Terminologies and Nomenclature Used

() - Used to denote character's actions and miscellaneous notes.

[] - Used to denote settings, and description of settings. Also

used to enclose screenplay.

{} - Used to denote and describe stage settings and camera actions,

mainly intended for the animator.

NOTE: The name "YOKO" is a temporary name. This will be changed

later.

GAME OF DEDUCTIONS - EPISODE 1

DAY; INT; FLASHBACK : A SCHOOL HALLWAY

[The bell rings. The School is over. The hallway is very noisy. Shou Minami
(High School Version) puts his books inside the locker. Shuts the locker
door close. He starts walking.]
{JUMPCUT}
[He is walking. This section of the hallway-end is isolated. He enters the
washroom. He enters a empty toilet cabin. Sits down. Rolls up his sleeve
only to disclose his several cuts on his arm (Self-Harm). Pops out a cutter.
His hands is trembling (out of excitement). His otherwise bored-out
expression changes into a smirk. His hands are still trembling. The washroom
door slams open. He hears a bunch of guys coming in. He puts away his cutter.
He hears a guy being thrown down. Shou was then witnessing a High-School
bullying incident.]

Bully1
Dont make a fucking sound! Or we'll cut up your throat.

[Shou hears the victim sobbing. They start beating him up.]
Bully2
Quick!

1
[Shou is sitting there calmly. The bullies beat him up and exit. The victim is
still sobbing. Shou rolls down his sleeve and picks up his backpack and exits
from the cabin. He walks towards the victim. The victim, seeing Shou, stops
sobbing momentarily. A slight gleam of relief is observed on the victim's eyes.
A (kinda) evil smirk spreads across Shou's face. The victim now seems to be a
little more tense. Shou pulls out his cutter.]

{The camera pans away from the characters towards the ceiling. A scream is
heard.}
{FLASHBACK ENDS. REAL TIME BEGINS.}
______________________________________________________________________ 001

NIGHT; INT; AKIRA's BEDROOM

[Akira is sitting on the bed without a shirt. He is staring at an empty bottle

of Sleeping pills.]

HIDEKI AKIRA
(phone rings)
Hello.

ASAHI
Sorry to disturb you, but could you come over to the quarters?

HIDEKI AKIRA
(Glances at the clock)
Now?

ASAHI
Its kind of an emergency. I have already contacted YOKO.

HIDEKI AKIRA
I'll be there.
______________________________________________________________________ 002

NIGHT; EXT; TOKYO METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT

[He Meets YOKO at the entry of the building]

Yoko
Yo.
______________________________________________________________________ 003
[Akira and Yoko are walking through the lobby. A man passes by. He gazes at him
until he passes away.]
______________________________________________________________________ 004
2
[They start walking in together]
YOKO
(A few moments later)
So, Whats going on?

HIDEKI AKIRA
I'll be damned If I knew.

YOKO
He just works too much. He ought to find himself a girlfriend.

HIDEKI AKIRA
It would be great if you did that favor to yourself.
______________________________________________________________________ 005

[They enter ASAHI's office. ASAHI enters a few moments later]

ASAHI
Sorry for the wait.

YOKO
Don't sweat it. We just arrived.

ASAHI
If you would follow me.
______________________________________________________________________ 006

[ASAHI starts to walk towards forensics department. They start walking]

______________________________________________________________________ 007

ASAHI
Have you heard about the Arisugawa murder case?

HIDEKI AKIRA
Not that I remember of.

Asahi
Few months ago, businessman Hiroshi Arisugawa was killed in his
office and his partner, Mr. Fujinuma, was held as a prime suspect
and trialed. As the case progressed most of the vital evidence
presented in the court kept pointing at Mr. Fujinuma.
<BUFF UP>
______________________________________________________________________ 008

3
[They reach the forensics dept., ASAHI stops near a table. A rifle enclosed
in a plastic bag is kept on the table.]

Thats until the previous week when they found the weapon which was
used to murder him.
(pushes forward the rifle)
[Akira begins to wear a pair of white gloves. HIDEKI AKIRA inspects the rifle
with his magnifying glass]

Asahi
This piece here proved to be a ray of hope for Mr. Fujinuma, as his
advocate was granted an extra week before the judgment was declared
on his case.
<BUFF UP>

YOKO
I dont get it. How did the discovery of the rifle help Mr. Fujinuma's
defense.

HIDEKI AKIRA
The mascara.
(closes his magnifying glass)

Asahi
The mascara!

Yoko
What mascara?

HIDEKI AKIRA
If you closely observe, there are traces of mascara on the eyepiece.
It was, of course, left when the killer used this. There doesn't seem
to be any older grease marks on other parts of the gun, so its safe
to assume that these traces are of this killer, and not of somebody
who may have had used this before.

Asahi
And we checked with Mr. Fujinuma, and as most of the males he didnt
wore any kind of mascara. So in all probability the killer is a woman.

Yoko
So whats the problem?

4
 Asahi
The problem is that the final hearing for this case is tomorrow and
Mrs. Akane, who is Mr. fujinumas advocate, is abducted.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Hundreds of abduction cases are filed every month and I am not
interested in searching for them. It goes same for her. (removing
his gloves) Moreover, thats your job, not mine.

Yoko
And how do you even know that she is abducted?

Asahi
Its because of this letter.

[Asahi passes the letter to Yoko. The letter, of course, is written through
torn pieces of newspaper with letters on them (the classic way)]

YOKO
"Mrs. Akane is with us, as our hostage. We invite Private investigator
Mr. HIDEKI AKIRA to negotiate at Tatsumi Parking Lot. Absence or
rescue attempts will result in hostage's death.
Zen."
<IMPROVE>
(a moment of silence is observed)
Zen? As in Zen Kei?

ASAHI
Zen. An important figure in local mafia. I doubt anyone will dare
to use his name to bait us. The letter, in all probability, is
legitimate. The final hearing is tomorrow and trying to save Mrs.
Akane with conventional methods will not result in anything with the
limited time we have. The involvement of us police will put Mrs.
Akane's and hence Mr. Fujinuma's lives at risk.

YOKO
But why would a mafia ask Akira to come?

HIDEKI AKIRA
It oughta be interesting if mafia is involved. Let's pay them a visit,
shall we!

______________________________________________________________________ 009

NIGHT; EXT; TATSUMI PARKING LOT

5
[The trio are walking around looking here and there]
______________________________________________________________________ 010
ASAHI
Shouldnt we have carried weapons that are more substantial than
these handguns?

YOKO
Ya like thats gonna make a difference.

[ASAHI stares at YOKO]

YOKO
What? Its the mafia we are talking about here.
______________________________________________________________________ 011
[A car arrives from behind the guys. Two bodyguards exit the car followed
by Zen.]
______________________________________________________________________ 012

Zen
Ah the infamous investigator Mr. HIDEKI AKIRA, who solved the Espora
murder Investigation in a matter of hours. Its great to see you in
flesh.
(forwards his hand for a shake)

HIDEKI AKIRA
(ignores the handshake)
Well, I intend to finish this one in a smaller period of time so please
if you would not waste any more of my time.

Zen
(withdraws his hand)
Yes Of course.
(Semi long pause)
I want you to find the person behind a murder for me.

YOKO
Huh?

Zen
I am willing to free Mrs. Akane provided that you solve a case for
me.

HIDEKI AKIRA
You could have approached me anyways, why keep someone as hostage.

6
 And why Mrs. Akane in particular?

Zen
Mr. Akira, you may have not quite caught what I said. I said you HAVE
to solve a case, not TAKE UP a case for me, and that too before dawn.
As for the second question, you see Mrs. Akane had successfully
discovered evidence for Mr. Fujinuma's innocence, and not only that
but she had also found out about the real culprit. And coincidentally
the culprit is an independent member of my little group, or "gang"
as you may call it. So if you successfully fulfill my request, then
not only will I free Mrs. Akane but also will I guarantee that culprit
of the Arisugawa murder case surrenders without any resistance. So
how about it?

HIDEKI AKIRA
What if I fail to solve the case?

Zen
Then of course I will make sure that Mrs. Akane experiences a painful
death. But I am sure you will be able to solve this case.

HIDEKI AKIRA
There are plenty of detectives. Why me in particular?

Zen
I just needed the best.

HIDEKI AKIRA
What is that you want me to investigate?

Zen
You see that the information is what you call confidential

YOKO
(Interrupts) then how do you expect us to solve the case.

Zen
My my! Arent you in a hurry. As I was saying, the information is
pretty sensitive..... So please decide whether you will be taking
up the case or not before I reveal anything.

ASAHI
How are we supposed to decide upon taking a case we know nothing about?
(Zen Smiles)

7
HIDEKI AKIRA
We'll take it up.

ASAHI
Give it a little more thought, will you. Its solving a case in (checks
his watch) less than 9 hours.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Well, there is no chance of rescuing her before tomorrows trial with
help of police. Moreover, even if I fail, We will lose nothing. So,
it makes more sense to agree upon taking this case without wasting
too much time.

Zen
Rational. I like it. Not that I expect anything else from you. If
you dont mind me asking, who are the other two gentlemen?

HIDEKI AKIRA
You may think of them as my assistants.

ASAHI
(Quickly adds)
More like partners.

Zen
Haha.....So if I may have your attention please.
(Indicates both of his guys to bring something from the car.)
(Zen takes out a photo from his suit pocket)
Arai Kei.He died (stops abruptly) ... was murdered... a few months
ago. I want you to find his murderer and bring him/her to me.
(Both guys brings a briefcase)
You fail, you lose nothing. You succeed,(the two guys open the
briefcase, it's full of cash) you get 100 million Yen.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Kei? And He is your.......

Zen
Brother.

YOKO
Oh so the supposedly heartless mafia leader who doesnt care about
whose blood he sheds actually cares about his own brother!

8
 Zen
Well, it would be bad if people came to know that my brother's murderer
is moving scot free.

HIDEKI AKIRA
You dont seem to be a kind of a person who cares about appearances,
Mr. Zen. Rather you seem to be a person who is afraid of displaying
certain emotions, if I may say so.

Zen
(Smiles)
Returning to the original subject,
(Lights a cigarette)
Arai was not interested to be in the mafia. Rather he wanted to study
Law. So, he started his life anew, under a new identity. He was a
Law student at Irashi Law School.

YOKO
So no one knew that he was Arai Kei?

Zen
Except for a trusted few, no one.

ASAHI
So the murder was not related to the mafia?

Zen
No. We have already considered that. And that doesnt seem to be the
case.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Well then, time is of the essence. We'll take our leave now.

Zen
I believe that doing all this in a night will be difficult with only
three people, so I would like to offer you

ASAHI
(Interrupts) That wont be necessary.
______________________________________________________________________ 013

(They start walking out)

We would rather investigate the case ourselves than taking help of

9
 petty criminals.

Bodyguard 1
(rushes forward) you fucking....
______________________________________________________________________ 014

[The trio are a meter or two apart from Zen]

Zen
Uh uh (as in 'get back')......
And I would like to mention that, on the occasion you fail to solve
the case and decide on taking the hostage from us by force......
[ZEN and GUARDS do not move. ASAHI, YOKO and AKIRA are at quite a distance]
......we assure you your defeat. How much ever large your numbers
be.
______________________________________________________________________ 015

NIGHT; EXT; OUTSIDE TATSUMI PARKING LOT

HIDEKI AKIRA
Asahi.

ASAHI
Huh? (as in asking what)

HIDEKI AKIRA
Are there any records on this investigation over at the quarters?

ASAHI
There should be.

[AKIRA and ASAHI get in the car. YOKO wears his helmet and gets on his bike.
Yoko rides away followed by AKIRA and ASAHI.]
______________________________________________________________________ 016

NIGHT; EXT; AKIRA's FLAT

[ASAHI enters the flat with a box.]

HIDEKI AKIRA
What took you so long?

ASAHI
(sarcastically)I'm sorry, was smuggling out an investigation file

10
 without anyones knowledge supposed to be an easy job?

HIDEKI AKIRA
(sighs).... what you got?
______________________________________________________________________ 017

{TIME LAPSE}

ASAHI
The body was found on the third of January. Which is, according to
the results of post-mortem, 19 days after he was murdered. The body
was found on a wooden table at the Hiromi public park. The body was
cut into 6 pieces - 4 limbs, a head and a body. All these pieces were
preserved in some kind of waxy substance. That's why the dismembered
parts were as fresh as ever, even after 19 days.
The eyes were removed out elegantly. The sockets had absolutely no
scars. From a surgical point of view, it was a masterpiece. The whole
body was covered with several injuries, all were found to be inflicted
at time of this crime. The hair from his legs, hands and head were
shaved off. After he died of course. All these pieces were wrapped
in a ribbon and arranged along with bouquets of flowers. This one's
pretty artsy.

YOKO
(interrupts) Artsy? Don't make me sick!

ASAHI
Continuing....a large gunshot wound in the abdomen. But, it seems
that was not the cause of death. He died due to a critical hit on
his head caused by a blunt object. Actually, the bruises on his whole
body indicate that he was brutally beaten all over the body. The killer
made sure he suffered a lot of pain before he died, then his body
was shaved and cut up. The investigation continued for about a month
until they came to know that he was related to a mafia member. Then
they declared that the murder was just a result of an internal mafia
feud and closed the case.
(takes a cutter and starts opening a box with red tape on it marked
evidence)
This case didnt last long and therefore not much of evidence was
found. Except these that is.
(AKIRA examines the content. There is an evidence bag containing an
ID, cigarette butts, a bag containing gloves)
The ID belongs to Arai himself. The DNA test proves that Arai was
the one who smoked these four cigarettes.

11
 AKIRA
Four cigarettes all at one place. Seems like he was waiting for
someone.

ASAHI
The thing that is most interesting are these gloves. These were found
at a distance from the crime scene. According to forensics these gloves
have an absurd amount of gunpowder.

YOKO
Lot of gunpowder. Seems like a shotgun.

[AKIRA takes the file from ASAHI and goes through it]
ASAHI
According to the specialists, the best guess is a Schwarz series
shotgun.

YOKO
Schwarz huh! Commonly used for hunting. Even if the bullet grazes
your leg, its as good as gone. That explains the huge gunshot wounds.
Using it to kill humans........ The killer is insane alright.

ASAHI
Now, a logical conclusion is that it was a work of a serial killer,
but no wanted serial killers use this method. Moreover, this kind
of precision in a first attempt is next to impossible. But Detective
Heishi, who lead the case, believed this method was adopted to mislead
the police officials, and this is, in fact was a isolated incident
of murder for personal purposes, not a serial murder. The suspect
list was narrowed down to 17 people.

YOKO

17 people? Thats definitely not narrow.

ASAHI

13 of them seemed to personally know him, and the others didn't have
an apparent connection to Arai Kei.

12
 HIDEKI AKIRA
Hirou Makashima.
______________________________________________________________________ 018

[YOKO freezes momentarily, his gaze turns towards Akira (only his eyes).
His eyes now more alert (not too much). ASAHI continues smoking as nothing
happened.]
The method of killing, the brutality, the pitilessness, and the most
important, the precision of dissection of the body, preservation of
dismembered parts in a waxy substance, all are same to that of
Makshimas killings. Not to mention the removal of the eyes whch is
pretty much proprietary to Makashima's killings, the method has way
too many similarities.

[ASAHI continues smoking. YOKO who was frozen, continues to smoke]

______________________________________________________________________ 019

ASAHI
It's true that the waxy substance was found to be similar as the one
Makashima used. But, Makashima died around 50 years ago. You know
its impossible for the killer to be him.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Dont go assuming things. I never said that the killer is him. Perhaps
a copycat killer.

YOKO
He murdered his Mother, wife and children. No close relatives. I cant
think of anyone suspicious who might be alive to this date. It has
to be a unrelated new killer.

HIDEKI AKIRA
The murder was too skilled for the killer to be an amateur. By the
way, YOKO, you know a fair amount about Hirou Makashima. How?

YOKO
He was pretty popular for a serial killer. Lot of Law and Criminal
Psychology students do a criminal study on Him.
______________________________________________________________________ 020
[AKIRA thinks for a bit and suddenly something strikes him. He CALMLY reaches
to the desk to retrieve his laptop.]

HIDEKI AKIRA
13
 ASAHI, give me the TMPD login details.

ASAHI
It's only for police officials. Revealing login details to others
is a punishable offence.

HIDEKI AKIRA
And so is taking help of a unauthorized person on a official
investigation.

ASAHI
That! - Or you could just say please!
______________________________________________________________________ 021

[AKIRA is checking details on the TMPD database. He seems to have got

something.]
______________________________________________________________________ 022

[AKIRA hurries, wears his coat and hurries out of the flat. Now he is heading
over to the stairs]
ASAHI
Hey! Where are you going?
______________________________________________________________________ 023

[ASAHI followed by YOKO, hurry after AKIRA. AKIRA has quite a lead.]
Hey! Akira, tell me whats happening.
______________________________________________________________________ 024

[AKIRA stops, turns back, walks towards ASAHI. Stops]

______________________________________________________________________ 025

HIDEKI AKIRA
Arai goes to Irashi Law School.

ASAHI
(sarcastically) And the plot thickens!? Why are you stating the
obvious?

______________________________________________________________________ 026

[Akira starts to walk away slowly. Asahi and Yoko follow]

HIDEKI AKIRA

14
 Lot of Law and Criminal Psychology students from different
universities do a criminal Study on Hirou Makashima. But whats
different from other colleges and Irashi Law School, is that it is
affiliated to TMPD. And Irashi Law students get a chance to personally
read the official criminal records of any criminal they are making
a study on, which other college students do not have the permission
to do so. In other words, Irashi students have access to criminal
records. Now, for a person who doesnt has official access to the
records, the only way to have them is by breaking into the Headquarters,
which is almost impossible even for an experienced criminal let alone
a naive copycat killer. So, a person just has to have an official
access to enter the records room. In short, a Irashi College student.
Now, Makashima was executed 60 years ago. All of his records are
physical. And from past 40 years all the new records are entered
directly through computers and is stored digitally. Even for a police
official, getting a permission to access the physical records is
pretty hard, because they do not have a good enough reason. But it's
easily accessible for research, and TMPD allows only Irashi students
to access these records.

ASAHI
So we have to look for the students who have accessed Hirou's record
and match it with Detective Heishi's Suspect List. And if the killer
IS from Irashi, similar to Arai, that means there is a link between
Arai and the murderer.

YOKO
But is the time given to the students for the research sufficient
enough to study a serial killer like Hirou Makashima? And that too
enough to kill in exactly the same way?

HIDEKI AKIRA
Exactly.

[AKIRA and other two are outside the apartment building. ASAHI and YOKO are
left gaping towards Akira for a second, while he calmly walks away. They
follow Akira.]
______________________________________________________________________ 027

NIGHT; EXT; TOKYO METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPT (TMPD)

[ALL three rush inside, AKIRA in lead. He rushes inside the building.]

Random Guard

15
 Hey!

ASAHI
(shows him the badge)
They're with me.
______________________________________________________________________ 028

HIDEKI AKIRA
(To the records room lady, Ruby)
Ruby. Would you be a lamb and check how many people have accessed
Hirou Makshima's records in the past 2 years.

Ruby
Sorry Mr. Akira, I would require permission from an inspector or a
detective.
[AKIRA stares at ASAHI.]

ASAHI
(sighing) (to ruby)
Just do it.

RUBY
(Checks her computer)
Ummmmmmm........... past two years......As per the entry records....
118 people. All Research Students.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Thats quite a high number. Only Irashi law school students have access
to physical criminal records, Right?

RUBY
If we're talking about outside people, Yeah. No doubt.

HIDEKI AKIRA
And How much time is a student granted to check these records?

RUBY
Ummm.... 9 hours, I guess. But that grant that allowed access to
physical records has ended 8 months ago. Now even a Irashi student
doesnt has access to read any of the records.

YOKO
Akira, 4 hours left.

16
 HIDEKI AKIRA
And is it necessary to use the 9 hours at a stretch?

RUBY
Ummmm.... No. The whole thing is maintained by computers, so it can
be even a hundred times as long as it doesnt maxes over 9 hours.

HIDEKI AKIRA
And Hirou Makashima's Records. Can it be completely read inside these
9 hours.

RUBY
There is no way. Makashima was one of the biggest serial killers of
the 1950's. The records are humongous. Even if it was read in a stretch,
it would take around 4 days.

YOKO
See. There is no way to copycat a serial killer like Makashima with
9 hours worth of information.

HIDEKI AKIRA
True. Unless you smuggle out the records.

RUBY
Na-ah. Makashima's Records are all physical. And they weigh too much
to smuggle out without being noticed by the guards.
Moreover, all the physical records are checked every other day. There
would be no way a person smuggled it out and we didnt know about
that.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Ruby, would you care to show me to the place these records are kept.

RUBY
Thats impossible, Mr. Akira. You need special permission to enter
the physical record room.

ASAHI
We are on a high priority case. I will take the responsibility for
it. (small pause) Show us the place.
______________________________________________________________________ 029

[SMALL TIME LAPSE]

17
[Ruby leads the trio to the location. She enters the passcode in the door.
It opens just to disclose another door. She enters a passcode followed by
a retinal scan.]
______________________________________________________________________ 030

[She walks to the required shelf, followed by the trio.]

______________________________________________________________________ 031

RUBY
(opens the shelf lock. Pointing to the boxes)
These 4 boxes.
(There is a sealed, quality box with the label "Hirou Makashima")

See. The records are all here. All safe.

HIDEKI AKIRA
Lets see.
(AKIRA pulls out a box. Takes out a blade. And starts to cut open
the box.)

RUBY
Mr. Akira. You cannot open these. These records are confidential.
I cannot let outsiders read tho(se)....
(AKIRA picks up the open box and turns it upside down.)

{Camera is still focused on AKIRA.}

______________________________________________________________________ 032

HIDEKI AKIRA
{During this dialogue, the camera focuses on the surprised reactions of
RUBY, ASAHI and YOKO.}

You dont have to worry about anyone reading them.

______________________________________________________________________ 032

ASAHI
These are........
{camera now turns to the floor where the papers from the box has fallen.}
.......... Blank sheets.
______________________________________________________________________ 033
RUBY
Oh God.
(Ruby opens the rest of the three boxes. Checks the boxes. The sheets
in all of the boxes turn out to be blank. She throws them on floor

18
 frustrated. She seems to be really tensed.)

HIDEKI AKIRA
The student a.k.a. The copycat killer, of course, knew he had only
9 hours. So, he distributed these 9 hours in small individual sessions.
And in every small session he took a portion of these records and
replaced them with blank sheets, so that he doesn't raises anyone's
suspicion. And, voila. After a few days, all records had been replaced
with blank sheets.

RUBY
But a personnel would check these records every other day. How could
not they have noticed?

HIDEKI AKIRA
Get off your high horse. Every other day is, of course, too high of
a frequency for the records nobody even reads. They of course wouldnt
perform a thorough checkup, because according to them, its just a
waste of time. It was half assed. But couldnt blame them.
All physical records are at least 40 years old. They are super
confidential, but as useless as empty bullet shells, to the police.
And the access grant for research was closed 8 months ago. That just
adds on to the list of reasons why these records aren't thoroughly
checked. So nobody opened these boxes except the checkup officials.
They of course didnt go through the trouble of checking the content
in the boxes at the time of every checkup. So as long as there are
papers in these boxes it passes the checkup.
So at the end, the copycat killer had all the records with him. Studied
him as closely as possible, and committed the sin.

RUBY
But if any other student came for the papers after he smuggled these
out?

ASAHI
He knew that the grant was going to be closed soon. He just made sure
that the last Person to access these were himself.

HIDEKI AKIRA
(lights up a cigarette)
Exactly. So, the last person who accessed these files is the copycat
killer we are looking for.

[AKIRA gives a rather cold look to RUBY.]

19
______________________________________________________________________ 034

[RUBY rushes outside to the reception area. Checks the computer. Finds the
name. And twists the monitor screen towards them, so that they can see the
result.]
{Camera turns to the monitor}
YOKO
Shou Minami!

______________________________________________________________________ 035
{Camera now turns to ASAHI who checks Heishi's Suspect List. The camera
scrolls on the list to where the name is located. The name is there.}
______________________________________________________________________036
NIGHT; EXT; ASAHI'S CAR

[ASAHI is shown checking something on laptop. YOKO and ASAHI are seated in
the front. Akira is seated in back and is assembling a gun.]
______________________________________________________________________037

ASAHI
Oookay! Found him. Shou Minami. An ex-student of Irashi Law School.
He has a major in Criminal Psychology. Apparently he was an excellent
student, and hence he was granted interviews with a bunch of popular
criminals. He graduated 3 months ago.

AKIRA
A psychology student performing a dissection of that level. That would
explain why he started his copycat murder streak 2 months ago, which
is almost 7 months after he got all the data he needed. What else?

ASAHI
Hmmmm.... The professors had quite high hopes for him when he graduated,
he was hell of a student apparently. But, the database has only a
group photo of the whole batch. They don't have any photos of Shou.
[AKIRA just finishes assembling and cleaning his gun. He pulls its safety
lock.]
AKIRA
Where can we find him?
______________________________________________________________________038

NIGHT; EXT; OUTSIDE SHOU'S HOUSE

[AKIRA KNOCKS ON THE DOOR. It opens. A young man opens the door.]
______________________________________________________________________039
20
 AKIRA
(shows him a badge) Inspector Asahi from TMPD. We would like to
question Mr. Shou Minami about an investigation.

YOUNG MAN
TMPD!? Well, please come in.
______________________________________________________________________040

NIGHT; INT; INSIDE SHOU'S HOUSE

YOUNG MAN
(they come inside. YOUNG MAN gestures them to sit on the couch)
Let me call Mr. Shou for you. Please be seated.
[ASAHI and YOKO sit down. Akira decides to roam about the room looking at
things. Akira tosses ASAHI's badge to him.]
ASAHI
(Irritated) You do know that stealing a officers badge counts as a
criminal offence.

Akira
Well, if you cannot prevent your badge from being stripped off you,
then I don't think you should be qualified to be a Inspector.

YOKO
(giggles) That's definitely true.
[ASAHI stares at YOKO]
[ASAHI and YOKO wait in silence as Akira travels around the room.]
[Akira shuffles through some of the stuff hoping to find something. He finds
a Photo Frame lying on its face. He picks it up. He momentarily freezes.
He puts down the frame. He removes his gun from under his blazer. Undoes
the safety lock. And swiftly rushes inside.]

ASAHI
Akira!?
(Akira is already out of the room. ASAHI and YOKO see the photo frame.
They too rush in after seeing the picture.)

{the camera moves to the frame. The frame has the picture of the 'YOUNG MAN'.}

[NOTE: The person who greeted us at the door was in the picture. But, why
would a servant's picture be framed and kept at the living room. Unless he
was actually not the servant, but the master himself. That is Shou Minami.
He is the copycat killer.]

21
______________________________________________________________________ 041

[Asahi and Yoko rush inside, they follow akira (they are quite behind). Akira
is glancing hastily into every room they pass. He suddenly stops at a door
leading to a room. ASAHI and Yoko catch up to him and take a look inside
the room and are left gaping. The room is covered with transparent plastic,
there are signs of bondage in the room, there is a professional looking table
in the room having hundreds of tools for decapitation. Akira's gaze falls
on to the wall, where its written, with blood in big letters,
"Meet at Hankyu Rice Mill ."
Akira rushes towards exit followed by Asahi and Yoko.]
______________________________________________________________________042

NIGHT; EXT; OUTSIDE SHOU'S HOUSE

YOKO
Where are we going now?

Akira
(to Yoko) To the Hankyu mill of course. (Stops near the car) Yoko!

YOKO
What?

Akira
We will be needing the TGS from the headquarters. I am counting on
you.

ASAHI
I will contact a subordinate to keep the TGS ready (smirks) along
with few necessary tools.

Yoko
Okay. But why the TGS?

Akira
Well, he isn't inviting us there to play Scotland Yard.
(pauses momentarily)
Perhaps he is.
ASAHI
Anyways it's either hunt him down or get hunted.
Akira
The game, my friend, is on!

[Akira and ASAHI rush into the car and drive away followed by YOKO who uses
his bike.]
22
______________________________________________________________________043

{The car drives away followed by the bike, the bike and the car is shown
taking different directions}
______________________________________________________________________044

NIGHT; EXT; NEAR HANKYU MILL

[Akira and ASAHI are already there. Yoko arrives. He is carrying an important
looking briefcase]
______________________________________________________________________045

Akira
You're late.

Yoko
Sorry. Here's the case Asahi asked for. I'll be setting up the TGS
then.

[ASAHI takes the case and opens it.]

Akira
That's pretty awesome alright.
______________________________________________________________________046

{Camera focuses on the opened briefcase. It contains 3 handguns (pistols),

a knife along with ammunition.}
______________________________________________________________________047

[YOKO is setting up the TGS, Akira and Asahi are taking the weapon of their
choice. Akira has 2 handguns and a knife, whereas ASAHI has only 2 handguns]

Akira
Hmm. I do feel more confident with two guns.

YOKO
(shouts) Okay! all's done here!
______________________________________________________________________048

Akira
(passes an earpiece each to ASAHI and YOKO)
So here is the plan. I and Asahi will go inside, capture Shou, free
the hostage, you stay here and instruct us about their respective
location at regular intervals. Got it?!

23
 YOKO
That's too simple of a plan for catching a serial killer but Okay.
That works.

Akira
Well then, let the game begin!
______________________________________________________________________049

[AKIRA AND ASAHI, both have guns in their hand. All three of them have an
earpiece with them. They enter the shutdown warehouse which was the supposed
meeting place. Asahi has a sling backpack with him which contains ammunition
and several glow sticks. They both carefully walk inside. Akira is in lead]

NIGHT; INT; WAREHOUSE

YOKO
Okay. There is a lot of fluctuations in the thermal profile in an
area 17 meters away from you and in another location 26 meters away.
The hostage and Shou are in different locations. What's our next move?

Akira
Let's go to the closest location. The directions please.
______________________________________________________________________050

[ASAHI and Akira move inside steadily. Both of them are holding a gun. Asahi
tosses Akira a glow stick, and he switches them on and tosses them at a distance.
They resume walking according to Yoko's instructions. This area seems to
be decently lit. They reach in front of a door.]
______________________________________________________________________051

YOKO
Yup. Thats the place. Someone should be in there.

[According to the instructions someone should be there. Akira signals Asahi.

Asahi steadily walks off to a distance from where he can have a good look
on what's happening on the other side of the door and can capture Shou if
he manages to run outside. Asahi and Akira are in their positions. Akira
slides open the door and rushes in. The door leads to a semi-large hall like
room. There is no one there.]

Akira
There is no one here! Are you sure this is the place?

YOKO
Yes. I can see there are two different set of thermal radiations in

24
 your location.
______________________________________________________________________052

[Akira thinks for a minute. Something strikes him (in his mind). He looks
up. It's too late. There is a static, high pitched screech. All of the lights
and lamps flicker and then go off in a jiffy. Akira is more alert now. He
takes a step back and allows his eyes to adjust. A few milliseconds after
the lights were gone, there is a small explosion. A small part of the of
the ceiling collapses. Shou, who is wearing a (rag)mask, gracefully jumps
down. Akira points the gun at him, but Shou kicks it off him. He is holding
a knife in his right hand. He swings the knife at him. Akira dodges the attack.
Shou strikes Akira again. Akira is not able to dodge it. Shou is successful
in stabbing Akira. Akira kicks him back and suffers recoil. He removes the
stabbed knife. Shou, who was pushed back comes back at him and attempts to
kick his face. Akira gets hold of his leg and twists it and then gives him
a comeback kick. Shou is thrown down at Shou is lying on the ground. Akira
aims at Shou.]

Akira
I'm pretty sure the answer to my question is a yes, but I'll ask it
anyway. Did you kill Arai Kei?

Shou
I assume you're talking about Hyousuke. I didn't expect him to be
a mafia member under disguise. Well he served his purpose, so his
life was not a waste.

Akira
And what was that purpose ?

Shou
Acting as a lab rat. The fact that he was part of the mafia just made
the whole thing even better. Thanks to him I can proceed to the next
stage.

Akira

Next stage of what?

Shou

Reviving Makashima's Legacy.

25
 AKIRA

And what would that next stage be?

Shou

(staring directly into Akira's eyes)

Clearing the trash from this city.

Akira

Let's start from you, shall we!

Shou

Haaaaahaaaaa! Do you know, Detective, Why I'm wearing this mask?

[A moment Of Silence]
______________________________________________________________________ 053

{The camera turn to Shou's hands which is out of Akira's sight. He presses
a button on a remote (a single button remote)}

[A swooshing sound is heard. The room is quickly engulfed by an opaque gas.

A bullet shot is heard. Shou escapes through the other exit. The gas contained
a hallucinating agent. Akira struggles and finally comes out of the room
through the original door he used to enter the room.]
______________________________________________________________________ 054

[Asahi, seeing Akira, rushes towards him. Akira's eyes have developed red
lines (veins) and he is perspiring excessively. He stumbles, but Asahi catches
him. He seems to be struggling to breathe. He is hallucinating.]
______________________________________________________________________055

{The scene now shifts to display his hallucinations. The stage(screen) is

shaking during this whole scene.}
[In his hallucinations, he is alone again struggling to breathe. He falls
on the ground, still struggling to breathe. The ground has a huge pool of
blood. He tries to stand up. He is bent on his knees now. He is covered with
blood. He lifts his hands and sees all the blood on his hands. He is startled
and desperately tries to stand up. As he tries to stand up he notices a dead
26
body of woman at a distance. Her wrists are sliced and all of the blood seems
to be coming out of her wrist wounds. He is startled and falls back.]
{Transition to real life}
______________________________________________________________________056

[Akira sees a tap at a distance. Asahi is trying to get Akira back into senses
by shaking him. Akira desperately worms up towards the tap. He manages to
turn it on. He falls down lifelessly, under the tap. The water is running
down on his head. Akira is facing upside.]
______________________________________________________________________ 057

{Transition to Hallucinations}
{This whole cut is in foot view. Side view. It's raining. The whole cut is
in slow motion}
[A person walks into camera's sight. Stops. A bullet is shot. The bullet
shell drops on the ground. A body falls down]
{The screen fades into a black screen.}
[A few seconds later, a faint sound is heard.]
______________________________________________________________________058

{The black screen abruptly(very important for aesthetics) transitions to

a side view of Akira's upper body.}
[Akira abruptly gains conscious, suddenly sits up (to avoid the water).]

Asahi
Akira! You Okay.
______________________________________________________________________059

{Scene transitions to show what Shou is doing}

[Shou removes his mask and gasps for breath. He pulls up his trouser sleeve.
He is shot. He pulls them down. He has a bag with him. He unzips it and activates
the trigger controlling a pack of C4 explosives. He checks his watch. The
digital time display (NOT A COUNTDOWN) turns from red to green. He stands
up and walks(limps, of course). The only thing he has with him is his shotgun]
Shou
(seeing a GPS map on his watch) (murmurs to himself) Where is the
damn exit!
______________________________________________________________________060

[He climbs down the stairs. He is walking slowly with a limp towards the
exit. He sights Asahi coming from the direction perpendicular to him.]
______________________________________________________________________ 061

He hides behind the super large export goods storage container (he is
surrounded by a bunch of those). He quietly prepares his shotgun and is ready
to take a aim. He abruptly (but quietly and swiftly) comes out from behind
27
the containers and aims at the place where ASAHI is supposed to be (as he
had previously seen). ASAHI isn't there. He freezes.]
[He feels a gun pointed on his head (the gun is in contact with is head).
It's Akira. Akira has Shou at his gunpoint.]
Akira
Put your gun down. The game is over.

[Shou glances behind. He smirks. He, in a fraction of second, turns to Akira

and swings him with his shotgun. Akira gets hold of the shotgun mid-way.
He twists the gun out of his hand and shoots at his thigh(with his own gun).
Shou lets out a painful scream. He falls back and screams in pain. Akira
throws the handgun away.]
[Shou removes a spare handgun and aims at Akira]

Shou
(about to shoot him) You fucking scummmmm!
[A bullet hits Shou's hand from the sideway direction. He screams in pain
again. The gun falls out of his hands. It's Asahi. He was the one who shot
Shou on his hands. Akira, with help of his foot, Throws back his gun which
had fallen down. ASAHI walks over to Shou, puts his own gun inside, and presses
Shou to the ground and ties him with help of handcuffs.]

ASAHI
Huh. These handcuffs do come handy.

Akira
(to YOKO, on his earpiece) We have got hold of Shou Minami. We are
heading over to the hostage.
______________________________________________________________________062

[While Akira is talking, and Asahi wasnt paying attention. Shou, whose hands
are tied with handcuffs behind him, reaches up to his watch.]
[Akira notices him. It's too late. He presses a button. The display
goes.....3....2....1.... An explosion occurs on the upper part of the
warehouse. The upper part explodes and begins to collapse down.]
Akira
(running towards the hostage's location along with ASAHI)(to YOKO)
Yoko! Come over here and take Shou outside the warehouse. We will
bring out the hostage with us.

YOKO
On it!!
______________________________________________________________________063

[Akira and Asahi reach the section where the hostage is supposed to be. They

28
are momentarily frozen. The hostage is hung up through chains, with his limbs
deformed and badly beaten up. He is definitely dead. The roof of that section
starts collapsing, and ASAHI and Akira run away towards the exit (the main
one).]
______________________________________________________________________064

{The scene transitions to show what Shou is doing}

DAWN; EXT; OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE

[Shou is slowly limping (with his hands still cuffed behind him). He is covered
with blood (not too much).]

Shou
(psychotically)Hahahahahahaha.......Iwon......I
won.....hahahahaahahahaa.....
(he trips and falls on his knees)
Hahahaahhaaaahhaaaaahaaa......

[A moment later]

[He feels a cold piece of metal touching his head from behind. He rolls his
eyes sideways to glance. It's YOKO. He is aiming his gun at Shou.]

YOKO
It's over. You Lost.
______________________________________________________________________065

[TIMELAPSE]

[Yoko is shown closing the trunk of the car (containing Shou, he is alive
of course). ]
______________________________________________________________________066

[Akira and Asahi are leaning on to the car. Asahi is smoking. Yoko joins
them.]

ASAHI
The hostage was already killed before we arrived. Hanged, to be
precise.

[silence prevails]

YOKO
(accepting a smoke Asahi offered) It's almost time.

29
[Akira gets into the car, followed by Asahi. Yoko gets onto his bike. The
car drives away followed by the bike.]

______________________________________________________________________067

30