[Ranma][Fanfic] Modern Dynasty: Interview with the Matriarch

You do not need to have read any of the Childhood of a Modern Dynasty
chapters to enjoy this story (I hope). It covers and mentions events in
the first eight chapters of Childhood of a Modern Dynasty (CMD), but is
structured that you need no prior knowledge of CMD to enjoy it.
Although, I do hope current readers of my CMD series will find it
enjoyable as well.

This story does contain spoilers for the first eight chapters of CMD
with a major emphasis on chapter 8, so if you intend to read the full
chapters then skip this story until you have read the first eight
chapters. A few references to chapters 9 and 10 are preset, but do not
contain spoilers.
=======================================================================
Interview with the Matriarch
Modern Dynasty Side Story Number 1

Ranma 1/2 characters/situations created and copyright by Rumiko
Takahashi/Shogakukan/Kitty/Fuji/Viz - Used without permission

Interview With the Matriarch story and Childhood of a Modern Dynasty
series created, written, and copyright 1998-1999 by Jim Lazar

E-mail comments and/or criticisms to: mailto:jimlazar@earthlink.net

Make sure to check out my Modern Dynasty website for
all released MD stories, graphics files, and other information:
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimlazar/anime/md
=======================================================================
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:


June 16, 2050

     After Jen dumped me, I threw myself into my work at Newstime and
tried my best to get a feature article published. So far, my editor has
let me do some small pieces, but I haven't been able to get him to let
me do a feature yet, despite my best efforts. This may change today, as
I may have finally caught the break I've been looking for. I've been
granted an interview with the Matriarch of the Tendo family, not
something that many people can say. They've been swamped with interview
requests after their recent battle with the Buyierfei and I never
expected mine to be granted. I wondered why, but I wasn't about to pass
up this great opportunity.

     Instead of using the local tube to get to the Tendo's San Francisco
Compound, I walked down the busy San Francisco streets. The Tube might
be faster than walking, but I'll take the sights and sounds of San
Francisco over an underground public shuttle any day.

     The Anything Goes Task Force has been cleaning up the mess left at
the Compound after their recent battle. At least this time the Golden
Gate bridge wasn't destroyed, as it was back during the Buyierfei's
first attack on San Francisco during the Black Wars.

     I reached the gate to the Compound and rang the bell. After an
uncomfortably long period and several more tries at using the bell, the
gate opened.

     "Hello, my name is James Davidson, I'm here to see the Matriarch,"
I said, using my rusty Japanese. At least that's what I intended to say.

     The woman looked at me odd for a second, then smiled broadly. In
perfect English, she said, "It's okay, you can speak English."

     "Oh. I'm James Davidson, I'm here to see the Matriarch," I said, in
English this time.

     "You're expected. Please come in, Mr. Davidson," the young woman
said.

     "Thank you. Ms?"

     "MRS. Imoki Kuonji, actually," she replied and led me into the
compound.

     "Um, I'm afraid my Japanese is rusty, did I say something wrong?"

     "Well, you said 'My name is James Davidson and I'm a big girl
now'," Imoki explained, and smiled again.

     "Oops, need to brush up on my Japanese, I guess."

     "Grandmother speaks perfect English, so don't worry about it."

     I looked around the Compound as we walked, clearly seeing the signs
of the battle that had taken place here last week. What had been a nice
quaint garden with a few buildings that the Tendo's used when they were
in San Francisco, was now mostly blackened earth and piles of scrap
wood. I was amazed that the wall surrounding the compound was still
standing after seeing the destruction inside.

     We passed a large attack hoverjet that was parked in the middle of
what must have been a large pond, but without any water. It was now just
a muddy quagmire with scores of dead fish scattered about. Since I'd
never seen a hoverjet up close, I took this chance to examine the
dual-rotor craft. The hoverjet's jet-black surface was marred by several
deep gouges and dented plates. The blades of the rotors were enclosed in
circular housings. I didn't notice any armaments, which was surprising
since this was obviously a military aircraft. It was larger than a
fighter was. I'd guess it was a troop transport, since it could probably
hold a couple dozen people easily.

     "Some mess you have on your hands," I commented after finishing my
quick examination of the hoverjet.

     "Yes, I'm afraid that the Buyierfei didn't hold back. They really
wanted Grandmother's neck this time."

     "Are you going to rebuild?" I asked, as well walked past another
hoverjet. This one was in much worse condition than the first. It was
sticking vertically out of the ground with only pieces of the tail and
one rotor recognizable, I'd suspect this one was a total loss.

     "We don't know. At the very least, we're going to restore the
garden and lawns, but we don't really know if we need a San Francisco
Compound anymore," Imoki said, then sighed. She looked very tired.

     "Sorry, If I'm asking too many questions."

     "That's okay. We have to play the public relations game to keep the
hounds at bay."

     I smirked. "Well, I'm sure most of the world appreciates the job
the Anything Goes Task Force does."

     "Yes, but there are all those zealots who think we're just a band
of vigilantes and out of control."

     "Well, the 'Anything Goes' name probably doesn't help any," I
remarked.

     "Try mentioning that to Grandmother and you'll get a long lecture
on how she won't change the name of the school or the Task Force."

     "The Matriarch is that sensitive about it?" I asked.

     "Somewhat, but she won't kill you if you slip up. Of course, try to
hurt one of her children and she'd fry you in a second."

       I swallowed hard. "Thanks for the advice."

      We approached a group of large tents that had been set up in an
area of the compound that still had some green grass and a few trees
left standing upright. I noticed an older woman with short gray hair
sitting in front of a portable system. I recognized the Matriarch
immediately from all the pictures I'd seen of her.

     "Grandmother, Mr. Davidson is here to interview you," Imoki said as
we approached.

     "Ah, Mr. Davidson. I'm glad you could make it," the old woman said.
She did indeed speak perfect English like Imoki had said.

     "No, it's my honor to be allowed to interview you, Matriarch," I
replied, bowing.

     The woman grimaced. "No need to be so formal. You can call me
Akane," she said.

     I looked up at her. She looked quite spry for a woman of almost
seventy years of age. Before this interview, I dug up some old pictures
of her when she was younger and I could see that she still had the same
piercing eyes and short haircut she used to. Her hair was gray now, of
course, and her face had about fifty years worth of wrinkles, but she
was still very beautiful. If I didn't know she was sixty-nine, I'd have
sworn she was in her early fifties. "It would be my honor."

     "Now then, you wanted to interview me about my first battle with
the Buyierfei?" Akane inquired, motioning me into the chair by her side.

     I sat down, pulled out my laptop system, and placed it on a nearby
table. "Yes, my editor wants some background on your dealings with the
Buyierfei and since very little is known about your first battle, I
thought that might make an interesting piece for the magazine."

     "I was surprised when I saw in your request that you didn't want to
talk about the recent battle, all the other reporters do."

     Hearing this made me suspect that my interview request was accepted
because she didn't want to talk about the recent battle. I'll have to
shelve my reporter instincts and avoid discussing the recent events. "I
wouldn't mind it, but we've had some interest by our readers to find out
how the Buyierfei were first reborn to the world, so I'm content to talk
about that first battle." 

     "Reborn... interesting choice of words. There will be some things I
can't mention. I hope you understand."

     "Of course. I'm just thankful for the opportunity to talk to you
first hand." I flipped the power switch on my laptop and its shaky
holographic display sprang to life behind the keyboard. Damn these first
generation holo-projectors. I pounded the side of my laptop and the
shaking stopped.

     "What do you know about that part of my life?" Akane asked.

     "Not too much, I'm afraid. Just that you were engaged to Ranma
Saotome and that you had gone to Australia to track down an old friend.
I believe Ranma's two twin sisters went along with you."

     Akane smiled broadly for some reason. "Yes, Ranko and Sanma were
along for the trip, along with Ukyo Kuonji. It was mostly a trip to...
get some advice from Cologne."

     I quickly consulted my background notes. "Ah... yes, Cologne was
that Elder that was kicked out of the Amazon tribe?"

     "Yes, the Amazons thought they had defeated the Buyierfei in
ancient times, but they were very much mistaken. They wouldn't listen to
Cologne when she insisted that they needed to investigate the
Buyierfei's monolith that had appeared in Australia. She apparently made
such a fuss that they kicked her out of the tribe and she ended up going
by herself to find out if the Buyierfei had really returned."

     "Why didn't they care about their ancient enemy returning?" I
asked.

     "I'm not entirely sure. Something to do with the fact that they
reappeared in Australia, so it wasn't a concern of theirs. Kind of
shortsighted on their part."

     "I guess. Too bad, if the Amazons did take it seriously your family
wouldn't be in the position of defending the world against the
Buyierfei."

     "You make us sound like an army," Akane said, then stated clearly,
"We're not." Her tone of voice seemed to indicate that she had to make
this correction often, and wasn't exactly pleased about having to do so.
 
     "Sorry, Matriarch." Akane glared at me. "Err... sorry, Akane."

     "Better. The Amazon's did eventually start helping in our battles,
but by then it was too late. Ranma and I were too much a part of the
events that we couldn't turn our backs and let the Buyierfei go
unchecked."

     "So you went to Devil End Canyon in Australia... What happened when
you tried to enter the monolith?"

     "Been reading too many fictional accounts of my early life, I see,"
Akane said, smiling. I nodded, since up until now that was about the
only source of info on her early years with Ranma. "Don't believe all
that you read. The story that we went to Australia on some heroic quest
to save the planet is incorrect and largely exaggerated. We actually
went for a personal matter concerning Ranma and... his sisters. That we
had our first battle with the Buyierfei was actually only due to a
tragic series of coincidences that led us all into the belly of the
beast."

     "Very dramatic," I remarked.

     "Hey, I've had fifty years to fine tune this story, it'll be nice
to share it with someone other than my family."

     It was then that I fully realized why she granted my interview; she
wanted to talk about her life. I guess I can't blame her. Even after you
discard the obvious falsehoods about her history, what you have left
indicates that she must have led a remarkable life.


*********************************************************************** 

Akane's Story

February 1999 - Australian Outback


     The monolith itself was perfectly proportioned, one by four by
nine. Yes, just like that old movie. And before you ask, to the best of
my knowledge, Arthur C. Clark was not a Buyierfei.

     Unfortunately, the Buyierfei monoliths contain something much more
sinister than the monoliths in that movie. Like all the others, it was
blacker than the blackest night. It was at least a hundred meters tall
and cast no shadow at all.

     Cologne had insisted that the monolith could be opened or maybe
even destroyed by using the Hiryu Shoten Ha. Oh, that's a technique
developed by the Ancient Amazons to blend hot and cold energy to create
a powerful vortex. Her attempt failed, but then the three Ran... err...
Saotomes tried to attack it together. By gently prodding it into a
spiral, they blasted it with three different vortexes. Nothing happened.

     Unfortunately, Sanma leaned against it while trying to catch her
breath. The monolith apparently detected her huge chi potential and
dragged us all inside to the Buyierfei's realm. Of course, at the time
we had no idea why it had suddenly sucked us all in.

     Anyway, we awoke in several different groups inside the monolith.
It was a nightmare world filled with gray and black shadows that were
constantly shifting. It was difficult to orient yourself, as everything
seemed to shift around you. Without a reference point, it was hard to
walk and know that you were making any progress.

     I was alone when I awoke. I wandered around for a while,
occasionally being blindsided by the Buyierfei. Since you can't see them
directly it was hard to fight back. In large concentrations, they seem
to appear as shadows drifting randomly around. From time to time, you
could catch a clear glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye and if
you could get your hands on the oily little bastards, you could to see
them clearly.

     What did they look like? Well, that first time they were little
more than a big blob of goo. Their black skin, if you could call it
that, was rubbery and oily. Hard to hold onto and even harder to hurt.
Not impossible, mind you, but difficult. They had a wide assortment of
appendages with all sorts of odd shaped ends.

     Over the years, they have taken on different forms, sometimes
humanoid, sometimes animal like, but always black and ugly looking.

     Of course, their leader was human in appearance, but there wasn't
anything human about his mind. Although he looked like Ranma and his
sisters, he didn't have Ranma's soul. The pain that he caused... err...
I guess I'm getting ahead of myself.

     Anyway, Ranko and Ukyo had wandered around for a while looking for
a way out and for the rest of us. They apparently had the same problem
being blindsided by the creatures as the rest of us had.

     Sanma, the poor girl, seemed to have been singled out for an
examination of some sort. We assumed it was because she was the one who
touched the monolith before it sucked us all in.

     After he awoke, Ranma somehow got into a one-sided conversation
with the Buyierfei. One-sided, because they asked questions, but didn't
answer any. Then they claimed that they wanted Ranma to stay in the
nightmare world. Ranma took this badly and blasted a hole through the
shifting shadows, which turned out to be the Buyierfei  themselves.

     The blast helped me find him and shortly after that, Ranko and Ukyo
rejoined our group. Cologne, who had been near Ranma, regained
consciousness shortly after that and told us what she knew of the
Buyierfei from Amazon legends. She also said there was no way out.

     We found Sanma after she had accidentally blasted Ranma with a Moko
Takabisha blast. Well, she CLAIMED it was an accident at least, but
sometimes you could never be sure with those three. She was bleeding
from several wounds, but otherwise all right, thank goodness.

     Reunited, we tried to find a way out. Cologne finally told us some
details about the Buyierfei. It seemed that the Ancient Amazon 'gods'
could destroy the heart of the monolith with the Hiryu Shoten Ha. She
claimed that the gods were the only ones who could survive in the heart
of the monolith.

     The idiot trio... sorry. I used that pet name for them. Yes, it was
meant as a term of endearment, you'd have to know them to see how well
it fit them. Anyway... Ranma, Ranko, and Sanma all volunteered to try
destroying the heart. I pleaded with them not to go, but the stubborn
fools insisted.

     Cologne had us capture a Buyierfei. This wasn't easy since we had
to jump blindly around and hope we managed to grab one of the elusive
creatures. We must have looked pretty funny jumping around and blindly
swinging at the shadows.

     Finally, Ukyo managed to nail one with her giant spatula. Oh... she
fought with a giant spatula and smaller throwing spatulas. She was quite
good with them, in fact. I'm serious. Stop laughing or I'm going to
stop.

     We held down the creature Ukyo caught and Cologne ripped out its
heart... or what looked like a heart. It wasn't a pleasant sight. She
sprinkled some salt on the pulsing mass and the Buyierfei turned to dust
before our eyes.

     Somehow that caused all the shadows to disappear and we could see a
bright glowing sphere that Cologne called the 'heart'. It was beautiful
and continually cycled through all the colors of the rainbow.

     Just as Ranma, Ranko, and Sanma were going to enter the heart,
Cologne knocked out Ranma and took his place. I think she felt guilty
for split... err... for some of the things she had done to us in the
past. She sacrificed herself for Ranma to live. I'll never forget her
sacrifice.

     Sorry to get so weepy on you. Um... they somehow managed to destroy
the monolith's heart. The resulting explosion destroyed everything in
the canyon, leaving only rubble and blackened rocks. Even the stream
turned to glass, probably from the intense heat of the blast vaporizing
the water and turning the sandy bottom to glass.

     When the blast subsided, only Ranma, Ukyo, and myself were in the
canyon. Well... what was left of the canyon. There was a black powder
everywhere, possibly the remains of the monolith, and the rock walls
were partially collapsed. Don't ask me how we survived the blast, I
don't know. How the exploding monoliths cause such total destruction on
the outside, but allow those inside to leave uninjured, has never been
discovered.

     Of Ranko and Sanma, there was no sign. It was a hard time for me,
to lose two of my lovers and then have to deal with the events that
followed almost cost me my sanity, if not my very life.


***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:


June 16, 2050

     "Wow, that's some story. But... um..." I said, then trailed off, as
I wasn't sure how to bring it up. There have been rumors about the
Matriarch's sexual orientation, but nothing confirmed.

     "What is it?" Akane asked.

     "You said that Ranko and Sanma were your lovers? Didn't Ranma
mind?"

     Akane looked uncomfortable suddenly. "Oops, well no... he didn't
mind that much. He understood."

     "He understood that you were cheating on him with his twin sisters?
Pretty understanding guy," I commented.

     "Well actually, he was pretty stubborn and opinionated," Akane
said, grinning. "But he understood this relationship. I loved them all.
To me they seemed to be the same person."

     "Are you bi?"

     "Getting a little personal there, Mr. Davidson."

     "Sorry."

     "Anyway no, I don't consider myself bi-sexual. That's a tag that
society uses to identify someone who doesn't let physical gender
determine who they can love."

     "Sorry, didn't mean to insult you."

     "No insult taken. I've dealt with this issue throughout my life.
Yes, I loved all three of them and I always will. Even if I only have
one by my side now, they are all in my heart." She patted her chest and
seemed to be a million miles away. Or fifty years in the past.

     "Well, so..." I began to say after letting her a moment to reflect,
but was interrupted by Mrs. Kuonji.

     "Grandmother, it's time," Imoki said simply.

     "Oh, of course," Akane replied. Imoki left. "I'm afraid that's all
I have time for today, Mr. Davidson. I hope it's enough?"

     "Yes, it was most kind of you to take the time to talk with me," I
said, turning my laptop off. I got up and shook her offered hand.

     "I look forward to reading your article, Mr. Dav..." Akane was
interrupted by two teenagers barreling into her and knocking her over.
Unfortunately, I was knocked backwards as well. I stumbled and fell into
a nearby muddy pool of water.

     "Oh my."

     I looked up to see a tall woman, maybe a little older than Akane,
standing over me. She held out her hand to help me up. I hesitated, not
wanting to mess up her clean dress.

     "I'm Kasumi, please let me help you up," she said.

     I recognized the name immediately, Kasumi Ono was Akane's older
sister. Somehow, I couldn't resist her offer, so I took her hand. I
stepped out of the pool and pulled the remains of my laptop with me.
"Thanks for your help."

     "I'm sorry about the kids. I'm afraid we just flew in from Tokyo
and they are a little restless after the long flight," Kasumi explained.

     "That's okay. I'll live, although my laptop..." I shook my laptop
to drain the water from it.

     "Oh my."

     "Kids, apologize to Mr. Davidson," Akane instructed the two
fidgeting teenagers.

     "We're sorry. We didn't see you there," the young girl said.

     "Yes, I'm sorry. Usually Grandma can deflect us without harming
anything," the young boy said.

      I grinned. "Oh, so you're Akane's grandchildren then?"

     "Oops... I'm sorry. I'm her grandson Soun. This is Hanaki Ono.
She's Aunt Kasumi's granddaughter," the young man explained. Both
teenagers bowed.

     "Nice to meet you both," I said, returning their bows.

     They scurried off in to a nearby tent. For a second, I thought I
saw Hanaki turn around and smile at me, but she was probably just
looking to see if her grandmother was going to follow.

     "Here you go, Mr. Davidson," Kasumi said after rummaging though a
large crate for a few seconds. She handed me a briefcase-sized box.

     Taking the box, I asked, "What's this?"

     "It's one of Tendo systems new palmcards. With the full accessory
package."

    "Oh no... I couldn't," I insisted.

     "James, please take it to replace your laptop that the kids just
ruined," Akane insisted.

     "Yes, we brought plenty to replace the ones destroyed in the
battle," Kasumi informed me.

     "I keep telling Nijiko that she has to have these things made
sturdier," Akane said, pointing to a pile of broken, mangled, and burked
palmcards.

     "Okay. Thank you," I finally agreed and looked at the box. Damn,
this was the 3500c, the best palmcard on the market. I've been trying to
scrape up enough cash to afford one of the lower cost models, but I
guess I won't have to anymore. "Thank you very much."

     "Kasumi, could you help Mr. Davidson dry off and show him out? I
have to get dressed," Akane asked.

     "Yes, of course, Akane. This way, Mr. Davidson," Kasumi motioned
towards one of the tents.

     "Thank you again, Akane, for allowing me some of your precious
time."

     "No bother, it was fun to reminisce," Akane replied. She smiled and
then made her way into one of the tents.

     Suddenly, Hanaki reappeared. "I can help him, Grandma. You go help
Auntie get prepared."

     Kasumi smiled sweetly and nodded.

     Hanaki led me over to a tent and gave me a robe to put on. I
slipped out of my wet clothes and gave them to Hanaki, who was waiting
outside. She rushed off with my clothes, while I tried to figure out how
my new TendoCard 3500c worked. I had managed to get through the first
series of personalization dialogs by the time she returned with my
clothes.

     "Need any help getting dressed?" she asked, handing me the dry
clothes.

     I assume she was kidding. I hope. "No, I can manage. Thank you."
She stepped outside while I changed.

     "So what were you talking to my Aunt about?" she asked from
outside.

     "I was interviewing her for an article I'm writing on the origins
of the Buyierfei."

     "Oh, you a writer?"

     "Yes, I write for Newstime."

     "Cool. You must get to travel all over."

     I came out of tent after I finished dressing. "Yes, I even studied
in Japan for a short time while I was in college."

     "Really?" I nodded. She grinned and said something in Japanese that
sounded like, "Did you like it there?"

     "Yes, I liked it there," I replied, hoping I understood correctly.

     Hanaki walked me to the front gate and we chatted. She seemed like
a nice young girl, full of curiosity about the world.

     As I left the Compound, I bowed to her. "Thank you, Ms. Ono."

     "Oh, you can call me Hanaki."

     "Only if you call me James," I replied.

      "Deal. Bye-bye, James!' Hanaki said, flashing me a big smile as
she closed the gate. Wow, she has a great smile. She's likely to break
some hearts as she grows up.

      I walked down the street and stopped briefly to admire the
gorgeous view of the triple-decker Golden Gate Bridge. Some of the older
residents of San Francisco complain that the new Golden Gate Bridge
isn't as beautiful as the old one, but I think it looks beautiful. Of
course, I've only seen the old one in pictures since it was vaporized
during the Black Wars.

     Just then, I heard cheers coming from within the Tendo Compound. I
heard shouts of "Aikizuna Mokoutsu!" and then I saw a bright red beam of
energy spiral up into the evening sky.

     As I walked towards the tube station, I wondered what that was all
about. Some sort of ceremony the Tendo's were having perhaps?

     As I sat on the tube shuttle, I started to outline my article about
Akane's first battle with the Buyierfei. Soon, I started to realize that
there was much more to the Matriarch's story than I could ever hope to
cover in a single article. What was needed was a book to describe her
life and history of those around her. Hmmmm... 


***********************************************************************
>From the personal journal of James Davidson:


July 20, 2057

    It has been a day since Hanaki left me in the spacejet and set off
across the desert to find help. Our spacejet had crashed into the Utah
desert, leaving me with a broken leg and the engines unable to start. I
shifted my leg and winced in pain. It was obviously broken, but the dark
bruise that had formed also indicated there was more damage under the
skin. I had argued with Hanaki about her leaving, but she insisted that
I needed medical attention soon and I had already learned not to argue
with her when she was that determined about something.

     Therefore, I lay on the floor of the spacejet waiting for her to
return. With nothing better to do, I was reviewing my notes on Akane's
first battle with the Buyierfei. In addition to the information Hanaki
had given me recently, I looked back to my first interview with Akane
for more details. The techies at my old magazine had managed to recover
my files from my ruined laptop, so luckily I still had the interview
files from my first meeting with Akane.

     It's hard to imagine that it has been seven years since I first met
Akane and became involved in the Tendo family. After that first
interview, I received several awards on my first feature article. I did
several more articles on Akane's life and within a few years I found a
publisher interested in doing a firsthand book about Akane's life. There
were other books on her life and the Buyierfei, but based on news
reports and friend-of-a-friend type sources.

     I laughed out loud the first, and only, time I read 'Buyierfei
attack!'. It had Akane making love to Ranma, Ranko, and Sanma inside the
monolith. All at the same time, no less. Anything to sell a book, I
guess. This kind of book is even more surprising when you consider that
until recently I, like the rest of the world, thought that Ranko and
Sanma were Ranma's sisters. The fact that they were actually a girl
version of Ranma and split from him back in 1999 is not common
knowledge. Of course, after I publish Childhood of a Modern Dynasty it
will become public knowledge, I just hope that Akane is still okay with
my revealing that and other closely held secrets in my next book.

     Looking over my notes on that first interview with Akane made me
wonder about Hanaki. It was only a brief meeting back then, but I think
Hanaki might have developed a crush on me back in 2050. Of course, I was
still getting over Jen and Hanaki was too young for me even to have
considered dating her back then. Years later when I showed up at the
Tendo Compound in Nerima, she had been the one to answer the gate. At
the time I assumed it was a coincidence, but looking back at those old
notes from 2050 makes me think she had arranged it. 

    Truth be told, I was attracted to her while I was researching my
first book, Birth of a Modern Dynasty, but resisted my feelings in order
to remain objective for the book. It wasn't until I started writing
Childhood of a Modern Dynasty that I finally asked her out. Three months
later I proposed to her and she accepted, thank god. Of course, we had
crashed into the desert of Utah shortly after I proposed, which makes me
wonder if there's some sort of curse involving the Tendos and marrying
the people they love. 

     I know Akane's three weddings occurred under unusual and stressful
circumstances. This includes her last wedding back in 2050 when she
married her current husband. Considering she was about to get married,
she was pretty calm during that first interview. I didn't know it at the
time, but the 'Aikizuna Mokoutsu' was a salute that they had developed
to indicate a successful Tendo marriage. For most people a wedding is a
calm peaceful event, but Akane tended to have some... unusual events
happen whenever she tried to get married.

     Oh... oh... I'm rambling in my journal again. I guess I'm getting
tired. Time to get some sleep and hope that Hanaki shows up with that
rescue party soon.


[End - Interview with the Matriarch]
=======================================================================

The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings:

The  'Aikizuna Mokoutsu' technique is translated as follows: AI=love,
KIZUNA=bond (tie between people), MOKO=ferocious tiger, UTSU=strike.
Utsu can also mean to touch the heart. It's first used in chapter 10 of
CMD.

The first battle with the Buyierfei is from chapter 8 of CMD. The
splitting of Ranma into two (Ranko) and then three (Sanma) different
people is from chapters 5-7. Chapters 1-4 detail Akane and Ranma
admitting their love and dealing with their assorted admirers. Chapters
9-11 deal with the aftermath of the first battle with the Buyierfei.
Finally, the last segment of James Davidson's journal (the one dated in
2057) takes place in the chapter 10 timeframe.

Now that you have a taste of what's happening in Childhood of a Modern
Dynasty, go out and read the full chapters already! I only touched on
the big events in this short story to whet your appetite for more. Plus,
I've wanted to describe Akane's first meeting with James and these
events seemed perfect for their first meeting.

I'd like to thank my pre-readers Jonathan Ng and Gitte Edelman for
helping me find and fix problems with this story. FFML members Gary
Kleppe and Stephen Pardue were also helpful in fine tuning this story.
Thank you all. Of course in the end, any mistakes and botched characters
are my fault.


Revision 0.0 - Rough draft (August 27, 1998)
Revision 0.2 - Pre-reader draft (December 7, 1998)
Revision 0.3 - FFML draft (December 15, 1998)
Revision 1.0 - First RAAC posting (January 4, 1999)