Advance Warning: this chapter is short. Sorry.

There were two bears wandering around Hope's Peak Academy that night.

The first was Monobear. The second was not actually a bear – it was Mirai Sakamoto wearing her panda-bear onesie.

Mirai had spent most of her nights since arriving at Hope's Peak wandering around the corridors. The night-time rule didn't really bother her .Even with the murders that had occurred already; she still enjoyed wandering around at night. She had done so for most of her life. She wasn't about to stop now.

But she hadn't ever seen anyone on her nightly excursions, and so seeing Monobear was a surprise. Her instinct was to call out, but something told her that that would be a very bad idea. So, even though she didn't much want to, she remained silent , and simply followed Monobear.

She was surprised to discover that he was heading to the canteen. Surely that place was closed at night-time?

Apparently not. She watched Monobear quietly through the small window of the canteen door. He wandered around for a moment, and then produced a box out of nowhere. Mirai didn't even raise an eyebrow. She was sometimes like that box-unexpected. Monobear then looked around ,carrying the box , before going to a particular chair and placing it there. Then , the bear disappeared.

After that, Mirai was suddenly bored to the point she decided to go back to her room. As she did , she thought over Monobear's actions. Why had he chosen that specific chair? Why was the box so fancily wrapped? In purple as well. Purple. Eugh.

Purple.

I know someone who is purple. Bloody hell.

Now Mirai knew why the box was on that particular chair. And now she was going to sleep, and forget about it until she woke up

…

Kyouko woke up from a dream about her father. Or, to be specific, a memory that had just returned. She was almost 7 years old and at her mother's funeral. And so , she woke up crying silently.

She wiped her tears and sat up. There were other memories threatening to break through the surface, but her mind insisted on pushing them down.

And what if they're the key to this mess?

Annoyed , she got up and padded over to her desk , and got a sheet of paper and a pen. Then , she wrote down as much as she could remember , without thinking about it. Free association , in a way. A trick someone had taught her. Not that she could remember who that someone was.

When she had finished , she stared at her page.

I don't like her. Red nails. Kyou-Chan .Steel plates. Who? Red , red , so much of it. Stupid , unbelievable. Only 8 years old. Sister and brother. Oranges. Where are they? What's happening? I am scared. Yui. I have friends he was in charge how does he not see ?Despair is coming-LIES , it was here all along /16 years in the making. Long overdue. Father. Must escape , must stop.

Kyouko stared at the page containing her thoughts. Now they made even less sense, if that was possible. She sighed , and decided to just put away the paper. Perhaps things would fall into place after she had done some investigating and got some tangible evidence.

She got up to get dressed. She wasn't about to do anything without getting some food in her.

…

"Erm , Kirigiri-san..?"

A few of the students were , for some odd reason , gathered around the table she usually sat at during mealtimes. It was Makoto who had just called for her.

"What's wrong , Naegi-kun?" she approached the table , and then saw it. A large purple striped box with an oversized purple ribbon tying it up. A present. On her seat.

"Oh." She went into the kitchen to grab a cereal bar , then went and sat at a seat opposite the box.

"You're not going to open it?!" Arisa demanded.

Kyouko shook her head as she chewed on her cereal bar.

"Why not?" makoto asked.

Kyouko swallowed and said.

"Wherever it came from , it cannot be good. " she explained.

"Monobear put it there last night. " Mirai came out from underneath the table .

"EH? When did you get there?!" Arisa moved her chair out of the way so that Mirai could get out easily. As Mirai dusted herself off , the rest of the others came in.

"Monobear left a surprise? When?" Akihito stopped short when he saw the box. "Ah. I see."

"Last night. I saw him. " Mirai said , looking pleased.

"You did?" Kyouko asked her.

"Yup!" Mirai grinned. There was a brief silence while this was processed. Then , there was an outcry.

"You broke the night-time rule!"

"How are we meant to trust anyone now?!"

"I ALWAYS wander around so HAH!"

"Why would you do that? You're not supposed to go out at night-time , not here !"

"Stop!" Kosuke made a threatening slicing gesture through the air with his hand. "Stop."

Everyone fell silent.

"He is correct. The breaking of the rules is another issue for now. " Kyouko said.

"Soo…" Akihito drawled. "Shouldn't we open it?"

"What if it's a bomb or something?" Arisa asked fearfully. " Then we'll all die!"

"Oh don't be dumb!" Emi said.

Everyone looked at her as if she had grown an extra head.

"Look yeah , this is a game to the bear , right?" A few of them nodded and she continued. " So he's not gonna want all the contestants wiped out at once at this stage-he only wants that to happen as part of the game. Therefore , this can't be a bomb. "

"She certainly has a point. " Makoto admitted.

"I guess…I wouldn't want to open it either. Monobear is sneaky , so I'd be cautious. " Chihiro was a lot more confident after confessing , and didn't stammer nearly as much.

"Exactly!" Arisa declared.

"Oh come off it! It's probably hideous , but it can't be that bad. "

"If you're so sure , then perhaps you should open it. " Janus challenged quietly. Emi gave him a long , long look , and then nodded.

They all held their breath as she walked around to the box , undid the ribbon and opened the flap. She peered inside , and then went extremely pale and moved away rapidly.

"Actually , I might be wrong. It is that bad." She muttered.

"Well , what is it?" Kosuke asked. Emi pointed , and everyone crowded around.

"Oh my god." Makoto said , echoing everyone else's thoughts. In the box , there was a pile of bones , with the skull on the top , grinning up at them.

"Upupu! You've discovered my little surprise , it seems. " Monobear grinned at them from the otherwise of the room.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kyouko asked mildly.

"Ah…just my way of getting things moving." Monobear said casually.

"Explain." Kosuke ordered.

"Well…if you can guess the identity of this poor bastard, then I'll comply to your wishes. It will end , and you can uncover the truth of this place. "Monobear seemed smug, but didn't look at them while he said this.

"And?" Kyouko asked.

"And what?" Monobear replied innocently , turning to look at them.

"And what happens if we cannot?"

"If you cannot correctly identify this sorry skeleton…then, you will have to select two amongst your ranks to die , and the game continues , and my motives will be worse!" Then , Monobear disappeared before any of them could protest.

So , despite the skeleton , this isn't going to be a standard investigation/trial type arc. However , the next chapter (possibly two) will still be from the viewpoint of Reuben watching the events online.