For those readers unsure in the last chapter: They did the horizontal tango...for hours in fact...but I don't do well writing that sort of thing in great detail most of the time so I tried to go for tasteful hinting. Also, I will be diverting into a lot of my own creation of things never touched on in the manga or anime much here. I don't include filler anime cause most of the time I don't watch it...this last arch aside...

Chapter Fourteen: Infinite World

"For all the talk of the power of darkness, many forget that without light there could be no shadow."

-Cappadocians

"So, where are we going exactly?" Kagome asked curiously as they were nearing the end of their meal, she'd been famished after their active afternoon but was intent on keeping a conversation before she let her mind wander too much over the idea of kidnaping him and holding him prisoner in this hotel room for the rest of their lives. "I know you said it's another soul society, but how does that work? How many are there exactly?"

"There are seven courts that hold royalty, nobility, and warriors to defend themselves, there are a small scattering of other outposts that often are in areas rarely haunted by hollows or have people with enough spiritual energy to defend them. Though each of them to a point is still within lands controlled by a court. There used to be two other courts, but both were destroyed long before my time or even my family's time as a noble house if the stories are to be believed. Though as to how they vanished in the first place is left often to various fairy tales I'd rather not teach as they are conjecture more than fact."

She listened curiously, everything was so much larger than she expected it to be, it was sort of foolish to have assumed soul society was the only place in the entire world for souls to go when they died. She smiled a little at the serious attitude he so easily dropped back into, she found it incredibly cute when he did that.

"The Seireitei court is the one you already know, we've gone over enough history that we'll skip that part for the moment. We control a large portion of what you would know as Asia reaching into India and further north into Russia. The Shirei court is the largest of the courts, centered in an area that seems to be in constant war in your world, the Middle East. As the lines of the countries change so commonly here it is best to generalize. They deal with all things in that area as well as the upper northwest corner of your country Africa."

Kagome nodded, sipping at her drink and taking in the names and where as best she could, curious about this new information as it had never before surfaced in her studies. "The court where we are heading is the Sepul court, it is the smallest of the courts and lies in the center of the country you know as Australia. It also watches over some of the areas bordered with ours and on rare occasion is tasked to patrol the frozen southern land of Antarctica."

"Wait, if we need help, why are we contacting the smallest court?" Kagome wanted to learn the rest but was still trying to remember what was already mentioned and was curious of the plan behind this.

"The Sepul court is small but they are fierce warriors, if a bit untraditional, they are capable of taking care of their court well and despite the small size few issues have come from them in the past." Byakuya paused his previous list to explain. "It is also predictable that we would go to the largest court first so Sestran did not wish to see you endangered by any possible attacks on those taking that route."

"Oh." Kagome blinked as she thought about it, that despite all the poor treatment she'd offered the gold haired prince he was still concerned enough for her well being to give them one of the safer paths. "Okay, well go ahead. Four more right?"

He offered a small smile in answer and continued his explinations. "The Ehgana court takes care of the rest of the area of Africa and many surrounding islands though they have avoided contact traditionally even when the courts spoke more commonly. They are almost constantly at war themselves with hollows, the creatures seem to have a liking for that dark place."

She nodded still trying to take it all in and he was moving right along.

"To the north of them and somewhere in the country you all call Britain is the second oldest and largest of the courts, Leshkala. The Seireitei comes in third by the way." He added for good measure. "They are much more traditional than some of the others but they have ways and traditions that do not match our own very much. I generally dislike dealing with them when it is possible to avoid it."

She grinned to herself despite the semi-serious topic, the idea of Byakuya not liking someone cause of differing traditions just amused her.

"The second youngest of the courts is the Endalan court based in your world's North America, though it is growing at an immense rate none of us truly predicted." He stated it like he'd seen the days when it had been developed. "They dont' have many traditions of their own, as when people migrated the culture of the courts that were already there was blended into all of the rest and it is a mishmash of things that I'm not sure everyone even understands the background for."

She sipped her drink so she didn't giggle, he was being all superior again, and it was very cute but sort of funny the way he had both disdain and a forced respect in his tone when he mentioned some of the courts he was telling her about.

"The last court is the Pamenda. I know little of them only that they are somewhere in the area you know as South America and seem to be haunted by the same issues that plague the Ehgana court." He explained with a final shrug. "One of the courts once resided in North America that was destroyed and the other sank into the ocean years before even Sestran's father was born."

"I never realized it was so much further reaching....all of these places have royalty like Sestran?" She had to ask, the idea of so many people that could just bend whoever they wanted to their will bothered her.

"No. Only the first three courts have royal family's of their own. The rest each have at least two or three noble families but often end up being the ones that learn the most of the other parts of soul society. To avoid issues such as inbreeding it is common for arranged marriages to be set up by families of different cities, or at least it was before they ceased to contact each other as freely as they once did."

"Why did they all stop talking to one another?" Kagome asked, she couldn't help it, this was all something that was very interesting, it put a whole new level to a world she thought she'd begun to understand and just discovered she only had millions more questions.

"I am uncertain, a lack of need I would imagine. Rarely these days do people bother to transverse the void." He answered and before she could ask continued to a new explanation. "The void is the infinite space of the spiritual pathways, where there are some connections to the spirit world from the human world that appear as caves or normal...quick travel between two soul society's requires one to move beyond the visual requirements of the real world and to travel through nothingness for a time before reaching their destination."

"That sounds sort of scary." Kagome commented as she imagined just wandering around blind.

"It is dangerous for those not of exceptional spiritual pressure and willpower." He replied with a nod of his own at her comment. "From what I understand those that are unprepared end up lost in that darkness, occasionally to be found elsewhere years or even decades later, but often never found again at all."

"Well, I guess I'd much rather have a delayed plane." Kagome observed, something about the way he talked about it made her nervous. "And I do like seeing you in jeans."

Byakuya raised a brow just a bit at the compliment, amused himself at how easily she decided it was to just travel in the mortal world. It seemed prudent not to mention that it was illegal most times to arrive at another court by anything but the void. Why the law was enacted as such he wasn't sure, but times of emergency were suppose to allow people to avoid that particular rule and he figured Sepul would be untraditional enough not to mind really.

Kagome seemed to be trying to remember everything he'd just told her or at least process more questions for him, and he gave her time, knowing it was a lot to take in at once when the other courts weren't a commonly taught thing to anything but high ranking soul reapers. Even the knowledge of the void was considered privileged information, if too many people learned of it then it was only a matter of time before the weak would kill themselves attempting to transverse it. Fear of some ambush was also there, but as you could feel the ripples of energy before such gateways opened it wasn't a wise way for people to attack.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Kagome had to take a break from the learning for a while, and it seemed to be somehow souring Byakuya's mood. Which she had no intention of allowing after the delightful afternoon they'd spent together. If she had to change the subject that was just as fine, at the rate things were going he'd want to give her a test on subject matter if they didn't stop soon anyway.

"A bit of a change." He noted that he observed her obvious attempt to change the subject. "I've never had much interest in that form of entertainment. Not quite like a live play, seeing it acted out where they don't get second chances to do it right. Whenever we finish all this we should see a play or opera."

"Opera?" Kagome blinked a little, she knew that ritzy people generally liked that stuff but she had gone to one once and been so bored she wanted to sleep but her mother wouldn't let her. "I'd rather not."

He smiled slowly at that reaction. "I see you aren't a fan. It tends to be a hit or miss kind of venue, you don't object to a play of some kind?"

"I guess not...I think next year they have Mamma Mia going through and I'd like to see that, I like the music." She commented, considering it a compromise.

"I am unfamiliar but it sounds as if we have a date." He settled a hand over hers and she felt her heart start in her chest immediately at his touch. His fingers were warm and she could remember the warmth of the rest of him clearly enough that she blushed.

He kissed her hand and rose still holding it as if offering to help her up. "We should get some rest, we may have to leave early."

"It's only eight..." She blinked a little at the sly smile she was offered before her blush deepened and she returned the tiny squeeze he'd given to her hand. Rest wasn't exactly on her mind either...

ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo

"They have continued to elude you...and you lost one of our sisters." The voice within the void was haunting, a faint whisper whose gender was indecipherable. "You underestimate them still, they have not even traveled within the void as you originally predicted they might. Instead they travel to look for allies within courts away from here and are beyond your reach within the real world."

"It is not that simple." Koridomi intoned with quiet sufferance for the insults being leveled on her. "Our backup troops were able to catch four of the runners sent to other cities before they were beyond our reach. The most powerful of the courts will receive nothing and the war laden courts will spare none of their troops while they are still fighting. It leaves them only the new courts to hope for help from. They have yet to even realize what is happening and may be lead to believe that it is actually the Seireitei."

"We have faith in you sister but you must tread carefully from now on, we have gone beyond the element of surprise and must move swiftly if we wish to dismantle things. The court of 46 still not being replaced is of a great service to us, as is the growing madness in the king, but one wrong step and we could be returned..."

The voice didn't get the chance to finish the statement. "I will not allow that to happen."

The very idea of being returned to that hell of fighting demons for all eternity was enough to make her more resolved, Sestran couldn't understand and she would simply avoid dealing with him if she couldn't get over her own retained feelings from her better lifetime, who she was no longer, then she would have another priestess deal with him. She couldn't allow it to continue, if it took putting the entirely of existence into oblivion to end her pain, it was a step she was willing to take to avoid the continued torment.

The priestess on their side she didn't want to make suffer as she had, but killing her was likely the only manner in which they would be capable of convincing her of why they needed to do what they were doing. Bringing the torture on sooner was unfortunate but to end the suffering of so many others she had to end the life of the priestess Kagome. "I will do what I must."

"Be wary Koridomi, there is much light left in the youth of her life. I will find the others and continue the current plans, as you say, we do as we must."

As the darkness curled back from her vision the once holy Midoriko fully felt the conviction of her words...

End Chapter

Whee, more information on my thoughts of soul society, with many names and such that I had to write more notes for the fiction on. Also more plot coming out as things continue and man, I gotta get byakuya and kagome to be less horny...

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Sugar0o - Yeah I wanted some warm happy holiday moments before more shit starting hitting the fan. I always saw Byakuya as the in charge sort myself.

Ayjah - Yay for someone thinking it's tactful.

Tsukiei - Isn't he though? Rawr.

Miko no Youkai - They did, for a while. though there was other stuff too I prefer to remain not too graffic. Yes Sestran is pretty good at the politics but he still has issues of his own.

Bloodcherry - Well yeah, til you were all 'oh wow aura of I love you' gets people every time ;)

Jjvalour - Yeah we went over this a lot...I suck at such things. But repeat it some more, might make me better.

Foxluna - There may or may not be someone in Sestran's life soonish as far as that goes but I still have to decide on some stuff first so there may not or may be...dunno yet.