Yuka Miyaike

Yuka Miyaike (, Miyaike Yūka), formerly Yuka Tajima (, Tajima Yūka), is the older sister of Yukine and daughter of Naomichi Tajima.

Appearance
Yuka is a middle-aged woman with a bob cut. According to the Stray, she and Yukine have the same pale eye color.

Personality
Yuka is a caring, somewhat meek individual. She holds deep guilt about abandoning her younger brother, Haruki.

History
Yuka's father was extremely strict about her and Haruki's studies. He wanted them to get a scholarship for college studies, and threatened to kill them if they didn't. He was generally violent with them throughout their childhood, while their mother seemed to pretend that his behavior was normal. When Yuka realized how abnormal her father's behavior actually was, she intended to commit suicide by jumping down from a steep hill. However, Haruki stopped her by physically holding her back, and told her to run toward the future. Yuka at first thought that was a foolish thing to say, but decided to try.

She later convinced their mother to divorce Naomichi, and demanded that he sign the papers. He begrudgingly agreed, on the condition that one of the children would have to stay with him and would never see the other two again. Yuka and Haruki played rock paper scissors to decide (the winner would have to stay behind); Yuka threw rock and Haruki threw paper, making Haruki the "winner". Yuka began to cry, thinking that she should be the one to stay. However, it seems she wasn't able to say this out loud, and she ended up being the one who got to leave with their mother. Afterwards, she sent innocuous letters to Haruki, but stopped when they were all sent back to her. She has not had contact with Haruki since.

Volume 2 (5)
Chapter 5: Yuka appears briefly in a fragment of Yukine's memories after he escapes a group of ayakashi. While Yukine wakes up, Yuka's figure is leaning over him, asking if he's okay. As Yukine awakens fully, Yuka is replaced by Hiyori in a similar position.

Volume 22 (87)
Chapter 87: Yuka appears in the memory of a barber who used to play with the Tajima siblings when he was a child. According to him, Yuka and Haruki were very close, and were almost always together.

Volume 23 (90 - 91)
Chapter 90: The Stray and Hiyori go to Yuka's house in search of Yukine, and so that Hiyori can deliver her the letter that Haruki had intended to send her before he died. However, no one is home. They go onto her property, and the Stray kills a masked ayakashi that was left in the living room. Hiyori suggests that they check the return address on the letter. But before they can leave, Yuka arrives home and questions what they were doing at her house. Hiyori confirms that she is Yuka Miyaike, and then asks if she knows Haruki. Yuka begins to cry, having mistakenly assumed that Haruki is still alive and that the two of them are his daughters.

Yuka later appears in Yukine's flashback. When a patron in a restaurant yells "What's wrong with you?!" at a waitress, Yukine recalls Naomichi saying the same thing to him and Yuka. It is then implied that Naomichi had thrown the ash tray at Yuka's head, and she expresses relief that he didn't hit Haru as well.

Chapter 91: After Hiyori collapses, Yuka brings the two girls inside, providing Hiyori a futon to rest in. Meanwhile, she offers dinner to the Stray, mentioning that she never thought she would get to have dinner with Haruki's daughters. This time, the Stray corrects her, saying that they are not his children, and gives Yuka the letter. Yuka does not read it right away. Instead, she questions why the Stray brought her the letter. The Stray tells her that she felt she owed it to Haruki, since he did her many favors in the past, including playing games with her, studying with her, and making her yakisoba. Yuka assumes that Haruki was her teacher, but the Stray clarifies that Yukine is actually unemployed. Yuka is visibly concerned by that, possibly because of her upbringing under their father, Tajima Naomichi. Yuka then tells the story of how their family split, introducing a flashback of events. (See History section.)

After the flashback ends, Yuka tells the Stray that she was unable to take Haruki's place and stay with their father, even though she was the elder sibling. the Stray says that her guilt over abandoning her brother is the reason why she can't bring herself to read the letter now; Yuka confirms this. She then retrieves a box containing all the letters she'd ever sent to Haruki, and explains that one day Naomichi sent them all back to her, torn up. She only ever wrote about harmless and casual things, in the hopes that they wouldn't get Haruki punished by their father. However, she acknowledges that doing that probably hurt Haruki, and regrets that she was never able to communicate her true feelings to him. She doesn't believe that Haruki ever forgave her, and suspects that he may have actually been the one to rip the letters up and return them to her. Yuka believes that she, her mother, and every other person in Haruki's life who didn't do anything to help him are deserving of his judgement. This transitions the story back to Hagusa's activities.

Volume 24 (93)
Chapter 93: Yuka stands in her house's backyard as she finally opens Haruki's letter and begins to read it.

Volume 25 (99)
Chapter 99: [TBA]

Season 1
Episode 2: In the anime, Yuka appears very briefly. After Yato names Yukine, a sequence of images are shown which offer small details into Yukine's past life. Yuka is shown standing in the distance and looking over her shoulder. She carries a bag in one hand. The woman next to her– presumably, her mother– carries a bag and suitcase.

Trivia

 * It is unspecified whether Miyaike is the surname of Yuka's spouse or their mother's maiden name. However, since Yuka has not been shown to wear a wedding band, it is more likely to be the latter.