Chapter Text
Haru stares at her reflection. It’s odd to see her face not framed by thick curls anymore, and the jagged uneven cuts of hair, now dyed pink, aren’t pleasing to look at, but at least she doesn’t look like herself.
There are several things everyone in Japan knows about Haru Okumura at the moment: She is one of the Phantom Thieves, she is responsible for her father's death, and she has recently purchased a train ticket and fled to her home in the countryside before her assets were frozen.
Only one of those things is fully true, and it’s the reason Haru hasn’t actually left the city: the Phantom Thieves need to change Shido’s heart, and quickly before something bad happens. She isn’t an expert on being a fugitive from the law, but she’s got tons of cash shoved under the mattress of the cheap hotel in Shinjuku she’s staying at— obtained by selling several large pieces of jewellery she’d grabbed before fleeing her house—, new clothes, and thanks to her purchasing that ticket no one’s expecting her to be in Tokyo, so hopefully that’s enough for Haru to be able to go out tomorrow and try and find the others.
Makoto had warned them not to use their usual phones before going off the grid entirely, so Haru’s is off. She would’ve trashed it if she didn’t need it to enter the Metaverse.
Still feeling her newly cut hair, Haru flips on the TV. A game show of some sort is quickly interrupted by a news bulletin.
“Yesterday, authorities apprehended Sojiro Sakura, an accomplice of the Phantom Thieves who was harboring two of the fugitives. He was caught-”
Haru’s heart leaps into her throat. Boss has been arrested? What about Futaba? She hadn’t been mentioned so she has to be ok, right?
Boss must have had a plan, Haru tells herself, repeating it like a mantra. And Futaba, she’s tougher than she looks. Haru’s heard about what Futaba was like before, but even then Futaba still reached out to Haru— still practically a stranger at the time— to make sure she was doing alright after her father’s death. Futaba’s smart, she’s determined. She’ll be fine.
And even worse, Haru can’t do anything if she isn’t.
Haru takes a deep breath and focuses on the TV again. It seems Boss is the only one whom they’ve found and accomplices of the Phantom Thieves are to be punished severely. Haru winces at that, remembering Akira after that interrogation room.
Boss… oh goodness he could die because he helped them! And Takakura had covered for Haru in saying that she’d gone to the country, if he got found out, he could be next.
Shido isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to them it seems. Haru takes a deep breath and tries to steady herself again. All the more reason to try and track down Akira and change Shido’s heart before it’s too late.