I slowly fluttered through the woods, the late-morning sun shining through the canopy. Having finished the first forage of the day, and with everyone having separated to do their own thing, it was the perfect time for me to get down to business. But first, I needed to find the pikmin I was looking for.

Two days had passed since we had left the harlemin. Despite my promise to the red that I'd keep things brief, I took a day to decompress after all the craziness that had happened. But now my time had come, and I knew exactly who I wanted to start with.

Not sure which direction she had gone, I ascended and scanned my surroundings. Among the verdant undergrowth, there was a lemon speck leaning against a tree root. Perfect.

Partly excited and partly nervous, I descended towards the female yellow. As was to be expected, she heard my wings flapping and spotted my approach right away. As soon as I landed, she asked, "What's up, Pink?"

"So, I've got news."

She raised her brow. "Is it good news this time?"

"Surprisingly, yes! The red and I have decided that we're going to join the harlemin!"

"Hm. I'm surprised I didn't see that coming," she muttered. "Does anyone else know?"

"Sort of, but not really. It was actually the blue who gave me this idea, but I haven't told him whether or not I'd do it. Come to think of it, it's a little weird that he hasn't asked…"

"He's probably just assuming that you've learned to see things his way. I look forward to seeing the look on his face when he realizes he's wrong." She snickered at the thought, and I couldn't help but chuckle as well. "Why didn't you do this before we left, though? Did you need time to think it over?"

"Well, there's a few things I'd like to resolve first," I said, scratching the back of my head.

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm guessing I'm one of those things?"

"Quite astute."

Immediately, the yellow looked away and said, "I'm not interested."

A scowl formed on my face. "I didn't even get to ask yet."

"I'm not going back to Onion life, Pink. I've put that behind me."

I crossed my arms. "You know, you were very warm and friendly when we first met. But ever since the warmonger incident, you've been nothing but stoic and spiritless."

"We already went over that."

"We never resolved it, though. At the time, I thought it was just a temporary change. But it's been two seasons now and you still haven't snapped back to your old self. Whatever good feelings you had about this group are obviously gone, so why not leave? Why spend the rest of your life punishing yourself over a freak accide-?"

"SHUT UP!" she snapped, her tone and expression causing me to flinch. "You have no idea how much it hurt to make a mistake like that! A lot of pikmin died that day, and it's all my-!"

"It was the Piku-Lord's fault!" I interrupted. "You may have thrown the bomb-rock, but it wasn't you that brushed it aside!"

"I didn't have to throw it at that exact time, though! If I had just waited for a better opening-"

"That's all hindsight! We can't always see everything coming! Sometimes creatures are smarter than we expect!"

A tense silence passed. Then, after a deep breath, the yellow regained her nerves. "Let's… keep it down. Someone might hear us."

I lowered my stem. "Regardless of whose fault it is, you're not accomplishing anything by isolating yourself. The past is the past, and you deserve to be happy just as much as any other pikmin."

The yellow averted her eyes and said nothing, so I decided to approach things from a different angle. "Then again, you are right about one thing: I have no idea how it feels to be involved in something like that. I mean, I've had my screw-ups, but none resulted in any casualties. Maybe it's just easy for me to say."

"It is easy for you to say. And even if it wasn't my fault, the fact that I had a part to play is still…"

"I know. Look, we don't have to talk about this anymore if you don't want to. You have a big burden on your heart, and if you think staying here will make it easier for you to bear, then so be it. But there's something I want to warn you about."

She titled her head in confusion.

"As I've stated previously, there is a stark contrast between how you behaved when I first met you, and how you behave now. The others have definitely noticed this—even if they haven't commented on it—and it doesn't look like your attitude is going to improve anytime soon."

She raised her brow. "Your point?"

"My point is that sooner or later, they're going to realize that you don't believe in this crap. You've managed to avoid suspicion so far, but that's only because they've had to worry about the warmongers, the Season of Snow, and the harlemin. With things having settled down, and with the red and me leaving, you'll stick out like a sore finger."

"That's… fine," she said, crossing her arms. "Everyone knows that you and the red don't want to be here, but neither of you are worse off for it. I see no reason why it would be any different with me."

"The difference is that we don't care how they perceive us. You, on the other hand, do."

She opened her mouth, but I raised my hand to silence her. "Don't deny it. If you didn't want them to think that you're like them, you wouldn't have pretended in the first place."

"Y-you don't know what you're talking about!" she stammered. "I just didn't want them to know about-"

"That didn't necessitate you lying," I barked. "You could've just said that you were joining for your own reasons and left it at that. But instead, you went the extra mile and adopted a false identity. You didn't just hide your past—you also hid your present, and I think we both know why."

For a long time, the yellow said nothing. She then lowered her head and whispered, "Yes. We do."

I took a breath and shook my head. "I know you want to be someone else, but you can't. You may have deceived the others, but you'll never deceive yourself. You are what you are, and that's that. But you know what, Yellow?"

She lifted her head, revealing the tears in her eyes. "What?"

"For what it's worth, I like what you are."

The yellow stared at me for a few seconds, then smiled and wiped her tears. "I like what you are too, Pink. Your boldness, your dedication to truth… I've always admired it. I've always envied it, too."

"Is that why you confided in me?" I asked, mirroring her smile.

"Yes, that's right. I've spent so much time burying my past—and my present—and yet I spilled my guts to you after only two days. I could've just made something up, but your determination to learn the truth about the war… It was so inspiring. You were so genuine, and for that one moment, I wanted to be genuine too."

My face melted into a frown. "But not anymore?"

"I…" She patted her face and shook her head. "Pink? I think we've spoken enough for today. You get on with whatever else it is you want to get on with. Just don't leave without saying goodbye, okay?"

My stem drooped in disappointment, but despite this, I managed to put on a reassuring smile. "You've got it."

I turned to leave, but then the yellow spoke again. "Oh, and Pink?"

"Yeah?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.

"I don't know what other 'things' you want to resolve, but I've got a pretty good guess of what one of them is."

My brows tensed. "Are you going to try and stop me?"

"No, I will not," she said with a bow. "Please do what I've always been too cowardly to do."

My eyes widened with surprise. Then, after a brief pause, I nodded and said, "I will."

I turned away and flew off, leaving the yellow alone with her thoughts. I wasn't certain whether I had accomplished anything, but at the same time, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had instilled something in her. But regardless of what influence I did or didn't have, I had faith that she would someday break free from her facade.

One pikmin down. Four more to go.