Key begins to fixate upon the idea of becoming a pop idol herself as the surest way to making 30,000 friends. In the meantime, Ajo's team are trying to determine whether she might be where Dr. Mima cached his last technological secrets before dying. When Key's presence (care of Shuichi) disrupts Miho Utsuse's latest concert, the company sends out two PPORs to hunt Key down, remotely controlled by a dangerous operative known only as 'D'.

Prince Snake-Eye convinces Key to come to his temple. The child of two of his followers is deathly ill, but their faith precludes medical intervention... so he hopes that Key can cure the boy with her 'supernatural' powers. However, Ajo's lead soldier 'D' has finally tracked Key down, and a confrontation between him, Tomoyo, and Prince Snake-Eye ensues.

Ah, this is a really satisfying episode... so much so that you end up wishing the whole series ran at this pace. First, you've got Tsurugi being Tsurugi. Then there's Ajo trying to milk every drop he can out of Miho. (Recording singles in the ICU, anyone?) Prince Snake-Eye is doing his level best to put the fear of god into anyone who's even thinking about giving Key a try-out. And Shuichi decides now's a good time to go play private investigator in Mamio Valley (where Key and Sakura grew up). Amazingly, he actually manages to turn up a few clues about the life and death of Key's 'grandfather', Doctor Mima. And if that isn't enough action for you, Ajo craves screen time and keeps cropping up, first selecting new girl Beniko as Miho's soon-to-be replacement... and then crossing paths with Shuichi in Key's old village!

The story machinery starts grinding down towards the last of the TV-length Key episodes. Shuichi catches Prince Snake-Eye in the act of sabotaging Key's 'career', but this really isn't nearly as important as what 'D' has managed to do back at the ranch. (No, I'm not going to tell you.) Key – having heard about Miho's concert from Sakura of 'Shuichi only gave me the one ticket and you can't bloody well have it' fame – tries to convince Tsurugi to get her in.