CHAPTER 4 - THE FLIRTING GAME

Kamiko arrived to school early and ended up seeing Nagito again that morning.

"Kamiko-san! Running into you like this at the start of the day... I really am lucky!" He expressed his enthusiasm while getting up close into her personal space.

"Good morning, Nagito-senpai..." Kamiko smiled as she took a step back, "I'm going to head to class now, I'll see you later."

She quickly got out of there, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the sudden closeness. Nagito watched her until she was out of sight. He had hoped he could spend more time with her, but he understood that she might be quite repulsed by him. After all, he was such a lowly being compared to her greatness.

As Kamiko arrived in her class, she noticed that only a few of her classmates were there. Ogami Sakura was talking with Asahina Aoi. Naegi Makoto was also there along with Maizono Sayaka. Of course, Ishimaru Kiyotaka was there, front and centre, sitting straight at his desk.

"Good morning, everyone," Kamiko greeted them with a lovely smile.

They all looked at her and smiled as well.

"Good morning, Kamiko-chan," Sayaka waved at her.

Fujisaki Chihiro arrived right after Kamiko, shyly greeting everyone. Kamiko then decided to sit next to Fujisaki until it was time for class to start.

"Hello, Fujisaki-san, I'm Kamukura Kamiko," Kamiko gave a light bow of the head as she brought a chair across Chihiro's desk.

"Y-Yes, Kamukura-san, so honoured to meet you. You can call me Chihiro..." She fidgeted as she blushed a little.

"If I do, then you have to call me Kamiko," Kamiko retorted.

"Alright... Kamiko-chan..." Fujisaki half-whispered that last part.

Kamiko grinned at how adorable Chihiro was acting. She then started asking her about her programming and what she was working on. They found out that they had quite a lot in common. They talked computers and programming with such interest that they did not notice that almost all of their other classmates were there. It was only when he walked in, that Kamiko finally paid attention to her surroundings. She got up, telling Chihiro that they should have lunch together, which she happily agreed to.

As Mondo sat down at his desk, Kamiko went to her desk and scooted her chair to the side of his desk. He blinked a few times, surprised by her boldness.

"Good morning, Owada-kun," Kamiko said softly, not wanting to scare him off yet.

Mondo gave her the side eye and clicked his tongue in annoyance, "what the fuck do you want from me so early in the morning?"

"Am I bothering you? I guess I can be a bit pushy with things..." Kamiko looked slightly away, trying to reel him into conversing more with her.

"That's not what I said! I don't know you but you act as though we're buddies. What's your game here?" He retorted, turning his head towards her and looking her in the eyes.

"No game. I'm just really interested in getting to know you more; you intrigue me," She said as she leaned slightly forward towards him. This time, he did not back away, but she could see some redness showing up on his ears. The sight of him being so close made her face heat up a little too. She was definitely attracted to him.

"Alright, let's start class," the teacher's voice broke their gaze away from each other. Kamiko went back to her desk after winking at Mondo, who didn't know how to react.

During class, they would both catch glimpses and each other, sometimes even making brief eye contact. After a while, a small smile appeared on Mondo's face. He was starting to warm up to how strange Kamiko was. He never was that interested in talking to women before. He was always way too busy with his biker gang. With Kamiko, though, she made him feel nervous. She was definitely physically his type, with her generous curves. She also had a very charming smile and a pretty face. Her long hair looked like it would be very nice to touch as well, among other things.

As lunch time came by, Kamiko wanted to have it with both Chihiro and Mondo. She didn't want Mondo to feel too awkward about it, though, so she went to the one person she thought would get along well enough with him.

"Kuwata-kun, let's have lunch together," Kamiko said with as much charisma as possible, making sure he could not say no.

Of course, Leon would never say no to a pretty face.

"Yeah, sure! Just you and me?" He was getting his hopes up.

"Actually, there will be two other people," Kamiko responded as she motioned for him to follow her.

Begrudgingly, he decided to join her anyway, since he didn't have anyone else interesting to spend time with. Kamiko then went to Chihiro who followed her as well since they had already decided on spending lunch together. She was then able to catch up to Mondo before he left the classroom.

"Owada-kun, I'd like to have lunch with you," Kamiko stood in front of him and said. Mondo glanced behind her and saw Chihiro and Leon there.

"Fine, whatever," he shrugged.

They all headed to the cafeteria, Chihiro sitting next to Kamiko, facing Leon and Kamiko facing Mondo.

"Man, I can't believe I'm having lunch with the beautiful Ultimate Hope herself," Leon said as he winked at Kamiko.

"Well, I'm flattered, Kuwata-kun," she giggled.

"Call me Leon! And I'll call you Kamiko-chan," Leon told her in a playful manner, making her giggle some more.

Mondo frowned at the scene unfolding before him, "why don't you two just get a fucking room at this point?" He mumbled.

Kamiko couldn't hide her grin. Was Mondo feeling a little jealous?

"Come on, Owada, are you upset because you're not getting enough female attention?" Leon nudged him.

Mondo frowned more and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Look, let me help you. Girls these days aren't into macho muscular men anymore. They're more into the pretty boy, stylish types. Right, Kamiko-chan?" The baseball star looked to Kamiko for confirmation.

To everyone's surprise, she answered, "actually, Mondo is totally my type." She had said it in such a casual manner that it left everyone on the table speechless for a second.

"W-W-What are you saying? How can you say something like that so easily?" Mondo almost shouted, his ears and neck a deep shade of red.

"Wow, Kamiko-chan," Chihiro reacted in awe, "I wish I could be as confident as you."

"Kamiko-chan doesn't beat around the bush," Leon clapped, "I guess it's too bad for me then, I would've swept you off your feet if you had said that about me."

"I just... know what I want and I go after it," the Ultimate Hope replied, her eyes fixated on Mondo who was avoiding her gaze.

They all chatted more, with Mondo staying quiet for most of it, until lunchtime was over.

The rest of the school day, Mondo couldn't concentrate on anything. His mind kept wandering back to what Kamiko said. He was her type. And she also was his type, so why was it so hard for him to make a move? He couldn't be outdone like that by a girl. His issue though was that he would just get angry whenever he felt embarrassed and a lot of girls before took it the wrong way. He wouldn't be surprised if he just messed everything up with Kamiko as soon as he would attempt to flirt with her. He caught himself staring at her for too long during class. She hadn't glanced his way at all the whole time. What was her game? It was like she was acting uninterested all of a sudden. He wondered if maybe he was taking too long to reciprocate her attention.

Kamiko was well aware that she had an effect on Mondo. She was determined to make him more and more curious and interested in her. She knew that he wouldn't be able to take his eyes off her after the comment she made about him earlier. Now it was the waiting game. She did her part and she now wanted him to make his move.