Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any brands mentioned.
Previously on Match Point: Rorona gets 8man captured. What will happen next? Find out!
Sunday - Rorona's Apartment Building – 21:26
Yukinoshita slowly climbs each step up the staircase, as she heads to the roof of Rorona's building. Just thirty minutes earlier he gave her a call, telling her to meet him here urgently.
This is quite strange, considering the two of them usually don't speak, and all information they could share, filters between Hikigaya. Regardless, she comes anyway, curious to see what's going on.
As Yukino arrives at the top of the stairs, she opens the door leading out onto the roof, then proceeds to walk through.
"Rorona?" She yells out, trying to get his attention.
There is no response, and she begins looking around to try and find him.
"Rorona?"
After calling out for a second time, there is a response.
"I'm over here!"
Yukinoshita follows the sound to behind a large ventilation unit. As she turns the machines corner, she finds Rorona – and someone else.
"Oh my God…"
Tied to a telephone pole connected to the building, is a man with bloody face and clothes.
"What the hell is this?" She asks, quickly taking her scarf and raising it over her mouth to hide her identity.
"It's a long story…" Rorona responds, as he stares at the man.
"Tell me, because this is serious. Who is this? Where is Hikigaya?"
Rorona takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.
"I got in trouble with a loan shark a while back. They kidnapped my kid to strong arm me into paying them back."
"Wow…"
"Yeah…"
"Where's Hikigaya?"
"They got him too…"
Yukino's eyes widen further, and she looks over at Rorona, then back at the man.
"Is Hikigaya...?"
"No… I think they wanted to give him to Komanda."
"Komanda's involved in this?"
Rorona turns to her.
"Yep."
"If Hikigaya dies, we're screwed."
"Indeed…"
"And so is your kid."
"Yeah…"
Yukinoshita walks over to the man and takes a closer look at him.
"Does this guy know their locations?"
"I think so."
"Have you interrogated him?"
"I tried, but I don't really have it in me."
There is a brief silence, as the cold winds blow along the rooftop.
"Okay… I'll get it out of him."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah… Give me a minute."
Rorona nods and slowly walks away.
As he leaves, Yukino reaches into her pocket and pulls out her knife. She flicks the handle, prompting the blade to come out, then taps the edge softly against the bloody man's head.
"Wake up…" She orders sternly, still using one hand to hold her scarf over her face.
The man's eyes slowly open, and he smiles at her. It's clear several of his teeth are missing, and the remaining – broken – ones are stained with blood.
"What's up, Sweetheart?" He greets, slurring his words.
She ignores him and turns around. Yukinoshita then kneels down and stabs the blade of her knife onto the roof, causing some of the tiling to crack. The next thing she does is take her knife and cut off a piece of her scarf. She proceeds to wrap some of the broken tile with the scarf's material, then stands up.
"I believe you know the locations of Hachiman Hikigaya and Rorona's son. What do you have to say to that?" She asks, as she walks back towards the man.
"Ha, and what if I did?" He responds, smiling.
"Then that means you're lucky…"
"Why is that?"
"Because…"
Yukinoshita raises the material holding the tiles.
"I'm going to shove this down your throat, then pull it back out – then do it again and again."
"Wait, what?"
"Eventually it will eviscerate your vocal cords, and you'll lose your ability to speak. That's when I'll ask you to tell me where Hikigaya and the child are. Of course, since you will no longer be able to create sentences – I'll have you write it down."
The man's eyes widen.
"If you refuse to write it down, then I'll break your fingers. From there, I'll break each of your arms, then your legs, then your ribs and so on. When you are left with no ability to tell me what I want to know, I will believe that you truly do not possess this information."
She grabs the man by his jaw.
"If you are lucky, you'll die before we're finished. So understand that I'm only going to ask you once, before taking away your speech – Where are they?"
Hearing her cold voice runs chills down his spine, as he imagines the each segment of the torture.
"P-Please, I'll tell! I'll tell you!"
Chiba Streets – 22:10
Yukinoshita quietly jogs down a pavement in a not-so-good area. Some homeless people can be seen lying about, with a car occasionally driving past. In her one hand is a cellphone, and in the other – her knife.
According to Mad-Dog's man, Hikigaya and Deishuu are being held in two different safe houses on the opposite ends of town.
He also said that Mad-Dog was considering sending the kid over to traffickers, perhaps to make a quick buck. The traffickers are only in town fleetingly – so if Mad-Dog was going to give Deishuu away, then it'd be tonight.
This means that time is of the essence. It also means that Yukino and Rorona had to split up. If either one of the safe-houses got word of an attack – it's likely they'd just kill Hikigaya or Deishuu.
With this information in mind, there is no room for errors.
"Okay, I'm here…" Yukinoshita says into her phone, as she brings the device up to her ear.
The building in front of her is large, with several broken and boarded up windows.
"Already?" Rorona responds surprised.
"Yes. Have you arrived yet?"
"Pretty much."
"Good; remember to take out anyone with a phone first. We need to stall contact as long as possible."
Her voice is commanding and stern, but still somewhat respectful.
"I'm ready when you are."
Yukino taps the end call button on her phone, then puts it in her pocket. She then takes her scarf and wraps it around her mouth, nose and forehead, leaving only her eyes visible. She also ties a knot at the back, so as to make sure it doesn't come off at any point.
After that, she begins walking towards the door, clutching her knife tightly.
Given the location of this safe-house and the time constraints, it wasn't possible for her to get a gun. This makes things harder, but Yukinoshita is confident in her abilities.
BANG
She gives the door a hard kick, effortlessly knocking the weak wood off it's hinges. From there, Yukino enters and begins walking down the hall. As she walks, a door to her left opens and a man comes out.
The moment they make eye contact he reaches for his gun, but she quickly kicks him in the throat. This stops his fumbling, but also causes him to fall backwards into the room and onto a table where several other men are sitting around.
They all stand up, dropping their cards, and run out into the hallway.
As the first man exits, Yukinoshita grabs him by his wrist and shoulder, then knees the side of his elbow, breaking his arm. The man suddenly begins yelling out in pain and drops down on one leg. She takes the opportunity to grab his pistol and fire it into the remaining men. Bullets hit their legs and shoulders, disabling them.
The bullets are loud though, and instantly alert the rest of the building. Yukino begins sprinting down the hall, questioning where to go.
As she runs, some of the men turn a corner, stopping her in her path. She raises the gun at them at them and pulls the trigger several times.
CLICK
CLICK
CLICK
Sadly the bullets were emptied earlier, as she expected.
Wasting no time, Yukinoshita drops the magazine from the gun and throws it at one of the men. It instantly knocks him out, causing all the others to look over at him. Distracted, she kicks the next man in the shin, then takes her knife and stabs it into the back of his thigh.
PUH
One of the men does get a hit on her though, punching her in the face.
Yukino stumbles backwards, as blood begins to drip from her cheek. From behind, another man grabs and begins choking her. She struggles, but seemingly to no avail. After a good few seconds, she widely opens her mouth and bites the man's arm – hard.
This causes him to loosen his grip, and she quickly throws him over her shoulder, then kicks him in the face.
The rest of the men continue to wail on Yukinoshita. Most of them get blocked, deflected, or redirected – but some of their hits make it through. Her adrenaline and pain suppression training carry her on, but the attacks add up.
SLAM
As the final man's head hits the wall, and his unconscious body begins to lethargically slide to the floor, Yukino feels a wave of exhaustion hit her. She looks at men all lying around her, then drops to her knees. Sweat drips from her face and hands, and she feels the intense urge to sleep.
Of course, this isn't possible, and Yukinoshita begins stumbling back up on her feet – leaning against the wall.
From the very end of the hallway, she hears the faint sound of crying. The journey there feels much longer than it really is, and as she's walking - one of the men grabs her leg. A kick to the face does the trick, and she is soon back on her way.
As she arrives at the door, she notices it's slightly open ajar. Yukino walks inside and finds a crying boy lying on a dirty floor. He backs away in fear when he sees her, scared for his life.
This prompts the wealthy-girl to remove her makeshift mask, revealing a tired smile on a bloody face.
"I'm… Here to t-take you home…"
Sawmill – 22:19
"Jeez Boss, don't you think that's enough?" A man leaning against one of the machines in the sawmill asks with a worried expression.
Mad-Dog looks over at him angrily, then points his crowbar at the man.
"I already told you to shut up… It'll be enough when I say it's enough."
"Yeah but-"
"But nothing! Nobody screws with me."
By Mad-Dog's feet, Hikigaya lays down – still strapped to the chair – with blood dripping from the side of his head and out from his mouth.
There is bruising around his face, with quite a striking black eye.
"Bet you regret stealing from me now." Mad-Dog declares, as he lifts Hachiman up.
The assassin smiles slightly and shakes his head. This clearly upsets Mad-Dog, who hits him with crowbar again.
"I'll give it to you, you're a tough kid. It's a shame I'm just giving you away, since you'd make a fine asset."
Looking to the side, Hikigaya notices a figure outside the sawmill window.
"That's funny…"
Mad-Dog raises an eyebrow.
"What's funny?"
"It's funny th-that you still believe you're in control of this situation."
His aching jaw causes some stutter, but Hachiman gets the words out well enough – causing Mad-Dog to laugh.
"You know what? That is funny; you're strapped to a chair, you've been beaten for hours. Soon you'll be sent to your death. I don't know if you've gone insane, but I'm in control!"
Hikigaya looks up at him, giving his captor a cold stare.
"Rorona's an i-idiot… But he's a good enough guy… If I were to escape any earlier – one of your men would probably radio to have his kid killed. So I waited… And let you have your fun. I've given Rorona enough time though…"
Mad-Dog grins and looks around at his men, before raising his arms in a T-Pose.
"So, you're gonna kill me then?"
"I haven't decided…"
A moment later, Hachiman pulls a piece of the ropes binding his arms, loosening them. He then leaps from the chair, punching Mad-Dog in the throat, before getting him in a choke-hold.
The several men surrounding them take a second to register what's happened, and quickly try and get their weapons out. Unfortunately for them, they're not quick enough – leaving the assassin with a hostage.
"You think my men will let you just walk out of here?" Mad-Dog asks, as he struggles against the hold.
"Your men aren't the only ones in the building."
A few seconds later, the lights go off, causing said men to look around frantically. The sound of gunshots begin echoing throughout the sawmill, followed by grunts and screams.
Hikigaya holds tightly against Mad-Dog, as he backs away to a corner so as to not get hit by any of the stray bullets.
After about thirty seconds, the lights begin flickering, before turning back on permanently. As the room is illuminated, Rorona can be seen by one of the pillars surrounded by men clutching their legs and shoulders. In his hands is a large rifle, with a night vision scope on the top.
PUH
The assassin suddenly smashes Mad-Dog's head into the wall, knocking the man out and causing his body to curl over.
"Took you long enough…" Hachiman says, as he steps over the body.
"Well yeah, I…"
"It's fine, I had it handled."
Rorona frowns, then nods.
"Yeah… You always do."
"Help me disarm them."
Hikigaya bends down by Mad-Dog and removes the man's revolver. Rorona similarly turns around and kneels down by one of the men he shot earlier. He searches the man for a gun, picks it up, then turns back to Hachiman.
As he turns, Rorona sees the assassin pointing the revolver at him.
"Do you remember what I said to you when we started working together?"
"Yes…"
They stare intensely into each other's eyes. Hikigaya's cold dead stare runs a chill down Rorona's spine, as he feels the mental weight of the gun being aimed at him.
"Tell me what I said."
He takes a deep breath.
"You said if I c-crossed you… Then I wouldn't live to regret it."
"That's right. So answer this for me, Rorona – if you knew that I made a promise to kill you, why would you try and save me?"
Rorona closes his eyes and sighs.
"I'm a screw-up… I've never made good decisions… I lost everything in my life. My home, my friends, my wife. It's all been my fault. I couldn't lose my kid too…"
Hachiman continues staring emotionlessly.
"But then it dawned on me, that all the screw ups I've made were because I was selfish. I only thought about how things affected me, and that's why I lost so much.
The reason I came here knowing full well what you'd do – is because I had to make sure that you didn't die. You're important Hachiman, you're important to people.
Us taking down just two of Komanda's lieutenants, have saved countless lives, but the only reason we could do it, was because of you. The people here cannot afford to lose you now… But me? Well, it's like you said – I'm replaceable."
The air goes silent, and Hikigaya considers everything. After a long few seconds, he slowly lowers the gun.
"I think it's time we go home, Rorona…"
Wednesday - Chiba Park – 08:07
Rorona stands with his arms folded, leaning against a tree. On his face is a warm smile, as he watches Deishuu kicking his ball around on the grass. The birds are chirping, and the sun is shining. It's a good day.
People can be seen walking about or sitting on picnic blankets, and there are a few dogs running together as well.
Behind him, Rorona hears the faint sound of twigs cracking under someone's shoe.
"Hi." Hikigaya greets, as walks up to the right side of the tree.
"Hey…"
From the other side, Yukinoshita strolls into view.
"Hello."
The three of them look at each other for a moment, then all shift their focus to Deishuu.
"Rorona, I can't guarantee that if we work together – your kid will always be safe. I also can't guarantee that if something were to happen, we'd be able to save him again."
Hachiman's words are firm, but rather warm.
"I know." The older of the two responds. "I understand the risk."
"Good. We'll be looking into the next lieutenant soon. Yukinoshita and I were walking and we saw you, but we have things to discuss"
With that, the assassin turns around.
Yukino looks over at Rorona and nods, acknowledging him. She then walks past the tree and towards Hachiman. As she passes him, Rorona gently grabs her by the arm – stopping her in her tracks.
The wealthy-girl looks up at him and raises an eyebrow.
"Thank you; truly."
"It's no problem, Rorona."
Suddenly, Yukinoshita feels someone else grab her waist from behind. She turns around and sees Deishuu, hugging tightly against her.
"Hi, Yukino!" He yells out, as he looks up at her.
She smiles, then kneels down in front of him.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm great! Do you want to play with me?"
"Umm…"
Yukinoshita considers what to do, looking over at Hikigaya who is waiting for her.
"It's fine, we'll meet up later." He says, waving his palm.
Deishuu grins and takes Yukino's hand, he then attempts to pull towards his ball. She allows this and begins jogging along with him. Rorona look at them with a happy expression, before turning and watching as his partner walks off.
Author's Notes: Looks like everything's okay, for the most part. Chapter 46 will be up next week!
