Riku

Riku's History

Riku (理リ玖ク) is a character in Hanyō no Yashahime. He is a mysterious young pirate and the financier of Shikabaneya, a demon bounty-hunting business owned by Jyūbei, the corpse dealer. In truth however, he is also a retainer and the first daiyōkai incarnation of the qilin daiyōkai Lord of the Eastern Lands Kirinmaru and his older sister Zero. Seeking to return the Rainbow Pearls to his madam Zero, he secretly manipulates the three half-demon princesses into eliminating the Four Perils for him. As time passes, Riku develops a strong interest in Towa Higurashi, the hanyō daughter of Sesshōmaru and Rin. As his fascination with Towa grows, Riku comes to fall in love with her, causing him to be an occasional ally of both her and her family as they seek to defeat his former master.

Riku was born around 600 years ago from Kirinmaru's left horn after it was broken off during a battle between Tōga and Kirinmaru. After his creation, he was raised by the demon lord's older sister Zero while also becoming his creator's most trusted servant, he heard to dispatch the arm because the bugs seek demon energy are such a nuisance, then he ask where to dispose it, and Zero answered the Bone-Eater's Well at Musashi Province. When Kirinmaru received word that his rival Tōga, the dog-demon ruler of the Western Lands, had received fatal injuries during an epic battle with the dragon-yōkai Ryūkotsusei, he tasked Riku with gathering medicine: the medicinal herbs to save him before his impending death to heal his wounds from the battle with Ryūkotsusei. Though Riku managed to acquire the medicinal herbs needed to save Tōga's life, he arrived too late; the Great Dog Demon having sacrificed his life to save his human lover Izayoi and their half-demon son Inuyasha in a final battle with the human samurai lord Takemaru of Setsuna. By the time Riku arrived, Izayoi's mansion was already set ablaze as the villagers witnessed saw across the lake, and Tōga and Takemaru are dead inside, which means that he realized that he was too late. When Riku delivered news of Tōga's death to Zero, who was secretly in love with her brother's rival, she was so overcome with grief that she made a desperate wish upon the sacred Shikon no Tama to be rid of her grief forever. Watching her as she made this wish, Riku would witness the creation of the seven Rainbow Pearls, which contained Zero's lost emotions within them.[1]

Sometime later, Riku became a pirate though he set a standard of never robbing women, children, or those in need. While it's not known when he first met Jyūbei, he became his patron and the main financier and client of his demon bounty hunting business, gaining his respect and loyalty by using his powers to reward him with much wealth.