Mei Youren

Mei Youren (メイ友仁, Youren Mei) is an Arrancar and the wife of Aravin Nemo. A central member of the Bandera Roja, she is widely regarded as the most powerful member of the group, save for Aravin himself. The first of them to be found by the Kyouon, Mei holds the position as Beta within the organization.

Appearance
Mei is a woman with fair skin, green eyes and long, pink hair tied into two buns on the top of her head. She has red lipstick and a beauty-mark under each of her eyes. It should also be noted that she has quite the voluptuous figure. She wears a white kimono with white stripes on the edges and is open at the top, exposing her shoulder as well as her cleavage. A simple, black and red obi is tied around her waist, keeping the scanty kimono together. Mei wears a choker around her neck and has two red ribbons around the sleeves of her kimono. On the left bottom of her kimono, a flame-like symbol can be located. Oddly, Mei does not seem to possess no Hollow hole nor mask remains. Mei does not attach her Zanpakutō to a strap, but simply carries it in her left hand or lets one of her underlings carry it.

Personality
Mei is a calm and unsympathetic individual who is often clinging to her husband Aravin Nemo. With a very scoff nature, she's generally disliked by both allies and enemies alike. She has displayed little to no interest in anything happening around her, preferring to remain still until ordered to do something else. She can be oddly dramatic at times, using poetic expressions and idioms in conversations. Also, she sometimes starts to sing in the middle of a sentence. While some may take this as a sign of cheerfulness, it is more a mocking warning than anything else. Mei is noted to be quite polite, but in a rather sarcastic manner. Apparently, she also favors traditional Japanese values, such as ladies covering their mouths when speaking or laughing. As reflected by her high rank and power, Mei can be quite arrogant and overconfident at times, especially when engaging in combat with Shinigami.

Nevertheless, Mei has revealed that she can be quite mature and stoic when assigned important tasks. Most of the time, Mei allows a mocking smile cover her face. In truth, this is a facade. She is highly adept at hiding her emotions and Mitkee Ninko has stated that he has never seen her blurt out against anyone. Mei is possibly the most loyal and devoted member of the Bandera Roja. This has yet to come from her own mouth, but seeing as this has been claimed by both Aravin and Vondu Deya, it is a solid statement.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Mei's skill at wielding blades is said to be unrivaled. Her style is reminiscent of iaido; unsheathing and sheathing the blade between each cut. As it requires her to hold the scabbard, Mei can only use one hand. One should not underestimate her only because of this, however. Even with a single hand, she has fought Captain-level Shinigami. Occasionally if she deems the opponent powerful enough, Mei will go all out by utilizing kendo. Her kendo is noticeably rustier than her iaido, however.

Sonído Master: Mei has demonstrated on multiple on occasions that she is immensely skillful at using Sonído. When she launched a deserter Arrancar from one of the towers of Las Noches, Mei easily caught up the the plummeting rebel and was actually waiting for him at the bottom. The way she moves in battle indicate that she possesses excessive great speed, in which several Captains found it hard to keep up with her.

Highly Perceptive Combatant: Taking into consideration that Mei spends most of her time mocking the opponent from the sidelines, she has been revealed to be a highly intuitive woman. Even while insulting her opponent, she tends to analyze their movements as well as their abilities. Although it is a rather risky way of battling, Mei prefers to get close to any active ability and experience it before any conclusion is made. During her initial confrontation of Tier Harribel, she rapidly figured out that the other female was concerned about her subordinates simply by observing her stance and briefly scanning her reiatsu.

Immense Spiritual Pressure: As a 'perfect' Arrancar and the most powerful known Arrancar of Hueco Mundo, Mei boasts a tremendous reservoir of spiritual pressure. Similar to the Espada before Bandera Roja, Mei as well as the other generals are forbidden to release their Zanpakutō inside the dome of Las Noches, seeing as the release would be enough to demolish the fortress as well as a good portion of the surrounding area. Even before becoming an Arrancar, Vondu Deya found it difficult being near her as her spiritual power was crushing him. Her spiritual power is pink in terms of color.

Enhanced Strength: Mei has demonstrated on multiple occasions that she is much stronger than her physique reveals. Indeed, she can with ease cut through steel or buildings for that sake with relative ease; This with only a single hand. Initially, the moment of surprise is enough to overwhelm her opponents, giving Mei what she calls "a free eye".

Descorrer (解空(デスコレール), Desukorēru; Japanese for "Loosed Void", Spanish for "Opening"): A technique utilized only by the strongest Arrancar to open a Garganta between the world of the living and Hueco Mundo. She is seen using this when she traveled to the cellar of Urahara Shop in the Human World. Her way of summoning it is rather peculiar; Mei slashes the air in front of her in order to tear the fabric of space.

Immense Speed: Despite her immense skill in Sonído, Mei has demonstrated that she can with ease catch up with a large amount of opponents by merely running. Without doubt, she can catch up with anyone who has used a speed-technique to escape her grasp. One shall also take into consideration that she wears rather restricting footwear, disenabling her to attain a maximum potential speed.

Zanpakutō
Caléndula (マリーゴールド (庭の夕日侍), Kandyura; Spanish for "Marigold", Japanese for "Sunset Samurai of the Garden"): Mei's Zanpakutō resembles a humongously large blade with the slight resemblance of a nodachi, but with a slight more western-inspired guard. It lacks a tsuba and instead has a dark red cross-guard. The hilt itself is yellow and red, flanked with golden plates. On the very end of the hilt, a dark red pommel can be located. It is of a circular, flat shape; obviously eastern inspired.


 * Trepidar (揺れる (空弧), Tōrepidarū; Spanish for "Vibrate", Japanese for "Empty Arc"): By coating her Zanpakutō with spiritual power and swinging the blade in a wide arc, Mei can launch a sword-swing from a long distance. With a high vibration frequency, the blades can with ease cut through thin metal. In fact, she is adept enough with this technique to perform it similar to her iaido and can execute it in the blink of an eye.


 * Baile Luna (月舞え (閃空の夢), Baire Rūna; Spanish for "Moon Dance", Japanese for "Empty Flash of Dreams"): An advanced variation of Trepidar. The procedure to perform this technique is the same as Trepidar, but requires preciser timing and quicker movements. By slashing multiple times in the empty air, a flurry of vibrating waves will be formed. Unlike with Trepidar, who has to be fired right away, Mei can make these slashes wait in the air before firing. Upon striking the intended target, it will cause severe damage.


 * Rozamiento (摩擦 (研削火災), Rosamientō; Spanish for "Friction", Japanese for "Grinding Fire"): Mei drags the sheath of her Zanpakutō against a solid floor in a circle and transmits spiritual power into the blade. The blade itself heats up the scabbard and thus creates a flame which is sent straight towards the victim. However, the flame itself isn't the main threat. Even if one manages to block the fire, a Trepidar integrated into it may take the victim by surprise. This technique has a limited usage, seeing as it can only be used on a solid surface.

Trivia

 * According to the "Bleach: Chronicles of the Nights" author:
 * Mei represents the sin Pride.
 * Her favorite quote is "Elle N'y A Qu'un Bonheur Dans La Vie, C'est D'aimer Et D'être Aimé" (There Is Only One Happiness In Life, To Love And Be Loved).
 * Her dream is to spend the rest of her life with Aravin Nemo.

Quotes

 * (To a fresh member of Bandera Roja) "A lunatic wandering in a sea of ash, singing a song about an ephemeral dream castle... You should know better than letting her tempt you with this so called revolution. You have failed to maintain honor. A thorny whip will be waiting in your chamber."


 * (To Aravin Nemo) "What are you blathering about? L'amour, I love you more than the night. More than the smell of roses. More than my blood. More than my own life. If you question my loyalty to you, you will break my heart."