Chobits is serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine (katakana = yangu magajin).
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Chobits
Chapter 5
Manga by CLAMP
Translation by Kristin Olson [not for profit!]
Key:
() = hand-written text (not printed)
** = action/description
[] = clarification
{} = translator's editorial comments
pg. 117
Cover page: Chii folding Hideki's laundry. ^_^; Ah, domesticity.
pg. 118
The Kokubunji household "maids" are all sprawled on the floor {in various sexy poses}. In the
middle of them, looking quite at a loss, sits Chii.
Hideki: W-What the heck happened!? All they were doing was running some checks, right!? (Your
maids all passed out.)
Minoru: I guess their power just isn't up to analyzing this one.
Hideki: *in disbelief* Four full-size human-form persocon aren't up to it!?
pg. 119
Voice: Shall I give it a try?
Minoru turns, his expression changing subtly. The young woman who comes into the room is also
dressed as a maid, but much more modestly so. Her long, wavy hair is bound in two thick braids, and
on the back of her aproned dress is a large ribbon.
Minoru: Yuzuki....
Hideki: *suddenly flustered* Ah, excuse me! I'm Motosuwa Hideki! (Ohmygosh.)
Yuzuki: *smiling pleasantly* Pleased to meet you. My name is Yuzuki.
pg. 120
Hideki: Ah, um, are you Kokubunji-kun's sister...? (Sorry to be intruding like this.)
Yuzuki: *smiling pleasantly* I am a persocon who had the honor of being created by Minoru-sama.
Hideki: *jaw dropping* EHHHH!?
Looking uncertain, Minoru turns back toward the fallen maids.
Minoru: But.....
Yuzuki: *leaning down towards him* You want to understand her performance, correct?
pg. 121
She continues to smile gently, while Minoru looks distressed.
Minoru: .......Yeah.
Wide-eyed, Hideki watches.
Hideki: .......?
Yuzuki calmly draws a cable from her right ear, connects it to the jack in Chii's ear with a click,
and, bowing slightly, sits down on the couch beside her.
Yuzuki: *smiling at Chii* How do you do.
Chii: *smiling back* Chi?
pg. 122
A moment later, Yuzuki's eyes go blank, and a humming noise is audible.
Chii: *watching her* ?
Yuzuki's eyelids lower, and a crease forms in her brow. The humming sound is replaced by
a beeping noise, as of some kind of alarm.
Hideki: *sweating* Is...is that noise coming from her!?
Suddenly Yuzuki spasms violently, her neck thrown back as though in some kind of seizure.
pg. 123
Minoru: ENOUGH, YUZUKI!
He grabs her hands. She leans into him and clings to his arm, eyes wide as though with fright.
Yuzuki: Some data has been lost.
Minoru: *quietly* Which data?
Yuzuki: Domestic data and stock shares information.
Her creator reaches to cradle her face with one hand.
Minoru: But not personality data.
Yuzuki: No.....
pg. 124
Hideki watches their little tableau in startled silence.
Hideki [thinking]: Somehow his attitude toward this Yuzuki-san persocon is totally different.
Chii, who has also been observing, bounces happily into Hideki's arms.
Hideki: AH! What about Chii!? Did she crash, too?
Chii: Chii.
Yuzuki: *recovering* Her name is Chii-san?
In imitation of the other persocon, Chii hugs Hideki tightly.
Hideki: Y..yeah.
Yuzuki smiles at Hideki reassuringly.
Yuzuki: There was no effect on Chii-san. Please don't worry.
Hideki: Was that because there's nothing to affect? No OS or anything? (You can't affect
something that's not there.)
Yuzuki: No.
Hideki: Eh?
pg. 125
Yuzuki: I was unable to determine even whether Chii-san has an OS or not.
Hideki: Unable to....
Yuzuki: Chii-san is under a password protection.
Hideki: EHHHH!?
pg. 126
A short time later, Minoru, Hideki, and Chii are sitting around a table, and Yuzuki has brought
out some glasses of what looks like iced tea. Hideki glances up as she sets down his glass on a
coaster.
Hideki: Are you really okay? Uh, it's Yuzuki-san, right?
Yuzuki: *smiling pleasantly* Yes. Minoru-sama was kind enough to make appropriate adjustments.
Hideki: But you said some data was lost or something.....
Yuzuki: We do backups daily, so if a re-install is performed, there's no problem. And only a very
small amount of data was lost.
Clinging to his glass of tea, Minoru suddenly looks very wan.
Hideki [thinking]: There's that look again. I don't know whether to call it pained, or sad.
pg. 127
Minoru: *meeting his gaze evenly* Yes?
Hideki: *sweatdropping* N-nothing.
Minoru's straw makes a little whistling sound as he drinks his tea.
Hideki: Oh, that's right! Back in the hallway you were saying "Chii might be a chobits," but
what the heck is that?
Minoru: (Hmmmmm.)
Folding his arms, he ponders for a moment, then wipes his fingertip over the condensation on his
glass, and uses it to write the word on the tabletop in water.
Minoru: "Chobits." I guess you could say they're "legendary persocon."
pg. 128
Hideki stares. The word "LEGENDARY" hovers prominently over his head.
Hideki: Huh?
Minoru: It's sort of a modern myth that's been passed around on the internet. They say there's
a persocon series that was developed under the code name "chobits."
Hideki: But aren't persocon being developed all the time? I mean, you make them yourself,
Kokubunji-kun.
Minoru: You can call me Minoru. *slurp* See, "chobits" are "persocon that can operate under
their own volition."
Hideki: But doesn't Yuzuki-san do that? Like when she offered to check Chii herself.
Minoru: No.
Yuzuki bows her head, looking very subdued.
Minoru: *expressionless* Yuzuki operates according to the way I programmed her.
pg. 129
Minoru: Following a program I installed, she decides on an appropriate course of action and
how best to execute it effectively. She calculates and acts entirely according to that program. Of
course, she has an automatic learning program installed as well. But in the end, even the actions
that she appears to be performing freely depend on that learning program. And if something breaks
down or stops functioning, she can't do anything at all.
He pauses.
Minoru: But the "chobits" series is different.
pg. 130
Hideki: *leaping up in excitement* SO...SO SHE'S A PERSOCON LIKE THAT!? MY CHII!!?
Minoru: Mm, well. *slurp* It's probably all a fabrication. (Sure sounds too good to be true.)
Hideki goes crashing down on his nose once again.
Hideki: THEN WHY'D YOU GET ME ALL WORKED UP ABOUT IT----!!!?
He holds his aching head as Chii follows suit, imitating.
Chii: (Chi-----)
Minoru: *handing his glass to Yuzuki* (I want a refill.)
To be continued in the next issue.
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