Class was finally done for the day as students began leaving, eager to make the most of the rest of their Friday. Makoto quickly gathered her things, placing them neatly inside her bag. Today was finally going to be the day! She had heard from an acquaintance earlier that month that the school canteen had begun to sell a special Yakisoba Bread on Fridays. Makoto wasn't the adventurous type when it came to food but as soon as she heard those words she definitely had to try it. The only problem was the past few Fridays she had been bogged down by a combination of school work and her duties as the School Council President. The semester had barely begun and there were already kids venting their problems to her. While she didn't mind listening and helping them out, some of them were a bit too exaggerated for her liking. A few of them complained about school work being too hard or boring which she didn't really understand. There were some students that complained about their social and love lives which she also couldn't relate to.

What did catch her attention were several students complaining about the recent transfer student from the second year. There were already so many rumours about him after his criminal record came to light. It varied from talks of him sneaking weaponry into his bags to him being part of a gang and even one rumour of him being an abusive boyfriend at his old school. At first Makoto figured she should look into it but as the days went by, the rumours got more and more ridiculous. One that made her honestly raise her eyebrows in disbelief was that the transfer student and Sakamoto were doing cocaine in the boy's bathroom. She knew Sakamoto was a bit of a trouble child that talked too much he didn't seem the type to do that. Another rumour that she found a little amusing was the so called delinquent transfer student being some sort of cat whisperer that could hold proper conversations with felines. Now that was absurd.

The only time she had ever come across the transfer student was when he sat at the same table as her in the library when she was studying. He had asked courteously if the seat beside her was taken to which she merely shook her head that it wasn't. He smiled and sat down before diligently studying. Several students in the library began gossiping, discussing amongst themselves whether or not he was actually a serious student or if it was just an act. Some even expressed annoyance that the delinquent thought so much of himself that he could sit at the Student Council President's table. Makoto scoffed at the notion. It was just a table. Still, the whispers didn't seem to faze the guy who continued to study like there was nothing around him. At least he had some thick skin. Maybe everything people were saying about him was wrong.

Even today it seemed students were jumpy with the rumours, discussing amongst themselves whatever the latest gossip was about the transfer student. Apparently he had gotten into a disagreement with Mr Kamoshida not too long ago and it was causing quite the uproar amongst the student body. Makoto shook her head at the gossiping students and continued to make her way to the canteen. After all, the glorious Yakisoba Bread awaited her! She couldn't wait to try it. Yakisoba in particular was a favourite of her Sister's. She enjoyed it too whenever they'd have it so surely it would taste great in bread form. She soon turned the corner as the canteen came into view. What luck! There was no line! The woman at the counter was always friendly with her, sometimes even giving Makoto a discount though she'd refuse it every single time.

"Oh hello Niijima-san!" the woman greeted "You're out and about quite early for a Friday afternoon, no?"

"Good afternoon and yes! I've finally gotten a free Friday for the first time in in a while." Makoto replied with a smile.

"That's nice. What can I get for you today?"

"Well," Makoto began "I heard from a classmate that there's a new item on the menu but I haven't had the chance to try it yet. So if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to try out this Yakisoba Bread I've heard so much about."

The smile on the woman's face dropped as soon as Makoto had finished speaking.

"Aw I'm awfully sorry Niijima-san," she replied "If I had known you wanted one I would have saved you the last one!"

Makoto sighed in resignation. It seemed the Yakisoba Bread was destined to evade her devouring grasps. She tried her best to hide her disappointment and gave the woman a warm smile.

"That's not a problem. I suppose I'll just have to try next time."

"I'm so sorry!" the woman apologized again with a bow "What rotten luck, I just sold the last one a few moments prior."

Now that was definitely not what Makoto wanted to hear. It was like adding insult to injury, like squeezing a slice of lemon over a cut. Still, she forced herself to smile even though she was quite disheartened. It was just food anyways. Hopefully there would be another time she could taste that delicious, delectable, scrumptious- damn it! Now she really wanted to try that bread.

"It's okay." she mumbled before turning away and heading towards the courtyard.

At least there was no one by the benches near the vending machines. It was fairly quiet with small groups of students scattered around the courtyard. She sat herself down on a bench and hummed sadly to herself. It was only bread but she couldn't help but feel sad. It just seemed lately nothing had really been going her way. Sae had been growing more and more distant by the day, becoming way too engrossed with work. All their conversations were short and mostly consisted mostly of Sae telling Makoto to focus on her education. And because of that, Makoto herself didn't really have many friends. Sure she had people she'd talk to every now and then but they weren't really what some would define an actual friend. But Sae insisted that sometimes people just dragged them down when they should be on the path of success. While Makoto did agree that certain people wouldn't make the best kind of friend she often felt quite lonely. The most she'd interact with people her age was in school when it came to working on group projects, school council meetings, listening to student complaints and issues and such. But that was it. She would never really "hang out" with any of them after school.

She couldn't help but feel jealous as she watched a group of girls in the distance avidly talking amongst themselves, laughing at each other's behaviour. By the gym entrance some members of the school sports teams were discussing strategies while throwing a ball around their group. Makoto sighed. It must be nice to feel something like that even if what they were talking about or doing weren't things she would normally be interested in. Not even Sae was able to spend time with her even just to talk about things they enjoyed. Makoto groaned a little. Man, she probably wouldn't be thinking about things like this if it wasn't for that stupid bread. If only she could have had it! If only she could have tasted it! Then she wouldn't be thinking about things like this. A soft dry chuckle left her lips as she realized she was blaming her problems on not being able to eat something. Deciding she could probably use a change of scenery. As she stood up she was instantly knocked over back into the bench before falling onto the ground.

"Ow…" her and another voice said at the same time.

Makoto blinked a few times before rubbing her eyes as she tried to wipe away her somewhat blurry vision. Crumpled in front of her was a boy, his glasses sitting slanted on the bridge of his nose with a mess of black hair slightly covering his eyes. He gingerly rubbed his backside, a few strained groans coming out of his mouth before attempting to fix the position of his glasses.

"Ugh that hurt…" he spoke, his voice deep and yet not at all intimidating.

Makoto blinked again before finally noticing who was seated in front of her. It was the transfer student and from what she could see, he was in a little bit of pain. She stood up, dusting herself off a little before noticing something at her feet. Sitting there almost mockingly was the Yakisoba Bread, still in its plastic packaging. It almost seemed like it was insulting her and yet that was probably a ridiculous thought for something inanimate.

"I'm so sorry!" she finally managed to say as she bowed apologetically.

The boy finally stood up, checking himself to see if he had dropped anything. Makoto bent down and picked the packaged bread from her feet and handed it to him. Of course the apparent delinquent that people were complaining to her about would be the one that had purchased the last bread. If there were gods out there, they were definitely mocking her. He took it from her grasps and smiled softly.

"It's okay, it was my fault anyways," he said "I wasn't looking where I was going."

Makoto couldn't help but smile back a little and shook her head.

"No, I should be the one apologizing." she replied "It was my fault."

He smiled again.

"Well I guess apology accepted then."

He was about to leave when he noticed her gaze lingering on the bread in his hand. Almost subconsciously she licked her lips, as if giving him a signal that she wanted it before shaking herself out of her trance.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry!" she stammered "I should go."

"Um, you're Niijima-senpai, right?" he suddenly asked.

She nodded.

"Yes, you're the new transfer student in the second year, correct?"

"That's right. I'm Ren Amamiya." he said as he bowed a little "It's nice to meet you, Senpai."

She nodded before deciding to make her way out and get out of his hair when he suddenly perked up.

"Actually, I couldn't help but notice you looking at this Yakisoba bread." he said.

She couldn't help but blush a little at being caught staring at it. Damn that stupid bread!

"Oh yes sorry, I was actually at the canteen to buy one but they told me they were sold out for the day."

His smile dropped a little and she couldn't help but notice that he appeared to feel bad about it.

"I didn't know this was the last one, sorry." he said.

Makoto shook her head.

"It's okay, you were there first anyways. I'll get it next time."

"Actually…" Ren began "I honestly was only curious after hearing about it but I'm not actually huge on bread so…"

He held it out to her. He was actually giving it to her.

"Oh I couldn't! You paid for it and well, it wouldn't be right of me to just take it from you!" Makoto said, all rather quickly.

"I suppose you're right." Ren replied "Well, how about we share it then? It's actually conveniently cut in half."

He began opening the bag before taking out one half and handing her the other half, still wrapped in the plastic. Makoto got nervous all of a sudden. She couldn't really tell why.

"I um… well… are you sure, Amamiya-kun?"

He smiled again and nodded. It seemed he had smiled so much in the past few minutes and yet each time he did, Makoto couldn't help but feel like he was smiling at her for the first time. She smiled back and took it in her hands. She eyed it carefully as Ren took a bite from his half.

"Huh, not bad." he commented "Actually scratch that, it's pretty good."

"Really?" Makoto asked.

She carefully removed the bread from the plastic wrap and took a bite herself. The flavours began to spread through her mouth as the richness of the sauce danced on her tastebuds. The noodles were soft but not to the point that it felt mushy and still had some bite to it which oddly seemed to compliment the squishy bread on the outside. There were several vegetables inside as well that added a mild crunchy freshness to combat the saltiness of the sauce that was honestly quite lovely.

"Mmm…" Makoto couldn't help but let out.

"Told you!" Ren laughed.

Makoto's cheeks flushed a little at her little outburst. Ren had quickly wolfed down his half and she felt like she had to catch up but something this good had to be savoured. The flavour of it had to be stretched out so she could enjoy it as much as she could. With every bite she took she couldn't help but fall in love with the taste.

"Well you're enjoying that." Ren pointed out with a light chuckle.

"It's very good." Makoto replied, almost in a soft whisper.

She felt a little embarrassed but he was being a good sport about it and wasn't overly teasing her. She couldn't help but wonder if all the rumours about the transfer student were true. Makoto knew that a lot of them were overly exaggerated and probably a load of rubbish but his criminal record and past expulsion at his prior school had been leaked when he arrived and the school was rife with the rumours surrounding him. But here he was, seemingly in good spirits, laughing a little with (well more like at) her and even offered her some of his food that he himself paid for. Was he really a trouble maker? Makoto's gut was telling her otherwise. Then again, he did just give her something that was extremely delicious. Her gut was probably just in taste heaven. Her eyes were now lingering on him as he had walked over to the nearby vending machine to grab himself something to wash the bread down. At least there wasn't a cat with him like various students had claimed. As he turned back to her he smiled again before beginning to walk off.

"I guess I'll see you later, Niijima-senpai."

"Oh, wait!" Makoto suddenly called out.

He turned around, his hair almost bouncing on the top of his head as he did. She couldn't help but think that it was cute.

"Err…" Makoto began as she began digging in her bag.

She didn't know why she told him to wait but she had to do something now. After a few moments of fiddling inside the Boston bag she pulled out a small Tupperware container.

"Since you shared something with me, I'd like to return the favour." she said before handing the plastic-ware to him.

"You didn't have to, Senpai!" he said nervously before opening it.

Inside were four perfectly shaped donuts with a light dusting of powdered sugar resting on the top of each one. He could see from the sides that there was some sort of red filling, probably strawberry or raspberry jam. Ren subconsciously began to lick his lips at it. He absolutely adored jam filled donuts.

"Niijima-senpai, have you been stalking me?" he suddenly asked.

She was taken aback. What kind of person would ask such a thing? She almost wanted to hit him for even insinuating that.

"Uh n-no?" she stammered "Why would you say that?"

He smirked a little. It made her heart beat a little bit faster for reasons unknown to her.

"Well you should be glad to know that jam filled donuts are my favourite. Well I like a lot of foods like burgers and ramen and…" he cut himself off "Well that's beside the point but jam filled donuts?! Absolute favourite."

Makoto couldn't help but blush a little at his statement. Her right foot began to dig into the pavement as she fiddled with the plastic wrapping in her hands.

"Oh um, I hope my baking skills are satisfactory then…" she said softly.

Ren's eyes widened a little.

"You made these, Senpai?!" he asked in astonishment.

"Yes," she affirmed "It's no Yakisoba bread but, I guess if you like jam filled donuts as much as you claim then they should satisfy your sweet tooth."

He grinned at her.

"Well you just quickly became my favourite Senpai! Thanks a lot!"

She couldn't help but blush again at his statement.

"You're heh… such a Joker?" she mumbled.

He grinned again before several beeps in his pocket were heard. He pulled his phone out and checked it.

"Ah, sorry Niijima-senpai but I'll have to be going now. Ryuji was waiting for me and now he's bugging me about taking forever."

"Sakamoto-kun? Well I suppose you shouldn't keep him waiting." Makoto responded "Feel free to share some of those donuts with him."

Ren frowned.

"No way, I'm not sharing these!" he joked, almost protectively shielding them within his arms "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Ren quickly then took off, walking at a faster pace than most people did.

"Right… see you tomorrow…"

Makoto stood there again, alone. She couldn't help but notice several students around the courtyard looking her way. A few of them seemed to be whispering amongst each other with one or two even throwing disapproving glances at her. Makoto picked up the rest of her things and began to make her way out of the courtyard when her ears picked up on some of the gossip.

"Did you see what happened? Niijima-senpai and that transfer student were sharing food!"

"Is something going on between them?"

"I don't like it, that delinquent probably blackmailed her or something!"

"How do you even blackmail people over food?"

"Pfft if something's going on between them then Miss Prez has poor taste in guys."

"I just hope she's careful around him. That criminal is dangerous!"

Makoto shook her head in annoyance and disbelief as she passed through the doorway. She didn't know if he really was a delinquent. She didn't know if he really was a criminal or whatever reasons there were for him to transfer to Shujin away from his home and previous life were true. He was nice to her even when she had been the one to bump into him and even shared the last Yakisoba Bread with her. She gripped the plastic in her hand a little tighter. There was a little bit left, maybe enough for two or three bites and yet part of her couldn't bear to finish it. It seemed precious now even though it was just bread as silly as the thought was. Even though several minutes ago she was cursing its existence but after tasting it, after sharing it with Ren it held a somewhat fond memory, as cheesy as that sounded. She smiled at the thought. Maybe he wasn't so bad. Maybe he was actually a great guy that was just misunderstood.

Who knows.

Maybe one day she could call him a friend.

Ren finally made it to the rooftop where Ryuji and Morgana waited for him. He had only meant to go down to grab a drink to go with the Yakisoba bread and clearly they were going mad with boredom waiting for him.

"There you are!" Ryuji exclaimed in his usual loud voice "What took you so long?"

"The vending machine near us was out of order so I had to go down to the one by the courtyard." Ren replied.

"Huh, fair enough." Ryuji shrugged.

Morgana popped up onto the table and eyed the container in Ren's hands as the frizzy haired boy sat down.

"What's in there?" the Cat asked.

"Err… donuts." Ren answered.

"Donuts? Where did you get donuts?"

"Yeah, I don't think the canteen sells donuts…" Ryuji wondered.

"I got it…" Ren began to say before thinking.

No way these two would leave him be if he said Makoto Niijima of all people gave them to him. And they'd definitely ask a multitude of questions about it too.

"I got it from a friend." he simply stated.

"I didn't know you had friends." Ryuji said before getting a smack on the back of his head.

"That's not nice!" Morgana hissed.

"Ah well, my bad." the blonde shrugged "Now, where's that Yakisoba bread? I'm itching for a taste."

Ren's sweat dropped.

"Uh… shit."

These stories will be whatever that comes to mind whenever I get an idea that's tangible enough to be written. They won't necessarily be linked together as one cohesive story and won't always be following a specific time line. This is more to get me practicing writing whilst going on my current Persona high after finishing Persona 5. Damn that post-game depression! There won't be a proper update schedule where I aim for a chapter every 1 or 2 weeks but will be sporadic instead.

This first story wasn't meant to be as deep as it was, I suppose in regards to the loneliness Makoto could feel but as I was writing it just seemed to roll off my fingertips. I meant this story to be a bit more light hearted which it is when Ren appears but what I had in mind was a more flustered sort of cute romance deal. I suppose it's alright for a start.

Do leave reviews letting me know what you think!