Kaji: Principle & Pride
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Oct 20, 2025
- 2 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. HOME - EVENING
A soft evening light filters through the window. KAJI sits with a dignified posture. She observes the PACK LEADER and PETER.
KAJI (V.O): They're about to go out.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): They don't have my leash.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): They don't even glance my way.
Kaji watches them going out.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): They appear too tied up to bring me to the riverside park.
Kaji's ears perk up.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): I can hear the sound of another door opening and closing nearby.
Act 2
INT. HOME - LATER
The Pack Leader and Peter return.
KAJI (V.O): The pattern is clear. They're preparing a dinner gathering for other gang members in our other apartment.
Recalling.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): I've been invited to such gatherings before.
Recalling.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): It's an acceptable social engagement.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): A worthy reason to forgo our evening walk by the river.
Soon, Peter approaches Kaji, crouching down to her level.
PETER: You wanna come over for dinner. The other gang members have arrived.
Peter opens his arms wide for an embrace.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Run to you so that you can carry me there?
PETER (Cont'd.): Come here, I'll carry you.
Kaji takes a deliberate step back.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Carry me? The bias is astounding.
Her expression is one of insult.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): He sees an incapable, non-independent Shiba.
Kaji stands up.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): I can walk. I''ll walk. Just...not you expect.
Peter's smile falters.
PETER (Cont'd): No? You don't want a carry?
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): I see principle and pride as the debt I pay to my future self.
PETER (Cont'd). That's fine I'm not going to force you.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): In times of conflict, principle and pride become armor.
Peter waits a moment. Kaji doesn't budge. She looks past him.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Walk with principle, and I'll never lose my path. Bow to pride, and I'll never see it.
Peter stands up, sits at the piano, and plays a few notes.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Compromise on strategy, but rarely on principle and pride.
Suddenly, the Pack Leader appears. She doesn't ask. She doesn't crouch.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): I recognize her strategy. I've to cut short my protest.
The Pack Leader simply swoops down, scoops Kaji up in a firm, no-sensense hold.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): A principle is a root, providing stability and nourishment. Stubbornness is a stone, offering only resistence.
In a few swift steps, they're across a hall way and through the door of another apartment.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Principles guide me, stubborness blind me.
Following her release, Kaji gracefully sniffs at the other gang MEMBERS.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): The social contract, while forcibly initiated, remains intact. The gathering may proceed.
Act 3
INT. HOME - NIGHT
The Pack Leader pushes the door open and sets Kaji down.
KAJI (V.O): A principle is a truth I hold outside myself. Pride is the fortress I build around myself.
Thinking.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Self-reflection is the lens that brings principle and pride into focus.
Reflecting.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Cling to a principle, and it'll lift me. Cling to pride, and it'll become my anchor.
FADE OUT
THE END
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