Nick reflected that everything about getting to their destination in Shikoku was exponentially easier because he was traveling with Sumire; even though it was one of the four major islands of Japan, it was definitely smaller and "off the beaten path." The signage was only in Japanese, they didn't mess around with putting the English underneath, like in Tokyo or its environs. And as much as he stuck out in Tokyo, there were at least other foreigners there, not to mention celebrities and famous people. The farther they got from the capital of Japan, the more Nick felt like an exotic bug of some sort.

They had taken the Shinkansen, or bullet train, from Tokyo to Hiroshima, a trip which Nick had enjoyed immensely. They'd bought the pretty and delicious box lunches and eaten them while savoring the view that was flashing by out their window on the late summer day. Then, with a minimum of fuss, Sumire had gotten them to the ferry station where they'd catch the boat that would carry them across the Setonaikai, or Seto Inland Sea, that joined the island of Honshu to the smaller island of Shikoku. By this point in their trip, there were nearly no foreigners anywhere, and only Japanese language surrounded them, Nick noticed.

"What's wrong?" Sumire asked as she gathered their tickets and they headed toward the dock where they'd board the ferry.

"Hm? Nothing, nothing," he reassured her. "I'm just noticing that you seem less shy here, that's all."

"I'm not really shy," she replied, "I'm just what you'd call reserved, maybe? But I can't be when I have to be your voice, right? When I have to get us where we have to be?"

"But you don't, you know?"

"What do you mean?" They sat on a shady bench while they waited to board the ferry. "How would we have done all this? You couldn't do it, right?"

"No, I couldn't," Nick agreed. "But you were hired just to be my dialogue coach, and that's all. The studio hired a translator for me, some dude named Burns. He's supposed to be doing all this other stuff, for both of us."

Sumire looked around. "Well, where is he?"

Nick grinned. "I told the studio we didn't need him until we got to the set," he admitted.

"Why?"

Nick shrugged. "I thought it would be more fun not to have some old fart with us until we had to, you know?" He poked her arm. "And I was right, wasn't I? Wasn't it better not to have a stranger with us in Tokyo, and on the train today, and now for this boat ride and everything?"

Sumire nodded. "How do you know he's 'an old fart'?" she asked. "Have you met him?"

Nick shook his head. "I know he's a guy, and I just assumed," he said with another shrug.

"I just think it's so so cool to listen to you speak Japanese to everyone, you know?" he told Sumire, poking her arm again. "It's almost like you're a different person." He thought, but didn't say, that it was very sexy to listen to her speak Japanese and deal with people and issues in another language. He didn't think Sumire would want to hear that he, Nick, thought that anything about her was "sexy."

The ferry began loading, and they boarded, and again, Nick was stared at by the Japanese locals, not because he was recognized as a celebrity, but simply because he was so tall, so foreign, such a gaijin, that there was no way he could blend.

Sumire smiled as they stood at the bow to enjoy the breeze and the view. Hiroshima was colorful and noisy behind them, the Setonaikai was dark blue all around them, and Shikoku was dark green and mountainous in front of them.

"What are you smiling about?" Nick asked as the ferry put out from the dock and burbled out into the water.

"It's just nice not to be the most foreign looking person for once," she told him. "Usually that's me, and usually I get stared at, but as long as you're around, I'm going to look relatively normal, you know? So thanks."

"My pleasure," he said wryly.

"So, who's meeting us over there?" Sumire asked, gesturing forward with her chin.

"Uh, someone from the production? Name starts with an M," Nick said.

"Name starts with an M?" Sumire repeated with a smile. "Wonderful."

"Ah, don't fret," Nick said. "We've got the wind in our faces, it's a gorgeous afternoon, what more could we want?"

"To know where we're going?" Sumire suggested.

"Nah. Besides, even if we don't end up where we think we will, we'll end up somewhere," Nick answered with an exuberant laugh.

"Wonderful," Sumire said again, but she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

Nick enjoyed hearing the sound of her joy blending with the noise of the gulls which followed the ferry across the inland sea.

They were indeed met by someone whose name started with an M on the other side.

"Hello, hello, my name is Kazuo Minoguchi, so nice to meet you." The very nice young man who spoke accompanied his words with both a handshake and a bow. He didn't look much older than Nick, and was acting like there was no place he'd rather be than on the dock at Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku waiting to meet Nick and Sumire to drive them to wherever they needed to go.

Sumire greeted him in Japanese, and he made the usual face Japanese people made when confronted by someone who looked like Sumire who spoke perfect, accentless, Japanese.

Nick listened and smiled with pride as Sumire explained that she was half Japanese and grew up in Japan. He reflected that it could almost be construed as offensive how Japanese  people were always surprised that foreigners could speak their language as well as Sumire did. He wondered if it was really that unusual? Were there really no other people who spoke the language as well as she did?

Minoguchi-san turned to Nick. "Her Japanese is amazing," he explained. "I have never heard anyone speak Japanese so well who wasn't Japanese native."

Well, question answered, then.

"Yes, Sumire-san is incredible at languages," Nick agreed.

They got in the car and pulled away from the dock, with Minoguchi-san keeping up a steady stream of chatter as they drove through the mountainous countryside. "I was chosen to be your driver and assistant for your time here because my English is better than most," he confessed. "But it's not actually so good, so I apologize for this, Pensieri-san."

"Oh no, oh no, Minoguchi-san, please, call me Nick?" Nick asked. "Or at least Nick-san?"

Minoguchi-san looked in the rear-view mirror at Nick and smiled. "Really? You don't mind? I may call you Nick-san?"

Nick nodded.

"Okay, I call you Nick-san from now," Minoguchi-san agreed, nodding happily. "So I can ask favor? Can you call me Mino-chan? No one calls me Minoguchi-san." He looked over at Sumire as well and said something in Japanese. Nick assumed he was asking her the same thing.

Sumire nodded, giving him a smile back.

"I try to speak English as much as possible, like Kotani-san says, since it's the language we all have in common," Mino-chan continued.

Nick nodded his thanks.

"Wow, this is really beautiful country," Sumire mentioned, gesturing to the scenery that was flashing by their window. "Don't you think, Nick?"

"Yes, it really is, isn't it?"

The leaves had just been starting to change in Tokyo, but they were farther south now, and everything was still lushly green with summer, the dense foliage growing right up to the edge of the road they traveled.

"You're lucky, you're staying in a very beautiful ryokan while you're filming," Mino-chan told them.

"That's like a bed and breakfast," Sumire told Nick when he looked at her for a translation.

"It has a very nice onsen as well--uh, hot bath? How do you say?"

"Hot spring," Sumire supplied, clapping her hands together. "But not me, though, right? I'm not staying there, am I?"

"I think yes," Mino-chan answered. "I was told take both of you there, and I believe both of your suitcases were delivered there."

Sumire looked at Nick, but he just looked back at her blankly.

"You should perhaps rest, perhaps sleep," Mino-chan suggested. "It's maybe two more hours until we arrive."

And, even though the scenery was beautiful, Sumire succumbed to sleep, leaning against the window.

Nick did a little better, indulging in desultory conversation with Mino-chan about the beautiful, mountainous countryside through which they were passing.

Wow, this really was remote.

And just when he was starting to feel drowsy, they arrived at the ryokan, which looked like it was from another era. It was nestled in a small valley, next to a creek which was spanned by a swaying pedestrian bridge. The steam from the springs could be seen from miles away, rising all around the picturesque wooden buildings that made up the inn.

Sumire woke up, rubbing her eyes and smiling with pleasure at the tableau which greeted her.

"Oh, wow, Nick, how gorgeous," she murmured, opening the car door and stepping out. "I can't believe I get to stay here for the next five months!"

Again, Nick was happy to see her joy.

Mino-chan was gesturing for them to follow him into the buildings so they could get checked in.

They approached the front desk, where Nick could tell the fangirling had already begun. The women were smiling at Sumire and Nick, gesturing to each other and pointing at Nick himself.

He smiled and listened to Mino-chan and Sumire talk to them, trying to find out if Sumire was indeed staying here also. He hoped so.

"Sumire? Sumire," he interrupted. "Listen, if it's only a matter of money, please tell them I'll pay for you to stay here, okay?"

She turned to stare at him, but he just nodded implacably. "Please, just tell them?"

"It's not about money, Nick, but thanks. They're completely booked, anyway, but something's wrong with your reservation, now shh, let us figure it out, okay?" She turned back and began speaking Japanese so quickly that Nick had a hard time believing that even native speakers like the women behind the counter could understand her.

Finally, they seem to have arrived at some kind of understanding, and were saying good bye to Mino-chan.

"We won't see him until the day after tomorrow when he comes to take us to the set," Sumire told Nick.

"Oh, okay, then. Bye, Mino-chan, and thanks for everything," Nick told him with a bow.

"See you soon!" Mino-chan said, bowing back and smiling.

"So what's up with our rooms?" Nick asked as they followed one of the women down the hall.

"I'll explain in a sec," Sumire said. "Let's just get situated, okay? God, I'm exhausted."

They went first to what Nick assumed was his suite. There were two tatami rooms with shoji, or sliding paper doors separating them, with a couple of chairs and a TV in one of the rooms. He could see what looked like a hot tub with steam rising off it behind the second room. It was a beautiful, old-fashioned Japanese room. Wow.

The woman and Sumire exchanged a few words, mutually bowed, and then the woman left.

What?

"What about your room?" he asked her.

Sumire rolled her eyes at Nick. "That's where the confusion came in," she explained. "Apparently because your translator, Mr. Burns, is a man? The studio arranged for the two of you to share two rooms and a bathroom." She gestured to the second room, separated only by the shoji.

"Oh, no," Nick said. "You can't do that. Those aren't even proper doors. You won't have any privacy. I'm so sorry, Mimi-chan. Did you explain that this isn't acceptable?"

"We tried, but because of the movie and everything, they're booked. And fall is their busy season because people come to see the colors and enjoy the hot springs and all that.

"So," Sumire concluded, "The room I was supposed to have had me sharing with some other person that I don't know at all, which I really don't want to do, you know? So I told them that I'd rather share with you, because at least I know you." She gathered her blouse at her throat in a gesture Nick knew so well.

"That makes sense," he agreed.

"You don't mind, do you?" Sumire asked, looking worried. "Would you rather share with Mr. Burns?"

"No, of course not," he assured her.

Just then, the door to their rooms was opened with a bang, and they were confronted by a very pretty Japanese girl who was very out of breath. The nice woman from the front desk hovered behind her, looking apologetic and concerned.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I'm late," she announced dramatically, smoothing her hair away from her face as she entered the suite. The nice woman followed in her wake.

"Hello, I'm Sachiko Burns," she continued, holding out her hand.

"Nick Pensieri," Nick said, grasping her hand.

"And this is my translator and dialogue coach, Sumire Kotani," he said, gesturing toward Sumire.

"No no, I'm your translator," Sachiko corrected with a smile. "Like I said, things got all muddled because I'm late, but I'm here now, so we can get everything all sorted."

"Did you say 'Burns'?" Nick asked. "I thought you were a dude."

"Nope, I'm all girl," as you can see," she answered with a smile, gesturing at her body.

"Oh, shit, what a mess," Nick said, face palming.

"No, no mess," Sachiko said. "I'm supposed to be in this room, and that girl is supposed to be somewhere else, that's all. Simple." She turned and rattled off something to the hotel clerk.

"Okay," she said, smiling all around. "All sorted." She looked at Nick. "Nice to finally meet you, Nick, I'm a huge fan. Which room do you want?"

"Hold on, hold on," Nick said, feeling a little dizzy from how quickly things were happening. "We can't share a room, we don't even know each other! They only put us together because they thought you were a man, you know? I mean, how did that happen?"

For the first time, Sachiko's confidence faltered. "Oh, I don't know. Someone must've screwed up the paperwork somehow."

Sumire, who had remained silent since Sachiko entered the room, asked the hotel clerk something in Japanese. The clerk checked something on her clipboard, then answered her.

"I asked her if the person who would've been my roommate was a man or woman, and she said they found a woman associated with the movie, another translator. Not a two room suite with a hot bath like this one, but a large room for two people," Sumire translated. "So, since I already know Nick, it probably makes more sense if I just stay here and if Sachiko-san takes the other room, don't you think?"

Sachiko looked at Sumire with narrowed eyes for just a second before turning back to Nick with a smile. "I guess we could leave it up to Nick?" She arched her back very slightly and licked her lips.

Nick looked from Sumire to Sachiko. "I think what Sumire said makes a lot of sense," he finally said, reaching out to his friend.

"I agree," Sachiko began before she really heard his words. Then her smile faltered. "Oh. Oh, really?" She looked around. "I guess it makes more sense that way," she finally agreed. "I'll make sure my stuff gets moved."

She looked up at Nick. "I guess we should meet for dinner and drinks, though, as soon as we can? Get to know each other before filming starts?"

"No, I don't think so," Nick replied cheerfully. "Sumire is half-Japanese, can you tell? I mean, she's got those gorgeous half-Japanese eyes and everything, right? And she's completely fluent in both English and Japanese, no accent at all, which is so rare. Anyway, she's going to be my translator for the duration of the filming, so I won't be needing you. I can't believe the studio didn't tell you. I'm so, so sorry, Sachiko-san. If I'd known, I would've contacted you myself, you know? I mean, don't worry, I'm sure you'll be needed as translator somewhere for sure."

Sachiko's face was a study in unhappiness and disappointment, though she was trying to hide it.

Sumire kept her face carefully expressionless until the clerk and Sachiko-san left. Then she turned to Nick.

"You can be so mean," she remarked with a smile.

"Oh, please, she was so horrible," Nick responded. "You know she fucked up the paperwork herself on purpose, right? Just to get in my room? She was just a groupie, a--a--star fucker--"

"Nick Pensieri!"

"Oh, god, you're so cute when you're all offended."

"She's going to be real trouble, you know that, right?"

"Who cares? That was fun, Mimi-chan."

"Can we just unpack and eat, please?"

"Yes. Absolutely. Cutie."

"Shut up."