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 :)
The next morning, Ren woke up from daylight filtering through the window. He sat up in his cot and looked around, wondering just how many people were awake already. In the opposite end of the room, he saw Shoya snoozing lightly, his phone in his hand, his hair messy, and his mouth drooling.
"Ahh... I wish I could sleep like that... But I have work to do!" Ren thought as he got up and got dressed for work. He walked downstairs quietly and left through the backdoor, so that the doorbell wouldn't jingle. He walked to the grocery store and got to work, stocking shelves, pushing carts, and running the cash register.
While Ren was working, some familiar and new faces showed up to buy groceries. First, a few hours into his shift Ren saw Shoya and Shoko together. They were picking up a can of milk tea and green tea, respectively before going out on a date. Naturally, The two went to Ren's register to check out. "Hey, man! I didn't know you worked here, I thought you worked for my mom!" he said curiously.
Ren nodded. "I still do, but I don't want to be a leech. I started working so I could pay your mom for food and you for letting me sleep in your room." he said quietly, since he doubted that Shoya would want to accept any payment. Shoya, as Ren predicted, voiced this opinion, but Ren stayed headstrong. "Please? It's like rent, right? If you don't want it, you can give it to your mother."
Shoya sighed. "Well, I'll see. Just don't break your bank, okay? You need the money more than I do." he said as he finished paying for the two of them and cracked open his milk tea. "I'll see you later, man." he said as he walked by. "Ahh, please just accept the money, Shoya… I don't wanna be a parasite, man..." Ren thought to himself as Shoya passed him and waited by the door.
Shoko remained near the cash register though; clearly she had something to say. "Wen, than 'uh for 'elping Yujuwuh study. She did really well on 'er ejams! (Ren, thank you for helping Yuzuru study. She did really well on her exams!)" she said with a bow, before walking back up to Shoya and grasping his hand. They all signed a "later." "Huh... that's awesome!" Ren thought as he got back to work.
Ren continued to man the cash register. About forty minutes after Shoya left, Ms. Nishimiya entered with Yuzuru in tow. "Ahh, there's Yuzuru, and… her terrifying mother." he thought as the sliding automatic doors closed behind them. The two seemed to be preoccupied with shopping, but Yuzuru saw no reason to let shopping interfere with fun. Her mother shrugged, as if to say, "Go ahead."
Ren bowed a hello to the two, and Yuzuru came over. "Hey! I heard Shoko came by earlier, she said that you two talked for a bit!"
Ren nodded. "Yeah, she told me that you did really well on your exams. That's really amazing news, dude!" Ren said excitedly.
Yuzuru confidently pointed at herself. "What Shoko forgot to mention was, that I got first place!" she said with a bright smile. Ren's eyes widened. "Woah, that's crazy! I would've never guessed she was so smart just from the time we spent studying together..." he thought. He made the right choice, not voicing his thoughts, since they would probably get him beat up. After Ren congratulated her again, Yuzuru ran to catch up with her mom, so that she didn't lose her patience.
Ms. Nishimiya came by his lane to check out the groceries. As he scanned them, she spoke up. "So, Ren, what school do you go to?" she asked calmly.
Ren blinked and stared for a second. "U-um, I haven't gone to school in a little while..." he said nervously. He was terrified of the judgment that would get him.
Ms. Nishimiya smiled. "I see. Neither did Yuzuru, for a while. I hope you settle on a high school soon, though." she said as she picked up her bagged groceries and began to walk outside. "Come on, Yuzuru. You'll see him later, I'm sure."
Yuzuru followed but turned around to face Ren. She mouthed out an "I'm sorry!" without actually speaking aloud.
Ren continued work for just over another three hours, after which he walked back to the Ishida residence. "Just a few more days and I'll get my first paycheck!" he thought excitedly as he walked, anxious to pay back Ms. Ishida and Shoya. After a few more hours of work, he went upstairs to relax. Shoya was out, probably with Shoko. "I'll bet that Yuzuru is out too…" Ren thought as he got comfortable on his cot. He kicked himself for worrying about that.
Time flew, as days repeated like this. He would occasionally see Shoya or the Nishimiyas at the store, and several times, Yuzuru would just walk down to the store by herself. At the end of the week, Ren anxiously went up to collect his earnings, which were cash. He waited to count the money until he got back into the Ishida residence, where he opened the envelope that held the money within. "Woah! So much money!" Ren said excitedly as he flashed the notes in front of his face. He handed Ms. Nishimiya her money, which she was hesitant to take, and left Shoya his, since he was currently at college. Ren counted the money he had reserved to himself; it was more than he expected. He had around 9,100¥ to spend on himself. He knew exactly what he wanted- a smartphone!
Though Ren had been aware of smartphones for most of his life (that he can remember), he has never once even touched one or held one in his hands. Ren was always scared of breaking something that was valuable because he felt like he would never be able to afford to reimburse the owner. When he would see Shoya using his phone, Ren realized just how practical they were; especially since he could contact his friends with one.
Yuzuru came over that night, and Shoya was currently out with Shoko. "Hey, Yuzuru!" Ren said, greeting her with a smile. "Guess what I got today!" he said, holding his remaining money out in front of himself, displaying it for Yuzuru.
"Woah! Just how much did you work this week?" she asked, legitimately impressed.
Ren rubbed the back of his neck. "I lost count… but that's not important! Will you take me somewhere I can get a cool new phone?" Ren asked politely. Yuzuru couldn't refuse, she agreed to do so, and the two departed immediately. "So, how much do these cost, huh?" Ren asked innocently.
"Around 7,000¥ for a decent one, I'd say." Yuzuru said with her finger on her chin. "But you have plenty, right?"
Ren sighed, knowing that he would probably be completely out of money after today. "Y-yeah…" he said despondently. "I'll be fine!"
The two walked for a little bit, chit chatting back and forth. Suddenly, something popped into Ren's head. "H-hey, Yuzuru! When is your birthday?" he asked, abruptly.
"That's a secret!" Yuzuru said with a mischievous grin. "You aren't subtle, I can tell that you want to get me some sort of present. Well, it's sweet, but no way am I gonna let you spend your hard-earned money on me!"
Ren blushed. "B-but you said you'd be treating me to laser tag! It's only fair that I do something for you…" he said, looking away shyly.
Yuzuru blushed, but her tone didn't change. "Doesn't matter, you're going to have fun on your birthday, which is super soon! Why not focus on your own instead of mine?"
The two talked about it for a few more minutes about it until they "agreed" that Yuzuru is right and cannot be challenged. Of course, deep down, Ren knew that he would still buy her something, but he was still too timid to admit that in front of Yuzuru.
Also on the way to the phone store, a subject that had been on Yuzuru's mind had came up. "Hey, Ren... don't answer this if you don't want to, but I'm curious." she began. "You said you went to school before, what's up with that?" She asked the question nervously, as if Ren can and might break just from hearing it.
Ren rubbed his chin thoughtfully, something that relieved Yuzuru, who was worried that he'd look sad instead of thoughtful. "Well, um..." Ren began, but he slowed himself to articulate his words. "The thing is, I did. I went to school up until last year. I was actually a grade ahead of everyone else. So now that I'm homeless- er- was, was homeless, for a little while- I decided to take a break. I probably should save up and go back, but it's too late, I think..." He said the last part a little sadly, making Yuzuru want to drop the subject.
After considerably more lighthearted chatting, they got to the phone store, and Yuzuru helped Ren pick out a phone with a good plan at a decent price. He ended up getting one that had unlimited talk and text, for a small fee every month. They also got Ren a nice charger for it. After those purchases, Ren had around 800¥ left in his pocket. Ironically, they spent a majority of the last chunk of money on a new wallet for Ren to carry his next paycheck in.
The two walked back to the Ishida household, where Ren excitedly showed off his new phone to Ms. Ishida before heading back upstairs with Yuzuru in tow. "Thank you, thank you Yuzuru!" Ren said excitedly beaming with joy.
Yuzuru smiled back. "No problem, I didn't really do anything!" she said with a laugh.
The next week followed a similar pattern as the previous week, with three main differences. One difference was that Ren had his "birthday" closing in on him. Ren was adamant that he didn't even need to play laser tag, despite how fun it sounded. Yuzuru, of course, ignored this and threatened violence if he continued to act like that. The second difference was that Ren had to figure out how to best use his phone. Ren had trouble surfing the internet and connecting to WiFi. He got Shoya's phone number so he could text him easily, but he had yet to ask for Yuzuru's number. "That could've been… risky, to say the least…" he thought, when, one night, he was on the verge of asking her. The last difference was that Ren was practicing sign language with Shoya.
Ren went to go collect his earnings on Saturday afternoon, after having worked for four hours prior. This time, he put all of his money in his wallet, where it was safely stored. He walked back to the Ishida household, paid the Ishidas, and left.
Yuzuru was out, scouting. She knew of a local laser tag place, but this was not the matter at hand. She wanted to find ingredients to make Ren a bunch of sweets, as well as whatever food that he expressed interest in within the next week. Yuzuru had many people funding her efforts; Ms. Ishida, Shoya, Shoko, and her mom all pitched in to make Ren's birthday celebration, which would be soon, a reality. On top of this, they would have a formal celebration of the New Year.
Yuzuru found ingredients for chocolate cake, as Ren seemed to enjoy chocolate things quite a lot. She also picked up noodles for the New Year's celebration. After her items were bagged, she got a notification on her phone. "Huh… somebody's at the door…" she thought as she read it. She walked back to her apartment, her grocery bags in her hands, and she pressed the button for the elevator to come down. The door opened, and out walked Ren. "A-ah…" Ren began to say as he quickly shoved his phone into his pocket. He nervously backed up into the corner of the elevator.
"R-Ren? So you're the one who rung the doorbell! What's wrong?" Yuzuru asked, also hiding what she had in her hands, but behind her back. Ren shook his head; he looked like a deer in headlights. "What were you doing?" she asked suspiciously.
Ren broke out into a sweat. "Please, I was just looking for my… phone!" he said, pulling it out of his pocket and displaying that it had been "found."
Yuzuru frowned. "Just tell the truth before you regret bold-faced lying to me." she commanded, obviously aware that Ren was lying through his teeth. "You better not have been doing anything stupid, cause if you were, I'll punch you." she warned, as he inched his way past her, out of the elevator.
"I-I won't regret it!" he said shyly then jubilantly, as he began bolting out of and away from the apartment building. "Yes! Everything worked out well!"
Earlier, Ren was visiting the Nishimiya household. He did not know the other two Nishimiyas well, and he knew that Yuzuru was out doing something. However, this did not stop him from his intended goals; he was actually trying to avoid Yuzuru for once. After he paid the Ishidas his weekly dues, explained to Ms. Ishida where he was going.
"Excuse me!" Ren said to get her attention. "While there is nobody in the shop, may I go to the Nishimiya residence? I have to act quickly, while Yuzuru is still out…" he added.
"Oh? Well that's quite alright, business is moving slowly today! Please, do be safe, Ren!" she said.
"Thank you, Ms. Ishida! I'll be back soon!" he said as he ran out of the door. He walked over to the apartment complex, careful to look out for Yuzuru. If he saw Yuzuru at all, his plan could be ruined for the day. The coast seemed to be clear everywhere he looked, so he proceeded. He made his way to the door and knocked. "Aw, crap… Shoko won't be able to hear it..." Ren thought, wondering what to do. He saw a doorbell, which seemed to include fancy technology within. He pressed it, wondering if it made some sort of visual alert within.
Shoko, who was sitting in her room, texting Shoya, got a notification on her phone. "Your house has a visitor!" it said, notifying her that somebody had rung the doorbell. She walked over to the door and looked out of the peephole to see who it was. "Ren's here?" she thought as she pulled open the door. "Ahh, sowwy, Yuju izzn' here... (Ahh, sorry, Yuzu isn't here...)" Shoko said.
Ren, in his best sign language, signed. "No." with a smile. Shoko gasped. She signed back, asking him, "How did you learn sign language so fast?" and he paused. He was nowhere near fluent in it, but he knew some basics. He scratched his head, trying to remember. "Sho...ya" he signed back. Shoko giggled. It made her really happy that not only was Ren bothering to learn, but Shoya was kind enough to teach him. "Then whass up, Wen? (Then what's up, Ren?)" Shoko asked.
Ren's reason for coming to the apartment came up. "Ah…" he said out loud as he struggled to remember how to ask this. "When is Yuzuru's birthday?" he signed, blushing a little at it. He knew that Yuzuru would never tell him himself, so Shoko could be a reliable source of information. Shoko giggled at him and smiled. She told him and gave him a knowing look. Ren, who didn't notice the look, immediately took his phone out and copied the information into it. "February 25! It's so far away!" he thought as he signed a "Thank you," and a "See you later!" to Shoko. "Damn, I'm so lucky that she was home!" he thought, realizing that she just as easily could've been with Shoya.
He ran to the elevator, where, upon his planned exit, he ran into Yuzuru. He crammed his phone into his pocket, to hide the fact that he was downloading a calendar app, and he ran out as soon as he could. Yuzuru was obviously suspicious of whatever Ren was doing, but she couldn't chase after him and risk letting him see what it was that she was doing. Instead, when she got up to her apartment, she opened the door to a grinning Shoko. "What was he over here for?" she asked while signing. Shoko had a knowing, smug look on her face, but she asked right back, "'Oo? Ah don' know 'oo 'ou're talkinn about! (Who? I don't know who you're talking about!)"
For the next week or so, Ren made trips to the Nishimiya household, where he would talk to Shoko, who was helping him with ideas for Yuzuru's birthday celebration, despite the fact that it was so far away. For the very near event of Christmas, Shoko helped him with present ideas, and for the far event of Yuzuru's birthday, Shoko helped him with celebration ideas. From what Ren gathered, Yuzuru absolutely loved her camera, and she liked to have fun. She was very easy to please; whether it was the fair, the circus, laser tag, or even a movie, Ren could take her somewhere and she would very likely enjoy herself.
As it was mentioned previously, Yuzuru's birthday was several months away, but Ren wanted to at least get her a Christmas present. Ren looked around town, trying to find out where Yuzuru's camera came from. He planned on getting her a new lens, so that she could take pictures in different qualities of light. Yuzuru spotted him walking around while she was grocery shopping for last minute preparations (Ren's birthday party was in just a week). She started to quietly follow him, careful not to let him see her.
"Why does he always look so suspicious?" Yuzuru thought as he got close to an electronics store. Before entering, he looked around and spotted Yuzuru. "Aw, shit..." Yuzuru mumbled as she walked up to him like nothing was off. "Yo, Ren! What're you up to?" she said, walking up to him.
Ren was holding a piece of paper in his hand, but he crammed it into his pocket. "O-oh, I was just looking for a phone case!" he said. "Do you wanna help me find one?" he asked, and Yuzuru of course obliged. Yuzuru pointed out some high-quality ones, but Ren didn't seem keen on buying any of them. He made an excuse for why one was insufficient, but he would deny one that has whatever the previous one lacked. "S-sorry for wasting your time, maybe I don't want a phone case today…" he said, looking at the ground. "Something is definitely up with him…" Yuzuru thought as he walked her home.
The next day, Yuzuru had a plan of attack. Yuzuru knew that Shoya was out with Shoko, so she had the perfect opportunity to strike. When she went up to the Ishida residence to see Ren, she decided that she was going to solve this mystery, as well as figure out what Ren kind of things Ren liked to eat. "Hey, Ren!" she said cheerfully. "Can you do me a favor? I'm going to be out of town tomorrow, my sister is taking me shopping. Nobody will be home to watch my camera, and Shoya will have class. Can you please keep it safe with you?" she implored.
Ren nodded, but he said, "I don't mind, but wouldn't it be safe at home? I mean, your apartment probably wouldn't get broken into!"
Yuzuru shrugged. "Well, I can't be sure, that's just the thing." This was a lie, and though Ren thought the area didn't seem like the type to have lots of crime, he did not personally know anyone in the apartments except for the Nishimiyas, who were amazing people, so he was biased.
Yuzuru clicked her camera. "Keep it charged overnight!" she said as she handed him the cord to ensure that he did so. "And when you go somewhere, please bring it with you!" Ren agreed to all of this, completely unaware that the camera was on, recording what was in front of it. Conveniently for Yuzuru, when Shoya got back from hanging out with Shoko, he fell asleep without realizing that the camera was on, and Ren left with it before he even woke up.
Yuzuru really was going out shopping with her sister. She was going to get a yukata for the New Year's celebration, even though she was furious about having to get one. This was convenient to tell Ren, since he would probably go shopping since he would know that Yuzuru would be gone and therefore not have a chance of catching him out and about in town.
Yuzuru spent around two hours after school shopping with Shoko, who picked out a yukata that even Yuzuru liked. It was black and red- two of her favorite colors. After they acquired the yukata, they boarded a public train to get back to town, and they began to walk to the Ishida residence, where Yuzuru would pick up her camera and thank Ren for protecting it. "Ms. Ishida, I'm here!" Yuzuru called out.
Shoya came downstairs, hearing Yuzuru. Ms. Ishida spoke up, saying. "Oh, Yuzuru. Shoya's upstairs, but I haven't seen Ren..."
Yuzuru went upstairs, looking for Ren. She called out Ren's name, but only Shoya responded. "I thought he was with you, he hasn't been home all day…" Shoya said rubbing his shoulder, now worried. Shoya slipped on some shoes and pulled out his phone to text Ren. "Ah, shoot, his phone isn't even with him!" Shoya said, pointing towards Ren's phone, which was still plugged into the wall.
The two walked back downstairs and asked Ms. Ishida if he had gone anywhere. She suddenly got a worried expression. "He did say that he would be shopping, but he didn't say where he was going…" she said with a confused and concerned tone. She turned her car key, and they set out on searching. "I'm so sorry, I should've been more attentive! But I'm sure he's alright!" Ms. Ishida said to calm down her passengers, who were obviously distressed. Ms. Ishida couldn't help but feel distressed herself.
Yuzuru had a good idea of where he would be, so she gave the instructions to Ms. Ishida. They were going to an electronics store, the one that Yuzuru spotted him acting suspiciously at a few days prior. When they got to the store, Yuzuru was the only one who went inside. "Excuse me! Have you seen a boy, slightly shorter than me, very thin?" she asked, describing Ren to the clerk.
"Oh, yeah! He just came by twenty minutes ago, asking about a lens." the cashier informed her. "Where he is now, I don't know, sorry." he added.
Yuzuru frowned. "He was trying to buy me a present…" she thought. She thanked the cashier, and as she did so, she heard the door open abruptly. Into the store burst Shoya. "Yuzuru! Come quick!" he yelled, and Yuzuru followed, picking up on the urgency of the situation. She followed Shoya, who led her into an alley, where Ms. Ishida was tending to somebody.
The person was curled into a ball, covered in bruises, scraped all up. "Oh… god…" Yuzuru thought as she stepped forward slowly, and her worried eyes welled up with tears. Ms. Ishida was trying her best to get the person to look up, but they would not budge. "Hey, come on, it's me… please, come with us…" she said, her voice breaking and herself starting to cry. Shoya had also been trying to get the person to budge, to no avail.
"Ren…" Yuzuru said with a choked-up voice. "I-it's me, Ren. It's Yuzuru…"
Upon hearing Yuzuru's voice, the bruised mess, who was Ren, shifted himself to be on his butt. Before, he was on his forearms and knees, surprisingly not covering his head, but something else. He looked up at Yuzuru with one eye, as the other was bruised and swollen shut. Blood from his nose covered the bottom half of his face, as well as his shirt. His pockets were turned out, meaning his money was all gone.
Despite all of this apparent agony, he had a grin on his face when he saw Yuzuru. "Yuzuru… I kept it safe…" he muttered before passing out. In his arms was Yuzuru's camera, the green light still on, still recording, and still in one piece.
