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A drained and defeated sigh left Ren's mouth as he stood on the train station's lone platform. He tugged on the collar of his new, unfamiliar school uniform before digging his phone out of his pocket and checking the time.
5:45AM.
He still had fifteen minutes until the first train of the day arrived but considering how obvious it was that everyone just wanted him out of their hair, he figured he'd do his parents a favour and get out of the house early.
So here he was. Alone. In the early morning chill. While it was still dark outside. All because he tried to help someone and it blew up in his face.
A bitter sigh spilled from his mouth as he pushed up his glasses and stared out into the distance at the train tracks.
"Ren!"
The sudden voice of someone else practically made him jump out of his skin. He turned around with tired eyes to discover his childhood best friend jogging over to him.
"Nanako…? Why are you here?" He asked in a quiet tone.
"Why-? To see you off, obviously! You're gonna be gone for a whole year; you really thought I wouldn't say goodbye?" She replied, baffled that he even felt the need to ask.
"No one else has. Why would you be any different?" Huffed Ren, the reflection of the fluorescent lights on his glasses hiding his eyes from her.
Nanako frowned worriedly. She'd never seen Ren in such a state. Sure, there'd been a few instances where he got into trouble when they were kids, but those usually just resulted in him getting scolded and feeling embarrassed or ashamed… He looked lifeless right now.
The whole situation still didn't make any sense to Nanako. Yes, Ren could be a little mischievous at times and often got into trouble for the pranks he'd pull, but he was never violent. Honestly, Nanako wasn't even sure if he had it in him to be violent. And what made it weirder is that some people on that street said that he didn't hit the guy… So why the hell was he found guilty?
But what really didn't help him was how nosy people are… All it took was a couple of people whispering about how 'the Amamiya's boy got arrested for attacking someone' and then the next thing you knew, it was all over town with everyone shooting Ren dirty looks.
All these years later and the people in Inaba really hadn't changed that much - they were still desperate for anything to gossip about. Nanako could still remember the way all of the housewives in town would whisper to each other whenever she walked past them on her way home from school after her mother died. The phrase 'poor thing' practically haunted her.
If anything, that's why she got along with Ren so well; he really didn't pay attention to anything anyone else said or the fact that she didn't have a mother. Actually the first time they met was at Junes. They made eye contact after Nanako had sang along to the store's jingle and the first words Ren ever spoke to her were
"You're weird."
In that specific brand of bluntness you get from seven year olds. And when Nanako was about to fire back, probably calling him rude or something, he added
"I like weird. Weird's fun."
After that, the two of them got on like a house on fire. They'd play together during school breaks, help each other with their homework, stay over at each other's houses… They even started learning piano together. Nanako could easily say that Ren was one of her best friends.
So it hurt to see him like this.
"Ren, I know you didn't do it." She reassured him like she had done multiple times since his arrest.
"Try telling that to the courts." Ren muttered in a low, monotone huff.
Nanako's frown grew bigger. Her eyebrows raised as she remembered something.
"Have you eaten anything yet?" She asked, slipping her bag off her shoulder.
"I'm not hungry."
"You've got a long journey ahead of you, Ren. You've gotta eat something. It doesn't have to be now but make sure you get something in your system." She chastised him as she forcefully handed him a bento box.
Ren blinked in surprise, having difficulty fully processing what was happening thanks to how early in the morning it was and his already muddled headspace.
"Wh-?"
"Like I said, you need to keep your energy up for a long journey to Tokyo so I made you this." Nanako explained to help her friend's frazzled brain make sense of the situation.
Ren shot her a guilty expression. "Oh, you didn't have t-"
"Nope, not listening. Just say thank you and take it." Nanako cut him off, displaying the stubbornness Rise had taught her to execute sometimes.
Ren froze, looking down at the bento. His ears turned pink as he eventually placed the bento into his bag. "… Thank you."
"There, was that so hard?"
"Don't tease me…" Mumbled Ren with a pout.
Nanako couldn't help but giggle at the adorable look on his flushed face. This was just like when they were kids; teasing each other to get a funny reaction out of the other.
Ren scowled upon hearing this, his cheeks still a shy pink. "Wh-Why'd you even come out to see me this early?! Don't you have a shift at Junes today?"
Nanako flashed him a serene smile. "My shift starts at noon so I can get a few extra hours of sleep once I go home. Besides, Yosuke's the shift manager today and he knows I came to see you off so I'm sure he'll cut me some slack."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "So, you're just taking advantage of your sister-in-law privileges?"
"Nope. Yosuke's just that nice."
"Yeah, to you. That's what I mean by the sister-in-law privileges…"
"Name one person Yosuke isn't nice too."
"Just one? I can name several."
"If it's that easy, give me a name, then."
"Teddie."
"…"
"You know I'm right."
"…"
"You know it's kinda Teddie's fault but you don't wanna say anything 'cause you don't wanna be mean, huh?"
"… No."
"Uh-huh, sure. I can read you like a book." Ren snickered, looking away with a smirk. Nanako decided to let his cheekiness slide, just glad to see some sort of smile on his face again.
"Train now arriving at Yasoinaba Station. Please stand behind the yellow line. Repeat-"
Ren sighed as the announcement came from the nearby speakers. He readjusted his bag on his shoulder, keeping a tight grip on the handle as he watched the train slowly travel down the tracks towards them.
Nanako glanced back at the entrance of the train station. No one was there. She couldn't help but scowl as she felt irritation bubble up inside of her but quickly covered it up with a smile as she turned to face Ren.
"Do you have everything you need?" She asked while they watched the train pull into the station.
"Just the basics. Everything else I need got shipped over beforehand." Ren informed her, waiting for the doors to open.
"That's good to hear."
"Mm-hm."
The doors opened, letting the two know that it was time to say goodbye.
"Well…" Nanako awkwardly smiled as she suddenly struggled to think of what to say. She decided to keep it simple. "You take care, okay?"
Saying that she wrapped her arms around Ren. The fluffy haired boy froze for a few seconds before hugging her back.
"I will."
"You can call me whenever you need someone to talk to."
"I'll keep in that in mind."
Reluctantly, Nanako let go of Ren and let him step into the train.
"Well then… I'll see you in a year."
Ren nodded stiffly, clearly feeling nervous now that it was actually time to leave. "…Yeah. See you then."
"Train doors are now closing. Please stand back."
Both teenagers followed the announcement's instructions but kept eye contact, even once the door separated them.
Gradually the train began to pull out of the station, slowly gaining speed the further it went. Nanako walked alongside the train as it moved, waving to Ren the entire time. Ren waved back. She sped up to a jog as the train started to gain speed but stopped once she was unable to keep up. She continued waving until the train was out of her line of sight.
Once she knew Ren couldn't see her, she finally dropped her forced smile and frowned worriedly as she stared at the now empty train tracks.
"Don't push yourself, Ren…"