Chapter 9

This is the third chapter of the second volume and the ninth chapter overall of the More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers manga series written by Yūki Kanamaru.

## Summary

Jirō's day starts normally as is usually does. He still can't believe he got paired up with the most popular gyaru in his class. Later, he arrives at school early and finds Shiori cleaning the classroom's blackboard. She informs him that Mei, who is supposed to be on class duty later with Jirō, has a meeting after school, so Shiori will be filling in for her instead.

In a flashback, it is revealed that Mei intentionally asked Shiori to fill in for her because she knew Shiori had feelings for Jirō and wanted to give the two a push so that their relationship could move forward.

Elsewhere, Akari and her friends are hanging out and they discuss how a lot of the Marriage Practical couples have become real-life couples. Sachi teases Akari on how her eyes have been following Jirō lately, and Natsumi tells her that she'll support her whoever she loves. Akari denies all of this and insists that she only has eyes on Minami.

After school, Jirō and Shiori are in the classroom, tidying it up. Shiori tells him that it reminds her of how they were back in middle school and how she feels nostalgic. They reminisce about the past, when Shiori remembers Mei saying that the only way for Jirō to know she feels something for him is for them to kiss.

Meanwhile, Akari is outside looking for Jirō. She had texted him earlier, but he wasn't responding. She arrives at their classroom and finds Shiori and Jirō talking happily with each other. She doesn't call out to Jirō and wonders why she's hiding outside while watching them.

Inside, Shiori looks at Jirō longingly and tries to go in for a kiss. She asks him to close his eyes and lean forward. Jirō does what he's told but when he takes a peek, Shiori tells him that he had some chalk in his hair and that she was just trying to remove them. Jirō feels so embarrassed, assuming that they were going to kiss. At the same time, Shiori thinks to herself that she couldn't go through with it and silently apologizes to Mei.

Back home, Jirō feels disappointed that nothing fruitful came out of his class duty with Shiori. He remembers the last time they spoke back in middle school before Shiori transferred to another school. He recalls how Shiori turned down his confession.

Akari notices his gloomy look and brings him a cup of hot milk. She asks how it went with Shiori. Jirō lies that it was okay, but she tells him that she can see through his lie. They talk about the night sky and how pretty the stars look. Akari comments that the sky would have been prettier if she was with Minami instead. Jirō apologizes for being lame and how even the stars would be honored if it was Minami watching them instead of him.

Akari doesn't respond but asks Jirō to call her by her first name. Jirō is taken aback by the request and refuses to do so. She tells him that sometimes she loses her faith in herself and that he needs to practice saying her name so that if in that moment he's by her side, she can calm down when he calls her name.

Jirō says her name and comments on how pretty it is, unlike his name which he finds so ordinary. He calls her by her first name again, but Akari is still silent. He thinks he's done something wrong again, but when he looks at her, Akari asks him to say her name again. She chastises him for calling her by her last name and how cruel it is because he made it seem like she was the only one in love between them. She hurriedly takes it back and said that it was just a hypothetical love since they were fake couples doing the Marriage Practical. Red in the face, Jirō also apologizes and says that they should just pretend it never happened. Akari doesn't wait for him to finish his sentence and immediately slams the door behind her as she runs to her room.

Outside, Jirō talks himself out of believing that there could be anything between them because he knew Akari liked Minami. Inside her room, Akari is flustered and confused at what just happened.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

Jirō Yakuin
Akari Watanabe
Shiori Sakurazaka
Mei Hamanodebut
Natsumi Ōhashi
Sachi Takamiya
Minami Tenjinflashback
Ryōmentioned
## Chapter Notes

* Shiori's best friend, Mei Hamano, is introduced.
* Mei helps Shiori make a move on Jirō.
	+ Shiori and Jirō are on class duty together after Mei switches places with Shiori.
	+ After getting encouragement from Mei, Shiori had planned to kiss Jirō but gets cold feet and changes her mind.
* Akari demands that Jirō call her by her first name.
	+ Jirō calls Akari by her first name but quickly reverts to calling her by her surname,
	+ Akari feels flustered and asks Jirō to call her by her first name again. She impulsively says that it would be unfair if she was the only one calling him by his given name because it would make it seem like she was the only one in love between the two.
	+ Her reaction makes Jirō briefly hope that she feels something for him. However, he quickly reminds himself that she already likes Minami.