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Nobara was an actress. Not just any actress, but one on a trending paranormal action show with a flare for improvisation and extremely realistic set pieces. By now, she was used to the strange curveballs her job tossed at her, the odd situations her character found herself in. Every episode felt like the writers had gathered together and plotted their characters’ misery.
Yet, somehow, the results still managed to surprise her every time. And today’s episode was no exception. Nobara scowled as she stared at the script in her hands, her fingers clenching and wrinkling the paper. “Are you kidding me?”
“What, don’t like it?” Yuji asked, sipping from a juice box like a kid in elementary school. There were times when she wasn’t certain they were the same age mentally, though somehow that didn’t stop him from being her best friend on the set. Maybe that said something about herself, but she didn’t want to think about it.
“It’s not that…” Nobara leaned back into Megumi’s leather couch. It was much nicer than the one in hers or Yuji’s trailers. Which was probably the reason they were both sprawled on it, their legs entangled. One day, she’d succeed in kicking Yuji off and claiming the whole couch as her own. “Megumi, why’s your trailer so comfy?”
“It’s because I keep it clean.” Megumi sat on a nearby chair. Despite his cool response, his eyes betrayed a hint of fondness as he watched them over his iPad.
“I think the director just likes him more,” Yuji grumbled, taking another noisy sip. She couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or if he really had been raised in a barn. “Mine’s not half as nice.”
“I didn’t cause a ruckus on the first day of filming,” Megumi snipped, and Nobara could feel another argument starting.
She wasn’t in the mood for it; she was comfy where she was. It had been both a genius and an idiotic idea when Yuji had suggested that they’d all do the first readings together. They were the main leads of Jujutsu Kaisen , after all. They had a lot of scenes together. They were even friends after a few episodes. It made a lot of sense.
They also liked to argue and fight and maybe they were starting to resemble their characters a little too much.
“Did you read what happens?” she interrupted, dissolving the fight before it could start. “Like, what the hell, I’m going to get stabbed in the hand.”
“Ouch.” Yuji shuddered and shook his hand as though it’d just happened to him. He’d always been weak to sympathy pain. “That’s my least favourite wound.”
She raised a brow, amused. That wasn’t the response she’d expected. Then again, Yuji, just like the show, liked surprising her. “You have a favourite?”
“Well…” He scratched his chin, considering it. Yuji swayed side to side for a moment before shrugging. “Not really. It’s more like a ranking of least favourites?”
“Oh.” Nobara nodded. She had something similar. “Yeah, I get that.”
Megumi snorted and rolled his eyes. “What is this conversation even?”
“You don’t have one?” Yuji asked, cocking his head slightly. The man was a puppy in human form and Nobara could almost see his ears flop over. “I thought you were in a lot of movies.”
Nobara chuckled, unable to resist teasing their famous co-star. “He’s Mr. Bigshot. He’s done so much that he doesn’t even need a list anymore.”
“That’s…” Megumi coloured slightly. She couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or rage.
“You know, for a bigshot, he doesn’t treat us right,” Yuji grumbled, puffing his cheeks. His pout was more comical than serious. “We’re the main leads! We’re friends! We hang out a lot! But you treat us like strangers on the set!”
Nobara nodded sadly, egging him on. “He’s too cool for that.”
“The fame got to his head,” Yuji lamented, his shoulders slumping. “It’s too late to save him.”
“Is that your medical opinion?” Nobara jabbed, patting his thigh with her foot. “I’m sure if we get a specialist we can save him.”
Megumi let out a frustrated grunt, interrupting their game. “I’m being professional. And I do greet you.”
“A nod is not a greeting,” Nobara retorted, wagging her finger at him. “And being professional isn’t the same as ‘ignoring someone’.”
Yuji laughed, patting her foot with his free hand. “It’s fine, he’s just not a morning person, right? Besides, he always has lunch with us!”
“You’re easy.” Nobara chided. It took far too little to improve Yuji’s mood. Then again, if it hadn’t, they probably wouldn’t be friends. There were few people who could handle her temper or Megumi’s awkwardness. “Raise your standards.”
“That’ll be easy, he has none,” Megumi commented, taking his opening for revenge.
It was a surprise attack. They both stared at him, mouths open. While Megumi sometimes joined in, it was rare for him to make a first strike like that. His cheeks turned red as he noticed their stare. “What?”
“Nothing.” Nobara changed the topic before Megumi could retreat into his shell. “Back to the hand stabbing. The script’s telling me not to scream, to just kinda take it. What sort of reaction is that? How did these kids get raised?”
“Kids?” Megumi raised a brow. He gently chided, “We’re not much older than them.”
Yuji flipped through his script, searching for the scene. “It’s the season finale and now you wonder?”
“I wondered before too!” Nobara protested, setting her script on her lap. She reached behind her for her bottle of mineral water. “And I didn’t get stabbed before this episode.” Glancing down at the open script, she corrected herself. “Stabbed and poisoned. How the hell is someone supposed to act when they’re stabbed and poisoned?”
“You’re an actor. Figure it out.” Megumi shrugged. With his experience, this clearly wasn’t a problem for him. If only he were a better teacher. He tapped his iPad, idly flicking through the script. “My scenes aren’t much better.”
“I’m trying! That’s why I’m asking!” Nobara grumbled. She gulped down her water, resisting the urge to curse.
“Ohh, I see it now.” Yuji brightened as he skimmed the lines. His jaw dropped the further he went. “Hey, I’m poisoned too! And I run super fast? While carrying you?”
“They’ll have to give you a harness for that.” Megumi bit his lip as he swiped on the screen, going through the scene. “I’m left behind.”
“What, feeling lonely? You can’t film with us.” Yuji teased good-naturedly, dropping his empty juice box on the ground. Megumi twitched and Nobara sighed. Even now, Yuji forgot the cardinal rule of visiting Megumi’s trailer: don’t make a mess.
“Clean. That. Up,” Megumi growled, glaring at Yuji. He looked like death warmed over. Nobara was only fifty percent sure that he’d already killed someone.
“Huh?” Yuji stared at Megumi, then down at the ground. He stared at the juice box blankly before his lips formed a small ‘o’. “Ohh, right, right.”
Yuji leaned over awkwardly, trying to grab the crumpled box. As he moved, his legs bumped into Nobara’s and she scowled. Kicking him, she warned, “Hey, watch it.”
“Sorry.” Yuji did not sound sorry in the least. Luckily, his arms were long, and he grabbed the box easily before pushing off the ground and righting his balance. “Better?”
“Barely,” Megumi and Nobara angrily replied in unison.
“It’s scary when you guys tag team like that.” Despite his words, Yuji did not sound scared in the least. She wasn’t certain if that made him fearless or an idiot. Actually, no, she knew he was an idiot.
She lightly kicked him in punishment. “Maybe don’t screw around next time.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal…” Yuji mumbled, sinking into his seat.
Nobara rolled her eyes before returning to the matter at hand. “I guess we won’t be filming together as much, then.” She flipped through the script, skimming the last few pages. “Not until the end of the fight at least.”
“Yeah…” Megumi ran a rough hand through his air, grumpily staring at his screen. “Does that seem right?”
“Huh?” Yuji cocked his head, perplexed. “I mean, aren’t most battle shows like that? Splitting up fights?”
“No, not that…the fact that I forced you two to go…” Megumi pursed his lips. He was a handsome man, whether he was smiling or scowling. It was enough to make Nobara jealous; if her fans saw her frowning like that, they’d ditch her in a heartbeat. “I don’t think my character would do that.”
“He’s trying to prove himself,” Nobara pointed out, raising a hand and ticking off her opinions. “And he’s always been more of a solo fighter. It’s not like this is the first time he’s gone it alone.”
“Maybe he’s trying to make up for what my guy did last time?” Yuji suggested, rubbing his chin as he thought. “Like when we were at that prison, he’d been forced to leave, right?”
“That’s true.” Nobara lightly clapped her hands. Yuji had always been good at character insights. “He’s definitely the ‘repay my debts’ type.”
Megumi rubbed his neck, his lips twisting as he contemplated their suggestions. “I don’t disagree but…”
“But?” Yuji pressed.
“He also didn’t want to bring them there in the first place. Would he really leave them?” Megumi stared down at his script. “They could get killed and they don’t know who’s on the other side of that portal.”
“It’s not like he has a choice,” Nobara replied, crossing her arms. Their characters were supposed to be teenagers, but they were put into so many situations that even she, as an adult, didn’t think she could handle. Maybe she had the same level of guts and spite that her character had, but the strength to just keep standing and pushing forward in a life-and-death situation? Nobara wasn’t sure she could do it. She hoped she’d never find out if she had to. “If he doesn’t, his sister’ll die, right? And the other two aren’t weaklings.”
“Yeah…” Megumi sighed, dispirited. He didn’t sound convinced in the least.
“Well, wasn’t that the whole point?” Yuji asked, sitting up suddenly. It jostled her slightly, her feet almost falling off the couch.
“A warning would have been nice,” she grumbled, adjusting herself into a more comfortable position. Nobara glanced at him, confused. “So, what’s the whole point?”
“It’s the point of everything—they’re all supposed to rely on each other. We’re teammates, right?” Yuji smiled like a bundle of sunshine. It was too bright. Nobara needed sunglasses in the face of that innocence. “So this is just them trusting each other.”
She scowled instinctively. How had he lived as long as he had with that attitude? The only way to survive him was to toss in some darkness. “The end of the season is literally them keeping secrets from each other.”
Yuji flinched. He hung his head sheepishly. “Good point. Maybe in the next season?”
“If we get another season,” Megumi scoffed. He set down his iPad on the table in front of him and picked up his coffee. “This might just be a promotional bit.”
“Ugh.” Nobara shuddered, annoyed. Some of her favourite series had been like that, giving her only one season and leaving her wanting for more. “I hate those. If I wanted to read, I’d read! Action’s better when watched.”
“They do that a lot, don’t they?” Yuji sighed, dejected. How rare, there was something even he didn’t like. Maybe she should go buy a lottery ticket.
Encouraged, Nobara ranted, “It’d be one thing if they wrapped things up or if the story was a single season. But there’s always that teaser at the end or the cliff hanger and you never get all of the answers. And I don’t want to read a light novel.”
“I feel like you’re talking about a specific show,” Megumi replied, deadpan. He rested his chin on his hand. “The source for this is a manga. You know Wikipedia exists?”
She glared at him, disgusted. “I just said I didn’t want to read. Were you listening at all?” Nobara grinded her teeth. Why did people act like that was a good solution in the first place? “If I was going to use that, I might as well just see the damn source material.”
Megumi glared back, shackles raised. For someone who usually acted cool and collected, it didn’t take much to set him off. “You have options, use them.”
“Hey, doesn’t that mean we’re gonna be done soon?” Yuji interrupted, as usually not noticing the time, place, or situation. Half of their fights started and ended because he had the social awareness of a brick. “Shooting’ll be over in a couple of days.”
Megumi and Nobara glared at each other one last time before turning away in a huff. She pushed back her bangs, still annoyed. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Then we won’t see each other as much…” Yuji’s shoulders slumped, his voice soft. She had often compared him to an overeager puppy and now she could almost see his ears droop.
Nobara bit her cheek. She hadn’t actually thought that far. They’d been filming this show for so long she’d forgotten what ending it would mean. “That…”
“That’s what happens,” Megumi said impassively, sipping his coffee. He crossed his legs, looking unruffled, as though he hadn’t been about to enter two shouting matches in the past ten minutes. “Unless we meet on another set.”
“You could act a little more disappointed,” Nobara snapped.
Yuji patted her foot comfortingly. “That’s how he shows his disappointment,” he explained, grinning. He winked playfully. “It’s practically an I’ll miss you .”
Megumi scowled, his ears red. “I don’t need you to translate,” he hissed.
That wasn’t a denial. Nobara laughed. If Yuji was a puppy, Megumi was a cat. And she was their stylish owner. “Then we’ll just need to get famous enough we can see Mr. Bigshot again.”
“I’m not…” Megumi’s ears turned a brighter red. For an actor, he was terrible at taking compliments. Or hiding his emotions. Maybe it wouldn’t be all that hard to reach his level after all.
“Or make season two,” Yuji added, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “We’ll need to do more interviews.”
Nobara perked up. Promotions were her speciality and social media was her kingdom. If they needed to boost their show, she knew exactly what to do. “We need to take some photos for Instagram and Twitter. And film us practicing as a sneak peak. We’ll have to be careful to get around the contract, but…they won’t mind when the money rolls in.”
“Maybe we could do a role swap?” Yuji suggested, bouncing on his seat as they swapped ideas back and forth. The whole couch shook with his movements but for once she didn’t reprimand him. It felt like his energy was transferring to her and soon she was bouncing with him.
After his flush disappeared, Megumi cleared his throat and interrupted them. “Before all of that, we have to get the episode done perfectly.”
“Ohh?” Nobara needled, unable to resist. There was an opening and she had never been one to miss her shot. “So you will miss us?”
She laughed when his ears burned red again.