Benikage

Benikage seems to be an extremely serious, taking a simple, no-nonsense approach to everything she does, even when fighting in the ring. Her primary motivation is always the furtherance of her 'mission' to uncover the secret of Rumble Roses. Because of this dedication to the Ninja path, she shows little interest (or understanding) in anything or anyone that isn't critical to the success of her mission. She prefers to avoid unnecessary interactions where possible. And when interviewed, she evades most of the questions by replying with cryptic remarks. She never speaks during her introductions, even going so far as to silently 'kill' the enemy ninjas during her Tag Match intro. She shows almost no emotion when fighting or even winning.

As a result, she often appears cold and aloof. There are, however, some signs that she may wish for company, but is constrained by her training. When Noble Rose sugests joining forces against Anesthesia, she seems tempted for a moment, but eventually rejects the offer- saying "I work alone."

In sharp contrast to this, she reacts with blatant anger and contempt when dealing with Anesthesia. Benikage is clearly offended by the twisted woman's very presence and will fly into a rage at just the sight of her. While normally a woman of few words, she openly threatens Anesthesia/Dr Cutter regardless. (Yasha will behave in exactly the same towards them, given that her artler-ego shares the same desire to fight evil).

In Rumble Roses XX, Benikage actually forms an antagonistic tag team with Anesthesia. This is presumably connected with her being 'sold' to Anesthesia by her former colleagues in the first game, resulting in her becoming a shinobi or renegade ninja. Anesthesia in turn has nothing but contempt for Benikage, often taunting her with references to her dog-like mask.

Amusingly, the only other notable instance where Benikage can be seen to break character and express a real degree of emotion is when she's competing in the Queen's Matches. While approaching the ring via the wooden boardwalk (during her introduction), Benikage noticably blushes and shies away from the camera. She likely feels exposed when she realizes that she's being recorded, and may also be shy about displaying her skimpy swimsuit to the crowd. Benikage can further break character and display emotion when she is forced to do a penalty she doesn't enjoy after losing a Queen's match.

Benikage appears to be in her mid-to-late twenties. She is clearly of Japanese origins, but with no known birthplace (in her interview she speaks mysteriously of a location she refers to only as the 'ninja village').

She has long dark brown/black hair that comes mid-way down her back (with bangs in the front and long forelocks), and brown eyes. She has a well toned but surprisingly voluptuous figure. She is also one of the most fair-skinned characters in the games, perhaps due to spending much of her time concealed in darkness and shadows. When in her standard atire, she wears little or no makeup.

She wears a black headband with a white shuriken emblem on it. The lower half of her face is concealed under a protective menpo-style half-mask. The mask shows the snarling jaws of a Japanese Ogre, or Oni. She also wears a long red scarf around her neck with the ends hanging down her back. She's dressed in a swimsuit-style mesh garment- with red and black segments visible underneath (similar to how a bikini is worn). Benikage also has a prominent tattoo of a red rose in bloom, covering the area between her navel and right hip.

She wears shiny metal Samurai-style suneate[8] arm guards over her forearms and hands. The black and red guards on her hands have the the same white shuriken emblem on them as her headband. She also wears similar metal-plated suneata guards over her knees and lower legs. She wears black tabi socks and straw sandals with Kôgake armor covering them. The metal plates that cover her knees have the Kanji for "nin" (hidden), the first half of Nin-ja (hidden person).

Whenever she goes to the beach to take part Queen's Matches (or Mad Mud Matches, in the case of the first game), she wears a fairly revealing bikini in rose, light gray, green or black (all with a black trim), along with sandals and a pair of sunglasses.

As a ninja, she relies on speed and agility- allowing her to evade her opponent and retaliate with fast puches and kicks. She's also extremely good at reversing attacks and will instantly attack them from their blind spot (usually striking them in the back after moving out of the way of their attack.)

As a master of stealth and speed, she's very good for building up an opponent's Humiliation level. Benikage blends ninja illusion techniques in her fighting- such as disappearing in puffs of smoke only to appear behind her attacker. She can perform a special revers technique where she creates a large cloud of smoke around herself (right before her charging foe can reach her), leaving her enemy to tackle a wooden 'substitute' block. It's best to employ an evasive style to fighting, using reverses and and reverse-attacks.

There are some disadvantages to Benikage's ninjutsu- especially when bulkier or damaging, stronger opponents. While she strikes quickly, she doesn't do a lot a damage, so it takes her longer to wear down her opponent. Additionally, her lighter build makes her weaker to strikes and holds, so she can easily lose in a war of attrition, and is easily forced into submission.

Fighting Moves: Chaos Snow: A powerful strike that utilizes Benikage's abilities as a ninja. First, Benikage jukes behing her opponent. She winds up and delivers a vicious bask elbow to the back. Her opponent cries in pain before falling on their knees and collapsing to the mat.

Rikudou: A hold that combines Benikage's submission with her striking abilities. First, she brings her opponent to a sitting position and crosses her opponents arms. Benikage then crosses her opponents legs before bringing all four limbs together. As she uses her left leg to immobilize her opponent's arms and legs, Benikage applies a sleeper hold to cut off her opponent's air supply.