Junior Year Box Set

“No, technically, it’s fine. It’s just not how Americans speak, and I’m assuming that’s your target audience.”

“Which parts would you change?”

“You have no contractions. It makes everything sound stiff and formal. It’s like the difference between a business report and a conversation. For example, in this sentence, you have my avatar saying ‘we will,’ where in normal conversation, I would say ‘we’ll,’” I explained.

“But our audience is business people.”

“Let’s do this. I’ll do the short one both ways, and we have Saul come in and tell you which he thinks sounds best. He’s a businessperson who’s well aware of what sells.”

They agreed. When he came in, Saul didn’t hesitate to pick my version as sounding more American. It seemed that they usually contracted with another company to write the English translations of their ads and commercials. They were now concerned that they needed to have them reviewed.

I pointed at Hana and explained that she was my interpreter and in college. I suggested they should hire her to review the wording. She could probably use the extra money.

We were done by 3:30. When we got downstairs, I found Paul had been busy: he’d hired a security firm. There were three big black SUVs parked out front with people blocking the sidewalk so we could make it to the car unmolested. Saul and Kent were directed to the first car, while Paul, Hana, and I rode in the second. There was a security person who drove and another who rode shotgun. In the last car, five extra men followed us. I felt like a big-time VIP.

The reason they were needed was that we had a massive crowd of fans and paparazzi waiting for us. Someone at Tokyo Animation must have leaked that we were there.

◊◊◊

Once we got back to the hotel, Brook came to my room.

“We’re going out,” she announced.

“Did you see everyone out front?” I asked.

“It’s your birthday. You aren’t going to let a few fans keep you from going celebrating, are you? It was bad enough you had to work.”

With the time change, and basically losing Saturday, I’d forgotten today was my birthday. I wondered for a moment why no one had sent me birthday wishes, and then it dawned on me. They were either sleeping or just getting up.

I heard my door’s lock click as someone used the keycard. Of course, it was Cassidy.

“How come you’re standing around? Go, get dressed,” she ordered.

There was a knock at my door almost as soon as she closed it. It was Kent. I should have gotten a suite.

“I told Mr. Goda that it was your birthday. He already had a reservation at Ise Sueyoshi, his favorite place to eat in Tokyo, and gave his reservation to you. The only problem is it only seats five people. I thought we should invite Megan as the fifth,” Kent suggested.

“What about Saul, Paul, and Hana?” I asked.

“Bitch, please—it’s your birthday!” Kent said with a big smile.

That statement alone told me that Kent wasn’t going to be anything like Kendal. He might, in fact, corrupt me. I wondered if this was one of those ‘you can trust some people to do some things’ moments.

◊◊◊

Our motorcade, as I was now calling it, took us to a small restaurant. Ise Sueyoshi really did only seat five people. You sat at a sushi bar and watched as they prepared your meal. The meal was served kaiseki style, which is a traditional Japanese multi-course meal. Kaiseki cuisine was originally developed to be a simple meal as part of the Japanese traditional tea ceremony. Over time it has been elevated into an art form to stimulate all your senses.

Yuuki-san, our chef, opened with ikkon—a cup of crisp sake from Ise Shrine—and then moved us through a series of delightful small courses. The variation in ingredients, cooking style, and temperature was engaging. Regardless of whether the vegetables, meat, or fish were served hot or cold, raw, steamed, boiled, or fried, every morsel was a treat and presented with flair.

We got the sake pairing for each course, and this made it wonderful. Each sake, six in total, was selected from the same region as the course it was paired with, and the sake went perfectly with the whole meal.

Over the course of the meal, Yuuki-san explained the dishes, the preparation techniques he used, and the origins of the ingredients. This conversation helped us understand the sophistication of kaiseki. There was a story behind each ingredient, and he had a book with photos to help show it. As he walked you through this, you felt personally invested in each dish, which took the whole experience to another level.