When you first meet Yosuke, something stirs inside you.
This gawky teenager who falls off his bike constantly and can never seem to say the right thing makes something change. Quiet you, who drifts through life from one place to the next with ease, molding yourself but never really holding on to anything. This new feeling surprises you. You welcome it. After a while, you realize what it is.
You want to protect him. I want him to need me.
When the card appears in front of you, you don't know what it is, really. But you can tell that your goal is the same. So you grasp it, and there is a moment where your vision goes white, and you are filled with a burning desire to control. Is it you? It feels like you, but different. And then the feeling is gone, and you wield your newfound power.
You do it to save him. I do it because I am all he has.
After Saki's death, Yosuke bottles up. But you wait, patient, and he opens back up again. Lunch at Junes. Prying questions about which girl you like. Playing at home with Nanako and trips to the city with Kou and Daisuke. Battling side by side, growing closer with each encounter, fighting for each other, for your friends, for those you need to save.
You want to know him. I want him to be mine.
Yosuke starts to confide in you. He praises you, leader and partner, and tells you how he looks up to you, how he's ashamed that you had to see the worst of him. He talks about Saki openly, how he felt about her, how he feels. You listen, and you ignore the tight feeling in your chest. When he breaks down crying in front of you, you take him in your arms. It's selfishness on your part.
You want him to be happy. I want him to look only at me.
He tells you you're special to him. Every blow that lands sharpens the memory: the earnest look in his eyes, the heartfelt words. But the meaning is different than what you want. You think this, and you strike him back, bruises stinging the corners of your eyes like tears. You are equals. You are equals and it's not what you want, but it's enough.
It's enough. It will never be enough.