DUO – Episode 3: “The City Doesn’t Sleep”

Theme: Grit, small victories, and the first glimpse of opportunity

Tone: Atmospheric, grounded, bittersweet

Visual Style: Overcast skies, muted tones, neon glints in wet puddles

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[OPENING CREDITS]

Music: A gentle guitar and ambient synth blend over visuals of Tokyo’s slow morning—buses starting, shutters opening, salarymen marching.

Title:

DUO – Episode 3: “The City Doesn’t Sleep”

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Scene 1: Dawn Grind

Location: Underpass Shelter – 6:00 AM

Music: Soft rustling, distant trains

Yuji wakes before Kusabimaru. He’s organizing coins into neat rows on a flattened cardboard. Nearby, Kusabimaru snores lightly.

Yuji stretches, puts on a coat two sizes too big, and slips away into the city.

Montage:

• Yuji standing near an office building, offering shoe shines.

• Rejected over and over. Finally, an older man agrees.

• Yuji bows respectfully, works carefully. Gets paid.

• He notes it in a small pocket ledger.

Yuji (V.O.):

“If I had nothing… then I would make something out of nothing. Every yen mattered.”

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Scene 2: Trouble in the Alley

Location: Backstreet alley near Shinjuku

Music: Percussion-heavy, suspenseful

Kusabimaru meets a shady teen crew. They offer him a courier job—deliver a package, no questions asked.

Kusabimaru:

“Is this dangerous?”

Gang Leader (grinning):

“Only if you run slow.”

He hesitates. Then takes it.

Cut to: Kusabimaru running across alleys, evading a cop, almost getting hit by a car—but he delivers. Gets paid in crumpled bills.

He grins to himself.

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Scene 3: Dried Bread and Dreams

Location: Rooftop shelter – Twilight

Music: Simple piano loop

The boys eat cold convenience store bread. Silence between them.

Yuji:

“I made 1,320 yen.”

Kusabimaru:

“3,000.”

Yuji raises a brow.

Yuji:

“You steal that?”

Kusabimaru (smirks):

“Earned it. Kind of.”

Pause.

Yuji:

“We should set a goal.”

Kusabimaru:

“For what?”

Yuji:

“To open a business. Start small. Grow.”

Kusabimaru watches him carefully. Then nods.

Kusabimaru:

“Alright. But I get naming rights.”

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Scene 4: Light in the Dark

Location: Internet café – Midnight

Music: Warm ambient synth

Yuji sneaks into a 24/7 café with leftover coins. He prints job listings, old designs from his dad’s archives, scans of local property prices.

He’s immersed. His eyes glow under the dim screen.

Back at the shelter, Kusabimaru draws logos in a broken notebook—graffiti-style letters spelling “DUO.” He’s not great at it, but it matters.

Narrator (V.O.):

“They weren’t rebuilding an empire yet. Just carving space inside the storm.”

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Scene 5: The Thief and the Noble

Location: Rooftop the next day – Sunrise

Music: Triumphant but soft

Yuji shows Kusabimaru a list of local flea markets.

Yuji:

“We’ll flip junk. Clean it. Resell it.”

Kusabimaru (yawns):

“Sounds like a drag.”

Yuji:

“Better than getting arrested.”

Kusabimaru (laughs):

“Fine. But I talk. You do the math.”

They shake hands.

Close-up: Their hands are still dirty, bruised—but determined.

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[ENDING SCENE – FIRST SALE]

Location: Flea Market – Late afternoon

Music: Upbeat, jazzy

The boys have a tiny stall. Kusabimaru haggles with a college girl over a used camera Yuji found in the trash and fixed.

Girl (laughs):

“You guys are too intense.”

She pays. Their first real profit.

They stare at the cash in awe.

Kusabimaru:

“We’re gonna make it, huh?”

Yuji (calmly):

“One sale at a time.”

Zoom out: The city looms large—but a tiny fire has been lit beneath it.

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Narrator (V.O.):

“The city didn’t sleep. And now… neither would they.”

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[END CREDITS – black-and-white sketches: them hauling boxes, arguing over prices, and laughing under a streetlamp]