It had been some time since they had discussed their next move. Now, Hikari and Wrinkly sat on the deck of the ship, drinking tea and conversing about what happened on Hitobashira Glade.

"That's absolutely awful to hear," Hikari said, regarding the news of Orion's fate.

"What is?" Wrinkly asked saltily. "What he did, or the fact he died trying to save himself?"

"Well, both, but I was thinking more of the latter." Hikari swirled the contents of his cup around and took a sip thoughtfully from it. "Sodoma... doesn't seem to be taking it well. I am rather worried about her. Being kidnapped and then watching your captors kill your father in cold blood can't be good for your psyche."

"Not to mention the revelation he had joined their side to begin with nearly made her faint. I'm sure she'll be fine with time. Maybe a bit of therapy would be good for her too, now that I think on it."

XxX

The kids sat around talking themselves. The others had been informed of what had happened to Orion, and so were trying their best to keep the subject off of him. Sodoma had just finished recounting the information regarding Catasandre to them. They were all at a loss for words, especially DK.

"That's... wow," Dixie said. "I can't imagine having to live with that knowledge for any amount of time."

"That at least explains why Wrinkly wasn't too attentative when we came back for you two," DK added. "The more this stuff goes on, the more I can't help but think there's an even bigger connection than them having just known each other."

"I do remember Uncle Oiya having pictures of two identical little girls in his storage room. I asked him about them, and he told me one of them was Catasandre, but he wouldn't tell me who the other girl was. He just got a really sad look on his face," Sodoma recalled. "Sometimes I catch her lost in thought, and I can't help but think back to the picture and what he said. I don't know if it's just the family resemblence or what, but it does bring more questions to mind."

"All the evidence points to the same thing," Cherah said. "I think they're more closely related than what we're made to believe."

"You know, I can't help but wonder if Cranky knows anything," Diddy said. "I mean, she's his wife, right? Surely that's something she must have confided in him."

"I doubt it," DK replied. "If she think holding even the most minor bit of information back from anyone will protect you more than her, she won't tell it. If there's a bigger connection between her and Catasandre, he probably doesn't know."

XxX

K. Rool, admittedly, felt a little bad eavesdropping on the kids' conversation. To tell the truth, he honestly had nothing better to do anyway, and maybe he'd overhear something funny. What he didn't expect was the conversation that had actually taken place. The name Catasandre did indeed sound familiar, but he couldn't immediately place from where.

After a bit, he got bored of the conversation and began to walk around. Eventually the name seemed to all but disappear from memory until he came across Cranky.

"Hey, um..." K. Rool began, remembering Diddy's question about the island ruler's knowledge of the child. "Do you... do you know of anyone named Catasandre? I overheard the kids talking about them."

"Yes, I do," Cranky replied, blinking at him. "But not much other than that she haunts the forest in Port City and that Wrinkly had known her."