When Kino was eleven years old, she never knew her name before first meeting the mysterious traveler Kino while in the Land of Adults. He stayed at her family's inn for a few days where he repaired an old motorcycle in the basement, and they named it Hermes. She explained that children on their twelfth birthday undergo an operation to become a hardworking adult in the country. When she has doubts about the adult operation after he opened her eyes to other possibilities, the townspeople turned on him and he decided to leave. However, when her parents prepared to kill her for challenging their customs, the original Kino stepped in front to protect her and was killed instead. As her father pulled the knife from the original Kino's lifeless body to kill her, Hermes suggested that she ride away instead. After fleeing to a field of crimson flowers, she took on the original Kino's name as her own and changed into his clothes, including his long traveling coat.