As Haru Okumura stood in front of the bathroom mirror of her hotel room, she checked her hair and makeup for what must've been the 50th time that night. Everything had to be perfect for the charity gala tonight. She'd made sure every detail with the venue was perfect, the guest list was full of influential figures who could help support the cause, and the entertainment tonight was sure to please.

"Haru?" Ren's voice came from the other side of her room's door, followed by several knocks. "Are you in there?"

"Eep!" The Okumura heiress yelped in surprise, dropping her hairbrush to the floor. 'He's here already!?' She thought, looking around panickedly. 'Ohgodohgodohgod! Is my hair okay? Did I put on too much perfume?'

"Haru?"

"C-Coming!" She called back, scurrying out of the bathroom.

As she stood in front of the bedroom door, Haru took a deep breath before opening it to reveal Ren Amamiya standing on the other side in a black suit and tie. He looked absolutely stunning, as if he were born to wear a suit. The gala tonight was for charity, but that didn't mean Haru couldn't get something out of it too right?

"Which one is the salad fork again?" He asked, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Huh?" Haru looked up, realizing she hadn't been paying attention.

"The salad fork? I tried looking it up, but the wifi here is surprisingly slow. Do you think you could help me?"

"Oh...right. H-Here, come inside I'm almost finished getting ready." She gestured him in before shutting the door behind him. "Let me just grab my things and we can be on our way."

"Alright." Ren shrugged, taking a seat on the bed.

As he watched her scurry around, he couldn't help but admire Haru's elegant beauty tonight. Her pink gown with gold trimming suited her perfectly. Her fluffy hair looked especially soft tonight, so much so that Ren had to resist the urge to reach out and touch it. And her warm brown eyes were so kind that he could never say no to her even if he tried.

He'd been surprised by the phone call he'd received from her last night, asking him to attend this gala, but he'd been more than happy to help his friend. In all honesty, he almost never got to see Haru these days. She was always so busy running her company that they never so much as even texted. It worried Ren to no end, but seeing her now, he knew she was still the same old Haru he knew.

"Okay," Haru let out a sigh of relief. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, but um…" Ren looked away for a moment before standing up. "The back of your dress, it's undone."

"What!? How did that happen?" Haru blushed and tried turning around, unsuccessfully reaching for the zipper.

"Here, let me." He offered, reaching out to help.

As he grabbed the zipper and pulled it up, (getting a good view of her violet bra in the meantime) his fingers brushed against her exposed skin, causing Haru to shudder briefly. It hadn't been an unpleasant sensation.

"Sorry, cold hands. I'm a little nervous about tonight." He apologized.

"It's okay. I'm a bit nervous as well. This is my first time hosting such an event." She assured him. "B-But I'm sure as long as we stick together, I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Right." He nodded.

The two of them stepped out of the room and into the elevator, heading toward the lobby. As the two stepped out, walking through the hotel lobby, they found themselves surrounded by a crowd of wealthy aristocrats dressed to the nines. The charity gala tonight would be held in the hotel's ballroom, complete with an enormous buffet and endless champagne. Ren couldn't even begin to imagine how much this all must've cost to set up, but from what he heard about Okumura Foods, they were doing great financially thanks to their PR being at an all time high.

Haru had worked hard these past few years to help tear down the horrible reputation that her father had created in his time as CEO and Ren couldn't be more proud of her.

"Whoa." He let out in surprise, seeing the enormous crowd in the ballroom before him. "This is…" He trailed off as he turned to Haru, seeing the panicked look in her eyes. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Y-Yes, i-it's just that I wasn't expecting the crowd to be *gulp* this big." She replied, shaking slightly.

"Hey," Ren took a step closer to her, gently grasping both of her hands in his own. She looked up at him, surprised by the gesture. "Everything's going to be fine, I'm going to be right here with you all night."

A large smile crossing her face, Haru nodded, releasing one of Ren's hands but tightening her grasp on the other. The pair stepped further into the ballroom, doing an alright job navigating their way through the crowd before being stopped by an older man with greying hair and a large moustache with a blonde woman half his age wrapped around his arm, looking at her phone.

"Ms. Okumura! My, don't you look lovely this evening." He greeted with a smile.

"Thank you very much Mr. Eguchi." Haru curtsied. "You look quite dapper yourself. And may I ask who is this beautiful young lady accompanying you tonight?"

"This is my new wife Emiko." He gestured toward the woman. "She's incredibly talented and looking to enter the fashion industry. She has a new line of...what was it again darling?"

"Pumps." Emiko replied, looking bored.

"Right, yes. A new line of 'pumps' that she thinks will be a big success."

"Oh! We actually have a friend in the fashion industry, if you'd like we could help connect the two of you." Haru offered.

Emiko didn't respond, instead opting to focus on her phone.

"That would be very kind of you." Mr. Eguchi bowed. "Perhaps we could talk more about it after the gala." He turned his attention to Ren. "And who is this gentleman here with you tonight?"

"Ren Amamiya." Ren put his hand out, Mr. Eguchi stared at it for a moment before hesitantly accepting the handshake.

"That's quite a firm grip you have Mr. Amamiya. May I ask what it is you do for a living?"

While he didn't say anything to indicate it, Ren could tell that the man was suspicious of him. Whether he was suspicious that he might be a gold digger after Haru's money (ironic as that would be, given his date), or suspicious that one of the 'riffraff' had somehow infiltrated the gala, Ren couldn't tell. Turning to Haru, he knowingly smiled, the two having worked out a story for tonight in the inevitable case of questions being asked about him.

"Private security." He answered. "I work with a team to help maintain privacy and security for large corporations."

"Oh?" Eguchi seemed surprised. "I don't recall Okumura Foods hiring any private security."

"Actually, my main contractor right now is the Kirijo Group." Ren explained.

"Hmm. Then might I ask how the two of you met?"

"A cafe." They answered simultaneously before exchanging a glance.

"We both frequented the same cafe for some time." Haru continued. "We saw each other so often that he finally decided to strike up a conversation and as it turned out we had quite a lot in common besides our taste in coffee. That was over a year ago now and we've been seeing each other since."

While they could've just told the truth about how they'd known each other since high school, Haru decided it would be better to come up with a cover story so as to avoid any mentions of Ren's criminal background. Haru's reason for bringing him along tonight was emotional support, but he also served the secondary purpose of keeping back any potential suitors looking to accompany her. The easiest way to do that was if they were together, so they decided to play the part of a couple, complete with their own backstory Haru had carefully crafted (definitely not because she wanted to fulfill any kind of fantasy she'd spent years developing).

"Oh my, a year? And you're still only dating?" Eguchi asked. "Emiko and I married after 3 months. Is this one of your generation's...what are they called? 'Casual relationships?'" He asked with air quotes.

"W-Well it isn't that we d-don't," Haru turned to Ren nervously, then away, her face flushed. "L-L-Love each other. We just um…" Despite her meticulous planning, the topic of marriage wasn't something she'd prepared for.

"Our jobs keep us very busy." Ren spoke up in her place, giving Haru's hand a supportive squeeze. "With her constantly busy with the company and me always travelling, we don't get to see each other nearly as much as we'd like. But believe me," He turned to face Haru directly. "I'd see her every day if I could. She's such an incredible woman that I'm so grateful to have in my life. And I miss her so much when I'm away."

"...Ren." Haru stared deep into his eyes, her gaze slowly shifting toward his lips.

The two continued to stare at one another until they were interrupted by an awkward cough by Mr. Eguchi.

"Well um, it was good seeing you. Nice to meet you Mr. Amamiya. We'll just…goodbye." He and his wife turned around and walked off.

"...I think that went pretty well." Ren finally spoke.

"Huh?" Haru shook her head as though snapping out of a trance. "R-Right, I think so too." There was an awkward moment of silence between them, neither quite sure what to say after all of that.

"Are you hungry? We could get something to eat." Ren suggested.

"Yes, definitely." She nodded. "I made sure that the buffet was fully stocked with food that was both healthy and tasty. We should enjoy it before it's gone."

The pair each grabbed a plate of food before managing to find an empty table. Taking a seat at the table, the two savored the incredible food that had been prepared for the night, truly worthy of the hotel's five-star rating.

"This is amazing!" Haru exclaimed, taking another bite of her salmon. "Everything was prepared perfectly!"

"Definitely." Ren nodded. "This sure beats those meals we threw together in the back of the camper."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Haru smiled. "When I think about that trip we took, I just remember a month of delicious foods, festivals, and summer fun."

"And the world almost being taken over by a rogue A.I.?"

"That too." She giggled. "But mostly just having fun with all of you."

"Yeah well, you didn't have to share the tent with two other guys and a cat. Yusuke gets...handsy in his sleep." Ren shivered, recalling those horrible nights. "But overall, I agree. I mostly just remember the fun stuff."

"I have that group picture we took framed in my bedroom." She admitted before blushing. "I-Is that weird?"

"Not at all." Ren shook his head before reaching into his pocket. "I keep it in my wallet." He pulled out the black leather wallet, opening it to reveal the picture with all of them together. As the two of them reminisced over the photo together, they were interrupted by another voice from the crowd.

"Haru? Haru, is that you?" An older woman with large brunette hair with streaks of grey stepped out from the crowd and over to the table.

"Mari-san?" Haru stood up, instantly recognizing Mariko Hyodo, the current mayor of Sapporo. "Mari-san!"

The two women immediately wrapped one another in a tight embrace, their strong bond immediately apparent.

"Oh my god you look gorgeous!" Mariko stepped back, taking in Haru's appearance. "How long has it been? Two years?"

"Three." Haru corrected. "I'm so glad that you came! I was afraid you might not be able to make it."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world! *gasp* And who is this with you tonight? He's quite the looker if you don't mind me saying."

"Oh, this is Ren. He's my b-boyfriend." Haru introduced the two, allowing Ren to shake Mariko's hand. "You actually briefly met him before. He was part of the group I was with when we last saw each other."

"Oh that's right! You were with some other kids back then, weren't you? I'm so glad that you managed to find yourself a good group of friends." She turned to face Ren before smirking. "You know, when she was younger, Haru was the sweetest thing but she just couldn't make friends her own age. Once I even caught her talking to the plants in her garden."

"Mari-san!" Haru blushed in embarrassment.

"I can see that." Ren nodded. "I saw her doing the same thing once on the school roof."

"Ren!" She blushed even harder.

"Is that Haru Okumura I see?" Another voice interrupted them, this time male.

The trio looked over to see a man with reddish brown hair in a white tuxedo with a purple bowtie approaching them. From the way he walked to the look of contempt in his eyes, one could easily tell that he looked down on everyone around him, seeing them as lesser than himself. The smug aura he radiated was unmistakable.

"Sugimura-san!?" Haru recoiled in surprise, backing directly into Ren's arms. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Come now Haru, is that any way to greet your old fiance?" Sugimura gave a sinister smile.

"Fiance?" Mariko turned to Haru in surprise. "You were engaged?"

"It was a political marriage that my father had arranged." Haru explained. "One that I backed out of shortly after his passing."

"Oh Haru, you wound me. And after all that time we spent together" Sugimura said sarcastically before his eyes landed on Ren. His expression suddenly soured. "I remember you, you're that delinquent who was running around with her behind my back."

"That's funny," Ren said with a confused look. "I don't remember you at all." Haru couldn't help but giggle at this, sinking further into Ren's embrace.

"Wha- Why you…!" Sugimura bit his lip angrily, stomping toward Ren with clenched fists. "You don't realize who you're talking to. Do you have any idea who my father is?"

Seeing potential danger, Ren released Haru, making sure that she was safe with Mariko before approaching Sugimura himself. As the two men stood in front of each other, their difference in build was notably large. Ren stood nearly a foot taller than Sugimura and the outlines of his large biceps could be seen beneath his jacket.

Now much closer, and noticing the difference for himself, Sugimura let out an audible gulp as a bead of sweat rushed down his forehead. He glanced around and saw that a small crowd had gathered around them.

"You know what? I do remember you now." Ren stated, looking down on the man. "You kicked my cat into a wall."

"Y-Your cat?" Sugimura asked, a scared look in his eyes. "L-Listen, I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot here…"

"I think it's time for you to leave Sugimura." Haru stated, appearing next to Ren.

"Well," He straightened his bowtie, glancing around nervously. "I'll just be going then." He walked off without another word, pushing through the crowd on his way out.

As the crowd around them dispersed, Ren let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to start a-mmm!?" He was interrupted as Haru's lips suddenly met his, cutting him off before he could finish. After a few seconds, she pulled away, Ren let out a small noise of disappointment, one that luckily went unnoticed by Haru.

"That was incredible Ren!" Haru said with a smile. "You were amazing!" Suddenly her eyes widened in surprise, realizing what she'd just done. "I-I um…I'm-"

"Glad to help." He said, not wanting to cause another awkward moment, especially with other people around. Besides, they were playing the role of a couple tonight. It was only natural that they'd kiss.

"Well," Mariko spoke up, easing the tension between the two. "There's certainly never a dull moment when you two are around."

The rest of the gala went without a hitch. They conversed with more guests, ate some delicious food, enjoyed the entertainment, and raised a truly staggering amount of money for a new children's hospital nearby. Overall, both Ren and Haru enjoyed themselves despite the earlier drama. And by the end of the night, the kiss the two had shared was almost completely forgotten.

Almost.

As the pair walked back to their rooms for the night, the sexual tension between them was palpable. Neither said a word to one another until they arrived in front of Haru's room. And as Haru slid her keycard into her door, one could almost hear their hearts pounding in their chests.

Both were a bit disheveled after the long night. Ren had opted to remove his jacket and roll up his sleeves, and his hair was back to its normal disheveled state. Haru was still fully dressed, but having been in a crowded room all night, she was beginning to overheat in her gown.

"Well, I should be heading back to my room now." Ren said as Haru opened the door. "I've got a long drive ahead of me in the morning." Just before he could step away, he felt a tug at his sleeve. He turned to Haru and saw her looking away shyly.

"Um, the dress." She mumbled softly. "I-I need help with the back again." Ren nodded, following her into the room, closing the door behind him. As he undid the zipper in the back, Haru worked up the courage to speak up again. "Thank you again for your help tonight. I...I definitely wouldn't have managed on my own so...thank you."

"I'm sure you would've been fine Haru, you're one of the strongest people I know. I could never do what you do, running a company, hosting events like this. You're much braver than you give yourself credit for."

"...Thanks."

"All that being said, I really am glad you invited me. I had a great time tonight."

"..."

"..."

Another audible silence between them filled the air. Seeing this as her last chance, Haru took a deep breath before turning around to face the man of her dreams.

"Ren I-" She paused, seeing the shocked look in his eyes. When she turned her head down she noticed what it was he was staring at. The sudden action of turning around in her already unzipped dress had caused it to fall to the floor, now leaving her in just her purple bra and panties. Upon seeing this, she immediately covered herself, trying to preserve her decency. "Eep!"

"Sorry! I-I should go!" Ren excused himself awkwardly, averting his gaze. He hurried out of the room without another word, not noticing Haru reaching out for him as he left.

As the door closed, and they each let out a large breath that they'd been holding, both of the young adults had the same thought.

'Shit.'

[Shadow Operative File: 029]

Haru Okumura

Codename: Noir

Status: Standby

Species: Human

Age: 21

Sex: F

Persona: Lucy, formerly Astarte, formerly Milady

Description: Current CEO of Okumura Enterprises and former member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Haru Okumura is a powerful woman. While she has never worked directly for the Shadow Ops, Haru provides support where she can but is primarily concerned with running her company. Since becoming CEO, Haru has put forth a substantial amount of funds toward community outreach and created several programs to assist homeless and struggling families.

Notes: At the end of every month, a large box of cookies is anonymously delivered to the compound staff, each with a supportive handwritten note inside. While nothing has been confirmed as of yet, it is suspected that Haru is behind these surprise treats. The staff are very grateful.