Rion

was a supporting character in Hanyō no Yashahime’s second season. She was the only daughter of Kirinmaru the Beast King of the East, and the niece of Zero. Six centuries ago, she was used as leverage against her father and was killed by a vengeful half-demon named Sakasa, after which her spiritual essence was kept bound to the mortal plane at Mount Musubi by her overprotective father.

Early Life
Ever since she was a young age, Rion had accompanied her father when he was fighting strong enemies that came to challenge him, human and demon alike. He took her around the world to places like, the in the ,  in , the  in  and many other places, much to her delight. On one occasion, she watched as Tōga the Beast King of the West defeated her father by cutting off his left horn and right arm in a ferocious battle. This made her see the ugliness of fighting at a young age. Tōga, not wanting to kill her father in front of her decided to spare her father and warn him to "never bring a child to the battlefield."

After the battle, they returned to the ship where she witnessed her father creating his first incarnation Riku from his severed left horn. Not too long after, Rion and Zero accompanied Kirinmaru as he slaughtered an entire kingdom and killed a samurai who tried to kill him by the orders of. Rion was hiding behind Zero and clutching her robes when a vengeful Sakasa, bent on avenging his master's death grabbed her and held his sword to her neck. Kirinmaru effortlessly decapitated Sakasa, but Sakasa was a half-demon, who could still control his headless body, and stabbed Rion through the chest, killing her instantly in revenge. Unable to accept her death, Kirinmaru bound his late daughter's spirit to a clay doll made out of her bones and grave soil, and sealed her inside Mount Musubi's strong shield to keep her from passing on to either, the or the. Furthermore, he forced her to frequently meet with him in his dreams via a Dream Butterfly.

Befriending the Half-Demon Princesses
For the next six centuries, her essence had been secretly forced to remain on the earthly plane and placed in a deep sleep on the shielded demon mountain Musubi at the behest of her own father. Her father forged a connection using the Dream Butterfly to communicate with her. Once finally awakening, she meets Moroha as she ask to take her away from the place, and later befriends the Half-Demon Princesses and gifts Towa with her mystical Star-Slicer Flute- by willingly presenting the half-cousins with a mystical demonic Kyūyōkon Root that she had held in her possession for many, many years after she dismantled the barrier. She asks the girls to put a stop to his plan to alter time and requested to join them on their journey. But when a Demon Spirit Beast came, she told Towa to play the Star-Slicer Flute, and it turned into a fully demonic-empowered weapon- the sword Zanseiken. She saw that Towa used her Twin Azure Dragon Wave attack to defeat it.

After that, she left the mountain with them as she rode on Towa's back, until she had a first meeting with Towa and Setsuna's father Sesshōmaru and his vassal Jaken. She was surprised to see the Dream Butterfly out of Setsuna, after which Sesshomaru uses the Tenseiga to cut it to make her choice. She and the others learned from Jaken that the Dream Butterfly that had possessed Setsuna was delivering sleep and dreams to Towa's and Setsuna's mother Rin, to kept her alive by holding the Silver Scale Curse in check (a curse placed by her aunt Zero). Sesshōmaru tells Setsuna that if he were to cut it down, Setsuna will regain the ability to sleep, but also Rin will covered by Silver Scale Curse and soon die, which makes her mouth open wide and Towa, surprised by the turn of events, said "No."

Setsuna said "Cut it down. I will save her." So Sesshōmaru cut her Dream Butterfly and tells her that it is up to her to save Rin now, and they leave. As they head back to Kaede's village with Rion, Towa sees Riku on the corpses of oni he had slain to buy time for the princesses. Rion ran to him and hugged him, asking him how he has been doing. Riku was about to answer but he turned away because of the look of her father from him. Rion, along with Setsuna and Moroha were surprised that Towa shouts to Riku to gives the message to Kirinmaru back at his ship. After that, Riku summoned a boat and took Rion with him as she waves to the Half-Demon Princesses, saying she will see them again.

Meeting with Aunt Zero
She converses with her aunt Zero via her crystal ball and tells her how Setsuna had cut her thread of fate tying her to her father, and had given her Zanseiken to Towa. She asks Aunt Zero for her assistance in stopping her father from bringing forth the Degenerate Age by traversing time but fails. She reluctantly gives her aunt's message to Riku, and the two go to reunite with Towa.

Traveling with Towa
Upon meeting up with Sesshōmaru's eldest twin daughter, she warns Towa of her aunt Zero's threat on her life. When riding on Towa's bike, she told the Half-Demon Princess what an amazing individual she is and that she is the light of hope for her and Riku. Upon confronting her father, she firmly told the rogue beast king that the ancient infinitely powerful Windmill of Time no longer favored a being such as him and that his time, like hers, was over. She watched concerned as Towa wielded the legendary Zanseiken, ready to fight Kirinmaru one-on-one. Rion was surprised when she noticed that the wheel on the bike was now spinning, telling Riku that she could not detect any presence whatsoever. She was surprised when her father sheathed his own weapon, Bakuseiken, and decided to leave them be until they met again.

As night fell, she was surprised upon seeing Towa's silver-white hair suddenly turn black and shoulder-length, to which Riku assured her that it is just the night of the new moon. She then tells Towa about Riku having been the left horn of her father's that was broken off, unaware that Riku had been planning to tell her himself and apologized. When the trio were swarmed with glowing butterflies, she was pushed out of the way by Towa as the half dog-demon girl was teleported away by Zero. Having followed the scent of Towa's lavender hand lotion, Rion begged her aunt to stop hurting Towa. She pleaded with Towa not to tap into her inner fury and demonic form, but to no avail. She was shocked when the thoroughly enraged demonic Towa knocked Riku back using her demonic energy blade. Witnessing her aunt's new understanding, Rion pleaded with her to help put a stop to Kirinmaru's vile ambition to traverse time, but was forced to see Zero stabbed by Riku and wept with him as Zero's spirit left for the Afterlife. She told Towa and Setsuna to go and meet their mother, sure that she was eagerly awaiting their arrival. She picked up her late aunt's staff and told Riku that she needed his help and to take her back to Mount Musubi.

Fighting Her Father
On her way back to Mount Musubi in search of a way to put an end to her father and his ambitions to bring about the Degenerate Age, she was approached by Kirinmaru who told her that he planned to go the modern era soon and that he wanted her to accompany him, to which she told him of the imminent annihilation that would befall the feudal era should he persist in his actions. With her late aunt's staff at her disposal, Rion ran to duel her father, with Riku and his sword aiding her. By encasing her and her father in a dome-shaped spiderweb, she assured Kirinmaru that she no longer had any shred of affection towards him anymore and that he had lost her long ago. She held her father at staff point and declared that it would all end from there. She was surprised when Kirinmaru shouted at her, daring her to try and kill him; her own father. Unfortunately, she could not bring herself to do so and was horrified upon seeing Riku run through by her own weapon as Kirinmaru had pointed it down to run Riku right through. She sobbed over his seemingly lifeless body and was grabbed by Kirinmaru, who ignored her pleas and had used demonic magic to drug her as he held her in his left arm to go the modern era through the Windmill of Time. Still unconscious, she was later rescued by a severely injured Riku who used Zero's staff to cover her in a cocoon of spider silk and return her safely to his side.

Return to Mount Musubi
Rion and Riku succeed in getting to Mount Musubi, where Rion intends to merge with the very mystical powers of the Kyūyōkon Root to suppress her own father. She has the apple seed Riku had kept form his very first meeting with Towa, which fuses with the supreme demonic energy and turns into a glowing green apple. After that, the two see the Grim Comet from the brought by her father's other incarnation Osamu Kirin, and leave Mount Musubi.

The Grim Butterfly
Upon boarding Kirinmaru's ship, Rion and Riku made their way to Kirinmaru's chambers in the hopes of stopping his attempt to bring about the Degenerate Age. On the way, the two were separated, and Rion was intercepted by her father's second incarnation, Osamu Kirin, who convinced her that he was on her side and that her father was merely asleep. Deceived by his lies, Rion gave up the fruit and was assimilated into the Grim Butterfly, unaware that she would be bringing about the Degenerate Age she sought to avert by doing so. Osamu Kirin declared her 'King Rion' and announced she would rule over all, although Rion herself made no reply to this. During her time within, she was confronted by Moroha and Setsuna, and angrily claimed she no longer held any feelings for her father. Her multiple threads were severed one by one by Setsuna's Yukari no Tachikiri, and Riku, in his dying moments, revealed to Towa that Rion did retain affection for her father despite everything. Upon being freed of the threads, Rion reverted to her former form and attempted to reconcile with her father. However, Osamu Kirin swept her into a nightmarish facsimile of the day she died, taking on the form of the sadistic hanyo Sakasa. Keen to help her, Towa utilised the Zanseiken in order to absorb Osamu Kirin's demonic energy, not caring that it could spell her own death. Terrified of the visage of her killer, Rion fled with the spectre in hot pursuit. With encouragement from Towa and Kirinmaru, Rion herself summoned Zanseiken and cut down Sakasa and Osamu Kirin. She requested to use Towa's body to bid farewell to her father, a request Towa granted, and had the final thread of fate linking her with Kirinmaru severed by Setsuna. After Bakuseiken and Zanseiken merged together, she thanked Towa, Setsuna and Moroha for all they had done for her and her father, and returned Towa's body to her. Bidding them farewell, she then ascended to heaven with her father. It was later shown that she used her remaining haku and kon to return Riku to life.

Personality
Rion is a kind and considerate individual, even more so than her own father and aunt, in that she cherishes all sentient beings; human and demon alike. She stated that she also loved the natural world too. She is willing to kill her own father to preserve all that exists. After being one with the Grim Comet, Rion became cruel and bitter over how her father was self-centered and the pain that there was always fighting and no peace. Upon realizing she still held affection for her father, she reverted back to her former kind ways.

Physical description
Rion appears as a young woman with short rubine red hair with bangs, verdigris eyes and fair skin. She has a pair of brown qilin ears resting atop of her head from the cream maid headband she dons, sizzling red stripes beneath each eye, and salmon pink lips. She also walks barefoot.

Outfit
Rion wears a white hakui with yellow sode-kukuri laced on the cuffs, a sleeveless light yellow yukata over it, a pink sash tied in a large ribbon (or bow) at the front, a white sashinuki hakama, and small light yellow bows on each side of her hair.

Powers & Abilities

 * Demonic Hearing: Rion has been shown to have sensitive hearing.
 * Flutist: Rion has been shown to have some flute playing skills when she played the Star-Slicer Flute, until she gave it to Towa.
 * Fighting Skill: Rion displayed a surprising amount of combat skill with her aunt's staff to fight off Kirinmaru, even impressing her father with her skilled movements, and even managed to briefly put herself in a position to kill him.
 * Demonic Agility: She quite agile, able to elude her father's moves easily.
 * Demonic Stamina: She is capable of walking for many hours without tiring.
 * Longevity: As with all yōkai, she was capable of enduring for centuries, which was nonetheless cut short by Sakasa.
 * Decelerated Aging: She aged very slowly, which was stopped since her forced resurrection six centuries later.

Weaponry

 * Kyūyōkon Root : Considered to be the ultimate weapon, it is stated to be the thing that Kirinmaru fears the most.
 * Spyglass: From the clear crystalline orb, Rion showed Moroha where her twin half-cousins were since they didn't get to pass through the demonic energy barrier.
 * Portal: Rion opened a portal, the red vortex and purple on the outside, that lead to either the Border of the Afterlife or the Sacred Tree of Ages.
 * Demonic Energy Absorption & Storing: As mentioned by Rion, the root can absorb and release exhausting amounts of demonic energy to be unleashed into a variety of very powerful attacks/techniques yet to be seen as well as harness those already used by its wielder, such as Towa's Twin Azure Dragon Wave, which when in conjunction, turned its demonic aura bright green.
 * Star-Slicer Flute : A mystical flute forged from the Kyūyōkon Root that she dissolves the around the mountain. After Rion plays it, she gave it to Towa.
 * Zanseiken : A legendary sword bestowed by Amatsumikaboshi, the God of Stars, it is summoned when Rion plays the flute, until she gave it to Towa. Unbeknownst to her, it was cursed by her overprotective father to ensure the demise of the one who "stole" it from her.
 * Zero's staff: Using her late aunt's weapon, she can create a massive spiderweb around herself and others. She can also make a purplish demonic aura glow from it.
 * Azusa no Yumihari: She can surround herself and her enemy in a massive spiderweb.

Weaknesses

 * Haku Expendure: Due to inhabiting an artificial body as Kikyō once had, Rion's haku is quick to diminish from long term movement, in which according from her father that her kon may be sealed within her bones and grave soil, as it had with Kikyō, but did not require soul-collectors.

Family

 * Kirinmaru

Her estranged overprotective father. The two had a healthy relationship until it became complicated, as she was disgusted and horrified at just how far her own father was willing to go to achieve his selfish needs upon the physical world that she most cherishes. When she could no longer move on her due to her haku being depleted, she refused to thank her father for replenishing it with his demon/star sword. She had walked away, ignoring his desire for her to accompany him to the modern era as what she didn't know that the Half-Demon Princesses are going to destroy the Grim Comet.


 * Zero

Her paternal aunt. They seemed to have a close relationship, as Zero was quite kind to her and disapproved of Kirinmaru bringing her into battle and making her see his might. When she learned that Rion had been the sole witness to the fight between the two Beast Kings of the East and West provinces within the two major realms dominated by incredibly strong demons of all sorts, she admonished Kirinmaru for not taking her advice and gently comforted her, patting her head and expressing relief she was okay, with Rion seemingly being comfortable with the gesture.

Six centuries later, she finally decides to make contact with her aunt via water where she and Riku are and enthusiastically referred to her as "Aunt Zero" and trusted her to help in defeating her father. Although shocked to see that Rion escaped from Mount Musubi and that she was trying to bring down Kirinmaru, Zero seemed amused and pleased to see her again, admitting although her body was now a doll, she really liked seeing her face one last time and not dismissing her appeal to stop Kirinmaru, stating she'll keep it mind. Rion however was horrified to hear she intended to kill Towa.

Acquaintances

 * Riku

Her father's first incarnation via the horn that was cut off during the battle that she herself had witnessed from afar. Six centuries later, she is finally reunited with him. She agrees to accompany him and promises to return to help the Half-Demon Princesses from time to time. She fought alongside Riku to attempt to stop her father, but the duo were ultimately unsuccessful. Upon being deceived by Osamu Kirin, she coldly announced to Riku that she had no further use for him. Following her demise within the Grim Butterfly, Rion made amends with Riku by granting him life again.


 * Towa, Setsuna, & Moroha

Upon her reawakening from the glowing green scale, on which she had slept deeply for six hundred-and-fourteen long years, Rion greeted Moroha warmly, stating that she must possess spiritual powers to penetrate the shield protecting the mountain. She tried to reassure the quarter-dog demon girl that the others would be fine; yet if they did not prove themselves worthy to the unusually strong demonic energy shield all around Mt. Musubi, the half-demon twins would not be capable of penetrating the shield, let alone leave Mount Musubi. She advised Moroha to utilize her ever-developing/magnifying spiritual powers that she, Rion, had detected within the feisty quarter-dog demon girl to easily penetrate the demonic barrier to pass her own personal trial to find her precious twin half-cousins. Once they had overcome the personal trials that the autonomous demonic shield had presented them with, Rion expressed at how pleased she was to see them. She introduces herself as the daughter of none other than Kirinmaru himself, yet willingly gives Towa one of the ancient and powerful mystical Kyūyōkon roots she had kept which turns into a golden flute. After presenting it to Towa, she reveals that she believes that Towa is the only one worthy of wielding a cosmic demon sword of such power to put an end to father's ambitions, and requests to journey with them, a request the trio accept.

After failing to convince her aunt, Rion and Riku come to where Towa is and warn her of Zero targeting her life. She became extremely concerned when her father revealed that he plans to sacrifice Towa to become a vessel for Rion's kon.

Trivia

 * Rion is the second humanoid character to have animal ears, the first being Inuyasha.
 * She is the second specter shown in the sequel. The first is Tōkotsu.
 * Her method of returning to life is similar to how Kikyō was forcibly revived half a century after her premature death, but had required the assistance of soul collectors to replenish her false body with spirits of the departed, without which she could not move.
 * According to Hishida-san in the Animage December 2021 issue, Rion doesn't have a mother.

Media appearances
Rion