 Haruko often appears at matches together with Sakuragi's cohorts and her two best friends, Fujii and Matsui.She, like most girls in Shohoku, only has eyes for Rukawa, although he is unaware of her feelings towards him.Haruko was responsible for uncovering Sakuragi's athletic talent after seeing him try to dunk a ball at her request - she was impressed by the height of his jump and considered him good enough to join the team.