A/N: There are two stories in one here. The first covers from the the aftermath of the Bachelor Party until the first wedding (in the Courthouse) and focuses on Tofu and Kasumi dealing with some emotional and professional baggage. The second covers the more public wedding ceremony performed by Lord Jakaro and features the off-the-wall action surrounding that event. I thought about splitting them up, and might yet, but we'll see.

Keep in mind that "The Other Side of the Looking Glass", "Gifts", "Baptism", and "Elemental" are happening concurrently.

BTW: Character summaries are in my profile now.

Chapter 1: The Seer (Thursday – 12/19/02)

Kasumi woke up with a start. She sat up in bed trying to place what was going on. Then she heard her bedmate move and two arms slid around her waist, pulling her back against her fiancé. "Are you all right, Love?" Tofu asked.

"Physically and mentally? Yes," Kasumi answered.

"But not spiritually?" he prodded.

"No, something's up," she replied. "I need to take a look around."

Tofu sighed. "At four in the morning? Everyone's in bed still."

"Best time to look around, wouldn't you say?" she responded.

"You haven't prepared. You should not go Spirit-Walking without preparation," he countered.

"It's not spirits that woke me – it's Echoes."

He sighed again. Kasumi needed to catch the Echoes before they faded away. "Such is the lot of a Seeress's husband," he grumbled as he got out of bed.

She flashed a smile at him. "I did not ask for this," she reminded him. "I was happy to just be a Healer."

"Oh, and like this was my doing…" he shot back.

Tofu crossed the room and reached into his bag. He took out two candles and some matches. Then he looked around the room until he found two tea cups on the end table. "These will do," he said placing the candles into the cups.

"They're lopsided," Kasumi noted.

"I'll hold them upright," he told her.

"You'll get burned!" she protested.

"I'm a Fire Mage, remember?" he said with a roll of the eyes.

"A Fire Mage who needs matches?"

"I'm a *tired* Fire Mage," he grumbled. With that, he climbed back into the bed. "Come here," he ordered. Kasumi nested against him. Tofu assumed his Kitsune Spirit Form and then lit the candles. "All right. One bodyguard reporting for duty," he told her.

"Then let's See what's going around…" she said.

The Winter Solstice was only three days away, and there was none of the power build-up the Sprite expected. Why were her Siblings not preparing to wage war and free her? All right, she had betrayed them to Henna to escape some pain, but that was water under the bridge. It wasn't like they wouldn't have done the same to her. Besides, regardless of how they felt about each other, the Siblings had a responsibility to the Earth, and none of them would want Henna to remain in control.

She really didn't understand it – she had planned everything so carefully. Her Siblings freed themselves as expected and performed the Summoning back in September; the whole Earth shook when that occurred. They should be nearing their peak of power at the Solstice, but the Sprite couldn't find them anywhere. It was…unsettling.

She went to the back of her tank again and created a Viewing Sphere. Once more, she zoomed in on Nerima. With practiced ease, she found Akane and Ranma. Of course, it was easy to locate them right now – in Japan, it was mid-morning and the teenagers were in school. She studied both of them from every angle. "Why are they alive?" she wondered. "Both of them should have been consumed by the Summoning. I thought maybe Kaze and Hinote were running around in their shapes, but unless my Brothers have suddenly become hormonal human teenagers, that isn't happening."

The Sprite shifted the view to look at Unryü farm. Ryoga was working with another farm hand to repair a tractor in the barn. "Granted, Daichi was always into fertility rituals, but she was never as involved in them as Ryoga is every night," the Sprite thought. "If she's draining Akari, the girl shows no sign of it. If Ryoga, Akane, and Ranma are all whole, where the hell are my Siblings?"

The sound of singing snapped the Sprite out of her worrying. An annoyed look crossed her face. "Great," she thought sarcastically. "Henna's in a good mood. That means she just killed someone." She listened as the singer apparently came into the bathroom, stripped, and sunk into the main bath. Since Ba, Henna's personal Grim Reaper, hadn't followed Henna back into the bathroom, that meant the demon didn't think there was any chance of Henna dying anytime soon. "More bad news…" the Sprite thought.

The Sprite sulked in her tank for a quarter of an hour before curiosity finally got the better of her. She edged forward slowly so as to not tip off Henna. Carefully, the Elemental peered out of her tank and studied Henna sunk up to her neck in the hot water. Henna appeared to be a beautiful Amazon woman of about 30, except for the streak of white hair running through her black from her forehead, over her scalp, and down the back of her long hair. The streak had widened a little over the last six months as the course of events had stressed Henna. The witch had her eyes closed in contentment as she sang softly. Even though she was sure Henna hadn't noticed her, the Sprite kept her expression carefully neutral. She would never give Henna the satisfaction of seeing how much the Sprite hated her captor.

"I know you're there," Henna said, interrupting her song mid-chorus. "I own you. You cannot hide from me."

The Sprite decided not to deny it. Instead, she asked sweetly: "And how many people did you butcher today? Are you going to bathe in their blood later?"

"A trick that I learned from you," Henna said unruffled.

"Ah, but I left the donors alive – much easier to get more blood later," the Sprite replied.

"Yes, but I prefer to eat the whole soul at once instead of nibbling on it," Henna answered sweetly. "It's just yours I nibble on… Oh wait, that's right, you don't have a soul – must be why you nibble on others. Tell me, slave, what is it like when the cattle rise up and feed on you instead?"

The Sprite ignored that. Instead, she asked: "You didn't answer the question, Henna. How many people did you butcher today?"

"And you didn't answer mine," Henna noted coyly. "But just to be a polite host, I'll answer yours: Just one, dear morsel – just one." Henna laughed languidly. "You can stop looking at Nerima now…your plots and plans are over."

The Sprite hesitated for a fraction of a moment as a shiver ran down her spine. "What are you talking about?" the Sprite asked.

"This is my domain – you're my property. I know everything that goes on. I know you've been looking at Nerima. You see, my destroyer is supposed to be there – isn't she?" Henna purred.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Sprite snapped. She was annoyed at getting caught using a seer spell. She was also very frightened.

Henna got out of her bath looking very smug. She stretched her perfect body with a self-satisfied gesture and then looked back at the Sprite as she walked to get clean robe from a cupboard. "By the way, the boy – 'Pathkeeper' his name was? – The boy is dead. You gave him his name just in time for me to take it away from him. One of the Guides of Jusenkyo gave him up – and all your plans – in lieu of being sent to Hell. I drank the water you gave him – you're Essence is doubly mine now. There will be no escape for you now."

"You killed Pathkeeper today?" the Sprite asked quietly.

"No," Henna smiled as she put the robe on. "I killed him a week ago. I killed Shampoo today – I got the pleasure of issuing the 'Anathema' spell all by myself. Those old hags on the Amazon Council decided Shampoo deserved severe punishment, but couldn't bring themselves to do it. So I did, and they wouldn't – or couldn't – stop me."

"Then she isn't dead yet…" the Sprite mumbled.

Henna laughed. "There is no escape from 'Anathema'," she jeered. "You know that. Shampoo is dead. Her spirit will reside in Hell – ironically for almost damning Mousse – by the end of two months. Whatever destiny Shampoo was to have is over." The witch walked over to the tank. Quicker than lightning, Henna's hand shot out and phased through the glass, grasping the Sprite by the throat tightly. She lifted the Sprite up to eye level. "I've figured out all your riddles you see. *You* are the enemy whose face you could not see. You planned my destruction and your escape. You were also hoping to release your Siblings from their imprisonment and have them attack me, but the Summoning failed in that regard. Your Siblings are indeed dead. Instead, you unleashed total chaos. The Oracle spell no longer works. The Earth models no longer function. All the fortunetellers are out of work. Nerima is a wasteland of power. Without direction, it will fester and explode, taking Japan with it. Congratulations! You've destroyed a country – something I only aspire to do."

Henna threw the Sprite to the back of the tank with enough force to shake the room and laughed again. "My 'replacement' is dead. Your Siblings are dead. You are dying. I will own this Lawless world and Hell can wait forever for my soul!" With that, Henna turned and walked to the white stone staircase. Laughing, she ascended to the main level.

Back in the tank, the Sprite massaged her sore throat. "She struck at me and didn't suffer any ill effects! She did drink from the bottle I gave Taro! How the hell did he know?" she wondered out loud in shock.

Taro stood there for some time looking at the gravestone. It was marked very simply with the word 'Pathkeeper'. "I thought that was my name," he muttered quietly.

Xiam, one of the Jusenkyo Guides, answered him: "No, only the Council can give you your name. That was the deal."

Taro pointed at the stone. "He died in my place."

"No," Xiam disagreed. "He volunteered to die a quick death instead of the slow death his cancer gave him. When Henna issued the Death spell, Pathkeeper accepted his death with peace."

"He still died in my place," Taro insisted.

"Then you can live in his place!" Xiam shot back. "Don't let his death be in vain!"

Taro clenched his jaw for a few moments and then growled: "I told you I was in. And I am."

"Good," Xiam said satisfied. He handed Taro a large jar of murky green water. "Here, you next job is to guard this."

"How much is still here?" Taro asked as he accepted the bottle.

"Most of it," Xiam answered. "Henna got a little bit – just enough for flavoring. When the potion starts to fail, she'll just think that the Sprite's Essence is fading from everywhere."

"And the rest of it?" Taro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tofu Kitsune has some of it in Nerima," Xiam told him. "But he doesn't know what it is."

"Fem-boy is involved in this, isn't he?" Taro asked – it wasn't really a question.

"Ha!" the Guide laughed. "If you're going to call him that, you might as well call him 'Cat-fox-pig-fish-phoenix-dragon-wind-fire-rock-girl-boy'."

"Naw, I get more mileage out of 'fem-boy'…" Taro smirked.

Ranma stood on Mount Terror watching the sun go down and listening to the Wind. He had told Akane and Mousse where he was going (since they were going to find out anyway) and asked them to stay put. He told them that he needed to get away from the Nexus for a few hours. Actually, the Nexus didn't really bother him, but the things coming *out* of swirling maelstrom sometimes did. "It's hard to hear my own thoughts when I can hear everyone else's all jumbled together," he said in the silence of his mind.

"It will get better once the Solstice passes," a young voice inside him answered.

"Rera?" Ranma thought.

"Who else?" Rera said cheekily.

"I don't know…I'm not sure whose thought I'm going to hear next," Ranma replied.

"It's only temporary. It will be gone before Christmas. Listening to music will keep things to a minimum and allow you to study," Rera told him.

"Are you doing this?" Ranma asked the mischievous entity that shared spiritual space with him.

"No. I don't like the noise anymore than you do," Rera answered. "You're just a little too tied into Nerima and the power flows peak at the Solstices and Equinoxes. And I'm not into playing with your mind – I'm sort of fond of you," the young spirit laughed.

Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow: "Could you've told me this before I left Nerima?"

"Perhaps," Rera replied teasingly, but then his tone turned serious. "But I wanted to give you time to practice as well."

Now Ranma rolled his eyes. "Not you too!"

"Oh please," Rera said with a little sarcasm. "Tofu has been very busy with the wedding so he hasn't been leaning on you lately. You've been acting as more of a Master than a Student on the weekends. You've been working a lot with Akane, Mousse, Ryoga, and now Akari. That's all fine and good, but you've got a ways to go too, and the Storm is getting closer."

Ranma sobered up. "How close?" he asked.

"This coming year. I think things will hold together for another three months, but after that, it's anyone's guess. You need to be ready," Rera answered.

"I'm getting pretty good at the Wind Magic," Ranma commented.

"It's easy to be good when you only have to make a half-hearted effort," Rera shot back.

"Bullshit!"

"Bullshit yourself! Try and reverse the breeze, grandstander!" Rera challenged.

The breeze was coming out of the north. Ranma closed his eyes and reached into the air with his mind. He immediately encountered more resistance than expected. He could feel Rera growing smug, so he re-doubled his efforts. Sweat broke out on his forehead and he ground his teeth. Slowly, the Wind bent to his will and reversed direction. It was only a limited effect over an area of about half a kilometer, but he got it. "Did it!" he exclaimed.

"One… two… three… four…" Rera began counting.

"You little…" Ranma started, but had to stop as he felt the breeze slow down. He concentrated again, ignoring Rera's counting. When Rera hit twenty-six, Ranma collapsed to kneel on the ground.

"Admittedly, I didn't think you'd make it to twenty, but you are stubborn if nothing else," Rera said, again a little smugly.

"What the hell?" Ranma wondered breathing hard.

"Are you ready to listen now?" Rera asked.

Ranma blew out a big breath. "Fine. What's happening?"

"When you are in Nerima, you are bursting with power. You can pull from the Nexus, both consciously and unconsciously. You have access to an incredible amount of power. Up here, not so much. This is the part you need work at – drawing and shaping natural energies. That's what we have to fix if you want to be any good as an Elemental Mage," Rera told him.

"So why don't I feel any weaker as a Martial Artist?" Ranma asked.

"Because it doesn't take nearly as much energy, and the energy for your Martial Arts tricks is easy to store. Also, the power arises from you directly – you, the Cats, and me somewhat… you're a corrupting influence. But for an Elemental mage, most of the power doesn't normally come from within. A mage manipulates existing energy using his power. He doesn't generate most of it normally," Rera explained. "In Nerima, it is really easy for you to draw in power."

Rera paused then. Ranma could feel the setup coming – he could feel the little jackass smirking. "Unfortunately, your Opponent doesn't live in Nerima. When you fight him, little apprentice, you have to go to him. He's not stupid enough to come to you."

Ranma knew it for what it was, but he couldn't help taking the bait. "What?!" he yelled.

"Mages compete among themselves too. If nothing else, you know part of life is competition. The Wind Mage Lord sits on his hill waiting for his challenger. He's aware of you, but he's waiting for you to stop cutting your baby teeth."

Ranma's eyes hardened. "Where is he?"

"You'll know when the time comes – if the time comes," Rera answered glibly.

"START TEACHING, YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

Akari sat pensively in the soda shop waiting. She watched with a little trepidation as Akane rushed in the door. "Sorry I'm running late. Chorus Group took longer than expected!" Akane burst out.

She bounced into the chair opposite Akari breathlessly. It was obvious that Akane had run at full speed from Furinkan High. "The sonic booms are probably struggling to catch up," Akari thought with a sad little internal smile. Out loud, Akari said: "That's all right, Akane. You did warn me that you might be late. I've only been here five minutes."

Akane beamed a smile at her and Akari felt her resolve waiver a little. "Damn it," Akari thought. "It's so easy to like her. She lives on the absolute edge of her skin; every thought and emotion displayed. There's nothing artificial about her. I feel so pale next to her. I don't want to show any weakness, but I need her help."

Just then, the waiter came over and both young women ordered hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate mousse pie, something that made Akari feel a little better at having something in common with her tablemate. Akane rattled off a few things about the Chorus Group as she took off her coat – mostly about how good someone was and some of the rivalries that were there. Apparently Sayuri (the only name that Akari recognized) was competing for a soloist role in one of the songs against another girl. Akane was going to be a backup singer for Sayuri. That made Akari feel a little worse, "She's on the inside of everything that happens around here," Akari thought.

The waiter brought over their order and they started eating. "Anyway," Akane resumed just after she had eaten a bite of her pie. "You said you had something to ask. What's up?"

Akari took a deep breath and asked straight out: "Akane? Are we friends?"

Akane nearly dropped her fork. She caught it swiftly and looked up with surprised eyes. Akari could see a bit of hurt there as Akane looked at her, causing Akari to bite her lip a little. Akane's face ran thought a gamut of emotions until 'worry' won out and Akane reached across to grab Akari's hand. "Of course we are, Akari! What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but sometimes I feel like an outsider, or a hanger-on," Akari said softly. "You all seem to have your lives so together."

Akane looked at her with disbelief while still holding her hand. "I'm sorry. I must have misheard you. Is this the girl getting married in fourteen months who's been running a farm since she was thirteen? The same one who raises champion sumo pigs that have taken like a jillion competitions?"

Akari blushed and said: "I mean you all seem to know who you are and are so sure of yourselves."

Akane looked shocked now. Then she lay her forehead down on the table (while missing her snack). From that position, Akane said: "You *really* need to see Tofu about that selective memory." Despite herself, Akari raised her other hand to cover a small giggle. Akane looked up at her. "O.K., admittedly I behave myself a bit better when you're around – you have that effect on people – but I'm still me – the hothead jock who's still trying to figure out how to be a woman."

"But you always seem so together with clothes and make-up…" Akari pressed.

"I have two older sisters," Akane told her. "They help me with make-up the few times I use it. As for fashion, Sayuri and Yuka help me there – what I learned, I learned from them. I usually play it safe too – I'm not considered cutting-edge. Besides, you always look perfect!"

"I always look like a country-girl," Akari pouted.

"You look like a *well coordinated* country-girl," Akane corrected while straightening up. She was still holding Akari's hand. "Which is a really popular style with a lot of women here. You only use a little mascara and a bit of light blush…"

"I look like a country bumpkin," Akari cut her off. "I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb when Kasumi gets married in two weeks."

Akane looked at Akari in silence for a few moments and seem to understand what her friend was saying. "I don't think you should be anyone other than who you are," she said carefully. "But if you want to play with it a little, I don't see the harm either."

Akari took the opening. "Will you help me go shopping for a new dress for the wedding?" she asked.

"Yes, but I think we should ask Sayuri and Yuka to go with us," Akane replied.

"Do you think they will?"

Akane laughed. "That's like asking water to run downhill."

Akari smiled at that and relaxed. Akane smiled back and they both worked on their pie pieces for a few minutes. When they were done, Akane asked: "Akari, do you feel left out every now and then?"

Akari sighed and nodded. "You, Ranma, and Ryoga seem so close," she said simply. "You understand each other without saying a word."

"Well, in Ranma's and Ryoga's case," Akane started. "They are saying words without speaking - sometimes lots of them and I'm not sure we want to hear all of them. Hideo can and has yelled 'knock it off' on occasion. They really are brothers the way they pick on each other."

"What about you? Can you talk to them without speaking?" Akari asked curiously.

Akane shook her head. "No. Just after the Summoning, when we were all tangled together, I could hear what they were speaking before they said it – which was really annoying and I'm glad it faded – but I could never hear their thoughts. Ranma and I have tried, but it doesn't work. The three of us can always tell where each other are though and the general state of each other – emotions, health, things like that."

Akari nodded her head. "I know. Ryoga tells me to call Ranma when I can't find him," Akari said.

"You can also call me. And you can call Mousse," Akane told her.

Akari looked stricken. "Mousse is tied into you three as well?"

Akane grabbed her hand again. "Hey, hey… It doesn't mean you don't count – Mousse can find you as well."

"WHAT?"

"You consider Mousse a good friend, don't you?" Akane asked.

"Well, yeah. He is. But…" Akari started.

"I can't automatically find Mousse either," Akane said. "But he can find me. Actually, he can find anyone who cares about him if he concentrates. It's just part of who he is. But, there are some of us – 'The Family' he calls us, which includes you – he always knows where we are. Actually, he may be the best one to call, because he can tell you where Ryoga is in relation to you without even thinking about it."

"Whoa…"

Akane laughed at her surprised expression. "I'm sorry, Akari, but you are one of us. You're ours and we are yours. There's no hope for you now."

Akari blushed. Akane smiled, got up, and pulled Akari up as well. Then she gave Akari a hug until Akari returned it. "Thanks, Akane," was all Akari said.

Akane broke the hug and said: "Now, we need to go find Yuka and Sayuri and setup something for this weekend."

Akari nodded. She and Akane settled the bill and left the shop. She was feeling much better about everything, but she missed the thoughtful expression on Akane's face…

Tofu changed back to his human shape as Kasumi told him all that she Saw. He held her for a long time after she stopped talking. Finally, Kasumi asked: "What are you thinking about?"

"Many, many things," he answered. "The Sprite's deceptions are over, and she's been outwitted. Given her past dealings, I suppose this isn't a surprise. Our Enemy got the better of her before…" Tofu shrugged.

"So the game is not hers anymore?" Kasumi asked.

"No, but it still goes on. Someone is still moving the Chess pieces. Taro escaped, and so did a large portion of the Sprite's Essence. As Ranma's friend said, the Storm is still coming."

"And what game is he up to?" Kasumi asked.

Another shrug. "He's spotted a hole in Ranma's training. Now he's closing it. I need to do the same with the others. I think I need to buy a van to cart everyone around. I also may ask Ciren to rent a place for training outside of Nerima."

"Who's the 'Wind Mage Lord on the Hill'?"

There was no shrug this time. "I don't know…" Tofu sounded worried. "The nearest Wind Mage I know about is up in Hokkaido. He's an old man of about 80. He's good, but I don't know if I'd call him a Wind Lord."

"Do you think Ranma's friend is lying? Maybe just to motivate Ranma to try harder?" Kasumi wondered.

"No," Tofu said firmly. "He can't lie to Ranma. He's part of Ranma now." Tofu paused for a minute and then laughed a little. "He certainly knows how to motivate Ranma though. Ranma knew exactly what his friend was trying to do, and couldn't stop himself anyway." Kasumi felt him shake his head. "I still have a lot to teach Ranma about Pride."

Kasumi nodded her head in agreement and asked: "Who's he?"

"Which he?"

"The Sprite asked herself 'How the hell did he know?' after she mentioned Taro and the bottle. Who's he?" she repeated.

She felt Tofu shake his head again. "I have no idea," he answered. "I don't think she meant Taro. You got in and out without Henna noticing – at least as far as we know. Maybe the one moving pieces can also. Someone told the Sprite to give Taro a false name. Although I'm not sure she knew it was a false name, but then again, maybe she did. Best guess is she has a servant or an ally who is smarter than she is."

Kasumi held still for a few minutes in Tofu's embrace. Finally, she asked: "Why did Akane's and Akari's conversation cause an Echo? On the surface, it just sounded like one friend reassuring another."

"Now that's a good question," Tofu answered her. "I'm surprised to hear Akari doubt herself, but I suppose I shouldn't be. She's just a teenager like any other. Sometimes she seems so much older than the others, but she's not – she's almost exactly one year younger than Nabiki."

"Life hasn't been fair to her either," Kasumi agreed. "She has so much on her plate, even though she's been handling it well. Now she's getting married in a year. It causes certain stresses…"

Tofu hugged her. "Speaking from experience, Love?"

Kasumi tensed for a second and then let out a breath. "A little…" she agreed. "There's so much to do, and sometimes I feel like it's getting away from me."

"It's not," he reassured her. "Everything is fine. The lads' new rooms are ready. We've already moved you into this room. Nodoka has your old room. The catering is on track. The hall is booked and confirmed. Sanu will perform the legal wedding. Jakaro will perform the formal wedding. Your family is on-board. My family is on-board. Everyone gets along – we don't have any tedious In-law wars going on. Happosai is out of the country. It just doesn't get any better than this."

"That's the problem," she fretted. "It can only go downhill from here…"

"Shhh…Stop that," he scolded gently. "This particular moment can't be any better, but the next one will beat it anyhow. And the one after that will be even better. You'll see."

A/N: I've cleaned up my profile to reflect this new set of stories. Note that life has gotten very busy, so I cannot make a promise to publish once a week every Tuesday like I use to. This draft of the story is complete though so I'm hoping to keep the updates flowing as best I can based on feedback and my own satisfaction with any revisions.

Next up: The Wedding Dress