Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu or any brands mentioned.
Previously on Match Point: The team successfully perform a bank heist, getting into and extracting the contents of a Safety Deposit Box. When they examine the contents, they're shocked at what they find.
Friday - Abandoned Basement - 15:13
"It's been a while." Shizuka says, entering the basement from the staircase.
"We've been busy." Hachiman responds, turning towards her.
Behind him, Yukino stands in front of the large touchscreen monitor. She is facing the screen, reading a document. Rorona is on a chair next to her. He looks up from his phone towards Shizuka and smiles.
"Plus we've been laying low. After the bank robbery the police have been all over the streets." Rorona says with a chuckle.
"I've needed time to verify the information we found in the documents." Yukino interjects, turning from the screen toward everyone else.
"What's the conclusion?" Shizuka asks, raising an eyebrow.
Hachiman takes a sip from his MAX Coffee, then speaks.
"It's like we suspected. The blackmail is legit. Komanda and the Five-Star crime organization has some dirt on all the major political players in Tokyo. One of the only people he doesn't have anything on is Shizuka's father."
"No doubt why he hired you to…" Yukino stops her sentence, seeing Shizuka's face saddened. "You know…"
"Even so, if Komanda chooses to leverage what he does have, he could gain way more control of Tokyo than he's had in the past."
"Which is bad for us!" Rorona adds.
Hachiman nods and continues.
"Over the last year we've toppled much of his illegal emprire. Each of the bottom three Five-Stars lieutenants was a foundational brick. They're gone now. If Komanda is going to maintain his power, he needs to do something fast."
"And since we don't know what that will be, we'll need to act pre-emptively." The wealthy girl says, crossing her arms.
"Yukino says that the physical copies of the blackmail were printed. Which means there are digital copies somewhere. As long as those exist, Komanda has leverage."
Shizuka nods, then speaks.
"But without them, he has nothing?"
"Yeah."
Yukino taps the screen of the monitor, prompting two images to pop up. A man and a woman.
"Aoi Koyomi and Aimi Tsubaki. Remember these two?" She asks.
"Remind me." The teacher responds, with a smile.
Yukino sighs and begins explaining.
"These are the last two of Komanda's lieutenants. Both have bulletproof covers, we'll never be able to bust them like we did the first three lieutenants."
"So, what do we do?"
"We follow them. Do some reconsinance. It's highly likely one or both them knows the location of digital copies, since it was them who had possession of the physical files."
"Once we know more about them, we'll have a better idea on what the next step is." Hachiman adds.
Shizuka sighs.
"This makes me nervous. Feels like we're on the backfoot."
Rorona chuckles, before responding.
"We are! It's a rich girl, teen assassin, high school teacher and a random grunt like me against the most powerful man in Tokyo."
Hachiman smirks.
"We also have Yui."
Rorona throws up his arms.
"Yeah, she's a real ace in the hole."
Everyone laughs, except Yukino, who just gives a slight grin at the exchange.
"We're batting in the big leagues now." Hachiman says, as his smile fades. "We've come this far though. We'll do it."
His confidence is felt throughout the room.
"Alright, let's get to work. Hachiman and I will scout Aoi Koyomi. Rorona and Shizuka, you guys will take Aimi Tsubaki."
Everyone nods and gets ready to head out.
Friday - Suburbs - 17:02
"Ugh, I hate this place." Shizuka exclaims, with a disgusted look on her face.
Currently, she is sitting in the passenger seat of a rental car, resting her head on the door window.
"What place?" Rorona asks with a confused expression, as he turns down a street.
"The suburbs…"
He looks over at her.
"You hate the suburbs? Why?"
"They're just so… suburban…"
"Well, yeah…"
"I'll never be caught dead living here."
"Not planning on settling down and having a family?"
"If I do, it won't be in a boring place like this."
"Come on! There may not be the hustle and bustle of a big city, but the suburbs have their own perks."
Some kids can be seen skateboarding down the sidewalk. Plenty of green trees are also scattered about, with large houses on each side of the street.
"Like what?" Shizuka responds, looking over at Rorona with a raised eyebrow.
"Well for one, it's quiet here."
He's right. There are very few cars on the road, with only the sounds of trees bustling in the wind and birds chirping filling the air.
"I hate the quiet."
Defeated, Rorona pulls the car over to the side of the road.
"That's the house." He explains, gesturing forward. "That's where Aimi Tsubaki lives, at least according to Yukino."
"What's one of Komanda's top liutenants doing in a place like this?" She wonders out loud, as an old man walking a dog passes their car.
The front door to the lieutenant's house opens and a short-statured woman walks out. She is about 45 years old, dressed like a typical housewife. Her hair is cut neatly just above her shoulders, with the top of her head covered by a large sun hat. Her hands are covered by rubber gloves, and she can be seen holding a manual hedge trimmer.
"Holy shit!" The teacher says, watching the lieutenant. "There she is, and look what she's holding!"
Rorona's eyes widen, and he responds.
"What do you think she uses that for, torture?"
Shizuka nods her head.
"Definitely!"
The lieutenant strolls to the front of her lawn, which is fully exposed to the street. She kneels down in front of some weeds growing out of the grass and begins cutting them out. Shizuka and Rorona look at each other for a moment, before looking back at the lieutenant.
"This has got to be a mistake." Shizuka exclaims. "This woman can't be a crimelord. She can barely garden correctly."
Suddenly a little girl runs out of the house and onto the front lawn. She is followed out by a teenage boy. These are the lieutenant's children. Rorona and Shizuka look on as the kids speak to their mother. They can't hear the conversation, but still watch closely.
"Looks like we're gonna be here a while…" Rorona says before sighing and leaning back in his chair. "Wish we brought some coffee."
"Yeah…" The teacher replies, feeling her stomach growl. "Maybe Yukino and Hachiman are having better luck."
Friday - Tokyo Business District - 18:02
"My luck is terrible." Hachiman says bluntly.
Yukino rollls her eyes.
"That's illogical. A coin flip is 50/50. The outcome isn't influenced by some predetermined amount of karma you have or have not gained."
The two of them are on the rooftop of a large skyscraper. The wind is blowing fiercely at the altitude, causing their hair to blow harshly to one side. Next to them is a large sniper rifle.
"Why can't I just fire the shot?" Hachiman asks, with a bored expression.
"Because I built the micro-camera we're trying to shoot onto Aoi Koyomi's widow!"
The skyscraper opposite them hosts an array of apartments. The penthouse of that building is where the lieutenant is living. The two of them planned to shoot a miniature camera onto his window, to get a clear view into the penthouse.
"It's my sniper rifle…"
"That's right. It's your sniper and my device. So the only fair way to resolve who gets to fire the shot is to let fate decide."
"Whatever, just flip the coin."
Yukino smiles, and pulls a small coin from her coat.
"Heads or tails?"
"Heads." The assassin responds, sighing.
The wealthy girl throws the coin in the air, however, before catching it, the wind blows the coin to the side, and off the building. They both lean over, looking down at the street far below them.
"What now?" Hachiman asks, smirking.
"Fate decided..."
"Yeah…"
Yukino rolls her eyes, and gestures for him to take the shot. Hachiman obliges, walking over to the gun.
He aims down the scope towards the penthouse window. The window is a large pane, starting from the floor of the apartment going up to the roof. Anyone living inside would have an amazing view of the city.
PSEW
A small device shoots out the long barrel of the sniper, traveling through the air for a moment before hitting the window. The adhesive on the device sticks itself firmly to the glass. Yukino then reaches into her bag and pulls out an iPad. On the iPad screen is a live recording of the inside of the penthouse.
A man in a purple robe can be seen inside. This is Aoi Koyomi, Komanda's lieutenant. Also inside the apartment are two high-end escorts, dressed in skimpy clothing.
"Disgusting." Yukino says, shaking her head disapprovingly.
"No security inside the apartment." Hachiman responds, ignoring her comment. "Also one door in, one door out."
"A confrontation would be easy."
"Yeah, but would it be conducive?"
"Depends on what he's willing to give up, and also depends on what Rorona and Shizuka find."
"My thoughts exactly."
Hachiman turns away from the iPad and reaches into his bag. He pulls out a thermal flask that's filled with hot coffee. He then pulls out two mugs, placing them onto the ledge of the rooftop.
"What are you doing?"
"We're gonna be here a while. We'll need the energy."
"No thanks." She responds bluntly.
Hachiman pours the coffee into one of the mugs. He then slides it towards her.
"You sure?"
Yukino looks at the coffee, then at the iPad. On the screen, the lieutenant can be seen making out with the two escorts. She looks back over at Hachiman and takes the coffee.
Saturday - Abandoned Basement - 10:09
"Come on please!" Shizuka says, tugging on Rorona's shirt sleeve.
"I said no, lady!"
She points over at the pingpong table.
"Please, I really want to play…"
"I said I'm not in the mood."
Suddenly, Yukino and Hachiman enter the basement from the staircase. Shizuka looks over at them, before speaking.
"We agreed to meet back here at 12:00. Have an early morning?"
"More like a late night." Hachiman responds, as he drops his bag on the ground. Yukino drops her bag down too, albeit nearer to her computer setup.
"We watched the lietenant all night." The wealthy girl says, sitting down in her chair. "What about you guys?"
Rorona scratches the back of his head.
"We ended up coming back early." He says with a guilty expression on his face.
"You what?" Both Hachiman and Yukino exclaim at the same time.
"Hold on!" Shizuka interjects. "We had a good reason."
"Yeah." Rorona adds. "Reason being that this Aimi Tsubaka can't be the other lieutenant. Your info's busted Yukino."
"It's not. She's the lientenant." Yukino says, as she begins typing on her keyboard, not looking over at the other three.
"Regardless," Shizuka begins. "We watched her for a while. If she is the lietenant, which I'm not so sure she is, there's nothing we can do about it."
"Why is that?" Hachiman asks, raising an eyebrow.
Rorona throws his phone at the assassin. Hachiman catches it and sees a photo on the screen. It's of Aimi Tsubakis's two kids.
"She has a family." Rorona explains. "We can't risk anything happening to the kids, they've definitely got nothing to do with this."
"We'll do whatever we need to." Hachiman says, looking at Rorona and Shizuka. "Whatever it takes."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The teacher asks angrily. "The reason I'm here, and the reason I'm helping you, is to do good things. That doesn't include putting kids in harms way."
"We may not need to." Yukino says, standing up from her chair and facing the group. "The lieutenant Hachiman and I scouted is vulnerable."
Shizuka and Hachiman stare at each other, both tense from the exchange Yukino interrupted.
"Hachiman and I are going to get into his apartment tonight."
"Then what?" Shizuka asks sternly, still staring at Hachiman.
"Interogation." Hachiman responds, staring back.
"But you're not going to kill him, right?"
"Not if I don't have to."
Rorona and Yukino sense the tension between the teacher and her former student.
"So when are you planning to do this?" Rorona interjects.
"Tonight." Yukino responds. "We'll go in under the cover of darkness."
Saturday - Tokyo Business District - 21:11
"You've done this before right?" Yukino asks nervously, as Hachiman stands behind her.
"A few times." He responds, putting one hand on her shoulder and the other on the side of her waist.
"Will it hurt?"
"The first time, yes."
She sighs, before reaching behind her head and pulling her hair up. She then wraps it into a bun. Around her waist is a buckle connected to a harness wrapping around her body. The assassin tugs on the harness, making sure it's secure.
"Okay, just put it in."
He does as she asks, and connects a hook to the harness. The hook is attached to a line of thick wire. The wire leads to a sturdy pipe a few meters away from them, connected to a rappel liner. Like the previous night, they stand on a tall skyscraper. Unlike the previous night, this one belongs to the lieutenant instead of being adjacent.
The assassin is hooking his partner up, and mentally preparing her for what comes next.
"Why do we need to rappel down the building?" She asks with an annoyed expression.
"We don't need to. We could enter through the front door, set off the alarm, have the police show up, arrest us, take us-"
"Okay, I get it."
He backs away from her, confident that her harness is secure. Hachiman then begins to check his own.
"Relax, we've done crazier things."
She looks over the building down at the streets below. The cars driving by are so far down they look like nothing more than blinking lights.
"I suppose we have."
"We make a pretty good team." Hachiman says, walking up next to her and similarly looking down at the street.
"You still owe me that coin back."
He raises an eyebrow.
"It wasn't me who let it blow away?"
"No, but if you had just let me take the shot I wouldn't have lost it in the first place."
"You know it's okay to let others take the reigns every once in a while."
The wealthy girl looks at him, annoyed.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're a control freak."
"The pyschopathic teenage killing machine trying to diagnose someone? Laughable."
"All I'm saying is that this is a team effort. You, me, Rorona, Shizuka, even Yui. This doesn't work if you don't trust us."
"I do trust-"
"I mean really trust us." He interrupts.
Yukino turns and faces him. The moon in the sky illuminates the rooftop, along with the light pollution from all the surrounding skyscrapers.
"I trust you. All of you." She says, looking him straight in the eye.
Hachiman extends his hand. Yukino extends hers too, and they shake on it.
"Let's do this."
The two climb up onto the ledge of the building, feeling the thick wire tugging on the backs of their harnesses. In sequence, both dive off the building. The wire hits the edge of the skyscraper, suspending them both over the street.
They begin to make their descent.
Authors Notes: See you next week :)