Harumuu

HaruMuu is the het ship between Haruka Sakurai and Muu Kusunoki from the MILGRAM fandom.

Canon
Haruka and Muu are fellow prisoners at MILGRAM and close friends. The two seem to get along as both of them are a bit quiet and timid in nature. When asked, Haruka states that one of the prisoners he talks to the most is Muu. Muu frequently pays attention to Haruka. She also mentions that he is the one she gets along the most with.

Later on after the first trial, it’s revealed that they developed a co-dependent relationship, where Muu takes on the role of a leader and Haruka relies on her for attention, calling her a mother figure. Haruka is aware that Muu is using him for her own motives, however, he doesn’t seem to care and in Jackalope’s words, enjoys being dominated by Muu. Haruka has an attachment to Muu, stating how Muu always praises and gives him attention and that she’s his mother. Jackalope jokes that Haruka and Muu are in a romantic relationship.

It’s unknown whether Muu truly views Haruka as a friend, like when she asked Es to forgive her in order to stop Haruka’s suicide plan. Though, Muu states that her relationship with Haruka is highly beneficial, and that she “really feels their friendship.” Muu says that she enjoys their friendship since Haruka listens to whatever she says and always does as she commands him. Though despite her manipulation she seems to have a genuine liking for Haruka.

Second Trials (Season 2)
In the introduction video for the second season, after Es wakes up, Jackalope starts explaining the timeline of events that had happened after the first round of verdicts. During Haruka's section, he mentions that being voted "forgiven" unlocked his "desire to be dominated," which led to him forming a codependent relationship with Muu. While in Muu's section, he mentions that Muu is able to be her real self as being voted "forgiven" helped her lose her fear and anxiety of being trapped in MILGRAM. Jackalope suggests multiple terms to use for their relationship ("supply and demand", "queen and slave") before moving onto the next prisoner.

In Haruka's voice drama, "Transformation of a Weakling", Es proceeds to tell Haruka that he is completely wrong about them "saving" him and that he has been getting too cocky after receiving the "forgiven" verdict. Haruka then has a breakdown and attempts to attack Es but Es stops him, proceeds to hit him once and then calls him an idiot multiple times. After they talk more, Haruka then threatens to kill Es if they do not forgive Muu for her murder of Rei. However, he alternatively plans to commit suicide. Haruka also mentions that Muu is his "real mother," and further states that she's the only one who acknowledges the once "useless him," and he also mentions that he has to be a "good boy" for her sake. Haruka also reveals that Muu claimed that she's still scared of MILGRAM despite their forgiven verdicts in the first trial.

In Muu's voice drama, "Queen B", she reveals to Es that Haruka told her about his suicide plan if Es does not forgive her. Muu stated that she can feel the friendship between the two of them, knowing she feels at ease knowing that Haruka would do anything for her. When Es accuses her of exploiting Haruka, she claims that she doesn't understand what they're trying to say and continues explaining how beneficial their relationship is. After Es asks if she isn't going to stop him from conducting his suicide plan, Muu says that since it's something Haruka wants to do, and because friendships are all about letting your friends do the things they want, she isn't planning to do anything.

In the second round of interrogation questions, upon the prompt, “What do you want from the Warden?” Haruka writes, “Please forgive Muu-san.”

Quotes
"Since his [Haruka's] actions were accepted, he's getting carried away, doing the lovey-dovey with No. 4 [Muu]... Ugh, what a sight."

- Jackalope in "Second Trial Commencement Notice"

"I've... changed? Ah, my hairpins and clothes, they're all things Muu-san picked out for me. How is it? Muu-san is extremely nice, she always pays attention to me."

- Haruka in his Season 2 Interrogation

"It was really scary before, but now I feel at ease. And on top of that... Haruka-kun is really kind! He listens to whatever I say."

- Muu in her Season 2 Interrogation

"[...] As long as Muu-san is here, I feel like there's a meaning to me coming to MILGRAM."

- "Transformation of a Weakling" Voice Drama

Fanon
Harumuu is a somewhat popular ship in the fandom. It is currently the most popular heterosexual ship including Haruka or Muu. It is mostly rivaled by Muurei, the femslash between Kusunoki Muu and her victim. On AO3, Harumuu currently has 20+ works. Harumuu was primarily shipped for their close relationship and because Muu was the closest person Haruka talks to and vice versa.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION


 * TWITTER

Trivia

 * As mentioned in Muu's second voice drama, Muu picks out Haruka's clothing and puts hairpins on his hair. The hairclips Haruka wears originally were Muu's as her hand-me-downs.
 * They have a height difference of 12 cm, with Haruka being 174 cm and Muu being 162 cm.
 * Jackalope and Yuno jokingly implied that their relationship was of a romantic one while Muu stated in her interrogation in the second trial that there's nobody she likes, assuming romantically.
 * They were both voted "not forgiven" during their second trials after receiving "forgiven" judgments during their first trials.