Nina Hazard, Arrancat

Name: Nina Hazard [Born Niná Hatzekova]
Age: 130, visual 20
Gender: Female

Orientation: Sergei

Appearance: Standing at a good 5'10 with a moderately slender frame, Nina is blessed with several of the features the average young lady would love to have. Nina has a caucasian complexion that is not excessively pale, nor tanned, sitting somewhere in between. Her figure, usually held upright consists of little to no curves or bumps 'down there', and only a mediocre cleavage. Nina's Hollow Hole is located just above her stomach, sitting right in the center of the end of her breast plate. Her Espada tattoo, a large number set in old English Script, is embedded on her left shoulder.

Compared to the vast majority of the Arrancar, the remnants of Nina's Hollow Mask are rather obvious and easy to identify, as they completely obscure fifty percent of her face, hiding any skin present within her visage's right hemisphere. Essentially resembling what appears to be half a 'tragedy or comedy' drama masquerade, the remaining shell takes the form of a round, form fitting mask reaches from the peak of her forehead through to the end of her chin, it's width covering the complete distance between Nina's right ear and the horizontal midpoint of her face, it's left edge tracing precisely through the center of her nose and veiling the right side of her mouth. Plain and white in color, the plate-like mask is smooth and flawless in texture aside from a narrow, snakelike slit located in the upper third that acts as a gap for Nina to see through.

Nina's face - only ever half visible to the world - holds the same fair tone of skin as the rest of her. Her features, nose and mouth, are small, narrow and somewhat delicate. Her eyes, or rather, sole unhidden eye is a none too vibrant dark blue in color and shade. She has bright, straight and straw-like golden blonde hair that falls to about the point of her shoulders, with lengthy forelocks and sweeping bangs; whilst she does occasionally wear her hair out, Nina usually keeps the most of her mane held up within her the black, cloth cap she wears on top of her head. Nina does occasionally wear make-up, and is a huge fan of the strong, red colors that were popular in the 1920's, often painting her lips this hue, as well as sporting pale blue eyeshadow.

Rebellious and never one to follow the rules unless she needs to, Nina's usual costume is a heavily modified version of the Arrancar Uniform. As opposed to wearing any form of jacket or modest covering, as per the norm, Nina sports nothing more to cover her bodice except for what appears to be a monochromatic mini-dress that reaches to the mid-length of her thighs. Nina's dress is essentially sleeveless, rising in a triangle shape over her breasts into what can best be described her a halterneck, however with a white collar. Nina also wears a red tie over this collar. On her arms, Nina wears long, black arm-sleeves that are detached from her dress, with solid, epaulet-like endings. She also wears white silk gloves over her hands. As for her feet, Nina wears calf length black boots, patterned with white hemming and crossed, underneath, she dons rather long black socks that stretch up past her knees. Additionally, Nina keeps her Zanpakutô, Triunfo, as a pendant attached to a steel link chain she wears around her neck.

When in the human world or not completing her various Espada duties, Nina's choice of outfit defers little, as she generally prefers to dress in eccentric couture not unlike her uniform, often varying the style but mostly sticking to a black, white and red. She also has a fancy for long cocktail dresses, especially those gold in color. Nina also has a large collection of hats and caps, interchanging them obsessively.

→ height: 5'9
→ weight: 129lbs
→ blood type: A
→ measurements: 「...Place your bets~! I'll give you fifty if ya get it, but that's ten to me for every inch off!」



Personality: Above all, Nina Hazard is essentially that - an incredibly fun loving girl who just loves hazards. More specifically, Nina absolute delights in every moment of the thrill that comes each and every time one bets on chance - basically, in everything she does, she's an extreme risk taker who hates the concept of that little thing called "certainty". Rebellious and adventurous, Nina always makes sure she's at the front line of whatever she's doing, getting as involved as possible, and breaking as many rules as she can muster. Be it a fight or blackjack, Nina is never not up for a challenge, rarely saying 'no' to anything that has the slightest possibility of going either way; being a huge believer in luck, she has a strong faith that if there's even the tiniest chance that she may able to turn any situation around, then there's always the possibility that can she win. As long as that's there, Nina's always more than willing to take that chance - as it's guaranteed to give her the thrill she's always after.

What this means however, is that Nina is a major hater of anything that involves predictable outcomes and routine schedules. So naturally, she generally dislikes work. What's the risk in doing what you're supposed to? There's far more fun to be had if you don't. As a result, she can come out as appearing somewhat lazy when it comes to less 'adventurous' duties. This is also one of the reasons why Nina loves fighting; a battle situation can never be certain. You can never rule that one person is going to win over the other, because there are just too many factors, all not entirely predictable, that can impact on the battle, and ensure that there is always a chance of a fight going both ways, regardless of what the ratios actually are. When Nina fights, she likes leave this reliance on luck as open as possible - whilst her abilities and weaknesses turn her into a more strategic combatant, Nina never plans out the entire battle from the get go, rather deciding on each move in such a way that works to give her the greatest 'thrill of the moment' - often the riskiest thing she can think of. When fighting, Nina puts a desire to enjoy herself over a desire to win. In all honesty, she doesn't particularly care for winning and losing, but simply fights until the point that there's absolutely no chance for her to win, By then, she's had all the thrill she could possibly have, and to Nina, that's really all that matters; getting the most fun out of any possible situation, regardless of if the result is a victory or a defeat.

Outside of the battlefield, Nina is no different. She enjoys gambling with a passion, half because of the risks it imposes but also because she is an avid fan of money. Nina gambles like no other, never afraid to put all her money in if she believes there's a chance she could win. Whilst Nina does use her deception detecting abilities to pick up bluffs with the greatest of ease, she does not mind cheating from any party, believing it to simply be another stroke of luck whether one ends up on the same table as a potential cheater or not. Nina is also a bit of a socialite, enjoying spending time with people with little reservations as to the way she behaves in public - whilst she generally doesn't act completely outrageous, Nina cares very little about the way people view her, and thus couldn't be exactly considered 'modest'. She can sometimes off as a bit of a flirt as well, more out of a belief that the prospect of 'true love' or 'crashing and burning' is an exciting risk than out of promiscuity. Either way, Nina dislikes commitment, believing that any term of long term relationship that one expects to last forever is too predictable for her liking.

Nina treats people no differently from the way she deals with situations. Her loyalties are simple; she values her position as an Espada simply because it allows her a prospect for more fights, more risk, more possibilities of things to do with her life in comparison to normal Hollows, and thus makes sure she can maintain her position for that very reason. When interacting with people, she's much the same. If they're a perfect, predictable rule abiding citizen, then being within their company presents no risk or excitement whatsoever - Nina quickly bores of them, and treats them as such, showing little interest to being within their company and can express frustration if they attempt to pursue it. Meanwhile, she gets on excellently with people who are more like her and willing to burst away from comfort zones. Friend or enemy, Nina enjoys spending time with such people, treasuring and prolonging moments she has with them, regardless of what she's doing - be it kissing them, gambling them out of their money, or even killing them.

→ likes


Gambling
Money
Games
Magic Tricks
Risk Taking
Flirting
Fighting
Nightlife
'Film Noir' Movies



→ dislikes


Work
Conservative People
Scaredy Cats
Quiet
Mice
'Rulebook Addicts'
Responsibility
Children
Commitments



→ hobbies


Counting Money
Gambling
Primping
Attending Theatre Performances
Lazing Around
Hosting Magic Shows
Trivia Nights
Drinking


→ favorite food: Vodka
→ favorite music: Jazz
→ forte in sports: Any Card Game

Abilities:

Innate Ability: Nina's innate, or hidden ability is unlike those of many of the other Arrancar in that it is not necessarily a skill based battle ability, but rather a mental talent that can be applied in both a fighting scenario, and also outside of it. Simply put, her ability is this; Nina cannot be lied to without her knowing.

A trait that almost certainly evolved from Nina's natural talent at flawlessly calling one's bluff during her poker filled human life, Nina's reiatsu has the ability to detect whenever another attempts to talk, gesture or otherwise communicate with her with the intention of deceit (Meaning they know the truth, but are simply not conveying it for whatever reason). The moment Nina is brought into contact with the deception, her Reiatsu automatically forms a mental signal within her brain which informs her that another has not been entirely truthful. This does not mean that Nina instantly knows what exactly the truth is, she simply knows if there has been a lie told. The more alert she is, and the higher her Reiatsu level, the more accurately this power works - in some instances she can pick up exactly which word or precise movement a lie was on, whereas in others she can only pinpoint a sentence or whole gesture.

An important thing to note is that this does not mean that Nina can read minds - her ability is only activated when somebody is acting with intent to deceive her, not simply holding thoughts in their mind. She can tell if a person is hiding something if she questions them and they remain quiet despite knowing answers, but cannot tell if a person is hiding information simply in passing without either party acting.

A battle scenario that this ability is incredibly useful in is when an adversary plans to launch a surprise attack. As soon as the opponent thinks up a surprise attack, they are intending to deceive Nina and acting under that notion. Hence, from simply looking at said opponent, Nina can predict an attack or other unexpected occurance coming, and hence bring herself to the ready, making it incredibly difficult for one to catch her off guard, and trying to defeat her via deception a moot point indeed. It certainly takes the surprise element out of things, and further emphasizes the importance of Nina's favorite way of doing things; luck and chance.

Aside from battle, this ability has many uses. Nina's favorite one being cheating in poker.

Poker Face: Alongside her reiatsu enhanced ability to detect lying without the slightest effort, Nina boasts another - albeit more natural - talent that turns her into a true devil to play against in any form of Poker or card game. Despite her usual open manner when it comes to emotions, should any situation call for it. Nina is quite capable of pulling off an excellent 'Poker Face' and depict virtually no emotion or hinting on her face whatsoever, being able to maintain this true neutral expression for any length of time regardless of what intimidating tactics her opponents throw at her - an ability only further aided by the fact that the right half of Nina's face is always invisible due to the obscuring remains of her Hollow Mask, hence making her face much harder to read as viewers cannot compare the telltale sign known as symmetry. As for another Poker advantage, Nina also has an excellent memory for numbers, being able to remember vast sequences of numerals or statistics in succession. This ability assists Nina with several things, but most importantly gives her expert card counting skills which are invaluable in any Casino Setting.
...It's also useful for counting all the cash she wins using it.

Bala: (虚弾 (バラ), bara; Spanish for "Bullet," Japanese for "Hollow Bullet") Bala is an Arrancar alternative to Cero. The technique hardens the user's Spiritual Pressure and fires it like a bullet. Although it is weaker than a normal Cero, it moves about twenty times faster and can be fired at a much higher rate, but the damage is much the same. Stronger Arrancar can also fire a more powerful Bala, while retaining its twenty-fold speed.

Cero: (虚閃 (セロ), sero; Spanish for "Zero," Japanese for "Hollow Flash," "Doom Blast" in the Viz translation) 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.

Garganta: (黒腔 (ガルガンタ), garuganta; Spanish for "Throat," Japanese for "Black Cavity") is how Arrancar and Menos-class Hollows move to and from Hueco Mundo. 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.

Hierro: (鋼皮 (イエロ), iero; Spanish for "Iron," Japanese for "Steel Skin") refers to the hardened skin of the Arrancar, which is a result of their compressed spiritual power. While their skin is strong enough to block even released Zanpakutō bare-handed, it is by no means impenetrable. Stronger Arrancar generally have proportionally stronger skin than usual.

Pesquisa: (探査回路 (ペスキス), pesukisa; Spanish for "Inquiry," Japanese for "Probe Circuit") is the Arrancar equivalent of the Shinigami ability to sense Spiritual Pressure. It functions very similarly to sonar.

Sonido: (響転 (ソニード), sonīdo; Spanish for "Sound," Japanese for "Sound Ceremony") is the Arrancar equivalent of the Shinigami Flash Steps and the Quincy Hirenkyaku; it allows the user to travel at incredibly high speeds for short distances. Use of Sonído is punctuated by a brief static sound, in contrast to the "swish" sound caused by Flash Steps.

Unlike most Arrancar where they gain powerful abilities in their Ressurection forms, Nina doesn't have that. She haves to learn how to fight effectively without relying on her Ressurection. For that reason she has mastered her Hierro level, Reyroku Level, Hand to Hand Combat level and practically mastered her sonido level. She had never needed to use a sword and as such she has no skill whatsoever in swordsmanship.

Sealed Zanpakutô:

Spoiler:

Whilst in it's unreleased form, Triunfo takes the shape of a standard, ornate silver dagger embedded with crystals within the hilt and ridges about the blade, with a golden vine like object appearing to constrict it's way around the structure. The strange thing about this form is it's size - the full dagger is so small that the entire thing can fit into the palm of Nina's hand. Naturally, this makes the blade incredibly impractical when it comes to achieving anything other than inflicting oneself with a papercut - hence why Nina keeps her unreleased zanpakutô on a small silver chain, tied around her neck. Whilst this size makes it somewhat difficult to pick up detail, there are four small symbols - the card suits, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades, engraved on to the metal of the hilt. Just like any other unreleased unreleased blade, Trianfo bears no special property when unreleased, essentially making it useless in battle.

Release: Ponga sus apuestas! [Place your bets]

Resurrección: In order to perform her release, Nina clasps the small knife usually kept around her neck, and calls out her release phrase. Upon doing this, Nina's Zanpakuto makes like several others, splitting into multiple parts. 52 Different Parts, in fact. A standard deck of Playing Cards.

Spoiler:

Indeed this is exactly what happens when Nina completes her release; the small blade is enveloped in a white glow, quickly transcending into the shape of a rectangular prism within the grip of Nina's fingers. This prism is, in fact, made up of a complete set of standard sized cards stacked upon each other to form a deck. As soon as the release is complete, a process which takes five or so seconds, the deck can be fanned out into the individual cards that have now completely manifested and separated. Much like any Zanpakuto, these cards are comprised of reiatsu, nevertheless they bear tangible markings. The actual cards themselves are much the same as those found in any standard deck; fifty two cards divided into four suits, Hearts (), Diamonds (), Clubs () and Spades (), each suit consisting of cards marked with each number from 2 to 10 and each letter representing the court cards - Jack (J), Queen (Q), King (K) and Ace (A). There is only one of each Number/Suit combination - in all making for a total of 13 cards per suit, 52 in all. The patterns on the cards are also very much the same as those in a standard deck, depicting either a respective number of the suit symbol or a face in the case of the royal cards. The backings of the cards all bear the same design, a black and red checkerboard texture.

Spoiler:

In addition to the changes occurring with the shape of her weapon, Nina herself also undergoes a small change in appearance throughout the activation of her resurrección. For one, shedded remnants of her past life as a Hollow once again re-materialize onto her form, namely taking the form of a solid, top hat that sits evenly on her head, appearing to be made out of swirling velvet, but instead created from respectively textured hollow bone. Moderately sized wings, that most closely resemble those of a bats, also erupt from Nina's back, near her shoulder blades when she releases. These wings are much too feeble to allow Nina the ability to fly, and serve little non-cosmetic purpose aside from slightly prolonging the amount of time Nina can remain airborne should she fall or jump. Nina's hair, usually cut to about the length of her shoulders, extends at this time, reaching down to her bum by the time her release is complete. Her clothes change very little from her usual modified Espada uniform, the only major change to her couture being that Nina's boots, normally flat soled, are pushed somewhat higher as thin, stiletto style heels that raise her height a good seven inches. One of Nina's more noticeable changes however, is the markings that suddenly appear the entire way down her arms - all the way from her shoulders to her hands, Nina's skin becomes imprinted with the alternating marks of the four card suits, colored red and black respectively. A single suit marking also appears below her eye on the exposed left side of her face, which upon initial release takes the form of a heart, but later changes suits depending on the suit of the last card that Nina used.


Nina's Resurrección special ability is somewhat unique in that it does not allow for a boost in any stat, aside from Speed, which goes up by a small amount. Instead, Nina's talent involves a range of different offensive and defensive tactics that are directly linked to the form her Zanpakuto takes - a pack of cards.

These cards, as one may have already guessed, are certainly not your average playing material. Even as individual cards, these may be thrown at others and have the ability to cut through soul with the same force as the average unreleased Zanpakuto belonging to a non-seated Shinigami Officer, hence with the ability to destroy certain small hollows. But the true power of the cards is not merely throwing them; indeed the cards hold special abilities, each individual card in unique in it's capabilities. In order activate these special abilities, Nina must individually "release" each card by drawing it from her deck and calling the name of her card (Ace of Hearts, Three of Clubs etc.) whilst holding the card out in front of her. The card itself then glows a magnificent white, disintegrating into a shining nothingness whilst the true effect of the card is activated. Each card is unique, it's ability and effect relying on several different factors.

The first of these many factors is that of 'Suit'. A standard card deck holds four suits, Nina's deck being different. The symbol on each suit has a distinct history,

[What is PRT? PRT stands for Post, Recharge, Turn. This determines how long the card has to be activated to actually use its abilities, how long it takes to be able to reuse the card and the turn shows how long until one may reuse the card if its been destroyed due to the effects of higher leveled cards. Only one card may be activated at once, if it deactivates and it comes back it does not come back with the same PRT as it had before it deactivated.]

Heart Suit

Spoiler:

Spade Suit

Spoiler:

Once a card has been used it is placed to the bottom of the deck and then the deck is then shuffled thus allowing for the same card to appear however cards that have been destroyed due to the effects of another card are no longer in the deck and are considered destroyed but they come back after the PRT to the bottom of the deck without being shuffled. Nina may has one extra thing to show, she may shuffle the deck and then pick 7 cards and keeping one and releasing it and then put the other cards back into the deck and shuffle it. This is very useful when trying to activate certain cards.

History: Nina Hazard was born Niná Hatzekova on December 3rd, in the American city of Las Vegas. Her parents were Russian emigrants who had left their troubled home place some twenty odd years ago in order to find a better life amongst flourishing industrialization of the United States, and brought with them a prominent Slavic tradition; the wonderful world of gambling.

Whilst not entirely legal within the USA at the time, Casino businesses were still an incredibly popular attraction within the country, many young Americans enjoying the fun and thrill that playing for money, particularly in the brand new day of Capitalism, brought. Nina's parents were no different - they didn't see gambling as a crime at all, believing it was simply a pleasure that people enjoyed, and gambling problems were simply like every other legal pleasure - when a passion is taken much too far that it no longer is pleasurable and more of a curse. Regrettable, but not something that should be banned. As such, one day they opened "Hazard", their family casino - or then, saloon, the namesake being a corruption of their surname. Due to Mr. and Mrs. Hatzekova's experience and polished entrepreneurial skills, their business was quick to rise and was soon fetching high rates from several customers, quickly becoming one of the most popular nightlife destinations of the day. This was aided not only through the variety of games that the keen couple were hosting, but also by their own willingness to participate themselves - Both Mr and Mrs Hatzekova were excellent gamblers, entertaining their customers with wit, talent and good sportsmanship that almost certainly contributed to Hazard's success. The Hatzekovas paid for all own expenses and managed their own affairs, intent on keeping all ownership of the business within the family. As such, they raised their only child, Niná, to become a professional in all things gambling from a very young age, in the hope that she would one day inherit the casino and run it much the same way they had.

As a young girl, the enthusiastic Niná was brought along to observe her parents playing cards and roulette, chatting up customers and making money, learning many tricks of the trade along the way. By the time Niná was just five, she knew all the possible hands in Poker, and the exact probability of each occurring. When she was seven, she knew how to tell if a Slot Machine had been rigged and how to take advantage of that fact. When Niná turned seven, she’d be able to hold a straight face all throughout blackjack – a feat considered difficult enough for an adult, let alone an emotion prone child. There would be times whilst Niná grew up within the Casino, that people would look at her and scoff or show disdain for her parents – what were they thinking? Teaching the kid how to play for chips before she could even count? She’d be bankrupt by the time she was a teenager! – they’d say.

Only then these know it all adults would be forced to shut up the moment Niná herself got out there and beat them.

When Niná turned twelve, she’d already become an incredibly proficient card player. A prodigy perhaps by blood, natural talent and practice, the girl learned incredibly quickly and discovered she had a true knack for the games she played, exceeding the skill of even her parents. As gambling all was technically illegal at the time, there was no law regarding the acceptable age nor gender for one to be taking part – only common scorn. But Niná and her parents ignored this, and before long Niná was completely annihilating and winning over thugs who thought that they would be able to win some easy money gambling against a prepubescent girl. They thought wrong; said girl robbing them of all their money, leaving the now bankrupt men in utter disbelief. Passing along into her adult years, Niná began to take over some of her aging parents’ duties, proving to be both a devilish poker player and an excellent businesswoman with her generally high intellect and charming smile. Further time passed and eventually gambling was legalized within the state of Nevada, Las Vegas quickly becoming the prime destination for such activity. Niná’s name as a gambler continued to soar, with several of Vegas’ newfound tourists flocking to the accomplished casino to both play against her as well as catch a glimpse of the young woman’s rumoured beauty.

By the time Niná was eighteen years old, she’d pretty much become the owner of Hazard. Men from all over the country came in to see her night after night. Whether their reasoning for coming was to woo her or challenge her, they each left empty handed. For from the time Niná had begun gambling professionally, aged just twelve or thirteen, she had never lost a single game. No matter what each individual man tried, they just couldn’t beat her. Be it luck, or be it skill, Niná had never left Hazard – or any other venue for that matter – with less money than she had started with, often doubling large sums in just one sitting. More than once she would bet the entire fortune of her family on one appeared to be a simple game, confident in her chances of winning. Naturally, the payoffs she made were huge. She knew every Slot Machine, every Roulette Wheel, exactly how they worked, where they’d stop. She was an expert in both bluffing and calling the bluffs of others, leaving her with the ability to turn around even the harshest of odds. Many would crumble simply because of who Niná was – a fresh and beautiful young girl, so easy to win against. So easy to underestimate.

So easy to exploit.

Niná was only twenty one years old when the high life she had built for herself would all come crashing down and end, simply because of who she was.

May 1st, it was a Friday night just like every other. Niná’s week would be over soon; she had been planning to spend the weekend with her parents, who had retired a few years back and migrated to California where they would spend their retirement in peace, leaving the Casino within Niná’s capable hands. Just like every other Friday night, it was incredibly busy, Niná having had defeated at least six or seven lots of gamblers when she was finally faced with whom she assumed to be the final set of customers who would enter before closing time, which was only just ten minutes away.

The men who entered were somewhat unusual in comparison to the other customers. Four of them, larger and hulking, all clad in black bowler hats and suits, sunglasses obscuring their eyes. Niná knew the look well; they were from some Mafia or another. Underground Thugs, as they were referred to, were rare but not unheard of within the Casino. There had been a handful of times in the past where she had faced – and defeated, these people in the past. At first, Niná had been frightened of the type, but she had long grown out of it, now greeting such people with the same confidence and smile that she used on everybody.

So with said smile and aptitude, Niná sat down for her final game of the night with the four men, the last of eight rounds of poker with them. The game began like every other game Niná played, in utter silence, with no clear sign of any person holding an upper hand. This was the way Niná played, without revealing a thing until the final cards were put down and each member played their hand. She hated assuming or jumping to conclusions. She liked to let chance take its toll, and knew to never be certain of an outcome until the very end. The first round of betting passed, one man, the one sitting to Niná’s immediate right folded. The other men played their mediocre bets, neither one bothering to raise to the stakes. Niná gazed at her own cards; King of Hearts, Ten of Hearts. Excellent. Nina raised, taking note of what each man had. She paid attention to their body language; each gave her the same, underestimating glance that many failures had done in the past. The second round of betting; a further two men folded, leaving just the man on the other side. The flop was played; Jack of Hearts, Ace of Spades, Nine of hearts. Niná grinned to herself at that point; this was going precisely as she had planned it. The fourth card, Ten of Spades. The final man raised once more. Nina stared at his face, searching for traces of a bluff. She found none, played a check. There was a high chance she would achieve a Straight Flush, or merely a straight. High hands; it was hardly possible to beat them. Even so, it hardly mattered if this particular round did not go her way. She had already leveled them completely and utterly throughout the other games they had played, she’d still beat them overall if the odds somehow turned against her.

The final card, the river.
Queen of Hearts.

Even Niná couldn’t resist pure euphoria lighting up her face. She glanced at the man sitting ahead of her. His face still neutral, his chin slightly upturned as he gave her a narrowed search of the face. Nina gave him a smirk not unlike the ones she had given players before, awaiting his tapping of the table to declare that he was not to bet. She waited.

The man raised.

Niná blinked at him, now fighting incredibly hard to keep a nonplussed visage. What did this man have that could possibly outrank what she had? Him attaining a Straight Flush like hers was impossible; not with the disposition of the cards laid out on the table. Niná gave the man a single nod, quiet with no expression gracing her features. She too, raised. If this man was simple going to walk into a trap like that, then so be it. She’d make the most of it.

Niná bet the Casino. She grabbed her chips, every last one. She withdrew the property deed, kept always ready within her pocket. She threw everything in. Everything she had, because the chances of this man winning were null. There was no way to make a better hand as the suits and numbers did not allow for it. She gripped the pair of cards held between her fingers, awaiting his fold.

The man played check. He stacked his chips, scattered amongst his end of the table, shoving all he had to the center, motioning her own movement. Niná never smiled nor showed her victory nor defeat on her face, ahead of time, for there was almost often a chance that there would be a turn around. But here there wasn’t. No chance whatsoever.

They both gave each other one final glance, and then the dealer motioned for the cards to be dropped. Niná went first.
Straight Flush
She dropped her two cards, holding them out, making clear what her point was.
9 10 J Q K

The man followed.

“Royal Flush,”
He dropped his two cards. A Queen and Jack of Spades.

What…?

Niná stared at him bewildered. How? Where was the King…?
The man beckoned her to look down. The five cards on the table caused her world to shatter. Jack of Hearts, Ace of Spades, Nine of Hearts, Ten of Spades, King of Spades.

No!

Her mouth fell open for the first time all game. The man arranged the cards.
10 J Q K A

“What’s the matter, girlie?”

His voice was a low, satisfied husk. The voice of a cheater.

You cheat! she whispered, under her breath. The man’s smirk widened.

“What was that, girl?”

There was a Queen! Queen of Hearts! It… It was there…I saw it! The river!

The man laughed, a shrill, piercing laugh. He beckoned at one of the other men, those who had folded, those who she had forgotten.

“Hand her the deck,”

It was a trick she had learned back when she had first begun to play Poker; her father had told her all those years ago to never take her eyes from the deck. She had followed this simple rule her entire life, and this game had been no exception. Her peripherals had been on the deck the entire time.

Nobody had touched it.

One of the thugs handed her the deck of cards, forcing it into her delicate hands with too much force than necessary. Niná remained at her seat, her heart racing, her entire life sitting in deeds and chips on the table.

“Search it,” the man ordered.

Niná’s fingers trembled as she lifted each card individually, sliding her hands across each one, detecting for the fraud she knew so well to pick up. She prayed as she sorted each one that the Queen was not amongst them.

Tough luck. It was. Half way through the deck, genuine by every means Niná knew, there sat the Queen of Hearts. It had somehow ended up there even though mere moments ago, it had sat on the table. And nobody, the entire time, had touched the deck.

Either that, or she’d messed up. No. She was Niná Hatzekova. That wasn’t possible. That card had been there, and those men knew it.

Niná stood up in her seat, a glare crossing her features as she looked up at the man who had been responsible for this deception. He gave a roaring laugh back.

“Well well boys, collect the money. Property’s ours. Might as well get out, bitch,”

Niná’s panicked as the impact of the words hit her. She looked around. There was hardly anybody else there. It was so late, a glance at the golden clock told her. Everybody had left. There was nobody here, nobody but her and them. She had lost track of time. She’d walked into a trap. They’d cornered her. Those who were left looked at her in disbelief. There was no way this could be a cheat.

She lost it.
Niná’s hands were a whirlwind. The deck hit the floor, cards thrown in every direction in an explosion of diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades. The fingers flurried around, reaching for the table, trying to grab back her chips, her deed, her cheques. Everything she had laid out. The men were faster. One of them seized the contents of the table, throwing it into a large black suitcase. Another latched himself onto Niná’s back, lifting the girl from her feet, sending her into a fireworks show of flailing and screaming. From somewhere, somehow, more emerged. A sole straggler, one that was clearly not part of the group, but instead a lone customer who had been observing, stood up too. Some remarks, something about losing fair and square. And then he joined in too, knowing what was coming.

There were eight or nine of them now. A few grabbed Niná, whilst some took her chips. She could not recall the exact process of events, it was painful. One held her in place, another produced a weapon, a gun. There were yells, telling anybody who was not one of them to leave. Niná screamed, attempting to resist, but another man reacted by striking Niná with a punch to the gut. The customers fled, pure terror crossing their faces as the men of the mafia began their mutiny. And then when they were sure that all had left, they began their assault. They were not merely content taking all that she had. They wanted more.

They each lined up, one behind the other. They each struck her, they stripped her, and then they each fouled her. Niná’s shrieks were rendered useless as each noise she uttered only resulted in another punch, another bruise to her body. They slurred insults at her. They violated her to the deepest core. They struck her three times on the head with a beer bottle.

Niná Hatzekova died from the resulted blunt force trauma on 1st of May. Aged just 21. The final thing going through her mind at the time was the one small phrase.

What were the chances? What were the chances of such a thing happening?
She had thought it impossible, but now it seemed that nothing truly could be.
--

There was a reason. There was a reason why Niná had been so appalled by their cheating. It wasn’t that they were being dishonest. She usually tolerated cheaters, occasionally she did skirt the rules herself. Her issue had been simple; her vendetta was against the men, and what they planned to do to her Casino.

The moment she had died, the men had thrown her body away. The seized the casino, the entirety of their ranks ascending upon it, filling it within the hour. They had the deed, the property was theirs.

They transformed the place. It remained a place of Poker, of Slots, of Blackjack, of Roulette. But it was not a Casino. A casino was a place of luck and chance, not the place of certainty they turned it into.

The men cheated every game. Every customer that came in, they cheated. Their methods were much more obvious than that which they had used to trick her – Niná’s soul, broken and drifting would gaze over, watch each game they played, see how they faked the deck, rigged the machine, abused each and every inexperienced person out of their money.

Occasionally they failed, and somebody picked up on it. They’d shoot the customer.

It was a win-win situation for these men. They would get the money either way – it was certain. It wasn’t a casino.

Niná watched it all. She watched it all happening below her. She watched the concept of ‘chance’ vanish before her eyes. She tried to yell out – to alert the customers of the deception happening before her, but she could not. A mask obscured her face, blocked out all voice.

So she attempted to stop it the only other way she could. Niná began to eat the mafia men. One by one, they fell, Niná’s drifting past, moving on, devouring each and every last one. The men fell like ants, each of the hundred or so that now ran Hazard. As she ate them, she grew, as did her hunger. Rumors flew, the customers were deterred from the namely ‘haunted’ casino, where each of the owners and customers seemed to meet their death.

The glory days of Hazard were long gone. The last of the Mafia men, the hundred and seventeenth of them, perished at last, some ten years after Niná’s death. Nobody purchased it after, leaving nothing. Nothing to do, nothing to win, nothing to lose.

Nothing. And nothing itself, was suddenly certain. It was painful.

But Niná was still hungry. Over the years since her demise, Las Vegas had expanded. It had become the prime gambling venue in the whole of the USA, if not the world. There was still much more to explore, much more to chance.

She moved from Casino to Casino, discovering the same form of corruption in each. There was that thing she hated; win-win, lose-lose everywhere. A simple single cheat was not this, for the other could still have a chance to catch them or prevent the cheat. This was something on a bigger scale. It deleted chance whatsoever, and making everything certain.

So painful.

Niná’s thoughts grew irrational. She ate eat people who did this. She was so large now, so hungry that she could not help but devour those near, those customers. She grew larger and larger. Casino to casino, the same thing was happening. Human beings deciding to overthrow the force of luck. She did not want this, so she ate them.

And soon even that grew certain. Niná ate every last person without hesitation, without thought. Every soul was to be devoured, with certainty. There was no luck, no chance, no anything except pure certainty. Certainty wasn’t fun. She craved enjoyment, but she was not receiving it in this world.

Nothing happened for fifty years that she could consider uncertain. Nothing fun.

And then one day, it changed. Niná had been hovering between Casinos for some time. The life of the gambler was at its height now – neon, gold and glamor suddenly prospering about the world. There were several people in Vegas now. So many. So many Niná had eaten, had passed. So many average presences. But then a different presence appeared. Something she did not know, something strong. Something she may or may not have been able to eat with ease.

Something uncertain.

Niná followed the presence. She was perhaps classed Adjuchas then, she did not, nor would ever know. But it hardly mattered. The Vasto Lorde she found; the result of all the corrupted souls surrounding the area, the victims of Niná’s havoc, it overpowered her.

The odds were against her. It was stronger. It’s presence would crush her.
The odds were against her. It would be fun to fight him.

Niná set forth, not a thought in her mind besides a simple strain of euphoria she had not felt for so long. She charged forward, she attacked the Vasto Lorde. She could win, she could lose. The thought of that very fact was beautiful.

He reached out for her, he seized at the mask. Reiatsu exploded from within Niná. Everything went black, the result never to be known. Never to be made certain.

--

When Niná awoke, she did not know where she was. It was vast, but barren, bare. No road, no shimmers, no flashy lights. No buildings, no place to gamble. She did not know what this was; she had never been anywhere like this. She had never been anywhere outside of Vegas. What as this place….?

Niná rose to her feet, her mind set in a warped daze. She moved around, striding great lengths she had never strode before within the confines of a city. She walked miles and miles, there was nothing.

But the uncertainty of it all kept her walking, kept her moving and scaling through the desert until she found something. The uncertainty made it fun.

And then a building came into view. Be it a pearly white and round, it mattered not. To Niná, any building was a place where people were, were uncertainty was.

To her, any building was a Casino.

She approached. Two voices from either side spoke to her.

“Don’t go in there, girl. Haven’t you heard, it’s a Hazard?” said one,

“…Yeah, that’s only if you’re an intruder, don’t you know who she is? Can’t you feel it?” the other uttered.

Niná ignored the bulk of the first speaker’s the words, the whole of the second’s. Only two words registered to her. The first, girl. Niná reached for her face, confirming it to be true. Her mask, a shield of androgynous cover had vanished. She had a face, she had a form. She could talk, she could bluff.

She could create uncertainty.

And then the second word, ‘Hazard’ Niná’s arm was outstretched as she entered through the doors, meeting little resistance from any other presence. The sole word had awoken memories within her. Hazard. Memories of her own casino, of the place where she was happy, her life.

She knew where to go, and she went there, entering through doors and doors, her soul drawn to the unpredictable beauty of other life. She found what she was looking for.

The doors shut behind her. A long table awaited, surrounded by white-clad figured. They simple sat and watched her. No games being played, nothing but simple sitting and watching.

And yet there was something happy about this.

“Your name...?” the voice, at the head of the table spoke. Niná looked up, into his eyes.

There was a look of yearning there. A look of a use for her. A look that told he was going to give her challenges. She could see any deception now, she could see through any lies and hidden facts.

She looked at each face. She could see that they were hiding things. There was… so much to find out.

So much beautiful uncertainty. So much luck, so much chance of this going either way. So much fun.

“Nina,” she told them, a smile enlightening her curious features, “Nina Hazard,”

RP Sample:

Spoiler:

Skill Level: Hierro: 100/100
Skill Level: Shunpou: 60/100
Skill Level: Hand-to-hand: 100/100
Skill Level: Reiryoku: 100/100

Well this app was beautifully done so APPROVED! 2-1+ and to app for an Espada rank come here (https://bleachuntoldstories.rpg-board.net/organizations-f6/noticias-espada-t3.htm), as I don't remember if the 7th Espada rank is taken or not.

Re-approved for 1-2+