Tengukuri...Copyrighted in the US 2023 Page #23

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Quiet. Mason is laying on his back. He wraps his hand with some sort of cloth. Blood can be seen around him on the ground. Mason lays still. He gets up quickly but stumbles, balance still affected. He heads to the door, slides it open and heads to Mikki’s space. She appears asleep.

Mason walks over, trying to be quiet, crossing his feet. He lays down a few feet away from her mat. He curls up and closes his eyes. His breathing can be heard. Mikki is sleeping on her side and turned away from him. Her face is not the focus but as it comes into focus we see her eyes are open. Mason drifts off, but begins to speak in a whisper.

MASON:

I’m so sorry Mikki. I love you. I’m so sorry. I love you more than anything. I love you more than anything. I love you. I’m sorry.

His final words are loose lipped and he drifts off to sleep. We see tears well up in Mikki, but she closes her eyes and the scene ends.

63 - INT - THE INN - DAY

It is morning. Overcast. A flash of life outside The Inn. The birds flit about. Inside, Mason is passed out hard. His hand is wrapped and bloody. His hair is something noticed right away, it has blood in it. He pushes himself up, his hand obviously hurts.

MASON:

Mikki! Mikki! Hey babe, I’m sorry… you here?

Silence. Mason gets up and goes back to his room. He puts on a zip hoodie and pulls the hood up, then he slips into flip-flops. He is wearing grey sweatpants, a navy zip hoodie with wife beater underneath, and black flip flops. He heads toward the door. Cut.

64 - EXT - MAIN PATH - DAY

Mason is walking up the Main Path. No one is in view anywhere. It is eerie. He passes the main open areas in town. He continues to walk but sees no one.

MASON:

Mikki!! Michelle!!

As he approaches the end of town he sees Sobo sitting on a cement bench. She gets up and smiles and approaches him.

MASON:

***Sobo, where is Mikki?*** I’m sorry if we were loud last night, I need to find her.

She puts her hand on on his heart. Her smile fades. With the same hand she then points up the hill Mason has never gone up. There is a lone building up there that he has not visited.

SOBO:

Kuri. ***Go, she is there.***

MASON:

Kuri. Thank you.

Mason runs up the hill. Cut.

65 - EXT - THE DOJO - DAY

Mason walks up to a building slightly smaller than the community center. The building is old, and built around a mammoth chestnut tree, the only one he’s seen in the whole village. He slowly walks up the steps and stops at the front sliding door. He is hesitant. He is afraid. He breaths deeply, the waterfall flashes in his mind. He grabs the handle and slides the door open and steps in.

66 - INT - THE DOJO - DAY

Mason is seen walking through the door and into the dojo. It is majestic, walls have ancient scrolls and weapons strewn about. It is clean, tidy, and clearly a dojo. Mason does not look around though. Inside four men in black ninja uniforms kneel, their eyes stare straight ahead. To their left sit The Old Man, and behind him Mikki. She is in a white judo gi, and is keeping her eyes downward.

MASON:

Mikki? Are you ok sweetheart?

She doesn’t respond. Mason approaches slowly, looking around only to see if anyone else is there. The Old Man watches his every move.

MASON:

I’m sorry about last night. Shoju. Is that you man? I’m so sorry.

One of the men twitches ever so slightly. We can recognize the eyes of Shoju and The Horseman.

MASON:

What’s happening? Mikki, answer me. Look at me.

THE OLD MAN:

Mason, you go. Mikki stay.

MASON:

No. Not today. C’mon Mik. We need to talk.

The Old Man gets stern.

THE OLD MAN:

No Mason.

The tension rises, Mason’s face is changing and all the fear is leaving him. His breathing changes, his eyes focus. In this moment he is not Uncle Mase, Mase the brother, Mason the homie or son of Jeremiah Neely. He is Mason. The Old Man stares deeply into his eyes.

THE OLD MAN:

Mikki stay here. You go home.

Rage can be felt. Mason’s jaws clench. They’re waking a dragon. Mason shakes his head in disagreement.

MASON:

Bull … sh*t. Gimme my niece right god damn now.

Mason moves toward her with great purpose.

THE OLD MAN:

***Get Ready!!***

The four men spring to their feet. NERO FORTE STARTS HERE. Mason stops, he is ready, he grounds his feet. He is furious. They stare at each other.

THE OLD MAN:

***Attack!!!***

The men come at Mason all at once.

He meets them with front kicks, and elbows.

His strikes are powerful.

They get their shots in too.

They fight like tigers, cat like in their motions.

If anyone gets their body close to Mason, his Judo skills are far superior and he will throw one into the other.

Mason fights dirty, stomping feet. He breaks one mans nose from the side.

There is yelling, ki-ai! Over and over.

At one point, two get a grip on Mason and hold him while the other two take strikes from the front and back, but he is impossible for them to hold. Mason gets a hold of one of their hands and breaks their fingers in a wrist lock. Mason is attacking joints now.

One of them grabs a bo from the wall and comes at Mason with it. Mason punches the bo in the center and it breaks in half. He screams with all the fury of a dragon, it is spontaneous

and not meant to inflict fear, he is simply breathing fire on them and he knows it. As the man approaches wielding the two pieces, Mason is struck but gets a hold of the man’s uniform and tosses him HARD.

We look at Mikki now, she looks up finally and is afraid, her discomfort over the situation is growing. Tears well up in her eyes. The Old Man looks back at her, he seems sorry that everyone has to go through this, but confident everything is in its right place.

Everyone is winded. Mason kicks the legs out from under one of the men. His mask has fallen down, it is The Horseman, he crawls to the side of the dojo.

One of them run toward Mason who catches them in a feign and an elbow, he tears his mask and pulls him to the ground. It is Shoju.

The other two come at Mason, one grabs him in a rear choke, the other comes to his front, Mason springs up and kicks him in the throat. He crawls away grasping for breath.

Mason flips the last man over his shoulders and assumes a knee on stomach while he beats his face with fury.

THE OLD MAN:

***Enough, This is finished."

He mutters something to Mikki in Japanese. She gets up and runs to Mason. She throws her arms around him and wails deep, soul cleansing tears.

MIKKI:

Stop please! No more!

Mason falls to his back. The men begin to crawl back to their original positions. They kneel with honor. Deeply out of breath and in pain. Blood can be seen all over the mat. Mason is gasping for air. Mikki has a tight hold on him but he is lost in what has just happened. Mason just fought four real world ninja. He hurts. Blood on his face, one eye is bleeding, the hand he cut the night before is bleeding badly. He wraps his arms around Mikki and starts to cry. He is too out of breath to speak.

THE OLD MAN:

***Students! Leave us.***

ALL:

Hai!

The four get up and limp away, doing their best to nurse their dignity. The Old Man gets up and grabs a bowl of water and a towel, then walks over to Mason and Mikki. He kneels beside them. Silently, he gently wipes around Mason’s eyes. Mikki curls up under Mason’s arm like a baby bird. Mason breaths hard. The Old Man moves to Mason’s mouth and then his hands. The dominant noise in the scene now is Mason breathing heavily. His breathing slows.

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