Rin

"Lord Sesshōmaru, are you going to come rescue me...?"

was a young, human girl who became a traveling companion of the dog daiyōkai Sesshōmaru, Lord of the Western Lands. She grew up as a ward of her village after her family was killed by thieves. Witnessing their deaths traumatized her, and she never spoke again. Often left to her own devices, Rin was exploring a forest near her village when she discovered the injured Lord Sesshōmaru. After his fight with his half-demon brother Inuyasha, his sword had transported him to the safety of the forest. His injuries left him temporarily immobilized, but he refused to accept the food and water Rin brought him. Rin continued to bring him food and water despite this. However, Rin was killed by a pack of wolves that attacked her village when returning from the forest. Sesshōmaru, having healed and been rejoined by his servant Jaken, found her mangled corpse in passing. He originally planned to pass her by, but the memory of her smile and kindness made him turn back. To test his newly acquired sword, Sesshōmaru used Tenseiga to slay the gaki surrounding her corpse. After being revived, Rin regained her ability to speak and happily joined Sesshōmaru in his travels.

Rin was forced to fend for herself, usually under the watch of Jaken and the two-headed dragon A–Un. Stealing what was necessary to survive during the feudal era, she scavenged forests and looted village fields for food. Despite her lack of a social life before being revived, Rin was very animated while under Sesshōmaru's care. She brought out the best in her lord, becoming an exception to his hatred of mortals, and even softening his opinion of them.

The shattering of the Shikon no Tama had not affected Rin since Lord Sesshōmaru had no interest in it. However, the half-demon Naraku, bent on defiling the jewel, had come into conflict with Sesshōmaru's brother Inuyasha. In an attempt to force Sesshōmaru's cooperation in ending Inuyasha's life, Naraku ordered his incarnation, Kagura, to abduct Rin. Lord Sesshōmaru, not one to mingle with half-demons, ended up rescuing Rin himself rather than giving in to Naraku's demands. Rin was often in awe of her lord, and constantly looked up to him for instruction and guidance.

History
Rin witnessed her parents and brothers being murdered by thieves when she was younger, forever plaguing her with nightmares of when they were killed and a deep fear. She had also been so traumatized that she became a mute. She never spoke to the villagers of the village she was raised in, even when the villagers hit or scolded her. Consequently, the villagers generally got frustrated with her strangeness and acted even more harshly towards her.

Joining Lord Sesshōmaru
Rin was generally allowed to do whatever she wanted, so long as she did not disturb the villagers. She discovered Sesshōmaru in a forest near her village. She relentlessly and fearlessly tried to help the demon, refusing to give up when he would not accept her help. She went through the trouble of finding food in the village preserves or in the forest itself, and brought this food to him. Sesshōmaru never actually ate the food or accepted the help she gave him, but she continued with her actions. She was caught rummaging through one of the village's fish preserves, and some village men beat her and warn her not to do it again. When she later brought food she foraged in the forest, Rin's visible injuries sparked Sesshōmaru’s curiosity, and he asked her about them. This brought about a beaming smile on Rin's bruised face. Sesshōmaru scoffed at her and her smile, silently wondering what had made her so suddenly happy.

When Rin returned to her home later that day, she discovered a thief going through her food. She was shocked and remained in the doorway, frightened by the man. When the man realized she was there, they could hear the sounds of the Wolf-Demon clan attacking the village. Whilst the thief ran off, Rin realized that she had to get away from the village. She ran into the forest, and wolves gave chase to her. She was soon overcome and killed by them.

Elsewhere, Sesshōmaru had been rejoined by his traveling companions Jaken and a two-headed dragon. He picks up the scent of blood and discovered Rin's corpse in passing. Her death did not interest him and he had planned to continue on his way, but he recalled the girl's smile from earlier, which made him pause. To satisfy his sudden curiosity, he tests his sword Tenseiga, which willed him to draw it. He was able to see the messengers from the other world surrounding her corpse, and he slew them. Once he had, Sesshōmaru knelt down by her side and showed no surprise when she opened her eyes. Feeling his task complete, he stood back up and continued on his way, ignoring the questions from Jaken. Rin followed him, and became a part of his entourage from then on. She regained the ability to talk when she was revived, so she spoke very often to Jaken, the two-headed dragon whom she named A–Un, and sometimes to Sesshōmaru as well.

Rin, being a young girl without combat skills, presented the problem of becoming a liability to Lord Sesshōmaru when he battled. She dutifully remained in safe places far from the battlefields as instructed of her, often awaiting his return with A–Un and Jaken. She was also told she would have to fend for herself if she ever got hungry. This did not faze her, and she agreed to these conditions set by Lord Sesshōmaru.

Abducted
Rin and Jaken [...]

Second Death
[...]

Among Other Humans
Within three years after the permanent destruction of the Shikon no Tama, Kaede had the opportunity to talk with Sesshōmaru about Rin's future. After traveling with Lord Sesshōmaru and his small entourage of demons, Rin had not settled down in one place, nor done much socializing with other humans. Kaede thereafter took on the duty of raising Rin in the village and getting her re-accustomed with living among other humans. Rin would later be given the choice of rejoining Sesshōmaru or remaining in a human village. Lord Sesshōmaru visited Rin on a regular basis, normally bearing gifts for her (e.g. new kimonos).

Personality
[...]

Appearance
Rin was a very small child who had long black hair, pale skin, and bright brown eyes. Her hair had bangs, but the bangs on the right side were tied up into a small ponytail jutting out in front of her face. Rin's appearance was that of a typically young, barefoot peasant girl commonly found during the time period. She does not change significantly over the years, and even remains barefoot when she moves into Kaede's village.

Outfits
[...]

Abilities
Rin lacks any fighting skills and cannot defend herself when being attacked. She had no weapons and was often forced to flee when under attack. The only abilities she had were related to survival. Although minor, these skills were vital in surviving as a wanderer in the feudal era of Japan.
 * Looting: Rin was very familiar with how harsh the world can be, and she was used to looting village fields and steal food in order to survive. Jaken would often serve as her lookout whenever she looted food. She had a lot of practice with this skill before and after joining Lord Sesshōmaru's entourage.
 * Scavenging: Rin was able to catch fish for herself, as well as forage for food (e.g. mushrooms, berries, etc.) in forests. She knew what kinds of foods were edible in the forests, and she was able to find them relatively easily.

Family
Rin once lived with both of her parents and her brothers. However, they were murdered by thieves who raided the village they inhabited. She must have loved her family very much, and seeing them killed was traumatizing enough to make her never speak again and become mute.

Traveling companions
The dog daiyōkai Sesshōmaru was whom Rin looked up to the most. She gave him a lot of respect and always addressed him as "my lord" or "Lord Sesshōmaru." [...]
 * Lord Sesshōmaru

The demon Jaken was even smaller than Rin, something he found very frustrating. Having become [...]
 * Master Jaken

Rin and Sesshōmaru's two-headed dragon got along quite well. Rin gave each head a name, "A" and "Un", respectively. She declared their name as just A–Un, and giving the dragon a name was likely what got their friendship off to such a good start. Rin was often left in the care of Jaken, but A–Un was usually also with her. More often than not, she stayed with A–Un when Jaken would go off on his own. A–Un was Rin's mode of transportation when she was not walking, and he could be counted on for a quick escape. Jaken would also ride on A–Un with Rin if they needed to escape, but otherwise he merely led the dragon using his reigns. A–Un preferred Rin over Jaken, as could be seen when he obeyed Rin as opposed to Jaken's.
 * A–Un

Rin first met Kohaku after being abducted by Kagura, one of Naraku's incarnations. When she woke, she was in a shrine with Kohaku, but she could not escape because of the demons outside. She sat with Kohaku and became fast friends with him. They shared some melon, and talked about their pasts. Rin found that they both had awful pasts, and shared her story with him after learning he couldn't remember his family. Although Kohaku sometimes commented that she was talking too much, he understood her need to talk about her family and said that it was fine for her to talk about them.
 * Kohaku

At the time, Kohaku was under the influence of a defiled Shikon shard that allowed Naraku to control him. Unaware of his actions, Kohaku took Rin to a field and then tried to kill her. Rin was scared and confused by his actions, but was still concerned. She ran away, but ended up falling and knocking herself unconscious. [...]

Adversaries
Rin was killed by wolves under the command of Kōga. After she was revived by Lord Sesshōmaru, she was shown to have a terrible fear of all wolves, and for good reason. When she came across Ginta and Hakkaku, Kōga's wolf demon comrades, at a riverside, she immediately hid behind Jaken in fear. Later, Sesshōmaru, Jaken, and A–Un came across Kōga himself. He saved Rin's life from a demon, managing to defend her faster than Sesshōmaru because of the two shards of the Shikon no Tama in his legs. Rin did not have any problems when Kōga left and Sesshōmaru did not pursue him. It means she did not bear any grudge against them, but fears them nonetheless.
 * Demon wolves

Kagura was an incarnation of the half-demon Naraku, an enemy to Lord Sesshōmaru. Kagura kidnapped Rin under Naraku's orders, knocking Rin unconscious and bringing her to a yōkai-surrounded building that Kohaku guarded. It is later shown that Rin bears Kagura no ill will; although, she was initially fearful that she would be taken away from Lord Sesshōmaru again when she reappeared. Rin goes so far as to go into a rushing river when she spots the unconscious Kagura floating by, and is soon pulled into the river's currents as well. Sesshōmaru saves both of them from the river, and Rin watched with Jaken as Kagura's wound from Goryōmaru heals. She was happy to see that Kagura was alive, and when she left, she correctly guessed that Kagura came to see Lord Sesshōmaru because Kagura had feelings for him.
 * Kagura

Takemaru of Sestuna had Rin brought to his castle when she refused to give up Sesshōmaru's sword, Tenseiga. Kagome Higurashi was also taken there. Takemaru saw both Rin and Kagome as Izayoi to him, because they were both humans with affinities to demons. Having killed Izayoi 200 years ago, he had no problem in his resolve to dispose of both Kagome and Rin as well. Takemaru attacked Kagome and injured her, evoking an angry response from Rin. "How dare you! A real man would never hit a girl like that!"
 * Takemaru

Rin stood up to Takemaru, confident that Lord Sesshōmaru would come to save them. Takemaru lashed out at Rin and brought his sword down, but Sesshōmaru arrived in time to deflect the strike aimed at Rin. She was able to escape Takemaru's grasp along with Kagome.

The [...]
 * Ungai

Other
Kagome Higurashi, a human miko traveling with Inuyasha, first saw Rin when pursuing Jaken and the stolen Tessaiga. She was both shocked and curious when she noticed Rin was human, yet was traveling with Sesshōmaru. Kagome and Inuyasha later pursue her when Rin and Kohaku flee the shrine where Rin was being held hostage. Kagome and Inuyasha arrive in time to see Sesshōmaru and Kohaku facing off, while Rin laid unconscious. Kagome rushed to Rin's side and ascertained she was still alive.
 * Kagome Higurashi

Kagome saved the life of both Rin and Jaken when Inuyasha was possessed by the sword Sō'unga. Seeing Inuyasha headed for them with malicious intent, Kagome threw herself at Inuyasha and yelled out "Osuwari!" so he would not be able to harm them. Both Kagome and Jaken were knocked unconscious during the ensuing explosion, and Sesshōmaru abandoned Rin and Jaken. Rin, in gratitude for Kagome saving them, gathered the scattered Beads of Subjugation, and returned them with proper thanks to Kagome when she later regained consciousness.

Later, Kagome saved Rin from being killed by a soldier under Takemaru of Setsuna. Soon after, however, they were both taken to Takemaru's castle and met the possessed Takemaru himself. Kagome was thrown back by Sō'unga, and Rin grew angry with Takemaru. She protected Kagome, throwing her arms out in front of her and ignoring Kagome's instructions to run away. Sesshōmaru arrived, giving them a chance to escape. Unfortunately, they were attacked by the same demon who took them to the castle, and Kagome was trapped in its grasp. Rin, hoping to be of assistance, gathered some of the Beads of Subjugation that had scattered across the floor. She threw them at the demon, and succeeded in saving Kagome. Inuyasha showed up in time to save them both.

Years later, when Rin was under the guidance of Kaede in her village and Kagome returned to the feudal era, she and Kagome met again and became reacquainted.

[...]
 * Inuyasha

[...]
 * Sango

Kaede was an elderly miko who talked with Sesshōmaru about raising Rin. She became Rin's teacher during the time Rin lived with her. Rin dutifully assisted Kaede with whatever was asked of her, and under Kaede's instruction, Rin grew more accustomed to interacting with others of her kind on a daily basis. Rin lived with Kaede in her village during this time, and was content with getting occasional visits from Lord Sesshōmaru.
 * Kaede

Manga vs. Anime
There are no significant differences between Rin as she was portrayed in the anime and how she was portrayed in the manga. Both her appearance and personality were very much the same in both.

Trivia

 * Rin has a better sense of smell than average humans, including Sango and Miroku.
 * Rin does not have any special powers, but her youth and vulnerability seem to bring out the best in everyone she meets. Even Sesshōmaru and Jaken, two mortal-despising demons, eventually warm up to her.
 * Rin is one of the few females in InuYasha who remains barefoot throughout the series.
 * The only time Rin is not seen barefoot is during the second ending of InuYasha Kanketsu-hen, in which she is wearing a pair of boots.
 * In The Holy Pearl, a Chinese live action loosely based off of InuYasha, Rin is paralleled by a character named Yudie.