Everything falls

_Runtime target: 24 minutes_

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*EPISODE 1: "KISARAGI VILLAGE"*

_COLD OPEN_  

*EXT. SNOW-COVERED FOREST - MORNING*  

_Quiet. Snow/ash falls like static. Dead silent except for crunching footsteps._  

_HIKARU, 13, trudges through snow carrying a bundle of firewood. Too big for him. Behind him walks MAMORU, 40s, same load but he makes it look light. His breath fogs. His hands are scarred, knuckles like stone._  

HIKARU (muttering)  

It’s always me on wood duty. You’re the adult.  

MAMORU (smirking, not looking back)  

Adults delegate. Strong sons build character. Weak sons complain.  

HIKARU  

I’m not weak!  

MAMORU  

Prove it. Race you home.  

_Hikaru grins, drops his stance to run—_  

_FWOOM._  

_The ground trembles. Birds erupt from the trees. The air turns to ice._  

_Both freeze. Mamoru’s head snaps toward the village._  

HIKARU  

...Dad?  

MAMORU (quiet. All the teasing gone)  

Drop the wood.  

---

*EXT. KISARAGI VILLAGE - EDGE - CONTINUOUS*  

_They crest the hill. Kisaragi Village sits in the valley, smoke from cookfires rising. Peaceful. Small._  

_Then the sky TEARS._  

_A dome of pale fire CRASHES down over the village. First time in 20 years. The snow around it evaporates._  

_From the treeline, KAGE steps out. Tall. Human-shaped. His shadow pools wrong, like oil. He smiles with too many teeth._  

_Screams start in the village._  

*EXT. AIZAWA HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER*  

_They hit the porch at a sprint. AOI, 30s, Hikaru’s mom, is at the doorway with a cooking pot. She sees their faces. Drops it._  

AOI  

Mamoru—  

MAMORU (already moving)  

Inside. Now.  

_He shoves Hikaru behind him. Unties the top firewood bundle. No wood inside. Just a cloth-wrapped _katana_. Old. Worn. Real._  

_Hikaru stares._  

HIKARU  

Dad...?  

_Mamoru unwraps it. His farmer’s slouch vanishes. Left hand on saya. Right hand loose. Feet set. Pure _iaijutsu_ form. He hasn’t stood like this in 13 years._  

MAMORU  

Hikaru. Don’t watch this part.  

*EXT. VILLAGE CENTER - CONTINUOUS*  

_Chaos. Villagers run for the dome’s edge._  

VILLAGER 1  

IT WON’T HOLD US! RUN!  

*Humans hit the barrier and pass through like mist, into the snow.*  

_A LESSER DEMON charges the dome from inside—_  

_FWSSH._  

_It touches the pale fire and ignites. Screams as it burns to ash in seconds. *The barrier burns demons.*_  

_KAGE watches, amused. Then he moves._  

_He BLINKS. Crosses 50m instantly. Appears between two fleeing families. One claw swipe. Silence._  

_The culling starts. Lesser demons pour from cracks in the earth. Kage doesn’t chase the barrier. He hunts the people._  

*EXT. AIZAWA HOUSE - CONTINUOUS*  

_Kage lands in the yard. Tilts his head at Mamoru._  

KAGE  

So the guard dog still lives. I thought the Shogunate killed you all.  

MAMORU (cold)  

They tried.  

_Kage lunges. No warning._  

_Mamoru steps in, not back._  

_SHING._  

_One draw. Kage’s right arm hits the dirt before the sound finishes. Black blood steams in the snow._  

_Kage stumbles back, laughing, shocked._  

KAGE  

...You’re faster than the records said.  

_They clash. Mamoru is total control. Three moves. Kage loses ground, his new arm already regrowing wrong. This is why the barrier exists. Mamoru was the guard dog._  

_Inside, Hikaru peeks from the doorway. He can’t help it._  

HIKARU  

DAD!  

_Mamoru’s eyes flick to him. One frame. One mistake._  

_Kage doesn’t miss it. His regrown hand spears forward._  

_SHUNK._  

_Straight through Mamoru’s chest. Out his back._  

_Time stops._  

MAMORU (choking)  

...Run...  

_Kage rips his hand out. Mamoru drops to his knees._  

_Kage turns to the house. Aoi is in the doorway, frozen._  

KAGE  

Collateral.  

_He backhands the house. The entire structure EXPLODES into flame and timber. Aoi vanishes in the fireball._  

HIKARU (screaming)  

*MOM!!!*  

_The barrier FLICKERS. Cracking. Kage’s presence is too much. Lesser demons flood Kisaragi. Screams. Fire. Everything burns._  

_Hikaru’s on his knees in ash. He sees it by the burning doorway — Mamoru’s katana. The saya is on fire._  

_He crawls. Grabs it. The heat sears his palms. He doesn’t let go._  

_Ahead, the barrier is collapsing. One gap left. No flames yet._  

_He runs. Katana clutched to his chest. Thirteen years old. Carrying his father’s sword._  

KAGE (O.S., amused)  

You think you can just leave, little light?  

_Hikaru blinks. Kage is suddenly in front of him. Blocking the gap. Blocking the world. His regrown arm flexes. He’s healing fast._  

KAGE  

Humans can pass through. But you won’t. You smell... _interesting_.  

_Hikaru tries to draw the katana. It’s too heavy. His hands shake. He can’t even clear the saya. Useless._  

_Kage reaches for him—_  

_FWOOM._  

_A figure DROPS between them. No impact. No sound. He simply _appears_._  

_KUROGANE. Old straw hat. Tattered black coat. Eyes closed like he’s bored._  

_He doesn’t draw a weapon. Doesn’t look at Kage._  

KUROGANE  

Go back to your hole, shadow.  

_Kage hesitates. His grin splits wider, revealing rows of needle teeth. Half his face is still regrowing._  

KAGE  

...Kurogane. The Shogunate’s stray dog. You’re late.  

KUROGANE (opens his eyes. Pale silver. Cold)  

And you’re bleeding.  

_Kage looks down. His arm is smoking where Mamoru cut it. The barrier’s fire still burns in the wound._  

_Kage clicks his tongue. Looks at Hikaru. Then back at Kurogane. He steps back, into the flames._  

KAGE  

Keep him. He’s hollow anyway. We’ll meet again when he breaks.  

_Kurogane grabs Hikaru by the collar, katana and all. Doesn’t ask. Doesn’t wait._  

_He leaps. Clears the flames and the dying barrier in one motion._  

_Mid-air, Hikaru looks back. Kisaragi Village is an inferno. 300 people went for the edge. 0 made it. Kage stands in the center of it, watching them go. He doesn’t chase._  

_The adrenaline crashes. The burns, the smoke, the loss — it all hits at once._  

_Hikaru passes out, still holding his father’s katana. The saya chars his palms._  

_Cut to black._  

_Silence. Then the first note of a shamisen. Low. Mourning._  

*END EPISODE 1*