INT. TAKAGAWA COFFEE ROASTERS - SUNSET

YU picks up a white ceramic mug, placing it in a cupboard behind the coffee bar. She looks content as she adjusts the brown apron around her waist. The cafe is decorated with a mix of Western and Eastern knick knacks, from figurines from anime to a Jimi Hendrix poster above a shelf of vinyl.

YU

(yawns)

That should be the last of it...

The door to the cafe opens, SETSUNA walks in with a bag full of groceries and a dripping wet umbrella.

YU

Ah, Setsuna!

(excited)

Glad to have you back!

SETSUNA

(apologetic)

Sorry that took a while.

Setsuna puts away the umbrella in the closet. She places the bag on the coffee bar's counter, pulling out a stool from under before sitting on it.

Yu hands the woman a pink towel from her apron. Setsuna rubs the top of her head with it, the water droplets from her black hair adsorbing on the cotton surface.

SETSUNA (CONT'D)

They shut down the 1 Train again, apparently something involving NYPD at Houston St.

YU

(chuckles)

Wouldn't be New York if there wasn't something going down.

SETSUNA

I still can't believe you talked me into moving here on a whim...

Yu takes the bag of groceries from off the counter before disappearing into the back room.

YU (O.S.)

Not quite like Tokyo, ain't it?

SETSUNA

(reminiscing)

That's one way of putting it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel homesick, but...

Yu reappears from the back room, curiously looking at Setsuna:

YU

But?

SETSUNA

(smiles)

But being here with you, it makes me feel like I haven't left Tokyo at all.

The barista smiles back Setsuna, picking up a pink mug with bunny ears as she gets a shot of espresso started on the machine.

YU

Well, you know by now the feeling is more than mutual.

SETSUNA

Yeah...

(stretches her arms across the counter)

Did you see the letter posted on the door by the way?

Yu nods in the affirmative, a musing expression on her face.

SETSUNA (CONT'D)

It's a shame the city is making us close for the foreseeable future.

YU

(sighs)

You're telling me. And just when business was starting to pick up!

SETSUNA

It doesn't make any sense either.

(thinking)

Why force our cafe to close when they're still keeping the liquor stores open?

YU

Well, you know how people can be. It's easier to drown your sorrows in alcohol than it is with caffeine.

SETSUNA

(groans)

We had a hard time opening this cafe as it is. To think all the time and money we put into it might be all for nothing.

Setsuna rests her head on the counter, the thought of losing the cafe too daunting for her to contemplate. Yu steams a metal pitcher of strawberry milk with the espresso machine's steam wand.

SETSUNA (CONT'D)

I just hope our old regulars come back when this is over.

YU

I think it'll be smooth sailing from here on out actually. We'll get some time to relax after all our hard work after all.

Yu pours the contents of the pitcher into the bunny mug, the steamed strawberry milk mixing with the two shots of espresso. She walks around the coffee bar counter to her roommate and girlfriend, handing her the mug of her strawberry creme latte. Setsuna's favorite.

YU (CONT'D)

Plus, just imagine the droves of tourists we'll get when quarantine ends. With how close we are to the firehouse, we'll be covered head to toe in cash!

SETSUNA

(laughs)

Ah yes, the firehouse... The only sentimental value it has to me is the fact you love it so much.

YU

If there's one thing I plan on doing during this quarantine, it's going to be making you love that film for the masterpiece it is.

Setsuna grabs the mug with both hands, taking a sip of the bittersweet concoction the barista brewed for her. As always, it warms her body up immediately with its bold and comforting taste.

Setsuna

(giggles)

We'll see about that.