<TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0">Scandalous revelations about Ninamori&apos;s parents, especially her father, the mayor of Mabase, hardly dent her world as she takes a neutral position regarding their alleged separation which is helped in no way by a devious secretary.</FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0"></FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0">Meanwhile, Naota heads to school after a typically strange encounter with Haruko. His day plummets as Ninamori berates him for his lack of enthusiasm in the upcoming school play, Puss in Boots, as he was voted and cast to play the cat. Furthermore, Miyaji catches Naota, Gaku, and Masashi with a gossip-filled mini-zine in class and overreacts, citing the fact that Ninamori&apos;s feelings might be hurt as her father is the center of scandals lately. Naota comments that to have a father as a mayor, &quot;it must make it tough for her.&quot; Regardless, Naota ditches the after-school rehearsal for the play and joins Mamimi by the river. She proceeds to remove a &quot;bizarre&quot; hat Naota has been wearing all day and exposes fluffy cat ears sprouting from his head. He hides them in embarrassment yet Mamimi incessantly plays with them.</FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0"></FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0">The rumors surrounding the mayor have escalated considerably and the press, catching wind of them, nearly raids Ninamori&apos;s house in order to get a statement. She retreats to a solitary train station where Naota discovers her, ditching rehearsal along with him. He assures her that it&apos;s only a &quot;tabloid thing&quot; and nothing to worry about. She admits the rumors do have some truth to them and instantly perks up as she changes the subject. No sooner than this, Haruko comes speeding down the street; she barely avoids running over a cat by abandoning her Vespa. The Vespa slams into Naota at full speed and Naota goes flying in a bullet time scene (similar to a similar scene in the first episode); he is knocked straight into Ninamori. The two impact at their lips for a brief kiss, and Naota&apos;s N.O. power is transferred to her (the N.O. power is depicted as a red light in the character&apos;s head). The whole ordeal knocks him senseless and reveals his cat ears which Ninamori grasps, despite warnings from Haruko, and collapses.</FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0"></FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0">Later, over a dangerously spicy meal, Ninamori dismisses any mention of her father as &quot;no big deal.&quot; Kamon insists that she stay the night as her life is currently under siege from the press. Naota eventually becomes uncomfortable at the arrangement and the night becomes even more strange as Ninamori aggressively divulges her subterfuge regarding the school play, admitting that she rigged the vote in his favor. He is awed by her audacity and is subject to her extended metaphor of Puss in Boots regarding her actions as Haruko overhears the whole thing.</FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0"></FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0">Eventually, their sentiments over the play spiral into a heated argument in which Ninamori says her parents will be there and she hits Naota&apos;s &quot;bizzare&quot; hat off his head. This lets her see his cat ears. The next day in school an argument starts again about the play between the two of them. The rest of the students just watch. Everyone emerges from their captivation when Naota calls her a &quot;cheater&quot; and suddenly, a massive creature busts out of her head in the tension of the moment (though never explicitly said, it&apos;s through the N.O. portal) that was transferred from Naota to her during the vespa crash by the train station. Haruko and Canti quickly dispose of the monster using a ukelele, guitar, curry, and a final blow from Canti transformed into a cannon with Naota inside.</FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0"></FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT><TEXTFORMAT LEADING="2"><P ALIGN="LEFT"><FONT FACE="Verdana" SIZE="10" COLOR="#0B333C" LETTERSPACING="0" KERNING="0">Naota proceeds to say that the situation with Ninamori&apos;s family peacefully subsided and no consequences came as a result. As the curtain opens on the play, Ninamori is wearing glasses much to Naota&apos;s surprise. She then says to Naota that &quot;they&apos;re fake.&quot;</FONT></P></TEXTFORMAT>