Yumi Raijin

Overview

Royal knight of Hikari, heir to the Raijin family, and the woman who taught the Lord of the Tower the way of the sword. Ryuji and Haruka's mother.

History

Long silky cyan hair and ocean-blue eyes. Heir to the legendary Raijin family, whose dual-wielding discipline — katana and wakizashi — is reputed the fastest swordsmanship on the continent, and whose masters cross ground as streaks of cyan lightning.

She arrived at the Tower on a storm-lashed night, dragging her dying lady behind her, pursued by assassins sent by Arata Hikari. She begged the Lord for help and offered anything in exchange. He took her life in service, and she immediately began planning her escape.

She stayed six months. In that time she rebuilt herself in the training field, carved a wooden flute from a branch broken in their first duel, and taught Shun the formal way of the sword he had never been given. The Lullaby of Haru — a Hikari prayer for the safe return of soldiers — became theirs.

Satomi left in the night rather than let her keep bleeding for the crown, and asked Shun to keep her. Yumi went after her anyway, arrived in time to cut down the assassins at the Battle of a Thousand Shadows, and was nearly killed by Arata for it.

She married Shun, learned the full terms of his oath, and raised two children with him for sixteen years. She died in the courtyard of the Tower, killed by her son's curse. Her last words were that he had returned to her. She is buried beneath the grand tree where their love began.

Refuge at the Tower

Yumi is the cyan-haired heir of the Raijin family, a Royal Knight of Hikari and Satomi Hikari's chosen protector. She reaches the Tower while carrying the dying princess and pursued by Arata Hikari's assassins. Shun Sato saves Satomi but claims Yumi's life in service as payment. Yumi initially regards the arrangement as imprisonment and plans to escape.

Over six months, training and music change that relationship. Yumi's dual-sword Raijin discipline gives structure to Shun's self-taught style. She carves a flute from a branch broken in their first duel and plays the Lullaby of Haru beneath the Grand Tree. Satomi eventually leaves rather than allow Yumi to sacrifice her life, but Yumi pursues her and enters the Battle of a Thousand Shadows. Shun's intervention saves them and triggers his second transgression.

Lady of the Tower

After Shun returns broken from the Demon Realm, Yumi accepts his confession that the Reincarnation Curse is killing him. Their vows bind them to face his uncertain future together. Shun presents her to the inner circle and reserves the chair to his left for the newly appointed Lady of the Tower.

Yumi and Shun later marry and have Ryuji Sato and Haruka Sato. Shun tells her the exact terms of the Unbreakable Oath, and the knowledge makes her an equally severe participant in Ryuji's preparation. She loves the boy but cannot tell him why his training is harsher than Haruka's.

Death and legacy

Ryuji's curse awakens during a lesson and transforms his tail into a black, spiked spear. Yumi refuses to retreat and tries to reach her son through the corruption. The tail pierces her chest. Her last conscious act is to touch his face, recognize his return to himself, and tell him not to accept blame. She is buried under the Grand Tree where her relationship with Shun began.

Yumi's death destroys the secrecy that was meant to protect the family. Ryuji leaves, Shun collapses into grief, and the household divides its efforts between Haruka, the grave and the absent heir. Her role in Volume II is therefore not limited to romance: she is the moral centre whose loss turns the oath and inherited curse into an immediate family crisis.