Rin

Overview

Gallery

Rin
Role	Main Character
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Status	Alive Deceased (Shiki's Route)
Relatives	Shiki (Half-Brother)
Aliases	Koat
Weapon	Stilettos (Daggers)
Abilities	Agility, Photography
Voice Actor	Jun Fukuyama/Hayato Kiryuuin
Height	Approx. 154 cm (~5'1")

Rin (リン) is one of the main characters in Togainu No Chi. He used to be a member of Bl@ster (Area Ghost) as the leader of the team Pesca Corsica.

Personality

Rin is mostly a happy go lucky type of guy; he is very cheerful and friendly. It is rare for Rin to not be in a good mood. However, he hides a darker, slightly malicious side which sometimes shows through.

Appearance

Rin is very short for his age and is noted to have a feminine appearance (he is initially described as "a petite girl, [with] golden hair, a delicate stature and slim arms and legs. ... Her large blue eyes were especially striking"), making some people believe he is a girl at first glance.

He wears a red plaid and black short sleeve shirt with long black sleeves underneath, matching shorts, and tall red boots with thick soles. He wears red belts around his wrists and neck, a three-pocketed fanny pack on his waist, and his Igura tag around his neck.

After the timeskip, Rin grows much taller and has longer hair. He dresses vaguely similar to Akira in a white trimmed fleece jacket and orange t-shirt, with brown pants. 

Abilities

• Knife skills - Rin is skilled with stilettos, a type of dagger, and other knives. He can duel wields his knives, and can also wield a katana.

• Photography - Rin is something of an amateur photographer. He loves to take pictures of people he meets, places in Toshima, and the corpses of those he kills in Igura. His actual skill level at it is unknown, but he's good enough to sell his photos as information to Motomi.

Relationships

Shiki - Rin always looked up to Shiki, and wanted to be like him, but Shiki never paid attention to him. Later on, he hates Shiki and wants nothing more than to kill him.

Motomi - Rin describes Motomi as being a "shady old man," but really the two are quite close and get along well despite some squabbles.

Akira - Rin initially likes Akira because he's attractive, and looks like a guy that Rin was once in love with. He comes to fall in love with Akira as well as the story progresses.

Keisuke - Rin affectionately teases Keisuke, but they're on good terms.  

Arbitro - Rin thinks Arbitro is creepy.

Kazui - He was someone on Rin's old Bl@ster team, whom Rin was in love with.

Tomoyuki - A former friend and teammate. Rin holds him at a distance, while Tomoyuki is angry but still concerned about Rin.

In the Game

History

Rin and Shiki were half-brothers, and they grew up together. Rin always looked up to Shiki, but Shiki never acknowledged him. In order to be more like him, Rin joined Bl@ster, forming the later infamous team Pesca Corsica. He ended up enjoying it as his own hobby with his close friends.

After not seeing Shiki for many years, the man suddenly appears, truly acknowledging Rin for the first time. Shiki asked him if he still liked stargazing, and in a haze of joy, Rin told him all about how his team's hideouts were excellent places to stargaze. Using the information Rin had let slip, Shiki laid an ambush for his teammates, killing almost all of them.

The death of his teammates and the guy that he had been in love with--Kazui--devastated Rin. Those who survived blamed Rin for what happened, and no matter how hard he tried to prove his innocence, they wouldn't believe him. He made it his goal to get revenge against Shiki, and ended up joining Igura for that purpose.

Common Route

While walking down the "Red Light District", Akira and Keisuke hear a noise. The player has the option to either turn around or ignore it, but either way, Rin will pop out and introduce himself. Akira and Keisuke immediately assume he is a young girl. He tells the two that they are trespassing on his territory and requests a traffic toll. Realizing Akira and Keisuke are new to Igura, he waves the toll on account of Akira's attractiveness.

When Akira informs him that Keisuke lacks a weapon, Rin generously gives Keisuke a folding knife, telling Akira he can pay him back "with his body." Keisuke becomes startled but Rin assures him he was simply joking. Rin then enthusiastically tells Keisuke to join Igura. They head off to the Palace; en route, Rin informs his new friends that the toll was made up.

While waiting for Keisuke to sign up, Akira and Rin run into Arbitro. After the Vischio leader leaves, Rin informs Akira that Arbitro is into owning slaves. Rin smacks Keisuke lightly on the back when Keisuke tells them he decided not to register. When the discussion shifts back to Arbitro's slaves, Rin leaves the Palace because it creeps him out.  After leaving the Palace, Rin calls Motomi on a landline phone to check his whereabouts. En route to Meal of Duty, the trio runs into the executioners and Kau, whose roles Rin briefly explains.

At Meal of Duty, Rin explains that the bar is a neutral zone, and introduces them to Motomi. He gives a photograph to Motomi and squabbles with him, before moving onto the subject of his pictures. The player has a choice for Akira to join Motomi in a picture or not, but regardless of the choice, an image is taken of Akira, Motomi, and Keisuke. Motomi and Rin explain Line, stating that he himself would never use it, and then leaves to get himself and Motomi drinks, taking longer than expected due to chatting with the bartender.

A sign of Rin's hidden darkness

Midday the next day, Akira and Keisuke return to their coffee shop to find Rin sitting on the floor taking pictures, surrounded by unconscious, burly men. Rin explains that he came over to warn the two not to stay in one place too long, but ran into the men entering the shop. While talking with Akira and Keisuke, Rin accidentally spills his photographs; among them is a picture of Shiki. Rin becomes extremely icy when Akira picks it up, a great contrast to his normal cheery demeanor, but quickly returns to his happy self and tells Akira that he got bumped into while taking the photograph and missed his target, so the photo isn't very good.

After Akira gets dragged off by Takeru, Rin suggests they go back to the Hotel, where Rin gives the duo five solids and two water bottles that he traded tags for. When Keisuke storms off, Rin tries to run after him but is stopped by Motomi, and becomes extremely upset. Later at the Hotel, in order to cheer Akira up, Rin shows him some of his pictures and they begin talking about Bl@ster. Rin explains that he fought in a team that disbanded, before Bl@ster became so organized. Akira notes that talking about the disbanding of his team must be a difficult subject for him due to his body language, but Rin says that talking about Bl@ster makes him feel happy. Rin then picks up Akira's dropped tags and suggests they go sleep in a corner under the stairs, noting the glassy look in Akira's eyes. The player can choose whether they want to stay with Rin or not; staying with him will most likely lead to his end.

His Route

When Akira wakes up from sleeping under the stairs, Rin has left. Akira notices Rin left a photograph of him sleeping behind, with "It's dangerous to trust people so easily. Watch out" written on the back. They meet up again after Akira fights Takeru in Meal of Duty, immediately assuming each other to be enemies. Rin hugs Akira upon realizing it's him, his unrecognizable blood lust evaporating. The petite boy then becomes furious when Akira tells him he threw away his bag, along with the solids and water Rin had traded for. After a brief conversation about the massacre at Meal of Duty, Rin tells Akira he wants to show him a special place. Before he can explain, he hears people running from Shiki, so he quickly jots down a note for Akira and tells him to meet him there the next night before running off.

Akira goes to sleep in an abandoned building, deciding to head for the hotel the next day. He gets caught up in an Igura match and wins, then runs into Keisuke, who's now acting completely different. Keisuke threatens him before leaving him alone. Akira then realizes it's the evening and quickly makes his way to the place Rin indicated on his note. Rin takes him up to the roof of a nearby building, and the two talk and look at the stars for awhile.

After explaining that he had seen Keisuke, but he had been acting completely different, he and Rin decide to go to the hotel. On the way there, Keisuke kidnaps Akira and takes him to the cafe where they first stayed. Keisuke threatens him some more and beats him up, but before he can do anything further, Rin comes, and Keisuke runs off. Akira and Rin finally make it to the hotel. Motomi shows up, and the two briefly explain the situation to him. Rin then tells Akira about another neutral zone--a movie theater--where they can search for information about Keisuke, and the two decide to go there.

When the two arrive at the movie theater, Rin notes that everyone seems more uptight than usual. They run into Tomoyuki, the guy in charge of the neutral zone, and someone who knew Rin in the past. Tomoyuki claims that Rin betrayed him, and the two argue. Eventually, Tomoyuki pointedly mentions that Shiki had been seen nearby, and Rin immediately runs off to find him. Once Rin is gone, Tomoyuki tells Akira not to trust Rin, telling him some details of his past; that it was Rin's fault their team members died, and that Rin is only sticking around with Akira because he looks like Kazui, the guy Rin was in love with. Akira is mostly annoyed by Tomoyuki, but his words unsettle him somewhat. Akira quickly leaves to chase after Rin.

When Akira catches up with Rin, he is fighting with Shiki and clearly losing. Akira tries to get them to stop, but it doesn't work, and Shiki eventually goes for the killing blow, which Akira deflects with his knife to protect Rin. Shiki backs off, smirking at the two of them, before leaving. Rin immediately turns his anger on Akira, questioning why he stopped him. Akira tells him he would have been killed otherwise, and Rin collapses to the ground, screaming and clutching at his hair, saying that he wishes that Shiki had killed him. He says he'll never forgive Shiki for what he did, then quickly turns on Akira and tells him that he'll never forgive him either before running off.

Akira decides to go to Rin's secret place to wait for him, and eventually Rin does show up. Rin apologizes for what he did, and asks Akira why he's not questioning him about anything. Akira replies that he heard the story from Tomoyuki already, but Rin presses him, so he eventually asks why Rin is so obsessed with Shiki. Rin is quiet for a moment before replying that he can't tell, and he quickly runs off again.

Akira sees Keisuke from the roof and goes to chase after him. He explains his feelings to Keisuke, but Keisuke still says that he hates him and wants to torture and kill him. The two fight, and Akira manages to pin Keisuke to the ground. Some of his blood gets in Keisuke's mouth, and Keisuke starts spasming, but manages to get up and run away.

Rin with his stilettos

Akira finds himself unable to will himself to move, and eventually Rin shows up. He's extremely worried about Akira, and also asks about Keisuke. He eventually notices there's a tag on the ground, and asks if it's Keisuke's, Akira picks it up, confirming that it is, and Rin quietly asks if it's his ace. Akira reluctantly tells him it is, sensing his change in demeanor. Rin then asks Akira about the two Jacks that he has. Rin tells Akira to give him his tags, threatening to kill him if he doesn't. The two begin fighting, and Rin tells Akira that his friendliness was all an act, and that Akira should've been more careful.

Rin explains that his reason for joining Igura was to get revenge for his dead friends, saying that they died because he made a mistake. Their fight continues, and eventually Akira manages to slice Rin's left thigh open, and Rin collapses to the ground. Akira pins him down, and Rin passes out shortly after. Akira picks Rin up and carries him to an abandoned building and wraps his wound with some curtains he finds. When Rin wakes up, Akira binds his hands and locks him in a small room, waiting for him to calm down before leaving to get first aid supplies. Upon returning, he finds that Rin has a fever, and has to give him water mouth-to-mouth while Rin is unconscious. Akira continues to care for Rin until his fever goes down.

Rin starts talking calmly with Akira, revealing that he and Shiki are half-brothers. He tells Akira the story of how his friends were killed--he had always looked up to Shiki, so when Shiki finally paid attention to him, he was overwhelmed with happiness and let some of his team's secrets slip. Shiki had been hired by an organization to kill them, and he used that information to do so. Akira asks him about Kazui, and Rin admits that he was in love with him. Rin becomes angry, so Akira decides to leave him alone.

Shortly after, Akira sees Motomi from the window and runs out to talk to him. Motomi tells him that Keisuke's been seen stumbling around, covered in blood, and Akira confides what he knows. Motomi warns him that civil war is about to break out between the CFC and Nikkouren, and that he's securing a route out of Toshima. He tells Akira to stay safe until then before departing. Akira decides to rid himself of the communications device given to him by Emma.

While Akira is asleep, Rin steals his tags and escapes. Realizing this, Akira immediately heads for the Palace. People are gathering there to watch the pre-show for an upcoming match against Il Re. Akira is unsure what to do once he arrives, but one of the guards finds and escorts him to a room and tells him to wait. Arbitro arrives and tells Akira that the room is a waiting room for those challenging Il Re, and that he had pulled Akira here to make him an offer. Rin had arrived with the necessary tags to challenge Il Re, but Arbitro was "concerned" about his current state of health. Someone informed him that Akira had been caring for Rin, and so he decided to offer Akira the chance to fight in his place. Akira agrees to fight in Rin's place. Arbitro reveals that it was Tomoyuki who informed him of the situation, before leaving Akira alone again.

Akira finally goes in to the coliseum to challenge Il Re, who is revealed to be Shiki. Rin is escorted into the stadium by Arbitro's guards; he's angry that Akira is taking his place. Arbitro decides to make Rin and Akira fight for the right to challenge Il Re, and both men are distraught. Akira eventually decides to just attack Shiki head on, but before he can do so, part of the stadium blows up. Akira protects Rin, who passes out, and quickly picks him up. Motomi appears and leads them out one of the gates and into a manhole. They walk some distance before coming out on the other side into a small room.

Motomi tells him that the civil war has started, and that full-blown war could break out very soon. He says he's going to get fake volunteer IDs for the three of them so they can escape Toshima with Nikkouren, and that if he's not back in two days, to take Rin and move elsewhere.

When night falls, Rin wakes up, immediately questioning where Shiki is. He's still angry. As he's yelling, Akira slaps him, which only makes him more upset. He punches Akira in the face before pinning him to the ground. Rin demands to know why he still tried to save him even though he had betrayed him and tried to kill him, and eventually Akira asks him if he's afraid to trust people. Rin is still angry, so Akira pulls him closer, which prompts Rin to "prove he's not worth trying to save."

Rin starts coming onto Akira, telling him that he had loved Kazui in that way and that he wouldn't have any problems using Akira as his substitute since they look the same. Akira wants to push him away, but he can tell that Rin is only waiting to be crushed by that rejection, so he allows Rin to continue. After a few minutes, Akira gets him to stop, promising that he would never betray him. Rin angrily demands some proof of this, and when Akira says there's nothing he can do to prove it, Rin tells him that if he ever betrays him, he'll kill him without hesitation. Akira says that's fine with him, which finally causes Rin's anger to subside. The two have sex, and quickly fall asleep.

When they awake, Akira explains where Motomi went to Rin, and Rin tells him that though he's happy, he still has to go after Shiki. The two briefly talk before exchanging goodbyes, and Rin runs off. Motomi shows up later, questioning Akira on Rin's whereabouts. Akira hesitantly tells him he left. After talking briefly, Motomi and Akira head out to leave Toshima.

Elsewhere in Toshima, Rin has located Shiki on an old abandoned highway. The two talk, Rin remembering all that Shiki had done to him, and Rin tells Shiki that he cannot rest until one of them dies. Shiki gives him a katana to match his own, and assumes a battle stance. Rin suddenly realizes that Shiki's right arm is wounded, and Shiki tells him "he'd need about this much of a handicap." The two begin fighting.

Motomi and Akira successfully escape Toshima, and the civil war breaks out shortly thereafter. It lasts for about two years, Nikkouren crushing the CFC and taking control of Japan. Under their control, Japan starts to revive.

Older Rin in his ending

Three years later, five years after Rin and Akira parted, Akira is waiting to watch a Bl@ster match when he suddenly feels a presence behind him. When he turns, he finds Rin, now looking much older and carrying a katana. Akira finds himself unable to speak, but Rin assures him that he is not a ghost, and mentions that he lost his leg in his fight with Shiki. Akira questions about Shiki, but Rin simply tells him that the fact that he is standing there now is his answer.

Rin gives the katana he's holding--his brother's--to Akira, telling him he wants him to keep it as a memento, and that handing it to him will mean that everything is finally over. After some brief hesitation, Akira accepts the sword. Akira thinks about how this is also an end for him, and how they are now starting something new together.

Shiki's Route

During Shiki's route, while Akira is being held hostage by him, Shiki returns one day carrying Rin's stilettos. Shiki seems somewhat melancholy in his own way. The implication is that the two fought, and Rin lost and was killed by Shiki. Shiki later states "I cut down my own flesh and blood" in his search for more power.

Other Routes

Rin's fate is largely unknown in the other routes.

In the Anime

Rin's first appearance in the anime

Rin first appears in the second episode. He initially waylays Akira and Keisuke as an enemy, but he quickly changes his mind and decides to help Akira and Keisuke. He tells them how Toshima operates and introduces them to Motomi, an information collector.

Rin collects tags that he finds or earns, and throughout the anime he is able to purchase many things with tags. He buys some solids, water, and canned drinks to give the four of them a special moment in episode 4, as they watch the sunset on the rooftop Rin discovered has an amazing view of the city. 

He confronts Shiki twice in the anime: first in episode 8, which includes a flashback to Rin's past with Kazui and Pesca Corsica, and again in episode 10, after he's stolen Akira's tag and challenged Il Re in the coliseum. 

Rin's fate in the anime differs from the game. Rin does not kill Shiki after being injured, and he, Motomi and Akira escape the city together. After a time skip in the final episode, Akira visits a slightly older Rin in the hospital - it is unclear whether or not Rin lost his leg, but he's expected to recover soon. In his last scene, he reminds Akira of their promise and threatens to kill Akira if he's betrayed.  

In the Manga

Rin’s role in the manga is very similar to that of the other adaptions: he helps Akira and Keisuke, hangs out with Motomi, and continues to chase after any word of Shiki. Rin is used to explain how the city operates, and the first chapter introduces Rin before Akira. He meets up with Motomi at an Igura battle, and learns of a strange newcomer that turns out to be Akira.

Rin does have a unique manga subplot with the new Pesca Corsica, which was reformed by Tomoyuki and entered into Igura. Word of Rin’s “betrayal” appears as early as chapter 2, as two men harass Rin and mention his former team. They appear to be a part of Tomoyuki’s new group, as they mention Tomoyuki by name when Rin tells them to go home. Tomoyuki and Rin briefly meet and talk in chapter 5.  

In chapter 10, Rin stargazes on a rooftop. He talks to the stars, looks at pictures of both Akira and Kazui, and thinks about how many tags he needs. On the streets, he encounters Nano and briefly clashes with him. Rin shocked by how Nano is actually faster than him.

The new Pesca Corsica is eventually slaughtered by Takeru on 50% Line. When Rin gets word of this in chapter 11, he runs to check on them in spite of Keisuke's warnings about Pesca Corsica's brutal reputation. Rin is horrified when he sees the massacre, and identifies two of the bodies by name. When asked, Rin says they'd only "chatted once, a long time ago." He needs Akira to snap him out of his shock before they can escape, and as Akira yells at him to go, Rin calls Akira by Kazui's name in his head. The Hotel was also attacked by Takeru, and when they return, Rin discovers the body of a different information broker he was friendly with. These deaths hit Rin hard, and he ends up lashing out against Keisuke on the topic of family in chapter 12. 

In chapter 19, a wounded Rin takes shelter in the movie theater, and he and Tomoyuki talk about how there's no one else left of their old team. Rin later disappears from the theater without warning. As in the game and anime, Rin eventually steals Akira's tags to challenge Il Re. Arbitro has Rin imprisoned until the fight, and Rin breaks down as he waits. 

Trivia

• Rin's height is not mentioned in the game, but it is listed in one of the official True Blood books and in the manga as being approximately 154cm.
• Rin's age is not given anywhere (even approximately).
• Rin's citizen number is 11302-KM-1456, according to his CD drama.
• Rin and Shiki are half-brothers, sharing the same father.
• Rin loses his left leg in his fight with Shiki. He wears a prosthetic after that.