"What just happened? Right at the end?" Nick asked.

They were walking out of a production meeting that had been held in a conference room at one of Matsuyama's tall, luxury hotels. It was the first one to which Nick and Sumire had actually been called; most of these meetings only involved location scouts, producers, directors, and the writers, who incorporated the changes and handed out the revised scripts.

Today's meeting had been huge, involving most of the principals, every writer, all of the producers, the director and assistant director, everyone's assistants, the scouts, and interpreters. Only the crew seemed to be missing, and it turned out that they were at their own meeting down the hall, covering a lot of the same material.

"I'll tell you when we get in the car," Sumire said, her color bad, and Nick knew that his suspicions were correct, and that something bad had transpired.

He waited until Mino-chan pulled out into the mid-November drizzle, then turned to Sumire, his expression expectant.

Sumire took a deep breath and shook her head in disgust.

"You know how that sewer rat Kondo-san has the hots for me?"

Nick pulled a face and nodded, saying, "I told you, it's even been on camera a few times. When you have scenes together, he watches you walk away, or even when you and Hiro have scenes together, and he's in he long shots? The way he looks at you? It's gross."

Sumire nodded grimly. "Right. Well, you haven't been around some of the times when Kondo-san and I have scenes together, but he's gone off script a little and ad-libbed some of that, reaching for me and stuff. Once he even stroked my cheek when he said a line about how he couldn't wait until I was part of his household, something like that? It was disgusting, and I didn't break character or anything, but I shuddered, I couldn't help it."

In the back of the car, Sumire shuddered again, just remembering the incident.

"Anyway, the camera got it all, and Murakami-sensei and Reiko-san, the AD, have been seeing a lot of it when they watch the dailies every night," she continued.

"So?" Nick asked, confused. "It didn't sound like they were even pissed at him. Did they tell him to knock it off? That wasn't the impression I got."

Sumire shook her head, looking positively ill.

"Both of them said that they liked it, that it brought a sense of--menace--of danger, to my situation, of how I'd have to live in that house after I married Hiro and everything.

"Oh my god, so they want him to keep doing it?" Nick was aghast. He noticed in passing that the rain had gotten stronger, and the raindrops sounded like bullets hitting the roof of the car.

"It's even worse than that," Sumire told him. "That fucking producer that Sachiko Burns is screwing suggested that it be written into the script, building it up until the day before the big battle on the Hirajima Plain, when he could sexually assault me, or at least try. And everyone thought that it was a fantastic idea, that it would up the tension exponentially, and they put two of the writers on it right away, so Kondo-san and I would have the changes by filming next week." She sat back, indicating that she was finished.

"What?" Nick didn't know what else to say.

"You heard me," Sumire said, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain hitting the car. "Please don't make me repeat it."

"That producer? Greg whatever his name is?" Nick said. "He's just a wallet, someone to sign checks. He dumber than a sack of hammers. You know he didn't think of this on his own. That cunt, she put this in his head." He leaned in to hug Sumire, who was so tense it felt like hugging a marble statue of her. "I'm so, so sorry, Mimi-chan."

She let out a sob against Nick's shoulder as her arms came around him. "I don't know if I can do it, Nick, for real. The thought of that revolting old man putting his hands on me makes me want to be ill!"

"Shh, please don't make yourself upset over this," he soothed, stroking her hair.

Mino-chan looked in his rear view mirror, concern in his eyes.

"Everything okay?" he asked. "I should pull over?"

Nick shook his head. "No, just please get us home," he requested.

"Can I ask them not to? Can I tell them I don't want to?" she asked Nick, her voice muffled against his chest.

"I don't think so," he told her. "That's just not how these things work, unfortunately. "No one's opinion matters but theirs, and if they think something will make the picture better, then it's going to happen."

Sumire sniffled against his shoulder and pushed herself away.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not usually such a baby. I'll stop, and I'll figure out a way to deal with this. I mean, compared to this, doing a love scene with you is nothing, isn't it?" She gave Nick a tremulous smile. "I should just think of it like that, I guess, and put it in perspective, huh?"

He nodded, not sure if agreeing or disagreeing was the better course.

"It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't know that he was actually after me," Sumire said, leaning into Nick with a shiver. "That just makes it so much more sickening, because I know it's not acting, you know?"

Nick nodded, smoothing her hair.

He took a deep breath. He knew that he needed to think of the young woman in his arms, but the truth was that he was having a hard time dealing with this knowledge himself. He wanted to tell Mino-chan to turn around and go back to Matsuyama, to the hotel where he knew Kondo-san was staying, so he could pound the man's face in.

They were quiet for the rest of the drive back to the ryokan, just taking comfort in being close. Sumire sat up abruptly when they arrived at the carriage porch style entrance, a lovely convenience whereby they could step out of the car without getting wet in inclement weather like today. There was already one other car under it, its single occupant emerging as the driver unloaded his luggage from the trunk.

"What's he doing here?" Sumire asked, her voice quiet from shock.

"I don't know," Nick answered.

"Why are you here?" Sumire asked in Japanese as she got out of the car.

"Konnichiwa, good day," Kondo-san responded with a bow as he pulled his overnight case toward the front door of the ryokan. His driver was busy assembling his luggage next to the door. He ignored Sumire's lack of manners in not greeting him in a similar manner.

Sumire could smell the horrible pomade he put in his thick, graying hair as he rose from his bow, and barely held back from gagging.

"I've heard the wonderful things you and the others who are staying her say about this place, so I asked to be moved here," he explained with a smile. "I can't wait to experience the wonderful hot springs and delicious food everyone talks about. Thank you for the recommendation." He bowed again and entered the building.

Nick gave Sumire a little squeeze. "This place is huge, I'm sure we won't even know he's here," he said with a confidence he didn't feel. "I mean, Sachiko's been here since the very first day and we have yet to see her, right?"

Sumire didn't respond.

They entered the ryokan and went straight to their suite without saying another word to Kondo-san.

After they got to their room, Sumire put on her bathing suit and went straight to the onsen, after ordering some hot sake from room service. Nick joined her without asking, and knew he'd done the right thing when she turned gratefully into his arms, snuggling into him for comfort.

"He reminds me of Marcus," she confessed. "His age, his size, the way he looks at me, the way he circles me. I don't like it," she finished.

"I won't let him hurt you," Nick promised, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm not worried about him hurting me, I don't like knowing he's looking at me and even thinking about me," she explained.

"I don't either," Nick answered. "I can't stand it."

"And you really don't think they'd understand if I--if we--went to them and told them how he's been bothering me? That they wouldn't rewrite the script?"

Nick shook his head. "If anything, they'd say that it would make the movie better. They'd just say  that it's a case of reality adding a dash of spice to the picture to improve it, like how our relationship is making that part of the move better as well, giving Hana and Eugene such incredible chemistry?"

He loosened his grip on Sumire so he could look into her eyes. "Before all that shit went down right at the end of the meeting with the producer Greg and his suggestion about Kondo and everything? We got our own story arc expanded because we're so good on screen together, you know?"

Reluctantly, Sumire nodded.

"Our love scene is a go for sure, we got at least three more scenes together, and even Hiro's part is bigger now because you two need more screen time to build up what's happening with us, right?" Nick looked at Sumire, waiting until she nodded again before continuing.

"Basically, what's happening now is that, because you're turning out to be so good, and they like what they're seeing between you and me, your part, which is what, sixth billed? Is that right? It's turning into what would now almost be fourth or even third, only behind me, Hiro, and that A-hole Kondo himself, I think."

Sumire looked at him in disbelief.

"You can stare at me all you want, Mimi-chan," Nick said with a chuckle. "The truth is, though, that if this movie were just getting cast now, and they were negotiating with you, and you were better known, you'd be third billed, based on how big your part is. That's how good you are."

"But Nick, you know that I'm only good because I'm with you," Sumire pointed out. "I couldn't do this if I were with anyone else. Plus it's a Japanese movie. If this were a cowboy western and I had to act opposite Gene Hackman or Channing Tatum or whomever, I couldn't do it, you know?"

"No, I don't," he disagreed, shaking his head. He took a drink of sake before speaking. "You have plenty of scenes with Hiro, and from what I've seen and heard, you're doing a fantastic job."

"But Hiro's not threatening in any way," Sumire protested. "I'm not scared of him, Nick!"

"What about the scenes with Kondo, then?" Nick asked. "You hate him, and those scenes are turning out pretty good, too, aren't they?"

"Again, I'm supposed to hate him," Sumire said. "It's almost like I'm not acting."

"I don't think you're getting the point," Nick said, scooping her into the curve of his arm and pulling her closer as they sat in the water. "The best acting is taking reality and elevating it, just enough to raise it to another level, and that's what you're doing, Mimi-chan."

He kissed her on her very soft and warm mouth. "You're amazing, you're just going to have to admit it."

"Well, I wish I could admit it without filming a scene where that snake attacks me," she responded, her voice small. "I'm a chicken shit, and I'm not ashamed to admit it."

"No," Nick said, placing his finger, which was wrinkled from being in the water, against her lips. "Don't say that. You're not allowed to say that. You're the bravest person I know, the bravest person I know."

He kissed her again.

"Now let's get out of here before we turn into prunes, okay?"

"Okay."