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

Previously on Match Point: Six months ago, Hachiman - a professional assassin - was hired to find damaging information on teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka, and subsequently execute her. To complete the task, he was told to infiltrate Sobu High School and pose as a regular student.

Though the mission started off smoothly, the Yukinoshitas threw a spanner in the works when they tracked Hachiman down, looking for information on one of his past assassinations. The target for said assassination was incidentally Yukino's beloved uncle.

When Yukino discovered Hachiman's true identity, she hired a hitman to kill him. She did end up regretting this decision, after seeing the anguish it put Shizuka through.

This event - among others - laid the mission to rest, and Hachiman explained to Shizuka who he was and what his motives were. Despite the mission being over, Hachiman's former employer still wants him and the teacher dead. In light of this, Hachiman now has a new mission: To take down Komanda and ensure his and Shizuka's safety.


Saturday - Abandoned Basement – 07:10

"Tell me what we got so far." Hikigaya says, as he leans back in his chair, looking over at Rorona.

Currently the two of them are in the basement, and have agreed to use it as a base of operations. Hachiman is wearing a blue t-shirt with jeans, while Rorona is wearing a black sweater and grey pants.

"I've been going neighbourhood to neighbourhood meeting up with drug dealers, arms dealers, etc.. So far the general consensus about Komanda is basically: He's scary and has a lot of power."

Hikigaya folds his arms, as Rorona walks over to a large whiteboard he's hung up on a wall. The board has several photos taped on in a pyramid formation.

The bottom of the board has three photos placed next to each other in a row. Above the three photos are two smaller ones. Finally, there is a single photograph at the very top, finishing off the pyramid.

The three photos to the top are of question marks, while the bottom three are each of a person's face.

"Up until about ten years ago, the Yakuza were the top dogs around Japan." Rorona begins explaining, before pointing to the picture at the top of the pyramid. "Then this guy Komanda came in and started a whole new organization. The police haven't named it yet, in fact they barely know anything about it. Everyone who works for Komanda seems to repeat the same thing: If you speak, you die. In other words, if you say anything to the police he'll have you killed, no questions asked. This has helped him keep everything under wraps as he gains more power in the criminal underworld."

"So this 'organization' he runs has no name at all?'

Rorona chuckles.

"No, it has a name. People on the streets refer to it as the Five-Rings."

Hachiman raises an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Apparently each of Komanda's five lieutenants wear a ring with a gold star engraved on top. It symbolizes their loyalty to him."

"Don't his regular men also have gold stars in their pockets?"

"Yeah. If you flash one of those, no one will mess with you. It's basically a badge. Obviously the rings hold more water though."

"And these lieutenants, who are they?"

The older of the two points at the photos below the top one.

"These guys. As you can see the bottom three all have pictures. They're pretty open about their identities, but the police can't touch them because there's no evidence to link them to any crimes. The two above them - who don't have any photos - operate in secret."

Hikigaya stands up from his chair, and begins pacing around.

"Komanda hired me to discredit Hiratsuka's father, because his men were being putting away."

"And?"

"That means he isn't untouchable. If we take down these lieutenants, we could destroy his organization from the ground up. Without any power he'd have no choice but to forget about me and Hiratsuka."

Rorona nods.

"Seems do-able."

"Alright then. So we know what to do, but who do we start with?"

"Miyuki Ishikawa, Hiroshi Maeue, and Norio Nagayama are the lowest tier lieutenants. Miyuki runs a stripclub which the police suspect to be laundering money.

Hiroshi is the head of an underground fight club. The club is synonymous with it's lack of rules, and not many people who go in come out with all their bones intact, but the ones who do - make a lot of quick cash. Due to the revolving door of people in and out, Hiroshi uses this club to recruit men into the Five-Rings. Most people who are desperate enough to join a fight club to get by, wouldn't think twice about working for a crime lord if it pays well enough.

The last person on the bottom tier is Norio. He's a real monster. Right now, he has control over The Port of Chiba which as I'm sure you know is the largest harbour in Japan. This allows him to easily smuggle guns in, which arm Komanda's men."

There is a short silence, as Hachiman absorbs all the information.

"So if we take down Miyuki, his money will be hit? Taking down Hiroshi will have less men working for him? When we get rid of Norio his firepower will take a dive?"

"That's right."

"Okay, we'll start today. This fight club will be our first target."

Rorona nods, and grabs his car keys.

"Let's go."


Yukinoshita's Apartment – 07:21

Yukinoshita opens her bedroom door, and walks out into the living room. Right now, she's wearing a black night gown and has her hair tied up above her head. The wealthy-girl just woke up a few minutes ago, and is about to make breakfast.

As she passes the couch on her way to the kitchen, she notices Hiratsuka lying down in a fetal position with a purple blanket over her. The teacher is wearing her usual outfit, except her white lab coat and vest are on the floor next to the couch and her shoes are off.

Both of Shizuka's feet are poking out of the blanket. Yukino notices the older woman only has one sock on, and raises an eyebrow. She looks around, and sees the other sock behind couch, surmising that Hiratsuka's foot probably got hot and she kicked it off in her sleep.

Instead of making her breakfast, the dark-haired girl continues to look at the bare foot. The skin is smooth and clean. Shizuka's toenails are painted a glossy black and it's clear she looks after them.

Just then, the toes begin to wiggle slightly. Yukinoshita widens her eyes, before kneeling down and getting a better look.

She finds herself captivated, as Hiratsuka's toes move around seemingly randomly. Despite each toe looking separate, they are all connected to the foot, and therefore can only move so far independently. This means when the toes wiggle, they do so in sync with one another.

Like soldiers, when one moves forth so do the rest. Occasionally they'll spread apart, but only momentarily before they come back together again. Yukino licks her lips, as her focus shifts from the toes to heel of the foot. She leans in closer, as her eyes study the curve from ball to heel. Her hand begins to move down to her own foot, and the dark-haired girl finds herself scratching against the side of her pinky toe. She drags her finger nails gently across the skin, as she moves her way up to her heel, still watching as her teacher's toes move around.

At this point she's leaned in so close she can practically smell them. Yukinoshita continues to drag her finger over her foot, before suddenly stopping and raising her hand. She feels the urge to touch the foot in front of her, and see if the skin feels the way she's been imaging it to.

Yukino reluctantly reaches out, feeling her heart beat faster as her hand gets closer. Moments later she makes contact, and feels her index finger connect with Hiratsuka's skin. She lets out a deep breath and smiles, as she slides her finger over the different parts of the foot.

It's smoother than imagined, but she can still feel the subtle wrinkles indented in the skin. She savours this feeling, while blissfully caressing every inch. Unfortunately, the experience comes to an abrupt end when she sees Shizuka's foot suddenly jerk forward, and straight into her face.

"Ow!" Yukino reacts, as she is knocked over by the blow.

Hearing the noise, Hiratsuka opens her eyes and quickly sits up. She sees her student lying on the ground, clutching her nose.

"Yukino?"

The wealthy-girl looks up at her teacher, as she recovers from the unintentional kick to the face.

"Good morning…"


Chiba Streets – 11:05

Hikigaya and Rorona stand next together, leaning against the older of the two's car. Across the street in front of them is a boxing gym. The building is wide, and situated in between an auto-repair shop and a convenience store.

"This is the place?" The assassin asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Rorona responds with a smirk.

"Doesn't seem like much of a 'Fight Club' you know?"

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, but I didn't have a regular old boxing gym in mind. You'd think one of Komanda's lieutenants would use something less out in the open."

"Well there's more to it: The car repair shop and that convenience store both work under Hiroshi Maeue. The boxing gym is just a front."

"Is all this just common knowledge?"

Rorona sighs.

"Not really, but most people from shitty neighbourhoods have heard about this place."

"Then where'd you hear about it?"

"Old friends."

Hachiman looks over at his partner.

"Old friends?"

"I grew up in Chiba, then went to America just after high school."

"Any reason for that?"

"Parents died, had to go stay with relatives."

The assassin looks away from Rorona and at the gym, before getting back to the topic at hand.

"If the boxing gym is just a front, then where's the real club?"

"Apparently you have to go in and request to have a match with one of the trainers. The guy's name is 'The Mountain' and after you fight him the manager will slip you the location of the club. You don't have to win or anything, it just has to be a good match."

"So I'll go in and fight this 'Mountain' guy, then we go to the real club, find Hiroshi, take him down."

"Sounds good."

They nod at each other, before simultaneously crossing the road and heading towards the entrance to the gym. The door has a metal frame, with two large rectangular glass panes offering a distorted view inside. There is a small sign taped on with the word "OPEN" written in kanji.

Hikigaya reaches out and pulls on the handle, before pushing open the door. As they walk in, they're greeted with smell of sweat and energy drinks. As expected, the interior is quite large, with a hardwood floor and several shirtless men walking around. Some are carrying large black gym bags, while others have towels around their neck.

Boxing gloves and punching bags can be seen hung on the walls, along with shelves of trophies and certificates. Most of the space inside is taken up by three large boxing rings situated next to each other. There are benches placed on the area between each ring.

In one of the rings, two men are standing across from each other, both wearing head gear, gloves, and shorts. The other rings are empty, leaving these two guys as the only ones currently sparring.

Over by the corner of the gym is a small office. Hikigaya walks over there and then inside, while Rorona watches the men spar. The office is small and crammed with cabinets, barely fitting the table and overweight manager inside. As Hachiman enters, said manager looks up at him.

"Hi." The assassin greets expressionlessly.

"Who the hell are you?" The manager asks, as he lights a cigar and puts it in his mouth.

He is wearing a white dress shirt, though his large gut has caused a few buttons at the bottom to fall off. On his desk are several McDonald's cheeseburger wrappers, with the remnants of old food inside.

"I'm looking to fight… The Mountain."

There is silence for several seconds, as the two of them look into each other's eyes.

"Hahahaha!"

The manager begins laughing loudly, before his laugh turns to a cough and he becomes somewhat out of breath.

"Is that a joke? What are you like fifteen years old? Get outta here!"

Hikigaya frowns and reaches behind his back, pulling out a roll of cash from his pocket. A moment later, he tosses the money onto the desk.

"What's this?" The older man asks, eyeing the money.

"One hundred thousand yen."

"For?"

"I bet you one hundred thousand yen that I can beat The Mountain. If I lose you get it, and if I win, then I keep it."

There is a brief silence, as the manager considers the proposal.

"Well shit, it's your money." He says, before opening a drawer under his desk and pulling out a form. "Sign this."

Hikigaya takes the A4 sized piece of paper and begins skimming the contents. Essentially, the form is a waver to say if you get seriously injured or killed, that the boxing gym is legally not responsible and cannot be sued.

Wasting no time, he takes a pen and signs his name on the form. He then grabs the wad of cash and puts it back into his pocket.

"I'll call The Mountain right away, you go change into some gear. Locker rooms are to the left."

The assassin turns around and heads out the office as the overweight man attempts to stand up off his chair, knocking some wrappers off his desk in the process.

Outside the office, Rorona watches Hachiman as he re-enters the gym.

"What did he say?" Rorona asks, as they begin walking side-by-side towards the locker rooms.

"He didn't take me seriously at first, so I bet him one hundred thousand yen that I'd win the fight."

Rorona's eyes widen and he clenches his fist.

"The hell? You told me your bank accounts were no longer accessible, and it's not like I have any money! We barely have enough to pay for food."

"Calm down." Hikigaya says, giving Rorona an annoyed look. "Yesterday I stole a bunch of pizza coupons. When you stack them on top of each other they look like real paper money from the side, so I just took two one thousand-yen bills and put them on the top and bottom of the stack. Besides, It's not like I'm not going to win; have a little faith."

The older of the two shakes his head disapprovingly, as they head into the locker rooms.


Yukinoshita's Apartment – 12:10

Yukinoshita and Hiratsuka sit across from one another by the dinner table in the kitchen, as they discuss some things. The wealthy-girl is still wearing her night gown, while Shizuka has opted for more casual clothes.

Each of them has a plate of food in front of them, along with a glass of orange juice.

"So let's get this straight: Your parents are the heads of a crime family that all of your relatives are involved in?"

Yukino tenses up slightly, as she takes a sip from her juice.

"Yes…"

"And you also know kung-fu?"

"Kind off…"

Th teacher raises an eyebrow, and leans back in her chair.

"What do you mean 'kind off'? I saw you beat those guys up!"

"Well it's not technically kung-fu. It's a combination of Krav Maga, Mauy Tai and Silat."

"Sounds the same to me."

Yukinoshita frowns slightly, before speaking.

"Hiratsuka, I know your father is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and judging by his reputation he'd be more than ready to send everyone I'm related to straight to prison, so I hope that all the times you've asked me to trust you ring true, even now."

The older woman smiles, as she watches her student try and avoid eye contact.

"Frankly I don't care what my father would do. Plus, since you know about all the criminal stuff that means you'd go to jail too, right?"

"Yes…"

"I don't want you to go jail! You're a good person Yukino. Of course you can trust me."

There is silence for several seconds, as Yukino feels her heart warmed.

"Th-Thank you."

"It's no problem. I'll always be there for you, BUT I still want to go home. Can you please explain why I have to stay with you again?"

"Japan has three large players in organized crime: The Five-Stars, The Yukinoshitas and the Yakuza. The leader of the Five-Stars wants you dead."

The teacher sighs, and rests her forehead next to her food on the table.

"Why?"

"I'd imagine it's related to your father."

"And how do you know about this?"

"Hikigaya's friend told me."

"Hikigaya…"

A thick wave of depression fills the kitchen, as Yukinoshita watches her teacher lethargically raise her head from the table.

"Are you still upset about it?"

Hiratsuka scoffs.

"Not at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure? Hachiman is just another liar. Nothing new."

"I think it's more complicated than th-"

"It's not." Shizuka interrupts, raising her hand.

"Well I've got Rorona's number. We'll see what we can do about the Five-Stars. Until then, you'll be staying with me."

"Can't we go out or something!? How about the zoo?"

"I hate the zoo."

Hiratsuka's mouth widens.

"What?!"

"Besides, we can't go out at all unless it's to or from school."

As they continue to eat their breakfast, the teacher's complaining does not wane.


Boxing Gym – 12:45

Hikigaya leans against the three ropes that frame the boxing ring. The top rope is red, with the middle white, and the last blue. It's likely they were painted this way to give the gym an "American" theme, and appeal to Japanese people that are interested in the culture. The actual ring is about half metre off the ground, with a solid white floor. Each corner has a large pole coming out, which the ropes are connected to.

Rorona is standing on the edge of the ring behind the ropes, holding a bottle of water and a cloth. Hachiman has now changed into a baggy red tank top that has a fist logo on the front, with a white outline on the sides. He is also wearing similarly coloured headgear and gloves. The gear feels tight against his temples and cheeks, allowing only his face and top of his head to be seen.

"How're you feeling?" Rorona asks, as he looks at his partner.

"Well I've never been in a boxing match, so I don't know how to feel."

"I mean you've been real fights. How different could it be?"

The question is rhetorical, and Hikigaya chooses to stay silent.

A few moments later, they notice the overweight manager strolling towards them. On his shirt is a tomato sauce stain, and in his left hand is a half-eaten burger.

"You ready to fight?" He asks loudly, walking past some other boxers.

The assassin looks down at him and nods. He promptly takes his hands and makes a cone around his mouth, before whistling loudly.

A door on the left side of the gym opens, and a man walks out. Rorona and Hachiman look over at him. The man appears about seven-foot-tall and has extremely large biceps. His pectoral and calf muscles are similarly large, with a an extremely toned six-pack to match.

This man also has light-brown skin and a bald head, along with baby blue shorts that barely cover his thighs. Around his neck is a necklace with a cross. As for gear, he has the same headgear and gloves Hikigaya does.

"Holy shit…" Rorona says, as his eyes widen. "That's The Mountain?!"

"What'd you expect?" The manager responds with a chuckle, before slapping his gut.

"There's no way you could beat that guy! The last thing we need right now is to go into debt."

Hachiman frowns, watching The Mountain walk towards the ring.

"You're right."

Rorona gets a confused look on his face.

"Huh?"

"There's no way I could beat this guy."

"Uh… Yeah. So what're you gonna do?"

"I'm going to fight him."

"Oh god…" The older of the two mutters, putting his head in his hands. "I can't believe this is how you die…"

The Mountain reaches out and grabs the rope, before pulling himself up into the ring. A proxy referee also climbs up, and takes a whistle out of his pocket. The three of them all walk to the middle of the ring.

"Alright I want a good clean fight. No low blows, watch your heads, and when I say "break" you stop! Understood?

Hikigaya and his opponent look directly into each other's eyes, both with a similarly emotionless expression.

"Okay. Touch gloves."

The two of them raise their arms, and bump their fists together indicating the match has started. The referee quickly backs away, giving them space.

Rorona watches nervously from outside the ring, as the two face each other. Even some other boxers' attention has been caught by the giant muscular man and regular looking teenager in a ring together.

Since the match has started, it would be expected of both men fighting to back up and raise their arms in defence of incoming attacks, however neither Hachiman or The Mountain do this. Instead, both of them simply stand one metre away from each other with their arms at their side.

Hikigaya continues to look into his opponent's eyes, offering not even a glimpse of emotion. After a good ten or so seconds, The Mountain raises an eyebrow, before looking off to the side at the manager.

The overweight man makes a similarly confused expression, as he watches the assassin simply stand still. This goes on for a little while longer, before The Mountain frowns and backs away slightly.

"I'm going to hit you now." He warns with scarily deep voice and a Russian accent. "If you do not leave the ring, you will die. Understand?"

Hikigaya says nothing, and continues staring at him with no defence. Once again, The Mountain glances over at the manager, who is now biting his lip.

A moment later, the large man scowls and raises his right arm, clenching his four fingers and his thumb against his palm, and forming a fist with the glove. The Mountain takes a deep breath, before throwing his fist right at Hachiman's face.

Hikigaya stays completely still and calm, feeling time slow down as the fist moves closer and closer to towards him, flying through the air. If it connects, the strength of the man's punch will at best give him life long brain damage, and at worst kill him instantly. Hachiman feels his pinky finger twitch slightly, as adrenaline fills his blood. Not even a millisecond later, the distance between the man's fist and his face closes, however instead of connecting, The Mountain stops his punch a centimetre away from his opponents nose.

The assassin feels his hair fly around a little, as the air is knocked back by the blow. The Mountain grins, before looking over at the manager for a third time, and nodding with a satisfied look on his face.

Rorona stands with his mouth and eyes wide, as he tries figure out what the hell is going on.

"I give up, you win." The large man says, pulling off his gloves and dropping them to floor.

He then proceeds to climb over the ropes, and out the ring.

"Shit, kid. Congrats!" The manager remarks with a sigh.

Hikigaya looks over at him and smiles, before beginning to pull off the gloves and headgear. Without much hesitation, Hachiman heads over to the locker rooms, and changes back into the clothes he arrived in.

A few minutes later, he returns to the main area of the gym, and sees Rorona still staring at the ring with a confused expression.

"Uhh… Are you okay?" He asks, looking up at the older man.

Rorona jumps off the ring and onto the wooden floor, before grabbing his partner by the shoulders.

"What just happened?! Why didn't you get killed?! Why did he give up?!"

"Isn't it obvious?"

He shakes his head vigorously, still standing in front of Hachiman with his hands on his shoulders.

"Komanda uses the fight club to recruit men, but he obviously can't just let anyone in." The assassin explains. "When I saw The Mountain - I knew I couldn't beat him, and neither can ninety-nine percent of the people who would come in here requesting the match. I surmised Komanda wants people that are brave and willing to fight anyone. As long as you don't back down from the fight, The Mountain would forfeit. If you actually had to beat him, then there wouldn't anyone to join The Five-Stars ranks."

"But that's just a guess! What if you were wrong?!"

"Then I'd have died."

"That doesn't scare you?"

Hikigaya looks down at his pinky finger.

"Actually, I kind of enjoy the feeling."

Their conversation is interrupted when the manager walks up behind Hachiman, and taps him on the shoulder.

"You seem pretty young, so I'm hesitant to give you this." The manager says, as he raises his right arm, revealing a small piece of paper in between his fingers. "But hey, it's your life."

The two of them turn to face him, as he hands the paper to the assassin and walks away. Hikigaya looks down at it, only to see an address written in cursive.

"Now we know where the fight club is, what's step two?" Rorona asks, looking over Hachiman's shoulder at the paper.

"Good question…"


Author's Notes: Looking at the reviews for this story, I have noticed some readers think that Match Point will be ending soon. This is not the case. We are not even close to the end. I am only saying this so people don't anticipate a finale each week, and feel blue-balled when it inevitably doesn't come (hehe)

Anyway, I will now try and respond to reviews in the AN section, because apparently you're supposed to do that? Who knows! Here it goes though:

SmexehBeast asks "Are Hiratsuka and Hachiman gonna end up together?"

That would be nice, but considering he just told Shizuka he was planning to murder her, I feel that the two of them are going through a bit of rough patch right now, but who knows what the future might hold? You'll just have to keep reading.

And that's all I will be responding to for this week, maybe next week I'll respond to more (or less?).

In other news, Match Point now has a new cover. I think it looks super cool!

Chapter 35 will be up next week!