TOUKO KAWAI

Sakaguchi is in a sexual relationship with his step father that is abusive, but he enjoys the pain because it helps mask darker memories from his past. He then meets another student who also has a troubled background who may be the person to help him stop his self-inflicted pain. Note: May contain disturbing things.

Collection of Kawai Touko's one-shots.

From Liquid Passion: When business leads Haruna to Nakagawa's family-owned brewery, it's love at first sight for Haruna. Too bad that Nakagawa and his crotchety grandpa can only say "not interested" to his offers. Will Haruna ever secure the distribution rights to the best sake in town? And more importantly, will he manage to win over the cantankerous brewer's grandson?

From DMP: 27-year-old Nishioka is a selfish and irresponsible yet talented young photographer living on his own in the world. Then there’s Matsukawa, a man working for an advertisement agency, who infallibly makes Nishioka’s work a smash hit. At first glance, these two look like they don’t get along, but underneath it all there’s actually a burning love for each other….

Chikao is a gentle soul who has the bad luck of falling in love with Yuuji, a playboy and cheat. Can his love withstand the heartache or will Yuuji go to far?

Chiaki Sakaguchi appears to be a sociable, popular high school senior, but he carries a dark secret with him that he can tell no one about – not even his closest friends. When Chiaki meets fellow student Eiji Yukimura – an under-achieving social misfit – for the first time, he believes he’s found someone who can understand his inner pain. As the two become closer, Chiaki learns that Eiji has a secret also – a secret so dark, it threatens to overshadow his own. United by common dysfunction and angst, Chiaki and Eiji begin to search for pleasure together beyond their pain. Will the pair’s growing bond enable them to break free of their troubled pasts and create a brighter future? Or is the damage that’s been done to both of them beyond any healing that love can provide?

Bookstore employee Serizawa – a short, comical, and adorable young man – spots Keito, an immensely tall and intense-eyed man, in the store. It was love at first sight for Serizawa! However, Serizawa realizes that Keito is extremely shy and meek. What's holding him back? Can Keito overcome his shyness and reveal his true feelings?

Yuuya, a high school student, unexpectedly bumps into Kiriya-san while walking down the street and ends up saving the older man's life. The two are neither "friends nor lovers," but form a companionship in order to listen to each other's troubles. Will this friendship turn into love? (from Kawaisa) Yuuya, a high school student, unexpectedly bumps into Kiriya-san while walking down the street and ends up saving Kiriya's life. The two are neither “friends nor lovers,” but since then, they have formed a companionship in order to listen to each other’s troubles. So whenever one of them is sad, the other one will be there to give comfort. At first they were just bonded over their unhappiness but before they knew it they'd developed a physical relationship. But Kiriya-san thought Yuuya is a college student, 19 years old. And so, when he coincidentally had a part-time job as being the substitute teacher in Yuuya’s class… both of them created a distance with each other. This made Yuuya understand his real feelings for Kiriya. Will this friendship turn into love?

From DMP: Horyuu is a shining, good looking surfer idol. Shouin, who is enamored with • him, is a calm, restrained and mature youngster. Though Horyuu is the polar opposite to the subdued Shouin, he cannot erase from his mind the secret confession which they shared... * Contains two oneshots called Utakata no Hibi in vol. 1 and Beautiful World in vol. 2, prequel to Kurumi no Naka. • Utakata no Hibi - At 35, an art teacher is given a choice between an operation with a success rate of only 30% or another three years to live without it. He refuses the operation and proceeds to live a kind of half-life. But that spring, he meets and has an affair with a loud and healthy student from Osaka. Still, the knowledge of his impending death keeps him from being fully involved. • Our Everlasting - All Sohei wanted was to film the beautiful man he'd caught a picture of before. But is the price too high... - Peccatore Sanctuary

The story of the characters of In the Walnut is actually a spin off a oneshot that was published in Keijijyou na Bokura (Our Everlasting) volume 2. What do a gallery owner, Hideo Tanizaki, and a young, naïve filmmaker, Sohei Nakai, have in common? Well, both of them are 24 years old – that’s a good start. They both graduated from the same art school – that can’t hurt either. The fact that Tanizaki has a penchance for art forgery is just one “minor” difference between the two that Tanizaki hopes to rectify pretty quickly.