Whip

"You’ve got some pretty good moves, but you’re not quite a match for me."

- Whip

Whip (ウィップ, Wippu), whose real name is Seirah (セーラ, Sēra), is a character who first appeared in The King of Fighters '99 as the new member to the Ikari team. Her affinity for whips earned her the nickname, Muchiko (ムチ子, Muchiko) -which roughly translates to "Whip Girl" (sometimes translated as "Whippy") - by Ralf Jones.

She was planned to enter the series in The King of Fighters '96 but was pushed back to The King of Fighters '99 due to Leona's introduction. According to the developers' diary for KOF 2000, her name Whip is an anagram of Winnie-the-Pooh.

History
According to the 2001 novel written by Akihiko Ureshino, Whip is a clone of the real Seirah; Seirah was K's biological older sister who died after being abducted by NESTS. Ureshino comments that he wrote this origin story for her because the developers didn't want to clarify anything about her to him. Until this was written, Seirah is only shown briefly as a child in K's memories, imploring her younger brother (K') to remain strong until they meet again.

Regardless of whether she is a clone or not, she is called Seirah by people who knew her in NESTS. She also responds to the nicknames Sally or Sarah. She befriended Krizalid under the assumption that he was her brother before she escaped from the cartel. She used Sally as a codename to join the military.

She is eventually assigned to Heidern's mercenary unit under her current name, Whip. She enters the King of Fighters tournament to investigate NESTS. While her team isn't present, she privately interrogates NESTS agents to find information regarding herself and the whereabouts of her brother.

After learning a startling but undisclosed revelation from Zero, she joins K' and his objective to destroy NESTS. After NESTS's downfall, she returns to her duties under Heidern's command. During the KOF XI tournament, she serves as backup for the Ikari team and asked Kula Diamond to enter the tournament with K' and Maxima.

Personality
She is an enigmatic and quiet individual who acts towards her own goals. According to Maxima, she is a pure and honest person who judges others fairly. She treats both K' and Kula Diamond as a little brother and sister.

Powers

 * Whipping strike - Seirah can use her hands to strike at her opponent in a blindingly fast whipping motion. She probably doesn't have enough control of this ability, and only chooses to use such power to a downed opponent. Her attacking range increases, and she can attack multiple times.

Fighting Style
Her fighting style is based on Soubenjutsu, the Japanese martial art of the use of the whip and also takes inspiration in other kinds of whip fighting. Her whip, probably designed by NESTS, can transform into a blade or a gun. She also has a concealed Desert Eagle which she can fire at the opponent.

Her Desert Eagle was censored for international release. The most obvious example of the edit is her team's ending in KoF 2000 where she points the weapon at the camera and shoots Zero. As replacement, she uses some kind of exploding beads held interlocking between her fingers, and in her HSDM in KoF2002 and KoF2002UM, instead of bringing out a firearm, her whip morphs into one.