characters

Largo
133t psycho
Piro
largo's sidekick; the illustrator; level-headed. Has a crush on nanasawa-san, I think.
ping
Robot girl. Largo thinks she's evil. People from the US are after her. She's living with Piro and Largo now and attending school.
hayasaka (erika)
Works at the store, roommate of nanasawa. Not shy. Fairly tall. Used to be a famous voice actress before suddenly disappearing from the scene.
Sonada (yuki)
Schoolgirl with a crush on Piro. She's going to take drawing lessons from him at the store. Shy. Seraphim tries to discourage their romance because she's so young.
mami
One of yuki's friends.
asako
Another of yuki's friends.
nanasawa (kimiko)
Aspiring voice actress, roommate of hayasaka. Piro meets her when he hands her a rail card at a train station and runs off. She works as a waitress at an Anna Miller's restaurant. Has a crush on Piro, I think.
toyha/miho
Mysterious girl. Largo thinks she's evil. She might like Piro. She has befriended ping.
seraphim
A guardian angel.

chapter 7: "known bugs and security flaws"

Dom and Ed are eating at Denny's. Ed's confident he'll take down Ping for Sony, while Dom's task is to go after Erika; they wax nostalgic.

Back in their apartment, Largo has built a computer for Piro out of salvaged parts. Piro uses the computer to chat with Tsubasa, who's in Iowa and reminds Piro that he was a huge fan of Erika before and tells him how popular Kimiko is with otaku ever since her appearance on the radio show. Piro argues with Asmodeus about whether to look at an upskirt picture of Kimiko that have been posted online.

On her way to work, Erika sees Largo standing around but is distracted by a fanboy asking for her autograph.

After agonizing over it, Kimiko tries to call Piro but instead gets her bosses at the studio. Piro shows up late to work, having unexpectedly been covered by a jaded-looking Erika. Piro gets a call from Kimiko, who's upset to have just learned about her celebrity status. While Piro's on the phone, Erika gives the waiting Yuki a hard time about why she wants to take drawing lessons from him; Yuki explains that she sees the sensitive side of Piro in his drawings. But Yuki gets upset with Piro over the lack of attention he has been giving her, and she's more than a little jealous of Erika, who suggests she's been a bad influence on Yuki.

Junko spots Largo-sensei walking down the street amidst some anime-style havoc. She's afraid he'll rat her out to her parents for going on a date with an apparently older guy, but he ignores her. Walking along in front of an arcade, Largo trips and falls. Junko helps him up but berates him for leaving his teaching post given that the students like him so much. Inside the arcade, Junko tells him the value of a teacher is in encouraging students to persevere. She challenges him to a video game duel in which he initially trounces her. l33t d00d advises her, but he knocks him unconscious when he takes advantage of a view up her skirt. Largo complains about women lashing out when men try to help them, prompting Junko to explain the important of respect and good intentions.

At the store, while Erika signs autographs Piro admires Yuki's drawings, but she insists she can't draw feelings like Piro can. Piro dispells her notion that Kimiko's his girlfriend and teaches Yuki the importance of faces to expressing feeling in a drawing. Miho's in the store, crying and upset about Piro having scolded her last night. Yuki thinks Miho's tears are fake; Ping insists Miho came to apologize to Piro, and the fans who came to see Erika are on Miho's side. Dom tries to recruit Erika for Sega, claiming he can eliminate all traces of the "compromising photograph" of Kimiko.

Kimiko is spooked by a text message from a fan and calls Piro, who insists she shouldn't go to work lest she be mobbed by fans. Over the phone, Kimiko hears Erika's fans talking about the upskirt shots of Kimiko that they've acquired; Kimiko's stunned. She runs into Chiba and they apologize to each other.

Back at the store, Miho accuses Yuki of trying to "steal [Piro's] heart" and taunts her.

Largo crashes the store scene in a Mister Muffin scooter. He careens through the store, scattering the crowd and prompting Ping to grab Miho and hold her overhead for protection. When Miho protests being held aloft, Ping apologetically drops her to the ground, Yuki breaking her fall.

Yuki's dad shows up at the store, questions Miho, and tries to keep Yuki and Erika away from Miho. Miho seems to have a past with Inspector Sonoda. She explains that Erika's fans were upset when she disappeared from the public spotlight, makes reference to having been in a hospital, and hints cryptically about people not being what they seem before making her exit. Yuki's dad tells Yuki to go home, upsetting Yuki by ordering her around and upsetting Erika because she thinks Yuki's dad is concerned about Yuki's contact with her. Yuki's dad explains that he isn't concerned about contact with Erika and that his brother had told him Erika didn't like children, revealing that the brother (Hitoshi) had been engaged to Erika. Largo threatens to run over Officer Sonoda, but Erika restrains him, and Sonoda-san goes on to joke about having heard she was dating Largo before realizing it's true. The Sonodas have invited Erika and Largo to dinner at their place, but Largo suspects a trap.

Ping is in shock over having almost killed her best friend; Piro tries to comfort her.

Kimiko's handlers at Insight want her to quit the waitress job. They admire her singing, but she insists she gets overly emotional when she sings. She's conflicted about her fans' expectations that coming to see her will make her happy. Ryoya expresses concern over how Kimiko's holding up.

Yuki doesn't understand why her dad hates Miho and reflects that Miho covered for her in the past when she was caught shoplifting. On the way to return Piro's bag and cell phone, she trips and is helped up by Ping, who saw her save Miho from getting hurt back in the store. When they return to the store, Piro isn't there, and Yuki is increasingly upset that Kimiko's text messages to him aren't getting through, since Kimiko seems to need his help.

Meanwhile, Ed is on Ping's trail, but Miho blocks his way. He receives a message that dazzles him and stops him from shooting Miho.

Largo and Erika wander around Tokyo, Largo picks up some beer, and Erika acts generally disillusioned by his immaturity.

Ping and Yuki have set out to find Piro, but Yuki has a hard time walking with her ankle injured from breaking Miho's fall. Ping can carry Yuki if they swap skirts so that Yuki isn't wearing her short one. But Yuki is despondent. She calls Kimiko from Piro's cell phone.

Piro sees a huge line in front of Anna Miller's and tries to get in. Kimiko, waiting a back room at the restaurant, works up the nerve to face her legions of fans. 831 - the otaku-filled restaurant falls silent when she appears 832 - Erika tells Largo about a pregnancy scare that made her realize she liked the idea of having a family 833 - Erika recounts her confusing breakup with the ex-boyfriend 834 - Largo counsels her "Betrayal is the deepest wound of all." 841 - the fanboys at Anna Miller's are overwhelming; Kimiko freaks out, sending coffee pots flying, but Piro shows up out of nowhere to catch them 842 - the scene attracts the attention of the whole restaurant 843 - Piro helps bus tables amidst the leering fanboys 844 - N/A 845 - N/A 846 - ? 847 - N/A 848 - N/A 849 - N/A 850 - N/A 851 - N/A 852 - N/A 853 - N/A 854 - N/A 855 - N/A 856 - N/A 857 - ... Largo is still telling Erika this story.. 858 - Erika accuses Largo of pretending not to have feelings 859 - ... 860 - DPD 861 - back at Anna Miller's, the fanboys are jealous of Piro 862 - Piro tries to "take care of" all the cameras trying to get covert upskirt shots of Kimiko, but he's tripped up and falls to the floor, ironically under her skirt 863 - one of the fanboys accuses Piro of faking the fall so he could "touch [her] in inappropriate ways" 864 - Kimiko is pissed off at the fanboys' obsession 865 - she almost lifts up her skirt herself to make her point 866 - N/A 867 - Piro announces he's going to confiscate the memory cards from the fanboys' cameras 868 - they (Piro, Kimiko, and one of her coworkers) leave the restaurant, Kimiko giving the cold shoulder to Piro 869 - Kimikorants 870 - Kimiko's mad at Piro for trying to protect/save her 871 - meaningful looks 872 - Kimiko seems to break down; Miho lurks and takes a photo of her 873 - N/A 874 - ["leave it to seraphim"]

Chapter 8: defect mapping

875 - Chapter 8: "defect mapping" 876 - Largo wakes up to a phone call from Erika 877 - Erika is evidently working on putting together a computer 878 - Erika wakes up Kimiko, who looks like hell 879 - Ping's uniform doesn't fit for some reason 880 - Piro tries to get Largo to put some pants on 881 - pretty much the same thing 882 - Miho appears out of nowhere and explains to Ping that her physical dimensions are changing 883 - while Ping changes into the new clothes Miho brought over, Miho explains to Piro that Ping changes herself in reaction to emotional disturbances 884 - N/A 885 - N/A 886 - Kimiko has explained the fanboy incident to Erika, who sympathizes 887 - but Erika also questions whether Piro deserved Kimiko's harsh treatment of him 888 - Miho asks Piro what he'd change about himself and shows him her picture of the distraught Kimiko 889 - N/A 890 - N/A 891 - Piro is taken aback by the photo of distraught Kimiko; Miho leaves with Ping for breakfast and school 892 - Piro catches up with Miho and Ping and asks Miho where he got the photo; Miho replies that she took it 893 - Largo watches the above scene from his second-floor window before wondering if he can "repurpose" Piro's computer 894 - Erika tries to comfort Kimiko with the idea that she became famous just by being herself 895 - Erika advises Kimiko to call Piro 896 - at a restaurant over breakfast, Piro accuses Miho of trying to manipulate him; it seems to sink in for him that Kimiko really was crying; Miho offers to help 897 - Miho, who didn't actually hear what was said the previous night between Piro and Kimiko, assumes that Piro said something to upset her and should not have "abandoned" her; Piro storms out 898 - Seraphim appears to Piro and interprets his conflicted feelings 899 - Seraphim suggests that all Piro did was try to stand up for himself and that it was Kimiko, not him, who made her cry 900 - Seraphim tells Piro not to feel bad about standing up for himself 901 - the manga store manager arrives at his store to find homemade pseudo-robots, the word "ph34r" plastered everywhere, and general chaos that looks suspiciously Largo-inspired 902 - apparently the chaos is an obstacle course so that customers trying to enter the store can experience more of a "challenge in acquiring coveted items" 903 - Junpei deftly conquers the obstacle course 904 - N/A 905 - Junpei convinces Largo to teach a half-hour class by mentioning that a fancy new processor arrived for him 906 - Piro tells Seraphim he wishes he didn't have to figure out what to do; they approach The Store 907 - N/A 908 - Piro enters The Store, is immediately and unsurprisingly angry with Largo for the mess and finds out from his boss that Largo and Junpei left 909 - Piro fields a call to The Store from Hayasaka, who's having trouble setting up a computer; Piro covers for Largo by telling Hayasaka that he sent him to do an errand (he's supposed to be filling in working at The Store for Hayasaka 910 - Kimiko's studio manager yells at her for having bad judgement in choosing to work her waitstaffing shift at the restaurant given that the place was full of "obsessive, slavering otaku" 911 - Kimiko, seething resentment, leaves 912 - despondent, Kimiko goes home... 913 - ... to find nearly-naked Erika working on her computer and insisting that Kimiko take off her clothes as well; Erika's expecting Piro to come over and help her any minutes now 914 - upon learning that Piro's coming over, Kimiko rushes to put her clothes back on and flee, since she's not ready to talk to him yet 915 - Piro approaches Erika and Kimiko's residence, realizing that he secretly wishes Kimiko was there (when he has no reason to think she will be). Erika answers the door in a bikini and notes that Kimiko is hiding in the bathroom. 916 - Piro comes in, asking if Kimiko's really there, as Kimiko cringes from behind the bathroom door 917 - Piro admits that if Kimiko really *were* there, he'd want to talk; Erika insists on focusing on the computer stuff she wants help with 918 - in a classroom, Largo-sensei is telling his students that they must remove their clothing to prevent static electricity buildup; the female students object 919 - N/A 920 - Miho explains to her fellow students that Largo doesn't understand the problem with exposing nearly-naked schoolgirls to their male classmates, since he's attracted only to himself to and hardware 921 - Largo disputes that, explaining that he doesn't disrespect women when they're "in pursuit of l33t knowledge"; students offer other possible ways to protect the electronics from static discharge 922 - back at Erika and Kimiko's place, Piro explains to Erika that while removing clothing is "really is the best way to prevent static build up", you can just ground yourself; he reveals that he's too embarrassed to sit around in his underwear 923 - Erika throws Piro a pair of boxer shorts and orders him to change in another room; Kimiko hears all this from the bathroom 924 - [um, something with a vending machine] 925 - back to the classroom, where the students have apparently all changed into their gym uniforms. Ping seems to be a student in the class, but some of the girls don't like how much she stands out, with her pink hair 926 - Miho and X (who's equipped with some sort of... equipment) have a confrontation in the schoolyard 927 - X fires at Miho, causing a commotion that gets the attention of Largo's class 928 - Largo warns his students, especially Ping, to stay back, noting "that attack was electrical in nature" 929 - chaos ensues 930 - Ping seems to be overcome, and she starts crying uncontrollably; there's a chirping noise 931 - Piro helps Erika with the computer, and then Erika asks if Piro wants to know how Kimiko feels about him and about what happened the previous night 932 - Piro and Erika hear Kimiko make a break for it, fleeing their apartment 933 - Yuki waits (apparently after school) for her dad to pick her up, but he seems to be late, so she starts walking home, when she happens upon a confrontation... 934 - ...between Ping and the schoolgirls who accuse her of stuffing her bra and standing out too much with her hot pink hair; Yuki yells "Stop!" 935 - when the girls continue to chastise Ping, Miho appears out of nowhere to defend her 936 - the girls dismiss Miho has "a sad nobody without a life" and walk away, leaving an upet Ping clinging to Miho, and Yuki standing by 937 - Miho observes that Yuki "feed[s] on the emotions the same way I do", though Yuki has no idea what she's talking about; Yuki follows Miho as she walks away 938 - Ping is left alone until Kimiko comes along; Ping cries to her that she doesn't know what's wrong with herself 939 - Kimiko says there's something wrong with *everyone*, but Ping objects that Piro wouldn't have chosen her if there were anything wrong with *her*; Kimiko looks sad and starts to walk away 940 - Kimiko talks about fantasies, claiming Ping is a "real fantasy" but she herself is just a fake one 941 - Kimiko and Ping agree that they don't want to be fantasies; Kimiko advises Ping to "start looking past the feelings you think you want to have and find the ones you really care about." 942 - Yuki follows Miho, protesting her teasing and her "magical girl" label, suddenly finding that she has followed Miho onto power lines, where she balances as if on a tightrope 943 - losing her balance, Yuki drops her bookbag, which an oblivious Piro, down on the sidewalk, almost stops to pick up 944 - Miho tells Yuki she really is a magical girl, someone who "can be the focus of everyone's love and attention just by being yourself" 945 - Miho disappears or flies away or leaves in some unclear manner; a guy on the sidewalk picks up Yuki's bookbag 946 - Ping and Kimiko enter The Store, Kimiko seeming especially cheerful, and Largo -- manning the counter -- seeming especially uncheerful 947 - Ping and Kimiko are in a quandary, though, because neither can speak English, so Kimiko starts to leave to find Piro; Largo seems alarmed about some status readout on one of Ping's "earrings" as Piro appears 948 - [happy holidays] 949 - Largo explains (in English) that Ping runs an "Emotional" Operating System and implies that hers is running an "emotional purge" utility to fix errors; Ping and Kimiko ask Piro to translate what Largo's saying 950 - Piro explains to Ping about the "Emotional" Operating System, assuring her that a few error codes are normal and nothing to worry about