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He felt nervous.

Yoichi Isagi, a renowned persona in Japanese Football, who had gone through many trials and errors, felt nervous.

I mean, who wouldn't be if you had just witnessed your dearly beloved seriously consider the concept of death? Surely, it was no mere coincidence that (Y/n) had closed her eyes and slowly started tipping over the edge—all whilst kneeling at the pinnacle.

He opened his mouth as the girl fell into his arms, the dryness of his throat tempting him to succumb to silence. What was he even to say?

"Yoichi," (Y/n) said. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was calm and collected, and yet... the way she shivered with stray tears slipping down her cheeks in relief said otherwise.

"... we all went out to search for you..." He let out a frosty breath, adjusting his position to cradle her properly. "Geez, you're freezing, (Y/n)."

Yoichi stripped himself of his winter coat, immediately draping it over the shivering girl. He pulled her closer, in hopes that their combined body heat would overpower the fact that they were submerged in powdery snow.

(Y/n) nodded her head thankfully, closing her eyes as she soaked in the much-needed warmth. She nuzzled her face into his chest, her rapid breathing eventually coming to a halt.

For a moment, neither said a word, for the silence spoke louder than any verbal utterance.

It was that small moment of peace after her desperate attempt that made her realize the effect her childhood friend had on her. Despite their years of separation and hidden grudges she held towards him, he was still the closest personification of home.

As a child, she'd been conditioned to simply deal with any small inconvenience. As long as she was not hurt enough to be rushed to the hospital, any moment wasted wincing in pain was a mere sign of weakness, for there were a great many other things she could be doing.

Still, whenever she'd scraped her knee, he'd always be the one to tend to her wound.

Young Yoichi was known for his great hyperfixation on football. You could never pry him away from an active match–yet he'd willingly step off the field at the mere knowledge that (Y/n) had stumbled upon a rock.

"(Y/n), you don't care about yourself enough!" He'd say as he forced her to take a seat in order to apply antiseptic to her wound.

Due to the fact he was an aspiring football player, Yoichi was also well-versed in healthy diets and exercise, so he always ensured (Y/n) wouldn't neglect her health in the name of her family business.

He was practically the only person in her life who looked past her hardworking and resilient demeanor to ask the question: who gets to take care of the young (Y/n)?

When he and his family left for Saitama with no warning... (Y/n) wouldn't admit it, but it left quite a hole in her heart.

She felt the loss greatly, for she'd lost more than just a friend–she'd lost a caretaker, a confidant, someone she'd greatly looked up to, and...

"Yoichi," she said, pulling away to look him in the eye. Her eyes were bloodshot–probably from the additional tears that threatened to pour at the thought of his betrayal years ago.

"Y-yeah?" Yoichi's voice cracked.

"Do you hate me?" she continued.

Yoichi stared back at her in utmost bafflement.

He'd heard that sentence from anxious girlfriends speaking to their boyfriends countless times before, but he'd never imagined he'd hear it from (Y/n). Not the prim and proper (Y/n), who had always refused to even joke about her insecurities, having been taught that there was little use in voicing such thoughts when she could simply acknowledge her flaws and work to improve them instead.