Yuko Yabe, a 14-year-old with vivid pink hair and matching eyes, inhabits a future society where physical touch is shunned and interactions thrive online. She joins classmates Hazuki Makino, Mio Tsuzuki, and Ayumi Kono in a rare face-to-face interaction group. Yuko’s low cognitive awareness blurs her perception of paintings versus photographs. As an aspiring designer, she obsesses over manga and anime, especially super-deformed "Deformed Characters." Though initially strangers to her, she bonds swiftly with the group, forging an unexpected closeness with the introverted Hazuki.

Her story ignites when masked assailants Ryu Kawabata and Yuji Nakamura chase her under a bridge, wielding steel pipes. Knocked unconscious during the assault, she’s rescued by Myao Rei. Upon waking, Hazuki, Mio, and Ayumi take her into protective custody, shielding her from ongoing threats while instability looms. Yuko remains unaware of events during her blackout. Her parents are referenced but absent from her protection. She channels her artistic passion by sketching the group as super-deformed characters.