Riki

Riki in GDR
Riki was born as the son of Yamabuki and the bear dog Shiro. As he grew, so did his taste for adventures. One day when he is up in the mountains, he gets attacked by Heiji's gang of wild dogs, who beat him up and then leave him to die. Next morning Riki wakes up and meets his father. They talk for a while and the words and the sight of his father makes Riki want to become a strong and brave fighter.

One day he meets the boy Daisuke, whom he saves from being hit by a truck and afterwards for being killed by Heiji's gang. When the winter came, Riki saw his father and the old man Takeda Gohei drive to the mountains. He decided to follow. To Riki’s horror, he finds the old man wounded and his father fighting the giant bear Akakabuto.

Riki tries to help but with no succes. His father gets pulled down together with Akakabuto, as the bear falls from a cliff. This was the very moment where Riki’s destiny changed forever and he would be taken in by Takeda Gohei to become the greatest bearhound ever.

Riki in GNG
The bear dog Riki, who was trained by Takeda Gohei, dissappered in the mountains during a fight with the bear Akakabuto. Riki lost his memory but never forgot his enemy. He gathered many dogs who were willing to fight against the monster bear, and became their leader. When he meets Gin for the first time he doesn’t recognize him, even though he tries to remember. As he sends him and the soldiers out to find more dogs, Riki stays in the area of the bears, trying to hold his position. This quest costed him much pain and many scars.

Here, he fights John who wants to take over the Futago Pass and he saves the wolf Fuuga from Noroi's minions. In return, Fuuga teaches Riki the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga (The death strike).

Riki’s wish about killing Akakabuto comes true, even though he himself die during the fight. Before he dies, he tell Gin that he is the new leader of the Futago pass.

He also tells him never to use the Zetsu tenrou battouga as Riki knows that the wolves (Fuuga, Reima ext.) will come look for dogs who know of it. Riki's spirit continues to live on through the rest of the manga.