Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any brands mentioned.
Previously on Match Point: 8man arrives at the FSS blacksite, while in the present he and Rorona successfully rescue Komachi.
Thursday - Safehouse – 06:07
Hikigaya opens the bathroom door and walks out into the hallway, followed by a cloud of steam from the hot shower water.
He is wearing his white school shirt with a few buttons at the top undone, along with his standard school pants. Around his neck is a green towel that's catching the water droplets falling from his hair. Upon entering the living room, he finds Komachi wearing a teal vest and shorts, while standing on one hand doing stretches. Her odd behaviour is nothing new, and she's always been prone to exercise at bizarre times, which has led to a few kids picking fights with her.
After taking Komachi back to the safehouse, Hikigaya paid Rorona a large sum of money for helping out. He also had Ryuzaki send a message to Komanda, explaining how Hachiman is happy to continue the mission so long as they leave his sister out of it.
It doesn't take long for the young girl to notice him and she promptly uses her arm to push herself into the air, before doing a small flip and landing on her feet.
"Morning, Hachiman!" She greets, while making a peace sign with her middle and index finger.
He smiles and sits down on the sofa. The couch is against a wall and to the right is the front door leading out. Ahead of the sofa is a kitchen, followed by a hallway leading to two bedrooms. The walls are a grayish-white with the tiled floors being a similar colour.
"Komachi, it's been almost a week since Rorona and I got you out of that compound. You know you're free to leave at any time, right?"
She quickly waddles to the sofa and gets herself seated next to him.
"I do know that but… This safehouse is so nice! You and Ryuzaki have an amazing Wi-Fi connection and also a Netlifx and Hulu subscription. Plus, I can eat anything I want. The food at The Farm sucks and you know it!"
Hachiman thinks back to his time as a child doing his training. He was always top of his class and got to go on missions significantly earlier than most of the other children.
"The food is pretty bad but that isn't an excuse. You need to get back in contact with your handler."
Komachi raises her arms in the air and over-dramatically falls onto her side, resting her legs on Hikigaya's lap.
"Not all handlers are the same. Nana is a real bitch. She's super strict and always makes me do things her way. Ryuzaki gives you so much freedom."
"You just need to apply yourself more. Your hand-to-hand is flawless and you're probably a better sharpshooter than I am, but you insist on messing around."
His sister crosses her arms and scoffs.
"Compliments won't score you any higher in my book, Hachiman."
A moment later Ryuzaki walks out from the kitchen, holding a plate of food. He looks at the young girl on the couch and smiles warmly.
"You're still here, Komachi?"
WHOOSH
A pillow is thrown from the sofa to kitchen, hitting Ryuzaki in the face.
"Don't say such mean things with a nice face, old man!" Komachi yells out.
Ryuzaki chuckles and begins walking to his room.
"How is that Rorona guy by the way?" She asks, changing the subject.
"The bullet basically just went through the fat on the side of his torso, so if anything, it did him a favour. He got back to work two days ago."
"Back to work?"
"He follows my target around for me and keeps tabs on her. I pay him... Sometimes."
"Ah yes, your big undercover mission… Sounds pretty boring."
He gently pushes her legs off his lap and stands up.
"Like I said, you need to get into contact with Nana and I need to go to school. Today is a big day."
She raises an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Hikigaya sighs and puts on his blazer.
"Today is the last day of preparation for the Christmas Festival."
1 Year Earlier
Hikigaya feels himself get thrown onto the ground, before hearing something lock behind him. The black bag remains over his head, essentially blinding him. After feeling around, he determines that he's in a small cage. The cages walls are made of chain-link and there is a thick material on the other side. With this information in mind, Hachiman kneels down and pulls a small knife out of the bottom of his shoe. Given the amount of checkpoints that the real prisoner would've gone through, the agents at this factory would assume he's already been searched several times and not worry about it.
The assassin takes the knife and begins cutting the zip-ties. After a few seconds, the blade slices through the nylon and the restraints fall to the ground. He rubs his sore wrists, before pulling the black bag off of his head, and looking around. The cage is about 2x2 metres and the floor is made of cold grey concrete. The material over the chain-link fence blocks all view outside, and therefore any view inside as well, meaning Hikigaya can move around this small area freely.
The cage is dark, and it takes him a minute to get his sense of direction. Once he is ready, he turns to the left and walks over to the fence. He uses his knife to pull the links apart and create an opening. This is no easy task and takes him about twenty minutes. Throughout this time, he listens as the agents walk around and speak amongst each other. He also hears the faint sound of screaming from other sides of the factory.
Hikigaya pulls on the now broken fence. The hole he made is about half a metre long and will be easy enough to fit through. He takes the knife and pushes it into the material, then slowly drags it down, creating an opening in the dark cloth. A moment later he peaks through. The cage he is in is one of about fifty. All the cages are sitting next to each other and are made of the same chain-link and material combo. Hachiman's cage is right on the corner.
This area of the factory is massive and several tall and very muscular men can be seen patrolling. None of these men look particularly happy and have several scars running down there faces and arms. Hikigaya crawls out of his cage and quickly runs over to a pillar. He puts his back against the concrete as a guard walks past. Once clear, he runs to another pillar and hides behind that.
Right now, stealth is the best option. The factory has some cover, but a gunfight wouldn't be ideal, so he stays is the shadows.
Present Day – Sobu Highschool – 10:36
As the bell for lunch rings, Hikigaya packs up his books and walks out the classroom, where he is greeted with several students and teachers jogging up and down the halls, all carrying boxes of varying sizes.
The hallway is packed with people thinking and speaking about the festival. It's such a big event that any student who is willing to help the teachers set up for tomorrow night has been given special permission to skip class for the day. Hiratsuka wasn't the only teacher who gathered a few students to help with her bit of work, in fact most teachers did this. For the past week everyone has been super busy trying to make the event as perfect as possible.
Frankly, Hikigaya couldn't care less and thinks the festival is a big waste of time for little to no payoff. Despite his misgivings, Hiratsuka isn't offering him much of a choice. She told him if he doesn't help her, that she'd give him detention for everyday of the week. That's probably against the rules but given the importance of the Christmas Festival, it's likely the school board would look the other way.
Hachiman sighs and makes his way to classroom 6-E, before opening the door and walking in. Inside he finds a familiar sight: Yukinoshita and Yuigahama sitting together with Hiratsuka leaning against the chalkboard.
"Hikki!" Yui yells out as she sees him.
"Don't call me that." He responds sternly, well-aware she will continue to do it.
Shizuka looks at him and smiles. Yukino also looks at him, but instead offers a very callous scowl. Ever since they spoke in the alley on Friday, she has been thinking of nothing but him, and every time the two of them are in the same room, Yukinoshita appears visibly upset.
Both Yuigahama and Hiratsuka have noticed the tension between them has greatly increased recently. Hiratsuka has mentioned it a couple of times, but obviously it would be difficult for the assassin to explain how one year ago he infiltrated a gang hideout and executed Yukino's uncle, then met with her and Haruno in a parking lot, where they exchanged blows with each other.
"Go away." The wealthy-girl says angrily.
"Gladly." Hikigaya responds, as he turns around and opens the door he came from.
The teacher quickly jogs towards him and grabs Hachiman by the arm.
"He's not going anywhere."
Yukino scoffs as he begrudgingly sits down by the opposite end of the table in the middle of the room. Shizuka walks back to the chalkboard and gets ready to speak.
"Now that we're all here, let's go over everything regarding our stall. The decorations and food are all ready, they just need to be transported to the sports field, where all the tents and rides are currently being set up. The festival starts tomorrow night at five o'clock, but we only have to man our stall on Saturday evening."
"So does that mean I don't have to show up tomorrow, Hiratsuka-sensei?" Hachiman asks, whilst pulling a small light novel out of his bag.
She chuckles before speaking.
"Unfortunately, that's a 'no' Hikigaya. It's mandatory that all teachers attend both nights to make sure nothing happens. You'll be keeping me company while I supervise."
"That seems unfair, don't you think?"
The teacher sarcastically puts two fingers on her chin, as if she's in deep thought.
"Hmm, I suppose it is unfair, but you still have to come."
He shakes his head disapprovingly as Hiratsuka grins. Throughout this exchange, Yukinoshita stares at the assassin with a furious look on her face.
"You should be excited Hikki! Yukinon and I will be at the festival tomorrow as well. We can all stick together, right?" Yuigahama asks cheerfully, as she looks at her friend.
"Sure." The dark-haired girl responds, gritting her teeth.
Yui notices how her friend is acting and feels slightly anxious.
"Great! Now the four of us need to take these boxes to main field. Let's go."
Hiratsuka walks over to the pile of boxes filled with decorations and picks one up. Hikigaya stands up and grabs the box next to it. As the two of them exit the classroom, Yukinoshita and Yuigahama also get up to carry a box.
On their way over to the pile, Yui puts her hand on Yukino's shoulder.
"Are you feeling okay, you seem an-"
The brown-haired girls sentence is cut off when she feels her hand slapped away by Yukinoshita.
"I'm fine."
Yuigahama feels a sharp pain in the heart, as she gets disregarded by her friend.
1 Year Earlier
Hikigaya holds his breath as he crawls past a guard lighting a cigarette. For the last ten minutes, he's been making his way through the factory, doing his best to leave little-to-no trace of his movements. This is the last man standing between him and his destination.
Currently the assassin is under a large machine. Next to the machine is a staircase leading to an office that overlooks the interior of the factory. The office is being used to interrogate the political prisoners being held here. Once the Russian agents finish their questioning, they'll grab a new person from one of the cages and take them to be interrogated. This room is where Hachiman's target is.
As the Russian agent finishes lighting his dart, he takes a puff then gets back to his patrols.
The second he turns around, Hikigaya makes a run for the staircase. He moves silently, and quickly climbs the stairs without getting noticed. Once at the top, he pulls the slightly open door towards him, and heads inside. The room has windows all around, so if someone from the ground floor of the factory were to look up to the office, they'd see him walking through.
The assassin stays crouched as he scans the area. The floor is covered with blood and bathtub has been crudely placed in the middle of the room, where a man can be seen hanging from the ceiling above the it. He is naked from the waste up and there is blood dripping from all of his limbs, and into the tub. Hikigaya moves behind him and stands up. The man's body does well to cover him from the windows, meaning he has a little space to move around.
Hachiman puts his two fingers below the man's chin and feels for a pulse.
'Nothing.'
Like he suspected the man is dead. Wasting no time, he quickly takes out his knife and jabs it into the back of the mans thigh. Hikigaya then pulls down the knife and makes an opening in the skin. He frowns as he reaches his fingers into the mans leg and begins feeling around. Eventually he finds what he's looking for and pulls out a USB stick wrapped a small plastic bag that's covered in blood.
After putting the device in his pocket, Hikigaya crouches back down and makes his way to the rear-exit of the office. This exit will take him to an outside area, that has a staircase leading to the parking lot. From there he can circle back around to Yuri.
Hachiman pulls on the handle and opens the door, only to find a man on the other side eating a burrito, whilst leaning against the railing. The man looks at him with a shocked expression, before throwing his meal to the side and reaching for his holstered firearm. The assassin kicks him in the stomach, before swiping his knife at the mans neck. Unfortunately he misses, and instead hits him in the shoulder.
"тревога! незваный гость!" The agent yells out, alerting the other guards.
Hachiman grabs the pistol in the mans holster and pulls it out. He then fires the gun right up into the agents head. Blood splatters everywhere, as the shot rings throughout the factory.
'Shit…'
Present Day - Yukinoshita's Apartment – 21:07
"In this weeks new reports: Several men wounded at Hatake Bar in Chiba, hero firefighter rescues family from burning building and a hamster learns how to swear in sign language. Find out more after the break."
BLINK
The large flat screen television screen goes black as Yukinoshita clicks a button on the remote to turn it off. She looks at her reflection in screen, and sighs.
Currently she is wearing a loose black skirt, along with short white socks and a red turtle neck. The coffee table in front of her has two cups sitting on a tray. Each of the cups have a tea bag inside and there is a freshly boiled kettle of water right next to them.
BUZZ
For what feels like the tenth time this hour, Yukino receives another notification on her phone. She picks it up and unlocks the screen before looking at the message. When she sees it's from Yuigahama she places the phone back down, ignoring her friend. This has happened several times tonight and Yui refuses to stop messaging.
'I can't think about her right now. I need to focus on me. This is important.'
She closes her eyes and leans back against the soft couch cushions. Yukinoshita feels her heart beating very fast, which only makes her more anxious.
'It's a been a week. I've tried, but it's impossible.'
Her thoughts run wild as her mind gets filled with worry.
'I can't take another day of this!'
The dark-haired girl quickly stands up off the couch and stomps over to her window. She grabs the handle and pushes it forward. A cold breeze enters the room, and she takes a deep breath. Yukino looks over at a briefcase sitting next to the coffee table and feels a drop of sweat drip down her face.
'If I go through with this… Everything changes… No! It goes back to the way it was.'
She puts her head in her hands and kneels down, as various thoughts continue to fill her mind. Suddenly there is a knock at the door. She looks up in surprise, before exhaling and standing up. Yukinoshita walks to the door and wipes her palms against her turtle neck, straightening out her clothes. She moves some hair from her face and puts on a fake smile before reaching out and opening the door.
In the hallway, a girl similar to Yukino's age stands there wearing jeans and a polo shirt, with a coat under her arm. This girl is none other than the world renowned assassin known as 'Black Tiger.'
"Hello, Yukino." The female assassin greets before bowing.
"Good evening, Tsugumi. Please come in."
She obliges and enters the apartment, before sitting down on the couch.
"Would you like tea?" Yukinoshita offers as she gets seated opposite Black Tiger.
"No, I'm fine thank you."
"How was the trip?"
"It was good actually. I enjoy train rides."
Yukino nods and there is a brief silence.
"Well, let's get straight to business."
She bends over and picks up the briefcase, then hands it to Tsugumi.
"Recently you made it known that you've retired from the business of contract killing and I respect that, however you have been a dear friend to the Yukinoshita family for a long time. We could always depend on you."
The short-haired girl raises an eyebrow as she opens the case.
"I've had a problem at school lately. The situation is complicated, so to keep it short: There is a boy who is causing me a lot of stress and I feel…" Yukino's heart begins to race. "I feel like it would be best to get rid of him permanently."
"You want me to assassinate one of your classmates?"
"He isn't just a classmate. The boy is an undercover assassin. Highly-trained and highly-dangerous. He bested me in a fight a little while ago."
"Oh." Black Tiger reacts, with wide-eyes.
There is another brief silence.
"That case has ten million yen in it. To be frank, I don't feel it's enough, but I'm hoping you'll make an exception for me."
She examines the money before speaking.
"What's the assassins name?"
"He calls himself Hachiman Hikigaya, but it's likely an alias."
Black Tiger nods.
"And what if I decline?"
Yukino sighs.
"I would understand, although it's unlikely I'd find another hitman of your level on such short notice."
"Short notice?"
"Yes. I want him k-killed… Tomorrow night."
She feels another drop of sweat drip from her forehead. In the past, the wealthy-girl has committed several crimes, but none involved orchestrating someone's murder. Over the past week she's been wrestling with the decision of whether or not to go through with it, and it appears she's found the answer.
"So, you want me to track down this Hachiman Hikigaya person and kill him for you?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure about this? We've known each other for many years and you've never asked for something like this before."
"I'm sure. I can't bare seeing him anymore."
Black Tiger frowns and puts the briefcase down by her feet.
"If this is so important to you. I want to know exactly why you want him dead."
Yukino takes a deep breath.
"Right. I'll start from the beginning..."
Over the next two hours the wealthy-girl explains what Hikigaya did to her uncle and his relation to Hiratsuka. The assassin listens carefully, knowing full well the person Yukinoshita is describing is her former partner. As their chat come to a close, Black Tiger finds herself picking between two choices: Take the money and do a favour for her old friend by killing Hachiman, or decline and leave Yukino to hire someone else.
Authors n' Notes: Chapter 29 will be up next week! Anyway, happy new year guys. Match Point is coming up on its one year anniversary, so thank you to everyone who has been following it since chapter one and thank you to everyone who has jumped on a bit later!
