This story takes place after the manga. It includes an OC, and the events that take place are not canon. I do not own anything in my fanfiction except my OC. I plan on pairing this fanfiction with another one, centered on Shoko and Shoya.
Author's Note 4/20/20: I have been receiving a lot of requests to make Ren appear in Days and Years, which I couldn't agree more on. In order to do this, I am retconning a few things. I will try to change the story as little as possible. Feel free to reread for context! Thank you for all of the support, everyone :)
Ren immediately searched for some work, some sort of odd job that he could do so that he could pay Yuzuru, Shoko, and Shoya back for their time and resources. It was bright and early, so most establishments were getting ready to open. Ren stopped in every single one he could identify as open, and he asked whoever was behind the counter if there was any work for an inexperienced, uneducated teenager like himself. Of course, he heard a resounding "NO," from almost everywhere. Almost.
After an hour and a half of checking with local businesses, Ren decided to stop in one that looked amicable and mostly deserted, yet a sign indicated that it was open. This place was called "Hair Make Ishida." As soon as he entered, and the bell jingled to announce it, he heard footsteps making their way towards him. "S-sumimasen! (Excuse me!)" he called out, to establish a certain level of politeness before he asked for any sort of work.
"Why, hello! I would never expect someone so young to be up so early!" a dyed-blonde, tired-looking, yet very pretty lady remarked as she walked toward Ren. "Do you know what kind of hairstyle you want to get today?"
"U-um, actually, I was here to ask if there was any work I could do…" Ren replied, shyly. Ren stood up and steeled his nerves. "My name is Ren Fujisawa, and I would very much appreciate any sort of odd job you may have for me!" he said quickly and formally.
"Hmm…" the lady pondered as she rubbed her chin. "Well, I personally don't make enough to pay you even minimum wage... but I suppose I could have you clean up around here and run errands!" she said cheerfully.
"R-really?!" Ren said, excitedly. "This lady is a life saver, I definitely owe her one as well..." he thought to himself. "Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" he exclaimed, leaping with joy. He talked a little more with the lady so that he knew when to show up for work. He would have to come back in around thirty minutes, after the lady had eaten breakfast with her family. She offered to let him stay and eat with her, but Ren already felt like he was asking a lot from her; he didn't want to mooch off of such a sweet lady.
For twenty minutes or so, Ren just walked around, enjoying the scenery of the town, feeling very accomplished after securing himself just a little bit of work. He then made his way back to the hairdresser's, where the lady was beginning to cut somebody's hair. "Ah, you're back! Right on time, too! You're going to be sweeping the hair away after I finish working on her!"
Ren spent the next four hours sweeping up hair, throwing it away, and waiting for hair to hit the floor. The whole time, he noticed a lingering scent of bacon and eggs. He wondered why the lady hadn't put it away or eaten it herself. Very soon, he got an answer to that; a very tall, skinny, young man emerged from the upstairs room, looking like he just woke up. Immediately, Ren recognized him. "It's y-you!" Ren said in awe, pointing at him.
That guy, Shoya Ishida, yawned, rubbed his eyes and blinked. "Hmm? Oh, it's you, you're the one from last night, yeah? I'm glad to see you don't have a black eye. I thought Yuzuru was gonna knock you out so that you'd just shut up and go to sleep." he said cheerfully and jokingly.
Ms. Ishida looked from one boy to the other. "You know Yuzuru? You two know each other? Well then why don't you two boys go eat what's left of breakfast! Don't worry, Ren, there isn't anyone here for me to work on, so let's call this a break!" she said cheerfully. "Yeah, I definitely owe her a lot..." Ren thought.
The boys departed for the dining room, where Ren very hesitantly ate the bacon and eggs. "So what brings you here, working for my mom?" Shoya asked. "Are you trying to make some cash or something?"
Ren nodded with a mouthful of food. "Ye, do bay errone ack! (Yeah, to pay everyone back!)" he said. He swallowed hard. "I usually scavenge for food, finding scraps in trash cans behind restaurants or stealing bread from koi… and people sort of look at me like I'm a stray dog. You three though… you guys tried to rescue me; you saw more than a rough outside and tried to help me out. Well, I never know when I'll need that kind of help, but I may or may not have needed it last night. So I want to thank you guys."
Shoya scratched his head, seemingly deep in thought. "Um, it really wasn't a big deal, man. But if you're going to work to thank anyone, thank Yuzuru. I mean, Shoko and I were glad to help, but all I did was help Yuzuru carry you and make you some tea, and Shoko just made the food. Yuzuru was the one about to knock your lights out for trying to sleep outdoors."
Ren too sat, deep in thought. "I guess…" he began, then he scratched his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I still want to pay you two back, but Yuzuru should be my main priority."
Shoya just laughed. "You've got a funny way of saying things, man By the way, I never actually got your name. You probably already know, but mine's Shoya." he said.
"I'm Ren." he said cheerfully before taking another big bite of his food.
After this, the conversation devolved into small talk until the doorbell jingled and somebody walked in. Shoya walked back upstairs, put on nicer clothes, and went out. Ren walked over, ready for orders from Ms. Ishida. He spent another several hours cleaning up around the shop, and once it got dark, things slowed down significantly. That is, until the doorbell jingled.
"Oh, Shoya! And hey girls! Ren is right over there." Ms. Ishida said, pointing in his direction. Ren's body froze. Today had been filled to the brim with weird coincidences. First, Shoya; now, Yuzuru and Shoko. "Can today get any weirder?" Ren thought as he slowly turned his head towards the trio, whilst trying to hide his face in a magazine that he had been reading. Of course, the three of them walked directly up to him.
"So you're spending the night over at Shoya's? How ironic! This is where I was brought after I collapsed outside after running away one day." Yuzuru said, while Ren tried even harder to hide his face.
"N-no, I was just here to work, to pay you back…" Ren said quietly while averting her gaze. "I couldn't find any odd jobs anywhere else, this was the only place that offered me help…" There was silence, and Ren brought the magazine down to see why Yuzuru was being so quiet.
"Umm, I don't mind if you stay over, you know." Shoya said.
"And hey, you really don't have to worry about that, you know." Yuzuru said. "Like I've said, we just don't think kids should be cold and hungry."
"I'm not a kid!" Ren interrupted as he stuck his tongue out.
The three of them laughed at his reaction and Yuzuru said, on a more serious note, "No, but really, kids shouldn't be on the street. Speaking of which, you said you weren't staying the night over here, so then where will you be sleeping?" she asked pointedly, jabbing right through Ren's defenses.
Ren gulped hard. "H-how about we talk about something else?" he said, changing the topic. "Oh, I know, what are in all of those books you have in your arms?" at this, Yuzuru cursed, as if she remembered something very important, and she began to run upstairs.
She stopped midway and glared at Ren. "This isn't over, you know." she said, somewhat brutally. Ren just sighed and slumped back in the chair he was sitting in. Ms. Ishida gave him a look that seemed to say, "Better watch out, or she'll knock your block off." Ren smiled and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm going to pay her back, and I'll be fine out on the streets. She doesn't have a reason to be so upset with me…"
"Uh, Ren, like I said, you can stay over if you want." Shoya said, looking from Ren to the stairs, curious about Yuzuru's temper. "Anyways, Shoko and I promised her we'd help her ace her exams, so we should be going." Shoya turned around, but Shoko remained for a moment more.
"Pwease come o'er if 'uh need to. It izinn any trouble... (Please come over if you need to. It isn't any trouble)." Shoko said with a bright smile. Ren nodded so as to be polite, not necessarily to accept.
A little while later, Ms. Ishida had Ren bring up some snacks to the three. Upon his entry into Shoya's room, Yuzuru, Shoko, and Shoya looked up at him, making him freeze for a second. "S-sorry, just dropping off snacks." he said as he set the snacks on the corner of the table and began to walk out.
"Not so fast." Yuzuru said as she patted the floor near where Ren stood. "We have things to discuss." Ren gulped hard, but he was too scared of Yuzuru to deny her request. Ren sat down as politely as possible, while avoiding eye contact with Yuzuru. This made Shoko and Shoya snicker among themselves.
"H-hey, I probably earned enough to p-pay you three back today!" Ren brought up trying to direct the conversation, but Yuzuru clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Ignoring what he said, Yuzuru asked- or commanded, really- "So, you're sleeping over here, yeah?" and Ren hung his head in shame. He hated that he was so stubborn, or maybe he hated that Yuzuru was so insistent on helping someone has hopeless as him. Couldn't he just pay his dues and get back to life?
Shoya stared at him. "You know, I really don't mind. If you're helping out with the shop then you can stay here. I'll even lay out a mat for you."
Ren finally raised a shaky voice in protest. "Wh-what if I r-refuse?" he asked, scared of whatever Yuzuru was going to do or say, as he rightfully should be; he was immediately lifted off the ground by the collar of his worn out shirt.
"You're seriously going to just go out there and freeze just because you're too stubborn to accept our help? We get it, you want everything to be even between us, but we can't just let you freeze!" she said as she shook him. "But if you really try to run out… then fine…" Yuzuru said, settling down. "Just know that if you go out there and sleep in the freezing cold, maybe even the snow, after all the times we've offered shelter to you, I'm going to start looking a lot more like the reaper to you."
Shoya looked incredibly surprised at Yuzuru's behavior, and Shoko stared in awe of her mannerisms. She was always the tough, uncaring one, but now, she seemed to act almost motherly towards this kid. Did she really see herself that much? Shoya could see it a little. But was it enough to warrant her odd behavior? Maybe not.
Yuzuru found herself in an odd position. She was lonely; she felt lonely from being the third wheel every time she hung out with her favorite people. To salt the wound, her other best friend was not yet in town, and she didn't have any friends at school. Yuzuru also had spent plenty of time reflecting on all of the nice things that Shoya had done to try to make Shoko happy, or even just the nice things that he did no matter what. He spent time with Yuzuru, being a friend, even to this day. He saved both of them, and he was unconditionally nice towards both of them. It was due to these reflections that Yuzuru regretted her hostility towards him. This regret, amplified by her feelings of loneliness, the stress of school, and the few similarities between herself and Ren made her very sentimental. It crushed her to see someone so stubborn that they would rather risk freezing to death than owe anyone anything.
"G-gomenasai… (I'm very sorry...)" Ren said, after the rant. "B-but, you see… I've always felt like I'm a burden on people. Back when I lived with my Aunt and Uncle, they would constantly remind me of how much management I required. So… I decided to rid everyone of that burden…" Shoya and Yuzuru, who heard his reasoning, both were taken aback and painfully reminded of how Shoko used to think. "But I would still carry the burden, so nobody else would have to. Haha… I guess I failed then, huh? I'm still in front of you two, burdening you by wasting your time and space…"
The three of them were dead silent for a bit. Shoya spoke up first. "Look, it's not a waste of time or space to me, and I think I speak for Shoko and Yuzuru too. We may not know each other well, but I can tell from your determination to pay us back that you're a great guy. Personally, I just hate to see someone freeze or starve… I mean… it's not a burden to me, it's just the right thing to do."
Ren stared in awe. Shoya really was a great guy; he seemed to have a heart of gold.. Yuzuru piped up. "I don't really have a good reason other than that, I guess. I know I've said it before, but you remind me of myself when I'd run away from home. I guess I know how my sister must've felt all those times I left…" Shoko just glanced around, feeling the tension in the room.
Ren remained silent for a few moments. He suddenly asked a question he would immediately regret asking. "A-are you guys like my foster parents now or something?" He immediately slapped his hand over his mouth. "S-sorry…" he said quietly. Shoya and Yuzuru just laughed.
"Well I'd say we'll all be your older siblings, but Shoya here-" she pointed at Shoya, "-is dating my sister, and incest is nasty!" she said while sticking her tongue out and pulling an eyelid down. Shoya just smiled and looked over at Shoko, who seemed to be just as lost as she was before. As Shoya began explaining everything with signs, Yuzuru continued. "So let's just be friends! Friends take care of friends, yeah?" Yuzuru said, matter-of-factly.
Ren finally had a friend group. He loved it; he loved everything about it. The group spent a lot of time chatting, even Shoko, who could hear bits and pieces and would pipe in in response. Ren felt like the borders that he put up between them had vanished. They chatted about nonsense, and he felt a real bond between them all. They all talked, laughed, and bickered for the next few hours. They brought up sleeping arrangements, and it was decided that Ren was not allowed to sleep outside until he had a heavy-duty, waterproof sleeping bag. He insisted that he would work for it alone, but Yuzuru , Shoko, and Shoya each insisted, more strongly than Ren, upon pitching in some.
For the next few days, Ren spent his days working with Ms. Ishida, who was more than happy to let him stay over as long as he needed, and a small store, which was just as happy. He was making around 1,000¥ every day. Shoya would often be gone all day to spend time with Shoko, and after Ren showed real competence in helping Yuzuru while the other two were out on dates, they decided that Yuzuru didn't actually need their help, and that Ren was plenty good at it. Depsite being out of school for over a year, and being totally unfamiliar with the concepts Yuzuru was learning about, Ren managed to make sense of it enough to provide assistance.
"Hey, you know, you're actually super smart." Yuzuru said out of the blue, one day. "You should probably go to a high school."
Ren blushed at the compliment. "W-well, I did work really hard during middle school, but I sort of lost the drive to become educated soon after…" he said. Yuzuru said nothing and nodded. She didn't have to ask what he meant; she knew that he had lost his house and family during his third year of middle school. "H-hey, don't be gloomy though! You never know, I may end up going to high school next year! Heck, I'll be more educated than some of the other kids since you've taught me so much!"
Yuzuru just smiled and shook her head. "You're such an odd blend of people. You remind me of myself, Shoya, and Shoko."
"R-really? Even Shoko too?" Ren asked. "Does that mean that Shoya might try to put the moves on me?" he said, drawing a giggle out of Yuzuru. "But from what I know about you all, that is a really nice compliment, so- er- thank you." he said awkwardly.
Yuzuru smiled. "You're golden, man. I read that in a book somewhere, take it to heart." she said goofily, pointing at him as she stood up. "Well I should be going, not that my mom is worried about me, but I don't wanna risk getting grounded. Then I wouldn't be able to come out here." she said. Ren walked her back to her apartment complex, chatting along the way. Ren and Yuzuru signed to each other a "see you later," one of the signs that Ren had picked up on from his time with three sign language speakers.
"Golden, huh?…" he thought as he wished Ms. Ishida good night and walked back upstairs into Shoya's room.
