Kirinmaru

Kirinmaru is the main antagonist in the anime series Hanyō no Yashahime. He is the beast king of the eastern lands and the younger brother of Zero.

Story

The equal of Tōga, the Lord of the Western Lands, as the Lord of the Eastern Lands, Kirinmaru alongside Tōga joined forces to repel the Grim Comet and protect their respective lands. Afterward, they came to a truce, leaving one another to rule their respective lands.

In 1296, Kirinmaru was informed by Konton and Kyūki that Tōga had been spotted in the land of Kamakura and gravely injured from battling Shishinki and Ryūkotsusei. The two suggested they use this opportunity to kill Tōga. Kirinmaru was angered by this as it used an underhanded approach that involved no honor, stating unless Tōga was in his prime, defeating him is pointless. This would mean, he refused that Tōga was wounded and weak as "a true battle must be one with honor and dignity". He then summoned Riku and instructed him to gather medicinal herbs for Tōga to heal his injuries from the battle with Ryūkotsusei.

Upon being awakened by Zero, his older sister to learn Tōga's sons had taken care of the Grim Comet, he was shocked that Sesshōmaru had married a human girl just like Tōga married Izayoi 208 years ago. Zero also told him that Sesshōmaru had sired daughters as Rin had given birth to twin half-demon daughters. Then the Shikon no Tama is already gone 7 years ago, (which they didn't know that Naraku is what he wanted) and that Inuyasha had also already married a human woman 4 years ago who had given birth to a quarter-yōkai daughter. With the prophecy that he would be defeated by a being neither human nor yōkai, Kirinmaru was about to kill Inuyasha, but Sesshōmaru showed up and offered help. Kirinmaru accepted, and the two confronted Inuyasha and Kagome. This forced Inuyasha's wife, Kagome Higurashi the reincarnation of Kikyō, to send away their newborn daughter for her own safety with Hachiemon while she and Inuyasha faced the two daiyōkai. Before Kirinmaru could fight the married couple, Sesshōmaru removed the Black Pearl from Inuyasha's right eye and used it to seal him and Kagome into their father's grave at the Border of the Afterlife under the reason that Inuyasha's Meidō Zangetsuha would be needed by Jaken. Lord Kirinmaru accepted this reasoning and left.

The Sacred Tree of Ages itself deems Kirinmaru a grave threat for wishing to warp time itself, which it controls.

Fourteen years later, he is visited by Kyūki, who informs him that one of the Shikyō, Tōkotsu, has been slain and the Red Rainbow Pearl entrusted to him stolen by Moroha. Kirinmaru was apathetic, only praising the strength of Sesshōmaru's daughters as they defeated someone who must have been a mighty warrior. He shows no interest in hunting them down, as Kyūki leaves to take care of them instead.

Even with Kyūki and Tōkotsu having been defeated, Kirinmaru still wouldn't personally act against Sesshōmaru's daughters even as Zero calls him out on this. Instead, he was more interested in Riku's movements and choosing to entrust matters to him since he is his most trusted retainer.

Kirinmaru was eventually forced to take action, however; when the Half-Demon Princesses had killed Konton and overwhelmed Tōtetsu, forcing the latter to escape and drive them to the sea, intending to have Kirinmaru dispatch them. With his enemies lured into his ship, Kirinmaru went to the mainland. After admonishing the last surviving member of the Four Perils send him on his way and blasted Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha off Takechiyo and introduced himself to them. After remaining silent as they ponder on whether to engage him or not and on his connection to the Yume no Kochō. Kirinmaru challenged them to try to kill him and fulfill the prophecy that Hanyō would be the one to destroy him. He quickly proved himself to be much stronger than their combined might as he effortlessly handled their assaults while easily overwhelming them without even using any special technique. He simply used his sword and demonic energy, mocking them for their poor effort.

Even as Moroha tapped into the full power of her demonic blood, Kirinmaru swiftly overpowered her as she passed out from exhaustion before proceeding to decisively overpower Setsuna in battle. Despite taking a slight injury from Towa soon knocked her down with an energy blast. However, before he could kill them, Sesshōmaru threw Bakusaiga at him before landing down to engage him. Sarcastically commenting on how even Sesshōmaru did care for his daughters, he fought Sesshōmaru to a draw. Their clash causing tremendous shockwaves that rose the tide of the oceans and eventually began to affect the weather, releasing thunderclaps that knocked out Towa and Setsuna. Deciding to respect Sesshōmaru's wish to keep his daughters safe as they clearly couldn't kill him, Kirinmaru reminded him that they still need to work together before leaving.

Kirinmaru was later seen in the office of his ship as he touches the scar Towa had inflicted on him when Zero entered the room. He admitted it was the half-demon princesses who gave him that wound but stated it was hardly any entertainment for him. Kirinmaru called them pups who have yet to grow their fangs fully and requested her to not attack the Half-Demon Princesses, wishing to wait for them to grow more and telling her not to get too carried away. However, his sister was not convinced and revealed that not only the quarter demon Moroha, but the half-demon sisters' powers have also been sealed away when Kirinmaru tried to dismiss it as Moroha was only using the power of the Great Dog Demon to go wild and hadn't mastered it, believing at their full power even Kirinmaru wouldn't be able to get away unscathed, before leaving. During the night of the same day, Kirinmaru looked up as the Grim Comet approaches while Osamu Kirin also noticed it appearing in the modern era and commented he couldn't let the Comet rampage.

The next day, Kirinmaru visited Sesshōmaru's mother and asked if the Windmill of Time had moved yet, learning that it hasn't and she hasn't seen Akuru for several years. She comments that Sesshōmaru was also having trouble finding Akuru's pinwheel, while expressing his disapproval that Zero continued to hunt her granddaughters. Furthermore, she states that he can't let them go unharmed if they try to attack him once more. When the Windmill of Time began to move, Kirinmaru felt and commented on it in his ship.

He, later on, appeared before his sister, Riku, Sesshōmaru, and the Half-Demon Princesses as Zero had been killed by Setsuna but was resurrected and Zero destroyed Tenseiga in a rage. Expressing remorse and regret that Zero destroyed Tenseiga, Kirinmaru offered his apologies and coldly told Zero that she had gone too far when she demanded he not interfere. Stopping Sesshōmaru from killing Zero, Kirinmaru tried to make him back off by reminding him he didn't find Akuru's pinwheel but he refused. As Sesshōmaru commented on how pitiful his sister had become, Kirinmaru decided to scatter the Rainbow Pearls through the land to prevent her from regaining her demonic power as punishment for her repeated disobedience of his order to leave the Half-Demon Princesses alone and grow and destruction of Tenseiga. This infuriated Zero to where she disowned Kirinmaru as her brother and left. Before Kirinmaru could pursue her, Riku stabbed him to weaken Kirinmaru so Towa could have a chance to survive before going after Zero and Sesshōmaru also went after her, but not before Kirinmaru asked him about the girls.

With Sesshōmaru telling him to fight them as he wished, Kirinmaru mused on how half-demons were always meant to fight to prove their worth to survive before descending down and throwing away his mask as he revealed that he had been holding back in their previous fight but now that he had been injured, he could not spare such measures. Still proving to be more than a match for them despite his injury and their growth in strength and experience in fighting him before, he effortlessly countered Towa's sword attacks before proceeding to easily deflect Setsuna's attacks. Even as Moroha unleashed her new Crimson Backlash Wave and her spiritual power attack Tenkū no Yabusuma, Kirinmaru still easily overwhelmed the attacks while lecturing them on being unable to properly grow their powers due to relying on the Rainbow Pearls and praising Moroha's spiritual power while mocking how the Rainbow Pearl only weakened it and soon knocked her out and flung her to Kirara.

Proceeding to fight Towa and Setsuna two-on-one, he easily pressured Towa while commenting on how she was much weaker than when she injured him and easily parried Setsuna's attack with 2 fingers while stating her form may be excellent but her blade is subpar and not sufficient to damage him. Realizing that Towa must-see Setsuna is in danger to tap into her power, he flung her aside and commented on how she was a good older sister before going after Setsuna. He was stopped mid-way as Towa stabbed him in the same spot Riku stabbed him and as Setsuna charged in, Kirinmaru, further injured, blasted Towa aside and blocked Setsuna's attack but she managed to use her Blood Blade to scratch him close to where Towa had earlier injured him, causing him to mortally injure her. As Setsuna seemingly succumbed to her injuries, Kirinmaru lamented the loss of the young woman and that Tenseiga had been broken by Zero so she unfortunately could not be brought back to life, before Moroha engaged him with her Beniyasha form.

Initially dismissive, he was soon impressed when he saw Moroha manifest a huge flaming dragon and commented how it was natural as it was where her grandfather died and as such she could unlock her full potential there and even more so when Towa also unlocked her full power and furiously promised to kill Kirinmaru to avenge Setsuna. Challenging them to attack him at once, he blocked Towa's amplified Sōryūha and Moroha's amplified Crimson Dragon Wave and named Towa's attack Twin Azure Dragon Wave as it had two dragon heads and clearly showed she had refined her father's technique while he also praised Moroha's Crimson Dragon for being able to use it to where he can't force it away from him.

Deciding to take the attack with his barriers head-on, destroying much of the landscape, he was left injured and praised them for their magnificent capabilities and ability to control such massive demonic energy before summoning his sword back. He was even more impressed and entertained when the landscape changed into a galaxy-like field, stating it was the battle he had always wished for. After a lengthy struggle, Kirinmaru eventually defeated them and knocked them down and unconscious whereas Towa woke up he praised the Half-Demon Princesses for giving him such a battle and lamented how it ended that way and expressed his wish to meet them again while promising to remember Setsuna's name before leaving, injured but remains alive and triumphant.

Appearance

Kirinmaru appears as a young man with a violet suit of armor, a red belt across his waist, and a golden plate on his left shoulder. He wears lavender clothes underneath, darkened reddish pants, and black battle boots, with golden adornments.

He wears a pair of armored gauntlets decorated with the same adornments as his boots and a white dog-shaped mask with several markings leaving only his left green eye visible along with the blue marks on his cheek. The mask concealed his right eye for an unknown reason, however, it is seen that the right side of his face seems to be filled with dragon scales. He has pointed ears that are hidden due to his mask and bulbous, long, red hair. Expectedly from a bestial Daiyōkai, he has sharpened nails of a greyish-purple coloration. He eventually gets a minor scar on his left cheek after his encounter with Towa.

Kirinmaru without his mask

When he is not wearing his mask, his face his shown to have bumped-like marks on his left cheek and on his forehead. His right cheeks are shown to have blue stripes and a scar from his first battle with Towa.

On his true demonic form, Kirinmaru's face becomes more monstrous with two horns emerging from his forehead (the left one being shorter), long fangs, and more feral eyes with purple marks on his eyelids and longer messier darker eyebrows. His left arm drastically changes into a draconian green with several spiked protrusions.

Personality

Kirinmaru appears as a resolute and detached individual, speaking the bare minimum. He seems to be distant to even his closest followers as he did not remember Tōkotsu, who was one of his four central lieutenants, much less that he even gifted Tōkotsu the red Rainbow Pearl in the first place. Upon learning of his demise, Kirinmaru showed apathy, merely giving some praise to Sesshōmaru's twin daughters, who terminated him as he reasoned that anybody serving under him must have been quite a powerful fighter. He was also apathetic to the deaths of the other Four Perils. Likewise, when Zero woke him up, Kirinmaru treated his sister with a to-the-business attitude.

When he and Sesshōmaru joined forces to kill Inuyasha and Moroha, he immediately engaged them while responding to Kagome's defiant refusal to hand Moroha over to him with a cold rebuttal. He also could show an authoritarian side, remaining unmoved by Zero's wishes to kill Sesshōmaru's twin daughters. Despite the Tree of Ages stating that Kirinmaru was power-hungry by wishing to warp time itself to his will, it was noted by Myōga that Kirinmaru was content in only ruling the Eastern Lands, which was supported by the fact that he left Tōga to govern the Western Lands in peace for years, with him expressing shock that Kirinmaru would be trying to rule the Western Lands and desires to warp time to his will and stating that he isn't the type to go this far. However, he does have a dark sense of humor as he chuckled at Jaken's claim that Inuyasha and Kagome would be paying their respects to his rival's tomb and sarcastically commented Sesshōmaru when he saved Towa and Setsuna from him that even someone like him still cares for his children.

In battle, Kirinmaru is shown to be capable of being mocking and condescending while remaining focused and composed, remarking on the lack of strength shown by his foes and criticizing their flaws, as shown when he mocked Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha for their lack of skill and technique. He seems to hold spirit, skill, mind, and heart as important aspects in battle, repeatedly mocking the Half-Demon Princesses for showing a lack of those. At the same time, he was capable of enjoying a good fight and admitting it, as shown by how he showed sincere respect towards Towa and Moroha for their efforts in forcing him to fight seriously to keep up and later on commenting he had long since wanted to engage in such a fierce battle.

According to Riku, Kirinmaru hates humans and half-demons. Still, it's unclear to what extent he really resents them: Though Zero indicated he shared Sesshōmaru's initial views of such creatures, with Kirinmaru expressing shock that his rival's older son would marry a human, and he did scoff at Kagome's defiance and vow to stop him from killing Moroha, when he was first woken up, he acknowledged Inuyasha as having the strength to alongside his half-brother destroy the Grim Comet and showed no inclination to slay him until he learned Kagome had given birth to a quarter demon daughter and even then when he and Kagome were instead sealed into the Black Pearl, Kirinmaru accepted it when Jaken reasoned that Inuyasha's Meidō Zangetsuha would be needed in the future with no protest at all.

Likewise, he proved disinterested in going after Towa and Setsuna and freely acknowledged that he expected them to be powerful due to having such a mighty demon as their father. Even when Zero had specifically demanded Kirinmaru kill them, he still chose not to act personally just for that. He only decided to fight them when they were about to reach his ship and despite showing his belief that half-demons should not exist and repeatedly mocking them, he freely admitted that Towa truly was his rival's granddaughter after she managed to land a blow on him. Towa, Moroha, and Setsuna would later successfully earn his full respect in his second fight with them to where he promised to carve Setsuna's name into his heart and repeatedly praised the two sisters for unleashing and controlling their full power and giving him such a good fight. Overall, while Kirinmaru seems to consider himself superior and has disdain towards them, it doesn't seem to prevent him from acknowledging half-demons when they prove formidable.

For all his self-importance and justified belief in his own might, Kirinmaru is also an honorable fighter who firmly believes in proving oneself in combat through rightful means. He refused to take advantage of Tōga's weakened state to have him killed and take Japan for himself, even chastising Kyūki and Konton forever so much as suggest it, and even ordered Riku to aid on Tōga's healing, as he thinks an underhanded victory would never leave one truly satisfied. Even Zero believes he is a bit too uncompromising which causes problems for their crew. Like with Sesshōmaru, Kirinmaru believes firmly that any power one wields must be their own and holds the Rainbow Pearls and Shikon Jewel both in contempt over the fact many demons desire their power, to where he refers to the Shikon Jewel as a worthless orb and though he entrusted the Pearls to the Shikyō, it was clearly more out of a desire to keep it in safe hands instead of enhancing their abilities, being uninterested in their deaths and the fact that the Pearls were removed from them and he scoffed at the Half-Demon Princesses for having relied on the Rainbow Pearls for so long they aren't able to naturally manifest their powers while never trying to recover the Pearls while they still had it. Considering Zero's wish that brought the Rainbow Pearls to existence as being a grave dishonor, Kirinmaru also shows his standards and honor extends to his own sister, as he has repeatedly shown himself to be unnerved by her malice and sinking into new lows to fulfill her dark desires to where he eventually decided to put a stop to it by scattering the Rainbow Pearls through the land, showing his contempt towards the Pearls as a whole.

He could also show sincere respect and reason towards those who had earned it, as shown by how he treated Sesshōmaru's mother with the formal title of your ladyship even when she no longer ruled the Western Land and showed respect towards Sesshōmaru despite his failure of finding Akuru's pinwheel and apparent desire to take care of his daughters, going as far as to bow to him and sincerely apologize for Zero breaking Tenseiga and agree to prevent Zero from unleashing her wrath upon his daughters. Likewise, he seemed to genuinely regret dispatching Setsuna and even lamented she couldn't be resurrected as the Tenseiga was broken. When he had defeated Towa and Moroha, instead of killing them, he instead patiently waited and watched over them until Towa woke and sincerely praised her for the good fight and expressed hope to meet her again in the future and he even showed the fallen Setsuna genuine respect by promising to remember her always.

Against Sora's Team

When Kirinmaru was flying and still regretting on how he ended the fight with the half-demon princesses, Xemnas appeared right in front of him out of nowhere. He then had learned that Setsuna had been resurrected by Sora, when he had no idea that the young man would be capable of healing and restoring life. Xemnas then later considered him as a perfect member for his gang. Kirinmaru agreed with him as he joined his gang being prepared for his next meeting with the half-demon princesses as he is also anxious to meet Sora and to see what he is truly capable of.