EXT. OLD FONG'S BIKE SHOP, CAPITAL CITY - EVENING
Beneath a sign that is filled with fire in the shape of "Old Fong", Voso and Makami are walking out with a new tricycle equipped with a cargo boot between the rear two wheels.
OLD FONG (O.S.)
(elderly woman voice)
Be careful out there!
VOSO
I will watch out for spider people!
OLD FONG
(sweetly)
Make sure to - they're everywhere!
The door gently closes behind them as the flame sign above extinguishes. The light goes out in the windows as they walk away. The bike has a black metal frame that is not built for the same speed that doomed the last one.
VOSO
I gotta hand it to you, the cargo hold on this bad boy will multiply the packages I can carry.
MAKAMI
Yep. Four-fold.
VOSO
(excitedly)
Four-fold!
MAKAMI
And the flame sticker on the side will make it faster, I'm sure.
He points to the sticker repeatedly with a wide grin and wide, excited eyes.
VOSO
(overly excited)
I know right! More cargo AND flaming-speeds!
He returns to his normal walk, smoothing back his blonde hair. Makami watches him with a smirk.
VOSO
More cargo and speed...maybe that'll convince my customers to pay their tabs...
MAKAMI
You don't make them pay?
VOSO
Well...I...I guess I don't make them stop NOT paying me.
Makami smiles with her head turned away while Voso rolls his eyes at himself. In the background is a beautiful shot of the harbor igniting with flaming string lights. The lighthouses on either side of Capital City Bay are spinning their spotlights as well.
VOSO
(sighing)
Me and my business degree are at odds.
MAKAMI
You've got a big heart, that's all.
It's his turn to wilt slightly with blushing cheeks.
VOSO
Uh, you wanted to see some houses, right?
MAKAMI
(laughing morosely)
Houses, yeah, I wish.
She brings out one of the thin pamphlets her mother gave her.
MAKAMI
There are some rooms for rent I could check out around here.
VOSO
Sure, let's do it.
They are walking out of frame, leaving only the calm tide's rhythmic embrace under the night sky.
VOSO (O.S.)
Which one is first?
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. HOSTEL - EVENING
A woman with curlers in her hair, a long smoking pipe stuck between her lips, and wearing a light green muu-muu is leaning over a flimsy wooden desk. Makami and Voso cower beneath her overbearing form. Through a doorway in the background are over a dozen screaming, wrestling, running children that make staying here seem awfully noisy.
HOSTEL OWNER
(over children screaming)
We've got an old wicker chair in the corner you can sleep in. Three silvers a night - and don't worry, these tykes settle down eventually.
Both of them slide out of the frame to the right.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. LEATHER COSTUME PARTY - EVENING
The two of them stand in a doorway, looking into the foreground as gentleman and ladies are walking around in...nearly full leather outfits. The getups are sleeveless with cut eyeholes and zippers on their mouths. They are otherwise carrying on as normal partying adults with colorful drinks.
VOSO
(whispering)
This one's a possibility, huh?
MAKAMI
(horrified whispering)
My mom gave me the brochure! I didn't have time to read them!
One of the partiers walks up to them, unzipping their mouth hole.
PARTY GOER
(in pleasant male voice)
Hi there, are you here about the room for rent?
SLOW SLIDE CUT TO:
EXT. CAPITAL CITY BAY - NIGHT
Makami and Voso are ripping up brochures, tossing the rejects into the open bay. They giggle as they read with Voso's new bike right behind them and two piers on either side.
VOSO
(laughing)
Oh-ho, oh boy, here's one. *Ahem*. "Looking for roomie - must not hate the sounds of hooligans. No high-heels."
MAKAMI
(chuckling)
Rip it up!
VOSO
Really? Know a whole bunch of hooligans?
MAKAMI
My sister, by any reasonable standard, is a troublemaker.
He salutes the brochure as it sinks into the bay.
VOSO
Oh yeah - how is her family of fingers?
MAKAMI
They've been retired. Now she has a family of toes.
VOSO
Oh...well, things don't change all that much in a few years, huh? How have things been since graduation?
MAKAMI
(grunting)
Impossible. I'm like a gardener that just missed the best season to garden. I've got no money, can't sleep...
She's holding up a full hand of brochures.
MAKAMI
You've seen my living prospects aren't great. I feel...*sigh* I dunno.
She's shaking her other fist in the air dramatically.
MAKAMI
(in a dramatic voice)
"Unfulfilled by this life's great calamity!"
A smooth half smile flashes to her face with Voso returning a blank, clueless expression.
MAKAMI
It's a quote. From a mover.
More silence as his eyes scan around for an answer.
MAKAMI
(almost forcefully)
"Battle for the Seven Hearts"!?
Voso shrugs while scratching his nose.
VOSO
(meekly)
I'm, uh, not really a...mover...guy?
MAKAMI
(vibrating her lips)
Everyone likes movers! You just haven't seen the good ones.
VOSO
(chuckling)
I just can't believe you have free time now and I don't. How many times did you turn down get-togethers in college to stay firmly planted in the library?
MAKAMI
A single star in the sky for each and every time - ugh, I didn't even realize it until after I graduated. Now, I'm using my degrees to type letters.
VOSO
Copies of letters.
MAKAMI
(smiling)
Which is somehow even worse! And my social life has been in time-out since seventh grade.
VOSO
Isn't that when your pet fish died?
MAKAMI
(sighing)
I miss my Poi-Poi...
She rips several pamphlets into confetti at once.
MAKAMI
I just wanted to be on another world for a little while, you know? That little while turned into months and years...
She turns towards him with soft eyes.
MAKAMI
I missed a lot.
VOSO
(quietly)
But you're back now, right?
She smiles warmly, flashing teeth and pushing her hair behind her ear. Before she can answer, Voso's colorful spirits are descending - two of them with spinning flower petals like helicopter blades - and making small noises to get Voso's attention.
VOSO
Hey guys - what's that?
A small, orange spirit that looks like a carved pumpkin with arms and legs points fiercely in Voso's hand. Makami watches with curiosity and concern from the background.
VOSO (O.S.)
My bike is-
Makami is up and dashing off the screen.
MAKAMI (O.S.)
Being stolen!
Makami is swiftly over a short fence and rolls over a closed dumpster. She slides to a stop just at the edge of the sidewalk, looking down the lamp-lit sidewalk into the background. She spins to look into the foreground now - no luck.
She takes the clip out of her hair and clips her skirt again before bursting flames from her hands and feet. She climbs above the low, wooden building nearby and rotates to see the entire district. Still, no luck.
VOSO (O.S.)
(echoing)
See anything?
Makami's teeth grit as a vein protrudes from her forehead.
MAKAMI
(shouting)
I'LL FIND YOU PUNKS! I'LL FIND ALL OF YOU! I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE!
Voso and the spirits are looking around for clues as Makami descends with weakening thrusters. He turns to her as her heels clack on the sidewalk.
VOSO
I take it you didn't see them?
MAKAMI
(quickly, defeated)
No, I didn't see them.
One of the spirits flutters to Makami's shoulder. Once it lands, it begins to pat her on the cheek in a comforting manner. Voso is smiling in surprise from the background.
VOSO
(surprised)
They...wow, they like you!
MAKAMI
Huh, yeah.
VOSO
And you could understand them earlier?
MAKAMI
Well, you didn't tell me you had so many spirit friends.
The yellow spirit jumps from her shoulder and flutters to the top of her head. She smiles up to it, Voso walking closer with the rest of the group on his head and shoulders.
VOSO
I just thought I was the only one that could understand them.
MAKAMI
I have a few spirit friends of my own...maybe You and I could-?
SAGE SHII (O.S.)
Excuse me?
The whole group turns to see Shii walking very slowly out of the shadows with his hands up and a weary smile.
MAKAMI
Good evening, can we help you?
SAGE SHII
I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing your swears of vengeance into the night.
Voso takes a step forward.
VOSO
Did you see who took my bike? Which way they went?
SAGE SHII
Two small boys that rode off in that direction.
His hands fall as he nods down the long road in the background. The spirits disappear while Makami and Voso look down the road.
SAGE SHII
I saw you pop out here with some zeal, if you wanted to go after them...?
He watches Makami wilt from the challenge.
SAGE SHII
But it is rather late. Perhaps you'd best wait until morning to file a police report?
Makami looks conflicted as she stares into the ground - as though a voice inside her head is begging her to take action, and another voice is begging her to bury the thought. Voso is closer in the foreground, smiling appreciatively.
SAGE SHII (O.S.)
I'd hate for your report to be ignored by some drowsy clerk.
VOSO
Yeah, I guess.
He looks back to her.
VOSO
What do you think, Ami?
Her head is up and an unfocused smile is all she can muster.
MAKAMI
Police, yeah. If you can't trust them to protect and serve, who CAN you trust, huh? Let's catch a cab tonight?
VOSO
Sure, yeah.
Both of them look back to Shii, who is projecting everything you'd expect of a kindly old man.
VOSO
Thank you again, mister...?
SAGE SHII
Ah, Shii.
MAKAMI
Fire Sage Shii, right?
His eyes light up with recognition.
SAGE SHII
(happily)
Why yes, I am a sage. Are you familiar with us?
MAKAMI
I did a report on Crescent Moon Island controversies and atrocities committed during the 100 Year War.
The silence doesn't deafen Shii's smile, even as it becomes awkward.
SAGE SHII
(recovering)
Ah, well, we're thankfully built of stronger moral fiber these days.
VOSO
Well, we'll be going - thanks again!
Shii bows as they turn away and walk through the foreground. After a few seconds, Shii straightens himself and pulls a pad of paper and a quill from his robe.
The angle now shows a list with a few lines crossed out. Some of the other entries include "Is followed by a large animal," "Speaks to spirits", and "Can punch through a stone wall."
His quilled pen runs through "Speaks with spirits."
BRUISER (O.S.)
Well?
Shii slides the paper back into his robe as an ominous man's fist appears from the shadows behind him, slamming into the cement wall.
BRUISER (O.S.)
Are we doing this or not?
SAGE SHII
Not tonight.
The view shows Voso almost leaning out into the street to hail a rickshaw cab.
SAGE SHII (O.S.)
But soon.
Now tightly on Sage Shii's eyes, he grimaces into the foreground, knowing full well how far he's willing to go to find the avatar.