Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any brands mentioned.
Previously on Match Point: Hikigaya finds himself on a train in the country side while in the present Yui insists on going with Yukino to the mall. What will happen next? Find out!
Wednesday - Chiba Mall - 16:14
Yuigahama watches as Yukinoshita walks into a store. She follows behind her, keeping quite a distance between them after the scolding she got.
'I've just gotta… Be strong? Yeah! That's right… Yukinoshita is just being honest. She hasn't said specifically that she doesn't want me around… I mean she's implied it but… No! I've seen her alone every single day at lunch. Everyone secretly wants a best friend, that's what my older brothers anime collection has taught me!'
The brown-haired girl clenches both her fists and puts a big smile on her face before closing the distance between her and Yukino.
"What are you looking for?" Yui asks, as she watches her peer examining the shelves.
The shop they are currently in is a crafts store, but also stocks various novelty items like toys, fake moustaches, skipping ropes etc. The shelf in particular that Yukinoshita is looking at is packed with plush animals.
"There is a stuffed doll named Pan-san that just came in stock here. I've been waiting for a few weeks." Yukino responds, still looking through the wares.
Yuigahamas heart flutters with joy.
'I can't believe she actually answered me!'
"I only answered you because I know you would've bothered me about it for the rest of the afternoon if I hadn't told you outright."
Startled, Yui jumps back.
'I-It's like she can read my mind!'
Yukino starts to walk down the aisle looking for her item of interest. It takes a few minutes, but eventually she finds it.
"Here. Pan-san." The wealthy-girl points at it, before kneeling down and picking it up. She hugs the doll tightly against her chest, almost as if she's testing it. A few moments later, she throws it back into the pile as if it's yesterdays trash, and then begins to walk out the store angrily.
"Hey what happened?!" Yuigahama yells out, trying to catch up.
Once they are in close proximity, Yukino answers.
"It's a fake. Not the right material or stuffing. It's despicable that a reputable store would stock such insulting refuse."
Yui giggles.
"Surely they can't be that different from what you're looking for?"
"They are." She raises her phone up to the brown-haired girls eye-level, showing her the screen.
She looks closely, seeing an image of Pan-san, a small stuffed animal with a white body, black legs and arms, and a star around one of his mischievous looking eyes. Beneath the image, two malls are listed: The one they are currently in and a mall on the other side of town.
"I got an alert from the 'Pan-San Fanclub' Instagram account earlier, that apparently a knock-off brand of limited edition Rockstar Pan-sans were accidentally put into circulation. One of the admins determined that they'd either be delivered to this mall or the other one listed. I was hoping to get a Rockstar Pan-san for my collection, but they only have the fakes. Now it's too late."
Yukino puts her phone away with a sad look on her face.
"Why don't you just go to the other mall now, or get the doll tomorrow?"
"The store that sells the Rockstar Pan-san closes in under an hour, and if I go tomorrow after school they will all be sold out."
Yuigahama thinks a bit to herself, then grabs Yukinoshitas hand.
"What are you doing?" Yukino asks, startled by the sudden contact.
"If we hurry, we can get that Pan-san!"
"It's no use. We'll never make it in time."
A moment later Yukino feels herself getting pulled along towards the exit of the mall.
"We'll make it!"
2 Months Earlier
Hachiman looks at himself in the bathroom mirror and pulls down the top of his shirt revealing his right shoulder. A large scar from his previous bullet wound is more than prevalent.
He attempts to raise his arm. It hurts but he is able to do it. The adrenaline from his mission in Afghanistan got him through using his arm with minimal pain, however the moment he arrived back in Japan the bullet finally caught up with him so-to-speak.
After spending a good five or so minutes in the bathroom, he heads back to the first-class train-carriage. Once he arrives he sits back down in his seat and takes a look at his target. Currently she is sipping on a new glass of wine the train attendant gave to her. He continues to watch as she takes the last few sips. About ten seconds later she starts drifting off, before her head unceremoniously drops down onto her shoulder.
The assassin examines his surroundings. The older man is still asleep, and the two men are occupied taking a video of the countryside. He stands up and begins walking down the aisle towards Rie Takahashi. No one notices him as he closes the distance between the target and himself.
After sitting down next to her, he reaches into his shoe and pulls out a small knife. He silently cuts the two straps keeping her handbag around her body. He then takes the replacement handbag and sets it down on her lap, whilst putting the real one in his jacket.
As he walks back to his seat, the man holding the camera leans out towards him.
"Hey give me a smile dude!"
Hikigaya raises his hand over his face as the light on the camera flashes.
"No thanks, sorry."
His emotionless response annoys the man, and he berates the assassin to his friend afterwards. Soon Hachiman is back in his chair, holding the package he was sent to collect. He clicks the small button on his ear piece before speaking.
"I've got the handbag. What should I do now?"
No response.
"Hello?"
No response.
"Is anyo-"
"We have a problem." The voice on the other end says, interrupting him.
Present Day – Chiba Bus – 16:22
"We're not going to make it in time. This exercise is pointless." Yukino says, sadly looking at the seats in front of her as the bus drives towards it's next stop by the mall.
"Don't speak like that! As long as we stay positive and hope for the best we can achieve anything!"
Yuigahama tries her hardest to boost her peers' confidence.
"Thinking nice thoughts won't do anything, this isn't Doctor Who for god sake. I can't believe you dragged me onto this bus."
The two of them are sitting next to each other, surrounded by people coming home from a long day of work and school.
"How can you have that attitude?! What would Pan-san think if he saw you like this?"
"Pan-san is nothing but an inanimate object. I have no regard for him or his hypothetical thoughts and feelings."
The young girl frowns and looks out the window, noticing the dark clouds in the sky.
"If he means so little to you, then why did you even try and buy one?"
No response.
"You never tell me anything!"
"That's because I don't trust you."
"But why?!" Yui doesn't let her feelings get hurt, but the harsh wording of Yukinos sentence still bothers her.
"I'll trust you when you prove you can be trusted."
"But you should trust people until they can't be trusted! It's called having faith in people, you know?"
"That's an awful way to live your life."
"Well it works for me…"
Yui leans back in her seat and inhales, taking in the various aromas that permeate the vehicle. Sweaty socks and discarded street food are the strongest scent, but you'd expect nothing less from public transport.
BRRR
Yukino takes out her vibrating phone and unlocks it. Her notifications indicate she has a new message from Hiratsuka. She clicks the button and opens up the chat.
"How are u btw. Also srry for not coming 2 school got drunk don't tell any1."
The dark-haired girl sighs at the message, causing Yuigahama to look over her shoulder to see what's going on.
"Woah… I didn't know you had Hiratsuka-senseis number!"
"If you want it, just ask her. She'll give it out to anyone if it means getting even the slightest bit more attention."
"That's not very nice, you must really dislike her." Yui responds chuckling.
"Actually, she's my favourite person in the whole world."
"What about your parents?" Yuigahama asks now speaking in a soft tone, even she knows how sensitive this kind of topic can be for people.
Unfortunately for the young girl, Yukinoshita chooses to flat out ignore the question and not answer.
"Well you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to… I guess."
"I already know that, which is why I don't."
The bus begins to slow down, and the sound of the front door opening is heard throughout the vehicle, followed by sounds of people getting up and/or changing seats.
"We're here, let's go."
Yukino stands up and grabs her schoolbag, then begins to walk down the middle of the bus as Yuigahama follows suit.
2 Months Earlier
"What do you mean by 'We have a problem?'" Hikigaya asks as he looks around.
"You said you have your targets handbag right?"
"Yes."
"Well whatever happens do not lose sight of it."
"Don't worry, I won't. Just tell me what's happening."
The voice sighs.
"That bag is holding an item that is of great value to many people. Originally -Let's say person A- had the bag and placed said valuable item in the bag. He then wanted to send the bag to person B in secret, but they couldn't arrange a secure meeting. So person A and person B work out a drop-off point. Person A leaves the bag at said drop-off point, but before person B can retrieve it, the bag is found by a homeless child. The child goes onto sell it to some flee market. Then a young woman purchases it, soon she is heading to the train station. Then an assassin is sent to get the bag off the young woman."
"Alright I'm following you."
"By the time the bag was in your targets possession, word had already spread that person B never got it. Your employer was one of the people who found out and you were promptly hired to retrieve it. Unfortunately, you weren't the only one hired."
Hikigaya begins to understand.
"From what I've gathered, there are up to four other parties on this train eager to get that bag. Some may be one person like you and some may have partners."
"What should I do?"
"You have to make sure no one gets that bag, and that the train gets to the next stop. If it doesn't make it there, the police will be alerted before your employer can get his hands on the package, which is a mess we'd like to avoid."
"Alright. I'll make sure the train gets there and I'll keep the handbag safe."
Hachiman presses the button on his earpiece then stands up from his seat and begins to walk towards the first-class exit. Before he can leave, a tall bald man walks in and they exchange a glance.
The man moves to the side courteously, allowing Hikigaya to walk past. The assassin does so and reaches out to grab the door handle. Before he opens it, he turns his head back towards the man. He sees him stop, and also turn around to get a second look at Hikigaya. They make a seemingly unbreakable eye-contact. This goes on for about ten seconds before Hachiman lets out a long groan and begins walking to the man. The man does the same and begins to walk towards Hikigaya.
Present Day – Kiroku Mall – 16:56
Yukinoshita and Yuigahama hurry through the mall, well aware that their time is almost up.
'We've come this far, so I'll see it through.' The dark-haired girl thinks to herself as they make their way past people pushing shopping carts and holding various items in plastic bags.
As they walk, she looks at Yui. The girl has a determined look on her face, seemingly ready for anything the world can throw at her. This inspires Yukino, if only slightly. Being a realist, she knows that sometimes failure is inevitable no matter how unfair it may be.
This is one of those times.
Once they arrive at their destination, they are met with disappointment. The two girls stand in front of the store, simply staring at it. There there are metal shutters over the glass door and the lights inside are off. The wall to the right has a small sign listing opening and closing times. If they had been about ten minutes earlier, they'd have made it.
"Well, I expected this to happen. Let's go."
Yuigahama stands still and continues staring at the store.
"I'm not going to wait fo-"
Before she can finish her sentence, she is interrupted by Yui.
"I'm sorry Yukinoshita! I thought we could make it but we couldn't…"
"It's fine. It doesn't matter."
She tenses up and raises her shoulders.
"It does matter. I thought if I could help you get Pan-san, that maybe you'd want to be friends... Or even trust me..." Yuigahama turns and looks at Yukino. "But all I did was get your hopes up and disappoint you. Why would you ever want to be friends a person like that?"
The wealthy-girl sighs.
"Don't be so dramatic, it's just a doll."
Yui begins to walk away from Yukino.
"Where are you going?" She asks, calling out to the brown-haired girl.
"I'll find my way back home. I'm sorry for disappointing you…" Yuigahamas words trail off at the end, and almost go unheard.
Yukinoshita watches as the distance between them gets larger and larger. A question pops up in her head, and she knows that in this moment she has a decision to make. She looks at the store and then at Yui, before speaking.
"Yuigahama! Wait."
The girl turns around, still pouting, and looks at her peer.
"There is another way we can get the Rockstar Pan-san."
"Really?!" Her face lights up.
"Yes. You said you wanted me to trust you and that you wanted to be my friend, but if you want that to happen you need to trust me as well."
"Of course I trust you!" Yuigahama says as she begins jogging back to Yukino.
The dark-haired girl nods and looks up at the corners of the roof. Currently, the area of the mall they are in is almost empty as most of these stores are closed and the remaining people are clearing out.
Yukino sees a camera with a blinking red light, then takes out her phone.
"What are you doing?"
"My sister is a bit of a wizard when it comes to technology, I was never as gifted, but I know a thing or two as well." Yukino begins tapping the screen of her phone. "These CC-TV cameras are all connected to the internet so that their footage can be streamed to any security room in the building with ease. For some reason, they decided to use the same internet connection as the free Wi-fi hotspot available for everyone in the mall to use. I can easily exploit this."
Yuigahama gets a worried look on her face.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I can take control of the camera remotely."
"L-Like hacking it?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"But why?"
"Because once it is off, we'll have more than enough time to break into the store and get the Pan-san."
"A-Are you sure about this I mean…"
"This is the only way. Can I trust you or not?"
Yukino stops what she's doing and looks deeply into Yuis eyes.
The worried look slowly disappears from her face.
"You can trust me!"
Authors Notes and what-not: Hikigaya on a train full of assassins? Yuigahama possibly committing a crime? See you next week :)
