Characters / Master Detective Archives: Rain Code - Halara Nightmare

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Main Character Index
Main Characters (Halara Nightmare) | Makoto Kagutsuchi

Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked.

It's virtually impossible to list tropes for this game without spoiling everything or creating Self-Fulfilling Spoilers because of the large amount of twists and Murder Mystery-related tropes it contains.

Halara Nightmare

Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa (Japanese), Amber Lee Connors (English)

One of the Master Detectives sent to investigate Kanai Ward, an aloof individual with no specified gender. Cool, calm, and collected, Halara is a highly competent detective who charges a sizeable sum for their work. Their Forte is Postcognition, allowing them to view a perfect recreation of a crime scene based on the moment it was first discovered by a third party.

They act as Yuma's assistant in Chapter 1, helping him investigate the Nail Man Killings with the promise of a hefty repayment down the line. They star as the lead in the "Raining Cats & Dog" substory.

For their self-demonstrating page, go here.

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A - E

• The Ace: Halara is easily the most competent member of the Nocturnal Detective Agency, not only being highly perceptive and intelligent, but also being incredibly talented when it comes to combat and self defense. Add that on top of their extremely useful Forte, and its no wonder they charge such a high fee for assignments. When Shinigami attempts to insult Yuma by saying Halara is better than him, Yuma is far from insulted and happily agrees with her that Halara surpasses him in every way. Yuma seems to largely look up to Halara as being the ideal detective.
• Action Hero: Shows off their skills in combat four times total, punching and kicking Peacekeepers with little effort while dashing around at lightning speed.
• Agent Scully: Halara thinks that the sixth sense is utter nonsense, and likely any other superstition like it, believing all of those things can be explained rationally, despite having a form of "sixth sense" of their own.
• All Are Equal in Death: Due to not trusting the living, Halara instead trusts the dead. This indicates that they see the dead as having equal value, and refuses to slander those who are already dead (unless they're one of the Nail Man victims).
  "I don't trust anyone...except the dead."
• Aloof Ally: Halara is still an ally to anyone they come across and is overall quite polite when speaking to others outside of detective work, but they are very emotionally distant, being on their guard at all times, and only trust clients who can give them extra money in the millions.
• Ambiguous Gender: Their bio states that they have no specified gender. Shinigami asks Yuma many times to ask if they're male or female, but he never ends up doing so despite being curious himself (concluding once they're well into a case together that it would be rude to ask at this point) and Halara never clarifies one way or another. The game itself also goes out of its way to have the characters avoid referring to Halara by any pronouns by almost always using their name, enforcing the ambiguity of whether they're a masculine-looking woman, a feminine-looking man, or truly nonbinary.
• Animal Lover: Halara’s DLC reveals that they have an affinity for all non-human animals, not just cats and dogs, wanting Kanai Ward’s animal kingdom to stay safe in the Wretched Hive the Peacekeepers turned it into. On the other hand, Halara despises actual human beings.
• The Anti-Nihilist: Halara demonstrates no hope in other people, openly acting contemptuous towards others and refusing to help people willingly, or do the simplest of favors. They're also incredibly sarcastic, and only decide to joke around if it's at someone else's expense. Despite this, they are willing to help others if they get something in return for it, do have a compassionate side when push comes to shove (like the Peacekeepers surrounding non-combative team members and Yakou's death), and one of their most iconic traits is their affinity for domestic animals like cats and dogs.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Halara shows upfront that they don't believe in any sort of savior beyond the mortal realm, or the supernatural, or superstitions in general, to the point of making it clear their dislike for churches and religion when first encountering the church to interrogate the visitors, believing prayer is an arbitrary concept in itself. All this despite the fact that their world is full of detectives with supernatural powers. Downplayed in that they seem to be more against the idea of relying on deities, superstitions, etc. seeing them as unreliable as humans.
  "The WDO requires a two-year training period for all agents, no exceptions. During that time, the agent's paranormal disposition is honed into a Forensic Forte specializing in investigation."
• Aside Glance: There is a brief close-up of Halara giving a glance to Yuma and the son of the clockmaker as they observe the two of them first bringing up exposing the true identity of the Nail Man to save his father.
• Awful Wedded Life: Not initially, but after Halara's parents suffered from the scam incident during Halara's middle school years and it led to a broken home, Halara's father grew to depression to the point that their mother couldn't take it, and it's implied that it led to a tragic divorce. Halara was seemingly also indirectly affected by this.
• Badass Adorable: Despite Halara’s nature as a rather prideful, cynical jerk who Minored In Ass Kicking, they are also an elegant and attractive Kindhearted Cat Lover who displays incredibly cute reactions when flustered, scared, shocked, or having a bragging session.
• Badass Arm-Fold: One of Halara's most preferred poses is confidently folding their arms.
• Badass Boast: In the prologue, Halara boasts that, as a detective, they are both capable and possess a Forensic Forte.
  "But being both a capable detective and a Master Detective would be even better. Such as myself."
• Badass Bookworm: In addition to their admirable intellect, they're capable of taking down entire groups of Peacekeepers with just a coin and their fists.
• Badass Creed: Halara repeatedly states that they refuse to waste time, claiming that it's one of their values as a detective.
  "I won't allow time to be wasted."
• Badass Longcoat: Halara is a Genius Bruiser and primarily wears a long, dark, hooded rain coat with coattails that trail behind them.
• Bad Mood as an Excuse: Halara has been maddened into misanthropy, so of course, they take out their frustrations regarding life on those entirely uninvolved.
• Baritone of Strength: Halara not only has a strong body, but also has a strong voice. Specifically, a deep, commanding, yet casual, feminine voice.
• Bavarian Fire Drill: ...To some capacity. In Chapter 1, Halara chooses the path of pretending to be an Amaterasu Corporation detective alongside Yuma while investigating the Nail Man case within Kanai Ward because, as Halara knows very well by playing their cards just right, Amaterasu holds the true authority and force over the city in just about every way possible, not involving any outsiders like the WDO.
• Beauty Is Bad: Downplayed version. Halara is not inherently evil, and is actually a Byronic Hero with a misanthropic mindset, who is quite closed-off, overly critical, and has a short temper. In spite of this, they're also deceptively attractive, to the degree that one would think them to be as innocent as Fubuki at first glance.
• Big Damn Heroes: Has a habit of showing just in the nick of time to bail Yuma and co. out of trouble by throwing hands with the Peacekeepers. It happens four times over the whole course of the game, with Vivia only being there to help during the final example in Chapter 4.
• The Big Guy: The strongest member of the Nocturnal Detective Agency, Halara is typically the one able to fight back against the Peacekeepers in self-defense for the sake of the rest of the team.
• Big "YES!": Halara's response to Yuma's uncertainty about a cat's most charming quality is an enthusiastic "Yes, exactly!"
• Black-and-Gray Morality: Halara's relationship between themselves and the forces of evil that they deal with. While Halara isn't typically a forwardly good person, they aren't bad either, and Chapter 4 shows that off fully as they're able to show extreme compassion when necessary. Despite their morality, Halara unambiguously despises actually-evil people and still wants to fight against it; they simply aren't trusting enough of themselves or others to show their desire to fight with a necessary level of honesty.
• Bookworm: Halara is occasionally seen silently reading from a mysterious black book, contents unknown.
• Boomerang Bigot: Halara claims that they despise all of humanity... while being human themselves, and being just as capable of the things they hate humanity for.
• Boots of Toughness: Literally. Halara has sturdy black boots with lime soles, of which the camera focuses on plenty, and they can ruthlessly kick people down in one shot with only their leg strength.
• Boyish Short Hair: Actual gender aside, Halara's appearance is generally androgynous, featuring both feminine and masculine features, but the signature is their short, silver hair, short enough that it barely reaches behind them.
• Break the Badass: Halara's demeanor is typically one of an outstanding degree of toughness, so when they start breaking down emotionally in Chapter 4 due to the crisis revolving around Yakou Furio's murder of Dr. Huesca (that is before Makoto appears and kidnaps the detectives as a transition into the game's finale), it's a very clear sign that bad things will follow. And of course, that's precisely what happens.
• Break the Haughty:
  • Let's just say Chief Yakou's death in Chapter 4 takes quite the toll on Halara's pride.
  • Reminding Halara they're allergic to cats in spite of their cat obsession has them outright moping about their misfortune.
• Briefcase Full of Money: Halara's seen using one to convert into chips and trade with the casino owner as part of their gambit against him to force him to confess his crimes in "Fubuki's Luckiest Day", and likely has plenty more where that came from.
• Brutal Honesty: Halara is a person who doesn't hold anything back, to any capacity, no matter how insensitive it may be, and even that's an understatement. It especially shows in Chapter 4, where they say outright and with no hesitation whatsoever that they can't mask that Yakou's condition after being stabbed by Fink is fatal.
• Byronic Hero: Halara is an extremely difficult person to open up to, and is very reserved and openly despises everyone in humanity, being a shameless cynic and misanthrope with a huge ego and a grand sense of self-entitlement that urges them to demand a very high pay rate as a result of self-confidence in their own abilities as being deserving of that amount of money and no less. They're extremely judgmental and are very much willing to hold grudges, make threats, and refuse to filter out anything they say to others, even callouts of the other heroic figures in the plot. Despite this, Halara isn't fundamentally a bad person, and in fact hates truly evil people, such as con artists, dictators, etc., serving them any karma cold on a silver platter, and is actually a seemingly compassionate individual despite everything aforementioned. Their most significant trait, first and foremost, is their overwhelming adoration for cats, finding them to be intriguing for a reason they themselves are unsure of, that mystery of which being why they find them so intriguing. They also save the protagonist from the Peacekeepers four times total over the course of their character arc, free of charge, at that, and later on, show great care for Chief Yakou when he's about to die in Amaterasu's research lab, trying as desperately as possible to revive him on their own and feeling guilt over their failure. Heck, Halara even demands that they be given the identity of the Great Global Mystery for his sake following his death, not just to honor him, but the various other detectives that died due to being left unaware. To put it simply, while Halara is very much a harsh individual outwardly, on the flip side, they can be equally as caring to others, and still have a sense of honor and responsibility.
• By-the-Book Cop: Or rather detective. Halara's every action as a detective is under the WDO's rules, not their own, that being "emotions must be discarded", and the rest. This is why, when on the Nail Man case, Halara never deviates from the task like Desuhiko does with Aetheria Academy or Vivia does in his attempts to kill Yuma, as they're only focused on pursuing the case itself, no more, no less.
• Cannot Tell a Joke:
  • Downplayed somewhat since it did indeed create a comical situation without the need for Black Comedy, but when Yuma asks Halara to look into the vent on top of the entrance to the mansion's study (the chronological second serial killing case) during the investigation of the Nail Man case, they tell Yuma to give Halara 10,000 shien to do as he asks. It turns out that Halara was in fact joking about charging him and was willing to look into it for free.
  • In the Gumshoe Gab, while discussing his Forte, Yuma wonders how he can test if he's immortal. Halara's immediate response is to tell him to die as a test, with absolutely no shift in tone whatsoever. However, Halara clarifies immediately after in a playful tone that it was only a joke. Yuma doesn't agree, rightfully so.
• Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: In Chapter 1, they serve as the rough to Yuma's smooth.
• Card-Carrying Jerkass: More "Card-Carrying Jerk with a Heart of Gold", at least, but one of Halara's most predominant personality traits is their willingness to readily admit that they hate all of humanity and refuse to trust anyone, as well as them fully embracing their refusal to accept an assignment from someone to help with a case unless paid, without shame... mostly.
• Cassandra Truth: Prior to the Nail Man case, Halara's words on the past state of a crime scene in previous cases were sometimes dismissed as a lie by some of their previous clients due to them being unable to share their vision.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "With my logic, anything is possible."
  • "I don't work for cheap."
• Character Shilling: Justified somewhat since Halara is the most competent by comparison, even out of the majority of non-NDA characters. Halara still receives active praise from characters completely on a dime regardless of this: in Chapter 1, Yuma praises them for gathering intel, a basic detective procedure; in Chapter 2, Yuma praises Halara for being perceptive by using clues to work out Chief Yakou was getting breakfast for the detectives; in Chapter 4, Yuma and Kurumi praise Halara for taking it upon themselves to go search for the restricted area and Yuma remarks that Halara outclasses him as a detective in every way. Aside from the praise itself, to point out the obvious, Halara's also the first assistant in the game, serving as Chapter 1's, meaning the creator is ultimately trying to give them the spotlight above everyone else.
• Character Tic: When standing idly, Halara confidently puts their right hand on their right hip and stares forward.
• Coins for the Dead: In the epilogue, as the Master Detectives leave the Nocturnal Detective Agency for the last time, they all say their thank-yous and goodbyes to Yakou's empty desk. Halara instead walks up and wordlessly leaves their signature coin on top of it.
• Cold Ham: Halara may be colder than Antarctica on an even colder night, yet their hilariously over-the-top and unexpected bluntness makes them stand out in just about any scene they appear in.
• Color Motif: Halara has multiple colors all at once, pink, lime, and dark blue, but their physical appearance is particularly darkened by a subtle dark gray tinted shadow.
• The Comically Serious: Halara's pretty much constantly deadpan no matter the scene, making their ultra-seriousness stand out compared to the more outwardly quirky members of the cast.
• Conditional Powers: "Postcognition" allows them to see exactly how a crime scene was discovered by a third-party; the victim and culprit don't count and they must be present at said crime scene, which is convenient when solving Chapter 1's "Nail Man" murders which involve months-old cases. This screws over the Worshipper who had extensive knowledge about the serial killings and was the first one to discover the bodies following him trying to warn the future victims, only to try and frame one he committed himself as a Nail Man murder, but him being the murderer meant that the third Nail Man killing's Postcognition was actually from the perspective of a museum employee accompanying him since the Worshipper knocked over a can of paint after stumbling onto the crime scene right before the former, resulting in the paint being carved into the Postcognition.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: Implied. Halara sees the various Nail Man crime scenes, which all have an ominous presence, all created by the psychotic alter-ego of a Kanai Ward resident. They aren't fazed or shocked whatsoever and see the scenes objectively and analytically, at least, compared to Yuma.
• Consummate Professional: Of the main detective characters, Halara unquestionably approaches their work the most seriously and takes a great deal of pride in their detached and professional methodology. If they take a job then they will to the best of their ability do everything they say they are going to do, no more and no less, and will regard any emotional hangups as distractions or hindrances.
• Cool, but Inefficient:
  • Halara's Postcognition. Sure, being able to see the first time a crime scene was discovered by a third party, without living things, only after learning the name of the victims and when only being at the crime scene, is efficient enough. But when compared to other Fortes, including Yuma's true Forte, it seems ineffective, what with there being Coalescence (Halara needs someone to share their vision of the scene in order to prove their reports in the first place), Disguise (Halara had to rely on Desuhiko to get information on Amaterasu via his disguises prior to Yuma's arrival), Spectral Projection (Halara had to rely on Vivia's ability to get through the Peacekeepers in the secret lab to solve Dr. Huesca's murder), and Time Leap, which is the literal manipulation of spacetime itself. And along with the aforementioned, it can only be used at crime scenes that require the third party's vision, and that's it, unlike the others which can be used under any circumstances.
  • Even if Halara were at the scene and was willing to solve the cases for free, being able to see the third party in the cases in Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 would've been completely useless as the third party for each case was Yuma. Even in regards to Karen's murder of Aiko in the past, since it would've just shown the faked suicide, which everyone already knew about. The only time in the main story that their Postcognition was at all useful was in Chapter 1.
  • Halara briefly lampshades the inefficiency of their Postcognition in "Fubuki's Luckiest Day", claiming that it doesn't work at all unless the victim of a crime is dead.
• Cool Chair: Halara seems to prefer being seated in one prior to the agency's temporary wreckage, always cross-legged in either a miniature red velvet chair, or, during his absence at the beginning of Chapter 2, in the chair of the agency's chief. In the latter case they offer to buy the chair rather than be removed from it.
• Corrupted Character Copy: Of Kyoko Kirigiri.
  • Both are tall, athletic, and charming ace detectives who speak with Brutal Honesty and have trust issues stemming from personal family tensions, of which they refuse to describe due to considering it too big of a reveal to give to those they can't trust. However, while Kyoko still has a willingness to bond with and help others, has a sense of social decency, and truly does want to show she cares for others deep down, Halara is far more reserved and applies specific conditions to those who they wish to trust, asking for money from others no matter how much more experienced they are than Halara (they ask from Shinigami and Makoto, of whom they are not entitled to be given anything from), and Halara even outright confesses to hating everyone with little provocation, unlike Kyoko, who goes through an entire killing game and survives and never once says such things.
  • Compared to Kyoko, Halara's Freudian Excuse is also much more disproportionate, as while Kyoko has to deal with her father abandoning her as a child and breaking her family's legacy, to the point that it leaves her with a sense of disdain for her father for most of her life, Kyoko at least maintains her sense of honor and tries to be nice to others, albeit with reluctance, without asking for anything in return. Halara, on the other hand, suffers their parents being scammed into near-financial ruin, but at least they didn't abandon Halara as early as Kyoko's father did, nor have a family legacy to uphold like Kyoko's family (Halara didn't even realize they could be a detective until discovering their Postcognition), and are implied to have stayed together until at least middle school, meaning Halara still had a more stable life than Kyoko, but Halara actually came out even more of a cold-hearted but heroic jerk than Kyoko did.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: Inverted. Halara's Postcognition doesn't blow their cover, but it definitely blows the covers of people who try to hide the state of a crime scene before a third party entered. This is shown with the worshipper, who Halara's Postcognition exposed as the copycat culprit of the Nail Man case due to the difference between the scene from when he entered and when the art gallery staff member (the third party) entered.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: In the four events where Halara takes on the Peacekeepers, Halara makes it look rather easy, kicking and punching them down with one hit each. Subverted in the fourth example, which occurs in Chapter 4, going up against Yomi in the research lab, and in a tight space, as Halara is overwhelmed and audibly grunts in the struggle when realizing that they can't use their physical capabilities to deal with armies of people when in a confined space, though they still do well enough to escape with their allies.
• Cuteness Proximity:
  • For as unfazed Halara is by pretty much anything (besides a death they believe themselves to be responsible for), they possess a great affinity for cats and dogs. Halara tries to keep it hidden from others, due to finding it a shameful aspect of themselves what with it contradicting their external image.
  • Halara refuses to investigate Tetra's case in their "Raining Cats & Dog" DLC without payment... until Yakou permits them to keep a cat in the agency in exchange for doing it, that is.
• The Cynic: Halara is absolutely a cynic, even going on a rant that believing in others is the most naive thing one can do when Yuma says that he will believe in Halara's deductions just because he can at the beginning of Chapter 1, and repeatedly expressing their distrust in others. Their defining quirk of requiring a large payment for their work even seems to be motivated by that intense distrust in others.
• Cynicism Catalyst: While being betrayed by their “best friend” during middle school may have aided in their refusal to trust others, becoming a detective and seeing multiple murder cases only brought Halara further down into bitterness until they became the person seen in the present day.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Halara's dark gothic clothing and sharp demeanor may convince you they're a token Anti-Hero or The Mole, in whatever possible way, especially with their mysterious motives. The reality is, Halara's only partially anti-heroic, as they're otherwise unquestionably on the side of good and always seek justice to the highest effort they can manage.
• Deadpan Snarker: Due to being Surrounded by Idiots most of the game, Halara is prone to snarking, especially with Yuma during Chapter 1.
• Death Glare: Halara can pull a fierce, commanding glare, accompanied by a tone of Tranquil Fury, whenever someone acts like a fool around them, as seen multiple times during Chapter 1 and the Gumshoe Gab.
• Desperately Needs Orders:
  • Halara seemingly can't operate on WDO assignments without being given the full initiative by the higher-ups first, as shown in their dialogue prior to being given the initiative in question (solving Kanai Ward's Ontological Mystery) by Number One's Body Double. This is demonstrated clearly in this line when Yakou tells them that he doesn't know why Halara and the others were sent to Kanai Ward.
    "You didn't receive any instructions?"
  • Their tendency to constantly follow the orders of their superiors no matter how questionable is deconstructed in Chapter 4 when Halara leaving Chief Yakou behind to investigate Amaterasu Corporation under his orders leads directly to his death, and Halara immediately blames themselves for it, lamenting that the NDA should've stayed together.
• Didn't See That Coming: Halara's Exact Words regarding solving the Nail Man case and exposing the true culprit were to "turn them over to the Peacekeepers." Notably, this meant to turn them over alive. The priest, who was the true Nail Man, dying even before accusation was a completely unaccounted part of the plan, as they note themselves following the Mystery Labyrinth that causes said death.
• Dirty Business: Halara's justification to Yuma for claiming to be an Amaterasu Corporation detective to the churchgoers and the art gallery staff member, as well as to advise Yuma to bluff the priest's Mystery Phantom while in the Mystery Labyrinth, is that "deception is necessary to solve a case." Though it's not entirely clear, Halara is aware of how questionable this philosophy is, but goes along with it anyway, since in reality, it is actually necessary in Kanai Ward where Amaterasu Corporation controls everything.
• Diving Kick: Halara's signature move in combat. Seemingly, they prefer it to catch any assailant off-guard.
• Dodge the Bullet: Does this alongside Vivia when Yomi orders one of his soldiers to shoot at them when they both confront him in the research lab to save the other NDA members. Said soldier shoots at the ground instead of directly at them, making it easier for them to dodge, but it counts.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: When Halara tells Yuma of the reason for their refusal to trust people, including Yuma himself, that being that a False Friend from middle school used various tactics to pull a scam on Halara's parents that left their home in financial ruin, Yuma responds with regret for asking upon hearing about it. Halara tells him not to "give them that look" and clarifies that they take it as an example of how to be a detective instead, and actually believe themselves to be rather fortunate to have learned something about betrayal so early on in life. Of course, Yuma doesn't believe that.
• Due to the Dead: The reason Halara requests that Number One (his Body Double, at least) contextualizes the "Great Global Mystery" that the WDO was sent to solve is for the sake of the Master Detectives they saw die due to being kept in the dark about what it is (a global kidnapping case), including Yakou. Notably, Yakou's empty chair is visible in the background of the chosen camera shot for when Halara says this.
• Dynamic Entry: Halara's choice of reintroduction at the end of Chapter 3 when Yuma presumes the NDA to have died in the submarine explosion? Kicking a Peacekeeper down as a warning to Guillaume, a very close shoe sole focus proceeding.
• Embarrassing Hobby: Halara likes to stare at a photo of a ginger cat they keep on their person when no one is looking, seemingly preferring vacant alleyways and other similar locations to do so according to their Gumshoe Gab.
• Enlightened Self-Interest: Will only do their job as a detective if they're promised (or plain given depending on the person's income rate) a luxury car's worth of money by the client in return.
• Establishing Character Moment: Their introduction scene has them proudly announcing their victory in a gambling game against Desuhiko before coldly but confidently explaining why his loss was fair and square when he complains.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Two moments in the game show Halara might be more sensitive to betrayal than any other experience, due to their past experiences. The first is when Halara hears Shinigami refer to them as "Hellara" while in the Mystery Labyrinth, seemingly aware the nickname is intended to demonize them due to their blatant Greed; the reason for this reaction becomes clear in Gumshoe Gab, as the money Halara is saving through their detective work is supposed to be for a charity for cats. The second is during the Gumshoe Gab itself, when Halara sounds as though they're on the verge of tears when they thought Yuma had tricked them into revealing they were looking at cat photos in the alley. Of course, Yuma quickly corrects himself in this moment, saying that he was basing it off previous observations of Halara.
• Everyone Has Standards: Though Halara is generally unrestrained by the standards of normal humanity, they are not a fan of outright liars, genuine villains, or people who insult others for petty reasons (at least more petty reasons than Halara would have), which is shown in various forms. For example, not hiding their hatred for Amaterasu Corporation's corruption, and also questioning Desuhiko and Vivia for willingly neglecting their duties as detectives.
• Evil Stole My Faith: Halara is aware of how bad people can truly be, faithful or not, and because of this, they reject any possibility that a deity can save anyone through prayer, as they explain when encountering Kanai Ward's church in Chapter 1.
• Experience Entitlement: While Halara's quota of being given money from clients before proving their words about their capabilities as a detective generally comes off this way, it's taken to extremes by the epilogue when Halara still keeps up the need to force others to pay for them when knowing Yuma, whom they asked money for in Chapter 1, and Makoto Kagutsuchi, whom they request money from when he wants to ask Halara for help in Kanai Ward, are both Number One, the former top detectives in the WDO, and also knowing Yuma was the one who gave Halara the plot-triggering directive to solve Kanai Ward's Ontological Mystery in the first place (though only via a Body Double), therefore meaning Halara is actually asking from the both of them under the impression that they aren't of a higher ranking than them, even though they are explicitly aware that's exactly what Yuma and Makoto are, even if it's only a former status.
• Extreme Doormat: Halara's Nerves of Steel are undeniable, and they're definitely unfazed by many things. This does not mean that Halara is able to stand on their own, however, and is almost constantly following what other people tell them to (they dismiss it if it's illogical like Yakou's "no gambling" rule) rather than acting on their own. Along with this, Halara is incredibly sensitive and doesn't take personal criticisms or betrayal well, almost turning into a completely desperate emotional mess when experiencing such things.

F - N

• Failed a Spot Check:
  • While searching for the research lab in Chapter 4, Halara ponders why Amaterasu Corporation employees suddenly disappeared from Kanai Ward. Kurumi wonders if Amaterasu Corporation is trying to cover up the truth. What does Halara do despite knowing that Amaterasu is behind pretty much every shady thing in the plot? Shrug it off.
  • Halara admits to doing this in the epilogue regarding not realizing "Yuma Kokohead" was actually the true Number One in disguise, claiming even they hadn't noticed, despite being the most competent main detective.
• Fair-Weather Mentor: Halara holds Yuma to the same standard they hold themselves as a detective while training him in their own way, that being teaching him that all people are deceiving, laziness isn't virtuous, and suspicion is a necessary factor during an investigation, being willing to ignore him entirely if he doesn't do the job exactly how they do it themselves; this is best demonstrated when Halara leaves Yuma to be punished by Yakou despite having cooperated with him throughout the whole of Chapter 1 for the sake of a unified sense of justice, no longer seeing him as useful to solving the case or as a student. As revealed later on, they also do the same with the rest of the agency.
• False Dichotomy: Halara telling Yuma upfront that he can't be a detective if he doesn't do things for himself... without considering alternatives.
  "You're free to think of me as you wish. However, the truth must be found with your own eyes. Otherwise, there's no point in continuing as a detective. Do you understand?"
• False Reassurance: Whenever Halara, the known misanthrope, is using one of their "innocent happy smile" or "self-assured confident smile" sprites, expect it to be accompanied by a super-snarky backhanded remark or challenge rather than something of actual "innocence" matching the expression being used.
• Fatal Flaw: Guilt. While Halara's fully functional and is an extremely competent individual otherwise, and can accomplish anything they put their mind to, their sense of responsibility completely overwhelms them at all times, even for situations that aren't as tragic. Halara feels guilt if they don't follow the orders of WDO superiors, when their "best friend" scammed them in middle school (blaming themselves because of their outlook and not the person doing the scamming) which is what led to their inability to trust others besides the dead, and said sense of guilt is also what causes them to feel such an overwhelming sense of responsibility for Chief Yakou's death that they throw logic of doubt out of the window and try to treat him regardless of knowing that he's never honest about what he actually wants from people.
• Figure It Out Yourself: When Yuma asks one too many questions when Halara proposes how gambling improves the skills of a detective. "Instead of always asking for answers, why not figure things out for yourself for once?"
• Flat "What": Played for Laughs. Halara responds with this when Yuma asks Halara to explain that the Mystery Labyrinth is what killed the priest and drew Yomi to the agency, having forgotten what happened due to Laser-Guided Amnesia.
• Foil:
  • To Yuma. Though it turns out that the inversion may be the case due to Yuma's true self, post-amnesia Yuma serves as Halara's foil by being a Naïve Newcomer who is willing to be vulnerable with his emotions and help others free of charge, in contrast to the cold and mistrusting Halara who only trusts those who pay them.
  • To Yakou. Both are certified Master Detectives, but while Halara is openly rebellious and demanding, they act that way for selfish reasons, while Yakou acts the same way in his attempt at protecting the detectives from the Peacekeepers. Halara is also much more self-confident than Yakou, and even calls him out for being cowardly at the beginning of Chapter 2.
  • To Fubuki. While Fubuki is reckless and foolish, but is also a Nice Girl, Halara is careful and coordinated, but is rude and inconsiderate towards other people's adversities.
• A Friend in Need: Halara, who usually snarks at everyone around them and refuses to trust anyone whatsoever because they "despise all of humanity equally", is surprisingly willing to help the other detectives out when they need their expertise in particular. This is best demonstrated with their act of saving Yuma and the others many times despite holding contempt for them too, like with the Peacekeepers throughout the main story, enacting a gambit against the casino owner in "Fubuki's Luckiest Day" with Fubuki, and, additionally, helping Yakou with Tetra's case in their own DLC.
• Friendless Background: Implied. Before joining the WDO, anyway. With Halara allegedly being an only child, their only "friend" was presumably the False Friend they had in middle school, having no one to rely on before. Even if they had better manners in the past, Halara possibly retained the Brutal Honesty they possess in the present, likely driving others away from wanting to befriend them. This might explain why, even when someone is clearly their friend like how the NDA members are to Halara, they will continue to act emotionally distant around that person, having not learned how to actually bond with other people openly due to a lack of social connection to those who surrounded them in the past.
• The Gadfly: Halara can occasionally joke around with others at times without being a complete troll, and their reason for it seems to be that they simply find being mischievous to be funny.
• Gambit Roulette: A literal roulette since it involves a casino, at that, but Halara's gambit against the casino owner in "Fubuki's Luckiest Day" entirely revolves around Fubuki rolling a seven successfully in order for Halara to adjust the rigged dice while the owner is distracted to ensure the owner to lose the bet, which, considering the fundamental random nature of dice, was taking an extremely slim chance of success.
• The Gambling Addict: Halara's absolutely obsessed with gambling, and seemingly likes using it as a method of training for detective work where necessary.
• Genius Sweet Tooth: Though Halara is a perceptive detective, they like to occasionally suck on a red lollipop, likely to soothe them.
• Glowing Eyes: When utilizing their Postcognition, Halara's eyes glow the same light pink as their eyes, as seen in the illustration above.
• Good Is Not Nice: Halara's attitude towards others is quite rough, and they will not accept an assignment without a high fee paid to them due to taking pride in their role as The Ace, bordering on Anti-Hero. However, Halara only acts this way to preserve themselves from the pain of betrayal, and overall aims to help others, even if their methods are questionable.
• Good Is Not Soft: They completely and truly hate anyone they see as a miscreant trying to sabotage people's lives out of self-interest and absolutely taking delight in it, especially if they're only proving Halara's refusal to trust people in the first place.
• Greed: Considering Halara's preliminary estimates for one assignment equal to that of the price of a luxury car, one has to wonder if the standard to hire them stems from pride, or this. Shinigami lampshades this aspect of Halara's character repeatedly, even in the Mystery Labyrinth, to the point of giving them the nickname of "Hellara".
• Guilt Complex: Heavily implied. Halara seemingly blames themselves for every bad thing that happens regarding them, including trusting their False Friend in middle school, the deaths of the priest and worshipper among the churchgoers (since they had brought them over to Yuma to incriminate them in the first place; though they don't say it, their initial reaction suggests that they blamed themselves in the moment), and the death of Chief Yakou (due to separating from him under his orders), seemingly causes them to lose much of the Nerves of Steel they usually display.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: A downplayed example due to Halara's composed demeanor, but it's very obvious that Halara is irritated quite easily and even the slightest challenge or imperfection easily gets on their nerves, pressing Yuma to have to tread his words around them during communication.
• Hammerspace: A minor case of this. After Halara takes out the Peacekeepers the second time in Chapter 1, they noticeably take out their signature lollipop from what looks like a pocket from the right on their raincoat… even though Halara’s only actual pockets are actually on their chest and their raincoat doesn’t have side pockets at all.
• Hates Being Touched: Outright flinches at Yuma asking to hold hands for Coalescence.
• Hates Everyone Equally: Claims this almost word for word when they explain that their "hate" for Yuma is not personal. In practice it becomes clear over time that they have more fond feelings toward some people than they may admit.
• Hates Small Talk: Doesn't like unnecessary conversation in the slightest, preferring conversations with reason.
• Haughty Help: Helps Yuma in Chapter 1 when he promises a payment plan, but that doesn't mean Halara holds back their pride on the job when investigating the Nail Man case. If anything, the pride is taken to its extreme.
• The Heart: Ironically, Halara turns out to be this more than first presumed, due to initially being presented as The Cynic. When put under pressure due to circumstances in Chapter 4, Halara displays the true extent in which they care for their teammates, trying to guide the rest to the most helpful option to take regarding the situation, to not have anyone overdo themselves, entrusting Yuma to investigate all on his own (and commending him for trying to be responsible), and tending to the agency's chief regardless of any preconceptions that Halara might have had beforehand. Not for the sake of themselves, but only for their detective friends.
• Heroes Love Dogs: In "Raining Cats & Dog", as per the title, Halara is very much fawning over Tetra's dog, Sugar, the entire time they investigate the case of her father's death, and it only increases when Sugar gives the decisive evidence for the culprit's identity by finding the hose used to flood the crime scene.
• Humanizing Tears: Subverted. When Halara has to suffer the grief of Chief Yakou's death in Chapter 4, they only lose composure and turn to a state of distress, despite being expected to cry in that situation. Instead, it turns into Desuhiko and Fubuki crying on Halara's behalf due to Halara not bringing themselves to do so.
• Humble Goal: Despite Halara's... demeanor, they only really want to give back to the fellow cats that have been healing them of their internal struggle their whole life. Unfortunately, they have to be contrastingly ruthless to achieve this.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Serves as this in Chapter 1, being Yuma's assistant. Halara is able to see the truth of each Locked Room Mystery far quicker than Yuma is, to the point that Halara repeatedly calls Yuma out on his incompetence. It can be presumed from their responses that Halara immediately deduced that the culprit was the priest upon interrogating the churchgoers.
• Hypocrite: Halara is a classical cynic who believes others only lie for the sake of self-interest as a result of a "best friend" from middle school betraying them and extracting information from them to pull a scam on their parents, leaving their childhood home life in nigh-financial ruin. Then years later in their 20s, Halara acts largely (though not completely) out of self-interest themselves, and uses their mood from this experience as an excuse for their more amoral actions, though granted, they are still a heroic person despite this.
• Ignored Epiphany: Halara suffers aplenty throughout Chapter 4 and 5, becoming distressed over Yakou Furio's death in the research lab, being desperate to honor the dead Master Detectives by requesting the Great Global Mystery's identity (and getting it), dealing with the possibility that Number One of the WDO and the WDO itself has been eliminated and destroyed unexpectedly, being knocked out by sleeping gas due to an ambush from the Big Bad, and being imprisoned and then having their death faked by said Big Bad. After all that, one would expect Halara to learn humility and understand they aren't the one in control of things, right? Surely they'll learn from that, right? Wrong. Halara instead decides that Makoto Kagutsuchi, who is better and arguably more successful than they are in just about every way possible, should still be required give them money for their future services in the epilogue.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: "I Let Yakou Furio Die", to be more exact. Halara feels immense guilt over being unable to revive him with first aid, thinking that they failed to save him from his eventual doom and it's their own fault for not putting in the effort. Granted, he was going to die regardless.
• Immune to Slapstick: Except from when with Shinigami in the Mystery Labyrinth, with her repeatedly making Halara the butt of her jokes, as well as the brief moment when Fubuki thinks that Halara is Yakou with a new look when seeing them in his chair. Otherwise, they're very much immune to the wacky antics of the other characters due to being dead serious at all times.
• I'm Not Here to Make Friends: A non-competitive example. Halara will let you know this ad nauseum, with many variants. Most of this is because, as a competent detective, Halara is aware that even their own allies can betray them and makes sure to put many precautions in place for self-preservation. Along with this, it's understandable on the receiving end, since it turns out that both the people who attempted to openly claim to want to be Halara's friend turn out to be exploiting them: the first "friend" is the one in their backstory who pulled an investment scam and led them to live in a broken home in nigh-financial ruin with their parents implied to have divorced as a result, and the second being Makoto Kagutsuchi, who was merely using Halara as a means to take down Yomi and pretty much was never intending to really befriend them. Despite this, Halara also shows shades of wanting real friends, too, despite the contradiction, but is unwilling to admit it.
• Insert Payment to Use: Halara does not accept investigations of cases for free, or "for cheap." Never.
• Insufferable Genius: Downplayed as Halara isn't constantly boasting about their intelligence, only occasionally, but there is a lot of pride involved, since they're completely aware they're far more competent than most people are in general to the point of using it as a means to justify their high payment estimates.
• Ironic Allergy: Despite being obsessed with cats, Halara is very allergic to them.
• Ironic Echo: The phrase "X will only lead to more deaths/victims" seems to pop up again in the "Fubuki's Luckiest Day" DLC when Desuhiko and Fubuki attempt to wing it when regarding the murderous illegal casino owner that Fubuki discovered via her time rewinding. This same phrase of concern was also said during the main story when calling "Number One" over the Great Global Mystery's identity following Chief Yakou's death, concerned that "keeping the detectives in the dark will only lead to more deaths." To be simple about it, Halara definitely doesn't like unnecessary murder victims piling up as a result of other people's misdeeds.
• Irony:
  • Exaggerated Trope in regards to Chapter 1. The reason why Halara had to use their Postcognition to solve the Nail Man case was due to Seth cleaning up the crime scenes because he was receiving large amounts of money from the priest, who was the actual Nail Man creating the cases that Halara used their Postcognition to solve, but Halara only accepts using their Postcognition to solve the cases that were covered up due to that reason because they were promised large amounts of money to see the crime scenes in the state they were in before Seth had to cover up the Nail Man's crimes, or in other words, the priest's crimes, because he wanted to protect his source of income.
  • The one detective Shinigami jokingly labels a “demon/devil” due to Halara’s wrath and greed ends up being the most compassionate team member when Chief Yakou is fatally wounded in Amaterasu’s research lab following Dr. Huesca’s murder.
  • Halara, while they may occasionally recognize his efforts as the Yuma Kokohead he plays as, acts in a way that gives the impression that they think Yuma is an inferior to them, with immense levels of pride, as a Master Detective and as a detective in general, while still being aware of the "trainee" role he decides to attain for his Memory Gambit. It turns out that Halara is actually the inferior to the Yuma they believes themselves to be superior to, as in reality, "Yuma Kokohead" is Number One, the top Master Detective of the WDO who can solve any case by himself, and without limiting himself through an extra payment quota like Halara.
  • The detective whose Forensic Forte requires use of their eyes (Postcognition) frequently has their face, of which has said eyes, hidden from the audience by camera angles.
• Is That a Threat?: In the Gumshoe Gab, they say this word-for-word when Yuma indirectly does threaten to tell others about their cat obsession.
• I Was Just Passing Through: After they first save Yuma from the Peacekeepers in Chapter 1, intervening in time to display their combat skills.
  Yuma: Th-Thank you, Halara!
  Halara: A reckless sense of justice isn't even worth a single coin. This could've cost your life. Remember that.
• Jerkass at Your Discretion: To Yuma. When grouped with the other detectives, Halara noticeably tones down their aloofness towards others and presents themselves as a decent person, at the very least, but still acts like an emotionally distant jerk. However, when alone with Yuma, as shown multiple times, they hold nothing back due to there being no nearby witnesses, or at least none who can condemn them for it. Despite this, Yuma still sees Halara as a friend, though that's more because Halara is willing to help him out when he needs it more than anything else. However, considering who Halara is, this might extend to everyone and it's never explicitly shown.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Despite Halara being as cold as ever while saying it, Yuma never explicitly disagrees with them that he is unaware of how to be a detective, at least post-amnesia, which means he agrees to some extent. This is more obvious when Yuma continually asks Halara for answers during the Nail Man investigation, as despite said coldness, he knows that Halara is competent enough to work out the answer to everything beforehand.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Halara is a cold, outspoken, and avaricious detective who hates all of humanity and criticizes everyone who comes in contact with them (and largely gets away with it), and is completely detached from any sort of emotion, including the needs of others. Despite this, Halara does care to some extent, as they're openly friendly towards their colleagues, like Yakou and Yuma in particular.
  • In Chapter 4, Halara shows the most concern towards Yakou's well-being and is the most determined to save him (something that would be proven futile later on), despite having tensions between him during the events of Chapter 1. Halara even calls out "Number One" for dismissing his eventual death and telling the detectives to move on with the investigation, something that blatantly infuriated them as they request information about the mystery they're all supposed to be solving.
  • As for Yuma, following the Nail Man investigation, they defend him from Desuhiko when he devalues Yuma's role as a detective due to being a trainee, claiming that he's a detective regardless of his experience, and Halara even claims that they trust him enough to tell Yuma about why they're so focused on money, that being that they're using it for a cat charity as a way to give back to 30% of cats in the world, though Halara dismisses that the reason is they're doing it for personal satisfaction.
  • Also, when not acting like a jerk, Halara generally maintains a polite demeanor, as long as no one irritates them.
  • Halara also helps Fubuki out free of charge in Ch. Fubuki: Fubuki's Luckiest Day, though this is the only instance in the game where Halara is seen doing a requested favor for someone else for free.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Alternates between this and Jerk with a Heart of Gold depending on the situation.
  • The only reason Halara's likely to help anyone is because they've been given the money they think they're worth, not because they actually want to help, something they explain clearly plenty of times. While they do help others out in a combat situation free of charge, it does not mean Halara is open to doing basic favors because it's the right thing to do, much more because they've been paid to do it.
  • When Halara realizes the solution to the mansion locked room for the Nail Man case while in the Mystery Labyrinth (the culprit threw the key under the corpse), they take note of having made said realization, as if they'll tell Yuma and Shinigami what they've discovered. This isn't what happens. Instead, when Shinigami requests it, Halara demands payment regardless of if it's even necessary (they're in an alternate universe where the only way to escape is solving the case and Shinigami's a death god, not much use for money there) and gives the usual "Figure It Out Yourself" sentiment.
  • In Halara's first Gumshoe Gab event, they acknowledge Yuma's nervousness when trying to start up the conversation. At first, this seems like it's with the intention of showing genuine concern. Instead, Halara proceeds to essentially tell him he's an idiot for failing to come up with a topic, and then makes him feel even more like an idiot by psychologically tricking him with a bet, all while acting like the superior in the conversation and calling him the lesser detective in comparison to themselves (though compared to the second event, Halara isn't as blunt about the latter viewpoint). Understandably, Yuma only ends up feeling bad about himself by the end of it.
• Jiggle Physics: The strings on Halara's tailcoat flail about whenever Halara shifts around or pushes them. They're even seen reacting to momentum in the illustration above.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Despite their rough edges and emotional distance, Halara has an intense love for cats that brings out their more human side. The only time they seem to genuinely lose their cool attitude is when that secret is threatened to be revealed, leaving them a blushing and embarrassed mess. When Yuma asks them to explain their love for felines, they go on an utterly dorky tirade in order to list every great quality cats possess.
• Kindness Ball: Halara when Yakou is threatened to die in the research lab. Despite initially conveying themselves as an emotionally distant, prideful jerk with some heart, but also made it clear how much they hate all people, they act with a surprising, yet uncharacteristic kindness when Yakou is found stabbed in Amaterasu's research lab, one that stands out among the other NDA members. They outright carry him into a nearby room on their own, lay him down on a gurney, and use whatever first aid knowledge they have to treat him, even becoming distressed when Halara senses that he's about to die, performing CPR in total desperation, and temporarily going into a sad state (accompanied by Unreveal Angle) when declaring that he's officially died, in spite of their own efforts to save him. This not only contradicts Halara's initial presentation, but it also contradicts Halara's previous display of how much they hated Yakou's cowardice when alive.
• Knight in Sour Armor: The sourest armor of the whole NDA, to be precise. Halara's a misanthrope to grandiose degrees, yet still willing to help other humans when necessary (or in the case of this game outside of saving Yuma, homunuculi replicating humans) under their somewhat-intact sense of personal honor.
• Larynx Dissonance: While Halara's appearance and voice are mostly feminine, their voice has a masculine depth to it, adding to the gender ambiguity.
• Late to the Realization: Telling the others to hold their breath around sleeping gas when it's already begun to knock people out. Inevitably, the late warning does Halara in too.
• Leg Focus: Halara's legs are given focus aplenty through their fight scenes, as well as the illustration above, with the additional detail of the two not-so-subtle close shots of the soles of their shoes during combat.
• Luminescent Blush: Only happens once, but Halara displays one of these with a stutter when Yuma accidentally takes out the cat photo from their pockets instead of the crime scene photo when investigating the mansion Nail Man case with him.
• Madden Into Misanthropy: The reason Halara hates all of humanity and talks down to everyone they meet is because they've personally seen humanity's worst aspects, and the only things that Halara can really rely on in their mind to avoid opening up to humans are domestic animals.
• Mangst: It gets hidden by the camera in the moment regarding their facial expressions, but despite usually being hard to break, the situation of raiding the research lab leading to Chief Yakou's death and their inability to revive him with CPR ends up causing Halara some obvious trauma, even if they continue to pretend it's not there.
• Masculine, Feminine, Androgyne Trio: In Chapter 1, they serve as the androgyne to Yuma's masculine and Shinigami's feminine.
• Meaningful Name: While "Halara" is rather ambiguous^note (Although the name appears to be based on a fashion brand), "Nightmare" refers to what it's like to deal with Halara generally speaking, as their overly professional, distrusting personality can be a quote-unquote "nightmare" for an average or unwitting person. Yuma being one of Halara's more preferred connections in the game, he can attest to this the most.
• The Medic: Seemingly the token one for the team, being the only one with enough expertise to perform CPR on Chief Yakou.
• Minored in Ass-Kicking: Halara's the type to speak first and fight later, and that's certainly exactly what happens over the course of the game. Pretty much any Peacekeeper they take down never has a chance of fighting back because Halara is capable of kicking them down before they even realize Halara's attacking them in self-defense, and that's despite Halara being the type to only speak when necessary.
• Misery Trigger: Reminding them they're allergic to cats. Doing legwork for an investigation, too, as Halara states that "doing legwork is miserable for them" at the beginning of Chapter 4.
• Mistaken Death Confirmation: Halara believes that the bodies of Kanai Ward's dead that are dumped into the restricted area by Makoto get buried, at first. They end up completely wrong about this deduction twofold, as the bodies from Kanai Ward are undead due to being homunculi, not human, so they don't get buried in the first place, and in regards to the bodies from outside of Kanai Ward, they don't get buried either and are instead converted into meat buns.
• Money Fetish: Halara has an almost self-destructive obsession with money, even for an ace detective, to the point that they ask for it for even the most minor of requests. Halara states in their Gumshoe Gab that it's not entirely without motivation, since it's mostly so they can organize a charity for struggling cats, but with the extent it reaches, even Yuma and Yakou are unable to comprehend just how obsessed Halara actually is and if there's even a reason it goes as far as it does.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Halara's physique is incredibly slim and lacking any noticeable bulk, looking rather average at best. Despite this, they are able to perform dexterous stunts with little effort while maintaining balance, and can knock people down immediately in one hit, without sustaining injury if anyone tries to fight back either.
• My God, What Have I Done?: In Chapter 4, Halara is implied to take partial responsibility for the events leading to Chief Yakou's death, believing that they are at fault for deciding to split up from the group upon his orders to investigate after sneaking into Amaterasu Corporation's HQ with the rest of the agency. This is likely for Dramatic Irony, however, as Halara shows no signs of awareness that this was for his plan to murder Dr. Huesca and use the hitman as a means to cover up his cause of death.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Despite Halara being fully aware that the NDA's chief is unwilling to fight for the agency's goals, they still desire to help him out solely because Yakou's their commanding officer, even when he is shown to be perfectly willing to let himself get killed when raiding the research lab within Amaterasu Corporation's HQ in Chapter 4.
• Naytheist: Despite this being a world where the supernatural is a readily proven thing, they view religion, churches, etc. rather negatively, believing people should trust in detectives to solve their problems rather than gods. Notably, in the Mystery Labyrinth, Halara mostly ignores Shinigami aside from asking who she is and at one point telling her to keep them out of any... fantasies, Shinigami may be having.
• Nerves of Steel: Absolutely nothing fazes Halara. Even though they express distress when experiencing an unexpected death that they can't prevent or understand like the culprits of Chapter 1 following the Mystery Labyrinth and Chief Yakou's death in Chapter 4, they are otherwise completely immovable and discard their emotions entirely during any situation, putting logic first and foremost. Additionally, Halara is Made of Iron, boasting great levels of durability, and pretty much can't be injured or trip up on anything. The only exception is when Halara first falls into the Mystery Labyrinth, as they lose their footing entirely due to the unexpected situation and fall on their back.
• Never Be Hurt Again: As they explain in their fourth Gumshoe Gab, during their middle school years their parents fell victim to a nasty investment scam that left them in financial ruin and caused their marriage to fall apart as a result. The scammer was actually Halara's best friend, who used Halara to mine information about their parents in order to craft a more convincing scam. Halara blamed themselves for the situation for being too trusting, and after the fact resolved to never trust nor count on anyone else again.
• No Badass to His Valet: Halara's intimidating confidence and combat capabilities aren't of Yomi's concern whatsoever.
• Not Afraid to Die:
  • Halara casually declares their willingness to risk their life in the war against Amaterasu in the prologue, with this confident declaration:
    "I'm used to wagering my life like poker chips. It feels like my path."
  • Halara repeatedly stresses that they're putting their life at risk as a detective, taking any potential fatality as a mere hindrance and being perfectly fine with someone they trust continuing their life goals on their behalf. This is only in regards to their own death. The deaths of fellow detectives, on the other hand...
• Not So Above It All:
  • They come off as much more dignified and reserved than the others in the Nocturnal Detective Agency... right up until you get them enthusiastically nerding out to gush about how amazing cats are.
  • A little more subtle, but one of Halara's sprite expressions is a forward-facing mischievous, enthusiastic, devious smirk that just radiates an uncharacteristically assuring presence, demonstrating that while they are focused on being a detective in a mature fashion, they still find an almost-childish joy in it.
  • According to Vivia, when Chief Yakou ordered him and Halara to investigate Amaterasu Corporation's HQ in Chapter 4, Halara outright dragged him along despite his protests to just take a brief look. Obviously, they never listened, and were likely invested in the opportunity to investigate Amaterasu personally.
  • During their DLC story, despite their serious, professional demeaner, the instant Sugar the dog enters the room during an investigation they immediately shift their focus to eagerly playing with her.
• Not So Invincible After All: Between Chapter 1 to Chapter 3, Halara is shown with flawless combat skills, taking Peacekeepers out and threatening the Arc Villain to stop. When fighting Yomi's underlings in the research lab in Chapter 4, however, Halara gets so overwhelmed by the numbers that they end up struggling, leading to them fleeing and hiding with everyone else.
• Not So Stoic:
  • During Chapter 4, Halara nearly ends up a Broken Ace under the pressure of being trapped in Amaterasu Corpation's HQ with a dying Chief Yakou, coming close to succumbing to the pressure after returning to the agency before being captured by the Big Bad.
  • Adding onto the above, regarding said capture, during the cutscene it occurs in, upon seeing the WDO building caught on fire from a terrorist attack, Halara is utterly blue with shock, and their reaction is Played for Horror. It's revealed to have been forged by said Big Bad in the epilogue, of course.

O - Z

• Oh, Crap!: Doubles as O.O.C. Is Serious Business in Halara's final main story on-screen moments in Chapter 4's ending, following Halara's Darkest Hour moments before (accounting for the terrorist bombing situation witnessed literal seconds before, not just Yakou's death), but they are notably alerted by the white gas suddenly appearing in the room with a reaction that simply encapsulates how little they expected someone to attempt a direct form of a surprise attack on the agency.
  "No... It's gas! Everyone...hold your breath..."
• One-Man Army: Halara is very much capable of taking down the Peacekeepers with ease no matter their numbers. Vivia even asks Halara to take out the Peacekeepers being guided by Yomi on their own in Chapter 4, though fails to earn Halara's cooperation in doing so.
• Only-Child Syndrome: Judging from their anecdote about being scammed out of their parents' home money by their "friend" in middle school, Halara is presumably an only child since it's implied that no siblings were there to warn them in advance. In which case, it's no wonder Halara is so quick to self-blame.
• Only Sane by Comparison: Even as the Only Sane Man of the NDA for the below reasons, Halara is still plenty crazy despite that, being a ruthless, greedy cynic with a cat obsession, which isn't a particularly average personality to be the host of in its own right.
• Only Sane Man: Or woman, whichever one. Either way, amongst all of the madness of the other detectives in the Nocturnal Detective Agency including Yakou, aside from Yuma who is more of a Straight Man and becomes allied with Halara due his shared willpower, and even then he still has to deal with Shinigami, Halara is the most focused and aware of the lot, and always gives fitting advice for any situation without being influenced by their emotions or personal desires. This is especially made clear when, as Halara notes themselves, they are the only one willing to say upfront that Vivia has no resolve as a detective despite having such an efficient Forte.
• Painful Persona: Halara is heavily implied to be adopting one of these, as their actions and their own words about who they are never quite add up. Specifically, while Halara claims to reject people and, definitely so, has a hatred of people, their interactions suggest otherwise as they act quite congenial and seemingly treat others like normal people, rather than treating them immediately like lesser beings as would be expected from someone who hates others. There are almost no real sociopathic tendencies like Halara supposedly believes themselves to have, considering this, since Halara is also blatantly heroic (if a little anti-heroic) rather than being on the side of evil or even playing Devil's Advocate.
• The Paranoiac: Halara admits multiple times over that they refuse to trust others, and it's rather clear in their cynical behavior when interacting with other people throughout the story and additional content.
• Perpetual Expression: Halara rarely, if ever, opens their eyes beyond a neutral, inexpressive state, and is almost always frowning or pulling a smug expression with their mouth.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Given that the "jerk" side hadn't come out yet since they had just met, and they were around the other NDA members, Halara is surprisingly welcoming towards Yuma in the prologue and seems to be genuinely concerned about his Identity Amnesia. As well as this, Halara makes no hesitation in trying to help him out by telling him of what they discovered in the WDO archives about his past and his role in the WDO (unaware he was actually the true Number One, of course).
  • Halara commends Yuma for his investigative efforts various times over, such as at the end of Chapter 1 when Halara saw that there was an effort made to solve the Nail Man case (even with the culprit dying), at the end of Chapter 2 when he discovers the homunculus research for the first time, at the end of Chapter 3 when Halara helps him clear his name of the terrorist attacks by exposing Icardi's misdeeds, and in the middle of Chapter 4 when Yuma tells the others not to give up on each other when they're trapped in Amaterasu's research lab. The ones directed towards him specifically are accompanied by a warm smile in his direction.
  • During the "Fink the Slaughter Artist incident" with Chief Yakou during Chapter 4, when Yuma regrets not having chased the assassin down after witnessing Yakou get stabbed, Halara assures him that it was a good idea because he would've died if he had done so (Fink wouldn't have made him his next target in reality, because he was hired to target only Yakou, but the thought counts here). This, of course, means that despite Halara's aloofness, they are actually concerned for Yuma's life and Halara's Big Damn Heroes moments aren't just out of necessity.
  • The extents Halara goes to help and honor Chief Yakou, head of the Nocturnal Detective Agency, despite recurring tensions between the two of them (Halara being a Badass Bookworm and Yakou being a Dirty Coward). Though Halara is typically mistrusting of others, they trust the agency's chief with absolute loyalty, no matter what he does. This goes as far as trying as desperately as possible to treat him when he's stabbed to death by Fink the Slaughter Artist (as part of his Thanatos Gambit, that is) in the research lab in Chapter 4, even feeling regret and grief over separating from him and believing themselves to be an indirect cause, and even honoring him with their 1-shien coin at the end, leaving it on his empty desk when leaving the agency's office for the last time.
• Petty Childhood Grudge: A major motive behind their cynicism and misanthropy is the deceptive actions of their False Friend from middle school (would've been around 10-15 at that time), of whom they still show contempt for in the present day due to reducing Halara's home life to nigh-financial ruin in the past. Note that Halara is in their 20s by now, and this is part of their motive for their overarching attitude.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Before beating up the Peacekeepers, Halara says two lines on two separate occasions.
  • "It appears you require the aid of a great detective." in Chapter 1.
  • "That coin belongs to me. You'll be returning it." in Chapter 4.
• Professional Slacker: Downplayed as Halara is undeniably a highly competent person and is on high alert in the event of any surprises, but outside of active detective work, they're very much willing to sit around minding their own business without concern for anyone else's, in spite of their competence, and they refuse to do a job on their own at all unless they get something in return, whether it be excessive amounts of money to pay for their future program or something that appeals to their base desires. Though Halara is comparable to Vivia in many ways through this, they aren't actually the same since Halara is willing to do work when given the chance, whereas Vivia wants to remain doing nothing at all so he doesn't have to deal with real problems.
• The Profiler: Hinted at. They advise Yuma to remember the churchgoers' faces following the interrogation in order to spot them if they happen to flee in a crowd, and it's likely said from their previous experiences as a detective.
• Psychometry: An optional conversation has Halara explain their Forte started off as ordinary psychometry, simply giving them sudden glimpses into the past when they were younger. That alone was enough to earn them preferential treatment when they joined the WDO as a trainee, but they believed their power could be made even more effective with training. Their current Postcognition abilities were painstakingly developed over the course of three days.
• Queer Colors: Their official art shows them with a combination of black, purple and yellow colors, and along with their hair it matches the colors of the nonbinary flag. It is unclear if this was intentional or coincidental, as Kodaka has gone on record as having had no intention behind Halara's lack of defined gender other than to make them more mysterious, and their hair is notably more silver than white.
• The Rest Shall Pass: Halara attempts to invoke this at the end of Chapter 3 when surrounded by Yomi and a group of armed Peacekeepers, insisting that they take the opportunity to neutralize everyone within under 25 seconds (reduced to 20 when Yomi threatens Cold-Blooded Torture). It's subverted when Makoto intervenes at the last second to save everyone.
• Reused Character Design: Though their builds are different, Halara's face bears a strong resemblance to Chiaki Nanami's face from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, even down to the eye and hair-color.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: Inverted. Halara is the rude sidekick to Yuma's nice hero in Chapter 1.
• Safety in Indifference: Halara's method of preventing betrayal. They try, by any means necessary, to appear neutral to almost all things, with the exception of showing their kinder side when necessary, so no one takes advantage of them and whatever generosity they may willingly display if they're too emotionally open.
• Screw the Money, This Is Personal!: Seemingly part of the reason Halara disregarded money to be willing to help Fubuki and Desuhiko in "Fubuki's Luckiest Day" is because Halara and the two of them were friends and Halara was willing to make an exception, and to point out their idiocy in winging it when confronting the casino owner.
• Seeing Through Another's Eyes: Halara's Postcognition allows them the ability to see through the eyes of the third party at a crime scene, and only the third party. Specifically, it serves as a replica more than a memory, being able to see the exact state of the room fully instead of just the individual's vision.
• Seen It All: They seem to be unfazed by more than just betrayal (of others), according to the Mystery Labyrinth. Plus, their use of Postcognition in previous cases suggests having seen countless murder cases that required the third party's memory to be seen by them beforehand.
• Seers: An interesting example with their Forte, Postcognition. It allows them to see almost exact replicas of past crime scenes based specifically on when the first witness uninvolved with the incident discovers it (the only thing left out of the replica is if any living people were visible in the actual event).
• Ship Tease: Despite their Ambiguous Gender, Halara and Yuma are given an excess of this during Chapter 1. Not that it doesn't continue briefly following then, anyway, since Halara is shown to be willing to stand up for Yuma no matter what, and during the final Gumshoe Gab, Halara has an endearing moment of mischief between themselves and Yuma when he openly prefers Halara says they "wouldn't mind being betrayed by him", over simply saying they trust him.
• Shockingly Expensive Bill: Played for Laughs, for the most part, but not really. Halara charges five million shien for assisting Yuma in solving the Nail Man Killings. Not only that, but this is just in Kanai Ward currency, the common currency Halara uses must make the number even bigger. And even worse, that isn't just applicable to Yuma, according to Halara, this is an estimate, likely meaning that their previous clients are in Yuma's situation of having to pay it off after promising to do so. Then when you think Halara couldn't be any more absurd, it turns out they don't just charge for the assignments themselves, but also inquiries and requests that require their individual efforts (that don't involve an heroic use of combat anyway), which also doesn't just apply to Yuma either. Halara's billing is deconstructed in the "Fubuki's Luckiest Day" DLC, where Desuhiko calls Halara out for charging so much just to do one job; Halara's immediate response is a confident "I must charge at an appropriate rate."
• Shrug Take: Halara likes to dismissively shrug things off, pulling a snarky remark to accompany it. A lot.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Seth Burroughs tries to assert his power over Kanai Ward, they tell him he's "nothing but an audience." It actually shuts him up, too.
  Yakou: Ahah... Can we please keep things on the down-low? Mr. Seth, are you all right?
  Seth: Who...do you think we are? In this town, we're...
  Halara: You are nothing but an audience.
• Significant Birth Date: Halara was born on October 1st, International Coffee Day. They add 800 shien to Yuma's five million shien payment because it's an additional fee for making them wait and for the coffee they're drinking.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Halara turns to Tranquil Fury when Yuma mentions that he'll believe their word, going on a dismissive rant that all people are liars that should be doubted. Thankfully, they learn to apply some idealism for themselves after that rant, even if they retain their payment quota.
• Skewed Priorities: According to their motivations for their high fees as revealed in the Gumshoe Gab, this is pretty much Halara's main characterization, as being paid for a cat-based program takes higher priority over actually being a detective. Keep in mind their justification for that payment involves their Postcognition, which is only useful under extremely specific circumstances and regarding only crime scenes. This is also shown in Chapter 4 where, despite the agency being in their Darkest Hour and the fact that Chief Yakou has been stabbed to death, Halara still wants to charge people to do the work on their own, deciding that Vivia should pay if he wants them to take down the Peacekeepers alone instead of just taking the job personally because it's the right thing to do.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Downplayed severely and most certainly not to the same extent as Desuhiko, but Halara describes their abilities and their general role in the world as if they're widely-known by people and they're an instantly recognizable individual. At the same time, however, Halara is aware of how unknown they really are in the grand scheme of things, allowing them to take advantage of it and play the white lie of being an Amaterasu Corporation detective.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: Halara is the only NDA member who needs glasses (as it's revealed in Yakou's DLC that his are only a Tragic Keepsake), but they are also the most competent member out of all of them, though it comes at the expense of being a cold and harsh jerk.
• Smile of Approval: Halara smiles to Yuma many a time over the course of the game when recognizing his value as a detective.
• Smug Super: Halara is very proud of their status as The Ace and it's one of the other reasons that they act like a jerk towards others.
• The Snark Knight: Every single one of Halara's lines is permeated with disdain no matter who it's directed to, even when in deep distress, leading to some comical moments.
• Sour Supporter: Serves as this in Chapter 1, helping Yuma out with the case in spite of holding some capacity of blatant contempt towards him while doing so.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: Halara is 100% willing to condemn the Nail Man victims for their misdeeds according to their prior research while in the presence of their dead bodies (through Postcognition, at least), unlike Yuma. Downplayed since they’re not sympathetic, however.
• Specs of Awesome: Halara wears glow-in-the-dark neon pink rectangular glasses, and is a strong-willed Great Detective who can kick down any enemy with absolutely no effort whatsoever.
• The Spock: Of the Nocturnal Detective Agency; Halara is naturally only logically-driven, and they consider emotions a mere setback. Actually, they rarely do show anything beyond stoicism and removing themselves from the idea of acting irrationally, and the times where it seems like they do deviate from that, well, the game doesn't exactly let us see that.
• Spoiled Brat: Not openly, thank goodness, but while Halara does still care for others, they're not above boasting their expertise that others do not have or feeling entitled to other people's money because of the fact. Being a Master Detective, they're not only already plenty rich and just demanding more, but the WDO themselves gave Halara preferential treatment because of their gift of psychometry. As well as this, their attitude just generally exudes arrogance and egotism, thinking themselves to be better than everyone else around them despite otherwise, and they simply refuse to be modest about anything. An exception to this is when discussing their past, as they consider themselves "boring" personality- and history-wise.
• Spotlight Stealing Character: "Fubuki's Luckiest Day", a DLC focused on Fubuki Clockford... gives focus to Halara pulling a gambit on a casino owner.
• Staring Down Cthulhu: The Mystery Phantoms of Seth and the priest that Halara faces off against in the Mystery Labyrinth? Not a problem for them whatsoever; actually, they're not fazed even once and just see the Mystery Labyrinth for what it represents (a vault for the truth with phantoms blocking the path to it), not the exterior presentation itself.
• Statuesque Stunner: Well, not entirely applicable since Halara is not confirmed as male or female, but generally speaking, Halara is overwhelmingly tall (181cm/5'11" precisely), and is also physically attractive enough for their profile to point it out to the viewer, and that's not accounting for their voice or their elegance in combat.
• Stepford Snarker: It's very deep underneath as Halara uses many layers of snark, but it's rather obvious that Halara is using snark as a shield to prevent people from asking questions too deep about them. This is especially clear in them taking responsibility for everything even when there's no need to heap it on so much, and especially when reminding them of why they refuse to trust people in the first place, that being that they were betrayed by someone they cared about in their middle school years.
• Stoic Spectacles: A very rigid, straightforward, immovable detective who also wears glasses.
• Story-Breaker Power:
  • Halara seems to be perfectly capable of solving the case of the entire game on their own what with their physical and intellectual capabilities, if they weren't willing to only work when paid, be forced to nearly suffer a plot-driven death twice in a row, entirely submit to their employers when given the opportunity, and severely misaim their priorities as a detective, as well as if they didn't get excluded from the Final Boss battle along with the other detectives. Ironically, Halara turns out to have correctly guessed twice that the detectives were sent to investigate Kanai Ward due to the power struggle in Amaterasu, but didn't quite catch on that Makoto was doing nothing more than using the detectives as opposition against Yomi, with the WDO itself as a pawn too.
  • At the end of Chapter 4, Halara basically tells the other detectives that Makoto, Amaterasu Corporation's CEO, is the Big Bad thanks to his kidnapping plot upon finding out about how his men carry corpses to the restricted area under his orders. The others never get the hint and Halara doesn't either, making everyone vulnerable to him when he kidnaps them all immediately after.
• Stronger Than They Look: Halara, at first glance, looks like they are strong by default, and can relatively take people out, what with their muscles being practically invisible and having a very skinny figure. It turns out they're not only strong enough to take people out effortlessly, but also enough to do it in one hit per head, in an entirely one-sided battle. Of course, the exception is Chapter 4, where Yomi's army ends up being too much to handle.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: As is lampshaded in their DLC, Halara shows their disdain around other humans (human lookalikes in the case of Kanai Ward's homunculi), but is contrastingly warm and tender when in the presence of a domestic animal like a cat or a dog.
• Super-Strength: Crazy strength, at that, as Halara can kick or punch anyone they see as a threat into total oblivion before they see it coming. It's basically a warning not to get on their bad side, ever. Thankfully, Halara only saves it for necessary circumstances.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: After Chapter 0 reveals that Zilch Alexander was Dead All Along, Chapter 1 introduces Halara who, like Zilch, is a tall, highly professional, somewhat-bossy bespectacled WDO agent. Ch. Halara: Raining Cats and Dogs even suggests they're able to interpret a cat's body language, a trait comparable to Zilch's Forte of controlling small animals.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Though it's silver hair rather than black hair, Halara has very dark clothes and a generally dark shadow surrounding them physically, and is also a highly competent, physically attractive, and unrepentantly snarky detective of 181cm in height.
• Technical Pacifist: It's unclear at first considering Halara's quite a brutal individual in general, but Chapter 4 eventually confirms that they do in fact have a clear-cut Thou Shalt Not Kill ideology, even regarding someone as despicable as Icardi in Chapter 3, having seen his death by soul reaping as an unexpected circumstance. That doesn't mean they won't use their fists to knock out the Peacekeepers if necessary, though; they only prefer using that method if absolutely necessary, as to "neutralize" them, as they put it.
• Token Evil Teammate: While Shinigami counts as this in regards to the overall team, in regards to just the human characters, Halara is most definitely this, being openly hateful and actively unwilling to help others unless given something that equals to what they believe they're worth. Even Vivia seems to at least care about others with little issue, and doesn't ask for anything in return when he does help. Though Vivia does battle Yuma in the Mystery Labyrinth (something Halara never does), he does it because he's trying to protect Yuma from knowing a harsh truth (Yakou is a killer) that would most certainly cause him distress. Halara, on the other hand, lacks that sense of basic courtesy.
• Too Broken to Break: In regards to their past betrayal from their False Friend.
  "We can't expect innate goodness from those we interact with daily. That simply isn't possible. Because of that experience, I'm unfazed when I see one person betray another."
• Took a Level in Idealism: As the game goes on, Halara becomes more and more trusting to their fellow detectives, specifically Yuma. While they are initially dismissive of him, they grow to respect him after working the Nail Man cases together, to the point of openly defending him when Desuhiko devalues him for being a trainee at the start of in Chapter 2 and trusting him to lead an investigation by himself in Chapter 4. By the end of Halara's Gumshoe Gabs, they go as far as to entrust Yuma with their plan for a Cat-based charity program should they die on the job, admitting that while they still won't say they trust him, they "wouldn't mind being betrayed by him," which Yuma notes is effectively the same thing in different words.
• Too Much Alike: Surprisingly, Halara and Vivia share plenty in common, such as their stoicism, emotional distance, hidden combat capabilities, and anti-heroic tendencies, but with Halara being more openly compassionate than he is, yet more restricting and actively unwilling to let people talk with them beyond simple laziness, the two of them don't quite get along despite Halara seemingly admiring Vivia's capabilities as a detective.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Well, "food" might not be accurate since Halara has it for different reasons, and it's more of an accessory, but they are seen sucking on a small red lollipop most of the time. It even carries over to the game's opening movie sequence.
• Tranquil Fury: A particular case of this after Chief Yakou’s death. When Halara regets being unable to save him, they show an underlying rage regarding the WDO’s irresponsibility and the circumstances that led to said death, but attempt to conceal it behind their stoicism.
• Tsundere: Implied. In the "Fubuki's Luckiest Day" DLC, Halara blurts out that they see Desuhiko and Fubuki as friends, deciding to discuss Fubuki's time loop mystery with her informally. When they discover the culprit is the casino owner, Halara denies confronting him with the other two due to "not being given a formal request." However, once Desuhiko and Fubuki arrive at the casino, Halara joins them anyway on account of being the only one competent enough to form a plan, and willingly helps them out with a gambit exploiting Fubuki's time leaping ability.
• The Unfettered: Never make a deal with Halara, ever. They will absolutely refuse to accept the outcome if both sides don't do as they promised, and will try by any means necessary to make sure their side of the bargain has been upholded to their satisfaction. Anyone who they've interacted with can attest to this little detail. Halara's False Friend in the past is no exception to this rule; the two "agreed" to be each other's friend in a way, and because of Halara's desire to trust said "friend" being betrayed by the scamming incident from before, Halara actually used their actions as a basis to not trust anyone, showing that anyone is taking a risk by choosing to have Halara in any sort of relationship.
• Unreveal Angle: During certain moments in the game, Halara's 3D model usually has their face concealed, ambiguating the exact expression within the moment. The individual points this occurs in the main story are rather significant to their character; as listed:
  • In their very first lines when justifying Desuhiko's loss in the duo's gambling match (prologue).
  • When describing to Yuma their misanthropy/when Yuma informs them of his Coalescence the first time (Chapter 1).
  • A more subtle example, but when Halara criticizes Yomi Hellsmile's abusive behavior upon first meeting him at the end of Chapter 1, the hood of their raincoat precisely hides their facial expression. The hood also hides their face the same when when pointing out that the culprit of the Nail Man case died before accusation.
  • When saying their one and only voice line ("He doesn't intend on taking us seriously.") in the physical presence of Makoto Kagutsuchi who is the CEO of Amaterasu Corporation; they never meet him or speak to him again after that moment either (Chapter 3). In the above shot after, Halara's hood still conceals their face.
  • When reprimanding Vivia for his laziness when he refuses to use Spectral Projection to investigate the chapter's murder case (Chapter 4).
  • During Chief Yakou's actual death scene (Chaper 4).
  • While divulging about the restricted area's purpose (part of it) to the other detectives during the second meeting with "Number One" (Chapter 4).
  • At first, when they see "Number One" get blown up on the other end of the phone line to the WDO at the end of Chapter 4. Of course, that happened due to the meddling of the real Big Bad.
  • When placing their 1-shien coin down on Chief Yakou's desk in his honor (epilogue).
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: According to Halara's backstory, they did possess an openly accepting sense of optimism and trust in others, like one would expect from someone with a normal human outlook on life. However, after suffering from the deception of a False Friend during middle school, Halara became the bitter, emotionally distant individual seen in the present day, placing all the blame on themselves for trusting that friend with that optimism they had, though there are still shades of that optimistic self lying around.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Desuhiko. From the beginning of the story to the very end, Halara is shown to be especially fond of making connections with him, but demonstrates annoyance over his arrogant behavior, even in the epilogue, though jokingly.
• V-Sign: When leaving the detective agency at the beginning of Chapter 2, Halara performs the V-sign gesture as they take their leave.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: It is never established what Halara was doing during their absence at the beginning of Chapter 1, nor what information they gained regarding the Peacekeepers in Chapter 2.
• What Is Going On?: Following Chapter 1's Mystery Labyrinth, upon seeing the priest and worshipper die before them in front of everyone, right after bringing them over to the agency for Yuma to incriminate them, Halara is absolutely dumbfounded. Eventually, it's revealed the reason for this is because they forgot the Mystery Labyrinth's events, and therefore have zero idea that the soul reaping is what killed them.
  "What? What is this?"
• What the Hell, Hero?: Halara calls out the other detectives, as well as Number One, on their flaws multiple times. A moment that stands out in particular, however, is when Halara reprimands Vivia due to his refusal to use Astral Projection to investigate Dr. Huesca's murder despite his investigation skills; the moment is notable in that it is the one moment in the game where Halara not only expresses a deeper emotion in their voice, but also reacts with vulnerability to a situation, due to having been pushed to that point by the stresses of being trapped in the lab with their dying chief.
  "If no one else is willing to say it, then I will warn you. It's a sin to waste such a talent given to you. You are skilled as a detective... However, you lack the willpower to make use of it. Why is that? Are you afraid of something? Or perhaps you are laughing at the rest of us."
• Who's Laughing Now?: Halara's response to the priest's Mystery Phantom exposing himself as the Nail Man when Yuma bluffs him with the footprints found by the clocktower.
  "You gave yourself away."
• Willfully Weak: Halara is a frighteningly strong person for a detective, making one wonder where those skills come from. However, they only apply that strength to attack their opponents when absolutely necessary; at any other point in time, Halara completely holds this back.
• Workaholic: Implied, not directly stated to be the case, but Halara's fully devoted to their job as a detective to the point that it's almost concerning. By their own words, the reason they ask for so much extra money besides the cat charity is due to their expertise as a detective. They're also extremely devoted to the WDO and practically entrust their life to the organization, since they're also completely fine with dying on their given assignments, and as seen in Chapter 4, also entrust themselves to whoever they have to work under regardless of if their ulterior motives are as questionable as Yakou's were (wanting to take revenge against Amaterasu in his case).
• Would Rather Suffer: When trying to get Halara to open up about why they distrust people, if Yuma tries to threaten them to explain it with his cooking, Halara bluntly responds that they'd prefer leftovers over his cooking.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: They believe a true detective should be able to solve a case on their own. But not only is the main theme of the game that you can't do everything on your own, there's a big difference between solving a case and proving it. For reference, Halara has admitted that people have claimed their Postcognition is a hoax in the past. So even though they were able to solve the Nail Man killings just from casual observation of the crime scenes in the past, there was no way they'd be able to do anything about it without Yuma's access to the Mystery Labyrinth, even if the Peacekeepers weren't a bunch of corrupt assholes.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Halara's gambit against the casino owner in "Fubuki's Luckiest Day" exploits this gambit type. Halara proposes to the owner that the winning party has to roll seven first, and if Fubuki does so successfully, he has to confess his crimes regarding his scamming. By having Fubuki rewind time every fail, Halara is able to work out that the casino owner rigs the die to roll a seven each time, allowing him to cheat the game. Using that knowledge, Halara has Desuhiko disguise as the hired plant the owner attempted to kill to distract the owner, allowing them to shift the owner's die after a roll for him to lose against a seven from Fubuki, leading the owner to lose the bet.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Halara says this to Vivia in Chapter 4 when he refuses to investigate the murder case with his Spectral Projection, being utterly disappointed that he'd willingly waste his abilities when he could use them to save those in need.
• You Are Too Late: In a literal sense regarding Chapter 4, on the receiving end. Halara (and Vivia who was being dragged along as part of Yakou's plot just as much) arrives to meet up with the other detectives after Dr. Huesca and Yakou Furio have already been fatally injured in the research lab. This also means that Halara never meets Huesca when he's alive either. Halara's conclusive decision following their failure to arrive in time is to invoke a Plan B Resolution, offering that the detectives find the "best course of action", eventually leading them to using Vivia's Astral Projection to investigate the case.
• You Did Everything You Could: Says a variant of this when Fubuki regrets the WDO not sending support to Chief Yakou in order to prevent his death, advising her not to worry about it at that point.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!:
  • It's barely noticeable since it's out of camera shot, but when Vivia says that he doesn't want to explain "from above" due to not wanting to waste his words when he mentions he found out information of his own at the end of Chapter 3, even Halara is expressing their exasperation nonverbally, before firmly telling him to just say what he needs to if he's so unwilling to say anything more.
  • Halara's response to Desuhiko's "nominating himself as the next Number One", that being with a pensive sigh.
• You Owe Me: Says this verbatim whenever they remind Yuma of the five million shien and counting debt he owes Halara for their assistance in Chapter 1, among other things. It even leaks into the Gumshoe Gab, just to solidify Halara's desperation for the payment plan they arranged to actually be completed.

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