AN : A bit quicker with the update this time around. Thanks for the alerts and the favorites as well as the reviews, they fuel both my confidence in this story and my inspiration. I can only hope you guys'll like this one. Enjoy!

Chapter Four : Blessed Are Those

"You don't understand... now is not the time!" the Revered Faithful shouted at Yoruichi.

"What YOU don't understand is that we are in desperate need of new recruits" the Captain countered. "What you don't understand is that we are responsible for YOUR safety as well as all the others. What you don't understand Revered, is that your life also hangs in the balance should you refuse to give your blessing to the tournament. Arming ourselves in preparation for the Crusades is by all means necessary."

The Revered Faithful opened his mouth in a vain attempt to answer but was cut off by the raised hand of the last Shihouin. She turned around and walked away with an aura of confidence only a Shihouin could radiate.

"But this is insolence!" the Revered shouted after her. "You dare defy what the Council of Shadows orders you to do?"

Yoruichi stopped dead in her tracks, shaking with barely restrained rage. They just didn't understand, did they? This was not about politics. She felt a foul taste in her mouth just by thinking about it. Politics were out of the picture when talking about the War.

"You and your Council. How many times do we have to fall on our knees in desperation for the Dark Gods to return? Your prophecies seem like lies of a vision unseen. You say salvation is coming. You say your emissaries have struck a deal of armastice with the Whites. What you fail to understand is that you CANNOT reason with madmen" she spat distastefully.

She turned around slowly while looking over her shoulder at the Revered Faithful. Her narrowed golden orbs pierced ocean blue ones.

"The lot of you should be thrown to the demons of the Void!" With each word, the Shihouin leader took one step towards the Revered. "If you order me to leave you and your Faithful defenseless when the White Crusades arrive, then so be it. But I will not leave my Clan defenseless because you had a wishful dream."

By now, she was mere inches from the Revered. Yoruichi towered over him by a head, his small, clumsy figure sweating profusely at the close proximity. The last Shihouin was feared. The Revered Faithful, of all people, could understand why.

"Worry not though" Yoruichi said, clearly amused by the threatening effect of her display of power. "You will have your troops, if I have mine. After all, a deal is a deal, is it not?" She flashed a smile while backing out of the dark room. Her body was enveloped in black smoke before she disappeared.

Yoruichi pondered over the conversation with the Revered on her way to the Captains' meeting.

The Shihouin was all but pleased with her progress. She had to keep the Revered in line. This was one of her main responsibilities as the leader of the Shadowridge Clan.

Politics never were the worries of the Clans. Politics never really existed. Not in this society. It was all about power. Kill or be killed. A fight for survival. What a few monks and priests would order the Captains to do were but guidelines. And usually, they never were obeyed.

Let the priests play in their gowns. Let them preach, let them shout, let them yell, or even scream. Normally, they would hardly be acknowledged.

But the Revered gained more influence each day. In order to keep the balance of power, Yoruichi had to get under the skin of the Revered. Somehow influence him to see her side of it. To dominate the Faithful would mean a certain victory for the Shadowridge. They were excellent minds. But this was to be solved in a peaceful manner. A fight with the Faithful would light the whole world on fire.

The Revered Faithful relaxed slightly as the last Shihouin left the room. As feared as she was, he was desperate to keep her under his control. As part of the Council of Shadows, the influence of the Revered reached to the far ends of the world. The Council of Shadows is the law, after all. But keeping her in sync with his plans in motion was something completely different. And it has proven to be impossible as well.

The Revered summoned a shadow wraith. The tournament could not happen now. Something had to be done about the reckless Shihouin before the musings of that primitive mind of hers ruined all those years of careful planning.

After the Captains' meeting, the last Shihouin dismissed the Captains. As they began to leave, she looked over them. They were the finest warriors of these lands. She prayed that their prowess in battle would later prove to be under her influence, and not under the Revered Faithful's.

A shadow wraith appeared out of the Void, only to stop infront of the Lieutenant of the Fifth City.

Aizen. While being distrustful by nature, Yoruichi didn't know what to think about her fellow Captain's Lieutenant. He seemed gullible. But then again, we all are, in a way.

The wraith whispered its message to Lieutenant Aizen before disappering once more, along with the Captain.

Yoruichi decided it would be best if she went back to the Clan Grounds of the Second City. Somehow, watching all that training eased her mind every time.

"I can see that something is wrong, you know."

"Mm."

"So you're just going to ignore me?"

"Mm-hm."

"Alright."

Kaien Shiba sat down next to his cross-legged Captain. The Shihouin watched the various matches of melee combat scattered throughout the Grounds. From the way her head was held up by her right hand only seemed to confirm the Shiba's suspicions. The Shihouin was somewhere far away. As her Lieutenant, Kaien got used to Yoruichi's mood changes. He desperately hoped it was just one of those.

Things were getting tough for the Clans. The White Crusades were just around the corner, and in the eyes of the higher ups - Lieutenants, Captains, the Council of Shadows - everyone was a possible spy for the Whites. It was not impossible that his Captain was worried. Everyone else seemed to be worried.

"Tell me something" Yoruichi suddenly started talking, eyes still glued to the scene infront of her. Kaien looked at her cautiously. "If you could stop a tyrant from rising to power at the cost of yourself, would you? Would you gladly be a martyr?"

There was a glow to her eyes as she switched between fights. It took Kaien no time to answer her question truthfully.

"Without the shadow of a doubt."

Yoruichi looked at him with a thoughtful expression. Her short violet hair flew in the wind in sync with her hakama.

"Even if that tyrant was you?"

Kaien's eyes widened slightly.

"Then I would want to be the sacrifice all the more."

"I thought so" she smiled before turning back as one of the fights suddenly finished. The winner, a small girl - by the looks of it, a recruit - bowed before her opponent - a much bigger man - then turned to her Captain to bow before her as well.

"Kaien."

"Hm?"

"Who is that girl?" Yoruichi asked, a curious gleam in her golden orbs.

"That's... Shaolin Fon, from the Fon clan. Initiate." he narrowed his eyes, trying to remember everything in connection with her.

"Mm" was all the answer from the Captain.

For now, it was useless to worry, Yoruichi thought as she kept watching the small girl. Everything will come in due time. Even if that time is not now.