This is in response to the points raised by Mike Loader on the Shadowcat
as used in this story.

How can the Cat be involved in the story without having been called by
someone in the mortal world? He can't, and didn't. He *was* called, by
Genma's performance of the cat fist rituals many years ago. Since then,
he's had a hold on Ranma that he's chosen to only partially exercise.

How can he gain a similar hold on Akane? As D.B. Sommer and Patrick
McClanahan both correctly surmised, it was possible only because he got
her to effectively agree to it. Though it's not stated in the story, one
could assume that her love deep down for Ranma was a necessary
ingredient. Why did he not need cats to do it? Maybe he did. We didn't
really see it happen. He might have had a horde of cats waiting outside
the nekohanten, for all we know.

How can he be in the real world in the first place? The story makes it
clear that he isn't. It's some sort of projection. Exactly what kind it
is is left to the readers' judgement. It could be some sort of human
follower of his that happens to be good at disguises, or it could even
be only in Akane's mind. Note that no one other than her saw the Cat.

Mike, I don't know whether the above explanations will convince you or
not, and if not, that's cool. I thank you for taking the time to comment
on this, and I'm glad you liked some of the story in spite of your
misgivings.

Thanks also to everyone else who's sent comments on this fic. I will be
answering everything that I haven't already.


Gary Kleppe
http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics