Rin

Rin (リン) is a supporting character in the original series. Her earliest memory of her childhood is her family being slaughtered before her eyes. Shocked by the tragedy, she was unable to talk and helped her local village by taking care of prisoners. When Bat and the "water thief" Kenshiro are thrown into jail, Rin watches over them. Once Kenshiro learns her past, he unlocks pressure points around her head to allow her to talk again. Like Bat, she chooses to follow Kenshiro in his travels. She has a strong sense of clairvoyance and a maternal sense of protection in spite of her age.

She eventually grows into adulthood as a freedom fighter against the oppressive Celestial Emperor army. In memory of Kenshiro, they dub their group the "Hokuto Army". She has romantic feelings for both Kenshiro and Bat.

During their fight against their adversaries, Rin learns she is a descendant of the Celestial Emperor bloodline, a family which rules over the Hokuto, Nanto, and Gento constellations. She reunites with her sister, Rui, and seeks to restore peace with Jako's defeat. Before they can celebrate, Rin is suddenly kidnapped and eventually held prisoner within Shura by Kaioh. Kenshiro and Bat embark on a tiring quest to save her. Although Kenshiro eventually defeats Kaioh, the latter presses one of Rin's destructive points to put her in a temporary coma, after which she will fall in love with the first man she sees. Thanks to the sacrifice of Hyou, Bat is able to retrieve Rin and bring her to Kenshiro, believing that Rin will return to normal if she sees the man she loved before Kaioh pressed her destructive point. However, Kenshiro leaves Rin with Bat as she awakens, having realized that the latter is a better match for the girl he sees as a younger sister.

In the final story arc of the series, Rin and Bat are set to be married when the latter suddenly turns on her, declaring that she only loves him because of Kaioh's manipulation. To rectify this, Bat uses his knowledge of pressure points to wipe Rin's memory and sets out in search of Kenshiro. Coincidentally, Kenshiro himself is suffering from amnesia after being struck by lightning, and Bat uses the opportunity to try and spark a relationship between Kenshiro and Rin. However, the threat of Bolge gives Bat the idea to pass himself off as Kenshiro, only for the real Kenshiro to regain his memories and defeat the thug. Seeing Bat near death from Bolge's torture is enough for Rin to regain her own memories and proclaim her genuine love for Bat. As she stands vigil over Bat's body, their adventures with Kenshiro come to a heart heavy end as he leaves them with a last gift before his departure to keep them safe from the unending chaos of Hokuto Shinken, discovering that he had surreptitiously healed Bat from the brink of death for the two to properly be together in the new peace they properly made.

Quotes

 * "It will be an honor to die on the battlefield!"

Fighting Style
Rin does not fight with her fists throughout the series. Her pacific rational, however, is capable of calming some of her obstinate opponents. As she matures, Rin learns to defend herself with a crossbow, grenades, and basic kicks if necessary.

Hisashi Koinuma more or less accepts her as the Yuria figure of the second arc. He thinks of her as a weaker version of Mamiya.