Reimu was tired of waiting. Ryusei hadn't planned anything this morning and their bus wasn't due to arrive until later this afternoon.
"Reimu, have you ever been to a beach?" asked Ryusei out of the blue.
The calm and usually serious samurai adventurer was oddly curious for almost no reason at all.
"Uh, maybe once if you count the moon trip I took with Remilia," replied Reimu dryly. "But it was pretty boring since we didn't really do anything there."
"Ah. So you haven't really been to one."
Reimu nodded before returning to her mundane activity of looking out the window.
"You know, there is a beach not too far away from the bus stop," commented Ryusei.
"Okay," commented Reimu. Just as she was about to return back to her boring task, her ribbon suddenly perked up. "Wait there is?"
Ryusei smiled and closed his book. "Yep. Wanna go now?"
Reimu eagerly nodded and helped Ryusei pick up their stuff before heading out the door.
The moment they arrived at the sandy shore, Ryusei watched as Reimu looked around in awe and ran around with childish wonder.
"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you've never been to a beach," commented Ryusei with a small smile.
"Of course! Gensokyo has no beaches or seas!" replied Reimu. "Well, unless you're on the moon."
"Beach on the moon?" questioned Ryusei. "Well, I'm not one to judge."
While Ryusei picked up their clothes and set up a spot to sit down in, Reimu threw off her clothes and jumped into the sea to splash around. Except, two seconds later she was yelling for help upon realizing that she didn't know how to swim.
"Help! I'm drowning!" yelled Reimu with her arms flailing.
Ryusei sighed and quickly threw off his clothes to rescue her.
"I get that she's never been to a beach but seriously, has she never swam in a pool or something?" asked Ryusei to himself.
Moments after he had rescued her, he spent the next three hours giving her swimming lessons and watching her enjoy the beach by building sand castles and playing in the water. Once she got the hang of it, Ryusei returned to the spot he had set up and pulled out a manga book from his adventurer's bag.
He had borrowed it and a few others from his world's library before he left along with the Art of War in case he got bored on the trip. He was a big fan of Gundam Thunderbolt and usually borrowed the latest volume when he got the chance. His cousin on the other hand, liked Tokyo Mew Mew more and occasionally, he would borrow the manga for her. Though he didn't like it at first, he had to admit, the story was interesting to say the least and started reading the series not so long ago. In any case, he had finished the Gundam Thunderbolt manga a long time ago so the book that was currently in his hands was Tokyo Mew Mew.
Upon seeing that he was distracted, Reimu stopped playing and mischievously scooped up some water and quietly snuck up on him. Upon reaching the distracted samurai, she splashed the water at him and ran off giggling.
"Reimu! What did you just- nevermind. Get back over here!" yelled the samurai. Both he and the book were drenched and he wasn't gonna let her off the hook this easily.
He quickly got up and chased after her until they reached a fruit stand that both of them collapsed in front of.
"Can I get you guys anything?" asked the owner.
"Yeah. Water for me," started Ryusei. He looked at Reimu who was eyeing a fancy tropical drink on the menu. "And a house special for the lady."
The man left and returned moments later with their drinks. Once Ryusei paid the bill, the two went back to the spot the samurai had set up to relax and dry themselves and Ryusei's book off.
"So what were you reading?" asked Reimu. She curiously looked at the front cover only for Ryusei to quickly snatch it away and hide it from his back.
"Erm. It was nothing really," replied the samurai, a little embarrassed. He tried to put the book back in his bag only to realize that it was no longer in his hands and that the shrine maiden was now reading it.
"Ah! I've been trying to get my hands on this for months," revealed Reimu.
"You guys have manga?" asked Ryusei. "You guys have no cars, tvs, and radios yet you guys have manga?"
"Yeah! Remilia has a whole collection in her library that she keeps to herself," revealed Reimu. She held up the Tokyo Mew Mew manga that Ryusei had been reading earlier. "This one's my favorite but it's also hers too. I've tried to borrow it ahead of time but Patchouli is not a fan of me taking any of her books so it's pretty hard. We also don't have a lend and lease system in Gensokyo so if Patchouli says no, then it's a no."
"I see," commented Ryusei. "How many series does she have?"
"A lot," answered Reimu. "I don't really have much time to count everything but there are several that she has specifically marked as off-limits."
As she said this, a certain black and white witch came to mind.
"Doesn't stop Marisa though. She's been there a few times and taken a few of those books behind Patchy's back. Apparently, they've got to be her favorite or something since she keeps going back there for more but she gets embarrassed whenever I ask her about those books."
"Uhhh," commented Ryusei. He had already figured out what kind of manga Reimu's friend could be reading but his curious mind pushed him to get some sort of confirmation from Reimu. "By chance, have you ever seen the contents of those books?"
"Yeah," replied Reimu. "She brought a few over once but they're full of naked girls doing something weird either to themselves or some other pers-"
"Okay, I think I know what those are," cutoff Ryusei. "And for everyone's sake, don't bother reading them"
"Why? Have you?" asked Reimu curiously.
"No. I have not," answer Ryusei. "Still, wow. So that's what she likes to read huh. It's gonna be hard to pull her out of that hole for sure."
"Trust me," started Reimu. "She's probably been in a lot worse than just reading bad books."
Ryusei used his symbolizer to dry his book before taking it back and walking with her to the bus stop.
"Hey, join me in the waters next time."
"Sure after we get some swimsuits," replied the samurai. "My pants are full of sand and still haven't finished drying yet."
The two picked up their stuff and got on the next tourist bus for the temples.
"Hey Ryusei, are you sure we don't need a cover story or anything?" asked Reimu while they were on the bus.
"Yes. I'm sure. Mordecai was just trying to poke at us," replied the samurai.
"But still, it could come in handy."
"For when?"
"Passports please."
A person in a police officer outfit held out his hands.
"What? Why?"
"Sorry. Standard procedure," replied the officer. "A tourist had broken into a store moments ago and left their passport behind. We're looking for tourists that are traveling alone and don't have a passport on them."
Ryusei quickly pulled out his passport while Reimu struggled to find hers. It was at this moment, Ryusei realized that Reimu never had one to begin with and two hadn't bothered to get her one before coming.
"You're good," replied the officer who handed his passport back. "We're still waiting on you girl."
"She's with me," informed the samurai.
"Really?" questioned the officer.
"Yes. We're partners," answered Reimu.
"Partners?"
"Yes. He's my-"
"Okay. You're good then."
The officer left and Ryusei gave Reimu a suspicious look.
"Partners? Really?" asked Ryusei.
Reimu nodded.
"It's what Mordecai suggested."
"You are really dense and oblivious to this kind of stuff aren't you?"
Reimu gave him a puzzled look before going back to looking out the window again. Moments later they arrived at their destination which was in front of a large temple built on a hill with several stories of stairs leading up to it.
"Do we really have to walk all the way up there?" asked Reimu.
"Yeah, we do," commented Ryusei. "How do you usually go up to your shrine?"
"I just fly. It's much faster than walking."
"In anycase, if you get tired, just let me know. I'll carry you," replied Ryusei nonchalantly.
"Hey Mordecai, should I get you the usual?" asked a voice on the phone
"Go ahead Alex," replied Mordecai. "I'm gonna be a bit busy tonight so you might have to drive Vicktor and yourself back home. Follow all the traffic rules, okay?"
"No worries dad," replied Alex. "The windows are tinted so they can't tell that two 500 year old kids that look about 10 years or younger are driving an Aston Martin."
"Still, stay safe alright."
With that, Mordecai hung up and put on his tuxedo jacket. Before he could head out though, there was a knock at the door.
"Be there in a minute," sighed Mordecai. He already knew who the visitor was. The moment he opened the door, he was greeted by a man in a solid color t-shirt, running shoes, and shorts.
"Ephialtes," greeted Mordecai. "What brings you to my abode?"
"Just here to ask for some water. I am practicing for the upcoming walkathon in the park," answered Ephialtes. "No harm in asking a friend for some help, right?"
Mordecai eyed him suspiciously before letting the runner into his house.
"We are not friends," replied Mordecai. "And I have a few spare water bottles in the kitchen. Take what you need."
Ephialtes smiled and grabbed a few plastic containers of water before taking a look around Mordecai's home.
"Sheesh. Those are some fancy decorations you have here," commented Ephialtes. "Didja get married or do you have an estranged daughter coming over to visit?"
Mordecai shot him a suspicious look causing Ephialtes to recoil back.
"Oops. Sorry sore subject," apologized Ephialtes. "That aside, have you heard about the rising bounty on that amulet?"
"Yes. I have. 10 times the original amount," commented Mordecai. "Many fools would kill for the riches that 100,000 gold squares would bring."
"I'm surprised to hear that you've given up on it. I thought you'd be amongst the many to go after such. You are in the top 100 after all."
"I'm in the top 100 because I know when something is worth going for. Not because I take on bounties with high rewards," replied Mordecai. "Aside from that, work calls now. You're gonna have to leave."
"Well then, I'll be touring the temple if you want to look for me."
Ephialtes picked up a few more bottles and left while Mordecai picked up his keys and got ready to leave. Once the runner was out of earshot of Mordecai, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"Mordecai's not in this. I repeat, Lackadaisy Continental member Mordecai has withdrawn from the bounty. Over and out."