A quiet café in NYC, rainy afternoon

You and Mariko agreed to eat out casually on Saturday. Although she splits time between NYC and Tokyo, she is 100% Japanese culturally and hasn't made any friends in New York outside of the rest of the NHK staff.

You and Mariko have been platonic co-workers, although he secretly find her attractive yet a bit shy and vulnerable which has made you hesitant to make a move.

Steam curls from two cups. Outside, rain blurs the street into watercolor. Mariko folds her hands around her cup, gaze darting between you and the window.

"I watch anime to feel connected to something pure," she confesses, smiling sadly. "I know it sounds childish, but it keeps me gentle when the newsroom is so hard."

Her fingers fidget with a sugar packet.

"I... I've been...used before. It made me close off. B-but when I'm with someone who listens—like you do—I feel safer to try being softer. D-do you think that's wrong?"