Yumi Sawamura (30 June 1971-December 2005), also known as Mizuki Sawamura, was a Japanese woman who owned the Ares bar atop the Millennium Tower in Kabukicho, Tokyo during the 2000s.
Biography[]
Yumi in 1995
Yumi Sawamura was born in Tokyo, Japan on 30 June 1971, and she was orphaned when her parents were accidentally killed in the crossfire of a yakuza shootout; she was raised by her parents' killer Shintaro Kazama in Sunflower Orphanage. She was raised alongside Kazuma Kiryu and Akira Nishikiyama, and she came to develop feelings for Kiryu while not returning Nishikiyama's affection. In 1990, she began working as a hostess at Reina Tsuru's Serena Executive Lounge in Kabukicho, Tokyo, a bar which was frequented by Kiryu and Nishikiyama after they followed in Kazama's footsteps by joining the Tojo-kai yakuza clan. Sawamura was great friends with Kiryu, Nishikiyama, and Reina for several years, but, on 1 October 1995, she was kidnapped and raped by Kiryu's patriarch Sohei Dojima, suffering from trauma-induced memory loss as a result. Nishikiyama avenged her by shooting Dojima dead, but, as Nishikiyama's sister was about to undergo her final cancer treatment, Kiryu decided to take the fall for Nishikiyama to allow Nishikiyama to be there for his dying sister.
Yumi looking at photos from the past
The day after being admitted to the hospital, Yumi ran away and disappeared, returning to Sunflower. Sunflower contacted Kazama, who agreed to take Yumi in, and he tried to help her regain her memory by showing her photographs from the past. Yumi reviewed the photos and recognized Kiryu, although she didn't remember his name; when she saw a photo of Nishikiyama, it scared her, as she continued to have deja vu surrounding the events of the night of Dojima's murder, such as the sounds of lightning and rain. It was because of Yumi's adverse reaction to Nishikiyama's photo that Kazama realized that it was Nishikiyama, and not Kiryu, who shot Patriarch Dojima.
Kyohei Jingu, Yumi Sawamura, and Haruka Sawamura
Kazama continued to give refuge to Yumi until she fell in love with Tojo Clan chairman Masaru Sera's political ally Kyohei Jingu, who frequently visited the Tojo Clan headquarters and, while there, met Yumi. Kazama reluctantly gave his blessing for their budding romance, as he believed that Jingu could fill the hole in Yumi's heart and also enable her to live a life away from organized crime. The two entered into a relationship which produced a daughter, Haruka Sawamura, but Jingu gradually grew more ambitious as he rose in the ranks of the LDP. Jingu later received a proposal to marry the Prime Minister's daughter, and, as Yumi and Jingu were not yet married, Yumi stood down and took care of her daughter with Kazama's help.
A portrait of Mizuki at Ares
One day, Jingu killed an investigative reporter in a fit of rage after the reporter discovered Jingu's former relationship with Yumi and his secret daughter and attempted to blackmail him; Jingu had Sera help him bury the journalist's body. However, Sera - blinded by ambition - also requested that Sera help him kill Yumi and Haruka to tie up loose ends and protect his rise to power. Sera, hoping to maintain his political connections, reluctantly agreed to Sera's request, and Sera sent a hitman, Rintaro Akanishi, to kill Yumi and Haruka as they slept; Sera himself supervised the hit attempt from a dark corner of the room. However, Kazama found out about the assassination plot and personally traveled to the house, shooting Akanishi in the hand and confronting Sera about his willingness to sacrifice a woman and child to fulfill a promise he had made to Jingu. Seeing a gunshot go off in front of her led to Yumi recalling the events of 1 October 1995. Kazama, fearing that Jingu would again try to assassinate Yumi and Haruka, hired Ruka Akiba (the Mama of JeweL, better known as "the Forger") to forge a new identity and family for Yumi, who posed as "Mizuki Sawamura", the estranged sister of Yumi; at the same time, he had Haruka sent to Sunshine Orphanage.
As Mizuki, Yumi worked at Serena for a few years before being given ownership of a rooftop bar, Ares, at the top of the Millennium Tower in Kabukicho, by Kazama, who provided her with a livelihood. Yumi also changed her hairstyle, her style of dress, and got a "Queen of the Night" lotus tattoo on her chest that symbolized her love for Kiryu. She frequently visited Haruka at Sunflower, pretending to be her "Aunt Yumi" while visiting her and delivering her letters from "Mizuki". In December 2005, she volunteered to help Kazama and Sera steal ¥10 billion in Jingu's laundered money from the Tojo Clan bank with the ultimate objective of revealing Jingu's corruption and sabotaging his political rise to power, but, on 4 December 2005, Sera was murdered by Nishikiyama, who had become determined to achieve his ambitions at all costs as patriarch of the Nishikiyama-gumi, and who was tipped off about the ¥10 billion's theft by Jingu, who made it believe that the money had come from the Tojo Clan captains' hard work and was stolen under Sera's watch.
Death[]
Yumi embracing Kiryu
Yumi went missing again after the ¥10 billion heist and Kiryu's release from prison, but Kiryu was able to track her down to Ares after Kazama's death. There, Yumi was reunited with Kiryu and Haruka, and she admitted her feelings for Kiryu, who also confessed that he had loved her for many years, but was afraid to tell her. However, both Jingu and Nishikiyama arrived to claim the ¥10 billion for themselves, with Yumi and Kiryu confronting Jingu and his MIA agents before Yumi threatened to blow up the yen as she walked to safety inside the bar; Kiryu proceeded to take down Jingu and his MIA team. Nishikiyama arrived shortly after, and, while confronting Kiryu and Yumi over the ¥10 billion hidden in Ares' vault, he also admitted that part of his resentment towards Kiryu was because Yumi loved Kiryu and didn't give him a second look. Yumi criticized Nishikiyama for his change of personality, and he and Kiryu fought until Kiryu beat him down. After this, Yumi opened the vault containing the ¥10 billion and set up the suitcase bomb, intent on destroying Jingu's money and putting an end to the crisis.
Yumi taking a bullet for Kiryu
Just then, Jingu staggered into Ares and shot Kiryu in the leg, and he then prepared to shoot Kiryu in the leg. Haruka stood in front of Kiryu, hoping to absorb Jingu's second bullet, but Yumi stepped in front of Haruka and Kiryu and took the bullet in the abdomen. Nishikiyama proceeded to get up from the ground, stab Jingu in the abdomen, shoved him into the vault, and shot the suitcase bomb, killing himself and Jingu and destroying the ¥10 billion. Yumi spent her last moments in Kiryu's arms, where Kiryu confessed his affection for her, and Yumi's last words were to tell her daughter not to run away from her problems, but to face them. Yumi's death left Kiryu in a suicidal mood, but Detective Makoto Date persuaded Kiryu that he had something to live for, as he had to protect Haruka.