didn't care. She just smiled in return and shook her head a bit. "I didn't mind. I thought you just wanted to stretch your legs since you've been driving for so long." It was a believable response since it'd been hours since they'd left Tokyo.

Kazuki seemed pleased with the answer and once again began driving while also eating the snack he wanted. Shioko didn't know what it was, and she wasn't focused on it. Her attention was solely on Kazuki, but she adverted her gaze out the window. The last thing she wanted was to have Kazuki catch her staring at him and wonder what her problem was. She couldn't ask what the police had wanted because, unless she told him about the phone call, she wasn't actually supposed to know about anything.