I don't own Bleach

Zaraki had barely changed. It was still the slum of slums, built from recycled and scavenged metal and cardboard, many of the homeless and extremely poor beggars hiding in corners.

Izumi had left the men who had followed and guarded her to continue her mission to lift the heavy curtain of poverty. But it looked as though they had done nothing. So what was going on?

As she made her way through the streets, she was aware of the fact that many of the beggars and homeless she passed were watching every move she made, a few even following her. But every time she turned, they ducked into the shadows.

At last she came to a well in the centre of a square to find a young lean boy struggling to lift out a heavy bucket of water. She stepped in quickly, pulling it out of the deep hole.

The boy looked terrified at first, until he seemed to recognise her.

"Izumi!" he whispered, awe in his eyes. But there was something akin to fear as he grabbed her hand, as though he was afraid she wasn't really there.

"I'm real," she assured him, a little alarmed at this behaviour. "What's been going on here?"

She looked around the empty street as she asked the question. The boy instantly took her by the hand and pulled her along the streets. As they walked, he talked.

"Things were great for a few months after you left," he said. "I was beginning to play happily in the streets with my friends. This place was looking better and better each day; most of the adults worked all day. Thieving became less and less essential, and was dealt with severely if you got caught in the act.

"But then another gang walked in, from Kushajishi. They tricked the men who protected us. Took them hostage and their leader sat back to wait for you while his men dismantled everything we had laboured to create."

Kushajishi was the 79th North Rukon District, and was the second-toughest area in North Rukon. But if they had cheated their way in and caught her men off-guard, Zaraki was in their hands.

"Their leader's been looking to challenge your right to lead this area," the boy said. Izumi frowned –once she'd dealt with this thug, he and his men were going to wish they had never stepped one foot inside Zaraki. Anyone who threatened Zaraki, threatened the place she called home, would suffer for it.

This invasion had shown flaws in Zaraki's fighting strength, flaws that she would correct during the course of her stay here.

"Where is this challenger?" she asked.

The boy led her on, and for a while there was silence.

"I knew you'd be back," the boy said suddenly. "Some of the others were beginning to doubt you, Grand Hebi, but I never did."

Since when had her title changed? The leader of Zaraki had always just been the Hebi; she might be a different type of Hebi to her predessors, but she was still just a plain Hebi.

But she didn't have time to find out the reason for the change in title right now; she had troublesome Kushjishi thugs to kick out of Zaraki first.

The boy led her to the hamlet close to her training ground. Izumi sighed –she should have guessed that the showdown would take place here.

A gang of ten men lazed around the doorway of a house. They looked like they were guarding something –probably her men.

Their leader was obvious –wearing the same blue hakama and kimono as his men, with brown hair; he was a youth, only a couple of years older than she was. On the left side of his face was a deep scar, running from hairline to jaw (AN).

"That's him," the boy said, pointing to the obvious leader. "The Oushi(1) of Kushajishi."

"Thanks," Izumi replied. As the boy ran off, she moved towards the invaders, aware that every single eye was fixed on her.

" The Oushi of Kushajishi has no place in Zaraki," she said. "Leave this place."

"And who are you to order me around?" the youth demanded, straightening from his slouched position while his men cracked their knuckles menacingly and glowered.

"I am the Hebi, or Grand Hebi, of Zaraki," Izumi calmly replied, not intimidated at all. The chatter of the men died instantly as the Oushi straightened and searched her face, looking for any trace of a lie or bluff.

Finding none, he threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter.

"It's you?" he asked. "Fine then; I accept your challenge."

"Since you're the intruder here, and I'm in charge here, I'm the one who accepts your challenge," Izumi said. She drew her zanpukto. She wasn't planning to use it at all, though –she wouldn't need to. But having it out should kick-start the fight.

"You're nothing but talk!" the Oushi snarled and lunched at the girl his captives insisted on calling the 'Grand Hebi'.

But he had made a grave error in underestimating his opponent.

He swung at her head with his staff, only to have her grab it. A brief tug-of-war began for possession of the bo staff, which culminated in her victory and his being thrown into the solid ground.

As he scrambled to his feet, cursing the pain and embarrassment, he blinked at how close she had got so fast. He froze when she placed two fingers of her right hand on his chest. She spoke softly under her breath.

"What are you doing?" he snapped.

"Bakudo number 1, Sai," she said.

His arms snapped together behind his back and he fell into an awkward position on the ground before her. He strained his neck to look up at his captor (2).

"What did you do to me?"

"I used a low-level kido binding spell to paralyze you," Izumi said calmly and matter-of-factly. "Even the lowest Soul Reaper or student could perform that against you. Just be grateful that I didn't use kido to directly attack you, or a higher level of binding."

"You never said that you were a Soul Reaper!" he pouted from the ground.

"Actually, I'm only a student," Izumi corrected him. " Anyway, you wouldn't even have tried to fight me if you'd known, would you? You'd have surrendered rather than end up in this situation."

The Oushiwas about to protest at the very idea, but then he realised that she was right. He would have surrendered and automatically retreated; he wouldn't have ended up in this rather embarrassing situation.

Izumi knelt at his head and pressed the blade of the dagger against his throat.

"Should we call an end to this?" she asked, and he nodded in agreement. He had lost the moment he had tangled with the Grand Hebi.

His limbs suddenly sprang free as Izumi released her hold on him. He took Izumi's hand as he was helped to his feet.

He silently gathered his gang and they quietly left the 80th North Rukon District –or at least tried to.

But the fight had not gone unnoticed, watched through shutters and cracks in the doors and curtains, and slowly crowds had gathered to drive them out of Zaraki. It was a non-violent action, but it hurt the Kushajishi's pride much deeper than the average physical wound or their leader's humiliating treatment at the hands of that in-training Soul Reaper.

Some of the gang almost turned back to deal a few physical blows to the crowd jeering at them. But they stopped short at the sight if Izumi and her liberated gang of Zarakis on the rooftops, following them with sharp eyes, on the lookout for any sign of violence.

The Zaraki residents stopped at the border, cheering at their newly-regained liberation and for their newly-returned Grand Hebi.

Izumi soon learnt where the new title had emerged from as a huge banquet took place in the square that night.

Apparently, Tsuji had learnt to fight so well with his dagger with only his left hand that respect had began to increase for him. And with the new respect, people had subconsciously began to call him Hebi again.

Having no desire to clash with Izumi's status, he had started referring to her as the Grand Hebi –the greater snake of the two. The name had just stuck as easily as the title of Hebi had to him.

Izumi was not really able to relax –she might have to pass on the title of Grand Hebi before she could join the Court Guard Squads. And that time was rapidly approaching.

AN: the same Bull from the Bount invasion of the Soul Society Arc. I can't remember which side of his face the scar's on –it could easily be the right.

(1) Since I'm using the Japanese for each title, Oushi means 'bull'

(2) This is the same spell Rukia used on Ichigo the first time they met