Arriving at target Location

"Finally!! We're back on the land!" Loreno exclaimed out loud, which earned them a couple of stares from the local. They have just docked on the fisherman's port a moment ago, and they are already the centre of attention all thanks to Loreno.

"Loreno! Pipe down!" Veronika hissed as she hit him on the back of his head, hard. Seeing Veronika's glare, the locals went back to doing whatever it is they were doing.

"Oh, come on! You cannot blame me. We've been on that ship for gods know how long!"

"3 months, to be exact," Saki informed him. "Come on, we need to go. You guys remember what we are, right?" he asked in a hushed tone, though as he said this, he threw an accusing look on Loreno and El.

"Of course! We're a research students! We're here to do some studies on our thesis…?" both of them answered. Saki lets out a soft sigh.

"I guess that is good enough… anyway, someone is supposed to meet us here, I wonder if they aren't here yet," he looked around trying to find their guide. And yet, there seems to be no one like that. "Guess I'll have to place a ca-"

"Koizumi-san?" just when Saki was about to call a certain number on his phone, someone called out his name. It was from a young female who are around her early twenties. "Koizumi Saki-san… desu yo ne? Koizumi Atsuhiko-san no musuko-san?" she asked in Japanese since Saki did not reply on the first time. Hearing his father's name, Saki frowned because he does not know who she is.

"Hai, sou desu. Dochira-sama desu ka?" Saki asked back. Seeing that she did not get him wrong, the female finally lets out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, thank god! I thought I got the wrong person," she said in English, although it is thick with Japanese accent. "My name is Nonomura Chizuru. My father, Nonomura Kouji who is supposed to meet you all today, had an accident and is now in the hospital," she explained. "It is nothing serious though! Just a sprained ankle!" she added quickly when she saw Saki's face who seemed to think it was a serious accident. "I have your picture with me, but you look different in real life. Compared to your picture, I like seeing you with my own eyes better!"

"Whoa! Lady! You've just met him and you're already flirting with him!?" Loreno asked, not believing his ear. Esther on the other hand, glared at the female with eyes filled with jealousy.

"Oh, no! You got it all wrong!" Chizuru quickly defended herself. "I don't mean anything romantic when complimenting him. Also, I am not into younger men," at the last sentence, Saki could almost feel something was stabbing him at the back. Even if he isn't attracted to someone, he still thinks that he, himself is quite good looking. So, hearing someone is not attracted to him is quite a blow to his own pride.

"I mean… rather than wanting to be in relationship with him, I would like to think that both of you are in that relationship," she said, motioning at both Saki and Tobias. Saki felt his jaw dropped while Tobias coughed. Loreno on the other hand, is enjoying this way too much from how he laughed.

"Why…" Saki sounds defeated as he covered his face with his hand.

"Anyway, jokes aside. Miss Nonomura, we should go to our hotel now. We're tired and hungry," Tobias decided to save Saki by bringing the conversation into a more serious topic. "So, if you don't mind, we'll be in your care."

"Oh! Your voice is so nice…" Chizuru said as she tried to control her squeal. "And please, just Chizuru is fine. Also, I'm sorry, that was rude of me. If you would please come with me and I'll drive you to your hotel so you can check in. Then we can go for your lunch!"

With that, they finally departed from the port. Chizuru set the car into auto-drive towards their destination. During the drive, Saki and the group had to endure two hours of non-stop singing. At first, it was just Chizuru singing. Then she invited the rest to sing with her, which El accepted happily. Much to everyone else's dismay, El is a tone deaf. So, in the end, he was banned from singing.

"Oi, Saki! Quit singing other country's song. We're in Japan! Sing something Japanese!" Loreno finally couldn't take it anymore. "Why the hell are you singing Italian song? Are you trying to one up me? I alone is the only Italian in our group. The authentic one!"

Of course, everyone knows he's joking. But his request sends Saki in thought. He could sing Japanese song but… he wasn't sure what he should sing.

"Can I sing my father's favourite?"

"What?! No! Of course not!!" Loreno immediately rejected the idea. "Fine, I'll give you a song. You know that old song from that super old anime we saw few years back? The one about cooking food?"

"Food? ************?" Saki asked for confirmation.

"Yes! That one!"

"Eh? But that song will make me imagine all sorts of food. And I'll end up getting even more hungry," El said. "You can't sing that song, Saki!"

"Then what about that letter song?!" Esther suggested. "I really like that song, and I think it would be nice to listen to something that is calming."

"But it's sad…" Loreno whined. "You know I'm not good with sad song…"

"Why not just sing '*********' by *********?" Tobias tried to suggest.

"Oh! I also like that song!" Chizuru chimed in. "Please, please, please sing that song!!"

"Since Chizuru wanted to hear it, I guess I'll sing that," Saki quickly said before anyone else gives another suggestion. He sent the sound data to Chizuru's car system. Soon after, the jazzy music filled the car. They were looking forward to hearing Saki sing the song, and just when Saki was about to sing, they heard ************ voice. Seeing the dumfounded face on his friend, Saki burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha, sorry guys! Looks like I sent the wrong file…" he apologised, though it seemed like he did not mean it. Saki sent another file to Chizuru's car system, and for the second time the Jazzy intro of the song played. This time, Saki sang to the Karaoke version of the song.

Saki sang the first verse perfectly, his sweet voice filled the car. He kept on singing the song, and at one part, he decided to be more playful.

As he sang it, he made sure to look straight at Chizuru and winked playfully. This action made the guys excited, and Chizuru squealed. Veronika only shook her head before remembering something and quickly glanced at Esther. The woman in question looks like she is about to explode with jealousy. Esther was feeling worse as the song continues and it looks like Saki was flirting with Chizuru.

As Saki whispered the last word when he sang, he made sure to place his forefinger on his lips in a seductive manner. The suggestive gesture seems to be the final straw for Esther. She quickly stopped the song, and Saki was taken aback by the sudden stopping of the music. The rest of the guys were also staring at her with a questioning look.

"What the hell, Esther? That song was going to finish! You didn't need to stop it," Loreno was the first person who spoke after a while. Esther looked at everyone with a glare before she broke into a smile. In that moment, Saki immediately felt cold shiver down his spine. It was as if he had sowed something, and now karma is trying to get back at him.

"I'm sorry, I just felt like singing when I hear Saki singing so well," she lied and Loreno bought it. Tobias and Veronika frowned at the blatant lie, and Saki could feel his hand sweating even though he didn't do anything wrong in his own view. Even so, he did feel guilty.

'Maybe I really should tell her...' Saki thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the rest was still talking. "You could've just waited, it was near the ending already," El said with a slight dissatisfaction.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and sing then!" Loreno said with impatience.

Esther sent the sound file of the song of her choice to the car system, and let's just say, the song of her choice is almost as if addressing to Saki and Chizuru. Luckily, or maybe it is unfortunate, Chizuru doesn't know about Esther's feeling for Saki, so she didn't feel the menace.