Baiken
NAME: Baiken
ALIAS :Samurai Slasher (人斬りサムライ, Hitokiri Samurai?), Sis (姐さん, Anesan?)
RACE: Human
GENDER: Female
AGE: Unknown
HEIGHT: 162 cm (5'4")
WEIGHT: 45 kg (99 lbs.)
BLOOD TYPE: B
ORIGIN: Japan
BIRTHDAY: March 5 (presumed)
EYE COLOR: Peach
HOBBIES: Drinking
LIKES:Sake bottles (GG—GGXXΛC+R), Lost everything (GGXrdR2—)
DISLIKES: Tanuki statues, Delilah's silent stubbornness
OCCUPATION:Wanderer
AFFILIATION: None
WEAPON: Katana, Hidden weapons
TITLE: Unfaltering Awakened Samurai (明鏡止水の開眼剣士, Meikyōshisui no Kaigan Kenshi?)
Baiken is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. She is a wandering samurai of Japanese descent, whose home was raided by Gears during the Crusades. Having witnessed the horrible deaths of her parents and friends, she has sworn revenge on That Man at any cost.
Appearance:
Baiken has long pink hair, which in her first appearance looked reddish-orange, worn in a ponytail, as well as peach eyes. A red tattoo adorns her right eye and forehead, while her permanently-closed left one has a scar over it; in Xrd, she wears a goggle-like eye patch with a tsuba in it, in strive the tsuba was removed . She has a clawed grappling hook in place of her missing right arm alongside other weapons such as a slashing fan, cannon, shotgun, etc.
Across her appearances, she wears a revealing red, black and white kimono with a torn right sleeve, as well as black greaves and sandals. In Xrd, Baiken also has a black gakuran with a white skull on its right sleeve, which she wears over her shoulders like a cape. Her sandal footwear resembles boots, and uses a sarashi to cover her groin area. Baiken's hair has become fuller with two tufts pointing upward like cat ears. The sheath of her katana was originally black, but is now red. In her -Strive-, Baiken's hair is noticably more wilder, longer and reddish in appearance. Additionally, the rope around her waist is now pink, as opposed to its previous red color from Xrd.
History:
At the very beginning of the Crusades, the nation of Japan was destroyed by Justice, and those of Japanese descent—amongst whom were Baiken and her parents—were placed in colonies for their protection. However, while she was still a child, Gears raided the institution she was living in. Small and weak, Baiken could do nothing to stop the attack, and could only watch the chaos around her. During the raid, she lost her arm and eye, and witnessed the horrible deaths of her parents, who gave their lives to protect her, as well as her friends.
The massacre was the work of the Gears, but what was etched into Baiken's memory was the image of a man surrounded by dancing flames and his creations. She became acutely aware, even in the absence of evidence, that he was an enemy. With an unfading memory of the event, Baiken vowed to search for the true identity of That Man and exact her revenge.
In 2181, after a bounty is issued on Dizzy's head, Baiken is searching for That Man and is on a path to kill "monsters", such as Sol Badguy, Potemkin and Faust. Claiming that she won't let any Gear get away, her first ending has her nearly killing Testament and Dizzy, but then letting them go, no longer in the mood as she couldn't find That Man. Her other ending has her accompanying Johnny for a drink.
Sometime afterwards, Baiken decides to visit the colony, only to find out that Gear parts are falling from the sky and the colony's barrier is weakening. She cleaves through a fallen arm, and Ky Kiske reprimands her for destroying evidence. Baiken rapidly discerns that someone is invoking them, that person being Mizuha. Baiken attacks Mizuha, but Ky and Tyr protect her. Baiken, irritated, engages Ky in a heated duel. Tyr attempts to join the fight, but releasing Fenrir causes the weakened barrier to distort and the backlash teleports Tyr and Mizuha away. Mizuha's grandfather tells Baiken and Ky to cease fighting and concentrate on finding the children, and Ky unsuccessfully tries to use his Order medallion to locate Tyr. After Baiken's nonchalant remarks, the elder asks Ky to forgive Baiken, explaining her past. Ky states that they, as survivors, should leave their hatred behind. Baiken expresses annoyance and withdraws, telling Ky to find the children and Anji Mito.
A few weeks later, Baiken meets and pursues I-No, whom she suspects is connected to That Man. In her first ending, she defeats I-No and That Man appears. Despite her continuous attacks, Baiken is unable to harm him; he apologizes to her and prays that someday, when his life finally ends, her anger will fade. In the second ending, the Post-War Administration Bureau sends a Robo-Ky after her, which Baiken takes as a declaration of war. In her third ending, Anji warns Baiken not to go after That Man; Baiken claims she will take Anji's life, but quickly says she will call it even just this once if Anji shares the information he got from That Man.
All Baiken took from meeting That Man was confusion and distress, which makes her question herself: Should she seek revenge, or look for a new way of life? She turns her attention to the P.W.A.B. to find an answer through battle. In one path, an encounter with I-No leads Baiken to meeting Anji again. After a fight, he states that he doesn't want her to die, and earnestly will let himself be cut down by Baiken if she promises she won't go after That Man—who isn't something they can handle—anymore. Baiken gives no answer, but lets Anji tag along for a while.
In another path, Baiken kills I-No and gives in to her bloodlust, presumably becoming a serial killer. She comes to be known as "Baiken the Killer", and is ultimately chased down by Ky and the International Police Force for her crimes.[note 1]
On November 9, 2187, Baiken almost kills an operator who is following her for a collect call. The man on the phone is none other than Anji, who wants her to return to the Colony to investigate the Illyrian presence. Baiken inquires about the "other case", but Anji is reluctant to speak. He nevertheless convinces Baiken to take care of the Colony. A week later, Baiken finds Answer snooping around and attacks him, even as he tells her he is investigating the Universal Will. He warns Baiken that the Colony may soon become a battlefield and flees.
Baiken is found by May; she tells Baiken of the current crisis and calls her over to meet Kum Haehyun, who is working to protect the colony. Baiken escorts them to the colony's sacred tree that has had generations of ki infused into it. After confirming that Haehyun's motivations are altruistic, Baiken swears to protect Haehyun even if it costs her life. During the final battle against Ariels, Haehyun keeps the Information Flares at bay, while Baiken, May and Answer protect her from the Phalanx.
Three weeks later,[2] Baiken somehow met Delilah,[3] who allied herself with Chipp Zanuff of the Eastern Chipp Kingdom.[4] When they first meet, Baiken notices that Delilah resembled her past-self, but Delilah becomes her 'teacher' of sorts; since she started to live with her, Baiken has attained some enlightenment.[3] They are looking for Happy Chaos, who is the source for her ire.[4] After the G4 Summit concludes, Baiken spends some time with Anji, even smiling at him, at the colony after what seems to be him informating her that ‘That Man’ is finally dead.[5] After giving up on revenge with Delilah, they now spend their days together peacefully
Abilities:
Main articles: /Commands, or /Gameplay
Boasting the claim that there is nothing her blade cannot cut, Baiken is considered to be a fearsome fighter, using her secret weapons and traditional Japanese katana with great skill despite the loss of her eye. Her secret weapons, designed to surprise her opponents, are hidden within the sleeve of her severed arm: a Japanese mace, a feudal cannon, a bladed fan, a chain rope, a hook, a claw, and a spear. Being of Japanese descent, Baiken seems to possess the ability to manipulate Ki in the form of seals, although she is not reliant upon it nor as versatile in its usage as others in the series. She also seems to have knowledge of summoning magic in order to conjure tatami mats for her attacks.
In terms of playstyle, Baiken is a defensive fighter, with her gameplan revolving around understanding the opponent's offense and punishing them for it. She has a plethora of unique special moves that she can activate while guarding, forcing opponents to commit less often and limiting their pressure. She is also able to control the neutral game with her iconic Tatami Gaeshi technique, and her Baku Overdrives respectively seal off specific buttons of her opponent for a duration. Baiken isn't without her weaknesses however, as her offensive potential is rather linear and limited, and has one of the worst defense and stun modifiers of the cast.
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