Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu
Previously on Match Point: After Hikigaya leaves Hiratsukas apartment, he finds himself saving a girls dog, to thank him she offers to get him a band-aid at the mall, the same mall his sensei has gone to get a door at. What will happen this chapter? Read below to find out.
"So… we're in the same class, right?"
A car drives past the two students.
"I suppose."
They are both walking along the sidewalk towards the nearby mall.
"That's good… I mean, I think I've seen you around… But you don't really speak much… I guess."
Hikigaya doesn't say anything and the girl's heart begins to beat fast.
"Not that there's anything wrong with that! It's good. I like it."
She blushes and looks to the side smiling. There is silence for several seconds and a few more cars pass.
"So… does your head hurt?"
"It's fine."
"Oh... okay."
The rest of the walk to the mall is quiet. When they arrive, the two classmates go through the parking lot towards entrance four.
Hikigaya looks around at the vehicles and spots a familiar one.
'Is that Hiratsukas car?'
Instinctively he goes into an "in mission" mindset. Even though his current objectives are significantly less dangerous than his usual assignments, he still has to treat each situation with the utmost scrutiny.
"So… we should go to the pharmacy and get you a band-aid first, right?"
He turns his head towards her and nods. The dog is currently walking slightly ahead of them attached to a leash. Even though the collar is broken, Yuigahama has to make do until she can get a new one.
Once they arrive at the pharmacy Hachiman finds the cheapest band-aid and disinfectant then hands it to his companion.
After she pays for it he goes into the bathroom to clean his wound. She sits down on a bench next to the entrance of the bathroom waiting.
'Wow, he's really tough. He saved Sable, got himself injured and then just moved on like it never happened. He didn't even complain once. I was way too scared to even do anything.'
Yuigahama picks up her dog and holds him tightly.
'I owe him much more than just a band-aid.'
Six or so minutes later Hachiman walks out the bathroom, now with a fresh plaster covering the side of his head. Yui stands up and smiles.
"Haha… You look a lot better without blood on your face."
Hikigaya ignores her compliment and bows.
"Thank you for your help, I appreciate it."
The brown-haired girl is caught slightly off-guard.
"Oh no… Really it's nothing… You saved Sable so you've earned it… Not that I wouldn't have helped you anyway… Umm..."
She begins to stutter and her words stop being comprehensible.
"I understand." Hikigaya interrupts her rambling.
"Oh, that's good then… So… I guess… Anyway…Since we're at the mall… would you like to get some food…"
As she finishes the sentence Yuigahamas face goes red.
'TOO BOLD! TOO BOLD! HOW COULD I ASK THAT?!'
"Sure."
His answer shocks her even more.
"Oh… really? Umm… Okay… Yes!"
After she recovers from her anxiety, Yui and Hikigaya walk off towards the food court.
"So… Is there something you want in particular? To eat I mean?"
"Anything is fine."
"Do you like ramen?"
"Yes."
"Oh I do too! We can have that… I guess."
"Sure."
They walk in silence for a few minutes before Hikigayas eyes lock with someone exiting out a clothing store.
'Hiratsuka.'
3 Months Earlier
A large green United States Military plane flies over Afghanistan. Inside the plane, a man in camo kneels down next to Hikigaya who is looking over a map.
"You've already been briefed right?"
He has to yell over the loud plane engine.
"Yes."
"Good. So we're dropping you down right over here…" The man points to a specific place on the map. "Then you'll have to make your way through this area over to here." Once again, he moves his finger to the place in question. "The hostage is being held in this building by multiple Al-Qaeda members. Once you secure him, you'll need to get him over to this area, where we'll have a helicopter extract you."
"The briefing stated I'll have a partner for this operation."
"Yeah, another Japanese guy, he goes by the name Black Tiger or something like that. He's currently speaking to his handler."
"How long till the drop?"
The man looks at his watch.
"Probably about 20 minutes, so get ready."
The soldier leaves as Hikigaya stands up and walks over to a crate. Inside is a karambit, silenced pistol and his usual basic artilery. He quickly puts on his gear and waits patiently.
'I don't usually work with other people on missions. If this person slows me down it may cause problems, however I doubt my client would hire some amateur. They no doubt have a lot of experience, probably more than me. I'll have to wait and see.'
A few minutes later the man in camo and someone with the same gear as Hachiman walk in.
"This is the Black Tiger, say Hi."
The two assassins are both wearing helmets with goggles.
"Hi." The 13-year-olds words are cold.
"Hello." His newest partners words are even colder.
"You guys can get to know each other another time, you're getting dropped off in about two minutes."
The soldier turns his back to them and takes out a radio. After saying a few words into it, a large barn-sized door at the back of the plane starts to lower down, revealing the blue skies.
Due to the altitude, the wind is fierce and all three of them have to hold onto something as to not get pulled right out.
"You both ready?!"
They nod.
"Alright. Jumping in three… two… one… GO!"
Hikigaya and his partner sprint towards the large opening, before jumping out the plane. They both dive down through the air moving at a breakneck pace.
The ground below is covered by clouds and air is roaring even louder than it was in the plane.
Eventually they pass through the clouds revealing the snowy terrain. After freefalling for about a minute the two trained assassins look at each other and nod.
Both their parachutes pop out and Hachiman and the Black Tiger glide down towards the landing zone.
It doesn't take long for them to land. Once they are both on the ground they remove the skydiving gear and throw it all to the side.
"You good?" Black Tiger asks in Japanese.
"Yeah."
"Then let's move."
Present Day
Hiratsuka and Hikigaya lock eyes. Even through the crowds walking by they recognize each other almost instantly. The two stare at each other for what feels like several hours, when in reality it's only a few seconds.
"Hey… What are you looking at?"
He turns his head towards Yuigahama who is tugging on his sleeve, then turns his attention back to his teacher who is now walking towards them.
The young girl looks around and too sees her sensei.
"Hiratsuka-sensei! Good morning!"
She basically yells this, causing a few passer-byers to turn their heads and look at her.
When the older woman is within speaking distance she greets them as well.
"Good morning Yuigahama… Good morning Hikigaya."
Hiratsuka looks at the female student kindly, but when her gaze shifts to the male one, her right eye twitches from what appears to be pure rage.
"Hi."
Hachimans hands are in his pocket, and his back is slightly slouched. He doesn't look very interested in speaking to his teacher which only makes her anger rise.
'So he ditched me for a classmate! How dare he not tell me he was involved with a girl, I thought he was some loser loner but in reality, he is nothing but a player! I have misjudged this boy!"
"Umm, sensei are you okay?"
The question is prompted by Shizukas face. Her twitching eye and evil grin are enough to alarm anyone.
"Yes, Yuigahama I'm fine. It's nice to see you, but I don't want to impose on your... date, so I'll just be off."
As the word "date" escapes her lips, both Yui and Hikigayas eyes widen.
"Oh no… No… It's nothing like that sensei!"
"It's okay Yuigahama, don't worry about it, I know it's none of my business what you… or Hikigaya do out of school."
"Oh no really… It's no-"
The light-browned haired girls poor attempt at an explanation is interrupted by a new party.
"Sensei?"
The teacher and two students both look to the side and see a dark-haired girl standing in a white sundress. There is also a long red ribbon in her hair.
'It's the girl from the club Hiratsuka wanted me to join.'
'What is Yukino doing here?' Shizuka asks herself.
'Who is this girl? She's so pretty!'
When Yukinoshita realizes all three of them are staring at her she backs away slightly.
Noticing this, Shizuka breaks the silence as it's not every day a student like Yukinoshita approaches her.
"Hello Yukino! How are you?"
"I'm superlative. What are you doing here with that boy?" She looks sharply at Hachiman.
"Oh no, I'm not with him." The teacher responds almost giggling.
"He's with me!" Yui corrects as she smiles widely.
"And you are?"
The dark-haired girls question comes off extremely hostile causing Yuigahamas usual bubbly personality to regress into a shyer one.
"Yuigahama helped me after I almost got hit by a car, so don't be so rude to her." Hachiman says as he eyes Yukinoshita.
"You almost got hit by a car!?" All Hiratsukas rage disappears and genuine worry can be seen in her eyes. "Are you okay?" She reaches for his head to see for herself.
"Yes, I'm fine." He says as he nudges away her hand.
Yukino puts a few pieces together and realizes the person her driver almost hit on the way to the mall must've been Hikigaya.
"Of course you were the idiot that jumped into the road, I should've realized sooner. Who else would be that stupid?"
He rolls his eyes.
'I've already cleaned my wound, so I guess this would be a good time to go. This girl did say she would buy some food, and I am kind of hungry, but that can wait.'
Hachiman raises his hand waves it to the side.
"I'll be going now."
Yuigahama grabs his sleeve and pouts.
"But why?"
"Thank you for the band-aid, but I'm not really that hungry, it's probably best if I go home, plus it appears Yukinoshita would like to speak to sensei."
Yukino smiles and speaks directly to Hikigaya who is now slowly walking away.
"How magnanimous of you."
Yui, who is now feeling extremely awkward begins to walk away without saying anything, leaving Yukino and Shizuka alone together.
"Sensei, would you like to get some ramen?"
Hiratsuka sighs as she watches her other two students trail off in different directions.
"Yeah, sure."
3 Months Earlier
Hikigaya and his partner walk through the abandoned Afghanistan town. Most of the buildings have been destroyed and snow has covered all surfaces.
The Black Tiger walks slightly ahead, rifle aimed forward, with Hachiman covering their sides and back.
"Is this your first time doing a military operation?"
The question is whispered, but due to the subdermal implant they both have, Hikigaya can hear his partners words crystal clearly in his earpiece.
"Nope, you?"
"Yeah."
The snow below their feet makes cracking sounds as they step on it.
"The soldier from earlier referred to you as a male, but that's not correct is it?"
A cold wind pushes some scrap metal past them.
"Does it matter?"
Hachiman looks at his partner and waits a few seconds before answering.
"Nope."
They continue their trek along the desolate road.
"So, you're an assassin as well?" the Black Tigers words are cold as usual.
"Yep."
"You'd think the U.S military would send their own troops for missions like this."
"We're expendable."
"I guess."
They walk for several minutes in silence.
'Looks like we're about a kilometre away from the building the targets being held in, meaning hostiles will become more frequent right about now…"
Hikigaya whistles to his partner and holds up one finger. She nods.
The sound of snow being crushed disappears as they make their footsteps inaudible.
Not too far away, two men stand speaking in their native tongue. They are both holding Ak-47s and wearing balaclavas. The robes around their bodies are thick due to the cold climate.
TAP
A can rolling by causes one of the men to turn around, facing his back towards his peer.
He looks around for a few seconds gun raised. While he is distracted Hikigaya comes up behind the other soldier and silently slits his throat with the karambit knife.
When the other man turns around he sees the body and jumps back. Before he can yell or react properly the Black Tiger presses her knife up to his neck and kicks the back of his leg in, causing him to drop to his knees.
In Pashto she begins to question the man while Hikigaya disarms him.
"You are holding an American hostage, give me information."
"Screw you, infidel!" He spits at her partners shoes.
Black Tiger takes the knife at stabs it into the side of his thigh. Her hand covers his mouth as he screams in agony.
"Information."
After several seconds pass she turns the knife. He screams again.
When it is made clear he will not say anything to help the mission, she slits his throat. The two men's blood stains the snow as both assassins move on towards where the briefing said their targets building is located at.
Once it is in sight, Hikigaya and the Black Tiger both duck behind a wrecked car.
"It looks like there are about eight guys walking around the building, their patrols appear to be random."
"Do you think we can sneak past them."
"Maybe." His answer doesn't sound too confident.
"How many grenades do you have on you?"
"Six."
"Give me one."
He removes one of the frags from his belt and hands it to her.
"You ready?"
After he nods, she pulls the pin and tosses it towards a car across from the building they're attempting to infiltrate.
A loud explosion erupts through the air and the ground shakes a little. The soldiers surrounding the building dive for cover and wait about two minutes before relaxing.
They all group up and walk towards the fiery car, guns raised.
"Why'd it explode?"
"Who knows, maybe it was broken."
As the eight men argue about what happened, Hikigaya and his partner sneak up behind them and unload their silenced rifles into the men's backs.
Once all of them are down, the two assassins start walking towards the building entrance.
Present Day
Hiratsuka watches as Yukinoshita silently stirs her bowl of ramen. They've hardly exchanged any words since they broke off from Hikigaya and Yuigahama.
"So, Yukino, how are things at home?"
The young girl continues to play with her food.
"It's fine."
As a teacher Shizuka can see clearly that Yukino wants help with something but is too prideful to ask.
"I know we haven't spoken properly since last year, but you can tell me if it's still really bad."
"I said life is satisfactory, my father arranged for me to live alone. So I don't have to see my sister or my mother as much."
The teacher sighs, then puts some food in her mouth. Still chewing, she begins to speak again.
"You know Yukino, I think your problem right now isn't your mother or even your sister. I think your problem is the fact that you don't have any friends, you're a loner and you shouldn't be." Hiratsuka swallows the ramen. "Take advice from someone who spent most of their school life waiting for the right friends and the right guy and the right everything. I waited and waited and it never came. Now I'm an old woman, who might never even get a husband. Do you want that fate?"
Despite the serious topic, the older woman's speech is presented with levity as usual. Even Yukino, a cold and serious person, smirks watching her teacher alternate between hungrily gobbling up food and speaking.
"Not particularly, no."
"Good, so try harder to make some friends."
The young girl puts a piece of food in her mouth.
"I don't know if I want friends."
"Trust me, you do want friends. When it comes down to it, being alone may feel easier but it's going to hurt you in the long run. Both you and Hikigaya need to learn that."
Yukino rolls her eyes.
"I have no interest in being friends with him."
"That's what I'm saying! He has no interest in befriending you either! That's why you'd make great friends. Neither of you have any expectations or anything to gain."
"A stagnate friendship doesn't sound much like a friendship to me."
"Those girls from when you were a kid, were always too jealous of you to be friends. Jealous of your money, jealous of your looks, but Hikigaya, wants nothing from you and you want nothing from him. Making you two equal."
There is silence for several seconds.
"Why do you care so much about me and that boy anyway?"
"As a teacher it is my job to care about every student, even the problematic ones like you two."
She smiles at her student, but no smile is returned.
'Hiratsuka helped before, she got Haruno and my mother off my back for a while and everything is fine now, but I'm still not happy.'
She inhales then speaks.
"I'm sorry, perhaps asking you to eat with me was pointless. I came to the mall to buy clothing, I've already eaten. I'm going to go now, thank you sensei."
Yukinoshita stands up and takes some money out of her purse. She leaves it on the table then hurries off before Shizuka can even say anything.
Now alone, the teacher rests her head on the table and considers everything.
'That girl is a mystery, I just want to help her but no matter what I do she has too many walls up, just like Hikigaya. Regardless of what I try they both continue to shrug my off my advice.'
She looks up and around the restaurant. Most of the booths are filled by couples.
'What do I know anyway? Maybe they are right not to listen to me. It's not like I was miss social butterfly when I was in school.'
After sitting head in hands for several minutes, Hiratsuka calls a waiter and pays for the two ramen bowls. On her way out she continues to try and think of ways to help her two most anti-social students.
3 Months Earlier
Hikigaya, stands guard as the Black Tiger breaks open the padlock on the entrance.
The building their target is being held hostage in, is one of the few structures that hasn't yet been destroyed.
CLANK
As the metal lock hits the ground, both assassins walk-in gun raised. The floor is layered with tiles although most are cracked, the walls also appear to be one hit away from crashing to the ground.
"The building doesn't look too good."
"Maybe that's a good thing."
They continue their trek down the corridors, both on high alert.
TAP
TAP
Multiple footsteps can be heard coming from a corridor intersecting with the one they're in.
"It's crazy that this idiot didn't think to bring the video camera, and then tells us to get it." Four Al-Qaeda soldiers walk down the hall complaining in Pashto.
"I know right? Does he think we are slaves?"
One of them laughs loudly, but as he turns the corner, his laugh his cut off by bullet passing through his head.
The other three jump back in surprise, before seeing a cannister bounce against a wall and land at their feet.
BANG
All their eyes go blind, and a deafening ring causes them to drop to their knees.
While they are distracted by pain, Hikigaya turns the corner and fires a shot into each of them.
"Good work."
"Thanks." He answers, not looking back.
They step over the bodies and press on. Each hallway and room they pass through is dim. Some daylight shines through the broken windows, but for the most part the whole floor is dark.
One level above, loud screaming comes out of nowhere.
'Looks like the hostage is alive.'
Hikigaya and his partner walk around for a few minutes, following the sound of the screaming. Eventually they find a room where the yells can be heard directly above.
Both assassins pull out a block of explosives, placing it on the roof of the room. After that, they set the timers to 20 seconds and back out into the corridor.
Soon after the timer runs out, a large explosion shakes the structure and the roof of the room crumbles. The floor on the room above is also destroyed and twelve men fall down onto the floor below along with a man blindfolded and tied to a chair.
While the soldiers attempt to recover from the shock of their fall. Hikigaya and his partner start putting them down one by one. When all the men are taken care of they rush to the target.
Black Tiger takes out a knife and cuts off the zip ties as Hachiman removes the blindfold and checks the mans pulse. Even though he is alive, it's very clear he has been tortured.
"Hello, we're…"
As soon as the hostage sees Hikigaya face, he freaks out and jumps back.
"Oh shit… no! NO! PLEASE!"
The two assassins look at each other.
"Do you know this guy?"
He looks at the American, then shakes his head.
"You… Y… You're a hitman! Please… I ha… Have a family!"
The Black Tiger begins to laugh.
"We're not here to kill you idiot, we're here to save you."
Present Day
As Yuigahama walks away from Hiratsuka, Yukinoshita and Hikigaya, she thinks about everything.
'Hikigaya barely said anything to me, he wasn't very kind or gentle and he wasn't interested in anything I had to say, but when Sable got himself in trouble, Hikki dived in without even thinking.'
She looks at her dog who is walking happily ahead of her.
'Yukinoshita was really mean and clearly didn't want me around, she didn't even attempt to be nice for my sake, but I don't think she did it to hurt my feelings or be mean. I think she did because it's just what she wanted to do. Both her and Hikki do things because they want to do it, without worrying about what people think. That's really cool. I wish I could be like them, but I get too nervous when I speak out loud and jumble up my words. Yumiko always makes fun of me for that and it makes me feel bad but I'm still friends with her because sometimes she's nice.'
The young girl sighs as she keeps walking.
'Even in my own head I can't keep my thoughts straight, everything is always so all over the place and it's hard to remember my point. I guess that makes me stupid.'
Sable barks at the pet shop, reminding Yuigahama why she came to the mall in the first place.
'But I didn't feel stupid today when I was Hikki. I felt like I could say what I want, and he wouldn't judge me, or if he did judge me, it would be okay because he wouldn't be doing it to hurt my feelings, he'd be doing it to help me and not himself. I hope I get to spend more time with him and even Yukinoshita! She may not like me at first but maybe I can change that.'
As she enters the pet shop a chubby man in overalls cheerfully strolls up to Yuigahama.
"Hello dear, what can I do for you?"
"Oh… I'm looking for a collar… My dogs one is… broken, I think."
"Sure, right this way."
The selection of collars is massive, there are really big ones, really small ones. Blue, red yellow etc. Some have names on them and some have bells. Yui doesn't have too much money, and decides a cheaper one would be good enough.
After purchasing the item and putting it on Sable, she walks out the store with a smile on her face.
'It's going to be different from now on. I'm going to try to be like Yukinoshita and say what I feel no matter what others think. It'll be hard, but maybe I can do it. On Monday, I'll find Hikki during lunch and sit with him then we can be friends! He doesn't seem to have many friends, and I hardly ever seem him after school, so he's probably not in any clubs either. I can't wait for Monday, it's going to be exciting.'
On her way home she thinks of all the possibilities her new outlook on life entails and how much different and better school will be. Perhaps her view is a little too naïve but she doesn't care because right now, walking home with Sable, she is happy.
Authors Notes: Looks like 8man left quite the impression on his classmate. Will her attempt to win his affection possibly jeopardize the mission? Find out next week.
