【Personality:】 Arina's charm is her greatest and most dangerous feature. Cunning and calculated, throughout her life she has always made an effort to know others, and know them well; this shaping it to be her greatest weapon. She's incredibly attentive, rather than immediately interjecting herself into a situation with an opinion, she'll stand back and watch. She's been trained to analyze every detail of a person's actions, every idiosyncrasy, every small tick. She hears every quip or quake and even the slightest pause in a voice - helping her to read the subtext of their true intention. Her upbringing was perhaps harsh, but with her position and rank in the Gotei 13, she was almost thankful for the vigorous and brutal techniques imposed on her by her Clan. Learning the key to one's desires was her specialty, and once she knew that, the rest was easy.
Once being described as “A Siren cloaked with Chameleons skin,” she has an incredible knack for adaptability, fitting in with most groups and cliques - often talking her way out of most altercations, making herself invaluable to a situation, if possible. She appreciates loyalty, and generally makes a point to pay back favors given to her, for the simple reason, she’d rather have debts in her favor, than owe anyone. Often seen as generous, there’s always an ulterior motive to the things she does for others; her guiding star is “what’s of use?” and over the long years, she has refined her methods of getting what she wants, to near perfection.
While most would call her a “Friend”, she wouldn’t say she has too many - it’s an incredibly tricky thing to juggle and those “close” to her, dance on the edge of a temperamental blade. Despite all this, her peers would best describe her as a vibrant, mischievous, and at times brash woman, who deems to defy the term “Modesty”. She presents herself with grace as the wise, giving and frail Princess her Clan trained her to be. She laughs when she ought to laugh, she smiles and compliments where she ought to compliment; her eyes turn sad and she lays her heart down for those who are hurt, showing compassion... when she ought to show compassion. Even if she were to throw someone under the bus, she would have a clear and logical explanation, which details her reasons as to why there was no other way.
However, charming as she might be, her dedication to others is brittle as bone, and those smiling and soft pink eyes of hers can change in an instant, is she so chooses. Really, it depends on the day. It comes down to a factor of two things - effort vs. reward; and if effort outweighs the reward, she’ll blatantly explain her reasoning, for the simple reason, people who are not worth the reward, are not worth the time it takes to pretend that they are.
It could not be said however, that her loyalty is easily broken - of this were the case, she’d have to give it first. Every one in awhile, she's staggered. As rare as they come, there are few who she doesn't feign respect for. There are those who could ask her to give them everything, including her life, and she'd happily do it. Once she deems one worthy of her loyalty, it’s fierce, and they have it for life, despite any wrongdoing they may have done to her.
Her unbreaking cool composure is perfectly matched to the ice in her veins, and even in some of the darkest times, her expression is that of pure indifference to the situation. Very rarely serious (much to the dismay of the Third and Fourth Seats), she tends to mock and poke fun, rather than settle into work. Her most often worn state of mood is her carefree and incredibly flirtatious nature - making for awkward situations when she tends to get up close and personal with others, without any regard for personal space. When forced to shake her carefree nature she will speak without regard for formalities, respect, rank or offence. She will speak the truth she sees, buntly, and without regard for delicacy.
Her relationship with her Division is split, divided by those who admire her, those who despise her, and those who fear her. She cares not for the whispers of "Murderer" behind her back, she cares not for the stories of which claimed her as an Omen of Death, dooming all who accompanied her on Missions. For they are simply stories, and despite her lack of personal care for the individual souls of the Division in her care, she cares for her pride. And to kill and take a life that she deems as "Hers" or "Under Her Protection" is most offensive to her. While her motives for protecting her comrades with her life may be slightly selfish and flawed, one can always guarantee, she'll either be dead or victorious before she allows herself to be so easily disgraced. In saying this, she would point out that there is a difference between being murdered and being too weak for the job. Those who went ahead and got themselves killed, well, that was on them.
Forward thinking comes as naturally to her as breathing. Because she has such optimised control over her emotions, her mind is able to remain clear in most if not all situations. This gives her extreme confidence in her abilities to drive a situation in her favor - she is highly strategic in her planning, insisting that she has many back up plans to her goals; however, she is also impatient and sometimes lets her own arrogance get the better of her. Because she has so much confidence in herself, she is often rattled when someone manages to deceive her. She is very resilient, but she borders on self-destructive at many moments.
She has a tendency to hold trivial grudges. It all depends on the day, it's often not because she's offended; rather it's because she's amused by the situation. In reality, it's rare for her well polished smile to be traded for a frown. Her rage is not easily tapped into, nor easily broken; she detests even the thought of any emotions that could cloud her judgement.
【Biography:】 Arina was born to one of the Great Clans of the Soul Society. She was the Princess of the Kawagana Clan, never wanted for anything. And while one may toy with the fantasy of living a life of riches and comfort, like a Princess, the reality of it, Arina wouldn't even wish upon her greatest enemy. Torn from the womb of their lifeless Mother, she and her Twin Kiyoko led incredibly separate and secluded lives. Often in isolation from all, including her unruly older brother and other close members of family.
Arina was the first of the two to be born, and the laws of the Clan stated that she would be groomed and primed to be the Lady of the Clan, tirelessly forced to pour over thousands of books in the Clans library, and learn everything she would need in order to one day be the perfect wife. To one day stand aside another Noble Clans Leader, as his bride, and be able to efficiently and effortlessly assist in his rule. Nothing would bring the Clan more shame, than to watch one of their great noble allies fall because of the failure of a Princess.
While other young children played in the field, with sticks or dolls, she spent her hours, in front of a mirror, learning every muscle in her face, and how to control it. For years, she refined the art of emotion and expression - and only graduated when there wasn't even the slightest of falter in her smile when beaten within an inch of her life. And from there, once she had mastered the art of etiquette, she went onto the next topic: mastering the art of reading others.
All the while she expanded her knowledge through vigorous and almost cruel methods of education. Not only did she need to be versed in most subjects, she needed to be fluent in all matters of diplomacy; and when being questioned in regards to even the most remote village in their world, it was imperative that she knew it so well, that when she answered the question, it would sound almost as if she were reading it from a book in her hands.
After many years of studying, it was time to begin at the academy. This period of her life, was harder than she would like to admit. Not only was she training daily and pushing herself to extreme limits, her Clan did not allow her to cease her training at the end of the academy day, and upon her return to the Clans compound, she was to spend her evenings, training with her Brother and his advisor, Pachid, until she no longer had the strength to stand.
Any free will or defiance for the Clan was to be snubbed out at the first sign of resistance. Methods crafted by the Second Division for the sole use of breaking the spirit of those who dare defy the Soul Society, were used as disciplinary methods for the Kawagana children. This would remove any fabrication of dreams and independent thought. She was a Soul bread and created for one purpose. And in the same way, a doll was carefully handcrafted to the makers desire, Arina was carefully crafted to fulfill the Clans purpose, and there was no room for even the slightest derailment.
Once she graduated, she was immediately placed in the Second Division, where she quickly climbed the ranks. While her skill played a part, her father, the Captain, wanted to keep a closer eye on her. In his mind, there was no point in focusing her career, as she would likely give that up when she found a suitable match. He felt it necessary to oversee most of her tasks, as the Princess he had primed her to be didn’t seem to learn from her mistakes in defying him, rather seemed to get better at hiding it from him. A fact he found incredibly sardonic when he gave it thought.
After the fall of the Seireitei, Arina was all of a sudden Leader of her Clan and looking to be the next Captain of the Second Division - two titles she didn’t much care for. Her entire life she had shaped herself to be a particular person suited for a particular role, only to now be irrelevant to said role, with her sister in her stead and ten times the responsibility thrust upon her. The thought was bittersweet, in being free from the one thing she dreaded, she now lacked purpose.
It wasn’t until an unruly ex-third seat came across her and offered her a position as his lieutenant. To this day, she couldn’t put her finger on what possessed her to accept; perhaps the lower rank was more attractive, it meant less responsibility (or so she thought), or perhaps he was attractive… it was impossible to say. But she would soon find out that being Lieutenant to Kaizo Tataki was the exact position her Clan had raised her for, just with the freedom of not being forced into a political marriage. She was the perfect fit for Division Seven, and was the charming and friendly smile that often got Kaizo out of being reprimanded for all the damage he caused and trouble he stirred up.