Michiko Malandro

Michiko is the co-protagonist of the series. She is an orphan turned criminal and the former lover of Hiroshi Morenos. She escapes prison and rescues Hiroshi's daughter, Hana, from an abusive household in order for them to find Hiroshi.

History
Michiko's background is mostly unknown, other than the fact she is a Brazilian who grew alongside rival Atsuko Jackson, with whom her relationship is very strained, in an orphanage.

Over the years, the two girls grew to be best friends and Michiko claimed responsibility over the other orphans along with Atsuko, as they felt the need to bring them presents. To do so, they stole from shops, using Atsuko as bait. In occasions, while she was being beaten up by the owner, Michiko stole goods.

Eventually Michiko left the orphanage, presumably while still a teenager, and began living alone in a small house at Vermelha's favela, a shanty town. One day two men barged in looking for Sasha. A topless Michiko just stared at them, and when one of them gave her the shirt that covered his face so she could cover herself, she just walked towards him and hit him with her forehead on the nose. Scared, the second boy ran off, leaving his friend, Hiroshi Morenos, bleeding from the nose as the woman pointed a gun at him. Michiko ended up cleaning up Hiroshi's blood instead of killing him, and that is where she fell in love with him.

The two dated for awhile until an explosion occurred in a bus that Hiroshi was supposedly traveling in and Michiko got herself arrested by none other than her former friend Atsuko Jackson, who taunted Michiko through her time in jail. On one such occasion, Atsuko showed Michiko a picture of Hiroshi's supposed daughter, the then infant Hana, in order to brag about how Hiroshi was alive and moved on with his life without her but this did not discourage Michiko.

Michiko and Hatchin
Twelve years after Hiroshi's supposed death, Michiko managed to escape prison and set out to find Hiroshi's daughter Hana under the assumption that Hana knew where Hiroshi was. Michiko managed to get the Belenbauza-Yamada family's phone number and told them she was going to pick Hana up the following day, passing herself off as Hana's mother even though Hana's mother had died when Hana was still a baby. Hana's foster family, unwilling to let Hana go since they could lose the child support money, decided that the father should kill Michiko as soon as she arrives. Luckily, their plan was unsuccessful, and Michiko was able to escape with Hana.

At a diner, Michiko talked to Hana about Hiroshi and showed her the baby picture that Atsuko showed Michiko while she was in prison. Michiko asked to see if Hana had the same tattoo on her stomach the baby in the picture had, but Hana refused, presumably because she was ashamed of the mysterious tattoo. Additionally, Hana requested to not be called "Hana" since it was the name her foster parents gave her. Michiko gave her the name 'Hatchin' instead, which Hana intially did not like.

Shortly after leaving the diner, Michiko and Hatchin were cornered by Father Pietro and police officers, who'd been tipped off of the girls' whereabouts from the owner of the diner they were eating at. After a short chase, Michiko and Hatchin managed to escape the cops and Father Pietro's attempt to kill Hatchin for the insurance money, and put aside their differences and set out to find Hiroshi.

Personality
Michiko is a wild child and free spirit that often exhibits childish behavior; being prone to throw a fit if things don't go her way. Michiko is loud and constantly the center of attention. A woman who isn't afraid to get in someone's face and tell them off, Michiko also is a jealous and competitive woman. She displays this attribute at a strip club by heckling a performer on her "assets". Despite her tough and abrasive personality, Michiko has shown that she has a heart of gold; wanting to steal money from Seira to give to her friend Yolanda who'd been sold, taking care of the children in the orphanage and getting them presents, the care she shows for Hiroshi even if he pointed a gun at her. Michiko can make plans and is more down to earth than she will ever show. She’ll do anything to reach her objectives. Stubbornly she won’t let go until she finally gets what she wants and is selfish but compassionate. She is caring, in her own strange way; but she is kind to those she loves, and she trusts them with all her heart.

Appearance
Michiko is a woman of above average height with a slender curvy figure, and ample chest. She has light brown skin, gray eyes and straight dark brown hair reaching her waist. She is the typical flashy woman who is very proud of her body. On her stomach she has a tattoo of two feathers and above them the letters L.B.D.D. It’s not know why she has this tattoo, but it matches Hatchin’s tattoo on her stomach, and Hiroshi’s tattoo, on his arm.

That said, her attire constantly changes throughout the journey — mostly outfits that show off her legs, cleavage, and midriff. She favors a bold and wild style.

Hana "Hatchin" Morenos
Michiko's relationship with Hatchin was complicated at first, because of their clashing personalities. The two drew closer to one another in their adventures. When Michiko left Hana in Hiroshi's custody and declared that she would return to jail to serve out the rest of her sentence, Hana was deeply saddened that they had to part ways. Years later, after receiving various gifts of lingerie for weeks, a determined Hana used an enormous map to pinpoint and travel to the location where Michiko would show up, the two were able to reunite, embracing one another.

Hiroshi Morenos
Michiko first meets Hiroshi as a young woman in a house where a person named Sascha may live as a hideout. Hiroshi and another person bust open the door with guns and masks on, only to walk in on a topless Michiko. Hiroshi, feeling bad, tells her to put on the shirt hanging on a line next to her, but she says it's not dry. Hiroshi then takes off the mask that are a sheet and throws it to her. Instead of putting it on, she walks over and headbutts him. The other man runs away because the guns weren't loaded. While Hiroshi is down with his nose bleeding, she loads the gun he dropped. She doesn't fire but wipes the blood off. This may be where they "fall in love", although Hiroshi ends up dumping her after a short awhile, even going so far as to fake his death to escape from his former life and even the people who cared about him.

Atsuko
Prior to the show's main plot, Michiko used to hang with Atsuko when the two were younger. Seria raised both in an orphanage, with nothing being known or shown about their origins before then. Michiko was more of a troublemaker, and from this Atsuko did not want to end up like her. Despite this, Atsuko still had a fondness for her.

From the start of the show, Atsuko is in charge of tracking down and arresting Michiko after she breaks out of prison. She ends up chasing her and Hatchin all across The pair have a rivalry, however Atsuko still does a few things that imply she is looking out for Michiko's well-being. Examples include letting her live after confronting her at gunpoint and seeing her try to shoot an empty gun (The Carnival of Hyenas), trying to talk Michiko out of chasing Hiroshi (Nettlesome Light-Blocking Butterfly) and making a deal to let Hatchin be with her father in exchange for turning herself in (Run As You Are).

Quotes

 * "I believe in you, so you believe in me."
 * "Hey, get on with it! Otherwise, I'll shoot you in the head, and your brains will go flying!"
 * "Bitch what?!"
 * "Is it you, Hana?"
 * "I'll send you on an express train to hell!"
 * "What's up with your tits?! They don't jiggle at all!"

Trivia

 * The name Michiko means "beautiful" (美) (mi), "wisdom, intellect" (智) (chi) and "child" (子) (ko). However, the "(美) (mi)" is replaced with (道) (mi), which means "road, path". This may refer to the fact that Michiko's character revolves around her journey and constant travel.
 * Michiko's last name "Malandro" is the Portuguese word for "Scoundrel". Malandro is a very common word used in Brazil when talking about street criminals or thugs.
 * The setting and culture in the series is inspired by Brazil.
 * Michiko's design is based off of the African-American R&B singer Aaliyah.