After Non-chan-the girl who assaulted Hotaru many years ago-moves back into town, things between Hotaru and Hananoi-kun grow tense. Hananoi-kun's attempt to prevent Hotaru from getting hurt again itself hurts her. Can he work through this problem and leave his harmful tendencies behind him? Or will this be the end for our couple?! Their mismatched love story takes a new turn!

As they begin their first summer break since getting together, Hotaru and Hananoi-kun vow to experience even more "firsts" together! But all their plans are derailed when Hananoi-kun's father suddenly returns from overseas! Then, Yao-kun finally admits to his feelings for Hotaru…just in time for the two of them to have an intimate moment at the summer festival!

Hotaru and Hananoi-kun have weathered a major trial in their relationship—their first extended break apart! But now that summer break is over, it's time for the annual school festival… and just when the curtain's about to be drawn, it comes out that Hotaru's friend Shibamu has the hots for their homeroom teacher, Mr. Hozumi?! But does she really have a chance…? Anything can happen at the Yukisaki High School Festival!

Hotaru and Hananoi-kun have been together for half a year now. With every passing day, they grow that much closer...and the first summer break of their relationship is right around the corner! Hotaru decides it's time to work on her appearance if she wants to be a good girlfriend for Hananoi-kun...and just as soon as they get that worked out, an all new romance seems to be budding in their friend group!

Hotaru is a 16-year-old high school first-year who has always been ambivalent about love ... but somehow or another, she's found herself going out with Hananoi-kun, the pretty boy from the class down the hall who, as it turns out, is a little too romantic for his own good. But they're not official yet; they're going out on a trial basis, and once Christmas Day comes, they'll be perfect strangers again. Hotaru was fine with that ... until Hananoi-kun gave her the happiest Christmas Eve of her life. Now, with the deadline just hours away, Hotaru's beginning to have second thoughts ...

"Up till now, even kissing or holding hands has made me so nervous. But now..."
An unexpected mix-up leads to a year-end excursion for Nobuko and Hiroki, who find themselves sharing a hotel room rather suddenly. But as their night alone with each other begins, neither one feels quite prepared... A turning point approaches in the love story of these side characters, as feelings of affection begin to blossom into something more.

THE AWAKENING High schooler Tetsu Misato is hardworking, frugal, and easily scared, but he commits to a part-time job at the mansion on the hill—the one that’s rumored to be haunted. As he toils away, he notices a building separate from the estate, and the mysterious girl who lives within it: Shizu Karasawa. Tetsu slowly becomes enchanted by Shizu’s lonely smile, but by their second encounter, he quickly finds himself in over his head. There’s an unsettling feeling he can’t quite shake, but there’s love there, too.

Rizu is interested in the shabby chemistry teacher Azuma-sensei, so things get awkward between her and her childhood friend Souta-kun... Souta-kun tries to eliminate the competition like always, but this teacher is a surprisingly challenging opponent?! The gorgeous Souta-kun plots and schemes. Crack open this cunning, adorable childhood friend love story!

THE MOVING FORWARD Shizu’s grand scheme to get Tetsu to play soccer one last time was a big success, and has become a catalyst for change for everyone involved. One of the biggest changes comes from Chihiro, who works up the courage to tell Tetsu his biggest secret. Will this revelation tear the friends apart?

While observing exotic animal trainers for her acclaimed book Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, journalist Amy Sutherland had an epiphany: What if she used these training techniques with the human animals in her own life–namely her dear husband, Scott? In this lively and perceptive book, Sutherland tells how she took the trainers’ lessons home. The next time her forgetful husband stomped through the house in search of his mislaid car keys, she asked herself, “What would a dolphin trainer do?” The answer was: nothing. Trainers reward the behavior they want and, just as important, ignore the behavior they don’t. Rather than appease her mate’s rising temper by joining in the search, or fuel his temper by nagging him to keep better track of his things in the first place, Sutherland kept her mouth shut and her eyes on the dishes she was washing. In short order, Scott found his keys and regained his cool. “I felt like I should throw him a mackerel,” she writes. In time, as she put more training principles into action, she noticed that she became more optimistic and less judgmental, and their twelve-year marriage was better than ever. What started as a goofy experiment had such good results that Sutherland began using the training techniques with all the people in her life, including her mother, her friends, her students, even the clerk at the post office. In the end, the biggest lesson she learned is that the only animal you can truly change is yourself. Full of fun facts, fascinating insights, hilarious anecdotes, and practical tips, What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage describes Sutherland’s Alice-in-Wonderland experience of stumbling into a world where cheetahs walk nicely on leashes and elephants paint with watercolors, and of leaving a new, improved Homo sapiens.