"I'm sorry. The number you've dialed is not available at the moment. At the tone, please leave your-"
Ryusei hung up the payphone with a sigh. He still hadn't gotten any word from Mordecai regarding his arrival. His already dwindling funds were the least of his worries as he could always create metal from his symbolizer and pawn it off for more cash.
Earlier that morning, Reimu had left him with a note informing him that she was going to visit a friend who was staying nearby. Since she had left, he didn't have much to do and he didn't feel like doing more research on the Amulet, he decided to head down to a nearby tailor and get his school uniform ironed out and fixed.
That turned out to be a mistake. The moment he had passed by the police station, several officers went after him while carrying a piece of paper. By sheer luck and a few quick turns, he had barely managed to knock them out and confirm his suspicions. Belloq knew he was alive and was now hunting him.
Taking one last look at the downed men, he took off their radios and locked them inside a nearby dumpster. "Hopefully, the garbage guys don't come today."
A brown hair girl with pigtails and glasses tapped away on her phone. Moments later, she smiled at the new picture she recently posted before going through her gallery again.
Her activity was interrupted by the sound of someone struggling to open the door to her hotel room and then loud knocking.
"Coming!" yelled the girl. Upon opening the door, she was greeted with a familiar face who she hadn't seen for a while now.
"Reimu-cchi!"
"Sumireko!"
The two girls embraced before quickly entering the room and shutting the door behind them.
"My parents aren't back at the moment and all I'm doing is posting pictures on social media. I never thought I'd see the day you come here and what's with the uniform?" asked Sumireko.
"It's what I'm wearing as a disguise and clothes for a ball," answered the shrine maiden.
"Disguise? Ball?" questioned Sumireko. "What have you been doing? I thought you'd be in Gensokyo."
"I know, I know," replied Reimu. "It's a long story."
She quickly told her about her current situation, adventure, and "vacation" though purposely left out details regarding Ryusei and his otherworldly nature. These were certainly things that would've complicated her situation and created misunderstandings.
"Wow. So you're going to a ball that wants everyone attending to wear a school uniform? I have never heard or been to one before! You're so lucky Reimu-cchi!"
"Thanks Sumireko, but I still need a bit of advice. This is my first time going to any formal event here and I have no clue what to do."
"Calm down," reassured Sumireko. "It's not that big of a deal all you need to do is avoid walking too fast, don't have bad posture, don't chug your drink, and make eye contact with your partner, but not too much or you'll look desperate."
"Erm thanks I guess?" replied Reimu. "What about dancing? I haven't done any formal dancing before."
"Don't worry about it. Just go with the flow and the moves will come to you. Trust me," reassured Sumireko. "Man I wish I could come and see what prince will conquer our pure and amazing shrine maiden's heart but my parents are taking me to my grandma's this evening and I can't miss out on that either."
"How about this?" suggested Reimu. "Once I get back to Gensokyo, I'll tell you how it went down. Maybe we can even host a ball of our own once I get back."
"Sounds fun but aren't most of the attendees gonna be girls?" asked Sumireko.
"Eh?" asked Reimu. "I don't see a problem with that."
Sumireko internally facepalmed before showing her friend the door.
"I'll explain once you get back, for now just have fun."
"Thank you for your service," replied Ryusei. He put his uniform back on before heading to the payphone and dialing Mordecai's number again.
"Please don't let this be another voicemail."
"Ryusei?" asked the person on the other end.
"Yeah. It's me. Is this Wick?" asked Ryusei.
"Yep," answered Mordecai. "I managed to hack into law enforcement and give them a 5 day break. They won't be bothering you guys any longer. As for transportation, I'll be using a Black Hawk to fly you over to that island. See you tomorrow at 9."
"Thanks. See you in the morning."