Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any brands mentioned.
Previously on Match Point: Black Tiger and Hachiman rescue Ryuzaki, then use a helicopter to escape from the mall, while in the present Hiratsuka tells Hikigaya about a detective who visited her and told Shizuka she may be in some trouble for lying in her statement. After that, she goes to the bathroom and gets drunk. The teacher then drags her student out the café and into the street. What will happen next? Find out!
Chiba Streets – 21:31
"Let's go on an adventure, Hikigaya!"
He shoots her a confused look.
"What?"
She begins to walk down the street, still holding his wrist, pulling him along for the ride.
"It's not that late, plus drunk driving is irresponsible, so let's just walk around for a bit. See what there is to see. We're in the prime of our youth Hikigaya, we need to live!"
"That may be true for one of us, sensei, but…"
A punch to gut cuts his sentence off and she looks at him with a fire in her eyes.
"We're both in the prime of our youth, Hikigaya."
A moment later her expression completely changes to an innocent smile and she giggles. The alcohol appearing to amplify her already bipolar moods.
They continue walking aimlessly. She often makes multiple turns down street corners, causing them to go in circles. The teacher doesn't care though, she just wants to keep moving.
After walking around for a bit longer, Shizuka stops in her tracks and turns in the opposite direction.
'What's she thinking?' His silent question is soon answered when she says what's on her mind.
"Let's go to the zoo!"
"The zoo?"
She raises her arm and points towards a large sign that says "Chiba Zoological Park". He groans but it's to no avail, as she runs towards the entrance.
A man sits behind a glass pane, and there is small line of people buying tickets from him. The teacher waits anxiously for her turn.
Once she gets to the ticket booth, she gives the man her credit card then asks for two passes. She is loud and a bit obnoxious, but he doesn't pay much attention. Hiratsuka wears her Zoo Pass as if it's a badge of honour. Hachiman simply puts his pass into his jacket pocket, as he begrudgingly follows her into the building.
The zoo smells as bad as you'd think, with various different aromas intersecting with each other. Signs are placed all over, with directions to the different animal homes. The first enclosure they visit is for the monkeys. The older woman puts her face and hands right up against the glass and looks in awe at them.
'Does she really like monkeys that much?' He wonders.
After staring at them for a bit Shizuka begins to walk away, directionless. By now she's let go of Hachiman, allowing him to trail behind at a reasonable distance.
GULP
She takes her flask out of her brown jacket and chugs down some whiskey, clearly in no mood to sober up. Hikigaya simply watches. It's not his place to tell her how to live her life, or to mention how sad it is to get drunk at the zoo on a Tuesday night.
'She could find herself in some trouble, it would be best to stay with her right now.'
They then head down to the aquarium part of the zoo. Once again, Hiratsuka presses her face and hands against the glass, like a child at Disney land.
The assassin also looks at the fish swimming around. They don't interest him very much, and his attention shifts to his reflection. Then to something else: A man in a suit, standing idly in sunglasses that's subtly staring at Shizuka.
'Are we being followed?'
3 Months Earlier
Hikigaya watches as the mall the gets further and further away. The loud noise of the rotor blades slicing through the air is almost deafening. Luckily, the vehicle had some headsets on the passenger side, allowing Ryuzaki, Black Tiger and Hachiman to speak freely.
"My handler said we can meet him in the closest city, we should be able to make it there with the fuel in this helicopter." The female assassin turns off the satellite phone and places it next to her.
"If we land in the city, we'll have to deal with local police." Hachiman says as he uses a medical kit to clean his partners wounds.
"We could land on the outskirts, then walk there?"
"Sounds like a plan." He finishes bandaging her arm and climbs to the front of the helicopter and into the co-pilots seat.
"Did you get all that?"
Ryuzaki nods, focusing on maintaining control of the chopper.
The three of them fly in silence for about an hour and half, before the city comes into view. Even from a far distance, it's a stark contrast from the abandoned ruins the terrorists have gained control of.
The helicopter begins to descend, landing in an open field. Hikigaya, Black Tiger and Ryuzaki promptly climb out wasting no time.
"We should leave our guns behind. If any police see us with weapons and in these military uniforms, they'll likely detain us."
The two assassins do as the older man says and abandon their firearms. They then begin their walk towards the city, using a lone road to guide them.
After a long hike, Black Tiger, Ryuzaki and Hikigaya arrive at the city. There isn't some big door or entrance, the ground simply shifts from ice covered grass to ice covered concrete and buildings become more common.
Lots of people walk past them, some groups as big as ten people. Children run around playing in the streets, and a few cows can be seen roaming as well.
"Did your handler say where to meet?" Hachiman asks his partner.
"There's a large fountain in the middle of this part of town, it's currently frozen so it'll be pretty hard to miss. He said we should wait there until he finds us."
"It's getting pretty late. Does he have a way to get out of this country?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if he's a secured a plane for us. After that he'd probably drop you and your handler off at proper airport, and from there we'd go our separate ways."
They walk in silence for a bit, before Hikigaya asks the female assassin another question.
"Do you think it was a mistake?"
She looks at him.
"Do I think what was a mistake?"
"That we let some of those soldiers live back at the mall."
"I thought we did that so when more reinforcements came, some of them would have to stay behind to give aid to the wounded."
"Yeah that was the idea, though I can't help but worry the decision might come back to bite me."
"I'd say it's unlikely."
Hachiman nods at Black Tiger, feeling reassured in his decision.
Eventually they arrive at the frozen fountain. It's just as bustling as the rest of the places they've been through. With people chatting amongst themselves, children playing and animals walking about.
They wait for a bit, before a Japanese man in a white suit comes into view, walking towards them.
"There he is." Black Tiger says with a slight smile, pointing towards the man.
Present Day – Chiba Zoo - 21:52
Hikigaya watches as the man reads a pamphlet. His suit is similar to that of Roronas and his partner.
'I can't be sure he's following us… I'll have to wait and see what happens then.'
The assassin walks up to his teacher, and places his hand on her shoulder. She turns her head away from the fish and stares at him with a puzzled look on her face.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, let's go look at the lizards."
She says nothing for a few seconds, then a wide smile appears on her lips.
"Hikigaya I knew you'd lighten up eventually!"
His face stays emotionless. Quite the opposite of hers, which is emoting a lot more than it probably should.
"Let's go." He says as he walks on, guiding her towards the reptile enclosure.
As they walk, Hachiman takes out his phone, and opens the camera app. He then subtly begins to record the man who is trailing behind them.
Occasionally, they'll walk past a group of people who're also visiting the zoo. Most of them are young adults or teenagers, as it's a bit late for the elderly or children to be here.
Eventually they reach the reptiles. Some of the glass cases that the animals are kept in are large where as some are small. The most popular lizards are right up front, so that people who are just walking in can see them, where as the more scary or unappealing ones are at the back.
Hikigaya continues to record the man as Hiratsuka looks at the different cases pretending like she's reading them, when in reality her mind is focused on how similar the lizards look to Godzilla. This goes on for a few minutes before she gets bored.
"Let's go see the monkeys again!" The teacher yells out, causing some people to look at her.
The assassin sighs, before complying with Shizuka and heading back towards the monkeys with her.
'So far that man has stayed about ten metres away from us at all times, while moving in vaguely the same direction. He's clearly following us, but to what end? If this is one of the men working for that person on the other end of the phone, then that means they're probably following around Hiratsuka in an attempt to lure me out. They currently don't know who I am, if they did they'd have intercepted me on my way to or from school.'
CLICK
As he walks he ends the recording and returns the phone to his pocket.
'I'm not armed, but even if I was, I'd be giving away my identity by taking any action and I can't take a risk like that. There might be more than one operative here right now. It's possible they had him dress similar to Rorona and his former partner to try and get my attention, while another man dressed in casual clothes caught me off guard.'
Whoever the mysterious person behind all this is, they've got Hikigaya at all angles.
"Hey come over here!" His teacher calls out, taking his attention away from the situation at hand.
"What is it?" He asks.
"Let's go to that bench over there!" Hiratsuka points at a small area people can rest at opposite the monkey homes.
"Why?"
"Because my feet hurt and I'm tired! What's with all the questions?"
Hiratsuka pouts at Hachiman, causing him to role his eyes.
"Fine, we can sit at the bench."
3 Months Earlier
Black Tiger walks up to her handler and bows. He bows back.
"Claude, we're ready to go, have you got an extraction ready?"
The man looks at Hikigaya and Ryuzaki for a few seconds, before looking back at Black Tiger and nodding.
"I've got a truck that can transport us to a small airfield. We'll take a plane that's waiting for us and head to an airport."
The four of them begin to walk through the streets to the extraction point, with Claude and Black Tiger in the front and Hikigaya and Ryuzaki walking behind them.
The female assassin speaks casually with her handler. From where Hachiman is standing she is inaudible, however even if he could hear what she's currently saying, his mind is still contemplating the things she said earlier.
'Black Tiger told me I need to know why I go through the doors I do. What does that even mean? She didn't mean it literally… I think.'
He continues to ponder her words as the sun begins it's descend and the city becomes darker. Eventually, he decides to simply ask his sensei.
"Ryuzaki, why do we what we do?"
The older man looks at him with a warm smile.
"Best not to think about it. Are you feeling a bit shaken after a mission like this?"
The assassin sighs and puts his hand over the wound in his shoulder.
"Not really, no. I was just wondering."
"When it comes right down to it, there is no value in anything. Life is meaningless and we're all going to die. You, I and Black Tiger over there are essentially like the grim reaper. We come for people when they least expect it and make all the choices they've ever made pointless. One day the grim reaper will come for us as well and make all our choices pointless. So why we do what we do, really doesn't matter. It's very depressing I know, so I say don't think about it. Live the life you have."
Hikigaya stays silent, despite being unsatisfied with the answer that is essentially the opposite of what his partner told him.
After arriving at the airfield Black Tiger, Claude, Hachiman and Ryuzaki get onto a plane. The flight doesn't last too long and within the hour they arrive at a commercial airline.
The four of them exit plane and enter the large airport building. Inside they buy new clothes, food and tickets for a flight to Japan. Hundreds of people from various countries are roaming the building, some in a hurry, some nervous, some overjoyed. Each and every person has a different story. Hikigayas story in particular is not a nice one, and the first thing he does once he has his new clothes and tickets, is go to the public bathroom and clean his bullet wound.
It's painful, but important. Once it is properly bandaged he leaves the bathroom and finds Black Tiger waiting outside.
"Flight 770 leaving in one hour." The voice over the intercom echoes throughout the airport. Listing flight times in several languages.
"Looks like this is where we part ways." Hachiman says to his partner.
"Yeah."
She smiles at him, and there is short silence.
"Back in that mall you told me you were fulfilling a promise to someone."
The female assassin nods at him.
"I hope you fulfil that promise one day, Black Tiger."
There is another pause.
"My name is Tsugumi." She says as she extends out her hand.
He takes her hand and shakes it.
"My name is Hachiman."
"I hope we meet again one day, Hachiman."
He smiles at her.
"All passengers boarding flight 770, please go to gate 08 immediately."
The lady on the intercom is the only cue he needs, and Hikigaya walks off to find Ryuzaki.
Within the hour, they are on the plane and getting ready for take-off.
The aircraft is large, and full of people. The assassin and his handler sit right at the back. Sipping on some ice tea the stewardess gave them.
"Well it's safe to say this mission was an utter failure…"
Hikigaya sighs. It's clear he's exhausted.
"Not really," Ryuzaki begins to speak "The mission was to rescue a target, and you did end up rescuing him. The soldiers who survived will find a way back to the U.S and they'll get their medals. The ones who you killed will be remembered as heroes. It's not your fault you were betrayed. It's a brutal life we lead, there is no time for complaints."
"I suppose."
"There's no time for complaints... But that's never stopped me!" The old man chuckles to himself, before getting a bit serious. "It's been a long day. Just try and rest. Who knows when the next mission will come?"
The assassin lays down in his chair and closes his eyes as the plane begins to ascend. Still thinking about what Black Tiger told him.
Present Day – 22:09 – Chiba Zoo
GULP
The teacher drinks down the last sip of whiskey from her flask, vigorously shaking the bottle over her mouth trying to get every drop out. Hikigaya simply watches from the right side of the bench, occasionally glancing at the man who's standing away from them at a safe distance.
Once she realizes nothing more will come out, she puts the flask away and begins to softly sob, before giggling seemingly uncontrollably.
"You wanna know what's funny, Hikigaya?" She asks as she turns to him.
The assassin stays silent, continuing to look ahead with his hands in his pockets.
"We have never had a conversation! Ever! Not even one!"
This causes him to turn to her with a slightly confused look on his face.
"Don't look at me like that… It's the truth! I put you in my office every couple of days and take you under my wing and you BARELY speak to me. You just say one or two words then act as if I don't exist. You've been in my house, in my room! Yet you never have any conversations with me! Hell, we've even been to the zoo together! Don't you remember?"
"That's happening right now!" he interjects.
She starts giggling again, then stops. Hiratsukas eyes get serious, and her voice low.
"I'm so scared Hikigaya. When that detective visited me earlier I had no idea what to say or what to do, and after that I just didn't feel like myself. I haven't felt like myself all night. The stress is just… Too much…" Her words trail off at the end as she leans down putting her head in her hands.
He inhales deeply before beginning to speak.
"I'm sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei. It's my fault you're in this situation." The assassin tries to fake some compassion into his words before once again looking over at the man following them.
"But I promise you I will do my best to fix this." These words are not a lie, he will find a solution to this problem.
"How are you going to do that?" She asks, head still in her hands.
There is silence between them for several seconds, as Hachiman considers what to say. Eventually he recalls a line he read in a light novel sometime ago. One of the main characters was under duress and their friend tried to help, but nothing really worked until he said five simple words.
"Just have faith in me."
Shizuka looks up and turns to face him once again. She stares at his expressionless face and dead eyes. As far she knows, Hikigaya is just a normal high school student, and can't really do anything about the police however in her drunken state she makes the decision to not care even if for just a moment, and take his words for what they are.
"Okay Hikigaya, I'll have faith in you."
She smiles at him, and he smiles back -partly to comfort her further- but also because he's dumbfounded at how such a cheesy-line could even work in real life.
"Let's go home now, Hiratsuka-sensei."
The older woman wipes her face.
"Yeah, maybe that's best."
Authors Notes: Chapter 16 will be up next week!
