I don't know where people get the idea that 8man would like to go down this sort of a career path lol. I know its AU or whatever but reading this all I can say is: "Really nigga?"

So interesting. I couldn't stop reading. You are half Nepali? I am an Indian btw.

I'm not even sure what to say for this chapter, the way you described just how broken Hachiman's psyche and how Komachi's mind adjusted to his disappearance was simply breathtaking. It was both detailed and informative to the point where I started to question if this was taken from an actual real life case, or that you actually went out and researched this topic (I want to think that it was a mixture of both.). Now that this has been revealed however, the next question is what does Yukino do with this information, or better yet will she actually even attempt to understand and help Hachiman.

I really hope someone would make a page in tv tropes for this fanfic. Up to this point, of any non crossover fanfics only "The end of the affair" has one

Instead of leaving a review like "A review," I'm going to do a windmill or something instead. Thanks for the hard work and venting your frustrations to your meatshields! I hope they see how great you are for actually burdening them your problems and actually, hopefully reciprocating them.

See you in the next quarters!

(Part 2 of my review of Chapter 24)

“what felt like the entire police department…congratulating me on my victory in court…never even saw half of these people before…word of my situation had spread throughout the building like wildfire”
They don’t want the same thing to happen to them.
“Shiba said he’s coming along too”
…Shiba knew that Hachiman would do something, didn’t he?
“A dark idea I couldn’t help but find appealing”
This is my favorite line of the whole chapter.
‘the implication of consequence”
S06E03 of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

For my review of the omake, I listened to the song ‘Don’t You Worry ‘bout A Thing’ by Stevie Wonder.

“The Ballad of Detective Hikigaya Hachiman, by thatguy8801”
thatguy8801 is a Bard, got it.
“But not just any police precinct, this peculiar location housed a great detective”
Zaimokuza, is that you?
“that I’m sure you would have aced despite clear character traits that would beg to differ”
I suspect that Hayato would enjoy reading a light novel series in which the protagonist is an expy of Hachiman.
“Infinite Stratos”
Also written by Zaimokuza.
“his pristine new Infinite Stratos Shinonono Houki Figurine”
Product placement in a fanfiction of a fanfiction. Advertising knows no bounds.
“stall you and the secretary used”
Wait, what?
“nor is there any reason for you to deal with non-detective work whatsoever”
I thought of the suicide negotiation scene in The Other Guys (2009).
“Aston Martin V8 Vantage with”
More product placement. Zaimokuza having to pay the bills, I see.
“In addition, the baby had”
This is where the publisher states that they’re rejecting Zaimokuza’s manuscript…until he runs into the one publisher that thinks his work is the greatest thing ever and accepts it for publication.

Listening to this Youtube playlist as I start the review:

True Detective Complete Soundtrack (by Nassos Kappa)

“higher than I remembered”
I wonder if Hachiman has seen things during his career in the Tokyo Metro Police that rival his military service in terms of being horrifying and haunting.
“trying to recall a dream that had evaporated the moment I awoke”
The Professor in The Bourne Identity: ‘Look at us. Look at what they make you give.’
“pulsed and reflected…stinging sensation in my neck made me aware that”
I feel like I am reading a visual novel. This opening scene is intense.
“I removed my barriers…They were still there”
Hallucinating. Hachiman is suffering from at least one mental illness. My right hand shook while typing this.
He stopped taking his medication, didn’t he?
“their white and blue dresses…her red-flower print dress prominent”
Are their dresses changing color?
“I was a mess…a haggard five-o-clock shadow…Dark circles bottomed out my eyes”
It’s a vicious cycle; he gets hooked onto and consumed by a case, neglecting everything else.
What if he were to meet someone who, instead of trying to tear him off such a path, would guide and help him along it?
“Caffeine infused”
Hachiman is an addict, and not just to caffeine.
“snapped upwards…looked at me questioningly”
This story is so disturbing and unsettling.
“If you change your minds, just let me know”
He KNOWS that they are not real, but at this point he is just rolling with it. Hachiman is slowly losing his mind and he DOESN’T EVEN CARE.
“cold and tough, with no flavor profile other than ‘rice’ and ‘salt’”
Jesus Christ, Hachiman is destroying himself…and yet at the same time, in a horrifying yet also somewhat beautiful kind of way, he never feels more alive than when he is like this.
“two families, but between them…A man with small eyes and two horns”
Is it wrong that I grinned at this?
“Clad in sweats”
Shizuka exercises regularly. I wonder if she worries about leaving Hachiman alone in the early hours of the morning.
“I couldn’t sleep last night”
I wouldn’t trust ANYTIHNG that Hachiman says.
“Kenji…in the basement”
Wait, what?
“I looked down to see my hands moving on autopilot”
Losing time…his body moving and his mind not registering it.
“It was already clean”
Hallucinating again. He probably believed he saw bloodstains on the table.
“very strict, and didn’t hesitate to discipline us at the smallest infraction”
Imagine having to live with such a person…
“a fair amount of bewildered looks”
Hachiman is known throughout the TMPD as a strange person. Some days, he seems to be a stable albeit withdrawn and anti-social person. Other times he is like, well, this.
“already threw his support in…he was on medical leave”
…Shiba is up to something. Hachiman’s a damn good investigator, but so is Shiba.
“take me off after we came this far”
What do the other cops think of this?
“I heard gasps”
Many of them have probably seen bad things, but not to this degree. Whoever murdered and mutilated that girl wants/wanted to be remembered.
“Forensics must have had a field day”
Let’s face it, at least a few forensics people probably LIKE examining crime scenes like the one Hachiman and Shiba found. Good or bad, the one thing it’s guaranteed not to be is boring.
“I gritted my teeth and took deep breaths”
He needs to tell someone about what is happening to him, and he knows that he needs to. And yet he doesn’t.
“10 year old girl”
…
“a man in his mid forties”
I’m guessing there won’t be any identification found on the bodies or at the scene. They might have to run the prints through the national database, but that would take time.
“rested her head against the wall”
Haruno is not having an easy time of it either. None of the characters are.
“rigid cheek muscles”
A Yukinoshita Haruno who is all-serious and no-nonsense would be a hell of a sight indeed.
“No augmented reality windows were popping up”
Makes me think of Katsuragi Keima; the guy is scarily good at seeing EVERYTHING in terms of a galge and at swiftly noting and choosing his available options and decisions. It also helps him that (in my opinion, of course), Keima has less of a conscience than Hachiman does.
“I am certainly NOT doing well”
I love this. Haruno must be under a LOT of stress if she is admitting to and sharing it with anyone else, least of all Hachiman.
Also, Hachiman may take advantage of his association with Haruno to get gain leads, clues, etc for his work.
“blunt force trauma to the skull”
I recently read a Baldur’s Gate one-shot fanfic in which a murder victim was assumed by many to have been killed by falling into a machine, only for Xzar the necromancer to announce after examining the deceased that the victim was in fact strangled to death before he was tossed into the machine.
“the courts are being flooded”
Haruno is the protagonist of her own story. I love it. I also love that she was NOT in her element when Daichi was holding the bookstore-slash-café at gunpoint.
“The Mayor wants to expedite the process”
Statistics. Numbers. A major theme and subject in the The Wire TV series. For me it is one of the most disgusting aspects of the world of The Wire…and The Wire is lauded as one of the most realistic TV series of all time.
“I don’t think I can tell you that things will get better…The two girls were holding hands and twirling one another in a clumsy dance”
Did what Hachiman say in that moment make them happy?
“The two girls froze and looked over at us”
I love this. I firmly believe that Komachi at least suspects that something is very, very wrong with her brother.
“This was your sister’s idea”
…she is just like her brother in terms of personality and character. I’ll say this, SouBU; every single thing that Komachi says in this chapter, I’m taking with a grain of salt.
“Honoring the dead? Useless”
Hachiman is a cynic.
“staying silent has the same effect”
I thought of Hayama Hayato. Man…he and Hachiman are so different and yet so similar.
“you can’t expect them to stop chasing after. Not after all that you’ve done”
I wonder if Iroha would step in to try to help Hachiman. I don’t think she is going to just stand on the way-side as the person who in high school caused her to change her goals and priorities so much throws himself down the road to self-destruction.
“as if his presence was never there to begin with”
The body is there but the spirit isn’t.
“that went as expected”
She knows Hachiman better than any other person on Earth…so it says something that even she feels disconnected/kept apart from him on certain matters and subjects.
“Even as the words left my mouth, I felt myself cringe”
This is why I call Yukino a female version of Stannis Baratheon; both characters are far too blunt for their own good.
“At the very least offer to pay for our bill”
So he stuck them with the bill. I agree, Hachiman’s a jerk.
“it feels as if nothing’s changed since he came back”
And that’s what worries Komachi most. She KNOWS that so much has changed.
“Leaving him to his own course of action”
(looks at Yui, Yukino, Iroha and Kawasaki) Said it before; in my opinion, perhaps the craziest one of the four may turn out to be Kawasaki. Heck, she may become even crazier than Hachiman.
Detective Hikigaya in an overwhelming rage murders a defenseless child molester…and instead of expressing any horror or disbelief, Detective Kawasaki calmly and swiftly adds and removes elements to the scene to make it appear that the man attacked them and was killed resisting arrest.
“Obsessive. Distant. Brooding. Quiet. Manic”
While Yukino, Komachi, Shizuka and Kenji hate to see Hachiman like that, Morimi finds that side of him attractive.
“He spoke even less now, but his presence was almost suffocating when he began to focus”
I suspect that one person who isn’t intimidated by Hachiman at all is Kazuya Ryunosuke.
‘he never talks about that time”
Quoting the ‘D-Day Dodgers’ issue of the War Stories comic series by Garth Ennis:
Captain Lovatt: ‘You cannot imagine. Your experience is a thousand times more limited than mine. You are no better than I am, until you have faced the things that I have.’
“He was Hachiman’s commanding officer”
Tsurumi Kenta. One of the most important characters of this story in my opinion. Has made only one appearance so far…and I have to say I do not trust him at all.
“The Tsurumi’s”
In my opinion the most important family of this story. Kenta is Hachiman’s former officer in the military, Kenji is Hachiman’s current superior in the Tokyo Metro police, Rumi has a history with Hachiman and is infatuated with him, and Shizuka is married to Kenji. They have essentially become a second family of sorts to Hachiman.
“Is he afraid of being judged by his own family and friends?”
…why do I get the feeling that upon learning of the details of Hachiman’s trial – in particular that he had tortured prisoners in Sri Lanka – that Iroha’s response would have been to just shrug and sip her drink? Isshiki Iroha is an interesting character. Seriously, search for moments in Oregairu where she is shown to display any remorse or guilt for her not-so-moral actions. Honestly, if someone were to refer to Iroha as a ‘two-faced b-h’, I don’t think I’d be able to disagree. Of course, Iroha’s response to such an insult would be to smile evilly…
“Other than the people that were trapped there with him, I don’t think anyone knows the whole story”
Would Yukino attempt to track those people down, assuming any of them still live?
“Impersonal with a cold and clinical touch”
…you’re exactly like him, Komachi. You’re just better at hiding it.
“And suddenly it became clear to me”
I LOVE THIS.
“I think there’s more…”
Komachi’s a sharp one. She alone out of everybody including Shizuka realizes that something is very, very wrong with Hachiman.
“Do you think he’s an evil person? Do you think he would torture people just because?”
(looks at Minami Sagami) …Hachiman is NOT a monster, not in Oregairu nor this story…but there is something terrible within him that emerged in Sri Lanka and, yes, on that rooftop during the Cultural Festival. And Sagami looked that monster right in the eyes. If Hayato had not stopped him from going even further than he already had…
And yet, instead of becoming cracked or broken by what he said to her, or diving even deeper into self-deception, Sagami ROSE ABOVE IT and became a better person. Who’d have thought.
“He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, not even a little bit”
Sagami’s actions in pretending to run away ‘in distress’ during the conclusion of the Cultural Festival so she could receive pity and sympathy awoke the monster within Hachiman. The man has a rage that he carries, not against any one person in particular but against the entire world. He said it himself; ‘War defines us. It is what we are.’
“a guy with PTSD comes back home, and then flies off to a big city? All because he wants to join the police as a detective”
How many veterans of Sri Lanka joined the other side instead…? Christ, criminals who are ex-military…that’s just what the metro police need.
“The only reason I can think of is that he’s trying to atone”
Quoting LA Noire:
Psychopathic murderer: (to Homicide Detective Cole Phelps) ‘You’re an interesting man, Detective. Why the police force? You’re obviously over-qualified. Do I get a sense you’re looking for personal redemption? Do you think we have something in common? Are you acquainted with slaughter? Does it attract you? Have you felt the fear? Understood the power? Are you comfortable out of the light, Officer? Are you comfortable here?’
(looks up) The killer is revealed to be cruel, sadistic, methodical, and to have medical experience with possible knowledge of biology. He also owns a statue of Prometheus (the story goes that Prometheus defied cruel gods) Hmh…all psychopaths are narcissistic.
“UN Declaration of Human Rights Article 5”
The Castano brothers of Columbia. Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina. Saddam Hussein of Iraq until he decided to invade Kuwait. Syngman Rhee of South Korea. Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam. Fulgencio Batista of Cuba. Augusto Pinochet of Chile. The Federal Security Directorate of Mexico. The Contras of Nicaragua.
All received support the USA. (sigh) I don’t hate or even dislike America. Heck, I love it. But…(shrugs) Well, like they say in The Wire, the Game is the Game. If it’s not you, it’ll just be someone else. So it might as well be you.
And that’s what probably what instils so much rage in Hachiman; not just the horror, but that the majority of the rest of humanity seem content to dig their heads in the sand and ignore or dismiss it.
“My blood chilled at the thoughts”
(imagines Iroha sitting with Yukino and Komachi as they talk about Hachiman having tortured and killed people, and nonchalantly sipping her drink) Iroha is a horrible person. And she’s my favorite Oregairu character. Go figure.
“He’s afraid that…he’s going to be forgiven”
I love this so much. Hikigaya Hachiman is an awesome character.
Max Payne: ‘I wanted to be punished for what I had done.’
“He doesn’t want to hurt people, he thinks that’s wrong”
I’m sorry, I really am, but I yet again thought of Iroha. God damn it, that lady is a sociopath. Worst/Best of all, she is aware of it and has no remorse.
“Recently, I started thinking that”
That’s a lie. Komachi has ALWAYS thought that.
“How would Yui-san handle this?”
This made me smile.
“His plans aren’t the cleanest, or the best, but they work”
And nearly destroyed Yukino’s self-confidence in Oregairu as well…
“my first thought was, ‘Ah, my dead older brother”
…Komachi was horribly affected by Hachiman being missing for around two years and presumed dead. There’s no way she wasn’t.
“I wasn’t worried…I didn’t panic…not worried in the slightest”
This right here may be the best moment of the whole story. Said it many times; Hikigaya Komachi is the protagonist of her own story.
“I’m more upset over how I wasn’t upset when I was supposed to be”
Komachi is just as damaged as her brother…the damage just manifests in different ways. She may even at times have hallucinations of teenage-Hachiman.
“Which is why I need help”
The Service Club never died, in my opinion. It is still alive, albeit morphed and evolved. Komachi has come to it with a request, but at this point only Yukino has received it…
“He trusts you”
I suspect that if anyone were to attempt to harm or kill any of her family, Kawasaki Saki would not feel any remorse afterward for utilizing lethal force; that she may face the deceased’s grieving surviving family and still not feel guilty.
Niko Bellic: ‘Nobody f-ks with my family.’
I have a strong suspicion, despite there being no reveal of it, that Niko killed his own father.
“what if we hurt him more trying to fix him?”
Book 2 of Trans-dim by Sage-of-Eyes.
“If this person failed…”
Komachi is asking Yukino to be that person. Failure is unacceptable; if Yukino does not succeed, Hachiman would die or worse.
“without a shred of emotion”
I want an ASOIAF fanfic in which Stannis Baratheon is one of three judges for a major case.
“an aide elegantly offered her a sealed white envelope. With a silver letter opener and an agonizing slowness”
I don’t know why, but this made me laugh.
“charges of excessive force, homicide, and manslaughter”
Even with the reveal in court that Hachiman is a violator of at least one UN regulation, thanks to Kenta’s testimony as a character witness, that one was turned to the defense’s advantage.
“a unanimous decision found by all 13 members of the jury council”
Including the woman who squirmed away from Hachiman upon hearing of him having tortured prisoners? Hmm.
“it was over”
No. This is just the beginning.
“feeling better than I did the entire week…she opened her mouth to speak”
You are cruel, SouBU.
“MURDERER!”
Uh-huh. Sure, Daichi’s mom. Hachiman murdered your son. Ignore that Daichi was holding people at gun and then at knife-point, and was actively threatening the life of an innocent person while committing armed robbery. None of that is relevant. Detective Hikigaya is a murderer and Daichi never did anything to warrant use of deadly force against him.
“IS THIS WHAT JAPAN IS!? A COUNTRY THAT LETS KILLERS GET AWAY!?”
Of course, Mrs Ouma. It’s all the police and the government’s fault. Daichi didn’t do anything wrong! Sheesh, she reminds me of Pablo Escobar’s mother.
“ALL GONE BECAUSE YOU MURDERED HIM!”
Lady, Hachiman didn’t execute a defenseless Daichi. Your son had someone else at knife-point, was clearly high on drugs and was prepared to cut an innocent person’s throat rather than give himself up peacefully. But of course, like so many other people, it’s easier to blame others than to blame yourself.
“Oh yeah, murderers”
Quoting the The Boys TV series:
Hugh Campbell: ‘I’m not a murderer!’
Billy Butcher: ‘S’ alright. I am.’
“the mist reduced my visibility”
Up-close and personal. That’s when it gets truly ugly.
“the recent monsoons”
It’s almost like the land itself wants to kill them.
“a wild chicken perched on the barrel of my gun…a bright red, blue, and orange”
I’m getting Hannibal-vibes…
“The AK-47 that was strapped to his back”
Ah, the AK. It’s so easy, a child can use it…and they do.
“Could he even shoot it properly?”
I doubt it.
“no magazine in the gun”
It’s for the best. No point in giving a loaded firearm to someone who doesn’t know how to use it effectively.
“I exchanged terse nods with them”
Negotiating with the enemy is never a comfortable thing.
“Something in me stirred as I watched him wheeze. I reached to my side and unhooked a canteen”
Probably going for the sympathy-card, sending a small child to be their messenger.
“We’ll have the exchange at the foot of the waterfall”
This whole thing was a trap from the start. Hachiman’s group was never going to negotiate.
“no man unmade”
There’s the title drop. Still, while many people are damaged or broken by war, others…
Quoting issue 5 of the Marvel Knights Punisher comic series:
Frank Castle: (attacking enemy mercenaries in Grand Nixon Island) ‘Jungle heat. Bullets singing. Whiff of gasoline on the breeze. Come full circle. Home again…the war where I was born.’
“Takuya and the prisoner”
I wonder what Takuya thinks of what Hachiman had done; not just the torture but the plan he came up with. They were never going to let the prisoner live. The man was dead no matter what.
“the man actually slept rather well last night”
He wanted it to be over. That’s what being tortured does to you.
“Danny handed me the end of a rope”
I’m guessing that Hachiman elected to be the one to execute the prisoner.
“the rest of the men and villagers”
If the locals who sided with Hachiman’s group survived the conflict, I wonder how they are faring now.
“he realized my intention”
I dunno if it was a good idea to leave Hachiman to execute the prisoner alone. Anything could have happened.
“the cool rational side of my brain spoke to me”
This is an amazing story.
“WE HAD A DEAL!”
Win Or Die. The only rule of the Game.
“It was a massacre, for better or for worse”
This wasn’t a battle, it was a slaughter. The rebels had no chance.
“I didn’t hear a thing”
Jesus Christ…Hachiman’s strategy was brilliant.
“Jameson…our resident Irishman”
This really is a multi-national outfit. I wonder if Jameson had ever been to Ireland.
“How many of them dead means less of a soul for me?”
Jameson was raised Catholic, wasn’t he?
“The kid made it out”
Why do I get the feeling that that may had been a mistake?
“How many”
Too many to count. It’s been that way since the beginning of humanity, and it will continue all the way up to its end. Sri Lanka probably isn’t even the worst conflict of the decade that it occurred in.
“the case isn’t worth more to me than you or your health”
(looks at what Haruno told Hachiman) Uh-oh.
“what felt like the entire police department…congratulating me on my victory in court…never even saw half of these people before…word of my situation had spread throughout the building like wildfire”
They don’t want the same thin

Ohhhh How I missed this! Loving the plot more and more! Hoping to see a new chapter soon! Be well author san!

Beautiful. Heart wrenching, but beautiful. I'm glad you are back, man, I seriously missed this story.

It's been a long time since I read this fanfic. I'm very excited to read this. And I think this chapter is good. I know more about Hachiman situation and once again Hachiman always sacrifice himself for other. That is what I like about Hachiman..
So keep going for next chapter..

this was good albeit I don't like seeing 8man in this state... and is the romance coming back... feel like yukino will take charge of the situation and will be more assertive... that would be good to see.
also like hell, on what chapter are you guys working on right now... I remeber somewhere on some chapter you had already planned upto 40 something chapters... that's just awesome.

you guys are insanely smart... this is some skills in writing and editing... this is giving me Sherlock Holmes vibes and I'm liking it.

I just love everything about this. Your writing, storytelling, characterization... Everything about this is simply beautiful, and it makes this story feel more like a full fledged novel than a fanfic in my eyes. (To the point it has kind of taken over my life ngl lol. )
I am so very excited for the upcoming chapters, but take all the time you need and make sure to take care of yourself first!
You are doing amazing! Thank you for writing this!

More Rumi please! She seems to have been put on the wayside, which is unfortunate for she is hardly ever utilized here on FF.

The wait was long, and it was certainly worth it. This chapter was just such a gloomy tone, as you'd usually expect, but it also raised some valuable points for Hachiman to think about.
The people around him really do care, and it'll certainly be interesting to see how it plays out from here.
While from a optimistic perspective, the story is leaning towards his own journey towards learning to accept the forgiveness offered to him, one might also be hard-pressed not to assume that the story might actually end on a tragic note. Either way, I am eager to find out where you will be taking this premise. As always, incredible work, author. I hope to see your next chapter when it's ready.