Kyoko stood in line with the other actresses, waiting for the producer to enter the room and review them. They were auditioning for the role of a superhero sidekick. Kyoko had spent weeks studying for the role. She had pored over all of the comics to carefully construct the character and put her own spin on it. She had spent hours upon hours in Kotetsu Uesugi's dojo, honing her acrobatic skills and exercising until her body gave out. It was her hope that she would get this role, and be part of the comic cinematic universe. It meant steady work, and also more eyes on her, which she in turn hoped would turn into more roles.

Kyoko looked down the line at all the other women. They all wore paper numbers pinned to their chests. Many of them were tall and buxom with long hair that reached to their mid-thighs. She swallowed and puffed out her chest as far as it would go. She would make her mosquito bites look like water balloons, or so help her…!

The door of the room opened, and the producer strode in. He wore a tailored suit and sunglasses. He paced down the line, looking the women up and down. After just a few moments, he finished. He pulled his sunglasses up to rest them on the top of his head.

"Numbers 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, and 15, you may all go."

Kyoko froze in place. She had been number 11. What did I do wrong!? She thought. She took a steadying breath and headed for the door with the other women. I'll stick around and catch the producer afterward. I'll change his mind about me! She went down the hall, leaned against the wall, and took her phone out of her pocket to scroll through her texts.

Then it rang.

She looked down at the caller ID and winced. Unknown Caller. Sho. She sighed and answered it.

"What do you want?"

She could swear she heard him smirk on the other end.

"What, I can't call and check up on you every once in a while?"

Kyoko glared at the opposite wall. "No. You wouldn't do that; you don't care enough. So what do you want?"

He scoffed. "Well, if you'd be nice for a minute, I was going to offer you a job."

She gritted her teeth. "Keep talking."

He continued. "I'm shooting another video. They want it to be a sequel to Prisoner. Mimori's in. They want you back, too, but I don't get why. You're flat as a board."

Kyoko's eyes were twin slits above her cheeks. "I don't think anyone would mind the size of my boobs because they'll be eclipsed by your ugly face."

He gasped. "I'm ugly!? Have you seen yourself lately!? Here I am, trying to give you this job so you won't starve, and you have the audacity to call me ugly!"

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. I'm not going to take his bait. I am going to take the high road. I am a disciple of Tsuruga, I can't give in to this idiot. "It's been nice chatting, Sho, but I'm at an audition and I need to go. I will not be reprising my role for you. Goodbye." She heard his protests as she pressed the button to hang up. It felt good, but it still bothered her. She looked down both sides of the hallway and adjusted her tiny breasts just a bit. They're not that small… are they?

A few minutes later, the door of the audition room opened, and a gaggle of bombshell actresses filed out into the hall. They took off in the direction opposite Kyoko, likely to the next phase of the audition. The producer and director came out after them, chatting quietly. Kyoko caught the middle of their conversation.

"-11. I was surprised you sent her packing early. She was great in "Lotus in the Mire."

Kyoko's ears perked up at the mention of her number as she followed behind them, unnoticed.

The producer nodded his head from side to side. "She has the fight choreography, she has the nerve, but," he made a halfmoon gesture with both of his hands over his chest. "She's missing one of the most important assets for the job."

The director laughed, and Kyoko froze in her tracks, an uncomfortable heat settling in the pit of her stomach. She felt her grudges creeping across the tile toward the producer, threatening to wrap around his body and drag him to the floor. She was brought out of it when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pried her attention away from the producer and how badly she wanted him to hurt, and pulled her phone out to look at the text.

It was a picture from Hikaru Ishibashi of Bo's costume for the episode of Yappa Kimagure Rock that night. The chicken was going to be wearing a coconut shell bra and a grass skirt. The text read, Can't wait to see you tonight! Hope you're having a good day! With a cute smiley emoji at the end. Kyoko let out a dejected sigh. She looked up to see the producer and director round the corner out of sight and smoothed her hair down with a hand. I need to get a grip. There will be other jobs. It's not a big deal. That guy is a pig anyway. She nodded, the fire returning to her eyes. Yeah! He's a pig! No one wants to work for a pig! She turned on her heel and made her way toward the exit.

She found her bike chained to the rack outside and unlocked it. She mounted up and rode a few blocks away to TBM. Her sour mood had mostly faded, but there was still an underlying sadness as she looked herself over in the mirror in her dressing room. She looked at her simple pink cotton bra and panties and her skinny athletic build and she frowned.

They're right. I'm so flat.

Another thought entered her head, one that made her freeze. Would Tsuruga-san mind? The image of Ren Tsuruga entered unbidden into her mind, and she blushed from head to toe. She looked over the blush that had settled on her skin and wondered to herself DOES HE THINK ABOUT THAT?

She panicked and dropped on the floor to roll around. He's never seen me in my underwear! What if he doesn't like that!? What if he dumps me because I'm flat!? Her grudges circled around her, congealing in the air to form a dark miasma. There was a knock at the door.

"Mogami! We're on in 10!"

She ceased her panic immediately and pulled her shorts and tank top on before donning the Bo suit and venturing out to escort the special guests for the night to the set. She scribbled a quick HI! :D on her chalkboard before knocking on the door of the greenroom.

The door opened, and upon seeing the guest, her miasma thickened to the consistency of an evil milkshake.

Reino blinked at the chicken, and then his eyes narrowed in recognition. He reached for the mask, and Kyoko dropped the chalkboard to grip it with both wings.

He smirked. "You might as well let it go. I know it's you in there. You can't hide from me."

"Fuck OFF, Beagle!," she hissed.

Miroku appeared at Reino's shoulder. "What's going on? Why are you manhandling Bridge Rock's cock?"

Reino chuckled darkly. "It's my favorite girl, and she's angry."

Miroku sighed. "I don't know why you bother with that one. She doesn't have any tits."

In that moment, something in Kyoko's psyche ruptured. Her hands dropped to her sides, and the chicken mask popped off. Reino laughed as he looked over the mask, but his laughter was soon silenced as all of the air left his lungs in a great whoosh.

Kyoko had summoned up every ounce of strength and skill that she had gained in Kotetsu Uesugi's dojo and kicked him as hard as she could directly between his legs. He fell to his knees, and Miroku took a step back.

"Whoa!"

Kyoko peered out from beneath her chestnut bangs, her eyes twin gold slits. "I'm not the same weak girl I was in Karuizawa, mother fucker." She aimed another kick at his ribs, and he fell completely to the floor, his arms wrapping protectively around his core. He looked up at her from the floor, his testicles having been kicked to somewhere near his stomach, completely scaroused.

She picked up her chicken mask and dusted it off. After placing it back over her head and securing it, she turned and walked toward the set. "Clean yourself up and follow me, asshole," she growled.

The producer approached her as she appeared on set.

"Mogami, you're dragging ass tonight! Where are the guests?"

Her grudges cackled madly and grabbed him by the ankles, rooting him to the spot. A cold tingle ran from the base of his skull to his tailbone as Kyoko got in his space, Bo's smiling face looking up at him menacingly. "They'll be here soon. You need anything else from me?" Her tone was entirely different. Her anger was palpable. The producer's cigarette dropped from his lip and fell to the floor. He shook his head slowly from side to side, his eyes never leaving the wide smiling eyes of the chicken.

"Good." she said. The grudges released him, and his legs collapsed under him.

Fuck that was scary, he thought. He got to his feet to find the Ishibashis and warn them. He found them in the green room and explained the situation.

Hikaru blinked. "You're sure it's Kyoko-chan in the suit? That doesn't sound like her…"

The Producer nodded. "Positive. I don't know if it's her time of the month or what, but she's in a really foul mood."

Yuusei giggled. "Fowl mood." His bandmates looked at him questioningly, and he laughed. "Get it!? Cuz she's a chicken!?"

Shinichi covered his eyes. "That was terrible."

Hikaru shook his head. "Yeah, really bad."

Yuusei followed them to the set, frowning. "Aw, c'mon! Fowl mood! It's funny!"

When they reached the set, they found Kyoko waiting off to the side. The members of Vie Ghoul had made it to their place behind the curtain to await their introduction, and they had put a significant amount of space between themselves and the large, adorable chicken. Hikaru approached the bird slowly.

"Uh… Kyoko-chan… are you okay?"

The chicken mask snapped over to fix him with its large sparkly anime eyes. A chill ran up his spine. "I'm fine, Hikaru-san," she said, with a succinct edge.

He retreated a couple steps. "I… okay. I just– if you need anything… you know?" He could barely form a coherent sentence. The air felt heavy around her, as though it were magnetized. He rejoined the other Ishibashis and they made their way out onto the stage, to loud audience applause, to open the show.

Before Vie Ghoul's introduction, Reino approached Kyoko with a smile.

He put his forearm on the wall above her."That was kinda hot earlier. You wanna go somewhere after this and do it again?" He would say and do anything to rile her. The black aura that surrounded her was intoxicating to him.

On the stage, the Ishibashis were addressing the audience. "We have a great show for you tonight! Please help us welcome our guests for tonight, Vie Ghoul!"

The audience applauded, and Reino was launched bodily through the curtain.

He hit the stage with a thud and rolled. The audience stopped applauding and broke into a chorus of amazed gasps and nervous laughter. Miroku and the other band members ran through the curtain to Reino's side, and the Ishibashis looked on in shock.

"I– that was quite the entrance, Reino-san," said Shinichi, flabbergasted.

The stage lights began to flicker, and they all looked about with mounting anxiety. Yuusei felt suddenly nauseous. "What the hell is going on?" he whispered to Hikaru.

Hikaru looked around and his eyes fell on Bo, who had appeared in the gap between the open curtains. His head was tilted to the side, giving the viewer the idea that the chicken's neck had been broken, and the body was rising and falling with Kyoko's every breath. He wanted to run, but something had rooted him to the spot.

Miroku helped Reino to sit up, and he looked at the deranged chicken across the stage. A wide grin appeared on his face.

"Oh, she's strong," he said, his voice full of lust.

Miroku was visibly shaken as he helped Reino to his feet. "Yeah, that's cool, we need to get the fuck out of here." Upon seeing an invisible force pick Reino up off of his feet and hurl him through the air, he had no desire to stay for the interview, ratings be damned.

Reino shook his head. "I'm going to have her or die trying."

Miroku grabbed him by the collar of his black leather duster jacket and attempted to haul him away. "Yeah, you would die trying. You need to let that one go, you don't have enough badges to train her."

Reino put his arms out behind him, allowing Miroku to pull his jacket off completely, leaving him in a long-sleeved black mesh shirt. His face was shining bright like a child that had come downstairs on Christmas morning to find a shining new bicycle. "Then let her have me."

The audience were staring at the stage in confusion. Something had obviously happened between Bo the Chicken and Reino of Vie Ghoul, but they couldn't quite understand what.

Reino approached the unhinged chicken, letting Kyoko's hate-filled miasma flow over him like cool water. "Your hate feels so good," he purred. "I just want to… touch you…"

He stilled as Kyoko's grudges extended outward from her, across the stage… to the front row of seats. They promptly lifted the seats with the people still in them, and then sent them crashing to the ground.

The Ishibashis looked on in horror as the audience fled from their chairs to the back of the studio, squeezing themselves through the doors to escape. Miroku and the other members of Vie Ghoul followed in their wake, leaving their leader to his well-deserved fate.

Hikaru, Shinichi, and Yuusei rushed to help the people in the front row disentangle themselves from each other and their broken seats as the fire alarms began to go off and the sprinklers above began to shower them with water.

Down the hall of TBM, Yashiro was sitting on a bench, reviewing Ren's schedule on his calendar app. He was adding a note about Kyoko being off on a particular day when three sets of double doors were flung open and a flood of people ran screaming past him toward the exit of the building. He stood up, at full alert, and yelled out to them. "What's going on!?"

No one slowed down, but one pale young man yelled back to him. "It's the chicken! The chicken from Yappa Kimagure Rock went fucking nuts!" With no more elaboration, Yashiro's mind imagined the worst. He pocketed his phone with all haste and stuck his head into the men's bathroom.

"REN WE NEED TO GO NOW."

Ren Tsuruga was finishing up drying his hands next to the sink. The edge of his mouth quirked up into a smile. "What's wrong, Yashiro-san? Where's the fire?"

"I THINK THAT COSTUMED CHICKEN DOWN THE HALL HAS A GUN OR SOMETHING. WE NEED TO GO."

Ren's eyes widened and he froze. "A gun… you're sure?" This was Japan after all. Even most Yakuza were sporting ball bats or knives.

Yashiro shook his head in uncertainty and gestured wildly for Ren to follow him out. "We need to go NOW, Ren!"

They entered the hallway and Ren immediately started power-walking toward the source of the disturbance. Yashiro's mouth fell open as he caught up with his charge.

"Are you fucking nuts!? Why are you going that way!?"

Ren's eyes were dead set ahead. "Believe it or not, I know the chicken, and we're friends. If he's going postal, I might be able to stop him."

Yashiro gesticulated wildly toward the exit. "This is not your fight, Ren! We should call the police and leave it to the authorities!"

Ren frowned at his manager. "You don't need to come with me, Yashiro-san. The chicken is a good guy, and if he is doing something wrong, I have to try to stop him."

Yashiro stopped in the middle of the hall, his mouth opening and closing, failing to come up with anything that might stop his charge from going into the room. Unsure of what to do, and unable to bring himself to follow Ren, he whipped out his phone and dialed emergency services.

Back in the room, Reino was fighting the shadows that had crept up his body and glued him to the stage. His head was held backward in a painful position as several light bulbs burst overhead.

Kyoko approached him, removing the Bo head and tossing it to the side. He grinned up at her. "Want me yet?"

A black cable snaked its way across the stage, twirled behind him with a flourish, and then lashed him soundly across the back. "Ah!" His voice was a mix of pleasure and pain.

Kyoko grabbed a fistful of the front of his mesh shirt and twisted to bring his face close to hers.

"I would rather have sex with a cactus," she hissed through her teeth.

He chuckled deep in his chest. "You say that now, but when I'm through with you–NGH!"

The cable whipped him harder, opening the skin on his back, and leaving a line of blood. It snaked around his neck and tightened like a thin black snake. The whites of his eyes became red as they bugged out of his head, his smile disappearing.

"KYOKO, NO!"

The cable slackened as Kyoko looked up to find Ren climbing onto the front of the stage. He stood and looked at the destruction around him in awe. He knew that she had caused it all, but… how?

Kyoko froze as she looked at him. "I– Tsuruga-san…" she couldn't find her words.

Ren came to stand beside her, and when he saw Reino's face, some of the color returned to his cheeks as his anger peaked. "What did he do to you?," he growled.

Kyoko's grudges released Reino and he fell to the stage, unable to move. She looked away from him. "Nothing… really."

Ren knelt before her and took her hand. "Then… why?"

He saw her bottom lip quiver, and then she whined, "Because I'm flaaaaaat!"

He blinked once. Then again. "I… I'm not sure I understand, Mogami-san."

Her cheeks went pink as she spoke through her sobs. "I don't think you'd like me anymore," she sniffed, "If you saw me without clothes."

He looked around. Where is Lory? He thought. This is a joke right? He watched her look down at her yellow chicken feet, and saw the tips of her ears go crimson, and he knew that it wasn't a joke.

Kyoko froze as he drew her into a hug.

"I think you're beautiful," he said simply, "and if you ever let me see you naked, I'll prove it."

Her hands flew to her cheeks. "Tsuruga-san!" She felt his chest vibrate with silent laughter and pushed him back. "It's not funny!"

He stood up with a smile. "It's not. Even less funny, I'm pretty sure Yashiro-san has contacted the authorities."

All the color drained from Kyoko's face. "W-what!? What do I do!?"

Ren shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. He nodded at Reino who was still unconscious on the stage. "I'm content to blame it on him if you are."

Kyoko blushed. "You'd… do that for me?"

Ren slid off the stage and helped her down to the floor. "Of course. But I need you to explain something to me."

She looked around, taking in the general destruction, and wringing her hands nervously. Explaining about her supernatural powers was going to be quite difficult. "... Which part?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "How long have you been the chicken?"