Love's Counterstrike

Ai no gyakuryu (愛の逆流) is the 232nd chapter of the manga. It is also the third chapter of the Reversal Jewel Arc.

Cologne tells Ranma that if he wants to win back Shampoo all he has to do is tell her that he loves her. Ranma decides to follow Cologne's advice and prepares for his meeting with Shampoo.

Continuing from Previous Chapter
On the rooftop, Cologne tells Ranma that the only way Shampoo will love him again is to tell her that he loves her first. In school, word spreads about Shampoo's rejection. Students wonder how this whole ordeal affects Akane, but Akane only wonders why Shampoo was behaving so oddly. She feels that Shampoo has been too out of character lately and Ranma must be falling into some kind of a trap. Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Ranma ponders his next move. He wonders if it's really as easy as just saying that he loves Shampoo.

In the Cat Café, Shampoo is told by Cologne of what will happen. Shampoo shows immediate disgust at Ranma's confession, at which point Cologne realizes that she still has the brooch on. After she flicks the brooch off of her, Shampoo is instantly overjoyed that Ranma is coming to confess. Cologne plans on having a wedding at the Cat Café right when it happens.

Suddenly Mousse, still in his cage, flies into the room and steals the Reversal Jewel that was in Cologne's hand. He flies away before he can be caught and heads to Furinkan High to reveal its secrets to Akane. After transforming back but head still caught in the cage, Mousse talks to the statue of Principal Kuno thinking it to be Akane. Akane soon gets his attention and he tells her all about the brooch. She now realizes that Shampoo must have worn the brooch upside down, prompting her hate for him. She gets up to tell Ranma when several envelopes begin to fall. The envelope contains a special invitation to Ranma's confession to Shampoo at the Cat Café later that day.

Casanova
Ranma waits on a tree wondering if it was a right thing to do. If he confesses and she still rejects him, then it would be an even bigger embarrassment for him. He then wonders if he lost his charm over women. While pondering several small spatulas are thrown at him. He dodges them and looks to see Ukyo, who has gotten hold of one of the invitations. She asks how he can do this when he already her as his fianceé. Akane and Mousse then show up behind a bush to see what's going on. Ranma ignores Ukyo's question, but instead gets close to her and asks if she loves him.

Ukyo was unprepared for such a response and her heart begins to pound, but she manages to quietly say that she loves him. Overcome with embarrassment, Ukyo slaps Ranma several times before smacking him into a tree with her large spatula and running off. The beating is not enough to discourage Ranma as he is once again confident that girls are crazy over him. He is now confident that he can win Shampoo back, while Mousse and Akane watch in bewilderment. Mousse thinks about giving him a beating when he is suddenly hit with cold water and becomes a duck. Just as Akane notices this, she is hit on a pressure point on her neck causing her to collapse and fall unconscious.

Love is a Battle
The person responsible was Cologne, who had caught up to Mousse and struck them down to keep them quiet until it was over. Meanwhile, Ranma prepares for the confession in his room while Kasumi and Nabiki listens from outside. He opens the door and pops out, wearing a tux and holding flowers. Nabiki tells Ranma that this isn't some sort of a game, but Ranma isn't listening. Soun, now hopelessly grabbing onto Ranma's pants and sobbing, pleads with him to not go through such meaningless battle. However, Ranma is not deterred by Soun's tears and heads off to Cat Café.

At the Cat Café, students have dressed up and arrived to see if Ranma will actually go through with this. Behind the main area, Cologne watches as guests flock in to bear witness to the confession, and tells Shampoo that she must neither smile nor speak, which Shampoo acknowledges. Cologne believes that as long as Shampoo remains cold towards Ranma, he will try his best to win her back.

Ranma is now rushing to Cat Café eager to win the love battle, Shampoo and Cologne wait for the love trap to be set, and Mousse is tied up somewhere desperately trying to wake Akane.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Cologne
 * Ranma Saotome (male)
 * Akane Tendo
 * Shampoo (human)
 * Mousse (duck)
 * Mousse (human)
 * Ukyo Kuonji
 * Kasumi Tendo
 * Nabiki Tendo
 * Soun Tendo