A/N: I've been editing "The Wedding" and I'm unhappy with the story flow. The story is too long and jumps around too much, so I'm changing it to focus primarily on Kasumi, Tofu, Ranma, and Akane. I've tossed a lot of it (the two chapters published are staying), but some parts are worth saving and spinning off to their own story. This is one of those pieces. I hope you enjoy it while I put the parent story back together again.

For those not familiar with the Continuum, there are notes in my profile.

Chapter 1: Happosai (Sunday 12/22/02)

Happosai got off the plane at Tokyo International and ducked into the men's room. He walked through the small maze until he found a convenient moment to vanish from mortal minds. Then he walked unseen out of the restroom and resumed walking with the crowd. At the Custom and Immigrations lines, he carefully attached himself to a large family, so anyone watching the security monitors would assume that his passport was in the stack the father passed to the harried clerk. Happosai continued to follow the family to the Baggage Claim area where he discretely took his leave of them. After he joined a large tour group heading for the buses, he dropped his "cloaking" and emerged from the crowd to catch a bus back to Nerima.

"Done," he thought to himself. "I've seen where Ono's friend, Mausu, has set up Shampoo in New York. She has to stay there long enough to get her bearings. I don't think she'll be able to leave the safe house until a few weeks after the wedding. She certainly won't leave until Mausu returns. He and his friends are all she has right now. Meanwhile, I need to find out what's been happening while I was gone…"

He sat silently ignoring everyone until the bus reached Nerima, and then he headed straight to the Cat Café. Once there he invoked his "cloak" again and snuck into the building. Given that it was early Sunday morning, the place was not open yet. He stepped over a warding spell in the hallway and crept to the main dining room. There was no sign of anyone about. "Mousse is probably with the Tendos," he noted. "But I thought I'd sense Cologne here at least. Where is she?"

He reflected further on the matter until it struck him: today was the Winter Solstice, a holy day for the Amazons. "She's outside watching the Sun," he thought. "I wonder if Mousse is with her." He retraced his steps and slipped out of the building. Checking that no one was about, he dropped his cloak spell and walked around to the back of the restaurant. Leaping up to grab on to the top of the wooden stockade fence, he peered into the small garden and saw Cologne sitting on the ground in the middle of a stone circle. The stones were all about the size of a fist and were of different rock types. In the garden, there were also several small stone structures scattered about. Cologne's eyes were closed. In front of her were two small metal chalices. One contained ash, and the other contained water.

Happosai pulled himself up to sit on the fence, but didn't say a word. Instead he pulled out a pocket watch and noted that it was about 10AM. He put the watch away and then closed his eyes and began to chant softly under his breath. He ran through a set of Amazon prayers and checked his watch again. At 10:06, he began another set of prayers. Cologne's eyes snapped open and looked around, finally noticing the gnome sitting on her fence. She snorted and then smiled. Closing her eyes, she began praying out loud, matching Happosai. Happosai raised his voice a little so she could hear him now. When they finished the prayer, she beckoned Happosai to join her, so he did.

Happosai started to pull out his watch again when Cologne stopped him with a touch on his arm. She then pointed wordlessly at a particular small stone structure in her garden. As Happosai watched, sunlight managed to shine between the pillars of the structure to light up a small quartz stone in the circle about Cologne and Happosai. Together, the two elders recited another set of prayers. When they finished, they stood silently for a few minutes until the sun moved enough to shine through another stone structure. This time, the light bounced among several quartz stones, causing them all to glow.

"A perfect replica of the Time Circle," Happosai murmured.

"Of course," Cologne answered. "I am an Elder after all. Would you like to help finish the ritual?"

Happosai nodded and picked up the chalice filled with ash. Cologne picked up the chalice filled with water. "As the Darkness must give way to the Light, so let our past yield to our future," they chanted together. At that, Happosai poured the ash out of the chalice he held. A light breeze arose and blew the ash away, so the ash never hit the ground.

Cologne looked please and said: "And let the future bear fruit to our Hopes and Dreams." With that she poured the water from her chalice and the breeze became a strong wind that carried the water away."

The two stood in the Circle silently until the quartz stones slowly stopped glowing as the sun continued on its appointed round. Finally Cologne looked at the ground. "I see no ash or water inside the circle. That's a good omen," she commented.

"Good," Happosai said with a nod. "We could use a little luck."

Cologne sighed and nodded. Then she seemed to pull herself together. "Come along, old man. Let's get some breakfast." She started toward the house and then stopped. "Happosai?" she prompted.

"Yes?"

"Thanks. I could use the company," she told him as she started forward again.

"No problem," he answered as he followed her. "I'm a little surprised Mousse wasn't here though. This ceremony is a big part of the Tribe."

They walked into the building and Cologne said with another sigh: "Had he shown up, I would have had him join me. But I didn't think it was appropriate to prompt him. His path is different than the Village, and I need to let him find it."

"How is he?" Happosai asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Better than could be expected," she replied. "Physically, he's completely healed. He's been working out with Ranma and his fighting form has returned in full – if not better. Mentally, he's improved too – mainly because he's not focused on Shampoo anymore, so he's paying more attention to details."

"And spiritually?" Happosai prompted.

She gave a small sigh again as she pulled out the ingredients for breakfast. "Spiritually – he's a mess. His soul is so raw. Kasumi literally stitched him back together and somehow spun patches for the pieces that were undone by Shampoo and the Shadow. It's a wonder he doesn't spend the night screaming in terror. I think Ono must have put a Shield over him, but I don't know how he's powering it." She stopped and looked penetratingly at Happosai for a moment. "Did you know Ono is not fully human?" she asked.

Happosai simply nodded. "Yes, I've known ever since I laid eyes on him," he answered honestly. "He's mostly human though."

"What are the Huli Jing called here?" she quizzed curiously as she began breaking eggs.

"Kitsunes," he answered her succinctly. "Ono's human side descends from a long line of mages too. He's also a lot older than he looks and has a fair amount of experience. He's studied many traditions so he can draw from a fairly large power base. It's one of the reasons he's such a good Healer."

"And now he's taken up with a pretty young woman," Cologne smirked.

"Some fellas have all the luck," Happosai agreed with a wave of his hand. He returned to the original topic. "Mousse will be all right. He's been hanging out with some of the most determined survivors I know. It's been rubbing off on him."

"I hope your right. Life hasn't been fair to him."

"Is that why you're still here?" he asked gently.

Cologne paused for moment and looked down. Then she continued to prepare the food again and said: "My heir did this to him. I taught her to be hard and ruthless." Happosai threw a very direct and skeptical look at her. "Besides," she shrugged. "I have nowhere else to go."

"You could return to the Village," he suggested.

"And do what?" she responded quietly with a shrug. "My influence with the Tribal Council is at an all-time low. No one sees me as a pariah. Instead, they feel sorry for me – which is even worse. I'm seen as past my prime. No one will come to me for advice anymore. No one will come to me as a student. I will not get another protégé." Happosai started to say something and thought better of it. Cologne continued: "At least here I'm still respected. Mousse listens to me, so I'm of use to him. The Mages of Nerima are starting to trust me. The fighters want me to teach them. I have a purpose here. I have a place. That will do."

Happosai was quiet for a few minutes as she continued to put breakfast together. "And what about you?" Cologne asked.

"What about me what?" he replied evasively.

Cologne gave him a very direct look. "Happosai, I can look at a person and know their lineage. I've known, I've always known. Heather's husband, Shua, was sterile. The Elders wanted to dissolve the marriage because Heather was one of our best warriors and wanted her to breed. Shua was to be thrown out of the Tribe. Then miraculously, Heather is pregnant and both Heather and Shua insist he is the father. But the Council suspects, yet they don't make an issue: Heather is having a child."

She looked at Happosai's 'innocent' face and continued: "When my grandchild is born, initially there is some concern. But the child's sire has a few – very few mind you – redeeming qualities. We hope for the best and are rewarded: Shui excels as a warrior and, as an added bonus, is an excellent tactician. She is also a master at tribal politics – probably the result of her sneaky sire." Happosai adopted a blank look, but Cologne ignored him adding: "Shui rises in the Tribe. When she becomes smitten with a chef in a Han village, we order her to find a warrior instead. What does she do? She trains the chef to fight and he does well enough to earn a place in our Village. They are married, and Shampoo is born one year later."

The old man took the mixing bowl from Cologne and walked over to the griddle. He adjusted the heat and then started to ladle the mixture onto the griddle. "And what does this have to do with me?" he asked.

"Cut it out, Happosai," Cologne sighed. "You're Shui's father."

Happosai sighed in turn. "No," he replied. Shui's father was Shua. He impregnated Heather and he was there for his child."

Cologne looked surprised at Happosai; then her eyes narrowed. "So that's how it was done!" she said.

Now Happosai shrugged. "I wouldn't have minded, but Heather had some very definite opinions about things – a lot like her mother." He smiled as Cologne hit him with a long wooden spoon. "You weren't sure though. If you thought I'd really slept with Heather, you would have killed me when I showed up on the beach again."

"But she hated you! Why did she turn to you?" Cologne asked.

"She didn't really hate me," he laughed. "She only said that so you would leave her alone. Your daughter was a bit of a rogue and we got along quite well. Besides, who else would help her defy the Tribal Council? Heather loved Shua very much and he loved her. I'm not completely heartless, so I helped them. Shua and I spoke to a Han doctor, and he helped set everything up. I made a point of not being anywhere near the Village at the appointed time – another reason none of you were 100% sure." Happosai's face turned serious then: "But Shui's father was Shua, despite my contributions. I mostly made a point of not interfering, even if I did watch from a distance."

"Mostly?" Cologne said with a raised eyebrow.

"I may have whispered in Shui's ear from time-to-time," he admitted.

"And did you whisper into Shui's ear about Chushi?" she pressed.

"Nope," he said with a smirk. "I just encouraged her to think outside the box. We kept in touch by letter mostly. I was established in Japan by then."

"So you knew about Shampoo then," Cologne stated – it was definitely not a question.

She was wrong though. "I knew Shui was pregnant, but we lost touch before the birth," he said soberly. "Both of us had our hands full and events moved out of our control. I was 'indisposed' when she died. When I eventually learned of her death, I was heartbroken." Happosai sighed again.

"I was too," Cologne admitted sadly. "I had Chushi and Shampoo move in with me. We all grieved together." She flipped over the food on the grill.

Happosai nodded. "I didn't know about Shampoo until I met you on the beach and Shampoo called you great-grandmother," he said as he jumped down to get some plates.

The two took their meal into the formal room and sat down. They ate in silence until Cologne asked: "Happosai, where is Shampoo?"

He looked at her and considered his options. "It's better that you don't know," he told her finally.

"It won't work," she warned him. "Whatever you do, you can't hide her from the Council. And she must be punished for what she did to Mousse."

"She is being punished," he said firmly. "She lost everything. She can never be an Amazon again."

Cologne shook her head. "I understand what you are saying, but it's not enough for many on the Council."

"And what about you?" he asked. "Is it enough for you?"

Cologne looked down at her plate. "She almost took Mousse's soul…but now she's lost her own. I suppose there is justice in that." She paused for a few moments and then added: "But it doesn't matter. I was a witness at her trial. I have no say in her punishment." After a couple of minutes of silence, Happosai spoke up and changed the subject. When they finished, he helped clean up and then took his leave.

"This is bad," he thought after he left the restaurant. "Very bad. The Amazons know who Shampoo's grandsire is. That means Henna may be aware of a connection between Shampoo and me. She may figure out that I'll try and hide Shampoo. She'll be looking for something unusual before the Anathema begins to burn out and before Shampoo is properly hidden."

He bounced up to a nearby rooftop and looked for a suitable place to think. Spying a closed office building, he bounced to one of the building's high ledges that overlooked Nerima market. He sat down and stared sightlessly at the marketplace. Since it was Sunday, the market place was in full swing, but the constant noise did not distract Happosai. "I need to buy time," he thought to himself. "I need to distract Henna until Ono's tricks have consumed the Anathema spell. (1) After that, Henna will fixate on attacking Ono's Circles until she finally reaches the doppelganger. By then, Shampoo's trail will be long gone and Henna will be unable to find her. Henna will also be too busy dealing with the doppelganger's backlash for a little while after that. That should get us pass the Equinox…"

He sat there thinking for some time until a familiar voice rose from the crowd. "So you think we should go to Ginza?" Akane asked someone.

"I think Akari wants something more cutting edge than what you'd find around here," a young woman answered. Happosai thought it sounded like one of Akane's friends. He reflected on the voice for about it for a second – Sayuri was the girl's name.

Another girl chimed in: "Takeda's might have something, but I think it is *too* formal though. It's bad taste to outshine the bride."

"That's Akane's friend, Yuka," Happosai noted silently. The sweet natured ones always stuck in his mind – enough so that he often left them alone.

"I think Takeda's is out of my price range," a fourth voice added. Happosai had no problem identifying Akari's voice, having taught the young lady in the dojo. "Are you sure Ginza is in my range?"

"You just have to know how to shop," Yuka reassured her. "We're looking for incomplete outfits that are marked down. Then we mix and match something that goes together and that you like."

"Besides, some of the complete outfits are hideous," Sayuri said. There was general laughter at that comment; it allowed Happosai to zero in on the four girls.

"No, young women," he corrected himself as he watched them walk through the crowds. "Their thick coats don't hide who they are." Happosai suppressed his predatory instincts. He had a problem to solve right now. Besides, Akane's speed and power had increased a lot over the past twelve months. When he first arrived here, she could only tag him occasionally. Now, her "malletting average" was well above .750. "Just like her mother," he chuckled to himself.

As he watched them walk through the crowd, he noticed many young (and not so young) men turning to watch the quartet as they passed. Several men managed to walk into light posts or fall off of curbs, too smitten to watch where they were going. "Too bad Henna's not male. Then I could use one of them to distract her," he thought. He froze then, and an idea bubbled up from his twisted mind. Shaking his head, he studied the women harder.

"I can't use Akane for obvious reasons," he said silently to himself. He looked at Yuka. "No, she'd never last a second. Same for Sayuri – she'd be deleted in an instant." He searched Akari's face for some time. "Yes…yes…she's strong. She's been meeting the world head-on for quite some time. And her power is awakening. It would give Ryoga time to get to her, and Ryoga would drag in Ranma intentionally or unintentionally. A clash between Henna and the Nerima crew might tip our hand early, but it wouldn't stay hidden for long anyway. Henna would focus on Nerima like a laser beam, and Shampoo would escape cleanly. Henna won't come to Nerima; she wants us to come to her and fight on her terms. She'll send minions – I just need to banish her zombies once Ranma and crew defeat them."

Happosai reviewed the plan in his mind and walked through several scenarios as the women disappeared out of sight. "This will work," he decided. "The worst case is that Akari will die, but that will only stiffen spines and make people hunger for vengeance…"

A/N: Footnotes:

(1) The Anathema Spell was introduced at the end of "The Final Binding". It starts as a black spot of the face of a guilty person and grows slowly over a month or two to cover the entire face, giving the receiver plenty of time to realize they are doomed. Once the face is completely black, the victim physically burns from the inside out, dying painfully and then their soul is sentenced to Hell for their crime.