Melina Herselia

Melina Herselia (メリーナヘルシリア, Herushiria Merīna) is an Arrancar member of Team Ningensei, a team participating in the Hell tournament.

Appearance
Melina has a relatively young appearance, giving the visual impression of a young teen more than anything. She has black, shoulder-length hair that is tied back in a short ponytail. She also has brown eyes. Her outfit consists of the stereotypical Espada uniform; a white jacket and hakama, along with a black sash around the waist in which her Zanpakutō is secured. Physically, she is quite slender and slim, her actual weight matching up to her visual weight.

Personality
Naturally, Melina is shown to be very child-like and sweet. She is very upbeat and easy-going, her earnest nature serving as a jaded light in the darkness of her teammates' nature. To the likes of Senkaku Ningensei, her behavior is quite infectious; when she is rocking back and forth and standing on her tip-toes briefly before repeating the same pattern again, he eventually decides to mimic her. She is rarely known to get angry, and the times that she does is only out of playfulness and naive pout. She seems to hold a genuine caring for her teammates, even the likes of the rude and lecherous Nnoitra Jiruga. Mostly, even in the heat of combat, she can exhibit a playful personality, as if combat was simply a game to be won or lost. Despite her bright persona, she can also be emotionally vulnerable in rare cases, showing panic and grievance at the sight of one of her teammates being severely harmed. She isn't as recieving to pain as her teammates are, nearly breaking down under the torture inflicted upon her by Isabella Peleira in their fight.

However, one of the things that are in question about her is the stability of her mind. Throughout her life, she has been said to have seen the near-constant hallucinations of the typical family consisting of a mother, father, and a brother, all of which bear a resemblance to her. She will even speak in a gentle, but obviously maniacal tone about them, claiming that "Mother, Father, and Brother are all watching us play... so let's play nice." She holds a zealous belief in the concept "life is a game" Despite her kind nature towards her teammates, she will not hesitate to strike them down in cold blood if they are interfering with something, particularly a duel. She has an insatiable bloodlust and sadistic nature, keeping her opponents alive as long as possible just to hear and see their pain inflicted on them. When she is on the drastically losing edge of a fight, she will become more desperate, her insanity surfacing even more. However, when she is finally defeated, she will abruptly calm down with a sad resolution, as well as a statement: "Looks like I lost this round..."

History
In Progress

Grimmjow vs Nnoitra: Venganza del Rey
Melina is first seen with fellow teammate Nnoitra Jiruga as a witness to him slaughtering several attacking Menos. Apparently, she is just stumbling across him, questioning on why he is so far out from Team Ningensei's location. Ignoring the rather rude response he makes towards her, she realizes his actions, and teases him about killing such weak opponents. However, for unsaid reasons, she goes silent when he threatens her. Arrogantly, he warns her not to mess with the strongest Espada. However, she is rather skeptical, pointing out that he had been the Quinta (5th) Espada. However, before she can also point out that Coyote Starrk was the Primera Espada, Nnoitra silences her once more, stating that the tattooes on his back didn't matter anymore, and that soon, he would be come the new Primera. However, Nnoitra is immediately interrupted by the entrance of Grimmjow, who comments that such a statement would be talking "big". After a few biting exchange of words, Nnoitra challenges Grimmjow to a duel. Hesitantly, Melina offers to help Nnoitra, but the man shuts her down. As the two fight, she is a mostly silent observer, although making cheers for Nnoitra and remarking (almost insultingly) about Grimmjow. During the fight's end, Nnoitra is about to finish Grimmjow off, but is forced away by Diosa, a female accomplice of Grimmjow. Melina is noticeably impressed by the ability to throw Nnoitra away with a simple kick, deducing her powerful capabilities. She stops Nnoitra from attempting to attack the both of them, warning him that she could very easily kill him in his battle-worn state.

The Demon and the Shark: Nnoitra Jiruga vs Tia Harribel
Melina is observing a sparring match between a released Senkaku and Nnoitra with earnest. After Nnoitra delivers a glancing blow to Senkaku, he sportingly taunts the man by stating he was only using four arms. Melina, however, points out that the use of four arms would not matter if his opponent could outmaneuver him. Nnoitra indignantly states that would not happen, noting that he nearly killed his last opponent (Grimmjow. In the story itself, she plays an almost non-existent role, simply watching the confrontation between Nnoitra and Tia Harribel. However, at some points, she does allow herself to speak, deducing between Harribel and Starrk who was the Primera and Tercera. After Nnoitra is defeated, Melina is instructed by Senkaku to heal Nnoitra.

Discipline To The Kindred Soul: Melina Herselia vs. Isabella Peleira
Apparently having robbed Nnoitra of Santa Teresa, Melina taunts him as he chases her in Hueco Mundo. However, when they pass by Isabella Peleira, she stops, stunned by the massive amount of spiritual energy sensed. This gives Nnoitra time to tackle her, putting them both into a position where it appears to Isabella as if he was going to rape her. Immediately, Isabella forces him off of her, surprising them both. She remains silent and watches Isabella curiously as Nnoitra angrily demands the reason for her interferences, to which she refers to the position they had been in. Melina herself laughs this off, denying Nnoitra not to be that shallow. Sitting up, she tosses Santa Teresa back to Nnoitra, who catches it and threatens to decapitate her if she stole it again. When he exchanges taunting words with Isabella, and as she notes the Tercera tattoo on her naval that signals her former position as 3rd Espada, Melina immediately becomes intrigued. She requests a sparring match with Isabella, who readily agrees. As they fight, Melina proves to be much more of a tougher opponent than Isabella had expected, able to fight on par with her. Eventually, Isabella decides to release her Resurrecion. Despite Melina complaining about it, she follows suit. However, the fight becomes short-lived once Isabella uses Violentos Alcance Cero, a Cero-based artillery attack. Although Melina attempts to defend herself, she is overwhelmed by the attack. However, despite the killing power put into the attack, Melina is able to survive it, re-appearing behind Isabella and slashing her in the back. As she recovers, Isabella commends her for surviving, though remarking that she is still bored. She proceeds to activate Hervor de Sangre, boiling the blood from Melina's wounds and subjecting her to horrendous torture. This enrages Nnoitra, who proceeds to release Santa Teresa and attack Isabella. However, before he can overwhelm her, Melina's Etiqueta ability kicks in, the pain and damage transferred to Isabella. The plan fails when Isabella uses Alma de Intercambio, switching bodies with Melina. For a moment, Isabella is able to mimic Melina perfectly, until Melina herself wakes up and weakly calls out Nnoitra's name. Aware that Nnoitra had not bothered to state his name to Isabella, he realizes he had been tricked, and threatens Isabella with a blade to her neck. Isabella herself is undeterred, and gives Nnoitra two choices; let Isabella alone, or watch as she kills both herself and Melina (due to the nature of the body switch). Melina is stricken to hear when Nnoitra goads her to do it. However, before Isabella can perform the final blow, Nacido Soñador incapacitates both her and Melina with a blow to the back of the head. Both of them, while unconscious, are healed. After the fight between Nnoitra and Nacido is over, Melina and Isabella both stir from their slumber. Upon seeing Nnoitra's face, she immediately becomes distraught, refusing to speak to him. As Isabella and Nacido leave the area, Melina immediately begins to scream at him, demanding to know why he made the decision not to stop her. At first, Nnoitra reponds only with silence, which only enrages her further. However, he eventually states to her that he had gotten angry because Melina had been tortured, and death would've been much better than having her own body used by another like a puppet. As she remains silent, he says that he doesn't care about what she thought of him. This seems to calm her down a little, but she insists that she needs some time to think. He relents, vanishing from the area and leaving both Nacido and Melina alone.

Nacido chooses this time to comfort her, sitting down beside her and questions both of their failed hopes. Melina bitterly says that she can understand what Nnoitra said, but doesn't understand why he had to be so cruel about it. Nacido explains that some people would act that way, using her master Isabella as an example. She notes that Isabella had a habit of beating weakness out of her, despising the show of emotions and punishing Nacido for it. Puzzled, Melina questions the need to tolerate such, as she believes showing emotion kept them from being the killing machines that they had always been seen as. Nacido is unsure of how to respond, contemplating possible fear of being alone. She is also hesitant in showing ungratefulness to Isabella due to the woman having trained her. Melina asks if Nacido has someone in mind, which she confirms. The conversation seems to cheer Melina up, and she wishes Nacido good luck with the person. When Nacido questions if Melina herself had anyone in mind, she thinks about it before denying it, stating the closest thing she had would be her teammates, particularly Nnoitra. Hesitantly, Nacido asks if Melina loved Nnoitra, to which she readily denies. Deviously, she turns the question back on Nacido, to which she admits. Excited, Melina questions if they had kissed and did Nnoitra himself know of it. Slightly embarrassed, Nacido admits once more, causing pride to swell up within Melina. When Melina asks if Nacido would see Nnoitra again, Nacido states that she would like to say yes. Melina encourages Nacido to do so.

Melina promptly ends the conversation by standing up, knowing that Senkaku would be mad if she stayed out for too late. Nacido requests to say good-bye to Nnoitra for her, adding that Isabella would be mad at her as well for being late. She also admits that it had been fun talking to Melina. As Nacido extends a hand for her to shake, Melina accepts, but pulls Nacido into an affectionate hug before she leaves the area.

Brothers and Sisters of the Sword: Team Ningensei vs. Team Zealot
When the battles begin, Team Ningensei and Team Zealot are picked to go against each other. For three battles, Melina chooses to be a silent observer of the fight. When Senkaku Ningensei defeats Fuerte Silenciar, Melina excitedly hugs and congratulates Senkaku for his efforts. When Hermosa Savanna is defeated by Tristeza Desgaste, she cheers up a sullen Senkaku by stating that the teams are simply tied.

Powers & Abilities
Immense Spiritual Power: As a Vastro Lorde-class Arrancar, Melina possesses tremendous spiritual power. Its density and potent effect it has on the air will cause those below Captain-level Shinigami to have negative symptoms, from loss of breath, to being crushed if too much force is exerted on them. The aura's color of her spiritual energy is a dark purple when released, and the pillar is enough to scrape the sky.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Melina's swordsmanship skills allow her to fight on par against a Shinigami opponent's Bankai with her own Zanpakutō still sealed. She can react reflexively and naturally to attacks, fighting with one hand in order to promote accuracy and speed rather than outright brute strength. She can hold her own against three opponents simultaneously, considering that only one of them is of Captain-level. Her fighting style involves wearing down the enemy's stamina via defense, counter-attacks, and parrying before she herself swoops in for possibly lethal blows of her own.

Sonído Master: Melina possesses extreme skill in the use of Sonído to the point of holding her own against nearly any opponent that crosses her path. This speed allows her to avoid close-range killing blows, even when against a Captain-level opponents. When she is using it, she can also leave after-images behind her in order to confuse anyone sighting her out. Combined with her agility and swordsmanship skill, Melina can force an opponent completely on the defensive in a one-on-one duel and leave no room for counter-attack.

Cero: They are high-powered energy blasts that can be fired from various body parts, such as mouth, tongue, hand or fingers. Only Gillians, Adjuchas, Arrancar, and the Vizard have so far been shown to use Cero attacks, and it appears that stronger entities can use it more efficiently. Melina's own Cero is colored purple, matching that of her own reiatsu. Its power matches that of Ulquiorra Cifer's Cero Oscuras, capable of shattering one's Zanpakuto and critically injuring them in one blast. The collateral damage can annihilate the upper structures of a city.

Immense Strength: Melina, despite her slender build, has frightening and tremendous strength, commonly displayed by her ability to fight off Bankai users while still keeping herself from using Resurrección. Her cutting strength can leave deep wounds even in the strongest of opponents, as well as shatter other weapons with a single slice at full effort.

Garganta: Garganta is how Arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. Melina has the ability to use the technique. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway. Melina, as well as her teammates, have a more diverse effect of using it, being able to create a pathway that allows her to go to destinations other than the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, particularly Hell where she and her teammates are scheduled to participate in the tournament.

Genius Intellect: Despite her bubbly nature, Melina has shown to be perceptive, analyptical, and accurate in her statements. In Nnoitra's battle with Grimmjow, she discerned that they both were fighting evenly with one another, unable to tell which one was weaker. Upon meeting Team Harbinger, she was immediately able to guess the ranks and power level of Starrk and Harribel without anyone having to tell her.

Zanpakutō
Niñez (幼少, Youshou; Spanish and Japanese for "Childhood"). Niñez resembles a rapier more than anything else, having three edge-connected circles at the base and a parallel bar of the blade as a guard. The blade is slender and slim, slightly thinner than that of a katana blade. Its very shape is the testament of Melina's strength and agility.
 * Resurrección: Its release command is "Play Nice" (仲良く遊ぶ, Nakayoku Asobu). At first, her spiritual energy exerts itself from her body in a wild manner, enveloping the surrounding area in its power. However, this is only brief and temporary before it calms itself down and disperses. It leaves behind several butterfly-like apparitions as an environmental backdrop. In this form, her hair grows longer, and her body gains a more mature appearance, growing in height. The Hollow hole and mask fragments on her left eye are revealed, the bandages removed. Her sword doubles and changes into two katana blades that are slightly shorter than her original blade. Her outfit gives her the appearance of a warrior, with two square armor plates on her waistt, a golden vest around her chest similar to a shirt, golden shoulder platings, and fur-laced boots. She sports a brown skirt that reaches just above the knees.
 * Resurrección Special Ability: In this form, the typical ability she possesses is an increase of speed and strength, though the extent is unknown as of yet. She claims that her Resurrección power surpasses even Senkaku's own, based on the concept of Arrancars being more powerful the more human they look. Despite her original abilities enhanced to greater levels, her real ability is to make the concept of children's games real, similar to Shunsui Kyōraku's own Shikai ability. She has several "games" that she uses in the battlefield against her opponent, though she herself as to play by her rules as well. Anyone within her spiritual boundaries is forced to play. Anyone who refuses will be subject to torturous pain in accordance to the game.
 * Rayuela (石蹴り, Hopscotch): When walking, running, and/or utilizing a speed technique (Sonido, Shunpo, etc), both Melina and her opponent have to fix themselves with either one foot as a landing or two, depending on the number of times they come out of it. The pattern follows the complex version of English hopscotch. If she or the opponent fail to land on the correct number of feet, their heart immediately stops beating, and they soon die afterwards. This is one of her abilities that require heavy memorization by herself and the opponent in order to ensure their survival.
 * Etiqueta (タグ, Tag): When Melina cuts an opponent and has this ability activated, a 30-second time limit is initiated. In order to win, a person must be the last person to achieve a cut on their opponent. When the timer runs out, all pain and damage accumulated in the fight up to that point will be transferred to the loser. This ability requires quick thinking, speed, and reflexes in order to increase the chances of victory. If the opponent attempts to reverse the process, not only will the techniques used to do so be reversed, but once it is complete, their torso will immediately split open, and their organs will spill from their body.
 * Escondite (かくれんぼ, Hide-and-Seek): Out of Melina and the opponent, one person will be selected to be the "seeker". The seeker has to close his/her eyes and count to 100, while the other person goes off to hide their presence. The seeker is not allowed to use any means to find the hider before they reach 100. If they do, their eyes will be slowly burned out of their skulls, and the majority of their spiritual energy will be stripped from their bodies. When the seeker finds the hider, they lift a finger to point at the person and say "Found you!" The hider is immediately forced down to the ground, immobilized and unable to move by any means. The seeker has a choice to release him, or deliver one blow that can either harm or kill the hider. In either choice, the seeker wins, but if the hider is spared, the game resets. This will repeat until Melina disables the ability herself. If one refuses to play, the nervous system will be overridden with pain - an expansion of the seeker's punishment. Eventually, the nerves of the victim will be burned out, and he/she will die.
 * Simón Dice (サイモンさんが言いました, Simon Says): This ability influences sword combat between Melina and her opponent. For every 10 seconds that pass, Melina says a certain command that the opponent has to follow, beginning with the words "Simón Dice". If the opponent does not follow the command, damage is inflicted on them according to the way they were supposed to attack or defend. If Melina fails to state a command within 10 seconds, then damage will be inflicted on her according to the way her opponent was supposed to attack or defend, even if it is blocked.
 * Acorazado (戦艦, Battleship): The butterflies that are in the area will immediately start to fly around in patterns, forming massive wide pillars of spiritual energy that act as cover for both opponents, as if in a shoot out. There are a total of 10 pillars, separated into five rows. Each pillar is seeable. Both Melina and her opponent have to hide behind a pillar. Each person has to take turns guessing which pillar that the opponent is hiding behind, then temporarily go out from their cover and make a slashing motion towards that pillar. If they get it incorrect, nothing will happen. However, if they get it correct, damage will be inflicted on the target depending on the strength and type of the slash. Five slashes will result in the death of the loser. If the opponent tries to cheat and bypass the pillars, their bones will immediately shatter into fragments, and they will be permanently immobilized.
 * Verdugo (死刑執行人, Hangman): With this ability activated, Melina tips the opponent off with a statement, "I'm thinking of a word with..." and then states the number of letters in the word. The opponent has six guesses. For every wrong answer, pain will be inflicted on a certain body part; first the head, then the torso, then each of the arms and legs. This pain is incurable by any means. If the opponent is unable to guess on the sixth try, then the heart will stop beating, and the opponent will go into a comatose state. However, if they are able to guess correctly, they will be restored to full strength and energy level. If the opponent refuses to guess, then their windpipe will constrict in on itself, choking the opponent to death.

Trivia

 * Melina's relationship with Nnoitra Jiruga seems to closely resemble that between Coyote Starrk and Lillynette Gingerback, as well as the relationship between Zaraki Kenpachi and Yachiru Kusajishi.
 * Melina's name is actually a misspelled version of the actual spanish name Milena.
 * Melina's Zanpakutō abilities have been commonly referenced as "children games turned into nightmares".