Haru is a teenage bandit and one of the loyal cousins of the young witch Chasing Midnight and her brother Chasing Moonlight in two of the short stories in the On The Long Run story arc: "Bone Eaters" and "Chasing Midnight: The Dark Lord as a Teen". Of the cousins, Haru is least often in Midnight's direct company. Had the teenagers not been separated from their homeland due to ill fortune, Haru would have become Midnight's husband.
"Bone Eaters"
Haru is not identified by name in "Bone Eaters" but he appears at several points as one of the unnamed supporters of Chasing Moonlight.
Haru's clan – located someplace west of Rue in the northern continent – was wrecked by a series of misfortunes: "bad weather, pests, poor crops, [and] relentless tax collectors". This forced him, his brother Yuko, his twin cousins Chasing Midnight and Chasing Moonlight, another cousin (the leader of the gang, unnamed in the Annals), and 2 more male relatives (later identified as Chick and Fade) to become amateur bandits. All except the original leader of the gang are captured by the Black Company when they attempt to rob the Company's cleverly-disguised scout group. They are invited by Darling to join the New White Rose Rebellion.
As the Black Company and their sizable train of refugees from the Lady's Empire moves slowly eastward, Haru and the four male relatives are stuck digging ditches for latrines. Eventually they disappear without any notice beforehand, leaving Chasing Midnight with the Company. Later, Moonlight secretly returns with Haru and the other cousins to ambush Rusty – a young, widely-hated Company man who had attempted to rape Midnight – at the latrines. Croaker interrupts the murder attempt, and the 5 teenagers are given amnesty by Darling who "overlooked their desertion completely" in return for extra duty. Moonlight receives the least desirable shifts as ringleader.
When the Black Company and the refugee band following them are forced to approach the Village of Hungry Ghosts, Haru's own brother Yuko is among the four people killed gruesomely by evil entities. Later, in the city of Rue, the entire clan including even Midnight unexpectedly deserts the Black Company. When the Company departs Rue, Rusty's gruesomely mutilated corpse is spotted: he had been recently murdered by Midnight, Moonlight, and the cousins.
"Chasing Midnight"
"Chasing Midnight" details the activities of Midnight and her relatives in Rue after their departure from the protection of Darling and the Black Company, but before the Company itself leaves Rue. Haru has taken a job at the Black Company's barracks, whereas Midnight, Chick, and Fade do not rejoin. Despite the risk to himself, Haru uses his access to the Company's kitchen to secretly collect vegetables and table scraps to feed Midnight and the others. Haru also shares reports on the actions of various external groups in Rue, including the Black Company.
It is Haru who spots Chasing Moonlight, Midnight's missing brother, for the first time. He is confused that Moonlight does not recognize him, and shocked when the young man seems to disappear into thin air. He later supplies lanterns to Midnight and Chick during their continued search for Moonlight.
After Chasing Moonlight eventually dies, Haru shares the speculation of the Black Company's wizards that Black Shroud and Songo Songaghi had been attempting to use a talisman called "the Shine" and young victims like Moonlight to discover immortality. But, they had a falling out, and Moonlight stole the Shine before Songo's murder, setting the stage for their tribulations in Rue.
| Chasing Midnight's clan |
|---|
| Chasing Midnight • Chasing Moonlight • Chick • Fade • Haru • Yuko |