Character Profile: Dark Riho

It was thankful that this version of the normally gentle Riho Yamazaki didn't truly exist. This version was part of a horrible nightmare that Shido had suffered in episode 12 "Eternal Darkness".

The dream was thus: The Shido Detective Agency was called to a cemetery on a nightbreed case. It turned out that the nightbreeds involved had taken possession of the bodies of Riho's parents, who themselves were killed by a nightbreed. Shido had destroyed them both, despite the protests of Riho. As they were destroyed, both nightbreeds had spoken Riho's name.

Distraught and angry by what she believed was Shido's callous disregard for her parent's existence, Riho had packed-up and left Shido's office/home, vowing never to return. Some of her friends, particularly Guni, worried about her ability to survive without blood from Yayoi, but did nothing to stop her. For Shido, Riho's departure was just another departure he had to witness over his long existence.

It was several days after Riho had left that Yayoi called Shido to a murder that had occurred. A middle-aged man was found drained of blood, the only evidence: bite marks on his neck. That was not all; Yayoi then stated that witnesses saw the victim talking to a girl matching Riho's description. Several nights afterwards, Shido and Guni had met Riho. She was changed, her mood and demeanor now matched that of Cain: cruel, amoral and predatory. She then gleefully admitted to killing the man, and vowed to continue to hunt and kill for blood.

The next night, Shido, Yayoi and Guni had stopped Riho from killing a young girl. They followed her into a docked cruise ship, where Shido and Guni separated from Yayoi. Soon afterward, however, gunfire was heard, and Shido found his way barred by a gate as Yayoi tried to reason with Riho, but to no avail. The now-evil Riho then used her powers to bind Yayoi in a blood rope, then flung her into the harbor, drowning Yayoi. Guni then tried to plead to her, but she was pummeled by bloodbombs by Riho, then was crushed to death by Riho's hands. Afterwards, a tearful Shido begged for the Riho he once knew to return to him. Riho rebuffed him, instead charging him with a bloodsword. Shido tried to stop her... but ended up killing her.

That was when Shido woke up from dosing off at his desk. Everything was as he remembered it: Yayoi, Guni... and thankfully Riho, were still the same. Still in a cold sweat from the dream, Shido wondered what the dream was. It was at that moment the cause of the dream showed up... it was Cain, who Shido thought had been destroyed months before. Cain had explained that he wanted to show Shido how he felt when he was abandoned, hoping that Shido would return to him.

But Cain's cruel trick had an opposite effect. Shido now looked at Riho with new eyes, and had since then taken the young girl has his lover, for which Riho couldn't be happier.