For Tomoko, the world seemed to be wrapped in an infinite warmth that enveloped her, filling her with peace, calm, and, above all, absolute safety. Nothing worried her anymore, nothing scared her, nothing could hurt her. That warmth was her absolute fortress that would protect her from any harm. But while her mind reveled in the wonderful feeling, her body suddenly felt gentle touches on her back.
Little by little, Tomoko began to stir where she lay, then opened her eyes a little, which allowed her to make out a blurry figure hugging her while a calm voice sounded in the distance. Feeling completely at ease in the figure's embrace, Tomoko immediately knew who it was, and she started rubbing her head against him like a cat as her memories came back.
"…We have to get ready."
Finally recovered enough to hear her beloved's calm voice, Tomoko hugged him tighter and buried her head in his chest as she replied in a half-asleep voice.
"Five more minutes…"
"Fine by me, but are we going to delay our date?" Kai remarked, somewhat amused, as he gently stroked Tomoko's head. She quickly turned to look at him and blurted urgently.
"Why are you still in bed, Kai?! We have to get ready fast! We can't still be on the plane after we land!"
As she spoke, Tomoko got out of bed, revealing her sensual, completely naked body to her beloved. Without even worrying about her appearance, Tomoko grabbed Kai's hand and dragged him in a rush toward the bathroom in the room. For his part, Kai could only chuckle and follow his energetic girlfriend, though he didn't forget to take the chance to enjoy the luscious butt right in front of him.
…
"What should I wear…?"
After a quick shower with her beloved, Tomoko stood totally naked in front of the bed, on which several different outfits were laid out, and murmured with a visibly worried expression. After several minutes of genuine deliberation, Tomoko felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her waist, and her beloved's voice sounded from above.
"I think the blue pants and the white blouse look really good on you."
"…That's what I always wear, and it doesn't represent my new self…" Tomoko took her beloved's hands and leaned back against him, speaking in a calm voice.
"Well, that's the Tomoko I fell in love with…" Kai replied softly, then placed a tender kiss on his beautiful girlfriend's head.
"…I'll wear it today, but after that I have to go shopping!" Tomoko shot back with a slight blush on her cheeks, then gave her beloved a quick peck on the lips and ran off to get dressed.
While Tomoko was getting dressed, Kai sat in an armchair in a corner of the room and started looking over a tablet with a serious expression. After almost twenty minutes, Tomoko was finally ready and stood in front of Kai with her hands behind her back, wearing subtle makeup that raised her beauty several notches.
"You look gorgeous."
Setting the tablet aside, Kai stood and spoke warmly, then wrapped his arms around Tomoko's waist and gave her a tender kiss. After the kiss, Tomoko let out a little giggle full of "victory," then clung to her beloved's arm and walked toward the door.
As they stepped out of the room, Tomoko came face-to-face with the flight attendant, who was about to knock, which startled her a little. Seeing Tomoko, the attendant couldn't help blushing but quickly recovered and took a few steps back, then bowed respectfully and spoke.
"We'll be landing soon."
"Thanks for the heads-up."
Kai nodded, and the flight attendant gave him a professional smile before heading toward the front of the plane. At that moment, a curious Tomoko gently tugged on Kai's shirt, and once he lowered his head to her level, she asked in a whisper.
"Why was she looking at us so weirdly? Did something happen?"
"Well, even though the room has good soundproofing, there's a limit to what you can put on a plane, so it's still possible to hear very loud noises from outside."
Kai replied with a playful expression as he looked into his beautiful girlfriend's eyes. Tomoko couldn't help widening her eyes in disbelief, then blushing furiously. She really hadn't worried in the slightest about the noise—and it hadn't been just once; every time she woke up after a few hours, she started another round.
But although she felt embarrassed that they'd heard, at the same time Tomoko felt extremely proud. Yes, they'd heard her moan like a cat, but so what? She was with her man, the love of her life, and she'd enjoyed herself like very few ever could. In fact, thinking about it, that flight attendant seemed envious, so she should feel proud rather than ashamed.
"…So that's why!" Coming to a realization, Tomoko spoke with a huge smile as she squeezed Kai's arm tighter, then asked with a big grin.
"And what are we doing today?"
"Well, when we get off, we'll have dinner with the manager who's meeting us, and after we take a look at the mansion, we'll go somewhere pretty interesting." Kai replied with an easy smile, already used to Tomoko's erratic mood swings.
"Where to?!" Tomoko asked with sparkling eyes, tugging lightly on Kai's arm with excitement. Kai laughed, amused, and gently pinched his beautiful girlfriend's nose as he replied.
"It's a surprise."
After speaking, Kai led Tomoko to the seats, where they sat while Tomoko pouted at him cutely. Not wanting to fall for Tomoko's "ploys," Kai chuckled and pointed out the window, then commented with a smile.
"Look, we're arriving."
"Oh! It looks very different from what I imagined."
Tomoko quickly turned to look out the window and spoke cheerfully, genuinely surprised by the landscape. Kai laughed, pleased to have diverted her attention, and asked casually as he leaned back in his seat.
"How did you think it would look?"
"Not so 'modern.' Since the Amazon is here, I thought it would be much more 'wild'!" Tomoko replied, showing her adorable canines, which made Kai laugh. He looked at the concrete jungle and skyscrapers outside the window and remarked, amused.
"There actually are places like that here, but this is one of the main cities. If I'm not mistaken, it's the second or third most important, and it's called 'Aburrá.'"
"Ohhh." Tomoko let out a sound of surprise as she stared out the window, and the announcement to fasten seatbelts came on, which they quickly did.
…
After a while, the plane finally came to a stop on the runway without any trouble, and Kai and Tomoko disembarked together. They could see the sky beginning to darken and feel a cool, pleasant climate, like autumn days. Curious, Tomoko couldn't help taking a deep breath, then looked at Kai and commented with a smile.
"The seasons are reversed here—it feels like winter is about to start!"
"We're in the equatorial zone of the planet, so there are no seasons here. The days last more or less the same all year, and the weather doesn't change much. That's why this place is known as the city of 'eternal spring.' It's more or less the same all year." Kai explained as he set foot on the tarmac. Tomoko jumped to wrap her arms around Kai's neck and commented with a playful smile.
"Sounds like a really fun place!"
"Well, at the very least they save a lot on air conditioning and the like." Kai joked with a smile as he walked toward a man and a woman approaching him with huge smiles.
The man had light-brown hair, golden eyes, and stood about 180 cm tall. He wore a black formal suit that bulged a little around the belly—he was far from being in shape. Meanwhile, the woman beside him had a very sensual figure, not much worse than Shino's, with enormous breasts and wide hips along with a slim waist accentuated by the fitted black dress she wore.
But what caught Kai's attention most about the woman wasn't her figure but her head, since among her long black hair he could see two small ears, like those of a little dog. This made Kai curious to know if she had a tail as well. It piqued Tomoko's curiosity too; she looked at her for a few seconds before focusing on the man, who was bowing respectfully to Kai.
"Saito-sama, it is an honor to have you visit our Granadan Confederation. My name is German Arango, manager of the South American division of Creonix Industries."
After the almost 90-degree bow, in perfect Japanese, the man greeted Kai with a professional smile while extending his hand. Kai shook the man's hand and greeted him in return.
"A pleasure, Kai Saito."
"Saito-sama, allow me to introduce my wife, Melisa Díaz."
Once Kai released his hand, the man gestured to the woman beside him, who quickly gave a formal bow similar to her husband's before greeting with a smile, also speaking in Japanese.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Saito-sama. I've heard a lot about you."
"I hope good things." Kai replied casually as he extended his hand for a handshake, which Melisa returned delicately while adding with a pleasant smile.
"They're all excellent—though as a side note, in our culture, only men shake hands with each other; between women, or between men and women, we greet with a kiss on the cheek."
Hearing the woman, Tomoko couldn't help narrowing her eyes suspiciously, but at that moment Kai took her by the waist and placed her at his side before speaking calmly.
"I see, I'll keep that in mind. But more importantly, let me introduce my wife, Tomoko Saito."
Hearing Kai, Tomoko couldn't help turning to look at him with a trace of incredulity on her face, while at the same time feeling a sweetness in her chest like she'd never felt in her life. Although she had called him her husband on the island, she had never truly believed he would take it seriously and present her as his wife.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Saito."
While Tomoko was lost in her runaway emotions, German gave another formal bow, typical in Japan, then spoke in a professional tone. Snapped out of her thoughts, Tomoko looked at German and Melisa, then spoke with a beautiful smile on her face.
"Hello to both of you! It's a pleasure to meet you too!"
After a bit more casual conversation, German pointed to an elegant car near the runway, then spoke calmly.
"Mr. and Mrs. Saito, please, let's head to the car. We have a very special reservation for you at the club."
"The club?" Walking hand in hand with Kai like his lawful wife, Tomoko looked at Melisa and asked curiously.
"A social club. It's a place with different facilities like golf courses, pools, gyms, restaurants, stables, and so on, where the upper class of each city usually gathers to hang out or do business. They're very common here—every city has at least one."
"Sounds a bit… 'ostentatious.'" Tomoko couldn't help remarking as she looked at Kai.
"From what I read, they're like a mix between a Country Club and a City Club, and they're kind of status symbols here."
Kai nodded and explained while sizing up the eight people near two nearby cars, who seemed to be bodyguards or something of the sort. But although they were "mere" bodyguards, these people weren't weak. One of them could probably handle two average professional heroes from Japan with some difficulty.
"You're very well informed, Saito-sama." German said professionally as he opened the door of the black sedan he had pointed out earlier, then added formally.
"Saito-sama, Mrs. Saito, this car will take you to the club, and we'll follow behind."
After nodding, Kai and Tomoko got into the car, which started up shortly after. Tomoko immediately slipped onto her beloved's lap to look out the window at the scenery, full of lights and people of all kinds.
"People here seem pretty free, don't you think, Kai?"
While looking out the window, Tomoko couldn't help commenting as she watched people on the street kissing and hugging in public as if it were natural—something you'd hardly see in Japan.
"That seems to be the most common opinion among Japanese who visit this side of the world." Kai commented casually as he held Tomoko by the waist, though his mind was wandering over what he could sense around them with his Observation Haki.
After a while, the car finally entered a place with few buildings around and a rather pleasant green area. Getting out of the car, Tomoko and Kai found themselves in front of a beautiful one-story building surrounded by lights that revealed the rich nature around, where German and Melisa were already waiting for them.
"Please." In a formal tone, German invited the couple inside, and Tomoko and Kai walked in hand in hand.
Soon, Kai found himself facing an elegant restaurant where a few smartly dressed people were dining, and at the back, nearly a third of the restaurant stood empty but beautifully lit and decorated—that was where German led them.
After Kai and Tomoko ordered something to eat, German stood up and spoke in a serious, formal tone.
"Once again, I wanted to express my sincerest welcome. I hope you enjoy your stay to the fullest. I'll do everything I can to make you feel comfortable in our beautiful country."
Kai nodded at German's words, but just as he was about to reply, a loud explosion sounded in the distance, and he turned to look curiously while German's and Melisa's expressions paled, filling with anxiety and anger.
***
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