Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any brands mentioned.
Previously on Match Point: Yukinoshita finally builds up the courage to speak to Hiratsuka about her uncles death, while at the same time Hikigaya attempts to tie up some loose ends, however before finishing the job he gets ambushed by a mysterious caller and a strike-team. What is their business with the assassin and how will he deal with them? Find out!
PSEW
PSEW
Two bullets hit ground Hachiman was standing on a moment ago, given their trajectory, its likely his feet were the target.
'Shit, this was unexpected.'
Hikigaya chuckles a little to himself as the two men take position 6 metres from his cover, ready to shoot. One has a well-kept beard, while the other is clean shaven. The suits they wear are extremely high end, as are the guns they hold. Clearly they are professionals.
The warehouse is large, but the big empty containers and machinery offer good cover for all 3 of them.
'Is it possible my mission has been compromised, or is this a coincidence? It's not crazy to think at least one person would be out for my blood, but it sounds as if the person on that phone wants to speak to me more than anything.'
After a careful assessment of the situation, the assassin breaks the silence.
"Listen! I surrender, it sounds like your employer just wants a conversation with me, so I will kick my gun over to you and you'll put yours down, then I'll come out and we can speak, is that good for you?"
The two men look at each other.
"Sounds good." The bearded man responds, lowering his pistol. The clean shaven man does this same, despite being hesitant.
Hikigaya slides his gun around his cover and over to them.
"Okay I'm coming out, don't shoot!"
The two men stare intently at the large machine, covered by a tarp, that the assassin has taken refuge behind, however instead of seeing a man stand up, a cannister is thrown over, hitting the ground and rolling directly towards them.
"GRENADE!" the bearded man yells out as they both dive in opposite directions. It would be reasonable to assume both men have suitable training in situations like this.
While the men are distracted, the assassin leaps out of cover and runs toward his gun, quickly doing a forward roll over it and re-arming himself.
At this point the two men realise they've been played and what their target through was nothing but a distraction.
BANG
BANG
Two shots ring out through the warehouse. Followed by a scream of agony. The bearded man lies motionless, bullet to the head, while his partner clutches his wounded leg.
Hachiman looks over to the cannister on ground, it reads MAX COFFEE, and the contents have spilled all over the concrete.
"What a waste…" He sighs, then turns his head towards the clean-shaven man. The two make eye contact. Hachiman's are dead, showing nothing, where as the man is clearly terrified and in a lot of pain.
Despite the assassin's face being covered by a ski mask, the man lying on the ground has no doubt that someone with such eyes could only have the face of the devil.
3 Months Earlier
"Ryuzaki…" The relief in Hachimans voice is more than apparent, however before he can say anything the young assassin stumbles down onto his knees, letting out a few coughs.
"He was shot and needs proper medical attention, I removed the bullet and stopped the bleeding, but in these conditions it's probably already infected."
Ryuzaki nods at Black Tiger, and steps over the dead bodies toward them. It's been a few hours since the mission began, and if they don't take action soon then they'd be left vulnerable through out the night.
"I'm fine for now, I can walk. What we need to do is get a vehicle."
"I brought a car along with me, we can use it to drive to the second extraction point."
The three head out the apartment building. On their way down the stairs, Ryuzaki speaks up.
"We should be extra cautious if we plan to infiltrate the airfield. The Americans are likely still there, or perhaps searching for us right now."
"Why, what did you do?" Hikigaya asks curiously.
"Why do you assume I did anything? You guys are witnesses to illegal military operations, it would make sense they want to rid themselves of you."
"So you didn't do anything to provoke them?"
Ryuzaki hesitates before before answering.
"I shot their commanding officer in the head…" Despite the serious nature, the older man is smiling boyishly.
"Good he deserved it."
In a sarcastically wise tone Ryuzaki says "You know Hachiman, killing people is wrong and shouldn't be celebrated."
Both assassins chuckle slightly as they make their way down the last flight of stairs.
"You're hardly one to high-ground me, sensei." Hikigayas reply is equally sarcastic.
Upon exiting the building Ryuzaki, Black Tiger and Hachiman find something rather unfortunate: About 50 soldiers surrounding them guns pointed straight for their heads.
The three raise their arms, this time actually surrendering. The disappointment on the assassins face is immeasurable and his day is most certainly ruined.
Present Day – Hiratsukas Apartment
"Wow."
The teacher sits staring at her young student at a loss for words after hearing Yukinoshita explain everything.
"Th-That's pretty intense."
"Indeed." Yukino says as she holds the tea Hiratsuka made for her. When she gets nervous, she shivers almost uncontrollably, her teacher knows this and made sure that before Yukinoshita said anything, she had something to counteract the shivers.
"So your uncle was murdered by a hitman, and that's all you know right now?"
"Yes, but I'm confident with this information, my father will find the assassin, once he does we'll know who ordered the hit on my uncle."
The eye contact between the woman and the girl is broken only during blinks.
Hiratsuka sighs, questioning whether or not she should say what's on her mind. On the one hand, the situation is none of her business but on the other, she is a teacher and wants the best for her students and believes sometimes intervening in someone's life is necessary.
"Listen… Yukino, are you sure that finding this assassin is the right thing to do?"
"W-What do you mean?" The young girl gets slightly defensive.
"I mean, the way you described him, it just sounds like this isn't someone who's door you should go knocking on. He's a murderer… A cold unfeeling murderer. Someone with a job like that, someone who chose a life like that, should be avoided at all costs."
"So you're saying I should just forget my uncle and his death?!" Her defensiveness turns to shock and surprise.
"Obviously that's not what I'm saying, but I don't want you to get hurt, I don't want Haruno or anyone in your family to get hurt either. Imagine standing face to face with the man you're speaking about, it'd be like looking into the eyes of the devil himself."
There is a long awkward silence.
"Coming here was mistake, I apologize for wasting your time Hiratsuka-Sensei." The young girl hastily begins to leave but Shizuka grabs her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Coming here was not a mistake. I support you no matter what happens, I also don't want you to get hurt ever again. So no matter what action you and your family take, I will always be here when you need me, even if I don't think you are right."
Yukino nods, and Hiratsuka lets her arm go.
"Thank you for your help, but it is late and I need to sleep."
The teacher smiles warmly at her, "You could stay here for tonight?"
The young girls mouth opens slightly.
"I would but, your home is kind of... shabby."
Hiratsukas face gets a look of annoyance and she pushes Yukinoshita straight out the door. "That's not funny!"
The student smiles and waves goodbye as she walks down the hall. The annoyed look on Shizukas face does not waver.
'How could she be so bold as to say something like that to a teacher. Children these days really have no respect for their elders.'
Upon realizing she referred to herself as an 'elder' Hiratsuka heads straight for her cupboard of alcohol, forgetting Yukinos insinuation.
3 Months Earlier
"If you move you die. We've underestimated you three far too many times now."
Hikigaya, Black Tiger and Ryuzaki comply, if they were to attempt to reach for a weapon they would no doubt be gunned down on the spot.
"You two, on me!" The soldier who appears to be in charge, motions for two others to join him as he binds the wrists of the two assassins and Ryuzaki with zip ties.
"You're probably wondering why me and my men didn't just pop you as you came bouncing out the building, God knows we wanted to. Unfortunately, you killed one of our men, a good man, one with a family. The world wouldn't be right if you escaped punishment through death. So I'll personally see that you get what you deserve, and once you've gotten it over and over and over again. I'll put you in a pitch black hole and listen to you starve to death."
"Sounds like fun." Ryuzaki says nonchalantly.
The American laughs softly to himself, before punching Ryuzaki harder than he's ever punched anyone before. The older man falls over onto the ground as blood begins to leak from his mouth.
"Get them in the trucks, take them to the airfield! After that move them to G-Site, I'll meet you there. Don't take your eyes off them for a second."
The soldiers do as he asks and push the assassins and Ryuzaki into the back of a convoy truck. To make sure they don't try anything are six soldiers, watching their every move.
Not long after the men are all in vehicles, they head out on the road towards the airfield.
Present Day – Warehouse
Hachiman walks towards the man he just shot in the leg. Not breaking eye contact.
"Please… P-Please… It's just a job… You know how he it is."
He attempts to reason with the assassin however his pleas fall on deaf ears.
"Yes I know exactly how it is, and that's how I know you'll tell me any and everything I want to know about. How does that sound?" His voice is low and authoritative.
"R-Really, I know nothing, the guy you sh-shot, my partner… He handled everything, I'm just backup in case shit hits the fan… This is my first time d-doing something... Like this..." Blood now covers the mans forearms as his clutches his bleeding leg, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Tell me what's your name?"
"Rorona…"
Hachiman smiles, though it goes unseen. He looks over to the phone lying on the ground and walks over to pick it up.
"Hello? Who is this?"
The voice behind the phone responds instantly.
"I take it you killed one of the men, very impressive."
"Hardly."
"You're modesty is admirable but in your line of work it seems unnecessary."
"I have your man Rorona, you don't seem like the type who cares whether he lives or dies, so I'll be sure to dispose of him properly once he's of no use."
"Once again, that's very admirable, but perhaps it'd be easier if you stayed on the phone a little longer."
"I have no business with you, whoever you are. If you wish to hire me, seek out my handler. Further interference with me will be treated as hostile action."
Hachiman drops the phone to the ground and repeatedly steps on it, destroying the device.
'This isn't the first time someone's used unorthodox means of contacting me, but to send a hit squad is quite over the top. I'll have to run this by Ryuzaki later.'
After some analysis, Hikigaya shifts focus to the man laying in agony right across from him.
"So Rorona, what should I do with you?"
The two look at each other intently. The man truly has no idea what to say, fearing he might upset the assassin, however he is also aware that the bullet wound in his leg could kill him if he doesn't do something.
In the distance sounds of sirens begin to fade in, getting louder and louder.
"Looks like your times up."
Authors Note: Chapter 12 will be up next week!
