Chapter 2: First Clue

It was about 9:15 when she found herself at Sawara's desk. He was as busy as always with papers and scripts on his desk. Once Kyoko debuted, she had stopped seeing Sawara for her roles, and instead moved under Matsushima-san's jurisdiction. She was officially removed from the LoveMe section when she started dating Kuon.

So why was she still doing LoveMe things? It wasn't like the President didn't have other victims to play with in his favourite section. With the LoveMe trio's success, everyone was eager to join the section - even with the bright pink jumpsuits they were required to wear. Yet here she was, still a pawn on Takarada's LME chess board.

"Good Morning, Sawara-san," she bowed.

Sawara looked up at her confused. "Good morning, Mogami-san. Is there something you need?" He didn't mind seeing the girl, but he was always a little worried when he did. Let's face it - she could be rather creepy - especially when Fuwa Sho's mentioned. It was like there was a poltergeist in the office when she was there.

"Actually, I was hoping you had something for me? I believe you are the one I need to see."

He didn't look up at her as she held out the notes to him, simply shaking his head. "Matsushima-san has all your assignments now. I'm sorry I don't have anything for you."

"Um, this isn't for a job. You don't have an old yellow note or something like that addressed to me?" she asked again. He was the only one she could think of that would match the little poem.

"A yellow note?" He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. It always stunned him how grown up she looked now. Her hair color was still the same, but it seemed to have grown just a touch longer, making her look more mature somehow. His eyes fell to the little sheets of papers in her hand.

"OH! Yes…yes, that's today isn't it," he said as he started to ruffle through papers to find the item in question. "Sorry, I completely forgot about that. Wait, I have it here." He started to shuffle through his drawers before finally finding it.

"Here you go." He gave a small smile and handed it to her. It was curled up and had the same ribbon and tag as the one Okami-san had given her. She bowed down and took the item. He started working again, and then stopped when she didn't move.

"Is there something else, Mogami-san?"

"I'm sorry, Sawara-san." She bowed in apology and then asked, "Do you know who gave this to you?"

He paused for a moment as if he was trying to remember. "I think her name was Sasaki-san, an older woman, sort of homely."

"Sasaki-san? But that's the Okami-san. Why would she have you give this to me if she could give it to me?" Kyoko asked confused. This didn't make any sense!

"I don't know. All I know is a woman by that name came in and told me to give that to you when you asked for it." He paused, "Listen, just continue with this game and you'll feel better at the end, okay?"

"But why? What is this about? Why would someone steal Corn?" she pleaded with him. He knew something. He knew what this was all about.

"Corn? The vegetable?" He looked at her incredulously. Why was she complaining about stealing corn? He thought it was delicious but not something to cry over!

"Corn! My purple stone. Someone stole it so I would do this stupid game. Now, where is it?" she demanded, stunning the few people in the room at her aggressive outburst. They had seen a great many emotions from the young actress, but anger wasn't one she, as herself, expressed.

"Okay… okay… Calm down, Mogami-san." He smiled at the rest of the office members, as if to reassure them everything was under control, before returning his attention to her. "I don't know about this stone of yours, but trust me. You'll find out about everything tonight. I wish you the best of luck though," he smiled genuinely, then returned to his paperwork.

Kyoko sighed. At first she was just a little intrigued by the little poems, but now after speaking with Sawara, she was down right riddled with curiosity and frustration. There was no way she was going to let this go, but she couldn't understand what this was all about. She left the office and found a secluded chair to read the next note.

Push or pull, run or swim

As much as you like, it will never end.

There you will find

Long of hair, dark as night

Sharp of tongue but a friendly sight.

"What?" she exclaimed, and a few people turned to look at her strangely. She blushed lightly and waved. They shook their heads and returned to their business. She reread the note, but it still didn't make any sense.

"Why does the President have to be so cryptic?" she mumbled to herself. Push or pull, run or swim. Run or swim… that means whomever she needs to meet is at a pool or a track of some sort. Maybe they were at the beach? The ocean never ended and you could run at the beach - there were always runners there.

"Push or pull…" That didn't make sense though, and the next line made it sound like all four of those things would never end. She read the next lines, long hair… long black or dark brown hair… and a sharp tongue… friend….

"MOKO-SAN!" she yelled out, and several people turned to look at her again with frowning faces. Kyoko just smiled brightly at them and started to leave the building. She didn't know where Kanae was but luckily she could just call and find out. Kanae answered on the third ring.

"Moko-san! You're in this plan too?"

"Well, hello to you too, Kyoko. How are you today? I've had a fantastic day, thank you so much for asking," she said sarcastically.

"Moko-san! What is going on and where are you?" Kyoko was quickly walking out the building.

"I can't tell you. You are supposed to figure it out for yourself." She sounded like she thought this whole thing was just silly, but internally she was fighting not to smile.

"But I don't understand the clue. Just tell me," Kyoko whined.

"Just think about it. This is supposed to be fun. You figured out it was me that was next. What does the other part say?"

Kyoko read the note to her and she heard Kanae growl slightly. "What is 'Sharp of Tongue' supposed to mean!"

Kyoko giggled. It was that line that had helped her to figure out the clue. "So what do the first two lines mean? Are you at the beach?"

"No. Geez, I can just imagine you combing the beach screaming out, Moko-san!" she mimicked, making Kyoko laugh.

Kanae continued, "So where would I go to run and swim? Think of other placed beside the beach that you could do both." There was silence as Kyoko thought about it.

"A school has both those things," she finally answered.

"No. I'm not at a school. Try again. What am I always doing?" Kanae said impatiently.

"Acting and auditioning..." Kyoko started throwing out things. She could hear Kanae start to tap her foot with annoyance.

"You like to shop but don't like spending money, so it's just window shopping. There is no swimming with shopping though," Kyoko was thinking out loud. Kanae's irritation was almost tangible through the phone.

"You also work out…"

"THERE!" Kyoko jumped at Kanae's scream.

"Oh! You're at the gym!" she said cheerily, and then frowned, "What gym?"

"MO!" Kanae cried out, exasperated.

Kyoko arrived at the gym about thirty minutes later after Kanae ended up telling her the address and how to get there. Kanae could have just worked out there at LME, but she liked the equipment in this gym more. Not to mention, he wanted Kyoko to work for this a bit.

"MOKO-SAN!" Kyoko ran to her with her arms out for a hug. Kanae just glared at her best friend, stopping the over eager hug cold as usual. She had the little note in her hand, just waiting for Kyoko to take it.

"Here you go. Off you go, now." Kanae said dismissively and started to walk away, but Kyoko followed after taking the note.

"You work out here, Moko-san? This is nice." She looked around. "And private. The lady at the desk said you were expecting me and had a guest pass for me."

"Yeah, it's very private, but it's expensive. Still, they have saunas and spas and extra security, so non-members have to be escorted by an employee or have a guest pass like yours from a member."

"LME has security and you wouldn't have to pay," Kyoko offered since she knew how careful with money Kanae was.

"It's not as good as here. Anyone is actually free to come and go into that gym so you don't see many actual famous people in that gym. Plus security only comes in after something has already happened. I like this place more even though it costs more." Kanae smiled. She actually loved talking to Kyoko when she was acting normal. There was more than her persistent nature that drew Kanae to Kyoko. Kyoko looked around the room mindlessly following Kanae. She felt the little note in her hand and looked at her best friend's back in hope.

"Moko-san, can you tell me what is going on, please?" Kyoko gave her big puppy dog eyes, but Kanae turned to stone, unwilling to let her best friend's cute face affect her.

"No."

"But why? You're my best friend and best friends shouldn't keep secrets from each other," she pouted. Kanae felt the guilt stab into her heart, but she still shook her head.

"I can't, I promised. Besides you'll like it."

"I will?" Kyoko pressed her lips together in thought, "Well can you tell me who gave you the note?"

"Sawara-san" Kanae answered easily and Kyoko looked at her funny.

"I was just with Sawara-san!"

"Oh were you?" Kanae tried to dismiss the question as she stepped onto a treadmill. She started to push the buttons to program in her work out.

Kyoko sighed as Kanae started to run. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get anything from Kanae. She should have known better than to try and get anything out of her. Kanae could play Kyoko like a fiddle, but Kyoko could never get anything out of her friend. Kanae started to run, so Kyoko decide to read the next clue.

Sweet little angel with golden hair

A princess dress is what she'll normally wear

Instead of a gown

She'll be twirling around.

In bright pink tights

She'll look quite nice

Tip toeing across the ground.

"Maria," Kyoko said out loud and Kanae looked at her in shock. She knew this was a little too easy! Still, he hadn't wanted it to be too difficult for her. It was a little after ten and his plan was to have her there by five. She would be there by 1 at this rate.

"Hey," Kanae stopped the treadmill cold and turned to her friend, "Let me show you around okay. This place is really nice."

"Eh? But I need to finish this up so I can get Corn back," Kyoko said as she was being dragged by Kanae.

"It will only take a moment and then maybe you can work out with me sometime," Kanae offered, cringing as Kyoko squealed in excitement. Kanae might regret this later, but she was sure that Kyoko wouldn't be joining after tonight.

Kanae showed Kyoko all the different equipment. The main floor had dozens of cardio machines, from bikes to elliptical machines and treadmills along with a huge section for weight training. At the far end of the floor was a windowed room that held exercising classes.

"They offer kickboxing, which I was sort of interested in joining, but I couldn't commit to due to work. This is a 24 hour facility so I can use the equipment whenever I like."

Kyoko thought Kanae sounded sort of wistful about the class and wished they could take the class together. Next she was shown the spa and sauna rooms. There were several hot tubs for free use.

"They are cleaned daily, which is more than most places could say," Kanae said.

The sauna rooms were large; they could fit about ten people each. There were four saunas, divided into two rooms for men and two rooms for women. The next area had a massive indoor swimming pool. There was a lone swimmer doing laps in the far lane. He was impressive, with wide strong shoulders and smooth even strides.

The girls left the room and went straight into the locker rooms. The man swimming in the pool burst out of the water and wiped his face. He started to dry off when another woman came into the room.

"Sho, come on, we really have to go," Shoko yelled out to her unruly star.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Sho gathered his things slowly, causing her to roll her eyes at his immaturity.

"I'll meet you in the car," Shoko grumbled annoyed, before turning to walk out. Sho took his sweet time to go into the men's locker room. He never understood the hurry his manager was always in. It wasn't like recording would take forever. They were always done long before the allotted time. He had just swung open the door and walked into shower to get dressed, when the two girls came out.

"It's rare to have private dressing rooms, and they provide everything you need," Kanae pointed out. She should advertise for this place. They would love the way she was describing it.

"This is a wonderful place, Moko-san." They walked back into the main floor.

"Now let me show you the upstairs," Kanae said energetically. Kyoko looked at the note, then back at her friend and nodded. Hopefully, Lory's plan wouldn't take all day. Upstairs had a massage parlor, a nurses station for minor injuries, and a general nutrition center, as well as a juice bar. Kyoko had to admit this place was impressive. Although once Kanae told her how much she had to pay every six months, she almost lost it.

"Ah, I'll have to think about it. The one at LME isn't as nice, but I really don't get bothered there. I'm simply not as famous as you are, Moko-san," she said timidly. Kanae knew that Kyoko truly did feel that way. Kanae also knew how much of a big fat lie it was. Yet looking at it from an outside point of view, Kanae did have to hide, whereas Kyoko could go around town without being noticed. Seen like that, one would think Kanae was more famous than Kyoko.

"You know I've been meaning to ask you about that. Every time we go out, I'm always the one who has to wear disguises. How is it you don't ever get recognized, but I always do the moment I take off my sunglasses?" she asked, annoyed.

Kyoko looked down sadly, "I don't know. I always hear how different I am in person when I do interviews, so I guess the people don't see me when I'm on the street." She then smiled at her friend, "but then I don't have as many fans as you do Moko-san, and you are just so beautiful that people just naturally look at you."

"Pfft, please!" She understood the compliment, but she also knew that this girl had people looking at her all the time when they went out. Kyoko was cute at first, but she grew into something absolutely enchanting as you got to know her - especially after she fell in love. There was this glow about her after she started dating Kuon. Love suited her. Still, people didn't seem to swarm Kyoko like they did to Kanae and Kuon.

Kanae sighed and looked up at the clock. It was 11 now. Still, she could waste some more time before Kyoko left.

"I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat," Kanae stated, leaving no room for argument as she started to walk back to the locker room. Kanae was out in record time and they left the gym. She then purposely took Kyoko to a restaurant towards the outskirts of town. She truly doubted that Maria would be near here.

"How far is this place? We've been walking for 20 minutes already." Kyoko had already walked the thirty minutes to get to the gym and after walking around the gym, her feet where started to throb.

"Ah, actually it's right here." Kanae turned to what looked like a restaurant. She was happy to find that it was a sushi shop that wasn't very busy. She was a little worried about that since it was lunch time.

"The food is great here. Let's eat."

The food was not great. It was down right horrible, but Kyoko was too polite to say that and Kanae was too proud to admit that she picked this place out of a hat. They choked down the food with a lot of tea. During the lunch, they occupied their time trying to figure out the next riddle. Truthfully, Kanae didn't know what hers had said until Kyoko read it to her. She had only known who was next because she was supposed to call Maria once Kyoko left.

"Instead of a gown, she'll be twirling around in pink tights…that sounds like she is dancing," Kyoko said, frowning at the clue.

"I didn't know Maria danced," Kanae said, and Kyoko looked up at her. She hadn't known that either, but they couldn't think of what else fit the description.

"The question is, where does she dance?" Kyoko mumbled.

"LME has a dance studio. Since she is always there, I would look there," Kanae offered.

"I thought you weren't supposed to help me with this." Kyoko wasn't trying to complain but if she was helping her now, maybe she would answer other questions.

"Ah, oh… you're right. Forget what I said." Kanae had actually forgotten she wasn't supposed to help. She had been absorbed with trying to figure out the poem.

With the next destination set, Kyoko was eager to get this done. "I'm going to take a cab back to LME. Do you want to join me Moko-san?" she offered. Kanae almost said yes, but she shook her head, "No, I'm actually heading the opposite way, so you go ahead. Good luck, and I'll see you tonight."

Kyoko nodded, waved for a cab, and then stopped, "You will?"

Kanae almost cursed. "You mean you forgot!" she ad libbed. "You promised me we would go to a movie," she said, making a hurt face. Kanae's lip quivered as she fought not to smile, watching Kyoko panic at her lie.

"Oh, I'm sorry Moko-san. It's just this thing with Corn has me all confused and I completely forgot." She paused and looked away ashamed. "Where are we meeting and when?"

"Mo! Just forget it!"

"No, no, no, no! I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you. I'll buy you some ice cream tonight. I promise I won't forget this time!"

Kanae sighed. She hated lying to her friend, but hoped Kyoko would forgive her after tonight's event. Kanae told her a random time and place, and Kyoko nodded. She picked up her hand, pulling over a cab with relative ease. As soon as the cab was out of sight, Kanae picked up her phone.

"Yeah, she is heading your way. She'll be there in twenty minutes. I didn't know you went to dance classes," she mentioned curiously.

There was a pause as Kanae listened.

"Oh. That makes sense. Okay then. I'll see you at the party."