Uzuki Yugao slowly woke, her body feeling chilly.
She opened her eyes and found herself lying on a beach.
She propped herself up and saw Lin Chongshu crouched on a reef some distance away, laying out his coat, the scrolls from his ninja tool pouch, and Military Ration Pills in a row beneath the sun to dry.
Lin Chongshu had dragged her out of the sea.
She had swallowed a bellyful of seawater. Her last memory before passing out was of Lin Chongshu tugging her arm underwater as currents rushed into her nose and mouth from all directions.
The water in her stomach had already been forced out, but the salty, bitter taste in her mouth refused to fade, and her throat felt as though it had been scraped raw with sandpaper.
She glanced over the things Lin Chongshu had spread across the reef and saw several jars of brightly colored liquids lined up in a row.
Instinctively, she reached for the nearest one. "I'm thirsty..."
Without even looking up, Lin Chongshu said, "That's an aphrodisiac..."
Uzuki Yugao gave him a puzzled look.
"It's an improved oral-liquid version."
Uzuki Yugao looked at another red jar beside it.
"The last one was pineapple-flavored. This one is strawberry-flavored."
"You shameless bastard! Why are you carrying so many aphrodisiacs?!"
Lin Chongshu finally looked up. "You're the sick one. I study agriculture. They're for breeding sows. Show some respect for agricultural science."
Uzuki Yugao glared at him, wrung out her soaking wet hair, and said nothing more.
She lay on the beach for a few more minutes, waiting for her strength to gradually return before pushing herself to her feet.
The two followed the coastline, planning to find a nearby village.
Though Lin Chongshu had a map, he was unsure of their current location.