To the End.

Chapter Fourteen

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Kazuki looked down at the number written on his phone's screen. It wasn't a saved number, but he knew exactly whose it was, and it wasn't a missed call. It was identical to the number that had called the night before, and it puzzled him.

The police calling him almost came as a surprise. A part of him knew that they were going to catch up to him the moment the officer arrived at his door while Kaneko was still alive. He'd been so careful with disposing of both Naora and Kaneko, and he was sure that no one was going to find them. If they ever were found, it wouldn't be any time soon. There was no need to worry, right? Unless the police really looked into him, they weren't going to find where he decided the women needed to be buried. It wasn't like they were in obvious places.

But that didn't matter right now.

What mattered was the fact that the number was on his screen for a second time, and he hadn't answered the phone. And if he hadn't answered it, then that meant that someone else did, and the only other person with him was Shioko.

The nervousness that Kazuki had already been feeling went up tenfold. If the woman had answered, then wouldn't that mean she knew what was going on?

His hand went limp as it held the phone, and he turned his head to look at the passenger next to him. 

Shioko sat with her elbow resting on the window of the car. For the past two minutes, the two of them had been sitting in silence while a train passed by the front of them. It wasn't long, but after being in the car for hours, she just wanted to be home. Not only was the drive long, but with the new knowledge that Kazuki was being looked at by police, she wanted nothing more than to be in the comfort and safety of her own home.

But that wasn't going to happen. Oh, no.

"Shioko."

Kazuki's voice cut through the silence with a stern tone. Of all the days they'd spent together, she hadn't heard him use such a tone. He was annoyed, and it showed when she finally turned to look at him. His eyes were staring intensely as he wiggled his phone some in his hand. 

"Wanna tell me why you didn't tell me I had a call? Or maybe you wanna tell me why you thought it was appropriate to answer without my consent?"

The male could feel the anger rising. It was an invasion of privacy, as far as he was concerned. Just because they had gone on some stupid little trip together and he played the role of the boyfriend that he had no real intentions of being, didn't mean she had the right to answer his personal calls.

What had the police said?

What did she now know?

Shioko smiled awkwardly and looked down at her hands to avoid Kazuki's gaze. "I thought maybe it was something important, but it wasn't." It was a shit excuse for an answer, and he knew it. There was no way the police were going to call him, get into contact with his next victim, and not tell her to be careful because he was just going to kill her if she didn't get away. At least that's how the conversation went in his mind.

"Please." Kazuki snorted as he tossed his phone on to the dashboard with a loud thud. "Don't give me such a bullshit response. Police don't just call because it's not important."

He wanted her to admit it. He wanted her to tell him what they had told her, to confirm that she knew exactly what was going on and that he had been caught.

His sudden change in temperament worried and scared her. If she told him the truth, where was that going to land her? It wasn't like a person would be okay with being figured out, especially when it came to a case involving missing people. She didn't know the details, or any details, for that matter, but it didn't matter one bit. What did was the fact that Kazuki was guilty of something, and it was very, very clear.

"All they had mentioned was some names, but I don't remember them now. I figured it was nothing." Honestly, she didn't remember the names. What came to mind seemed wrong, and maybe she was mixing them up. She couldn't give them to him without saying them wrong, but maybe that would work to her benefit. If she couldn't remember the names, then she couldn't figure out any details on her own, right? Or did that even make sense? She wasn't sure, but all she knew was that she was now beginning to get scared to even sit next to Kazuki, and they weren't close to home just yet.

"I wish those assholes would leave me alone already." Kazuki clenched his jaw as he took his foot off the brake. The train in front of them had finally reached its end, and he was now able to continue on with their drive. "You date one girl who's nuts, and suddenly you're being looked at." Neither of the women was actually anyone who could have been considered crazy, but Shioko didn't need to know that. Anything that Kazuki said, she could believe. At least she would if she still thought of him as the innocent guy she'd met before.

She stayed quiet while he drove, not wanting to further anger him. She didn't know what might set him off or what he was capable of doing. Was one of those women really considered crazy and did something that got Kazuki in trouble? It wasn't like she was able to fully trust him. They'd just met not too long ago, and now that she was thinking about it, wasn't it stupid that she had already decided to leave Osaka with him? She hadn't told her friends or family about Kazuki. She was too private when it came to dating and often felt embarrassed if anyone discovered a boyfriend. If anything happened to her, how would her family know?

She blinked herself out of her thoughts and looked out the window. Their surroundings were becoming more rural, which she thought was odd. During their way to Tokyo, they hadn't gone through this particular area.

"Where are we?" Shioko glanced over at Kazuki curiously. 

His hands were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel to the point his knuckles were turning white, but he didn't turn his head to look at her or even respond to her question. Truthfully, he didn't know where they were. What he did know was that he was avoiding the city, just in case any police were looking for his car. What were the odds that they'd look in the rural areas instead?

"Kazuki?"

He shook his head, exhaling heavily in an annoyed fashion. Why couldn't she shut up? Why did she have to be so much like Naora and just keep talking when all he wanted was for her to just be quiet and let him think?

She repeated his name again two more times before he slammed on the brakes. Shioko let out a sound of surprise as her body flung forward and her forehead made contact with the dashboard.

"Shut up!" 

Before Shioko could respond, before she could even touch her forehead to make sure she was okay, she felt hands on the back of her head. Time after time, her head made contact with the hard surface of the dash with a loud and disturbing noise. No matter how hard she tried to grab at Kazuki's hands, she just couldn't grasp them to make him stop.

"I'm not going to let you ruin me."

Kazuki's voice came out in desperation against the sound of Shioko's cries and pleas for him to just stop already --she wasn't going to tell anyone. But Kazuki didn't care. He knew how it went; he watched the television shows and knew how the victim always begged and pleaded, and they always ran off to the police if they were lucky enough.

But not Shioko.

She wasn't going to be one of the lucky ones.