At 11:09 9/26/97, Greg Phillips wrote:

I don't think I explained things very well.  The idea is that Ryouga claims
that P-Chan was his pet (that's also why it hated Ranma and why it had such
a terrible sense of direction).  During his last trip, they met each other
in Jusenkyou.  P-Chan drowned in a new spring that was not yet cursed.
That cursed the spring.  Ryouga saw him and dove in, hoping he wasn't too
late.  Poof.  Instant cursed Ryouga.  Now, Ryouga returns and is really
depressed.  The next time that Akane mentions P-Chan ("I wonder when P-Chan
is coming back?") Ryouga says that he can't come back; he's dead.  Then, he
tells her about how P-Chan drowned and how Ryouga is now cursed.  That
story covers his curse quite nicely from now on.  So now, Akane knows that
any time she sees a P-Chan wandering around, she will know that this one is
Ryouga.

Zen can see just a couple of flaws with this theory:

1)  "P-chan" has already demonstrated that he is a strong swimmer.  He has
even rescued Akane on a couple of occasions.  His drowning is... unlikely.

Even strong swimmers drown. That's why the lifeguarding rules at pools and
beaches are so strict; it has been shown that sometimes even experienced
swimmers can overstress themselves and drown.

I also did recall that Ryouga-when he first emerged from the spring a
piglet, he seemed to be in a fair amount of distress. Being a strong
swimmer will not do you any good unless you're able to make it out of the
water, as you'll eventually tire and drown.

Besides, if you can have a *duck* drowing in one of those springs, then I
would think that _anything_ could die in a fresh pool. A fresh pool might
forcibly suck its victim down, drowning it no matter how good a swimmer it
would otherwise be.

2)  This little fabrication would require Ranma's cooperation... and since
it is hardly an honourable plan, Zen doubts that he'd get it.  It'd make
things really rough on Ranma for a while, til Akane finally caught on, but
in the end...

Maybe. Maybe not. It would be a good opertunity to bury "P-chan" and save
face for all parties concerned: Ryouga's in the clear, Ranma doesn't have
to worry about P-chan sleeping with Akane anymore, and Akane is saved some
embarrassment.

Who knows.

3)  In the end, if Akane found out about this lie, and the other... well,
it would have been ugly enough if she'd just found out he was P-chan.  To
find out the truth after THIS little stunt...  Ryouga would be **such** a
greasy spot... <<shudder>>

Well, considering the dropped hints that Ryouga was P-chan all along, which
Akane didn't get, I'd say that Ranma was safe.

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