Episode 8

## An Entreaty, but No Reassurance.

* Episode
* Title Card

## Episode Chronology

****"An Entreaty, but No Reassurance."**** (哀願以上、安心未満。, *Aigan Ijō, Anshin Miman.*?) is the eighth episode of the More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers anime series.

## Plot

### Prelude

Shiori is seen lying in bed and holding her teddy bear as she reminisces over the fact that she and Jirō haven't talked to each other since they kissed and wonders how long these feelings will stay like that. Mei is then seen taking a bath, also questioning if things will continue to stay the way they are. Meanwhile, Jirō is playing on his handheld console in his bed and becomes anguished after being presented a choice of which princess companion to take on a quest that determines the fate of the world. Akari is then shown reading about her fortune on her phone which shows poor results, leaving her dispirited.

### Act 1

Akari and Jirō are in the living room, mentally preparing themselves for the month's evaluation for the practical. As they pull up the ranking list, they are disappointed to learn that they were ranked 13th, three spots below A-Rank. Jirō notes that the couple that placed 5th had just started dating, leading Akari to believe that they will be having difficulty beating them. Akari immediately peps up and tells Jirō that she will be counting on him for another month while also playfully calling him an affectionate pet name.

Jirō is later shown taking a bath as he thinks about that night when Akari came home crying. Jirō feels that Akari is still determined to switch partners despite what happened that night. Suddenly, Akari bursts into the bathroom while yelling for him. Jirō is alarmed and asked Akari what was wrong to which she screams that she saw a spider in the living room. Bewildered, Jirō reprimands Akari for barging into the bathroom over such a small matter while he was bathing. Akari ignores his lecturing and forcibly tries to pull him out of the bathtub to deal with the spider but not before Jirō tells her that he needs a towel and clothes first.

As the two enter the living room, Jirō asks Akari where the spider is. While clinging onto Jirō, Akari starts to panic when she realizes that she does not see the spider and that it could be anywhere in the room. Jirō asks her how big the spider to is and is baffled to find out that spider is actually very small. Not wanting to be separated from Jirō while the spider is still roaming around the area, Akari goes to the kitchen for a snack while pulling him along with her. Despite thinking that Akari is overreacting to the whole situation, Jirō begins to find her mannerisms amusing.

Akari and Jirō are next seen sitting on the couch having just finished eating their snacks. Akari then pulls out her manicure kit with the intention to paint and style her nails. Jirō asks her how long he has to stay in the living room to which Akari replies that he must stay until he catches the spider. Jirō then asks why he couldn't go back to his room and have her call him when the spider does appear. Akari says that it would be scary for the spider to show up again, so she wants Jirō to stay with her. Their conversation is abruptly interrupted when Akari starts getting the urge to use the bathroom. She nervously asks Jirō to come with her to the bathroom, leaving the boy flabbergasted by her odd request.

As Akari uses the bathroom, Jirō sits on the floor and waits for her outside the door. When Akari finishes, Jirō decides to take the opportunity to use the bathroom too. Akari is hesitant because it would mean that she would be left alone but an annoyed Jirō tells her that he will be quick. As he enters the bathroom, Akari sits on the floor and becomes embarrassed by the fact that she asked Jirō something as ridiculous as coming with her to the bathroom. Despite this, she appears to be glad that she could ask Jirō since she figured that he wouldn't refuse her request and also that she would never be able ask Minami. As Jirō finishes up, he offers Akari his hand go lead her back to the living room. After confirming that Jirō washed his hands first, Akari happily holds his hand and thanks him.

Back in the living room, Akari who appears to be more relaxed, is shown painting her nails. She asks Jirō for some of the vanilla ice cream that he is eating. Jirō tries to tell her that she can get some ice cream from the freezer or that he will get her a spoon so that she can eat from his his but Akari refuses, saying that the spider might be in the kitchen and that she is drying her nails so she can't use her hands. Jirō is noticeably flustered to which Akari correctly deduced that it was because he was thinking about the fact that sharing his ice cream with her with his spoon would be an indirect kiss. After Akari insists on having some of his ice cream while also dropping a sexual innuendo, Jirō eventually relents as she happily takes a bite from his spoon. Akari then points out that Jirō used to prefer chocolate ice cream and that them spending time together seemed to have made them more alike.

Akari then asks him what would have happened if they were never paired together at the start of the practical. Jirō answers by saying that they probably would have never talked to each other. Akari rebuffed his response by saying she would want to meet someone like Jirō because she finds his high-strung personality hilarious, however since they have opposite personalities, they would never date. Jirō says that the other pairs are probably like that as well, with the pair that just started dating and getting 5th place being an exception. Akari then asks him if they should start dating too. Jirō is stunned and stares at Akari in disbelief over what she just asked. Akari then says she was joking before going on to admire how well her nails turned out. Jirō then begins to wonder to himself why Akari would ask that question so casually and if she was being serious, what answer would he give. Akari also questions to herself what would have happened if she had met Jirō without knowing that he was in love with someone else. Before she was able to ponder further, Akari spots and stares at a spider that is crawling on the window's curtains. Akari panics and screams for Jirō to get rid of the spider while frantically clutching onto to him.

After Jirō deals with the spider, he shows Akari a picture of some bug spray on his phone and offers to buy this for her. Akari refuses, saying she doesn't want to touch the spider after she sprayed it. Jirō then asks what she will do if her next partner doesn't like dealing with bugs. Akari playfully answers that she will contact Jirō because she knows he will come. The response cause Jirō to feel slightly flustered. Akari then wishes him goodnight and goes into her room. A happy Jirō jokingly asks her if he is supposed to be her personal exterminator and then tells her that he will be counting on her for a bit longer before he enters his room. As the two lie in their respective beds, Jirō is shown to be deep asleep while Akari is awake, staring at the wall adjacent to Jirō's room. A somber Akari places her hand on the wall and gently caresses it before falling asleep.

### Act 2

Shiori is shown standing on the balcony of her dorm, staring off into the distance before Minami notices her. He asks his practice partner if there is something on her mind and invites her inside so that she could share her thoughts with him. The two are then seen in the living room where Minami gives Shior some tea to drink. Shiori starts by telling Minami about "her friend" who reunited with the boy that she liked without revealing that she was actually talking about herself. She then tells Minami that "her friend" and the boy had kissed by accident and because they aren't dating yet, "her friend" doesn't know how to face him anymore. She goes on further by saying that "her friend" doesn't know how the boy feels about the kiss and her worrying about it must have made her realize that she loves him. As she continues to explain to Minami about the predicament, she turns to see that he had zoned out after hearing all of this information and that he was accidentally pouring tea on himself.

After cleaning himself with a towel, Minami tells Shiori that "her friend" must be scared because she was hoping for something between her and the boy. He then says that if she had fallen in love with the boy, she should go for it before it's too late. Minami hints that something like that has happened to him before and he was already aware that Shiori had been talking about herself. Minami then advises Shiori if "her friend" had asked the boy if he hated the kiss. Shiori replies by saying it was impossible but Minami laughs and tells her to pass a message to "her friend" that she should gain more confidence before leaving.

At school, Mei tells Shiori that she should wear something more confident to get Jirō to notice her and shows her a dress that is for sale online. However, Shiori points out that they are picking out an outfit for Mei. She picks out some clothes for Mei that would potentially look good on her based on her athletic figure. Mei rejects the choices and strokes Shiori's hair, telling her to pick an outfit that she would like to see her in as she will be wearing it the next time they go to the movies together. Shiori then says that she is starting to understand why Mei has so many fans and that she could make someone she is dating very happy.

Moments later, Shū, who is revealed to be Mei's assigned husband, finds her to inform her that he'd be out late that night because he has a job interview at the coffee shop Minami works in. He also tells Shiori that Minami might also be out late since they're planning on having dinner together after the interview. With this, Shū suggests that the two of them hang out and get some alone time. While this annoys and embarrasses Mei, she is surprised to learn how open Shiori was to that idea. The two then discuss plans for their next hangout.

### Post-Credits

From Sadaharu's point of view he is asked by Shiori and then by Akari to kiss them. The scene then switches to the two girls facing each other as they tell each other that they are blocking the way. This results in them moving closer to each other which nearly culminates in them kissing, but it turns out to be a dream that Sadaharu wakes up from, much to his disappointment.

## Characters In Order Of Appearance

* Shiori Sakurazaka
* Mei Hamano
* Jirō Yakuin
* Chloris
* Lancia
* Akari Watanabe
* Minami Tenjin
* Shū Terafune
* Sadaharu Kamo

## Anime & Manga Difference

* The opening scenes with Shiori, Mei, Jirō, and Akari are exclusive to the anime.
* In the manga, after Akari warns Jirō about the spider, the latter insists that he finishes his bath. Akari is then forced to wait outside the bathroom before bringing his clothes to him after he requests them. The anime changes this with Akari desperately trying to pull Jirō out of the bath while he is naked to which he shouts that he needs his towel and clothes first.
* The spider is drawn as scribble with simple eyes in the anime while in the manga, it is drawn more realistically.
* It is implied in the anime that Jirō caught and released the spider. In the manga, it is implied that he killed it.
* After dealing with the spider, the anime shows that Jirō told Akari that he will buy her bug spray and showed a picture of it on her phone to her. In the manga, he attempted to hand her a can of bug spray instead.