Love vs. Love

Ai no gekitotsu!! (愛の激突!!) is the 223rd chapter of the manga and the fifth chapter of the Martial Arts Cheerleading Arc.

With a new challenger to root for, Ranma can really start fighting

Continued from Previous Chapter
Ranma has now completely changed allegiance and began cheering for the Seisyun player instead of Kuno, a move that shocks the entire school. Ranma believes that if Furinkan loses, she wins the cheerleading match. With that, she begins cheering for the new challenger with all the love that was supposed to have been used to cheer Kuno.

Kuno is baffled that Ranma would cheer for this new person instead of him. He is unwilling to simply let this pass and goes on the attack. Mariko comes to assist by throwing batons but are countered by Ranma's. The batons from either side get tangled and eventually all fall on Kuno's head, granting a successful hit for Seisyun.

Ranma then informs Mariko that her baton tricks have been found out by Ranma and will therefore be easy to counter. She grits her teeth and throws another set Ranma's way but are easily blocked. Mariko attacks once more, this time with a special baton that extends and scores a hit on Ranma's throat. Ranma falls down and grabs her neck to try to recover.

Love Pair
Mariko uses the same attack once more while Ranma is recovering but is blocked by the mysterious Seisyun kendoka, who begins attacking Mariko to protect his cheerleader. The students think this may be a sign of true love. Mariko sees that she is in a disadvantage and blows a whistle, bringing her cheerleaders forth to form a platform made with their pompoms. Mariko jumps on top of the pompom platform, but when the mysterious man jumps on the platform as well he is grabbed from underneath by the cheerleaders before being made immobile as Mariko charges her attack.

Ranma then counters by blowing them all away with a trumpet. She then hugs the mystery man but is pushed off. Kuno is outraged that this person would have the audacity to push Ranma away and charges at him. The kendoka braces for the attack but Mariko uses her ribbons to pull his shinai away. Just as Kuno is about to strike, Ranma steps over his head and recovers the shinai by cutting through the ribbons with a kick. She tosses the sword back to her partner who struggles to grab it before having it fall on the ground. When Ranma calls him clumsy over this, she is hit on the head by her own partner.

While they weren't looking, Mariko apparently made another platform out of her posse and attacks her once more. She turns her pompoms into a stack of long needles and flings them at the couple. The kendoka attempts to block it with the shinai, but the sword shreds and hits him in the face. With the mask out of the way, the man falls on the floor face down. With the match so close to being won, Ranma doesn't want her partner to give up just yet. She rushes to him and professes her love to try to get his spirit back up. She turns his head to see Akane greeting her. The shock is enough to turn her into stone. Mariko meanwhile sees this opportunity to launch another attack.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Ranma Saotome (female)
 * Mariko Konjo
 * Tatewaki Kuno
 * Hiroshi and Daisuke
 * Akane Tendo