What was that? They both thought as they continued to scan the area, trying to find what passed between them. After a few seconds, Hiro rolls his eyes and turns back to the conversation he was having, not wanting to waste any more of his precious time. As Kenji shook his head, he thought; It was probably only a stage light or something. Working my part-time job and this is starting to take a toll on me. I really need some sleep.

Without looking, Kenji tries to grab something from the snack table. Jin and Kenji bump hands, retracting their arms instantly. Kenji definitely felt the impact more. Shaking his hand, trying to shake off the pain he felt, meeting Jin's massive knuckles. Both set their eyes on the last an pan but were too polite to take it for themselves.

"Oh, sorry, go ahead." Kenji said, while gesturing at the pastry.

"No, I shouldn't be having that. My temptations have led me to this unsubtle muffin top. I insist you have it." Jin pats his stomach, but from the look of it, Jin seems to be two hundred pounds of pure muscle. Both want the last an pan desperately, but this situation has gotten too out of hand for either to take it.

"Why don't we split it?" Kenji said.

"Excellent idea." Jin said, reaching for the pastry, but as he was inches away, another hand got to it first. Not realizing the situation, Wataru snatches the last an pan while strolling past the table, not stopping for even a moment. In shock at the series of events, Jin's hand remained over the now empty plate, regretting not grabbing it sooner.

"Maybe that's for the best." Jin said as Kenji nodded in agreement.

Jin moves his hand from the now empty plate to greet Kenji. "I don't think we officially met. I'm Jin."

"Hi, I'm Kenji."

"Nice work. I noticed you're skilled with swords. Do you have experience in Kendo?"

"Yeah, there's a dojo near my foster home. I spent a lot of my time there."

"Well, they taught you well. Your skills are very impressive."

"Thank you." Kenji said, while avoiding eye contact.

He always hated when people gave him compliments. It always made him freeze and feel uncomfortable.

Ito rejoins Kenji, escaping Yama's pep talk. Scanning the area for anything to help his now sore back. As he looks for a heating pad, he notices a bulking man beside Kenji. Ito's jaw drops, realizing it was Jin. Ever since the show premiered, he's been obsessed with this show. It was actually Ito's idea to audition. For three years straight, he cosplayed at conventions as Jin's character, until his growth spurt, which made his gi show a little too much mid-drift. This is the first time Ito was face to face with him.

"Ito, this is Jin."

"Nice to meet -" Jin barely got out.

"I'm so glad we finally got to meet. I'm a huge fan. I've been trying to meet you, but we didn't have any scenes together until today. This is awesome, totally awesome. I can't believe this." Ito said while breathing deeper and deeper with each word.

"Thank you. That means a lot."

Mei rushes to finish her food and sprints away from Hiro and Junichi's argument about who would win in a fictional fight. She rubs her temples and takes some pain relief medicine, struggling to rid herself of a headache. As Mei and Chung make their way to Jin, Chung could obviously tell Mei was heading towards a mental breakdown. Wanting to calm her down, she sings one of Yong's band's songs. Unfortunately, the headache only intensified.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"And this is my girlfriend Mei and my sister Chung. Girls, this is Kenji and Ito."

"I hate these big battle scenes. There's way too much ego and testosterone in one place. I wish we could film these scenes separately." Mei said to Chung.

"Yeah, totally." Kenji said while pursing his lips and looking down, not knowing how to act in this situation. Mei glanced around, realizing she had burst her frustration in the middle of a conversation with people she didn't really know. Mei's cheeks instantly became red, feeling embarrassed by her outburst.

"Oh, sorry… I just feel suffocated when there's this many people."

"I understand. It can be pretty suffocating with all the hot air from Hiro and Junichi." Kenji said.

"I couldn't have said it better myself.” Jin said with a big smile.

"By the way, I heard what happened earlier. I'm sorry we weren't there to put him in his place." Mei said.

"It's okay. It didn't bother us one bit." Ito said, the reaction taking Kenji by surprise.

"That's good because you guys are doing great." Mei said, as Chung and Jin nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I loved the part where you ripped the beast in half, and his intestines fell out, and it soaked your hands with goo." Chung said with such unsettling enthusiasm, trying to reenact the scene.

"Mei, we need you for a minute." Called Mei's mother, who doubled as her agent. Kenji, during the shoot, couldn't help but notice her, as she would constantly call Mei when they weren't filming. Kenji assumed this was a person who didn't know the reason behind decaf coffee, based on the way she would fast walk around the set, swinging her arms so aggressively Kenji could've sworn she uppercut someone once.

They all can't help but look at Mei, as she releases a large sigh, hesitantly turning to walk towards her mother. As Mei stands there, her mother quickly grabs her arm, causing Mei to wince from the pain. While she escorts her to the men in suits, Mei's mother never loses her big grin as she glances at Mei and back at the men. Kenji wasn't sure who the men were until he saw their business logo. It was easy to recognize, as they were one of the biggest talent agencies in the nation.

"Wow, she's so lucky." Ito said.

Jin looks at Mei with sorrowed eyes. Watching her as she puts on a smile, but can’t hide the pain in her eyes. Knowing how tough it's been for her, as she struggles to be someone her mother needs her to be. "Lucky isn't the word I would use."

"What time is it? I'm supposed to check my phone.” Kenji said, while scanning for a clock. "Oh no, I have to go. It's nice meeting you guys. I'm going to go outside.

"Okay, I'm going to grab something to eat before we start again. But let's all hang out after all this is over. I know a good bar around here."

"Really? I mean, yeah totally." Kenji said as he changed his high pitch reaction to a much deeper voice. Kenji glances at Ito to see if he noticed his voice change, but by the look on his face he was still stunned by the invitation.

Kenji walks outside to check his phone, but while walking to the lockers, he couldn't help but think about what Hiro said. Reminding him of when he was little. Kenji always had a tough time making friends. He was the youngest of twelve in the foster home by a significant amount. They usually invited him to things out of pity, but soon the other kids made it obvious they didn't want to have a little kid constantly follow them around, so ditching him or telling him to get lost became normal behavior. So, Kenji would spend most of his time in the dojo nearby, losing himself in his training. But as Kenji thought about the conversation he just had with Jin, Chung and Mei and couldn't help but hope this time was different.

Kenji opens his locker, immediately notices his phone is covered with notifications of texts and missed calls from his doctor. He rushes to pick up his phone and quickly calls him back.

"Hello?"

"Hi, sorry I missed your call. I'm working."

"Kenji, how are you feeling?" He usually asked this whenever he spoke to him, but this time felt off.

"I'm fine. I feel really exhausted, though."

"Kenji, the results came back, and um… it's not looking good."

"How bad?" There was an uncomfortable pause after he asked the question. It seemed like minutes passed by until the doctor answered.

"I want to be transparent. You don't have long. I would say only a couple of years, three at best."