Compliment Me!

Watashi o homete! (私をほめて！) is the 286th chapter of the manga it is also the second and final chapter of the Demon Dog Swimsuit Arc.

The mysterious person turns out to be Kuno, and apparently he looks exactly like Natsuhiko did in his younger days. Ranma begs Kuno to compliment her swimsuit and he proudly refuses. He has had a special custom made swimsuit with his picture on it made for her, and refuses to compliment the suit she is wearing. This enrages the bathingsuit and it destroys Kuno's custom design, which sends him running away with hurt feelings.

Continuing from the Previous Chapter
Seeing who it believes to be Natsuhiko, the Cursed Bathing Suit lunges towards the mysterious figure, dragging Ranma along with it. The mysterious man says that he's missed them too and puts his arms out. Ranma quickly kicks the man and knocks off his hair, much to the shock of the Tendos, however, when Nabiki and Akane inspect the hair they realize that it's nothing but ordinary Seaweed.

With the Seaweed removed, everyone can clearly see that the mysterious man was just Kuno. Ranma asks Kuno why he had Seaweed on his head, to which Kuno replies that he was sparring against the mighty ocean. Just then, Natsuhiko pipes up and comments on how Kuno looks just like him when he was younger, Ranma then looks down at the swimsuit, which seems to have become infatuated with Kuno who it believes to be Natsuhiko. The Tendos remember about Ranma being dragged to the ocean floor should she be unable to get a compliment from Kuno before Sunset tomorrow. Ranma has no worries about this task and begins acting cutesy to Kuno and asks him to do her a favour and compliment her swimsuit.

Despite initially seemingly willing to do so, Kuno declares that he cannot as it is ugly and he can't possibly compliment such an unworthy design. As Ranma becomes more angered at Kuno's refusal, the swimsuit becomes very upset at Kuno's words. At that moment, Kuno pulls out another swimsuit, this time with his portrait designed onto it, and tells the pigtailed girl to wear this one instead. After Ranma hits Kuno for his stupidity, the swimsuit becomes extremely upset and rips Kuno's swimsuit to shreds.

The Date
Overwhelmed at his gift for the pigtailed girl being destroyed, Kuno begins running away from the group. Natsuhiko reminds Ranma about her needing to get a compliment from Kuno, so she heads after Kuno. Ranma finds Kuno running across the Beach as he declares that he's going home, but Ranma asks him to compliment her swimsuit at least before he leaves, but Kuno continues running. After chasing Kuno all night across the Beach, the pair finally collapse and Kuno comments on how the pigtailed girl must like his company in order to do something like that.

Unfortunately, Kuno still refuses to compliment the swimsuit and starts to head home again, causing Ranma to beg him to stay. Kuno takes this as the pigtailed girl asking him on a date, an idea which Ranma agrees to go along with since it'll mean she's more likely to get a compliment for the swimsuit. After a day of dating, Ranma reminds Kuno there's still one thing he hasn't done, compliment her swimsuit. However, Kuno ignores the request and begins demonstrating to Ranma how good he is at splitting Watermelons.

By this point Ranma becomes infuriated with Kuno, but is held back by Soun and Akane who remind Ranma she can't hurt Kuno until he compliments the swimsuit. Just then the swimsuit pipes up and tells Ranma not to be angry with Kuno as on the day it was originally cast away, the swimsuit was to go on a date with Natsuhiko. The swimsuit then declares how happy it is to have finally gone on that date.

Last Resort
Hearing how happy the swimsuit is, Akane and Kasumi ask the swimsuit if it's content and ready to leave Ranma. The Sun then begins to set and Akane notes to Ranma that it appears that she's safe now, however, the swimsuit then begins to drag Ranma into the Ocean. When Ranma questions the swimsuit about what's going on since she thought it had fun, the swimsuit reminds Ranma that although it was fun it still didn't get complimented.

Back on the shore, Kuno notices the pigtailed girl being dragged into the ocean and demands he compliments her swimsuit. The Tendos then watch as Kuno comes to his senses and rushes into the ocean after Ranma. When Kuno catches up to Ranma, he tells her that he was just being petty since his swimsuit got destroyed and declares that the swimsuit is one of the most beautiful he's ever seen!

Overjoyed at finally being complimented the swimsuit is finally able to rest in peace and passes on, much to Soun and Akane's relief. As Ranma covers herself up, Kuno disappointedly remarks about how good it looked on her, to which Ranma tells Kuno he doesn't need to compliment it anymore. Some time later back at the hotel, whilst the others are enjoying some Watermelon slices, Kuno and Natsuhiko are busy trying to get Ranma to try their swimsuits, but Ranma tells the both of them that she isn't putting on another swimsuit.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Nabiki Tendo
 * Ranma Saotome (female)
 * Cursed Bathing Suit
 * Akane Tendo
 * Genma Saotome (panda)
 * Natsuhiko
 * Tatewaki Kuno
 * Soun Tendo
 * Kasumi Tendo
 * Cursed Bathing Suit's original owner (flashback)

Trivia

 * Kuno's comment on his skill of splitting Watermelons could be a reference to the events of the Watermelon Island Arc.