Baku ( Final Fantasy IX ) Baku is a non - player character and leader of the infamous Tantalus Theater Troupe in " Final Fantasy IX " . He was born in May of 1755 . Baku plays King Leo in the troupe ' s production of the play " I Want to Be Your Canary " . Tantalus ' s home base is in Lindblum ' s Theater District . Profile . Appearance . Baku is stocky and strong . His skin is grey , and he has a purple beard and mustache ; the body hair on his arms and legs is also purple . He has pig - like features , with a large nose and long furry ears . Baku wears aviator goggles ; an orange waistcoat held closed with rope over a white collared shirt with sleeves to his elbows ; brown wristbands ; green shorts ; brown belt , and white and brown boots . During the first battle with Baku he wears a blue dragon mask over his face . As King Leo Baku wears a voluminous red and green , floor - length coat trimmed with fur ; gold bands on his arms ; a black and red shirt ; dark green trousers and brown boots . He appears to be wearing a silver wig , though his aviator goggles remain . Personality . Baku is close to his Tantalus " family " . This does not prevent him from being their boss and sometimes giving them a sound beating to keep them in line , but he is loyal to those he is close to and is willing to help them . He sneezes often and has great trouble remembering Doctor Tot ' s name , instead calling him Ted , Toot or Tootsie . Story . Years ago , Baku found a child with a tail . Baku named him Zidane , raised the boy as his own , and later accepted him into his group . Zidane left Tantalus to find the homeland of his origins , though all he could remember of it was a blue light from his dreams . Unable to find it , Zidane returned to Tantalus , and after beating Zidane for leaving , Baku forgave him . Under orders by Regent Cid Fabool IX of Lindblum , Baku and his crew set out to capture Princess Garnet and protect her from Queen Brahne . They capture Garnet on her 16th birthday , while they perform " I Want to be Your Canary " as their cover . While the abduction is successful , Queen Brahne shoots down their theater ship , the " Prima Vista " , and Garnet gets separated from the group when they crash in the Evil Forest . When Zidane wants to leave Tantalus to rescue Garnet , Baku fights Zidane , but he holds back , as Zidane notices afterward . After Zidane leaves , Baku gives a Mist Continent map to Blank to give to Zidane . Blank catches up with Zidane ' s party just before they make their escape . When the forest itself comes after Zidane ' s party , Blank pushes him out of the way and gets caught and is petrified along with the rest of the forest , though not before throwing Zidane the map . Baku and the rest of Tantalus escape the Evil Forest before it petrifies . After crashing the " Prima Vista " into the Evil Forest , Baku continually sneezes throughout the rest of the story . He catches Cinna slacking off at the South Gate station and scolds him . While in Treno , during Tantalus ' s quest to acquire Supersoft to cure the petrified Blank , they meet Doctor Tot , whom Baku always refers to as " Toot " , " Ted " , or " Tootsie " . While in Alexandria , Baku unknowingly gets involved in Eiko ' s plan in which she decides to confess her feelings for Zidane in the form of a love letter . The letter is found by Steiner and Beatrix , although Baku messes up their romantic moment by sneezing . During the Second Battle of the Iifa Tree , Zidane implies that Lindblum and Alexandria discovered the party ' s plan to storm Memoria because of Baku , who is said to love big showdowns . It is unknown , however , how Baku was able to figure out his former protege ' s plan , considering that Zidane and Garnet agreed that no one be told of the danger . Some time after Zidane ' s party defeats Kuja and Necron , Baku and the Tantalus return to Alexandria to perform " I Want to be your Canary " for Queen Garnet . Gameplay . In the game ' s first battle , Baku , dressed in a dragon mask , fights Zidane , Cinna , Marcus , and Blank . In the second battle with Baku , during the " I Want to be Your Canary " performance , he is fought under the name " King Leo " , keeping in with the play ' s storyline . In the third and final battle with him , Zidane fights Baku alone within the crashed " Prima Vista " in the Evil Forest to get permission to leave Tantalus . Etymology . Baku may also be related to the anarchist philosopher Bakunin . In the Italian translation his name is Kalò , nicknamed " Boss " by the others , and speaks with a Sicilian dialect , similar to a mafia boss .