"Are you sure that is exactly what he said?"

"Yes, I'm positive. There was even another voice there that didn't sound like Mogami-san."

"How did it sound?"

"Uh...male. Maybe American? He was speaking English pretty quickly, so I couldn't catch a lot of it, but there was my, and Kyoko's, given names, and at the end of when he first spoke sounded like a question. Ren spoke in English with this person about something nd said this 'Kuon' told him to just call Mogami-san Kyoko."

"Kuon?"

"Yes, sir. I was led to believe that that is the identity of the other man there.

There is a measure of silence between the two. "What are the chances that Ren could have a friend that you as his manager wouldn't have a clue about?"

"Slim to none. I take pride in knowing pretty much all aspects of my charge's life, but he really doesn't have one outside of work."

"That's what I was afraid of."

The office is quiet for a moment as they think before something comes back to Yashiro. "Oh, president? There was this one time when someone appeared and seemed like a friend of Ren's. He at least welcomed him with an honest smile and set apart some time for him. Blew me away because I don't remember meeting that chicken before."

"A chicken? Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, sir, I'm fine, and it was a chicken. But when Ren had the time to befriend a chicken...I do not know. I tried asking him about it later, but he didn't say anything more than 'he has helped me out of a rough patch before' and 'he's just an old friend' and that was that."

"Why does a chicken sound familiar?" The president asks, more to himself.

"I don't know. I thought Ren was going mad. Even named the thing Bo."

"Bo!"

"Look, it may not be the best name for a chicken, but-"

"It's a real chicken!"

"What?" You have got to be kidding me. president.

"Kigamure Rock over at TBM has a chicken mascot named Bo!"

"So the chicken is real, big whoop. I want to know who this Kuon character is and why he hasn't helped until now on their relationship!"

"And if this chicken is Kuon?"

"Oh. That would make sense."

"I had the LoveMe girls go over on Kigamure Rock's first taping because their mascot was sick and Kyoko was the one put in the suit."

"So it's Mogami-san?"

"Well it isn't Kotonami-san." Yashiro nods in agreement. There was no way that girl would be caught dead in a chicken suit. "Trouble is that Kyoko had a bit of trouble with the first guest and was fired over her actions.

"I can't believe that. She is just too nice to everybody. So nice it even causes misunderstandings. Who was the first guest?"

"Fuwa Sho."

"Never mind, I can definately believe that. They hate each other!"

"So I guess the question is, 'who replaced her?'." The president stands up from his couch and moves to his desk with Yashiro following him. "It was only for that week and the show has been going strong since that first questionable airing, so I'm guessing their guy came back. I'll call Sawara and Check with him." It takes a second try on the phone before thy are connected to the guy in charge of managering the lovely ladies in pink. After a minute of small talk and polite catch-up, the president strikes. "Het, do you know who plays the chicken on Kigamure Rock?" The line is so silent that the president had to make sure he was still connected. "Hello? Sawara? Hello?"

The reason for the silence was not an obvious one to those around him. As soon as the president asked, a memory came to him of Mogami Kyoko asking him to never tell anybody that she was Bo. He didn't think that the president was included in that lot, but right before he started speaking, Sawara-san felt a distinct pressure in the air and the immediate air around him drop a couple degrees in temperature. There was a slight pressure around his wrists that crawled upward and he could almost hear the grudges that surrounded his house before order compliance. "No, sir. I do not know," he chokes out through his fear and was subsequently released. The air warmed up considerably.

"Oh. Okay." The president replies glumly. "Thank you, Sawara. That was all." He hangs up and looks to Yashiro. "He doesn't know who plas him."

"And TBM isn't only your people, so you can't poke your nose in too much. I mean, who knows? You may reveal someone else's' 'Cain'."

"Alright, so what are the clues to go on? Named Kun. American male. Speaks fluent English. Knows Ren. He's un Japn now, so he must have some ties here if Ren isn't the only one." They sit in quiet for a minute. "The only one I know who fits the bill is impossible!"

"You know someone who fits that bill? Who?"

The president puts his head in his hands, defeated by this puzzle. "Hizuri Kuon. Kuu and Julie's son that disappeared when he was fifteen."

"Oh...that is big stuff...but Ren is a famous enough person, so mabe they have bumped elbows?"

"And you're sure it wasn't Kyoko?"

"Sir, it wasn't her. It didn't even sound close to the same. Besides, Kuon and Ren both seemed tired and there is no way that Kyoko would atay up that late with Ren at this point in time because she looks after his health and professionalism. Especially if she knows he has work the next day. He said she was resting and he hadn't slept at all last night, which would account for the slight irritability and the vague threat at the end. I'm sticking with it isn't Kyoko, so why are you so sure it wasn't this Hizuri Kuon person?"

"Because Hizuri Kuon is on his own 'Cain'-like assignment and only I and his parents know exactly who and where he is," the president reveals.

"Well...that puts a damper on that."

"Too bad you didn't record it."

"I'm not in the habit of recording calls."

"Yes, but I am. I delete them afterward if there isn't information I really need and the stores are wiped every two weeks for privacy and security issues. I just wish I knew what they were saying when you couldn't understand."

"You know English that well, sir?"

"I know a lot of languages well, but yes, I know English. Had to. I dabbled as Hizuri Kuu's manager for a month when he moved to America. He said he didn't trust the people over there yet. And he pretty much refused to let me speak Japanese. It may have been a while ago, but I decided that it was a necessary skill. Do you know English, Yashiro?"

"I can read the language quite well and hear it so-so, but if it's too fast, it all goes over my head."

"I think you should overcome that. If Ren becomes an international star, then his manager should be able to catch-up. He already speaks English well."

"'Well'?! He sounded fluent on the phone!"

"Well then, when Ren is off of work, rare day that it is, let's get your English communications up. We'll start them here and now."

"With you?" How did we get from what I came in here for to this?"

"Yes, now repeat after me..."