A Kiss to the Victor

Shori no kissu (勝利のキッス) is the 77th chapter of the manga it is also the fourth and final chapter of the Romeo and Juliet Arc.

Gosunkugi smothers Akane with chloroform and she passes out. The narrator quickly improvises that if Romeo were to kiss Juliet that she would wake from her slumber. Offstage the judge tells Ranma that if he'll kiss Akane they'll be the winners for sure.

Continuing from the Previous Chapter
Akane has gone backstage and removes her wig, declaring that she quits. Ranma asks Akane what she's so mad about, while the Director panics as there's only one scene left. Ranma then asks Akane if she's just going to leave him hang in after what he went through (referring to his female form kissing Kuno), but Akane tells Ranma that he knows he loved it.

The pair then walk out the stage down into the audience, with Ranma angrily asking Akane why she thinks he stuck tape over Kuno's mouth, although Akane notes that could be a false claim by Ranma. Just then Kuno comes bounding over (as his body is still trapped in tape) and tells Akane to forgive him for having his lips meet the lips of the pigtailed girl's. Ranma shouts at Kuno telling him that their lips didn't meet, but Kuno disagrees. This causes Ranma to ask Kuno what the tape still stuck to his cheek is, which Kuno describes as a "souvenir of his love".

Ranma then removes the tape from Kuno's cheek and turns to Akane telling her that this proves his story (as he does this Ranma also punches Kuno in the face). However, Ranma is met with the sight of Gosunkugi using on Akane to render her unconscious. At first this seems to not work, with Akane managing to hit Gosunkugi and demanding he get off her (having Akane talk to him again delights Gosunkugi), but she soon falls to the effects of the Chloroform and looses consciousness.

Waking Akane
With the sleeping Akane in his arms, Gosunkugi threatens to kill her should Ranma get any closer. Gosunkugi then attempts to carry Akane off with him, but struggles to do so, an unimpressed Ranma then begins to walk towards Gosunkugi. However, Kuno then swats the both of them away and moves in to kiss Akane as he believes this to be the only honourable thing to do after kissing the pigtailed girl.

Before Kuno can kiss Akane, however, Ranma returns and kicks Kuno in the face, reminds Kuno that the kiss wasn't real. Ranma then picks up Akane and tells her to wake up as they have a play to finish, the Director then narrates that despite Romeo's humble requests, Juliet still doesn't wake.

Some time passes and the Director improvises by saying that Juliet is sleeping a sleep of death and the only way for her to awaken is from a kiss from her beloved Romeo. As the audience note that the story has become more like or, Ranma asks the Director why everything keeps coming back to a kiss. The Director explains that it's a request to by the guest Judge who tells Ranma that if he kisses Akane then he'll win for sure. Ranma recognises the Judge as the sponsor, which causes Happosai (who's still very drunk) to say "spazzter" is more like it.

Soun and Genma (in his panda form) then appear in front of Ranma. Soun reminds Ranma that by doing this he gets to see China, Ranma attempts to protest but neither father is having it, so they throw Ranma towards the stage. Ranma manages to grab onto the side of the coffin which Akane has been laid in and looks at the silent and expectant audience who are waiting for him to kiss Akane.

Ranma begins telling himself that if he get through this then he can go to China and become normal again, this drives him to get closer to Akane. Unfortunately, Ranma still can't bring himself to kiss Akane, causing the guest Judge and Soun to remind him what he'll gain from doing so. Kuno then reappears and tells Ranma to admit defeat that he's an inferior Romeo, but Ranma punches Kuno to the floor, suggesting to Kuno that he's just a bit more shy than he is. Soun continue to watch on with Genma, where he solemnly notes that Ranma refuses to kiss Akane even for a trip to China. He then quickly projects his Ki as a large face and asks Ranma if he really hates his Juliet that much (as this moment one of Nabiki's friends asks her if the face is her father, Nabiki just tells her friend to shut up).

Ranma tells Soun not to be moron, as if he didn't care then this wouldn't be so difficult! After a moment of silence, Ranma feels a tug on his pigtail which turns out to be from Akane. Akane stops Ranma before he asks her how long she's been awake, so she can tell him she'll make it easy for him and closes her eyes tightly. This causes Ranma to panic and jump around the stage spluttering out incomplete sentences. Some audience members talk amongst themselves about how they don't get what's going on.

Akane then looks at Ranma and asks him if he can't... just pretend. This causes Ranma to blush at how cute Akane looks, but doesn't have much time to think as Akane grabs his face and the two kiss, much to the audience's shock. A banner then comes down as the guest Judge declares them the winners. Meanwhile, Akane moves her hands slightly, revealing that she put tape on Ranma's mouth like he did to Kuno earlier. Akane then asks Ranma if he thought that that was quiet a performance before sticking her tongue out slightly.

After the Play
While walking back to the Tendo Dojo, Akane asks Ranma (who's walking on the fence next to a storm drain) what he's so mad about. Ranma just tells Akane to shut up and begins to think about the trick she pulled. Just then Akane suddenly comes out with that she wished they could've done it without the tape. This takes Ranma by compete shock and surprise, causing him to slip off the fence and nearly fall into the water of the storm drain (having to grab onto the holes in the fence to stop himself).

Seeing Ranma's reaction she tells Ranma that it was just a joke and calls him a dope for thinking she was serious. Ranma tries to think of something to say in response, but can only manage to call Akane un-cute. Akane then tells Ranma that he should be thanking her as he'd never be able to get to China without him, Ranma replies that he knows and tells Akane she can drop it now.

The pair get back to the Dojo and are met by Kasumi and Nabiki. Kasumi tells them that they're late, while Nabiki adds that everyone else is already seeing China. In another room the cast along with Soun and Genma are having a party with Mr. Ryokou (Mr. Li in the english version), who Soun says is his favourite foreign actor. Mr. Ryokou thanks Soun but tells him just to call him "China". The Director then tells a devastated Ranma that he didn't get the wrong idea when he said "see China". Some time later, Ranma is taken into another room, where Kasumi asks if he's still alive. Nabiki then suggests that Akane kisses him so he'll wake up, but Akane says she thinks it's kinder to let him rest.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Akane Tendo
 * Ranma Saotome (male)
 * The Director and his Assistant
 * Tatewaki Kuno
 * Hikaru Gosunkugi
 * Mr. Ryokou
 * Happosai
 * Soun Tendo
 * Genma Saotome (panda)
 * Nabiki Tendo
 * Kasumi Tendo

Trivia

 * In English Hapoosai is drunk and makes a pun about "spazzter" instead of "sponsor". In the original Japanese when Ranma says "sponsor", Happosai puns it with "suppon", which is a soft-shelled turtle.
 * When Soun projects his Ki into a large face, one of Nabiki's friends asks her that's her father. This is the second time one of Nabiki's friends has asked her about if Soun is her father while he's doing something Nabiki would find embarrassing, the first being when Soun wore Samurai armour in Fathers Know Best.
 * Coincidentally the chapters Nabiki is asked this question both occur in the final chapter of a story arc.