Tokyo: Oreimo

She had seen that figure before.

She could never forget the scene of her taking Ryosuke's arm as they entered the manga club room.

"President." Ayumi grabbed Tian Zhongxue's sleeve.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

“Look over there.” Ayumi raised her chin.

Tian Zhongxue followed her gaze and almost dropped his phone.

"That's... Miss Hououin?"

"Ah."

Phoenix Inu Saori was standing at the entrance of the passageway, holding a folder in her hand, talking to the staff member next to her with her head down.

She was relaxed and her tone was unremarkable, but the staff member's attitude was clearly that of a subordinate to a superior.

“She…” Tian Zhongxue swallowed hard. “She was wearing an Aniplex uniform? And that badge she was wearing…”

“It’s management,” Ayumi said.

The two exchanged a glance.

"So, Gao Cheng's girlfriend is in Aniplex's management?"

Tian lowered his voice, trying hard not to make his expression look too exaggerated.

Ayumi didn't answer. She watched as Saori closed the folder and turned to leave.

"Should we go up and say hello?" Tian Zhongxue had already started walking.

The two walked through the crowd toward the entrance of the passage.

However, the crowd in the exhibition area was much denser than they had expected, with several cosplayers surging in from the side.

A group of photographers with cameras followed behind.

After they passed through the crowd, Saori had disappeared, and only the staff member from before was standing at the entrance of the passage.

"We got separated." Tian Zhongxue scratched his head in frustration.

"Never mind." Ayumi looked away. "Since they're Aniplex's management, we'll have a chance to confirm it later. Let's go to the demo area first. Weren't you just saying you wanted to queue for the RE demo?"

"Right! I almost forgot about the important thing!" Tian Zhongxue slapped his forehead and turned to walk towards the demo area. "I heard that only 5,000 demos of 'RE:' are being given out on the first day. If you're late, they'll be gone!"

The demo area was on the left side of the booth, with a clearly marked queuing area separated by black barriers.

The queue was already very long, stretching from the demo booths all the way to the passageway outside the exhibition area.

Tian Zhongxue and Ayumi found the end of the line and stood still.

"Where are the others?" Ayumi looked around.

"Okubo said he was going to the merchandise section to grab limited-edition items, Kobayashi went to the Kadokawa booth next door to look at the new magazine, and Asakura seems to have gone to the cosplay area to take photos."

Tian Zhongxue counted on his fingers, "Let's finish the trial play before we gather together."

The line moved forward slowly.

Ayumi stood in the line, her gaze fixed on a standing sign not far away.

The signboard had a few lines of text printed on it.

"Limited autograph session for the RE demo version".

"Script: Gen Urobuchi"

"Original painting: Rumiko Takagi."

"Sign-in time: 11:00-14:00".

“Autograph session.” Ayumi murmured these words.

"What?" Tian Zhongxue leaned over to look. "A signing session with Gen Urobuchi and Rumiko Takashiro? Both of them will be coming?"

"That's what it says above."

"I'm so lucky today!" Tian Zhongxue was so excited he almost jumped up.

"The Mahoutsukai no Yoru sold out in an hour, then I saw the Aniplex booth, and now I can even see Gen Urobuchi and Rumiko-sensei in person!"

He clasped his hands together, his expression devout. "I've always wanted to know what Gen Urobuchi looks like. Someone who can write that kind of script must be a weathered old man with eyes full of malice towards the world."

Ayumi didn't respond to that.

The line continued forward. One-thirty, ten minutes to two, two o'clock.

The line ahead was getting shorter and shorter, and the autograph table next to the demo area was becoming clearly visible.

Two people were sitting behind the table, both wearing baseball caps, sunglasses, and black masks, their faces completely covered.

One of them was signing autographs with his head down, a few strands of blond hair peeking out from under his hat brim, while the other was dealing with a small mountain of demo package packaging in front of him, his movements unhurried.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Tian Zhongxue muttered. "Are you afraid of being recognized by fans?"

Ayumi stared at the two people for a few seconds.

Then her pupils contracted slightly.

"Next." The staff member gestured for them to come forward.

Tian Zhongxue excitedly approached the table and took the trial version package from Ryosuke with both hands.

The front of the packaging features the title and main visual of "RE", while the bottom right corner is signed with "Gen Urobuchi" and "Rumiko Takashiro" in gold pen.

"Thank you! Thank you both, teachers! I'm a huge fan of yours! I've watched Fate/Zero three times, and I've recorded every episode of Puella Magi Madoka Magica and watched it repeatedly!"

Tian Zhongxue finished speaking in one breath, flipping through the demo version over and over, "I didn't expect the two teachers to be so young. I thought Gen Urobuchi would be a weathered old man..."

Ryosuke paused for a moment as he looked up.

The eyes of the two groups collided in the air.

Through the lenses of his sunglasses, Ryosuke saw Tanaka's face flushed with excitement, and Ayumi standing half a step behind him, staring at him.

Ayumi's gaze moved from his baseball cap to his face mask, and finally met the eyes behind those sunglasses.

She tugged at Tian Zhongxue's sleeve.

"Ayumi?"

“...Takashiro?” Ayumi’s voice was very soft, so soft that it was almost drowned out by the background music in the exhibition area.

Tian Zhongxue's smile froze on his face.

Ryosuke paused for a moment, then raised his hand and placed his index finger in front of his mask.

A silent "secret" gesture.

Tanaka stood there with his mouth agape, his gaze darting back and forth between Ryosuke's baseball cap and sunglasses before finally settling on the blond figure beside him.

Ling Nai also raised her head, she seemed to roll her eyes, and then lowered her head to continue signing autographs.

Tian Zhongxue seemed to have been put on pause.

The staff politely reminded them, "The guests behind us are waiting, could you please—"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ayumi grabbed Tian Zhongxue's arm and pulled him aside.

In the rest area outside the demo area, Okubo, Kobayashi, and Asakura had already returned.

Okubo was holding an Aniplex limited edition paper bag, which was filled with SAO merchandise.

Kobayashi held a cup of iced coffee, his expression as calm as ever, while Misaki Asakura was looking through the free stickers she had just received.

When Tanaka and Ayumi walked over, Okubo immediately went to greet them.

"President! Did you guys get your hands on the demo of 'RE'? How's the autograph session going?"

Tian Zhongxue opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Ayumi answered for him, "I got it."

"What does Gen Urobuchi look like? Is he an older man?" Okubo pressed.

Tian Zhongxue's face changed several colors in a few seconds.

Chapter 288 Exposure

The air in the rest area seemed to be sucked away for a few seconds.

Shota Okubo was still holding the limited edition Aniplex paper bag in his hand. He looked at Tanaka Middle School and then at Ayumi, and noticed that their expressions were not quite right.

"President? Ayumi-senpai? What's wrong with you two?"

Tian Zhongxue's lips moved slightly, and his gaze passed over everyone's shoulders, landing in the direction of the entrance to the rest area.

Ayumi sighed softly.

coming.

Ryosuke walked through the crowd, his baseball cap and sunglasses removed, revealing a face that everyone in the manga club knew all too well.

Ling Nai followed half a step behind him, her blond hair standing out brightly under the exhibition hall lights.

“Perfect timing, you’re all here.” Ryosuke’s tone was no different from his usual tone in the activity room.

Okubo hadn't even reacted yet, "Takashiro? When did you get here? Didn't you say you had something to do this morning and wouldn't be coming?"

"I've been with Aniplex the whole time."

"Aniplex?" Okubo blinked. "What are you doing at the Aniplex booth? Queuing up for a demo?"

Kobayashi, holding his iced coffee, keenly noticed Ayumi and Da Chu's expressions.

Seeing the confused expressions on everyone's faces, Ryosuke scratched his cheek.

"I was recognized by Ayumi-senpai during the autograph session just now. I didn't intend to keep it a secret from everyone, but I just couldn't find the right time to tell them."

Misaki Asakura tilted her head, still not understanding the meaning of the sentence, while Okubo's eyebrows furrowed and Kobayashi's pupils contracted slightly.

“A signing event?” Okubo repeated the three words, then suddenly his eyes widened. “Wait, a signing event? You mean the signing event for *Re*? The one with Gen Urobuchi and Rumiko Takagi?”

"Ah."