NEXT Episode 9

Stray Cat Overheat (迷い猫オーバーヒート, Mayoi Neko Ōbāhīto) is the ninth episode of the second season - known as NEXT - and the twenty-second overall episode of the Haganai anime series produced by AIC Build.

Synopsis
Things went smoothly on the first part of filming for the Neighbor's Club movie, but was cut short due to the sun setting and Rika instructing the director, Yozora, to continue tomorrow or they'll have discontinuities in the cuts. Yozora agreed and reminded the other members of the cast that they'll be continuing filming again the next day.

The next day, outside St. Chronica's Academy, Kodaka is walking as he tells himself that though he has no screen time in the as of the moment, he stated that it's still fun working with the equipment for the film. As he continued walking, he noticed that the ranking from their finals was already posted and came to check in. As he examined, he instantly found Sena's name on top of the list, with the score of 895 out of 900, which he found hard to believe. On the other hand, he also found Yozora's name on the 7th place on the list, which has the highest score in their class.

Afterward, Kodaka noticed a short girl with red hair groaning as she looked on the list. When their eyes met, she instantly asked who Kodaka was. Before coming up with an answer, the girl mistook Kodaka as Sena's boyfriend.

" Sena Kashiwazaki... She really is my enemy! "

Kodaka: " Um... So... who are you? "

" You don't know who I am?! You're as rude as anyone related to Sena Kashiwazaki would be... "

Kodaka: " Are you famous or something? "

" Aoi Yusa from class 2-3. I'm the treasurer of the student council. I got second place on the finals. "

After introducing herself, Kodaka realized that she is in the same class as Sena, and praised her for being on second place in the finals, as well as being a member of the student council.

Aoi: " I don't like how you're looking down on me! I've been right below Sena Kashiwazaki since last year. "

Kodaka: " I don't know much about last year, but I think you're pretty amazing. You're just up against the wrong person. "

Aoi: " I still want to win! At least with my exam scores! 

''She's blindingly beautiful, with perfect grades and athletic ability, and she's a rich girl to boot! "''

Kodaka: " I've heard that description of her before... "

Aoi: " I know. They call people like Sena Kashiwazaki "popular"! But she's not just popular, she's got a boyfriend! She's won too many genetic lotteries! "

Kodaka: " Hold on, I'm not dating Sena or anything! "

Aoi: " Hmhm. You can't fool me. You call each other by your first names. You're obviously in a special relationship. The boys in our class call her "Sena-sama". "

Kodaka: (" Yeah, this is pointless. She isn't listening. ")

Aoi: " Seriously. While I've been trying to surpass her all this time, Sena Kashiwazaki goes and gets a cool boyfriend like you... I'm so jealous! "

Upon hearing Aoi's remark, Kodaka looked surprised after being told that he was cool. Aoi then blustered on how appealing Kodaka's sense of style is (esp. the way how he raises the hems of his pants), calling it a "bad boy look".

Kodaka:  " You're the first person to describe me like that! " *weird face*

Aoi: " Why are you making that funny face?! Not only are you cool, but you have a sense of humor?! That makes you a perfect boyfriend for that perfect Sena Kashiwazaki! I'm so dissatisfied and jealous and hateful! And so, good day! " *leaving*

Kodaka: " Aoi Yusa? Looks like I met another weirdo. "

Later, at the club-room, as Kodaka entered, he founds Sena inside playing her gal-game. Sena informed Kodaka that Yozora and Rika went to search for a shooting location for their film. Kodaka then told Sena about Aoi Yusa, whom, in the least, she doesn't recognize, which was even furthered to the point where she does not know the names of her classmates, (except for the ones near to her), much to Kodaka's dismay. After which, Kodaka then told Sena that Aoi has been under her in the rankings, yet Sena stated that she does not care of other people's ranking but only hers (as long as she's first). Kodaka then praised Sena for that and asked her about the methods of her studying. Answering his question, Sena bluntly stated that she only listens at class and do her homework and that the first time she ever studied for a test was her time with Kodaka (see NEXT Episode 1), which she found to be enjoyable, much to Kodaka's surprise. Sena then returned the topic about Aoi Yusa to Kodaka, whom he just dismisses about it.

Kodaka: " She's just straight-up and doesn't care about stuff she isn't interested in... And she charges so hard into things she likes that it reaches to creepy levels... Even if she doesn't like it, like Yozora, she can practically go criminal-- No, wait, those photographs are totally criminal. Completely free and uncontrolled. Does what she wants, when she wants. She has the ability and circumstances to live like that. A real, live princess. It's easy to see how other girls wouldn't like her. I might actually be pretty lucky to get to hang out with her like this. "

At the same moment, Yozora and Rika arrived at the club-room, informing them that they've found a perfect shooting location for their film, and Yozora told both Sena and Kodaka to get ready for filming.

At their shooting location, Kodaka was reluctant about the location of their filming, which is a playground, but Rika reassures her that she will fix the background through CGI (Computer-generated imagery).

Back at the academy, after saying goodbye to Rika, Kodaka remarked that not anything can be fixed with CG, and at the same time, Sena's father, the chairman of St. Chronica's Academy, Tenma Kashiwazaki, called out to Kodaka. After their talk about the Neighbor's club movie, Tenma proceeded to ask Kodaka about his (boyfriend-girlfriend) relationship with her only daughter Sena. About learning that there is nothing going on between Kodaka and Sena, Tenma hurriedly left in rush.

Kodaka: " Well, he's definitely an interesting guy. "

The next day, upon entering the clubroom, Sena immediately dragged Kodaka out and into the chapel. There, she informed Kodaka about the misunderstanding that her father thinks that they're dating and that they're engaged, which was made as an agreement by both Kodaka and Sena's fathers when they were still kids. Sena then showed Kodaka a picture of them together playing when they were little, making them childhood friends. Though fascinated by this, Kodaka reassures Sena that they don't need to mind on an agreement their fathers made without their consent and erase the engagement out of their minds. Sena, though reluctant, agreed to his claim, and happily said that she can have Kobato as her sister without having to marry Kodaka, much to the latter's dismay. Before leaving the chapel and heading back to the club-room, Sena mentioned about Yozora knowing and about her reaction regarding about it, though Kodaka said that there's no need to inform her, and added, since she is not involved in their current situation.

Back in the club-room, as Kodaka remembered about Kate's statement back at Kobato's birthday party, Maria revealed Sena and Kodaka's engagement to the rest of the Neighbor's club, much to their surprise. Not long after, their childhood friendship was also revealed, leaving Yozora shocked and quite depressed, even with both Kodaka and Sena reassuring her.

Yozora: " Rika-san, old girl... "

Rika: " What is it, Yozora-san? "

Yozora: " Which has a deeper friendship, a childhood friend or a fiancee? "

Rika: " I think anyone would say the fiancee does. "

Yozora: " I thought so. "

Rika: " And it looks like they'd met when they were younger. You could call them childhood friends too. "

Yozora: " I thought so. "

Sena, hearing their conversation, got frustrated and smacked Yozora with her flyswatter, much to the surprise of Kodaka, but Yozora was too depressed to fight back and Sena told everyone to prepare for filming. Rika reassures Yozora that they should instead look to the future and left the club-room, followed by Maria, and lastly Yozora, who stated that she doesn't care anymore, and depressingly left the club-room, leaving Kodaka inside.

Still, on their filming, Yozora was too depressed to even manage her film, leaving Rika to take care of the shots.

Later that afternoon, Kate called out to Kodaka as he passes her, and Kodaka sarcastically thanked her for the trouble he's been as of late, leaving Kate puzzled. After informing Kate about what happened, Kate told Kodaka that the rumor about their engagement has already spread throughout the Academy by Sena's father himself, much to Kodaka's chagrin. Kate then asked about the Neighbor's club movie, and after telling her the details, Kate remarks its resemblance to an obscure Japanese teen movie, and asked Kodaka to watch it for himself for reference, in which he agrees with doing so, only to found out that Yozora plagiarized the script from the movie itself.

Episode Ends...

Light Novel Differences

 * In the light novel timeline, Kodaka met Aoi before their club's filming began. In the anime, they were already in the middle of their filming when the episode aired.
 * The filming of the Neighbor's Club movie wasn't clearly put into much detail in the light novel. In the anime, this was expanded, even adding their filming locations.
 * In the light novel, it was stated when Kodaka returned to the club-room after meeting with Aoi; Yozora, Sena, Rika, Yukimura, and Maria were already there. In the anime, only Sena was present.
 * In the light novel, it was stated that Sena was playing her handheld gaming console (presumably a PSP) when Kodaka arrived at the club-room. In the anime, it was changed to a PS3.
 * In the light novel, Kodaka mentioned that Sena dragged him all the way out to an incinerator behind their school to discuss their engagement. It was changed in the anime. There, Sena simply dragged Kodaka inside their school chapel.
 * In the light novel, Sena slapped Yozora with her hand to reassure her. In the anime, Sena smacked Yozora with a flyswatter instead.

Trivia

 * The episode title is a reference to the light novel series, Mayoi Neko Overrun!.