Ever since Apex unlocked that night, Ichin had been staying up, keeping an eye on the game's live player count. It wasn't until five in the morning that he finally felt at ease enough to go to sleep.
He slept straight through to noon, only waking up when Utaha called him for lunch.
That afternoon, they had plans to go out — because after working in the Shanghai studio for so long, Umiko was finally coming back to Tokyo.
It was Saturday. Haruno and Yukino had returned to their family home in Chiba, so after lunch, Ichin and Utaha called up Yagami Kou and the others downstairs, and the group set off together for the airport. The rest of the team would meet them there directly.
As some of the company's earliest members, no one needed to say a word — everyone had automatically decided to come to greet her.
After a few minutes of waiting at the airport, the rest of the crew arrived one after another.
Once everyone had gathered at the arrival gate, Ichin glanced at his watch. "It's two-thirty. The flight should land in about twenty minutes."
Then he looked toward Sakura Nene. Ever since they'd arrived, she'd been visibly restless.
Standing beside her, Aoba smiled. "Nene, relax. It won't be long now."
"I—I know! I'm not that impatient!" Nene's cheeks were pink as she said it.
Of course, everyone could tell what she was really feeling.
Leaning close to Ichin, Utaha whispered with a smile, "If it were me, and you'd been away for so long… honestly, I wouldn't last even a week without missing you. So I totally get how Nene feels right now."
Ichin chuckled softly. "Yeah. But it'll be fine soon. Umiko's been working hard at the Shanghai studio, training their programming team and passing on her technical know-how. They've hired new members recently too, so she doesn't need to stay and lead the team anymore. Still, after relying on her for so long, I bet it'll take them a while to adjust once she's gone."
Umiko's technical ability was top-tier, even by industry standards. No matter which studio she joined, she'd be entrusted with major responsibilities. While she was in Shanghai, whether it was Titanfall or Apex, she had always been one of the key members of the development team.
Now that the Shanghai branch had grown considerably, their focus was mainly on maintaining Titanfall and Apex. As for new projects, Ichin's current plan was to start conceptualizing Titanfall 2 — or perhaps let the Shanghai studio brainstorm their own proposals for him to review.
Of course, there was no rush for that. For the next three or four months, their main priority was Apex's post-launch content, so there'd be no time for distractions.
After about twenty minutes of waiting, the big display board finally showed that Umiko's flight had arrived.
Everyone perked up instantly.
Yagami Kou beamed. "The flight's in! We should be seeing her any minute now!"
Rin Toyama smiled. "Yeah, once she grabs her luggage, she'll be out soon. With so many of us here to welcome her, I'm sure she'll be really happy."
"Of course she will!" Hazuki folded her arms, grinning. "And we didn't just come to the airport — we even booked a welcome dinner for tonight. We're definitely drinking to celebrate properly!"
As for Nene, she'd gone completely quiet. The moment the flight's arrival was announced, her hands had clenched tightly together, her whole body trembling slightly with excitement and nerves.
Finally, after another fifteen minutes or so, passengers began filing out through the arrival gate.
After a dozen or so came through, they spotted her — Umiko Ahagon, tall and elegant, pulling two suitcases behind her.
Aside from having one more suitcase than when she'd left for Shanghai, she looked exactly the same as before.
The instant Nene saw her, she couldn't hold back anymore.
"Umiko-san!!"
Umiko's eyes softened with a smile as she spotted Nene running toward her. She stopped, released her luggage, and opened her arms, letting the younger girl throw herself into her embrace.
Holding Nene close, she gently patted her head and looked up to the others approaching. "You all came to meet me? Thanks, everyone."
Ichin smiled. "Welcome back, Umiko."
Everyone echoed together, "Welcome back!"
Umiko's smile brightened even more as she nodded. "Mm. I'm back."
Once they'd picked her up, the group left the airport. Umiko and Nene rode in Ichin's car as they headed toward the restaurant reserved for the welcome party.
Sitting in the backseat, Umiko chuckled at Nene still clinging to her arm, then looked at Ichin and Utaha in the front. "You even booked a welcome dinner? You're really spoiling me."
"It's not really spoiling you," Ichin said from the driver's seat. "You were assigned to the Shanghai studio on my orders. You've worked hard for a long time — throwing you a welcome party is the least we can do. Besides, the company's games are selling great, and our revenue keeps climbing. This little expense doesn't even register."
"That's right!" Nene lifted her head proudly. "We even have our own office building now! A dinner's nothing — we can afford it! Umiko-san, you haven't seen the new HQ yet, right? You'll get to visit on Monday! And we already cleaned up your office for you yesterday!"
During game development, Umiko usually worked with the programming team in their shared space, but as one of the company's senior executives, she naturally had a private office as well.
"Oh? A private office now?" Umiko grinned. "Nice. I like the sound of that. Ichin, the rooftop of the building — that's accessible, right?"
"Yeah, it's open for use," Ichin replied. "There's nothing much up there right now, just a few benches. People usually go up to get some fresh air during breaks."
Then it hit him. "Wait, Umiko-san… don't tell me you're planning to—"
"Exactly that." Umiko nodded without hesitation. "I want to set up a small shooting-practice zone — something like the survival-training range I had back at Eagle Jump. Think that's doable?"
"That's no problem at all," Ichin said with a smile. "The rooftop's pretty spacious. We can section off an area for you to design however you like. When you come in Monday, take a look and figure out how you want it arranged. Should I have the logistics team help you buy materials?"
"No need," Umiko said confidently. "I've got my own contacts. I can get good stuff — with discounts too."
Hearing that, Umiko's smile deepened. She was already looking forward to her new life back home.
---
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