Kinnosuke Kashao

Kinnosuke has the ability to get out of checks and bills without paying for them himself. This makes him a perfect match for Nabiki, the financially brilliant, yet miserly Tendo sister. After watching Nabiki savagely mistreat a boy she was dating by getting him to buy her expensive gifts, and then refusing to see him again, Kinnosuke decides that she would make an excellent opponent for him to test his mettle against.

At first Nabiki mistakes Kinnosuke for a wealthy playboy due to his expensive tastes and emaculate suits. After their date she heads home and realizes her family had to foot the bill for her good time, and Kinnosuke had done to her what she had done to so many others. Due to this Kinnosuke and Nabiki decided to have a competition to see who can get out of the most bills and tabs without getting caught. The first person to use ten yen of their own money is the loser.

Although Kinnosuke projects an air of wealth he actually lives in a cardboard box in the park. Kinnosuke is also an excellent ventriloquist and carries a small butler puppet named April with him at all times, which he often asks advice from.

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The Meaning Behind the Name - 火車王金之介

Kinnosuke has a very interesting name. "Kin" is "a small quantity of gold" or "10,000 yen" which refers to his want of money, while "suke" means "assistance". When read Kashao essentially means "King of Borrowing" which points to his talent for getting other people to pay for him. But the kanji used to write the name mean "King of Flaming Chariot". "Flaming Chariot" is actually a Japanese idiom which means "having difficulty making ends meet" or "one's estate suffers". So Kinnosuke's name is actually quite complex.