Nana Haruno

**Nana Haruno** (春野七, *Haruno Nana*) is a famous *enka* idol. She is, among others, known for her quick costume change during last year's red-white competition.

## Biography

### History

Fifteen years ago, Haruno was invited as a guest singer for an Obon festival in Tokyo. She received a death threat from a fan at the festival; around the time of the incident the fan also sent a box cutter blade and a bullet to Haruno's agency. The death threat caused Haruno's meet-and-greet to be cancelled. Per the police's order, Haruno could not take the bouquets and candies fans had gifted her at the festival with her. She discreetly gave everything away to children instead. However, her fans found out and were enraged by her actions; thus, despite the circumstances, the event left a bad impression of Haruno.

Among the children Haruno gifted the sweets to was Hiiragi. However, by the time it was Hiiragi's turn, Haruno had run out of candy. She then asked her manager to buy some macarons which she gave Hiiragi.

The fan who had sent the death threat was eventually caught. The culprit often sent bottles of sulfuric acid or poisoned candies to other idols. Two years ago, he was arrested for another crime and died in prison.

Fifteen years after the festival incident, Haruno saw Hiiragi at her agency. Because she remembered her kind and refreshing face, Haruno asked her boss to assign Hiiragi to her.

### Obon Dance Murder Case

Haruno gets invited to perform at the Obon festival in Tokyo again. Because she got a death threat the last time she was invited, her manager Hiiragi seeks out Totomaru Isshiki for advice as she overheard him being a member of the Metropolitan Police Department. Hiiragi leads Toto and his companions Ron Kamonohashi, Chicory Monki, and Elmer Stingray to Haruno's tent where Haruno greets them. Toto, Ron, and Chicory are quite excited to meet her, and she is flattered that the younger generation knows who she is.

After Haruno tells them about the death threat, Elmer correctly guesses that Hiiragi is concerned that the culprit who should have been released by now could return to take revenge. Toto promises to keep an eye out and make sure that nothing happens during Haruno's performance; Chicory, Ron, and Elmer promise to help too.

While Haruno is on stage, Toto mistakes fireworks for the sound of a gun as he also saw someone with a gun in his hand; the "gun" however, is only a harmless laser light. Then, there is a sudden blackout during which Haruno gets stabbed in the chest. After the lights turn on again, her body is discovered. The ambulance is called, and Haruno is rushed to the hospital. Hiiragi accompanies her to the hospital while Toto and the others investigate.

Later that night, Haruno regains consciousness after a successful surgery. As the culprit still has not been caught, Ron—in Toto's name—asks the hospital director to get Haruno a bodyguard. At the hospital, a doctor checks on Haruno who is still slightly woozy from the anesthesia. After he has left, Hiiragi turns to Haruno and asks her why she will not die while she takes a syringe from her pocket. However, before she can inject the syringe's contents into Haruno, Toto rushes into the room and stops her; Chicory, Ron, and Elmer are right behind him.

Toto confronts Hiiragi by asking her if she was the one who stabbed Haruno. Hiiragi denies the accusation and reminds him that she was in front of the stage; she could, thus, not have stabbed Haruno. Toto knows that she is lying though: She was neither in front nor next or behind the stage; she was underneath it. Hiiragi was under the stage because she had to hand Haruno the clothes for the costume change which was planned for the blackout; only Haruno and Hiiragi knew about the costume change. When it was time for it, Hiiragi lifted the panel and drove the knife into Haruno who was kneeling at the opening. Haruno was stabbed perpendicularly, and Hiiragi put a mask between Haruno and the knife to ensure no blood would drip down on her. A false nail was found at the crime scene; Hiiragi lost it when she closed the panel.

Hiiragi still denies everything and asks for proof. Toto replies that she mentioned a commotion over a gun earlier and then asks her what color the gun had; if she was truly in front of the stage, she should know that. Hiiragi says she thinks it was either black or silver, and Toto tells her that there was never a gun: Everyone present knows it was actually a handheld firework made of paper. Because Hiiragi was under the stage, she only heard Toto call to drop the gun and what sounded like a gunshot.

Elmer then points out that Hiiragi was the one who asked for Toto's help: Why would she seek out a police officer if she wanted to kill someone? Ron says that Hiiragi did not originally plan to murder Haruno; she only formulated a plan after she learned of the incident and the candy Haruno gave out afterward. Hiiragi then reveals that she figured out that this candy killed her mother fifteen years ago when she heard about the incident. Fifteen years ago, Hiiragi received candy from Haruno at the Obon festival which she gave to her ill mother to cheer her up as her mother was a fan of Haruno. Right afterward, her mother's condition worsened and she died. Hiiragi never quite believed that her mother died of an illness, and when she heard Haruno's story, she looked up her mother's symptoms and found out that they all point to arsenic poisoning. Hiiragi had become Haruno's manager to honor her mother, and now that she learned that Haruno had caused her mother's death, Hiiragi wants Haruno dead.

Enraged, Hiiragi tries to stab Haruno with the syringe but Toto slams it from her hand and pushes her to the ground. Haruno then speaks up and tells Hiiragi that she did not give her any of the candy she had received from fans that day but macarons that were bought only for her. Chicory adds that the threatener only sent out poisoned chocolate. Haruno also reveals that she employed Hiiragi because she recognized her as the girl from fifteen years ago. Hearing the truth, Hiiragi breaks down and apologizes.

## Trivia

* Haruno once participated in a commercial for barley tea.

## References

1. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 69, page 5
2. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 70, page 14
3. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 69, pages 7-8
4. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 71, page 16
5. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 69, page 7
6. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 70, page 13
7. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 70, pages 15-16
8. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 71, page 17
9. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 69, pages 4-19
10. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 70, pages 2-3
11. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 71, pages 3-17
12. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 69, page 6