To the End.

Chapter Twelve

Why was he going through so much trouble in order to make Shioko happy if it wasn't going to matter in the end? All the clothes and dinners --they were pointless at the end of the day because she wasn't going to continue to live and remember them anyways. Shioko was the only victim that Kazuki put so much effort into, and he wasn't quite sure why. She wasn't any different than Naora and Kaneko. The only difference between them was that Kazuki could stand her just a little bit more. It wasn't by much, but at least he wasn't on the verge of strangling her every time she opened her mouth to speak. Shioko was more tolerable, and maybe that was why Kazuki was able to keep his hands to himself.

Shioko was sitting across from him at the little table in their hotel room. He had ordered a nice dinner for the two of them, and once again he was kicking himself for being a little too fancy about it. Couldn't they have had a normal dinner from some fast food joint? Did he really have to order expensive room service for someone he didn't care about even the slightest bit? People on the outside would look at them and assume that they were dating and Kazuki actually loved her. Sure, she was cute (much cuter than the last two), but he didn't harbor any feelings for her. She was nothing but a pawn in his game, and he was keeping himself entertained. Was he really entertained, or was he just becoming more irritated?

He was eating silently while Shioko droned on and on about work and how much she both liked and hated her job. The hours were long and she was on her feet all day. What did she expect? That was all Kazuki could wonder while he nodded a bit and hummed every now and then. It wasn't like he was actually listening to her. He listened just enough to make it seem like he was interested, but he was really busy with his own thoughts. How was he going to get rid of her? He couldn't do the same thing twice, so whatever he had done in the past was out of the question. Shioko had to go in a unique way, a way that he would remember. If it weren't for the fact he would quickly get caught, he'd just get rid of her in the hotel room, but that was too risky. His name was used in order to get the hotel room, so the police would be able to instantly track him down. He had to be neat and clean. He couldn't leave any kind of traces or connections.

"What kind of job do you have?"

His eyes moved away from the plate in front of him so he could look at her. She was looking at him while holding her chopsticks limply in her hand. What kind of job did he have? Did it really matter? He looked at her for a few seconds before he finally smiled and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Typical salary job." That was all he was going to say. He didn't put much thought into his actual job. He went in and did what his boss expected him to do, then he went home at the end of the day. It was ordinary, and he didn't like to dwell on it much when he was home. He supposed it was stupid to be that way, but he didn't consider it an important part of his life, aside from the fact that was how he got his money. Money wasn't too important to him, especially not since he kept spending it on some stupid woman just so he could get her where he wanted her.

"Do you enjoy it?" Shioko looked down at her food again as she began to eat once more. The problem with the woman was that she was too curious about his personal life, and although he knew she was just being normal like everyone else would be in her position, it still got on his nerves. She was asking too many questions and wanting to know too much. At least Naora and Kaneko left him alone, but they also didn't have the time to ask such stupid questions.

Kazuki shook his head and lowered his eyes to his food as well. "I do what I need to. We're all just trying to live, right?" His corners of his mouth twitched a bit at the irony of his words.

The conversation died down as Kazuki's phone rang. He sat his chopsticks down and wiped his mouth again. It was at least seven in the evening. Considering he had a very small list of people who ever called him, he wasn't sure who it'd be. He excused himself and pushed his chair back before going out on the balcony. Whoever it was, he didn't want Shioko to hear their conversation.