Promise

Contains 5 chapters: 1. **Inu to Anata to Haru Kaze to** (犬とあなたと春風と) 2. **Promise** (プロミス) 3. **Kimi Sarite Nochi** (君去りてのち) 4. **Koko e Oide** (ここへおいで) 5. **Mizu ga Koori ni Naru Toki** (水が氷になるとき) We open with a light-hearted story of a guy whose best friend is highly dependent on him on all matters. He tells his friend he can continue his clingy ways only if he were a dog. His friend goes missing, but then he comes across a dog... The next two very solid chapters are "Promise" and "Kimi Sarite Nochi". The former tells the story of a girl who keeps running into this mysterious young man whenever she is troubled. "Kimi Sarite Nochi" is on a cheating man whose lover is trying to persuade him into taking a trip with her and leaving his wife for good. Karino Yoshihito\* takes the stage again for the last two chapters; we get to know more about him when he was 26 and 15. \*recurring main character in some of Nishi Keiko's stories; see "September" and "The Another Ocean"