Tier Harribel

Tia Harribel (ティア・ハリベル, Tia Hariberu), called Tia Hallibel in the English dub, was an Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army, and is the former Espada Tres (3). It is revealed that the singular slash that Aizen had made on her body wasn't enough to actually kill her. She survives and leaves Aizen behind, looking for comrades to accept her. She finds this in the form of the mysterious Team Harbinger, as she admires it's leader, Raian Getsueikirite's sacrificial nature and pledges her allegiance to him.

Appearance
Harribel has dark skin, green eyes, blonde eyelashes, and messy short blonde hair which has three braided locks. She wears a variation of the Arrancar jacket that covers the lower part of her face downward, while baring a good portion of the lower half of her large breasts. The jacket, unlike that of other Arrancar, has a zipper running along its entire length that is opened from the bottom upwards (in the anime, this outfit is extended to fully cover her breasts, a black stripe showing where the original cut of the jacket was). The jacket's sleeves completely envelop her arms, terminating in black glove-like extensions at her extremities, which slightly gives her fingers the appearance of a cat's paws. Harribel carries her Zanpakutō horizontally across her back (similar to Soifon). The sword itself is notably broad and short compared to others, and has a western-style guard.

The remnants of her Hollow mask consist of the sides of her face and her mouth, as well as an extensive area below and around her neck extending down to, and also covering, her nipples; she usually hides these Hollow remnants from view with her jacket (in the anime, the remnants are extended to cover the underside of her breasts due to censorship). Harribel's mask fragment give her a similar appearance to Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, at least in regards to the teeth. To date she has the most intact mask of any Arrancar not including the incomplete Grand Fisher (though the mask is removed upon her Zanpakutō's release). Her Espada tattoo is oddly placed on the left side of her right breast. The location of her Hollow hole is currently unknown, despite the fact that her release form reveals most of her body.

Personality
Harribel rarely speaks, and when she does, she's fairly serious. An example would be when she tells her Fracción that being afraid of an Espada's released form is a natural reaction. She calculated the battle between Ichigo Kurosaki and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was more of a fight between two Espada than anything else. She tends to cross her arms when not engaged in combat.

Compared to her fellow Espada, who are usually arrogant, boastful, impulsive, battle-hungry, bloodthirsty, and egotistical, Harribel is composed, receptive, analytical, and prefers not to engage in combat; she is content on silently observing both parties until the fighting reaches its conclusion, and actually fights only when she is challenged and attacked by an opponent or commanded to fight by her superiors (though she appears reluctant to take orders from a higher-ranked Espada). However, when she is betrayed by Aizen, Harribel angrily attacks him, showing that, when provoked, Harribel is quite aggressive and brutal, something that wasn't present during her previous fights with Hitsugaya, Lisa, and Hiyori; though, it was again shown in her confrontation with Nnoitra Jiruga after her leaving Aizen, as the Arrancar man held her in a very sexist view and despised her for her power, causing her extreme resentment of him. This particular anger seems to stem from Nnoitra's sexism towards women, as well as his disdain for his comrades. Harribel's gender and associated rank in the Espada often draws the unwanted attention of other people; Nnoitra Jiruga attempts to provoke her into attacking him with a sharply-worded comment during the Espada meeting. She also catches the eye of Captain Shunsui Kyōraku, even to the point of him mentioning his (rather positive) opinion of her abilities to his opponent.

Before Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends broke into Las Noches, Harribel is seen in the company of Aizen and her fellow Espada - in Aizen's throne room, the debriefing room, and the room which houses the Hōgyoku. However, she, like the other Espada, has her own quarters. Whenever she is present, Aizen usually greets the group with words such as "ladies and gentlemen of the Espada" or "brothers and sisters", apparently for her exclusive benefit, as she is the only female. She views Aizen and his powers in high regard, which is reciprocated by Aizen to a certain extent, as he seems unconcerned with the prospect of his top three Espada fighting a numerically-superior force led by six Shinigami captains without his aid.

Strangely, Harribel seems to show some concern for her enemies. This was hinted when she observed Ichigo's fight with Grimmjow and was finalized when she asked Hitsugaya about his fluctuating reiatsu during their fight. Unlike most of her comrades, Harribel does care for her Fracción, as she is noticeably upset when she senses their presences fading, and later angrily assaulting Hitsugaya seconds after their defeat at the hands of Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

History
At some point in time, she was an Arrancar in Aizen Sōsuke's army and the third Espada. She participated in the Winter War in the Fake Karakura Town against the Gotei 13. Her opponent at the time was then captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro. She was a powerfull fighter being able to fight against a captain-class Shinigami effortlessly. During most of their fight Harribel was able to match blow for blow, using her Resurrección to fight against Hitsugaya's Bankai and again, both were evenly matched due to the same elemental nature of their zanpakutō. During the late stages of the fight two vizards Hiyori Sarugaki, Lisa Yadōmaru joined the battle. She was able to fight off all three opponents for a while, but an unexpected event occured, she was betrayed by her comannder Aizen Sosuke. Aizen, who notices their fight, suddenly appears behind Harribel. She turns, noticing his presence as he approaches her and before she can react, he slashes Harribel across her midsection. She is shocked as Aizen only responds that he is done with her as it appears that she is not strong enough to fight for him. Harribel looks at Aizen with rage and retaliates by stabbing him through the chest with her sword. Aizen's expression does not change as he says dealing with her is such a pain, surprising Harribel. She then realizes that she attacked an illusion and that she has been stabbed from the back of her left shoulder by the real Aizen. He then states that he will never allow her to raise her sword against him again and withdraws his sword, which sends Harribel plummeting into the city below, finally unconscious. Upon awakening, the Gotei 13 and Vizard were all unconscious, and Aizen and Gin had left to destroy the real Karakura Town. The pain of betrayal finally hitting her, Harribel ponders going to Karakura Town to fight Aizen more but realizes that she would only get in the fighters' way and instead opens a Garganta for Rider City, in the Human World, and leaves the Fake Karakura Town.

There she meets Raian Getsueikirite, who is gathering members for his team. She agrees once he tells her of his past and his current goals; being to find his family, explaining that he had lost his life a Shinigami to be with the people he loved. He also told her of his brother's "death". Believing him to embody sacrifice as she does, she agrees to his proposal on the condition that he helps her get stronger.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Harribel has demonstrated tremendous skill in swordsmanship, being able to fight on even grounds with Hitsugaya, a captain-level Shinigami as well as famous prodigy of swordsmanship. Harribel is ambidextrous and can switch her sword from her right to left. She is even capable of defending herself from a Shinigami captain and two Vizard simultaneously. In her battle with Nnoitra, and upon becoming serious in the battle, Harribel's ferocity in swordsmanship combined with her speed not only shocked, but even struck slight fear into the former Espada.

Cero: Harribel has been shown to charge her yellow Cero using her sword and being able to fire it in a very wide ranging form, following the arc of her subsequent sword swing.
 * Gran Rey Cero: As an Espada, she is able to use this Espada-exclusive Cero variant, which produces a much larger and more powerful version of the normal Cero, enough potentially to cause great damage to Las Noches itself. For this reason, Aizen banned its use inside the fortress, although, now that she no longer serves Aizen, she uses this Cero variation however she pleases. In order to fire it, it seems Harribel must first cut her own hand on her Zanpakutō's sealed state, mixing her blood with the Cero. Harribel's Gran Rey Cero is colored pinkish-purple. Her Gran Rey Cero is shown to be more powerful than Nnoitra's Cero Doble, which was a Cero comprised of her regular Cero and Nnoitra's own Cero blast combined into one.

Sonído Master: Harribel has demonstrated incredible speed in battle, initially able to outmaneuver Hitsugaya to the point of forcing him almost completely on the defensive. Her training since leaving Aizen seems to have increased this aspect of her powers as well. She has been shown to almost keep up with her new master, Raian Getsueikirite, being able to hit him once with her sealed zanpakutō during one of their many training matches, but not getting a chance to do so again as Raian proved to be far faster. She actively uses her mastery of Sonído techniques and is highly proficient in evasion in close quarters as well as from a distance, thus making hitting her almost impossible if not for the most advanced combatant. Her movements are noticeably so fast that few would be likely to see an attack take place. Harribel is able to create at least twelve clones of herself at once using Sonído, similar in principle to Zommari Leroux's Gemelos Sonído, in her battle with Nnoitra. While they are indistinguishable from her true self and mimic her movements, they do not seem to last long. Garganta: Garganta is how Arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. Harribel has the ability to use this 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. She is seen using one to travel to the Fake Karakura Town.

Immense Spiritual Power: Being one of the top four members of the Espada, Harribel is forbidden to release her Zanpakutō while inside the dome of Las Noches. If she were to do so, her immense spiritual power would be enough to demolish the fortress. Her spiritual power is yellow. Her spiritual power has vastly increased since her days as an Espada. It is now big enough to shock her foes upon it's release, even making some of her teammates stand back when she begins using her spiritual energy. Her anger alone seems to raise her energy to the point where Senkaku Ningensei took a step back from intimidation.

Highly Perceptible Combatant: While a person of few words, Harribel has shown herself to be an intuitive person. She is easily able to see through a person's demeanor to determine what they are thinking about. During the battle between Ichigo and Grimmjow, she noted how similar the two were, especially in terms of energy signatures. Her keen intellect and intuition is later seen in the initial fight with Hitsugaya, being able to see through his icy demeanor and identify his concern for his Lieutenant. She was able to sense a small wavering in Hitsugaya's Spiritual Pressure after the arrival of Hinamori concerned him. In her battle with Nnoitra, she immediately noticed his will to fight her and his intense disdain for her, calling him out on it after discovering why he hadn't accompanied them to the Fake Karakura Town.

Master Tactician: Harribel was able to hold her own in a fight against Hitsugaya who used counter abilities to her own, taking advantage of his attacks to use for her own purposes. In her battle with Nnoitra, Harribel managed to deduce that his Resurrección was a melee-type, and instantly converted her strategy from close range fighting to long range fighting to take advantage of the situation.

Enhanced Strength: In her battle with Nnoitra, Harribel effortlessly blocks Nnoitra's Santa Tresa; a blow that had his full might behind it, with no visible signs of buckling under the force of the strike. Later in that same fight, her strength was shown, when coupled with her reiatsu, to cut Nnoitra's intense hierro and even shove him back, causing him some shock.

Enhanced Hierro: Her hierro is such that she was able to take a blow from Nnoitra's giant zanpakutō, a blow that would've broken any normal person's arm completely, and be little more than stunned.

Zanpakutō
Tiburón (皇鮫后 (ティブロン), tiburon; Spanish for "Shark", Japanese for "Imperial Shark Empress"): In its sealed state, Harribel's Zanpakutō, while not particularly long, is unusually wide and has the distinction of being completely hollow in the middle, essentially consisting of nothing more than the edges of what would otherwise be a normal sword. Its handle is purple and its guard is as wide as its blade, with three small holes on either end that Harribel uses to unsheathe it. Oddly, the sword is longer than its sheathe. It is worn horizontally on her upper back.


 * Ola Azul (波蒼砲 (オーラ・アズール), Ōra Azūru; Spanish for "Blue Wave", Japanese for "Blue Wave Gun"): A technique in which Harribel pulls her sword back as it gathers yellow spiritual energy within the hollow portion of her blade and launches it towards her opponent, in the form of an energy blade projectile. She has also demonstrated the ability to keep the energy concentrated within the hollowed out portion of the blade and unleash it in the form of a ribbon when attacking.


 * Resurrección: Its release command is "Attack" (討て, ute). When releasing her Zanpakutō, she holds it in an outstretched arm in front of her with the blade pointing down and declares the release command. She is then completely enveloped by a heart-shaped surge of water that closes around her to form a cocoon-like cyclone which Harribel then cuts herself out of. In this form, all of her clothes are gone, as well as her Espada tattoo. The Hollow fragments she has in her sealed state become a collar with extensions that cover her nipples, in addition to spaulders on her shoulders with two ribbon-like protrusions on her back that bare a resemblance to shark fins. A thin, spine-like structure also forms on her stomach, spanning from her waist to the underside of her breasts. Harribel now wears a mini-skirt consisting of bones that appear to surround a dark undergarment. She wears a pair of knee-length boots and elbow-length gloves as well. Her weapon takes the form of a broad pata, which resembles an elongated shark tooth, featuring an unusual hilt with a hand guard that completely covers her hand. The sword also possesses what appear to be gill markings along either side of the blade. Harribel loses her three braids, making her hair become messy, and gains two lightning bolt markings on both sides of her face.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: In this form, Harribel's speed and strength increase immensely.


 * Cero Oscuras (黒虚閃, (セロ・オスキュラス), sero osukyurasu; Spanish for "Dark Zero", Japanese for "Black Hollow Flash"), or more grammatically correct Cero Oscuro, is a full-powered black Cero used primarily by Ulquiorra; though during her training, after leaving Aizen, Harribel managed to pick up this technique as well. When using this technique, Harribel concentrates her vast spiritual energy into the tip of her pata, releasing an condensed jet-black Cero (with a yellow outline) with great might. The result of being used in her released state is a much greater Cero, exceeding even Gran Rey Cero, the ultimate Cero, and has been referred to as "an Espada's fully-powered Cero." When fired, it covers any exposed light into absolute pitch darkness. The Cero Oscuras's range is vast, and is mighty enough to completely destroy half of the dome over Las Noches.


 * Water Manipulation: Her primary ability in this form is the creation and manipulation of water. The water used for her attacks is generated by the gill-markings on her blade.


 * Hirviendo (灼海流 (イルビエンド), irubiendo; Spanish for "Boiling", Japanese for "Burning Current"): Harribel points her blade out and instantly boils any form of water that comes close to it, including ice, and deflects it around her.


 * Cascada (断瀑 (カスケーダ), kasukeda; Spanish for "Waterfall", Japanese for "Cutting Waterfall"): Harribel launches a rushing surge of water at her enemy. The torrent of high pressure water is large enough to cover several town blocks.


 * La Gota (戦雫 (ラ・ゴータ), ra gota; Spanish for "The Drop", Japanese for "War Drop") Harribel is able to condense large amounts of water around her blade before firing it as a blast that resembles a shark tooth. She has also demonstrated the ability to fire multiple blasts in rapid succession with relative ease. The blasts strike with enough force to demolish houses.

Fracción
Harribel's Fracción consisted of three female Arrancar, all presumed dead or incapacitated at this time. She seemingly holds them in high regard as she wishes to avenge them.


 * Apache  (アパッチ, Apacchi) is a tomboyish Arrancar with heterochromia, one sky blue and one amber eye; the latter has a red ring around it. Apache's mask fragment is on the top of her head with a horn in the middle much like that of a unicorn. Apache's Zanpakutō are the bracelets strapped to her arms.


 * Mila-Rose (ミラ・ローズ, Mira Rōzu) is a dark-skinned Arrancar who dresses like an Amazon warrior. Her mask fragments form a three-sectioned crown around her head and a thick necklace. Her Hollow hole is positioned midway between her navel and breasts. Her Zanpakutō is a western style longsword.


 * Sun-Sun (スンスン, Sunsun) wears a long white dress, with sleeves that extend well past her hands. She also has two belts criss-crossing each other on her waist. Sun-Sun has long, flowing green hair and three dots below her right eye. Her mask remnants create three hair clip-like extensions on the right side of her hair. Her Hollow hole isn't visible. She seems to be the most mature of Harribel's Fracción, advising Apache and Mila-Rose to stop arguing, as it makes them look weak, then chiding their angry responses. Her Zanpakutō resembles a sai.

Trivia

 * Harribel's aspect of death is Sacrifice.
 * Harribel introduces herself as Tres (three) Espada, instead of Tercera (third)

Quotes

 * (To Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun) "Don't worry about it. This is the battle of an Espada in his Resurrección form. It's not unreasonable for you to be frightened. That's your primal fear. Value it."


 * (About Ichigo Kurosaki and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's battle) "However, is the one he's fighting truly Human? I'd never think that this volume, concentration and catastrophic nature of his reiatsu would be that of a Human's. It seems more like I'm watching a fight between two Espada."


 * (To Tōshirō Hitsugaya) "How underwhelming. So this is all a captain amounts to."


 * "You stood no chance. With the bite of a shark, a dragon of ice shall sink beneath the waves."


 * (To Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto) "You are next. I will avenge my subordinates."


 * (To Tōshirō Hitsugaya) "If it's the case that my water can become your weapon, then the instant you arrive at that thought, you must also arrive at the thought that the opposite is also possible. That is an inviolable law of battle."


 * (To Tōshirō Hitsugaya) "Our existence is built upon the noble sacrifices made. Instead, you fall in battle from trying to protect your subordinates. My subordinates were not simply defeated. They left behind markers for me, on how to carry on the fight. If I had lost, my subordinates' sacrifices would have all been for nothing. I hold within me the resolve of those who sacrificed their lives."