Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any brands mentioned.

Previously on Match Point: 8man returns to Yuri, as they are pursued by several black vans, while in the present Shizuka and her students enjoy the Christmas Festival.


Friday Night - Hiratsuka's Car – 23:04

As the first night of the festival came to an end, Hiratsuka and Hikigaya met up with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama by the entrance. The two girls were tired, and the teacher offered to give them a ride back to her place and told them they could stay the night since the four of them would be meeting up tomorrow anyway to set up their stall. Yui was perfectly fine with this idea but Yukino instantly rejected it. Despite her great mood, she wouldn't even consider spending the night in the same apartment as Hachiman.

It didn't take long for them to find a solution, as the assassin said he would prefer to sleep at his own place anyway and that Yukino and Yui could stay with Shizuka.

Now in the car, Hiratsuka and Hikigaya sit up front, with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama in the back. The festival has completely wrecked Yui and she is currently lying down on her friend's lap, taking a small nap as they drive.

From the backseat, Yukino stares at Hachiman. She doesn't have an angry expression, or even any expression at all. Her face is simply blank as she looks at the back of his head. Unlike her student, Shizuka has a lot of expression on her face. While her mouth presents subdued smile, her eyes are visibly blissful. For one reason or another, the festival has left her feeling more content than ever and she has no need to say anything. As a matter of fact, she hasn't spoken a word since they got in the car.

She's not the only one though, as all three of her students have chosen to stay silent as well. The entire drive has been smooth, setting a very calm atmosphere.

Hikigaya looks out the side window. He has his face rested against his left arm and is in deep thought. What he is thinking about is quite the point of contention, as he's really thinking about not thinking about it. For the most part he is a realist and doesn't lie to himself, but right now a question has arisen in his mind and it's a question he doesn't know the answer to.

This is not a question he has asked himself, but rather a question someone else asked him a while ago. He isn't entirely sure why he's remembered it again, but needless to say it's relentlessly bouncing around his head.

Hiratsuka pushes her foot against the breaks, as they arrive at her apartment. She turns the car into her assigned spot, then pulls keys out of the ignition. All three of her students feel the car stop. This takes Hikigaya out of his thoughts, wakes up Yuigahama and causes Yukinoshita to look away from the assassin. They all quickly get out and head into the building. After a short elevator ride and a brief walk down a hall, they find themselves in front of Hiratsuka's door.

The teacher unlocks it and walks into her apartment. She flicks a light switch, illuminating the living room. Yukino and Yui tiredly walk in and sit down next to each other on Shizuka's couch. It's clear Yuigahama is feeling drowsy and can barely keep awake at this point. Hikigaya stands at the doorway with his hands at his pockets. Hiratsuka turns to him and leans against the door-frame, smiling.

"You don't have to go home you know..."

He looks at her with a blank expression.

"Yukinoshita wouldn't stay here if I didn't."

She looks over at the dark-haired girl, then back at Hachiman and sighs.

"We'll be setting up our booth tomorrow. So, will you meet me at school at about seven AM?"

"Sure." He says with a nod.

They stand in the doorway for a few more seconds, before Hikigaya speaks again.

"Well, I'll be going now. Goodnight, Hiratsuka."

He turns around and begins walking down the hall.

"See you tomorrow, Hachiman."

Just like in the Ferris wheel, hearing her say his name makes him feel warm inside. As the assassin arrives at the elevator, he presses the button on the side and is soon out of the apartment building. He walks around Chiba for a while, letting the wind blow against his face and taking in the fresh air. Eventually, he comes across a large building and decides to climb up the fire escape and rest on the roof.

Hikigaya heads over to the building's ledge looks over it. The streets below are well lit by lamps and headlights from cars, though from so high-up it's hard to make out any details. After a minute or two, he opts to sit down and dangle his legs over the edge. Hachiman takes a deep breath as he listens to the sounds of the night and tries to clear his mind.

Suddenly, he hears some footsteps near his back. He places his hand in his pocket and cups a small knife, just in case.

"Hachiman Hikigaya?" The person behind him asks loudly.

Recognizing the voice, he turns around and looks at said person.

"Tsugumi."

Black Tiger smiles at him from rooftop door.


1 Year Earlier

Hikigaya unzips the large black bag in front of him and quickly reaches inside. In the front seat of the car, Yuri has his foot pressed hard against the acceleration pedal. Behind them are several armoured vans, filled with very angry Russian agents. The vans are currently chasing the Prius down a long empty road on the outskirts of Moscow.

"We're not going to be able to escape them! This car won't go fast enough, but even if it could: There's nowhere to go!" Yuri says anxiously, as he looks at the men after them through the rear-view mirror.

"I've got a plan… Kind off."

"Kind of?! I thought you had this all mapped out!"

Hikigaya sighs and continues rummaging through the bag.

"I was caught off-guard inside the factory. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"So what do we do?"

"Just wait and see."

The Russian agent raises an eyebrow, as Hachiman turns around and kicks the back windshield of the car. A loud noise vibrates throughout the vehicle, but other than that nothing happens. He kicks it again and this time it cracks. After another kick, the glass shatters all over the backseat and Hikigaya leans out.

The wind blows hard against the back of his head, as he looks at the oncoming vans. Wasting no time, the assassin quickly reaches into the black bag and pulls out an RPG-7 AKA a rocket launcher.

The RPG is about a metre and a half in length, with two handles coming out of the black cylindrical body, one dark-red and the other a similar black colour. The launcher is heavy at about seven kilograms. Hikigaya takes the weapon and places the back-end over his right shoulder, while holding the front handle with his left hand. He then reaches into the bag and pulls out a long rocket. A moment later he slides it into the front of the RPG and locks it into to place.

Engines roar through the air, as the two vans up front notice the assassin leaning out the back, holding a rocket launcher. One of the men yells something in Russian causing the agent in the passenger seat to unlock his door and lean out as well. A man in the back of the van grabs an AK-47 off the floor of the vehicle and hands it to the man in the passenger seat.

After grabbing the gun, he begins firing at the Prius driving away from them. Hikigaya stands his ground as bullets ping off the rear end of his vehicle. Without hesitation he aims down the sites of the RPG, and pulls the trigger. The rocket instantaneously shoots out from the front, and travels at a high speed towards the oncoming van.

Hachiman feels himself knocked back slightly by the force of the shot but maintains his balance.

BOOM

As the rocket hits the vehicle, a large explosion erupts on the road, causing the van to flip over and hit the one next to it.

"Two down. Six to go." The assassin says nonchalantly, as he loads another rocket into the RPG.

Yuri looks in the rear-view mirror and watches the other vans drive around the fiery-mess on the road.

"How many rockets do you have?"

"Two more."

"You better be a good shot."

Hikigaya takes a deep breath, as he pulls the trigger and hits the next van. This time it spins and rolls on it's side, causing two of the other pursuers to collide with it.

"Three more vans to go. One rocket left…"

Hoping for the best, he loads the RPG for the final time, before firing off the last of his ammunition. Unfortunately, the van it hits gets knocked off the road, and the other two simply drive around it.

Just when Yuri and Hachiman think all hope is lost, the vans begin to slow down, before coming to a complete stop. The Russian agent sees this and gets a relieved look on his face.

"Guess they don't know we're out of rockets." He says with a chuckle.

Hikigaya pushes himself back into the car and places the RPG down, then climbs into the passenger seat.

"Looks like we're home free."


Present Day – Chiba Rooftops – 01:32

"It's nice to know you remembered my name." Black Tiger says, as they look at the cars driving down the streets.

Currently the two of them are sitting on the ledge, letting their feet hang off the building. The wind is as cold as it's been all night, and gently blows their hair to the side.

"What are you doing here?" Hikigaya asks, getting straight to the point.

She sighs and looks up at the stars in the sky.

"On Thursday someone offered me ten million yen to kill you."

There is silence in the air for several seconds.

"That seems pretty low."

Black Tiger chuckles. Most people wouldn't worry about the price on their head, but rather that there is a price at all.

"Don't worry, I declined the job, but the person will probably still send someone in my place."

He looks at her.

"Why'd you decline?"

"It'd be stupid to kill someone who's life I've saved twice now. Plus, I'm retired."

Hachiman's eyes widen slightly, and he feels his heart beat a bit faster than usual.

"Retired… Why?"

"After Afghanistan, my handler took me back to Japan. The reasons are confidential but long story short I made some friends, retired, and even…" She takes a deep breath. "Fell in love."

"Wow."

"The person who tried to hire me is an old friend. In fact, we trained under the same master as children, though she isn't an assassin. She was doing it for self-defence."

Hikigaya sighs, with her mention of retirement still prominent in his mind.

"Who exactly tried to hire you."

"I won't say, but I'm sure you can figure it out. Is there anyone you can think of who might want you dead?"

He looks away from her and back at the cars.

"I can think of a few people, one being my current employer."

Tsugumi grins at him.

"Why?"

"It's kind of complicated, but I pretty much killed and severely wounded a bunch of his men last week. I'm not sure where we stand."

"You're working undercover right?"

Black Tiger deducts this from Yukinoshita's explanation of the events at school up until now.

"Yeah."

"And your targets a teacher?"

He exhales.

"Yeah…"

"You don't seem too happy about it."

Hachiman sways his legs from side-to-side.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you asked me when we worked together."

She continues to look at him.

"You asked why I do the things I do and I didn't have answer. I tried to get advice from my handler, but he didn't have much to say about the subject."

There is silence for a few seconds.

"Do you still not have an answer?"

He closes his eyes.

"No, I don't."

"Somethings on your mind." Black Tiger states candidly.

Hikigaya runs his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah."

"Tell me what it is."

He puts his elbows on his thighs and rests his chin on his hands.

"I think… I think I don't want to be an assassin anymore."

"Why not?"

"I'm sick of killing people."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Yes..."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?"

"My employer kidnapped someone close to me for insurance. When I went to rescue them, I killed a bunch of his men. I told myself it was because I needed to send a message, but each and every time I took one of their lives, it felt even more pointless. By the end I could barely stomach another kill."

"When we went on a mission together, you didn't seem to care about killing."

"The Al-Qaeda terrorists would've killed us. It was survival, but the men working for my boss didn't deserve to die. I could've just wounded them."

"What about all your previous targets, did they deserve to die?"

He puts his head in his hands.

"I don't know… Some of them were crime-lords, gang members or high profile criminals, while others were just people."

"Does your current target deserve die?"

Hikigaya says nothing, and she frowns at him.

"Why don't you quit?"

"I can't."

"But why?"

"This is my life."

"What is?"

"Killing people."

"Do you feel bad about it?"

"No."

"And how does that make you feel?"

He feels his teeth begin to chatter.

"I hate myself."

"Since when?"

"A few months ago."

"Does the teacher make you feel this way?"

"No."

"Then what makes you hate yourself?"

Hikigaya pushes back off the ledge and stands up, before walking across the roof and kneeling down in the middle. Black Tiger quickly jumps off as well and strolls up behind him.

"What makes you hate yourself?"

He stays quiet and stares at the floor.

"Answer the question, Hachiman."

There is silence for several seconds, before he speaks freely.

"I hate that I grew up on The Farm. I hate the fact that when I kill people I feel nothing. I hate that I've only ever cared about my sister and my handler. I hate that when I read books I can't relate to anyone. I hate that my target treats me the way she does, when she doesn't know who I am. "

"And who are you?"

"I'm a grim reaper. Death follows me everywhere."

"You're wrong."

He turns his head and looks at her. Hikigaya's entire face is blank, except for the hint of desperation in his eyes.

"Wrong?"

Black Tiger kneels down next to him.

"You're not a grim reaper and death doesn't follow you. I think that it's the other way around. I think you're the one who's following death."

He stays silent.

"We're both hitmen, but we're also very different. I made the choice to become an assassin and I also made the choice to retire. I've heard about The Farm before. Children are bred there, then vigorously trained to kill people. You never had a choice from the start, so now you feel you don't have a choice to leave."

She puts her hand on his shoulder.

"But you do have a choice. If you want to get away from death, you can."

Hikigaya chuckles.

"So, then what? I just leave the assassin business and go to school for the next few years and live some normal life?"

"That sounds good to me."

He chuckles and again and so does she. They both see how ridiculous the notion is, and it's hardly a legitimate suggestion.

"Is this your first time speaking about all this?"

"Yeah." He answers, as he stands up, putting his hands in his pockets.

"How long have you had these feelings bottled up?"

"A while"

They stand in silence for a bit, before Black Tiger's phone starts buzzing. She pulls it out of her pocket and checks her messages.

"It look's like I have to go."

Hachiman nods and takes a deep breath.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem."

He runs his fingers through his hair again.

"I think I know what to do."

"I'm glad."

Hikigaya begins to walk to the fire escape as he thinks about the future and what'll happen next. The female assassin watches as the distance between them grows.

'Good luck, Hachiman.'


1 Year Earlier

After dealing with the vans who were chasing them, Hikigaya and Yuri continue driving for a few hours until they get back to a more populated area of Moscow. The Russian agent presses his foot on the breaks and stops the car on the side of the road. They are currently surrounded by large open fields, complimented by the rising sun.

"Why'd you stop?" Hachiman asks, as he looks over at Yuri.

"Is there anything else we need to do?"

The assassin shakes his head.

"Then maybe we should part ways here."

There us a brief silence, before Hikigaya places his hand on the passenger-side handle and opens the door.

"Sure."

He begins to climb out, before Yuri interrupts him.

"Wait."

"What?" Hachiman asks, as he turns back around.

"You had a lot of information about the FSS. That means there's a mole inside the agency. I'm still loyal to my country, and I can't let that slide. Would it be possible for you to tell me who hired you?"

"No. My employer gave all the information to my handler, who then passed it on to me. I never met the guy."

Yuri sighs, as he holds onto the steering wheel tightly.

"The agency will know I helped you."

Hikigaya thinks about for a moment, before getting out of the car and walking to the backseat. He opens the door, leans in and picks up a cell phone from the floor of the vehicle. After that he goes back to the passenger side and drops the phone on the Russian man's lap.

"What's this for?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"It's your encrypted phone. If you want, I can shoot you in the arm or leg, and make it look like you fought back. Then you can call for an agent to come pick you up and tell them I got away."

Yuri chuckles.

"You've already completed your mission. I'm surprised you don't just kill me."

The assassin looks out at the surrounding fields.

"You're not my target."

There is a moment of silence, before Yuri begins nodding.

"Okay, one shot to the shoulder. Then you get out of here and I'll call for a pickup."

Hikigaya backs up from the car and raises his handgun. He looks down the sights, before gently squeezing the trigger.

BANG

As the shot goes off, blood splatters all over the seat and dashboard. Yuri clutches his bleeding arm, trying his best not to yell out in pain. Wasting no time, Hachiman turns around and makes his way from the road onto the grass. He then begins his trek down the field.

After a long walk, he calls for his extraction, and marks another mission a success.


Present Day – Sobu Highschool Parking Lot – 07:05

Hikigaya leans against a wall, as he looks at the empty parking lot. In his one hand he has a half-empty MAX Coffee, while his other hand is in his pants pocket. Currently he's wearing a white dress shirt and jeans. It's a bit warmer during the day, so he doesn't need to worry about having a jacket.

Opening up to his former partner has left him feeling things he's never felt before. Where he grew up, strong emotions are frowned are upon. Indifference was drilled into his head from a young age, which left him with a very uncaring outlook on life. Despite his upbringing, Hachiman actually has far more personality than some of the other children who come out of the program. Due to his innate skill at assassination, he became a professional hitman much sooner than a lot of his peers, who sometimes stay at The Farm well into their early-twenties.

Perhaps this was the reason he feels the way he does right now: Conflicted. Killing people has become gratuitous for him and Hikigaya wonders if he's been shooting people's legs and opting for a non-lethal approach subconsciously. He also wonders why after so many jobs it's his language teacher that's made him snap. When he thinks about her, he doesn't feel anything in particular. To him Hiratsuka is still just a person, but when he thinks about killing her Hikigaya finds the thoughts upsetting, if only slightly.

'Last night she asked me to be friends…'

The assassin looks up into the blue sky, as he smells the early morning dewy scent.

'Friends. That word means nothing to me.'

He continues to question the situation he's found himself in.

'Do I finish this mission and then quit? What will Ryuzaki say? Is quitting even allowed? Can I even finish this mission?'

Just then, he hears a car drive in through the gate. Hachiman looks to the side and sees his teacher driving to her usual spot.

'I can think about this later. Right now I should just… Prepare for the festival.'

As she parks the car, Hiratsuka gets out and quickly jogs over to her student. She's wearing her standard lab coat over a vest and tie.

"Morning!" She greets, waving at Hikigaya.

"Hi." He responds, as they begin walking side-by-side to the school building.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I didn't sleep at all."

She looks at him with a worried expression.

"Why not?"

"I've got a lot on my mind."

His answer is almost too honest, and he worries if it's safe to say such a thing.

"Well I'm sure you'll figure it out."

After a short trek through the parking lot, Hiratsuka takes out a set of keys and unlocks a back door into the school. The two of them then head to the cafeteria, where the boxes of food they bought for their booth is being kept. They grab a box each, then bring it to Shizuka's car. It takes about seven trips, and Hachiman stays quiet the whole time. The teacher notices this, and feels he's being even more distant than usual.

'I hope I didn't make him feel uncomfortable last night. Asking to be friends might've been weird for him.' She thinks to herself, as she pushes a box into the backseat of her car.

Soon the vehicle is filled with the different foods and drinks. The next step would be to drive the car onto the large field and unload the items inside of their booth, however Hiratsuka decides to wait a bit.

"Hey, Hachiman…" She says from the back of the car trying to get his attention.

He looks up from the side of the vehicle, where he was rearranging some items to fit better. The assassin doesn't say anything, he just raises an eyebrow at her as if to ask "What's the matter?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes." He answers bluntly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Hikigaya repeats his last answer, however she can't help but notice the frown that's locked on his face.

"If you're feeling weird about last night… I'm sorry if I maybe asked too much."

He thinks back to the Ferris wheel and the drive home, then to his conversation with Black Tiger.

"Really Hiratsuka, I'm fine."

She looks at him with a warm smile.

"Well, I want you to know that if there's anything going on: You can tell me."

Hikigaya feels the urge to unload his feelings the way he did earlier, but he keeps it in. He knows that there is a line he cannot cross, and that line is compromising his current mission.

'I'm feeling inexplicably emotional right now. I should just stay quie-'

"And don't think about it." Hiratsuka says abruptly. "I know more than anyone that when you think about things too much, more often than not you'll just make excuses in your head. So if you have something you want to tell me, then you should! Don't think about it."

"Don't think about…" He repeats under his breath, smiling at the concept.

The teacher walks around the car and up to him, then grabs his hand. She places it in hers and puts her other hand over his knuckles.

"You're not alone. I'm here for you, so is your Uncle Ryuzaki, and so is Yuigahama... Probably." She chuckles, then gets a serious look on her face. "We care about you Hachiman. You don't have to hold all your problems inside."

There is a few seconds of silence, before he speaks.

"Hiratsuka I…"

CLICK

He hears something. In his mind he instantly recognizes the noise as the sound of a gun's safety being turned off. Hikigaya turns his head to the right and sees a man standing about ten metres away, raising a pistol and wearing a fedora on his head, with a bandana covering his face. The man also has a black trench coat and boots, along with gang tattoos on his neck.

It feels like slow-motion, as the assassin plays several different possibilities out in his mind. None of them end in a satisfactory manner. Hiratsuka sees him turn his head and shifts her gaze over to where he's looking, before seeing the armed man and widening her eyes in shock. Her mind becomes too panicked to think as she feels every muscle in her body tense up.

Over by one of the school gates is Rorona, who's sitting cross-legged playing Tetris on his phone. He uses one hand to tap the screen while resting his chin on the other.

As usual he's tailing Shizuka Hiratsuka and keeping updates on her. The job is pretty boring, so he spends a lot of the time playing phone games. As his screen fills up with digital bricks, he checks his high score before lethargically looking up at the parking lot to see if Hikigaya and Hiratsuka have finished whatever they're doing.

In the corner of his eye, he sees a man holding a gun. It takes a second to register in Rorona's mind.

"Oh shit…" He says, as he looks at the armed man.

Rorona puts his phone in his pocket and begins sprinting across the parking lot towards them. At the moment Hiratsuka and Hikigaya are standing by the trunk of the teacher's car. The man is standing a few metres away from them with the gun raised. The school gate – where Rorona is coming from – is behind the man, so he doesn't see Rorona sprinting up behind him.

As he runs, he feels a sharp pain from the bullet that hit his side last week and he almost falls over, however Rorona pushes through and quickly closes the distance between him and the man. Not having enough time to think or form a plan he reaches both his hands over the man's shoulders and grabs his head from behind. The man feels this and accidentally fires off a shot, before tying to aim the gun to his back. Not wanting to take a bullet again, Rorona makes a snap decision and twists the man's head to the side, snapping his neck.

His body goes limp as he awkwardly curls over to the ground and drops the gun. A drop of sweat drips down Rorona's face as he pants slightly, looking at the man he just killed.

"Shit…"

Hiratsuka sees the entire thing and feels light-headed having no idea what to do. On instinct she looks at Hikigaya.

The assassin is standing dead still, staring at his stomach. She is still holding his hand and feels him squeeze her tightly. A moment later his white dress shirt begins to go red as blood gushes out of his torso. He feels exhausted like never before and the desire to sleep begins to take over. Hachiman closes his eyes for only second, before feeling something hard hit him in the back of the head.

Unknown to him, his body simply fell over and hit the concrete. Shizuka sees a pool of blood begin to form around him, coming straight from a bullet hole in his stomach. She screams loudly and drops to her knees. Rorona stares Hachiman, as he considers what to do.


Authors Notes: There will be no new chapter next week as I am taking a short break. Weekly updates will return in two weeks!