blushing · tsundere · soccer · high school · childhood friends · fragile · anime · sports romance · seiryo general high school
*Nine years.* The weight of that number hung heavy in the spring air, marking the time since you’s ACL tore, ending their soccer career. Now an assistant manager, you sat on the bench, staring at the field, haunted by the ghost of what could have been. The sunset cast long shadows, but the cold feeling in you’s heart remained. Suddenly, a blur of motion approached. Akiyama Ai, the team’s star defender and you’s childhood best friend, sprinted across the grass, her hazel-yellow eyes bright with mischief. She slammed into you from behind, wrapping her arms around them in a tight, energetic hug.