Yeah, it's another Scraps of the Past chapter this week. The reasons are in the status update on my profile, so won't bother repeating it here.

The birthday list I mentioned last week is up on my tumblr, if you search the tag for this story on there you should find it, or alternatively go to my archives and it should be under Friday (23rd Feb) as that's when I posted it.

Also, song recommendation: 'Hazy Moon' by Mafumafu. It's gorgeous, and also I feel like it fits Chieko's character/story. I'm gonna link to the song on my Tumblr and ramble a little about why I feel that in the post soon, so check it out :)

But anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!


Nobuyuki Oshiro paused his game for the millionth time, and finally curiosity overcame his irritation as he got up to look through his window to see what it was. Normally, at this time of day, he'd be in class with everyone else, but he'd decided to skip for the past few days to 'write a book'. Which of course just meant going on a video game spree, but nobody was supposed to know that. After all, for all intents and purposes, he was his brother Haruto.

Though right now, that didn't matter, as what he saw outside was rather surprising. From his flat, he could see the entrance to the building, and right at this moment there were a bunch of very angry high school students swarming around it, being held back by the security guards. Their uniform wasn't that of Hope's Peak, so he wondered why they were there until he looked closer and realised that these were Hope Valley High students. Ah. Oh, come on, really? Oshiro hadn't been living in a hole this past school year, he was well aware that there had been rising tensions between Hope's Peak and Hope Valley High (and aware that given he wasn't Haruto, he technically had more in common with them than with his own class). But he failed to make the connection between that and the scene he was seeing. Honestly, what was rioting going to achieve?

Ah, well, as long as they don't actually break in. On that note, I should move away from the window. Quickly, Oshiro did just that, trying hard to not make too many noticeable motions as he did so. Should I call someone? No…the security guys have it handled, right? He looked over at his mobile phone, sitting next to the materials constituting his next 'idea', materials that Haruto had given to him. He'd taken to laying them out in different ways on the desk when he was skipping, to lend credence to the idea he was actually working if someone happened to drop by. Which didn't happen that often, in all truth and honesty, but the first time he'd skipped, several of his classmates had ended up coming to check on him to make sure he was okay, so-

A sudden knocking at the door made him jump, and he pressed a hand to his chest to calm his heart. W-wait, what? They're up here already? No, that's not right….he could still hear most of the shouting from outside, no heavy footfalls of angry teenagers coming up the stairs or anything like that. So carefully, warily, he padded to the door, and then opened it, keeping the chain on the lock.

"What is it?"

"Ah, thought you'd bunked today, Kouhai!" the cheerful face of the Class 76 student who lived in the flat next door loomed in the gap. The SHSL Banker, or Stock Broker, or something like that.

"So, you gonna let me in, Kouhai?"

Nobuyuki sighed exaggeratedly, but unhooked the chain and widened the door slightly to let him in.

"Sure, Miyamura."

Miyamura bounded straight to the window as soon as he was let in.

"Ah, I knew it, you've got a better view of the action…ah, they're not having much luck, are they?"

"You nimwit, get away from the window!" Exasperated, Oshiro fumbled with closing the door again before rushing over

"Relax, what can they do? They're just getting all het up for no reason. It's not like it's going to change anything, you know?"

"Change anything…?"

"Ah, you know, we're still Hope's Peak and they're still just some public high school that chucked 'Hope' into their name in a sad attempt at getting some reflected glory. No big deal."

"They look pretty pissed to me." Oshiro pointed out, curiosity overcoming him as he cautiously peered around his curtains to see the scene. More security guards had come, and some were physically restraining the students-mostly by holding them by the arms, but one burly boy was being sat upon. Another security guard was standing further away, on the phone but sticking his free hand out, ready to block any attempts to get into the building that way.

"Yes, well….at least it's some entertainment. I've been stuck at the computer all day watching the stocks, I'm so bored and all. And you're busy with a new book, I see, Kouhai. May I look?"

"No."

"Oh, okay, okay!" Miyamura held his hands up in mock surrender. "God, you're chilly for a writer, aren't you? "

Oshiro didn't see the need to respond to this statement, so he didn't. Perhaps I should pretend to finish sooner than planned and get back to class. They're easier to deal with. He certainly liked them a lot more than he liked Miyamura. Certainly trusted them a lot more, even if they had no idea he wasn't who they thought he was. Thankfully, the older boy didn't say anything else so they stood there for a while, watching the chaos for a while. Eventually, the sounds of police sirens joined the cacophony as a number of police cars drove in and stopped right in front of the fracas, casting their red and blue lights across the area.

Almost instantly, the Hope Valley High students who hadn't been restrained froze for a moment, the panic in their eyes clear even from where Oshiro was watching them. Then, some tried to make a break for it, but between the police and the security guards, it wasn't long before almost all of them were handcuffed and bundled into the cars. One by one, they drove away, sirens blaring and lights flashing, and the security guards dusted themselves down and slowly drifted away back to their normal posts.

One of them, as he walked, looked up and made eye contact with the two of them. Oshiro held in his breath, but the security guard simply smiled and saluted them before continuing on his way. Once the security guard was out of view, Miyamura turned and grinned devilishly at Oshiro.

"See, what did I tell you? No big deal at all. They're just Hope Valley High students-they'll never cause us any real damage."