Reimu awoke to the bright rays of light filtering through her curtains, casting a soft glow across the room. As she sat up in the bed, she noticed that Ryusei was not in the chair he had opted to sleep in last night.

Panic took over her body as she frantically threw off her sheets to check for any persons and rushed to the closet to see if the tourist outfit she had been wearing was still there. To her relief, everything was still in the right place.

Just then, she heard the door open and some unfamiliar footsteps entering the room. Instinctively, she magically pulled out one of her spell cards in case the person was someone dangerous and aimed it at the path of the incoming stranger.

"Reimu, are you awake?" came the voice of Ryusei.

"Yeah. I am," answered Reimu. The card was still in her hand, ready to be used.

"Are you changing right now?" asked Ryusei. "I'll stay outside until you're ready if you are."

"No. You can come in," replied Reimu.

She slowly lowered her spell card as the samurai walked in with a tray full of food. Despite this, she was still in a defensive stance which she hadn't realized until Ryusei looked at her.

"Are you okay?" asked Ryusei. "You seem pretty jumpy even though your room is locked and no one but the hotel staff and I know you're in here."

"Ah," started Reimu. She slowly lowered her stance and sat down on the bed. "It's nothing really. Just a bad memory."

"I see," commented Ryusei. He handed her a tray of food and joined her by the bed. "If you want, you can tell me what happened but if you don't want to, I understand."

"No no, it's alright. You have the right to know," replied Reimu. "Just give me a moment and then I'll tell you."

Ryusei watched as Reimu opened up her tray of food and took a few bites before beginning her story.

"It happened a long time ago in Gensokyo," started Reimu. Her hands trembled at the memory.

"An outsider that fell into Gensokyo from some other dimension that I don't even remember. Regardless, he asked me to do the same thing to him. To send out here where he could start a new life. I had no clue what that meant at the time but I trusted him. I told him that I could send him back but it would take a week. I didn't know how to use my powers the same way I did today so I was counting on Yukari to send him back."

She paused for a moment and sipped some tea to calm her nerves. Ryusei noticed and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He knew where this was going and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"During that time, he became friends with some of the people I knew like Marisa, Alice, Youmu, and Sakuya. I thought he was a really nice guy and all. He would always be helping them out and at some point he started leaving donations and became a regular visitor and follower at my shrine. Slowly, I began to warm up to him and started to trust him more. But then the week was over and instead of going back, he opted to stay. He offered to help me out a bit more and said that he wasn't going to let someone like me suffer like this."

After she said that, Reimu put down her tray of food and curled up into a ball.

"I should've known something was up the moment he said that. He was unusually kind to me. Most outsiders either want to leave as soon as possible or try to make sure that they leave a good impression because Gensokyo is full of dangerous youkai girls. We have guys but they aren't as active as us girls and prefer to avoid causing trouble when possible. In fact, most guys prefer the quiet life in Gensokyo. Regardless, strange things started occurring. First, things at my shrine went missing. They were just small things at first like my kitchen knives, my youkai extermination needles, and my cups. Then, things got worse. I found myself being watched at night and in the morning, some of my stuff was gone. At first it was just amulets, charms, things that were easily replaceable but one day, some of my clothes went missing. I thought one of my friends had borrowed them or so but they didn't come back and more went missing until I was left with just my sarashi."

Reimu paused again before continuing the story.

"I tried confronting Marisa and everyone else to see if they were really borrowing my stuff and forgetting to return them but none of them had it. I didn't even connect the dots until finally, one day, I saw him leave Gensokyo with some old items and return some time later with money. When I asked him what he took and how he got it, he didn't tell me until I threatened to bring Yukari into this. It was then I found out that he had been stealing from me ever since he got here and pawning off many of my items to the outside world where they bought my items for very high prices. This went from my kitchenware to my clothes. I tried asking him for more details but he left before I could get more answers. I followed him and found the store that had my items. Luckily, most of them weren't gone yet but I couldn't buy them back. The place flat out wouldn't let me. I had nothing to offer and I couldn't stay and work to get my stuff back."

Tears began to well up in the miko's eyes while Ryusei put another comforting hand on her body.

"In the end, Yukari was the one who got them back for me, but we never found him ever again. He was gone and we had no way to know where he was. I still have chills to this day just remembering those times he watched me sleep just so he could sneak in and steal my stuff. I didn't feel safe anymore. Yukari had to monitor me and had her shikigami take over many of her duties just to help me get better. I trusted him and he betrayed me. I never wanted to see another outsider again but Yukari refused. She said it was my duty to protect them no matter what and taught me how to travel and send people to the outside world so this wouldn't happen again. It still didn't help and every time I'm with some other guy, I'm reminded of him and everything he did. I wish I never met him and he never came to Gensokyo or if he did, he never made it to my shrine. I-I…"

Reimu never finished her sentence as the dam burst and she began to cry. Ryusei embraced her in an attempt to comfort her. He understood the sting of betrayal and the consequences emerged on both sides. As much as he wanted to offer more than just a touch, he knew that words might not be the best option so he withheld.

"I couldn't trust anyone after this. All other outsiders nearly met their end by some youkai or couldn't go back unless I had some collateral on them like I had on you," Reimu finally said. "But even so, I still can't shake it off. That memory and trust will always be broken no matter what. I can't go back and stop myself. I-"

"Reimu," started Ryusei. He paused to see if she was listening before he continued. As her sobs subsided slightly, he spoke softly.

"Reimu, I understand. You trusted someone completely, only to have that trust shattered into a million pieces. The consequences of betrayal are a double-edged sword, harming both the betrayed and the betrayer."

He paused, letting his words sink in.

"I can't change your past experiences, or magically make you trust again. But what I can offer is this: I promise to do everything in my power to earn your trust, to show you that I am different. I would never intentionally betray you."

Reimu remained nestled in his embrace, her body trembling slightly. His words washed over her, a beacon of hope amidst the wreckage of her past. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a chance. She lifted her head, a flicker of curiosity replacing the desolate look in her eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Betraying you will hurt both you and myself. I've dealt with traitors before on my adventures and experienced the pain you've felt when you learned their true intentions. I don't want you to ever experience it again. Regardless of whether we achieve our goals, I will make sure that you'll return home with all promises fulfilled and no hidden agendas."

Reimu looked at his eyes and for once in her life, felt a warmth she hadn't felt in years. She may have not known Ryusei for that long but she knew that these were the eyes of someone who was determined to keep her safe. If she wanted to ever trust again, she would have to start somewhere. It didn't have to be him but a start was a start.

"Thank you, Ryusei."

"Well that certainly helps clear things up a bit." pondered Ryusei. "I wonder what we should do next."

As Ryusei pulled out a tour guide and book titled "How to Talk to Girls," a panicked Reimu ran out of the bathroom a bit shaken. Instinctively, the samurai reached for his sword.

"What happened?" asked the Ryusei.

"THERE WAS A BUTTON ON IT ON THAT WHITE THING, SO I PRESSED IT AND WATER CAME FLUSHING INSIDE THE BOWL! UWAAH, IT WAS LOUD!"

"Oh dear," commented the samurai internally. "I'm gonna need more than just a book to figure this girl out."

"What else happened?" asked Ryusei.

"I, uh, dropped a pink bottle in the bath tub and now I can't find it with all the bubbles flying around."

"Reimu, how about we explore the market first, I'll take care of this."

The shrine maiden's ribbon perked up as if it were a part of her body and got changed while Ryusei counted several bills to place at the receptionist desk and a well needed apology for the mess Reimu had made.

"I hope they don't charge me any repair fees."