DUO – Episode 16: “The Price of Brotherhood”

Tone: Intense, emotional, heavy stakes

Music: Deep strings and piano, fading into ambient hospital tones

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Scene 1: Silence in White

Location: Tokyo General Hospital – ICU Wing

A heart monitor beeps slowly. Kusabimaru lies unconscious, his face bruised, body bandaged, wires all around him.

Yuji stands outside the glass, unmoving. Days have passed—his eyes are red, his clothes unchanged.

Doctor (off-screen):

“He lost a lot of blood. The bullet pierced his lung. He’s in a coma… and honestly… the chances are slim.”

Yuji clenches his fists.

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Scene 2: The World Moves On

Montage (2 minutes)

• News reports flash: “Teen hero caught in criminal crossfire”.

• Ito visits the hospital and leaves without entering.

• Yuji is seen handing out flyers for jobs—anything to pay the bills.

• Kusabimaru’s body never moves. The monitor is the only rhythm.

Yuji (V.O.):

“I can’t lose another person… not again. If he dies, I go with him.”

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Scene 3: The Letter

Location: Hatayo Corp Archive Room – Night

Yuji sneaks into the same warehouse where Kusabimaru was shot. Among burned papers, he finds an encrypted drive.

Inside—an old recording:

His father speaking in a boardroom.

Yuji’s Father (video):

“We can’t go forward unless we clean up the filth beneath our empire.”

A name appears: SHINO INDUSTRIES. The rival corporation. The ones who ordered the kill.

Yuji breathes hard. He now knows who’s behind everything.

Yuji (whispers):

“You killed my family. And now… you almost killed my brother.”

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Scene 4: Ito’s Redemption

Location: Shrine on a hillside – Twilight

Ito lights incense. She looks at a photo of her, Yuji, and Kusabimaru. Her hands shake.

Ito (tearfully):

“I chose ambition… and lost everything real. I’m sorry… Kusa.”

A small girl tugs her sleeve and offers a folded paper crane.

Girl:

“Wish for him. It might work.”

Ito holds it close.

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Scene 5: Under Neon Skies

Location: Rooftop overlooking Shino Industries HQ

Yuji stands alone under a blood-red sky, fists in his pockets. The city buzzes beneath him.

Yuji (V.O.):

“We were supposed to rise together… but now I’ll burn it all alone if I have to.”

He throws the Hatayo pin to the ground.

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Final Scene: Flatline

Location: Hospital ICU – Midnight

Kusabimaru’s monitor flatlines.

Nurses rush in. Alarms blare. Yuji runs through the hallway in panic.

Doctor:

“Code blue! No pulse—begin compressions!”

Slow motion: Yuji screams, being held back.

The screen fades to black as the beeping becomes silence.

Narrator (V.O.):

“To give everything… and lose him anyway? Or is fate not finished yet?”

[TO BE CONTINUED…]