The Two Shampoos

Futari no Shampoo (二人のシャンプー) is the 350th chapter of the manga it is also the first chapter of the Jizo Statue Arc.

When Mousse warms up a Jizo statue with his handmade scarf, it pays him back in a strange manner.

On One Cold Day
It's a cold day in Nerima and Shampoo is out on a delivery. Mousse excitedly bursts in to offer his handmade scarf to keep her warm. But his excitement is only met with the voice of Cologne, who had been sweeping the storefront. Mousse puts on his glasses and realizes who he had been talking to, and is subsequently beaten by Cologne's broom.

As he lies defeated Shampoo unintentionally runs him over with her bike. From the ground he gives a last effort to offer Shampoo his scarf, but Shampoo bikes away to her next delivery without care.

Rejected once again, Mousse sits down on a stairway holding the dirty scarf with the tire mark. Mousse wonders what he should do with the dirtied scarf when he notices a Jizo statue next to him who also appeared cold. He puts the scarf around the statue and leaves for the day.

Jizo's Repayment
On that cold night, Shampoo's outline can be seen walking the quiet roads. Inside the Cat Café, Cologne orders Mousse to clean up all the dishes for slacking off in the morning. At around 1 AM, Mousse takes a rest next to some boxes with an unfinished scarf. He opens his eyes to see an outline of Shampoo standing next to him.

A few days have passed and Shampoo tells Akane and Ranma about Mousse's strange behavior. When Akane remarks that Shampoo suddenly cares about Mousse, she replies that it's not Mousse that worries her, but his poor delivery performance these few days. Just then Mousse slams into Ranma with a bowl of noodles because he was dosing off on his bicycle.

The trio decide to follow him around to see what he's been up to. They find that Mousse is in such a daze that he doesn't even notice the three following right behind him and talking. Mousse calls out Shampoo and they see from the other side of the road Shampoo's outline approaching calling him back.

But when the impostor arrives to embrace Mousse, it had a stony face with only a body resembling that of Shampoo. Ranma urges Mousse to put his glasses on, but even with his glasses he is unable to tell the two apart. Shampoo kicks him away and confronts the impostor, who identifies as the Jizo. Jizo intends to repay the debt of the scarf by going on dates with Mousse. Shampoo sees this as the perfect opportunity to get Mousse off her back and lets the statue do its thing, to Akane and Ranma's dismay.

They now watch from the sideline as Mousse's tired mind creates a world of delusion where the Jizo statue is truly Shampoo and the two are on a date in an exquisitely decorated room despite the fact that they are actually crammed inside the Jizo's shrine. Shampoo sees how happy Mousse is and finds herself unable to intervene. Akane and Ranma find her disinterest in fixing Mousse unsettling.

Protecting Mousse
Ranma and Akane visit Cat Café to ask Cologne for advice. They notice that Mousse has been getting more and more worn out, almost as if his very life was being sucked away from him. Ranma and Akane visit the Jizo shrine to see if anything can be done. Ranma figures that if he takes away the scarf it got from Mousse, it would have no reason to go on any more dates with him. But the statue stubbornly refuses to let go of the scarf and closes the shrine to prevent the scarf from being taken away.

They then move on to the next plan: hold Mousse in captivity so he can't visit the statue. They chain his wrists to the floor and tell him that they are only trying to protect him. However, Mousse's mind was too clouded to listen. Akane tells him that the real Shampoo is in the room with them, but Shampoo disappeared that instant to watch TV. Ranma grabs a Mallet to quiet Mousse, but to everyone's surprise Mousse is able to punch through the mallet and shatter it in pieces.

He drags his chained body to his bike and rides away to his love, completely unaware of his state of mind. Fortunately, Mousse is without his glasses and slams into a pole. They realize that chain was not enough to contain Mousse so they tie him up and put him in a small cage and watch him closely. Just then the wall breaks and in comes the Jizo statue in Shampoo form. Akane calls for Shampoo, but she was fast asleep in front of the TV.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Shampoo (human)
 * Mousse (human)
 * Cologne
 * Jizo
 * Ranma Saotome (male)
 * Akane Tendo

Trivia

 * The mallet gag has been used frequently throughout the series, but this is the first time it was destroyed. It makes more appearances later on.