Chapter Sixteen: Contempt:

He hates her, oh yes, he really hates her. He hates her because she has the one thing he wants.

Tsuzuki fell in love and married her. Muraki did not want that. Tsuzuki was supposed to go to him, but instead she came along and stole him away. Muraki could not have this! She would have to go, but how? How to eliminate the competition without drawing attention back to him? His object of affection would know it was him if something happened to her. However, other factors posed a problem with his goal.

First, there was the grandmother. Haruka had her killed before. Too bad she didn't stay that way. Tsuzuki just had to bring Anna back. Now, the grandmother wants to kill her again. Haruka even asked the doctor not to touch her. She wanted the joy of killing her herself. He said that he would, but given the circumstances, that promise would be difficult to keep. Still, there was that other matter.

She won't die easily now. She's strong; he'll give her that. He's encountered her before. She would've killed him too, but her limitations at the time stopped her. If he had died, she would've killed herself too. Now, her kitsune got free and it's the mother. Nobody knew her powers yet. If he encountered her again, it could be a death sentence. He needed to use his smarts to eliminate the competition. That itself would take heavy planning.

This type of execution took planning and patience to run smoothly. He needed the right moment to strike. It would have to be a tragic accident to take out the rival. Soon, Tsuzuki would be adrift in his sorrow. The doctor would be there as a shoulder to cry on. Yet, he can't do it alone. Lucky for him, he had connections. In fact, it reminded him�

He picked up the phone and dialed that certain number. He sat at his desk as the other line rang. He lit up another cigarette and took a smoke.

"Ah yes," he said. "There's something else I need you to do�"