
Shigeki Baba (born 1982) was a Japanese hitman in the employ of the Omi Alliance. In 2012, he was sent to Abashiri Prison to befriend Taiga Saejima, help him escape, and lure him to Tokyo, where his employer Tsubasa Kurosawa would have Saejima, Kazuma Kiryu, and the rest of the Tojo-kai leadership murdered to demoralize the clan into surrendering to the Omi. However, Baba took a liking to Saejima and was overcome with guilt, leading to two failed suicide attempts. He ultimately abandoned his final mission of killing Haruka Sawamura and was persuaded to return to prison.
Biography[]
Shigeki Baba was born in Osaka, Japan in 1982, and little is known about his background. He likely joined the Omi Alliance yakuza organization and became a professional assassin, and he once formed a short-term partnership with Yu Morinaga in exchange for cash. Baba claimed to have been put in prison in 2002 at the age of 20, and, in 2011, he was transferred into Taiga Saejima's prison and cell through a calculated setup. Omi chairman Tsubasa Kurosawa aimed to use Baba to keep Saejima from attaining parole until Goro Majima could be murdered, at which point Baba would use a large group of inmate transfers to fight off guards and allow Saejima to escape easily. Baba befriended Saejima, pretending to be a Kitakata-gumi member who had murdered someone in order for his aniki to become an officer. Secretly, however, he paid Hiroshi Kugihara to torment Saejima with the hopes that Saejima would fight back and have his parole revoked.

Baba and Saejima drinking at Polaris
In December 2012, Kurosawa's plan was set in motion, and, desperate to force Saejima to fight Kugihara, Baba stabbed one of Kugihara's henchmen and made it appear as though he had been framed by Kugihara in order to dash his chances at parole. Saejima, vengeful about Baba's lost future, attacked Kugihara, although Deputy Warden Seiji Kosaka chose not to punish Saejima. Instead, the Ministry of Justice blocked Saejima's parole; this, along with the murders of Saejima and the warden and the transfer of 100 new inmates to Abashiri, caused Kosaka to fear that Saejima and Baba's lives were in danger. He arranged for them to escape, but Kugihara nearly killed the two men before Baba and Saejima's cellmate Yoshiyuki Himura killed Kugihara and helped his friends escape. During the escape, Baba fell from Saejima's snowmobile and was stranded in the mountains, but Saejima risked his life to rescue Baba, who recovered in Kiyoshi Sato's hunting cabin. The two men then headed into Sapporo to investigate the murders of Majima and the warden, as they had promised Kosaka.

Baba aiming at Saejima
While Baba was touched that Saejima had saved his life on the mountain, he was still forced to go through with Kurosrawa's plot. The two men planned to kidnap Kitakata-gumi patriarch Taizo Kitakata and interrogate him about Majima's death, capturing him at the Sapporo Snow Festival. When Kitakata agreed to tell everything about Majima, Baba left the premise and headed to a nearby building, from which he shot Kitakata. Saejima captured Baba before he could flee, and Baba revealed the truth about his background, including how he had hired Kugihara to give Saejima more time in prison. He was unable to bring himself to shoot Saejima, however, and he planned to shoot himself out of guilt befroe Saejima stopped him and beat the fear of death into him. The two men then reconciled, with Baba saying that he wished he could officially be Saejima's sworn brother. He then fled to avoid Kurosawa and his men, as he feared that he would be killed for his dereliction of duty.

Baba and Haruka at the playground
Ultimately, Kurosawa ignored Baba's failure to kill Saejima, whom he persuaded - while disguised as a detective - to come to Tokyo and investigate Yu Morinaga's (fabricated) role in Majima's murder. Baba, meanwhile, would tail Kazuma Kiryu to ensure that he fell into Kurosawa's trap. Kiryu caught on to Baba following him and beat him up before persuading him to betray Kurosawa's plot. Baba explained the current situation, as well as his friendship with Saejima, and Kiryu, trusting Baba, sent him to tell Haruka Sawamura to never give up. Baba visited the Dyna Chair studio in Kabukicho and asked Haruka to meet him in a playground, where he delivered that message. While Baba had been ordered to kill Haruka at her Tokyo Dome concert, he was heartbroken when Haruka said that Baba seemed like the kind of man that Kiryu would have been friends with, as Haruka placed her trust in the man who would be sent to kill her.

Baba preparing to shoot himself
Ultimately, Baba attended Haruka's concert and hid in the outfield stands, from which he would kill Haruka with a sniper rifle he had concealed within a guitar case. Kiryu's associate Tatsuo Shinada, a former baseball player, figured that the hitman would hide in the outfield stands, where sign-stealers were often perched during baseball games, and he set out to confront Baba there. Baba had a change of heart about shooting Haruka and decided to pack up his equipment and leave, only for Shinada to arrive and tell Baba that he still needed to face punishment for what he had done. Shinada beat up Baba before the two collapsed out of fatigue. Ashamed of himself, Baba aimed his rifle at his head and told Shinada to give his apologies to Saejima. As Baba pulled the trigger, however, Himura, Heihachiro Oshima, and Kosaka arrived, and Himura shot the rifle out of Baba's hands. They persuaded Baba to return home to Abashiri to atone for his sins, and they watched the rest of the Dream Line concert before departing.