DUO – Episode 8: “Her Choice, Their Silence”

Theme: Confession, denial, cracks in brotherhood

Tone: Tense, emotionally loaded, restrained

Visual Palette: Overcast daytime turning into deep twilight, moody shadows

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[OPENING SCENE]

Visuals: Kusabimaru and Ito sit outside the ramen shop. Steam rises between them. Neither touches their bowls.

Ito:

“You act like you don’t care about people. But you do.”

Kusabimaru (cool):

“I don’t act. I survive.”

Ito (after a pause):

“You’re wrong.”

Cut to black.

Title Card: DUO – Episode 8: “Her Choice, Their Silence”

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Scene 1: Slow Morning

Location: Underpass – boys’ “home”

Yuji wakes up early. Kusabimaru’s side of the blanket is cold—he’s not there.

Yuji folds it neatly, his face unreadable.

Yuji (V.O.):

“He disappears more often now. Like something’s pulling him… or someone.”

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Scene 2: School Grounds

Location: Abandoned school courtyard

Ito sets her tripod up. Yuji arrives with canned drinks. They sit beside a cracked basketball court.

Ito (soft):

“You’re good to me, Yuji.”

Yuji (with a hopeful smile):

“You’re good to me too.”

A long silence.

Ito (whispers):

“But I’m not in love with you.”

The camera lingers on Yuji’s face. He nods, holding back emotion.

Yuji (gentle):

“Then… who?”

Ito (looking away):

“You know who.”

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Scene 3: The Punch

Location: Alley near the station

Yuji finds Kusabimaru leaning against a wall, headphones on.

Yuji pulls them off and stares at him.

Yuji (quiet, broken):

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

Kusabimaru:

“Yuji—”

Yuji (angrily):

“You said you didn’t like her.”

Kusabimaru:

“I didn’t want to. But feelings don’t care what we want.”

Without warning, Yuji punches him hard. Kusabimaru doesn’t hit back.

Yuji (shaking):

“She was the only thing I had left.”

Kusabimaru (soft):

“You have me.”

Yuji walks away.

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Scene 4: Ito Alone

Location: City tram

Ito rides alone, headphones in, eyes on the passing neon.

She plays back a recording from her camera—Yuji’s smile under grey skies.

Ito (V.O.):

“I wish I could’ve loved him instead.

But love isn’t fair. And I may have broken something I can’t fix.”

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Scene 5: One Blanket, Two Distances

Location: Underpass, night

Yuji sleeps on one side. Kusabimaru lies on the far edge of the blanket. No words. No eye contact.

The camera slowly zooms out.

The silence is heavy.

Even the trains above sound distant.

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ENDING SCENE

Location: Rooftop again, but only Yuji is there.

He holds Ito’s photo in hand. The wind tears it from his grip—it flies into the city air.

Yuji (V.O.):

“We promised we’d rise together.

But even rising… casts shadows.”

He turns his back on the city.

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[END CREDITS – Minimal piano and string harmony]

Post-Credit Scene:

Ito waits near a quiet park. Kusabimaru walks up, his face unreadable.

Ito:

“Did you tell him?”

Kusabimaru (quiet):

“He found out.”

Ito:

“Is it over between you two?”

Kusabimaru:

“I don’t know.”

Fade to black.