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 was back at the electronics store, asking about types of lenses with the cashier. "So, what types of lenses would go really well with this camera?" he asked, lifting Yuzuru's Nikon camera up for the cashier to see. The two discussed the different types, and Ren settled on the one that he would be saving up for. He would be getting her a wide angle lens, so that she could take pictures up-close without losing any detail.

As he walked out, with this in his mind, he fumbled around with the camera, wondering what it looked like from the photographer's point of view. Unfortunately, this garnered some unwanted attention. "Hey, kid. Nice camera, mind if I borrow it?" a tall stranger asked. He was accompanied by other tall adults.

"Ah, sorry, I'm supposed to protect this at all costs." he replied, and this is when it got physical. The man reached out and tried to take the camera from him, but Ren bit his hand, forcing him to let go. Ren bolted into an alley, trying to escape this perilous situation, but he didn't realize that he was cornering himself until it was too late. Of course, when he turned around, he was met with a volley of punches and kicks, so he curled into a ball to protect the camera.

They tried to steal the camera still, but they gave up after a few minutes of Ren not budging. "Ah, screw it. Just take everything else…" one of them said. They looted his wallet, which had almost 10,000¥ in it. They turned around to leave him alone, but the original one, conscious of the pain in his hand from where Ren bit it, turned back around and kicked him in the side of the face, giving him a nosebleed and knocking him out.


"Huh?" Ren muttered as he woke up from having been knocked out. He was in the back of Ms. Ishida's car, which he had only ever seen, never touched. "What happened…" he asked, rubbing his head, which stung to touch, making him recoil.

"Ren…" Yuzuru started to say, but she was too choked up to manage anything else.

Ms. Ishida spoke up. "Ren, we are taking you to Ms. Nishimiya's apartment. She works at a hospital, and she's volunteered to help you after Yuzuru told her what happened."

Ren laid his head back. "Huh? Help? But I still don't get it, I'm fine…" he said weakly, making Shoya turn around.

"Ren, I'm going to start walking you to and from work, okay?" he said shakily. Shoya had begun to feel like an older brother to Ren, and he felt like he had to protect him. "Oh, and I'll tell your boss that you'll be out for a few days."

"O-out?! No, I gotta work! I can't pay you back if I don't work! I can't get-" he began to say, but he stopped himself, realizing that Yuzuru was in the car. Of course, he didn't know that Yuzuru already knew what he was going to be getting her, so he still intended on buying the lens with the purpose of pleasantly surprising her.

"Look, you are in no shape to work, okay?" Shoya said. "Yuzuru will let you work as soon as you get better." he said, gesturing towards Yuzuru, whom Shoya knew Ren was somewhat scared of. Ren glanced at Yuzuru, but instead of looking scary or imposing, she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Shoya cleared his throat. "A-anyways, just don't try to go anywhere, okay? I'll bring your phone over in a little bit."

Shoko looked over to him. "Wen... please let uzz 'help you." she said, in a tone more demanding than Ren had ever heard her.

Ren nodded his head and closed his eyes. The pain and soreness made him fall asleep for the rest of the car ride. As soon as he fell asleep, Shoko reached over and held Yuzuru's hand. Shoya looked back and gave a sad look. Yuzuru was shaking and unsuccessfully trying to hold back tears. Seeing all of this from the rearview mirror, Ms. Ishida said, "Dear... everything is going to be alright. Take it easy on him for the next while, but take it easy on yourself, too." she said, glancing from the road to Yuzuru's reflection every few seconds. At this, Yuzuru let her tears flow out.


After they got to the apartment complex, Shoya and Yuzuru helped carry Ren, who, after insisting that he could walk, collapsed while stepping out of the car. They carried him onto the elevator, and into the Nishimiya residence, where Shoko immediately went to get a warm towel to wipe his bloodied face. "Ah uh ogay? (Are you okay?)" she asked quietly, seeing the ragged state he was in. Ren nodded, but at this point, even the headstrong boy knew that it wasn't true. Shoya and Shoko spent a few minutes trying to comfort Ren while Yuzuru drew a hot bath for him.


Shoya departed to get Ren's phone, and the Nishimiya girls helped carry the weak boy to the bathroom. "I-I'll take it from here…" Ren said as he shut the bathroom door. "I'll holler if I need anything." He got undressed and soaked his body in the tub for a little while. "Damn, everything kinda hurts…" he thought as he scrubbed himself down. He let the water soothe his aching muscles for a while before pulling the drain plug and, with effort, standing up and drying off. "Y-Yuzuru?" he called out to her.

"Yeah?" she called back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just need some clothes…" Ren replied shyly.

Yuzuru went to go get Ren some clothes, but of course they had to be from her closet. Nobody else in the household wore boy's clothes, or even wore clothes that small. Yuzuru blushed a little while picking them out, since she knew that Ren would be wearing her clothes. She walked back to the bathroom, and knocked. "Are you decent?" she asked, and upon confirmation, she entered the bathroom. She instinctively looked away from him, since, towel or not, he was shirtless. Ren thanked her and got dressed once the door was shut.


Yuzuru slumped against the wall. "It's all my fault… I'm a monster…" she thought as tears began to come to her eyes. Ren opened the door, now dressed in clothes that were very slightly too big for him. "Th-thank you so much…" Ren said politely. She helped him walk to the bedroom, where Shoko had laid out a cot for him to sleep on. He signed "Thank you," to Shoko, and laid down. Shoko went to get him some food and water, since he seemed to have lost a lot of energy. Meanwhile, Yuzuru stayed by his side.

"Yuzuru, I'm really sorry for being a burden like this…" he said sadly.

Ironically, the sad one was Yuzuru. She, for the second time today, broke down and started crying, and said through the tears, "N-No! I'm the b-burden! I did this to you…" She went on to explain the idea she had for her camera, how she never wanted him to spend so much money on her, and how she wished that she could rewrite the past. Ren listened attentively, but Ren could only focus on how sad he felt for making her cry.


Shoko interrupted the heartbreaking scene, since she didn't even know what was going on. "Sh-shnacks? (S-snacks?)" she asked, setting the tea and snacks down on Yuzuru's bedside table before bowing. "Pwease rest soon... (Please rest soon)" she said like a worried mother before turning around and walking back out. Ren and Yuzuru couldn't help but smile at Shoko's sweetness.

Ren spoke up again. "Yuzuru… I forgive you, so please don't cry. I'm just glad that I protected your camera… Shoya told me that that thing is more important to you than anything else in this world, haha…" he said, not sure why he was suddenly feeling sad. He noticed that he had been staring at the ceiling, so he sat up to see Yuzuru's expression. She seemed like she was on the verge of tears, once again. Suddenly, that expression changed to one of panic.

"R-Ren!" she said in a panicked tone. "Ahh, shit!" she exclaimed as she got up and ran out. Ren was confused as to what she was talking about, but he noticed it soon enough. Blood was flowing out of his nose, just as it had done when he was kicked in the face, probably no more than thirty minutes ago. Ren leaned his head back to stop the blood from flowing so quickly, giving Yuzuru more time to get back. She got back soon enough to plug his nose before too much blood got onto Yuzuru's shirt that he was wearing.


"I'm really sorry for ruining your shirt" Ren said. Yuzuru wasn't saying much, because of the awkward situation she had been placed in. "Maybe this is God's revenge on me for embarrassing Shoya so much…" she thought. Yuzuru was so embarrassed due to the fact that Ren just took his shirt off. "I feel like I shouldn't have sat up so quickly…" he said.

"N-no, don't worry about it." Yuzuru replied without looking at Ren. She went to get a warm washcloth for him. "Look, don't make this any more awkward for me than it has to be…" Yuzuru said as she slowly wiped Ren's face down, cleaning the blood from off of his nose, chin, and neck. He kept flinching, but he stayed quiet. She finished cleaning him up and sat back. "Look, I know you said you forgive me, but you really shouldn't… I just wish you let them take the camera instead…"

"What? No way! This is your camera, nobody is gonna take it on my watch!" Ren said assertively, and Yuzuru smiled.

"Well, thank you Ren… you really are golden…" Yuzuru said as she stood up to get Ren the food and drinks from her nightstand. Ren blushed fiercely. "Golden…" he thought as he laid back and covered his torso with a blanket, since it was now burning from the blush. "Is something wrong?" Yuzuru asked, and Ren shook his head.


The two talked for a while. Shoko came back in to check on Ren and bring him some painkillers. Ren was very thankful for Shoko's kindness. Ms. Nishimiya, when she got back home, sat down and talked for a moment with the three. She made sure that Ren was alright, and she offered to get him anything. "Thank you for protecting the camera, Ren…" she said sadly. "I don't know if Yuzuru told you this, but she got it from her late grandmother, and my mother, so it's very important to all of us." Shoko just kind of politely smiled, glancing from face to face, unsure whether the conversation was going good or bad, since her mother always had a stern face. She relaxed at Yuzuru's snickering.

After the others left, Ren ate slowly, but he got the food down. After he was done eating, he expected to be able to fall asleep easily, but he found that he was unable to. Yuzuru, for one was tired. "What's wrong, man?" she asked tiredly from her bed. She was laying down, scrolling on her phone, but she could hear him toss and turn and see him constantly running his hands through his hair. "Something's bothering you, right? Is there more blood?"


Ren tossed and turned, then faced Yuzuru. "Umm… yeah, I'm having a little trouble falling asleep…" he said, embarrassed. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine!" he said, trying to reassure her.

Yuzuru was not easily convinced. "You still seem wide awake, man…" she said, not wanting to put up with his stubbornness at this hour. "I would get you medicine, but you've already taken some. Do you need food or something?"

"N-no, it's too embarrassing. Please, don't worry about it!" Ren said as he turned back over and ran his hands through his hair, a habit that Yuzuru had never seen him do.

"Is your hair that soft?" Yuzuru asked, teasing him.

He turned around and stuck his tongue out. "No, it just helps me sleep when I do this, or at least it used to…" he said sadly, as if he desperately wished he could just be asleep right now.


Yuzuru stayed quiet for a little bit. Ren was facing away from her, but she could see that he was still running his hands through his hair, trying to force himself to sleep. A sudden thought made her blush and her heart beat quicker. "Should… I try?..." she thought for a moment. She shook her head, dismissing the idea, and laid down. For the next twelve or so minutes, Ren tossed and turned. Clearly, passing out had messed up his sleep schedule, and even without that, thinking about the events of the day had kept him up. Yuzuru could no longer stand it.

Yuzuru bit the bullet and slowly stepped out of her bed. Apparently, Ren couldn't hear her, so she was able to sneak up on him without a hitch. She kneeled down next to him, and upon feeling the movement, Ren turned over and gasped. "J-jeez! Wh-what's wrong, Yuzuru?" he asked.

Yuzuru sat down and sighed. "I can tell that you won't be able to fall asleep normally. So lay down on your stomach." she said commandingly.

"Wh-what? I'm perfectly comfortable, in fact I was about to fa-" he began, but Yuzuru cut him off.

"Lay on your back or I'm going to start tickling you." she said without an ounce of joking in her tone. Despite the funny nature of what she ordered, Ren was too scared of her tone to disobey, so he flipped onto his stomach, his blushing face cocked, turning away from her.


"I never did this, and if anyone ever asks you, I never did this. If you tell someone I did this, which I never did, I won't talk to you ever again." Yuzuru said as she crawled over to Ren. Ren gulped and nodded in approval, but he was not entirely sure what it was that he was nodding for. Yuzuru suddenly began to run her hands through his hair, massaging his scalp, even scratching it a little bit with her nails. It was obvious just by Ren doing it that that would help him fall asleep. Yuzuru's logic was, "Maybe he can't fall asleep right now if he's the one doing it?"

Each time Yuzuru's fingers touched his hair, Ren felt a wave of relief and exhaustion come over him. Before passing out, he muttered, "Thank you…"

Yuzuru continued to comb his hair with her fingers, even after she was confident that he was completely out cold. "I'm such a creep…" she thought, embarrassed that she felt so nice running her hands through his hair. This was perhaps not the first time that Yuzuru felt a little closer to Ren than "just friends," but it certainly was the first time that she acted on these feelings. She spent around another twenty minutes, just feeling his hair. Its smooth, slightly curly texture made Yuzuru wish that she could do this more often. "Maybe I'll pull a Sho-… well… maybe not…" she thought as she considered acting further on her feelings. She stood up and went back to her own bed, where she stayed awake for a little while, feeling disgust for her own creepy actions in concept and love for them in action.


The next morning, Yuzuru felt strange. "Ughh… what the hell..." Yuzuru thought as she sat up in her bed, staring at the sleeping boy in his cot. In her heart, she felt a longing, like she wanted something so badly, yet she either couldn't pinpoint what it was for, or she didn't want to. In standard Yuzuru-fashion, she just ignored her emotions and laid back down.


Ren was the next one to awaken. He turned over, looking at Yuzuru as she slept in her bed a few feet away. He stared at her hair for a bit, wondering what it would feel like if he returned the favor she gave to him. He shook his head, dismissing the creepy thought. He then sat up and looked around for a bit, admiring all of the cool things that Yuzuru kept in her room. It was small, but it was filled to the brim with books and photographs, many of which she had described in conversation.

Ren sighed. "If life is treating me so well, why do I want more?" he thought sadly. He, like Yuzuru, felt a longing, and also just like Yuzuru, he subconsciously denied it and tried to repress it. Neither were exactly sure what they were missing, but they knew something was.

Ren laid back down. He was not feeling up to any sort of task he would have today. When the time came for Yuzuru to go to school, Ren was surprised that she didn't get up and go. "Oh, silly me… she must be on break…" he thought, remembering how close Christmas and New Year's Day were. "Oh no… now I can't get her a present…" As he realized this, he subconsciously began to run his hands through his hair, trying to go back to sleep and push the sadness away.


When Yuzuru woke up again, she looked over at Ren and saw, due to natural light, that his hand was in his hair. She also saw that his eyes were shut tightly, and they seemed to leak slightly, like he had just been crying. "What've I done?…" Yuzuru thought sadly, feeling like she was the source of Ren's misery, not knowing that it was just because he couldn't afford a present any longer.

When the natural light became too bright and Yuzuru couldn't stand the taste in her mouth any longer, she stood up and went to the bathroom. She was more awake at this point, but she still sort of wished that she could crawl back in her bed. "I have to take care of Ren today, so I'll probably be in my room anyways…" she thought while brushing her teeth. She walked back into her room and flopped back onto her bed. Her eyelids weren't heavy enough for her to easily fall asleep again, since she's been up and moving, so instead, she sat up and looked through her phone.


Ren woke up from the natural light, yawned, and wiped his eyes off. He saw Yuzuru on her phone. "Good morning…" he muttered as he put a shirt, that appeared to be left out for him, on. Yuzuru wished him a "good morning" back, and Ren tried to stand up. However, his knees buckled, and he fell forwards onto the cot.

"Ren!" Yuzuru cried out as she bolted to help him stand up. "Here, I've got you." she said, soothingly and reassuringly, as she helped him walk to the bathroom.

Ren used his toothbrush, which Shoya seemed to have brought over last night with his phone and clothes. "Huh, he must have only dropped them off…" Ren thought, wondering why Shoya didn't come in and see him. He shrugged it off as he slowly walked out of the bathroom. Yuzuru was waiting for him just outside.

She helped him get to the dining room table, where, just one room over, she and Shoko prepared breakfast. They brought it out to him, and they all sat and ate. Ren felt physically taxed, everything he did vaguely hurt, even eating. Nonetheless, he thanked Yuzuru and Shoko for the meal, eating it just as quick as he usually does, that is to say, not very quickly.


After a little while, Shoya came over to check on Ren and visit in general. Ren started to feel bad for worrying everyone so much. His old feeling of being a burden started to creep up on him again. Throughout the course of the day, he shied away from conversation and spent time on his phone, something that was a constant reminder of the work that he had done to earn it, as opposed to mooching off of someone else.

Yuzuru was conscious of this change. She didn't say anything until they split into two groups, Shoko and Shoya, and Yuzuru and Ren. Since there was privacy, Yuzuru spoke up, and immediately attacked the problem at its root. "Why are you acting like you hate it here, Ren?" she asked, moderately upset.

"Ahh… was it that obvious?" he asked. "Well I don't hate it here, I just feel terrible since I can't work; I'm just sort of a bur-" he said, but he was cut off.

"Don't call yourself a burden." she cut in. "I was the one who burdened you with my camera, so it's my fault that you're hurt. It's not a burden, it's a duty. I want to take care of you; I have to take care of you."

"But a duty is still a torch to burn, yeah? You could free your hands otherwise…" Ren said, somewhat philosophically.

"Wh-what the hell are you on about? Look, we've already had this conversation before, just let me take care of you! Pay me back later, I don't care! Just quit being so gloomy!"

"W-well there is another reason… I feel really bad that I can't get you a Christmas present, even though it's so soon…"

She laughed. "Oh, well I don't mind! I wasn't going to let you spend your money on me anyways…" she said, rubbing her neck. "I'd rather you use it all for yourself! Besides, why would you want a gift for me? The Ishidas have done so much more for you!"


Ren sighed and laid down on his back. "Well, Yuzuru… the truth is…" he began, as he felt his heartbeat hasten. "I…"

Yuzuru's attention was drawn completely towards him now. She was staring intently, maintaining eye contact, which he desperately tried to break away from. "...You what?" she asked after waiting for a moment for him to finish his statement.

"Well… I… just really want to buy you a present, that's all…" he said with a smile. "Besides, it's not like I was gonna exclude the Ishidas!" For some reason, when he said this, he felt bad. "I'm telling her the truth, so why do I feel so guilty?..." Ren thought as he scratched his head. Indeed, he was telling the truth, but subconsciously, it was not what he wanted to say.


Yuzuru felt incredibly disappointed with his response, but she made an effort not so show it, since she wasn't even sure why she was disappointed in the first place. "Oh, well that makes some sense I guess! I guess that's the same reason that I wanted to get you a present!" she said, before covering her own mouth. "Shit! Now he knows I got him one!" she thought, wishing she could take back what she said.

"Ah… ignore what I said, okay?" Yuzuru said, too nervous to look and see what type of look Ren was giving her.

This was a bit of insult to injury to Ren. "So I can't get her a gift, but she's gotten me one… Damn, that's not fair!" Ren thought, frustrated. He didn't voice his frustration though, he just laid down and calmed down. "Well, thank you Yuzuru!" he said after calming down and looking at the bright side. "I'm sorry it's not a surprise, but at least I don't know what you got me!"

Yuzuru sighed. "He's so sweet…" she thought, smiling because of his positive outlook on this. The two spent a little while laying down, chatting. Eventually, they both got hungry and bored, so Yuzuru went to go get some food and a movie to put on. They sat up and watched the movie, which Yuzuru displayed against the wall from a phone projector. Upon hearing the commotion from a movie he had seen before, Shoya walked into the room with Shoko, whom he was holding hands with, and sat down to watch the movie with them all. Ren put his sign language to the test after the movie, seeing how well Shoko understood what he said. Surprisingly for him, he had done a good job.


After the movie, they all chatted a bit out loud and with sign language. The other three were moving far too fast for Ren to keep up with. Ren followed as well as he could, but he ended up just glancing from person to person, just guessing what they were talking about. Eventually he got confused from the lack of movement and noise. Apparently, Shoya had asked him a question, and Ren didn't realize it due to the commotion. "Ren!" Shoya spoke up. "When are you going to high school?"

"O-oh!" he said, surprised at the question. "I'm not sure that I should…"

"We all know that you're smart! You learn really quick!" Shoya said, and Yuzuru nodded. "So, you should totally try it out! Yuzuru did, and she could be your senpai (upperclassman mentor)!"


"Well…" he started as he thought about it. "I wouldn't have much time to work if I went to school…" After some convincing from the other three, Ren agreed to. "I-if you all help me pick one out, and help me study for entrance exams, I'll start next semester…" he said while signing it as best as he could.

"That's really soon! Are you sure?" Shoya asked. He definitely didn't want to stress out Ren with such a burden right now, since he was injured. Ren would have trouble walking around, so it didn't seem likely that they would be able to visit any high schools immediately. "Maybe you're better off just waiting until next school year!"

Ren shook his head. "No, if you guys believe in me, I want to make you proud as soon as I can!"


After they spent a bit chatting, Shoya and Yuzuru vowed to help him study for subjects that would likely be on any sort of entrance exam that he would take for any high school. He started immediately, researching basic math principles and grammar rules, but he already knew these. Yuzuru noticed that everything seemed too easy for him. "What type of school did you go to, back when you went?" she inquired.

"It was prestigious, but I can't remember the name- or maybe I choose not to remember. I just remember not having any friends and wishing that I could just be home. I mean, everything was easy, way too easy for me to waste a bunch of time outside of home… Not that I had one after the fire, of course." he added, more cheerfully than Yuzuru expected.

"R-right…" she said nervously. "So you don't get sad talking about that? Wait, a fire made you homeless?"

Ren shook his head. "It was sad, yeah… but the home I had wasn't welcoming. So I try not to treat it any differently than any other event in my life. And yeah, a fire..." Ren went on to go into detail about his history. He told of how all of his legal guardians, for all of his life, had been cruel to him. They treated him like he was a problem, some sort of burden they wish they never had. He was constantly reminded of, "how grateful he should be." This made him resent his own presence in the world, so when an oil fire broke out, incinerating everything, he made no effort to stop it. It was his big break; he could live his life on his own accord. "When I met you all, and you saved me, I realized just how wrong I had been…" he explained. "I couldn't just live without a care in the world; I couldn't just isolate myself and thrive. Even though that meant that I would be a burden on others…"


Everyone was quiet, especially Shoko, since she again didn't realize what was going on. Shoya and Yuzuru tried to comfort Ren, and Shoko followed suit. "N-no, really! It's okay now!" he said as he shielded himself from their consolation. "Believe me, I'm fine!" he said, to no avail, as everyone crowded around him, overwhelming him with their words and hugs. That night, he could have been suffocated by both the former and the latter, but he wouldn't mind it. Even if his memories pained him, he was surrounded by people who cared enough to ensure that he ends up okay. Burden or not, he was finally at the point where he felt okay without being isolated.